Jaguar Hunt

by Terry Spear

  The door groaned open and shut again. Footfalls headed in their direction, one pair.

  Maybe it was one of Martin’s men. But wouldn’t he call out and let them know who he was?

  “Come on out, Tammy, David. We know you’re in here,” Quinn said. “We saw your car parked at the warehouse down the street. We followed your scent all the way here. So I know you’re here. What I don’t know is how the hell you ever found the warehouse. It was a carefully guarded secret.”

  Tammy knew he was listening for them, trying to discern where they were exactly. David was carefully removing his clothes, trying not to make a sound. Impossible when it came to his jeans zipper and a cat’s enhanced hearing.

  Quinn swore under his breath, his head turned in their direction. “You’ve got Olivia’s phone, don’t you? I looked everywhere for it.” He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Ah, hell, don’t tell me she documented evidence with that damned phone. How did you find it? Nearly gave Joe a heart attack when he got the call from her cell. Accused me of being a bastard, thinking I was taunting him, that I had her phone and evidence, or some damn thing.”

  Engines grumbling, three eighteen-wheelers pulled up in the parking lot in front of the warehouse.

  “Don’t worry. Everything will be gone before any of this can be reported. I’ll be gone. Joe, too. The missing circus cat. And you and Tammy. It’s all my fault, really. Olivia was happily dating you, David. She got wind of Joe and my off-duty investments. She wanted in. But the only way she could join us was if she got rid of you.”

  Tammy glanced at David. He just shook his head, like he hadn’t a clue as he untied his boots. She couldn’t help feeling bad that he’d been thrown over for money.

  “She was trying to be really obvious that she wanted to end things with you, but I think she had a soft spot still for you. Joe said he could kill the romance. And he did. You arrive at her house to find him there, and voilà: he was into the business and you were out. What she didn’t figure was that no matter how much she was part of the business, she wasn’t going to be Joe’s main squeeze. He just isn’t geared that way. Somehow she got suspicious about Joe seeing other women. She blew a gasket and well, end of partnership.”

  No one moved. She thought she heard a zipper being pulled down in Quinn’s direction.

  Quinn said, “You probably are wondering if I really wanted to work with you on looking for the cat, Tammy. I truly did. I didn’t want David involved. See, if I could have gone with you to Belize instead, we could have had some good times. You would have met with some accident. Kids, too, but they were a lot cleverer than Joe and I thought they would be.”

  She narrowed her eyes. Bastards.

  Quinn let out his breath. “You know that Joe was aiming to shoot David, but he moved out of the way. Joe got a bead on one of the boys, and he disappeared into the trees. Then there you were. I was trying to maneuver so you’d get it, but you moved and I was afraid I’d be hit, so I leaped the only way I could, knocking you into the water, and took off before David came looking for you. Joe was pissed.” He paused. “It’s time to end this now. The movers won’t come in until we give the go-ahead. So let’s get this done.”

  She knew he couldn’t see them any more than she and David could see Quinn. Was Joe with him? She didn’t hear his footsteps, which meant he could be wearing his jaguar coat and making no sound, plodding alongside Quinn, silent. Unlike dogs’ toenails that clicked on cement, cats kept their claws retracted unless they needed them. Then again, if he was here, he had to have come as a human and would need to remove his clothes here and shift.

  David had already stripped off his clothes. He was getting ready to shift. Still, he couldn’t win against two of them.

  She reached for her shirt and started lifting it, but David grabbed her hand and shook his head, speaking in a hushed voice. “He’s probably got a gun. You stay back here. I’ll take care of this. Call it in.”

  “But he said ‘we.’ Joe’s most likely here too. You can’t take out two of them by yourself.”

  “As a jaguar I can while they’re in human form. Stay here.”

  Tammy had just opened a line to her boss when a jaguar leaped on top of the crates. Startled, she screamed and dropped her phone. David shifted and jumped away before Quinn could pounce.

  They were fighting on top of her phone, maybe even had stepped on it and disconnected the open line to her boss. She saw a glimpse of another jaguar and recognized him right away.

  Her former boyfriend. Joe Storm. She started stripping.

  He looked like he might even regret what he’d have to do. But she knew too much. At least he was giving her a chance to fight him when he could have just killed her.

  The crashing of crates nearby made her heart skip a beat. Cats’ claws scrabbled on the floor to get traction. As much as she wanted to look in David and Quinn’s direction and see what was happening, she had to concentrate on the very real threat in front of her. She removed the remainder of her clothes and shifted.

  Her heart was racing a hundred miles a minute. She couldn’t win. He was too big. Too powerful. All she could think of was his killer fists. And in jaguar form? A jaguar’s paw could kill with one strike. Adrenaline coursed through her blood. Mind over matter, she leaped at him.

  They tangled, claws extended. They scratched with a vengeance, hissing, wicked canines bared. They swiped with their paws, only he got the best of her because his forearms were longer. He knocked her down against the cement floor. Her cheek was bleeding, the claw marks stinging and burning. He waited for her to scramble to her feet, to come at him again. It was as if they were in a workout, only he meant to allow her to fight him a little before he killed her.

  She’d never last at this rate. She growled and jumped again, attempting to swipe him in the head with a powerful paw like he’d done to her, but because her forelegs were shorter than his, she had to get closer to him.

  He wouldn’t allow it and took another swing at her. Looking like a startled cat, she hissed and jumped straight in the air to avoid his powerful swing. She thought he looked surprised at her maneuver before she landed again on her feet. He leaped this time, as if he was tired of the game. Anticipating his move, she dodged out of his path. He missed her and slammed into a crate with a bang and growled.

  She would have felt smug satisfaction if she wasn’t trying to stay alive. She whipped around and bit his flank, hoping to impair his ability to fight. He roared and turned so quickly that she wasn’t able to avoid his slashing swipe of a paw. His paw connected with her temple, knocking her down.

  Lying against the crates on the cold concrete floor, she saw white sprinkles against blackness and knew she was done for.

  ***

  David had fought Quinn before as a cat in practice sessions. He knew Quinn’s strengths and weaknesses, but Tammy was David’s weakness. He’d gotten in some hefty claw marks on Quinn’s back and neck. When Joe attacked Tammy, David glanced in her direction and left himself open to attack.

  He couldn’t fight the two cats at once. He had to finish this with Quinn if he was to have any chance at saving Tammy from Joe.

  Where the hell were David’s fellow agents?

  All teeth and claws, he fought Quinn like a jaguar who was demon-possessed, full of rage, human heartfelt emotion, and a feral big cat’s need for survival and desire to protect his mate.

  Quinn might also have known David’s strengths and weaknesses, but he wasn’t prepared for David’s relentless, mauling attacks. David wouldn’t let the cat catch his breath. Quinn tried to get in a swipe with his claws or a powerful swing. He attempted to bite back, but David was ruthless. Quinn had to die—now.

  They’d been snarling and hissing and roaring so much that David hadn’t heard the other cats’ growls. Not until he bit Quinn in the back of the neck, killing him. Quinn dropped to the cement floor in a dead
jaguar heap.

  David quickly turned to protect Tammy. She was lying on the floor next to a stack of crates, not even twitching her tail. She looked dazed. Nearby, Joe was fighting a losing battle. Tammy had her own force of JAG agents in training taking care of Joe. The four boys—all in jaguar forms—ripped Joe to shreds.

  His body hurting like hell, David loped over to Tammy and licked her cheek where she was pressed up against a crate on the cold concrete, her eyes open, watching the boys. Her gaze turned to David, but she wasn’t getting up.

  Fearing she was mortally wounded, he shifted and ran his hand over her body, looking for injuries. “Tammy?”

  She closed her eyes.

  “Don’t close your eyes. Tell me what’s wrong.” As if she could when she was in jaguar form. “I’ll call for medical assistance.” David quickly got dressed and grabbed her cell phone off the floor. “Sylvan.” The line was still open. He rejoined Tammy, sat on the floor, and pulled her head into his lap.

  She was breathing all right. Her heartbeat sounded okay, but he wondered if she had a concussion.

  “David? What the hell happened? We’ve got men on the way,” Sylvan said.

  Yeah, a little too late for that, David wanted to say. “Tammy’s injured and needs medical attention. Appears to me she has a concussion.”

  “On it.”

  “Three eighteen-wheelers are here and the men waiting for word to enter the building. They need to be taken care of. We found the cat. A cleanup crew has to get here ASAP. Not sure how secure this place is. And we need the cat picked up. Someone should call Henry Thompson from the Oregon Zoo to let him know she’s safe.”

  Joe and Quinn were dead and had shifted into their human forms, unable to hold their jaguar forms in death. The boys were panting heavily as they stood nearby, bloodied, tails twitching slightly, watching David.

  “Joe Storm’s and Quinn Singleterry’s bodies have to be collected. I need to call my boss.”

  “You take care of Tammy until the medical crew gets there. Everyone’s already on the way. Martin alerted me that they’re on it. But I’ll clue him in on what’s happened since then.”

  “Tell him the JAG has four new recruits who have already completed their first bona fide mission. Which means they need to be on the payroll for this.”

  “You got it.”

  They ended the call and David noticed Nate had curled up at Tammy’s feet. David stroked Tammy’s head and smiled a little at Nate.

  “I need all of you to shift and dress and wait out of sight until help arrives. You can direct them in here when they get here,” David said, wanting Tammy to shift so he could dress her and talk with her before the medical personnel and anyone else arrived.

  With backward glances at Tammy, the boys did as they were told. He heard them just beyond the crates hurrying to get dressed, talking to each other about what they could have done differently with better results.

  “Nate, next time, duck when I swing. I thought for sure I’d killed you,” Alex said.

  “Hell, yeah,” Nate said. “Me, too.”

  The other boys snickered.

  “Don’t claw over a bad cat’s back when I’m trying to take a bite out of him, Hans,” Peter said. “I almost bit you.”

  “Yeah,” Hans said. “We really need to learn to coordinate our teamwork better if we’re going to do this right the next time.”

  If they didn’t sound like him and Wade at their age. They had done all right. With no formal training or anything. And against one badass cat like Joe Storm. They’d done a damn good job.

  “Tammy, can you shift?” David asked. “I’ll help you dress.”

  She shifted but laid her head back on the concrete floor, her cheek scratched and bleeding, a red knot on the side of her head. Angry, bloody claw marks trailed down her arm and across her waist. She was beginning to heal already, but she would need some tender, loving care for a few days, and he would be the one to provide it. He rushed to get her clothes and helped her to sit. She leaned over and held her stomach like she was going to be sick.

  “Nauseated?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you need to throw up?” He pulled her shirt over her head and was going to help her onto her knees if she was going to vomit.

  “I’ll…be okay,” she said, her voice way too breathy and her skin ice white.

  “Okay, I’m going to help you on with your jeans. Sorry, this is going to hurt.” After he zipped up her jeans, he glanced at her sneakers, bra, and panties and heard several vehicles pull up outside. He slipped her bra and panties into his pockets just as the troops arrived.

  Men took care of Quinn and Joe. David hated to think what Martin would have to tell Quinn’s parents, after having also lost their daughter. Joe didn’t have any family that anyone knew of.

  Tammy was seeing double and having a mother of a headache as they loaded her into a waiting ambulance. Before David could get in and ride with her to a special clinic reserved for their kind, Alex and Nate approached, the other two boys watching and hanging back a bit. “Can you call our parents and let them know we didn’t get into a fight because we were causing trouble?” Nate asked.

  David looked over all four boys who were wearing claw marks and bruises like he was. “Hell, yeah. I’ll let them know you’re officially JAG agents in training and had your first assignment. Hell of a job, boys.”

  The boys smiled.

  “You were following us, weren’t you?” David asked.

  “Yeah. We figured the two of you would notice. When Tammy Facebooked us, we were sitting down the street from her house, watching, waiting for the two of you to make your next move,” Hans said. “We were trying to be really super secretive about it, but we had to know if you’d found the cat.”

  “We saw you go into the warehouse and we waited, figuring we’d be your rear guard. Joe and Quinn arrived, and we didn’t have any choice. We had to enter the warehouse and shift to save Tammy,” Peter said. “Good thing we came inside because right after we did, those trucks pulled up.”

  Alex said, “I know we should feel bad that we had to take Joe Storm down, but…” He looked back at Tammy in the waiting ambulance.

  “He would have killed Tammy if you hadn’t killed him,” David said. “Sometimes we have to do things we would never consider doing otherwise in the name of defending others.”

  Tammy growled.

  The boys chuckled. “You mean, defending those we love,” Nate said.

  David cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, that’s what I said.”

  Alex said, “Maybe I should ride with her to the clinic instead.”

  “Nothing doing.” David got into the ambulance. He could handle one she-cat no matter how growly she got.

  A car squealed to a stop near the ambulance. Weaver and Krustan hurried out of the vehicle. “Hell,” Weaver said. “Is Tammy all right?”

  David opened his mouth to speak, but Tammy reached out and touched his arm. “Tell them we already solved the case.” He grinned at her and then back at the Enforcers who folded their arms.

  “We got hell from your JAG boss because we dropped by Tammy’s house and then got hell from our boss when Martin called Sylvan about it. We only stopped at her house to find out where she was going next to search for the missing cat,” Weaver said.

  Before the EMT closed the door, David told the boys, “We’re going to Morrow’s Theater last Friday night of the month, seven sharp. It’s part of your training. We’ll expect you there.”

  “A play?” Nate asked, sounding alarmed.

  “Yeah.”

  “Is it a murder mystery like Sweeney Todd?” Alex asked.

  David looked at Tammy, not sure what they were attending. She cast him a small smile. “Annie.”

  “A musical?” he said, his own voice sounding a bit alarm
ed. He nearly groaned but said to the boys, “Seven.”

  He wasn’t about to tell the boys what they were in for if they hadn’t heard. It would be part of the training to see if they could follow directions. “And dress nice,” he added, giving the boys a stern look.

  The EMT shut the door, and Tammy and he were off to the clinic.

  He kissed her forehead and said, “Hang in there, honey.”

  “I’m all right,” she said, her voice thready.

  “We’ll just have the doctor check you out and make sure. Anyone you want me to call?”

  “Thompson, about the jaguar.”

  “Sylvan’s taking care of it. What about your brothers?”

  “No,” she said, closing her eyes.

  He leaned over and kissed her uninjured cheek. “Your parents?”

  She shook her head slightly.

  “Your cousins?”

  She groaned a little at him.

  “Okay, no one. Until after you’re all checked out.” He sighed. “I know this isn’t the place or time to do this, but…we’re going to have to get married. You know that. Right, Tammy?”

  The EMTs chuckled.

  Chapter 31

  After three days of home rest, Tammy was feeling like her old self. David had moved in to watch over her and make sure she had no more ill effects from the concussion she had suffered. His boss had been nice enough to let him have sick leave, even though there weren’t any allowances for taking care of a girlfriend.

  David was setting up her TV after getting it back and was planning on fixing her dinner and watching a movie with her tonight.

  She was just about to curl up on the couch, loving how attentive David had been, when someone knocked on the door.

  “I’ll get it,” David said, hurrying to get the door. “It’s your…dad.”

  He had met her father at the hospital, but she worried what he would think when he saw David here with her. Though she was glad she was dressed in jeans and a shirt.

  “Come on in, sir,” David said.