by Maya Banks
A low snarl simmered through his throat. Feral. Animalistic. His breaths came in short bursts. Pants. His vision blurred, and pain began deep in his bones as they started reshaping.
For once he didn’t fight. He didn’t concern himself with what might be because if he didn’t make it to Katie, they’d kill her anyway. She’d have a better chance against the cat.
So he let go and surrendered to the intoxicating power surging through his veins. Warm and heady. The pain diminished as soon as he relinquished control.
“Braden!” he cried out with the last vestiges of humanity.
Where a moment before a man had lain trapped, a great cat arose and scented the air. Another growl rippled from his throat as he leaped from the vehicle.
Chapter Fifteen
Though every part of Katie shrieked in outrage, she forced herself to go limp until she could mentally examine herself for injuries. Her feet hit the ground with a resounding thump as one of Ricardo’s henchmen yanked her out of the vehicle. He obviously wasn’t concerned over potential injuries, which just told her she was going to die at Ricardo’s hands shortly.
Could things get any worse? Braden was unconscious in the backseat, and as far as she could tell, Ian was trapped in the driver’s seat. Which meant she was SOL when it came to any help from them.
Story of her life.
Her captor shoved her toward a waiting Ricardo who stood outside his untouched sports car, his expression furious. He backhanded her to the ground in one swift motion. She stayed down, nursing her throbbing cheek, knowing he wanted her to get up so he could go at her again.
Think, Katie, think. How on earth was she going to get herself out of this one?
A hand tangled in her hair and yanked her upright.
“Enough with the hair already,” she growled as she tried to shake free.
Instead of letting her go, the man tightened his grip and shoved her closer to Ricardo. This time when Ricardo hit her in the face, the man holding her prevented her from falling. Warm blood trickled down her chin, but she glared defiantly at Ricardo.
“Quite a man, aren’t you,” she jeered. “Have to have another man hold me so you can beat up on me? Are you afraid of me, Ricardo?” She let her gaze fall to his groin. “How’s the equipment, by the way?”
“Bitch,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m finished toying with you.” He withdrew a switchblade from his pocket and flipped the blade in front of her face in a series of fancy motions.
“I’m going to gut you like a pig and leave you on the side of the road to die.”
She bared her teeth and then spit at him, mimicking the time he’d done the same to her. It landed on his face, and his eyes widened in affronted shock.
He wiped the spittle from his cheek and stared at the back of his hand as if not believing she’d dared to insult him. She steeled herself for his retaliation even while she frantically searched for a way to escape.
The glint of metal flashed, and searing pain tore through her belly. She looked down to see the bright red bloom of blood spread across her abdomen. He’d slashed the knife across her skin instead of plunging the blade deep.
Painful and effective but not life-threatening.
He raised the knife again but a ferocious growl rippled through the air. It sounded so primitive, so vicious, that it raised the hairs at Katie’s nape.
Ricardo’s hand stopped in midair, and his eyes went wide with fear. The hold on Katie’s hair loosened, and the man holding her suddenly bolted away. She turned in time to see a big-ass cat leap from the interior of the SUV.
Before she could run, piss on herself or curl into a ball in a feeble attempt to protect herself, the cat streaked by her and launched itself at Ricardo.
Ricardo’s screams rent the air before a mouth closed around his throat, effectively silencing him. It was over so fast that Katie barely had time to register that she wasn’t having some bizarre hallucination.
Ricardo was sprawled on the ground under the weight of the animal, his eyes glassy and locked into a lifeless stare as his throat lay open and bleeding beneath the cat’s mouth.
Holy fuck. The cat. Ian. Braden.
Her mind couldn’t even catch up in its frenzy to understand what she’d just seen. Not waiting to see if she’d be the jaguar’s next meal, she bolted toward the SUV. Only to find the driver’s side empty.
Seizure disorder, my ass.
A quick look in the back told her Braden was either still unconscious or dead. She couldn’t be sure which, and she wasn’t going to hang around and find out. Hell, he’d probably turn into a damn…well she didn’t know, but again, she didn’t want to find out. Her brain simply couldn’t comprehend what she’d witnessed.
She turned to see the cat shaking Ricardo like a rag doll. The other men had scattered like screaming girls, but they’d likely return.
She ran to the back of the SUV and prayed the door would open. It took some pulling, but she managed to crack it just enough to haul one of the assault rifles out.
Her stomach was bleeding heavily, and she spared only enough time to shove a balled-up T-shirt over it before she took off in the opposite direction. And then she heard gunfire.
Don’t turn around. Don’t do it. Get the fuck out of here. Save your ass and don’t worry about the damn cat that’s currently having Ricardo for lunch.
She turned around, her gun up against her shoulder. Ricardo’s men were holed up behind their banged-up SUV. One dumbass had apparently shot at the jaguar and missed, and now the cat was stalking them.
Shit. If the cat was really Ian—and at this point, unless she believed in spontaneous combustion, she couldn’t come up with a better explanation—then the least she could do was keep the gunmen off his ass, or hide, or whatever the hell you called a cat’s skin.
She started to take cover behind the SUV but then realized that Braden was still inside, life status unknown, and if she started shooting at the bad guys they were going to shoot back, and if Braden wasn’t already dead, he’d soon be. The idea of either man dying did odd things to her. They’d done their damndest to protect her, and she could do nothing less than return the favor.
“You’re turning into a complete girl,” she muttered.
She dropped the bloody T-shirt and jumped the ravine the SUV had tumbled into. She scrambled up the incline and dove behind a clump of trees. On her belly, she slithered painfully forward, her blood mixing with the soil. Maybe if she got enough dirt packed in there, it would stop the bleeding.
Taking careful aim, she focused on the scene below her. Her first priority was to take out the lead gunman. The other two were pussies, and if she could nail the first guy, the others would probably tuck tail and run. Thank God for all the time she and Gabe had spent at the shooting range.
As soon as he stuck his head above the truck, she squeezed off a round. Blood arced through the air, splattering the metal hood as he fell. To his right, curses rang out as the other two men scrambled for cover like rats abandoning ship.
One made the mistake of running into the open. She nailed him before he took two steps. And darn, it wasn’t a clean shot, which meant the slimy little bastard would have to suffer for a while.
The other ran for Ricardo’s sports car. She clipped him in the leg, but he staggered on, diving into the interior. He peeled away in a cloud of dust, tires squalling as they made contact with the road.
Satisfied that she’d put an end to any immediate threat, she turned her attention to getting out fast. No way in hell was she going to stick around to see what plans the jaguar had, nor was she inclined to learn what wild animal Braden could turn into.
Seizures. Just what kind of a moron did they take her for?
As she darted through the trees, the reality of what she’d just witnessed hit her like a ton of bricks. A fucking jaguar. What in the holy hell? People didn’t just turn into animals. Was she losing her grip on sanity?
She pressed on, ignoring the searin
g pain in her abdomen and the warm rush of blood coating her skin. And then she remembered the tracking device.
She reached up to her neck, barely slowing in the process. When she felt the slight protrusion, she yanked with her fingers. The sliver came free, and she tossed it on the ground.
Her energy was fast fading, but she couldn’t stop. Not now. She had to find a place to hide and regroup. Preferably where she was safe from a predator like a jaguar.
The image of the cat’s jaws around Ricardo’s throat flashed back to mind. Not that the jackass didn’t deserve what he’d gotten, but Katie had no desire to be the cat’s next meal. She had no doubt that as humans neither man would hurt her. She wasn’t sure when she had embraced that knowledge, but it was there, irrefutable. But as wild animals? She’d seen the way Ian had taken Ricardo out, and she knew in that moment he was capable of horrific violence.
God have mercy, had Gabe known what Ian and Braden were?
Fatigue swept over her, swift and unmerciful. She’d lost too much blood, spent too much adrenaline. She was going to crash and burn.
She spun around, looking for a direction, someplace to hide. Shelter. Picking an old deer trail, she barreled through the underbrush, determined to ride the well of her strength until she went bust.
She crossed over what looked to be an old logging road or an ATV trail, and she stopped in the middle to stare down either side. She couldn’t afford to remain in plain sight, so she headed into the woods on the other side. The brush enveloped her, and a chill raced across her skin in the absence of the sun.
For two hours, she pushed herself relentlessly, until she was beyond simple endurance. Nearly unconscious, she staggered over a rise and fell to her knees. She jammed the stock of the rifle into the ground to give her leverage as she hauled herself to her feet once more.
Ahead she saw a thick shroud of snarly bushes, and she focused single-mindedly on it. In the end, she didn’t even remember crawling those last feet. She dove into the brambles, wincing as the branches tore at her skin. She struggled to the middle and hollowed out a spot where she could rest. Gripping the gun tightly to her chest, she curled into a tight ball and closed her eyes.
Chapter Sixteen
Tyana stared dully over the ocean as the sun’s first rays peeked over the horizon. The sky was bathed in soft lavender, a beautiful contrast to the dark rolling sea. The sea fit her mood. The beauty of the sunrise mocked her.
Her foot was propped on a pillow but there was no comfort for her. Inside Jonah and Mad Dog were determining D’s fate while Tyana grew sicker at heart by the moment.
He can’t stay, Ty.
He’s a danger to you. To himself. To everyone.
He’ll be better off.
It’s better this way.
She closed her eyes against the statements that had been flung during the long night. No one had slept. No one had rested. They kept watch over the unconscious tiger until finally, an hour before dawn, the tiger had slowly given way and D’s naked, weakened body had appeared on the floor of the game room.
The glass doors opened. She looked up to see Eli file out followed by Mad Dog, Marcus, the team physician, and finally Jonah. Her chest tightened with dread. They’d come to deliver their edict.
“Are you all right, Ty?” Jonah asked in a gruff voice.
She nodded, her throat too knotted to speak. She glanced expectantly at Marcus. He stared back at her, apology in his eyes.
“He has to go,” Mad Dog said quietly.
“No,” she choked out.
Eli sat down next to her, his fingers curling around her nape and massaging.
Marcus nodded even as she shook her head in denial.
“It’s time, Tyana,” he said. “I’ve done all that can be medically done. It’s time to pursue other means. It’s our only hope. He grows more unstable all the time. His shift last night was so fast that you didn’t even have time to react before it was done.”
She closed her eyes. “I won’t leave him alone.”
“He won’t be alone,” Jonah said. “Marcus is going with him.”
“Where?” Her voice cracked and shattered like glass.
“I want him to try alternatives to medicine,” Marcus said. “As I said before, I think the key is psychological. His DNA has been altered, and there is no cure for that. I can bandage it, but it won’t fix the problem. I firmly believe…” He glanced around at D’s family. “There is no cure right now. As much as we want there to be one. Damiano is going to have to learn to control his abilities or they’ll kill him. There’s no way to soften that truth.”
“Where are you taking him?” Tyana demanded hoarsely. “Why can’t I stay with him?”
“He has to do this alone,” Marcus said. “It’s best if you don’t know where. I want him to take on a regimen of meditation and spiritual honing. Mind over matter. He needs discipline.”
Tyana’s mouth twisted. “It sounds like a bunch of bullshit”.
“He’s going, Ty,” Jonah said.
Panic and grief crashed over her like a wave. “When?”
Mad Dog’s expression drew into a grimace.“As soon as the chopper gets here”.
Eli’s grip tightened around her, but she didn’t want comfort. Not when Damiano was going to be alone. Without his family. Without her.
“Where is he now?” she demanded.
“He’s resting under guard,” Jonah said.
“I want to see him. To say goodbye.”
Jonah nodded. “Of course. As we all do.”
“Does he know?” she asked.
“He knows,” Mad Dog said quietly.
She closed her eyes against the sudden tears. She and D had been together since they were children, never separated for longer than a few days. He needed her now more than ever, and he would be alone. She’d sworn he’d never be without her. And now she was forced to break her promise.
Gently, Eli helped her to her feet. The agony caused by the tiger’s attack was nothing compared to the pain lashing at her soul. Ignoring the crutches and the hands that reached to help, she dragged her casted leg behind her as she hobbled to the door.
When she walked inside, she saw D sitting on the couch, his face in his hands. Four of the Falcon secondary stood guard around him.
Slowly, painfully, she made her way toward him. When she was but a few feet away, he looked up. The anguish in his eyes was her undoing. She dropped heavily to the floor, her hands clutching at him as he reached to hug her.
“I’m sorry, Ty. I’m so sorry.”
His voice was muffled in her hair. She hung onto him, her tears seeping into the material of his shirt.
She pulled slowly away and touched her hand to his cheek. “Don’t be sorry, D. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ve failed you. I swore to find a cure.”
He shook his head. “I could have killed you. Marcus is right to take me away.”
She shook her head harder. But he stilled her motion with a finger to her lips.
“I have to do this, Ty. For me and for you. I won’t stay where I might hurt you. It’s already happened once before. I could have killed you this time.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
He cupped her cheek in a loving gesture, and with his other hand, he stroked her hair. “I love you more.”
He glanced up at Eli who hovered protectively over Tyana. “Keep her safe for me.”
Eli nodded. “You know I will.”
D’s gaze went to Jonah and Mad Dog. He swallowed as though he didn’t know what to say. And then he stood, letting his hand fall from Tyana’s face. Eli helped her to her feet so that she was beside her brother.
“You take care, little brother,” Mad Dog said gruffly as he enfolded D in his beefy embrace.
Then it was only D and Jonah, standing face to face. Dark emotion, so uncharacteristic of Jonah, clouded his face. His eyes flashed with pain, and Tyana felt guilty for all the times she’d thrown such nasty accusations at him.
> “You’ll beat this, D,” Jonah said. “You’ll beat it and you’ll come back to us. Your family. We’ll always be here for you.”
He hugged D tightly, stiffly, his face a mask of sorrow.
“The chopper is two minutes out.”
The statement came from behind Jonah, from one of the secondary standing guard. Tyana stifled the urge to scream. She turned into D’s arms and held on tight.
D stroked her hair in his quiet, generous way. God, it should be her offering him comfort, but as always, he took care of her.
“Come back to me, D. Swear it.”
He pulled away and brushed his lips across her forehead, his words whisper soft. “I’ll always be wherever you are.”
Chapter Seventeen
Braden dragged his eyelids open but couldn’t for the life of him get them to stay that way. It felt like bricks were sitting on his eyes, and his head pounded like someone was taking a jackhammer to it.
He moved his hand, surprised to feel the roughness of carpet under his palm. He blinked and then blinked again as he became aware that he was on the floorboard of the SUV, his nose pressed against a floor mat.
What the ever-loving fuck?
His nerves were jittery and jumping around, but not like what happened right before a shift. This was different. And damn, he hurt from head to toe. What had Ian given him? And why was he on the floor?
He shoved himself upward. He realized several things at once. The truck wasn’t moving. They’d had one hell of a wreck. Ian and Katie were both missing.
Adrenaline surged, liquid and edgy. The cobwebs cleared from his brain as he leaned forward to examine the damage to the front seat.
The dash was caved in on the driver’s side. No way Ian could have gotten out by himself. He had to have been trapped. Had Katie managed to get him out? Or were they both dead?
An icy chill cooled some of the adrenaline rush. He reached for the door only to find it wouldn’t budge. He leaned back and kicked at it, hammering it repeatedly until it gave way.