Her gaze shifted to Finn, and their eyes met. Then his softened a touch. Just enough to make her forget all about Archer and whatever the heck was wrong with the man. Finn’s lips curled in that soft, seductive smile, the one he’d flashed her in that cave, the one she now knew he kept only for her. And just that fast her insides went all liquid and her heart picked up speed until she was sure both men could hear it pounding in her chest.
“A helluva lot smarter, too,” Finn said.
The smile edged her mouth before she could stop it. She stepped forward, grasped Finn’s hand as he reached out for her. Didn’t even try to act like that wasn’t the best compliment he could have given her.
Archer swiped the sweat from his brow, tugged his cap back on and frowned. “Yeehaw. Y’all ready to get the hell out of here or what? Chopper’s juiced up and ready to go back at the ranch. Take us about five minutes to get there if ya hurry it up.”
“I’m more than ready,” Lauren said, ignoring his sarcasm.
Finn motioned her toward the four-wheeler, but a snapping sound off to her right caught her attention.
Before she even looked, the hair on her nape stood straight and the feeling they were being watched rushed over her again. The foliage on both sides of the path rustled. Finn tensed, tried to push her behind him but it was too late. The jungle expelled four native men, all dressed in camouflage with automatic weapons trained right on them.
“Sonofa-fucking-bitch,” Archer muttered, hands going up.
Lauren’s heart lurched into her throat and fear raced up and down her spine. Finn held up both his hands, and Lauren followed suit, but her gaze darted to the handle of Finn’s gun sticking out of the waistband of his jeans. Could she grab for it? Would it do any good?
“No one’s leaving,” the leader of the group said in a thick, Spanish accent. He looked from Finn to Archer. “Your weapons.”
Panic closed Lauren’s throat. She knew instinctively if Finn gave up his gun, there was no way they were walking out of this alive.
Archer swore under his breath, pulled the nine millimeter from his shoulder harness, held it out and dropped it on the ground. Finn did the same, and as she watched his gun land in the soft dirt at their bare feet, the last of Lauren’s hope evaporated.
The leader’s lips curled in a nasty smile, revealing gleaming white teeth. He said something in Spanish to the man at his right. The man picked up both guns, inspected them, then shoved them in his belt. The leader’s dark gaze swept over them and landed on Lauren. Hestiffened when she recognized him.
He’d been in the club. He’d been the one calling the shots. The one who had killed Javier. Her pulse picked up speed until it was a whir beneath her skin. This close, she saw the similarities in his features and realized he had to be Javier’s brother.
“You have created a lot of trouble, Ms. Kauffman.” His gaze dropped to the necklace. “The Red Devil belongs to me.” He motioned with his gun. “Come.”
Finn stepped fully in front of her before she could move. He was careful to keep both hands up, but Lauren felt the panic radiating from him. “She’s not going anywhere. Look, you can have the necklace, okay? Just let her walk.”
Her heart squeezed hard. Without his weapon, what chance did they stand? If she didn’t go with these thugs, they were all dead. If she did as they said, maybe they’d let Finn and Archer go.
Tears burned her eyes. “Finn—”
She reached out for his arm, but he shrugged her off, his voice growing hard. “No. This is bullshit.” He refocused on the leader. “Take the fucking necklace but let her go. She’s not gonna tell anyone about this, okay? No one will know what happened here. I’m the one you want. I’m the one who shot down that helicopter and killed your men on the roof at Palladium. Take me, instead. Blame the whole fucking thing on me.”
He was sacrificing himself for her. The enormity of the moment slammed into Lauren, stole her breath. Yeah, he was her bodyguard, and keeping her safe was his job, but this was more than that. This was his surrendering everything for her. This was personal.
The leader’s gaze shifted from her to Finn. And his eyes grew dark and hard. The weapon in his hand moved until the barrel was pointed at Finn’s chest. “My brother Manuel was in that helicopter.”
No! Lauren’s muscles coiled tight as she reached for Finn’s arm. A scream echoed in her head but she heard the roar of it outside herself. The leader shifted his finger to the trigger. Around them, the foliage rustled again. As the man’s head swiveled to the right, Lauren realized the roar hadn’t come from her.
A blur of black flashed from the trees, slammed into the leader and the man next to him. Before they could lift their weapons and shoot, a horrific cry tore out of both men. They hit the ground hard. A snarl echoed, and Lauren’s eyes flew wide as she scrambled back from the enormous black jaguar sinking its teeth into the leader’s throat.
She was right. They had been watched. Only it hadn’t been by a drug cartel as she’d assumed. It’d been by a beast.
The man next to Santiago tried to get up. The jaguar swiped out with its claws, caught him by the throat and chest. Blood spurted in every direction. His body slumped to the ground before he even had time to scream.
“Lauren! Run!”
Tearing her eyes away from the carnage, she saw Archer and Finn struggling with the remaining two thugs. Fists met bone. The terrorists’ machine guns lay on the ground at their feet. The man Archer was fighting went down with a crack and didn’t move. The jaguar snapped its jaws as it tore into the man, and roared again. Lauren looked down and saw Finn’s gun had been knocked free when the beast had attacked.
She reached for the weapon just as the jaguar’s head swiveled toward the struggle to her right. Finn’s fist slammed into the other thug’s jaw. The man hit the ground on his ass. The jaguar roared and abandoned its kill, stepping toward the commotion. Hands shaking, Laurenlifted the gun, pointed.
The man Finn had knocked down whipped toward the sound. His eyes flew wide open when he saw the beast stalking his way. A scream ripped from his chest a split second before he scrambled from the ground and tore off into the jungle.
The jaguar’s muscles flexed. Sensing a chase, it bounded across the ground after the man, nothing more than a blur of black that disappeared into the trees as fast as it had appeared. A scream echoed deep in the jungle, followed by a roar. Then nothing but silence filled the humid air.
“Fuck me,” Finn said, breathing hard as he turned Lauren’s way. “No way that just happened.”
Archer leaned over, rested his hands on his thighs and sucked in air. “You’re not fucking invited to stay. You got that, Tierney? I’ve been here six months and haven’t seen a damn jaguar. You’re here ten minutes and every beast in the goddamn place is coming out of the woodwork for you.” He reached down, picked up the semi-automatic weapon. “I swear to God you’re cursed.”
Heart thundering, Lauren lowered the gun.
Archer swore under his breath as he moved past her toward what was left of the leader. “Man, that’s gross.”
Lauren didn’t look. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her heart raced in her chest, but her gaze stayed locked on Finn. Bloody, bruised and covered in a mixture of dirt and sweat, he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
“It’s over,” he said in a low voice.
Relief rippled, but it was short lived. Movement behind him caught her eye. The man on the ground pulled a handgun from somewhere in his shirt and raised his arm, pointing the weapon at the back of Finn’s head.
Lauren’s adrenaline surged. She lifted her arm, braced the butt of the gun against her other hand and fired. Gunshots echoed. She wasn’t sure how many times she pulled the trigger. The man’s eyes went wide a split second before his body slumped back and the weapon flew from his fingers to thump against the jungle floor.
In the silence that followed, Finn looked from the body now sprawled across the ground with three holes dead center i
n the chest to her with surprised eyes. “Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?”
“The range,” she said, staring at what she’d done.
“The range?”
His question pulled her attention. “Why do you think I haven’t needed a bodyguard until now? My brother made sure if I went into modeling I’d know how to take care of myself.”
Finn stepped toward her and reached for the gun. “Give me that.”
“Why?”
He slid the weapon from her fingers, flicked the safety and stuck it in his waistband. “Because you look like yer gonna drop it. And keeping you safe is my job now. Besides, I don’t want to give you any reason to think you don’t need me around after this.”
The reality of what she’d done threatened to consume her, but she focused on his eyes to keep from freaking out. His gorgeous, beautiful eyes. “Do you really mean that?”
He pushed the hair back from her face. “I do. If, that is, you think you can put up with me on a more regular basis.”
She threw her arms around his neck. Closed her eyes and held on tight.
He laughed and tugged her body close. “I take it that’s a yes.”
“No, this is a yes.” She pressed er lips to his. He answered by kissing her as though he couldn’t get enough of her.
Oh, yeah, she was already used to this. Thank God he’d gotten used to her as well.
He eased back. “Yer not worried I might actually be cursed?”
“Cursed?” she asked, looking up at him. “No. Though I’m starting to wonder if this necklace might be blessed. If that jaguar hadn’t shown up when it did, we’d all be dead.”
The corner of his mouth curled in that sexy half-smile again. “Why, Ms. Kauffman. Do I sense a little superstition in you?”
“Well, you know, I am part Irish. I guess a sprinkling of superstition’s in my blood, too.”
His smile widened to brighten his whole face.
Archer coughed. “Um, kids? Far be it for me to rain on your sappy-ass parade, but does the word jaguar mean anything to y’all? I’d like to get the hell out of here before that thing comes back and decides it wants dessert.”
Lauren slid her hand down to twine her fingers with Finn’s. Surrounded by gruesome reminders that nothing in life turned out the way you planned, she knew the road ahead wasn’t guaranteed to be smooth. But she was willing to travel it. With him. Because she’d finally found something worth more than her independence, worth more than her career, worth more even than the gem around her neck.
“I’m ready,” she said. “How about you?”
Finn’s eyes sparked with heat. “Only if I get to watch you.”
“In my brand-new Givenchys?”
“And nothing else.”
“You’re on, Tierney.”
Don’t miss Dani Harper’s sexy debut,
CHANGELING MOON,
out now from Brava!
Freezing rain sliced out of the black sky, turning the wet pavement to glass. Zoey stared out at the freakish weather and groaned aloud. With less than two days left in the month of April, the skies had been clear and bright all afternoon. Trees were budding early and spring had seemed like a sure bet. Now this. Local residents said if you didn’t like the weather this far north, just wait fifteen minutes. She gave it five, only to watch the rain turn to sleet.
Perhaps she should have asked more questions before taking the job as editor of the Dunvegan Herald Weekly. She was getting the peace and quiet she’d wanted, all right, but so far the weather simply sucked. Winter had been in full swing when she’d arrived at the end of October. Wasn’t it ever going to end?
Sighing, she buttoned her thin jacket up to her chin and hoisted the camera bag over her shoulder in preparation for the long, cold walk to her truck. All she wanted before bed was a hot shower, her soft flannel pajamas with the little cartoon sheep on them, the TV tuned to Late Night, and a cheese and mushroom omelet. Hell, maybe just the omelet. She hadn’t eaten since noon, unless the three faded M&Ms she’d found at the bottom of her bag counted as food.
As usual, the council meeting for the Village of Dunvegan had gone on much too long. Who’d have thought that such a small community could have so much business to discuss? It was well past ten when the mayor, the councillors, and the remnants of a long-winded delegation filedout. Zoey had lingered only a few moments to scribble down a couple more notes for her article but it was long enough to make her the last person out of the building.
The heavy glass door automatically locked behind her, the metallic sound echoing ominously. Had she taken longer than she thought? There wasn’t a goddamn soul left on the street. Even the hockey arena next door was deserted, although a senior men’s play-off game earlier had made parking difficult to find. Now, her truck—a sturdy, old red Bronco that handled the snow much better than her poor little SUV had—was the only vehicle in sight.
The freezing rain made the three-block trek to the truck seem even longer. Not only did the cold wind drive stinging pellets of ice into her face, but her usual businesslike stride had to be shortened to tiny careful steps. Her knee-high leather boots were strictly a fashion accessory—her bedroom slippers would have given her more traction on the ice. If she slipped and broke her ankle out here, would anyone even find her before morning?
The truck glittered strangely as she approached and her heart sank. Thick sheets of ice coated every surface, sealing the doors. Nearly frozen herself, she pounded on the lock with the side of her fist until the ice broke away and she could get her key in. “Come on, dammit, come on!”
Of course, the key refused to turn, while the cold both numbed and hurt her glove less fingers. She tried the passenger door lock without success, then walked gingerly around to the rear cargo door. No luck there either. She’d have to call a tow—
Except that her cell phone was on the front seat of her truck.
Certain that things couldn’t get any worse, she tested each door again. Maybe one of the locks would loosen if she kept trying. If not, she’d probably have to walk all the way home, and wasn’t that a cheery prospect?
Suddenly a furtive movement teased at her peripheral vision. Zoey straightened slowly and studied her surroundings. There wasn’t much to see. The streetlights were very far apart, just glowing pools of pale gold that punctuated the darkness rather than alleviating it. Few downtown businesses bothered to leave lights on overnight. The whispery hiss of the freezing rain was all she could hear.
A normal person would simply chalk it up to imagination, but she’d been forced to toss normal out the window at an early age. Her mother, aunts, and grandmother were all powerful psychics—and the gene had been passed down to Zoey. Or at least a watered-down version of it. The talent was reliable enough when it worked, but it seemed to come and go as it pleased. Like right now. Zoey tried hard to focus yet sensed absolutely nothing. It was her own fault perhaps for trying to rid herself of the inconvenient ability.
No extrasensory power was needed, however, to see something large and black glide silently from one shadow to another near the building she’d just left. What the hell was that? There was nowhere to go for help. The only two bars in town would still be open, but they were several blocks away, as was the detachment headquarters for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. There was a run-down trailer park a block and a half from the far side of the arena, but Zoey knew there were no streetlights anywhere along that route.
A dog? Maybe it’s just a big dog, she thought. A really big dog or a runaway cow. After all, this was a rural community. And a northern rural community at that, so maybe it’s just a local moose, ha, ha. . . . She struggled to keep her fear at bay and redoubled her efforts on the dr locks, all the while straining to listen over the sound of her own harsh breathing.
The rear door lock was just beginning to show promise when a low, rumbling growl caused her to drop her keys. She spun to see a monstrous shape emerge from the shadows, stiff-legged and head lowered.
A wolf? It was bigger than any damn wolf had a right to be. Jesus. Some primal instinct warned her not to run and not to scream, that the animal would be on her instantly if she did so.
She backed away slowly, trying not to slip, trying to put the truck between herself and the creature. Its eyes glowed green like something out of a horror flick, but this was no movie. Snarling black lips pulled back to expose gleaming ivory teeth. The grizzled gray fur around its neck was bristling. Zoey was minutely aware that the hair on the back of her own neck was standing on end. Her breath came in short shuddering gasps as she blindly felt for the truck behind her with her hands, sliding her feet carefully without lifting them from the pavement.
She made it around the corner of the Bronco. As soon as she was out of the wolf’s line of sight, she turned and half skated, half ran for the front of the truck as fast as the glassy pavement would allow. Don’t fall, don’t fall! It was a litany in her brain as she scrambled up the slippery front bumper onto the icy hood. With no hope of outrunning the creature and no safe place in sight, the roof of the truck seemed like her best bet—if she could make it. Don’t fall, don’t fall! Flailing for a handhold, she seized an ice-crusted windshield wiper, only to have the metal frame snap off in her hand. She screamed as she slid back a few inches.
The wolf sprang at once. It scrabbled and clawed, unable to find a purchase on the ice-coated metal. Foam from its snapping jaws sprayed over her as the beast roared its frustration. Finally it slipped back to the ground and began to pace around the truck.
Zoey managed to shimmy up the hood until she was able to put her back against the windshield, and pulled her knees up to her chin. She risked a glance at the roof behind her—she had to get higher. Before she could move, however, the wolf attacked again, scrambling its way up the front bumper. Vicious jaws slashed at her. Without thought, Zoey kicked out at the wolf, knocking one leg out from under it. It slid backward but not before it clamped its teeth on her calf. The enormous weight of the creature dragged at her and she felt herself starting to slide. . . .
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