Sedona Seduction (Sedona Pack Book 2) Page 5

  Why was Newport’s campaign manager walking around with medication in a briefcase? I pulled out my cell and snapped a picture. Maybe Cole could figure out what it was. I closed the case, and then the trunk.

  Time to get out of here.

  I slalomed back into the stream of tourists, losing myself among them. By the time I got back to my car, Cole had texted me back about the photo.

  I’ve never heard of that drug, but the logo is Evolution Defense. It can’t be good.

  Something snapped behind me. I spun around, already reaching for my gun.

  Duane smirked. “Shooting me dead in the street will expose shifters faster than Brad Newport ever will.”

  I wanted to wipe the smug grin off his face, but the pompous ass was right. I lowered my hand to my side. “He’s going to get all of us killed.” I shook my head. “Why help him? You’re smarter than this.”

  “Eventually, we’re going to be discovered anyway. Look around.” He narrowed his eyes at the humans passing us by without a second look. “Everyone has video recorders on their phones. One day, one of them will be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they’ll catch someone shifting. It’s coming whether you want to face it or not.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I’m staying ahead of the inevitable. I’ve negotiated a deal to be certain werewolves are the ones exposed. While the world hunts the wolves, my business will be safe.”

  “You think it’ll be that simple?” I crossed my arms to keep from beating the shit out of him. “Seems like you’ve forgotten the government has known about shifters for decades. They’ve used us for experiments and secret missions, and if that ever gets out, they’ll be in the pit with us.” I dropped my hands to my sides. “They’re not going to allow you to expose all their research. What if other countries start hunting for their shifters, too?”

  Duane lowered his coffee cup, his dark eyes cold, a window to the void where his soul should have been. “Nothing about this has been simple since you destroyed the one man who kept us protected and paid well.”

  “Antonio Severino didn’t give a shit about us, and you know it. He hired us out as if we were deadly rental equipment rather than human beings.”

  “Spare me, Vance.” Duane tightened his grip on the cup. “You can keep trying to hide from the world, or you can help us control the discovery that’s coming one way or another.”

  “How can you be so sure? Sebastian has been in contact with Senator Hanson on the Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. The super soldier shifter research is still top secret.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.” Duane narrowed his eyes. “Someone hacked into Nero’s video files a few years ago. I don’t know his identity yet, but he told others who connected him with Brad Newport and the Timberwolves squad.”

  A hacker. Shane and his mate flashed through my mind. Shane was our newest pack member, and his mate Piper’s father had been contracted for some work on a government network server. He ended up stumbling onto some video files of werewolves shifting. The obsession and fear ate him up until he lost everything, including his daughter’s love.

  “I think I know who hacked into the videos, but I took him out and destroyed the files last year. Newport doesn’t have any hard evidence, and there’s no chance he’ll get any after we blew up the Nero headquarters.” I shook my head. “You don’t have to work for these assholes.”

  “You’re unbelievable.” Duane puffed out a holier-than-thou chuckle. “Even after all these years, you still think the world is a simple place.”

  I clenched my fists, ready to respond.

  He sobered. “You may have stopped one of them, but the hacker already spread the fear to others. They call themselves the Transparency Collective, and they’ve got connections in high places and plenty of money. Eventually they’re going to get the proof about shifters that they’re looking for.”

  “And they have no fucking clue they’re paying one?”

  Duane smirked. “I intend to keep it that way. Now give me my briefcase and I’ll forget I ever saw you today.”

  “Why was Rex after Kaya last night?”

  Surprise flashed through his eyes before he could mask it. He didn’t know Rex was dead. Duane cleared his throat. “She works alone at night. Easy target.”

  Except that the sour stench of his sweat stung my nostrils. Fear had a ripe pungent odor, like rotten fruit, and right now, Duane reeked.

  “You’re lying.” I cracked my knuckles and rolled my shoulders back as the rush of adrenaline raced through my bloodstream.

  “Go ahead. Hit me. The police will be here so fast your head will spin, and tonight’s the new moon. How are you going to explain to the sheriff that his suspect is a black jaguar?”

  “Oh I wasn’t going to hit you, mate.” I sucked in another sour whiff of his fear. “Unlike you, I don’t need a gun to end you.” I glanced at my car behind him, then back to his eyes. “I can snap your neck before anyone realizes what happened.” I took a step in his direction. “Tell me why Rex was hunting Kaya. The truth this time.”

  He shoved me, desperate for more distance. I gave him a quarter inch.

  “I was digging into the backup server in the Flagstaff facility and found the notes from your Sedona mission.”

  My blood ran cold, sending a chill down my spine. I thought my secret had been buried in the rubble of the Nero Organization headquarters.

  “Now she’s been bitten, too.” Duane spoke faster, an eager glow in his eyes. “A hybrid shifter could keep our lights on for years. I’ve got twenty jaguar shifters counting on me. The needs of the many… Well, you understand.”

  “Fuck you.” I slammed him into the side of my car, enjoying the terror in his wide eyes. My voice was a feral hiss of aggression that I barely recognized. “You’re going to out all of us. We’ll be hunted like animals.”

  “No.” He gripped my wrists, struggling to break free of my grasp. “Working with them is getting me closer to finding their leader than you’ve ever been. They trust me.”

  The jungle cat growled deep in my soul, tail twitching, ready to hunt. With the new moon only hours away, the animal’s instincts were close to the surface. Too close. If I got arrested I would end up being the one who exposed us.

  I jerked my hands away from his shirt. “Stay away from her, Duane. You touch anyone in this pack and I’ll hunt you down personally.”

  He straightened his shirt, glaring at me. “Don’t flatter yourself. We all know you’re good at your job, but even you couldn’t get through twenty Nero assassins to get me.”

  “Willing to bet your life on that?” My lips pulled back in a tight, deadly smirk. “I got to Antonio Severino at Nero Headquarters; I won’t break a sweat catching a weasel like you.”

  I got into my car and drove away, watching Duane Clarkson shrink in my rearview mirror. My hands were slick on the steering wheel.

  Duane had seen my research file. He knew about Kaya being a skin walker.

  And it was my fault.

  By the time I pulled up to the ranch, there were already a few cars parked in front of the house, including a shiny black sports car.

  Chandler.

  Fuck. I’d forgotten Asher had invited him to shift at the ranch for the new moon.

  Since we’d welcomed the news anchor into the pack, it made sense that he should shift far from humans, but I wasn’t ready to share my one night a month with Kaya. Our feline runs during the moonless nights made it easy to pretend we were the only ones in this crazy world. I could forget she’d been bitten and changed into a werewolf. Our cats fought, hissed, and hunted together. And we ran. It was the ultimate freedom, and until Kaya, I’d never shared it with another soul. Ever.

  I mussed my hair and glanced over at my panting passenger. “Next time I’m coming back as a dog.” Abigail grinned and licked my cheek. I chuckled in spite of myself and scratched behind her ear. “Let’s do this.”

  After grabbing the briefcase out of my trunk, we hik
ed up to the house. Asher greeted us at the door with his son, Bart, right behind him.

  The little ankle biter dropped to his knees to hug my companion. “Abby! I’m so glad you came to the barbeque.”

  She sat down, licking his ear until he giggled.

  Asher smiled. “Good to see you, Vance.” We clasped forearms in the traditional pack greeting before he pulled me in for a tight hug. “I got your message.” He took the case. “Cole’s going to take a look at this, and we’ll talk after you shift.”

  I nodded and scanned the room behind my Alpha. “Will do.”

  After my altercation with Duane, I’d left Asher a voice mail alerting him that I had new information about the work the other jaguars were doing and Sebastian’s hunch about the four emperors.

  I’d been going out of my mind, pacing my apartment while I wrestled with the realization that my secret wasn’t going to stay that way much longer. And worse yet, if I couldn’t contain it soon, Kaya might never be safe. Too many people knew, and the most important people didn’t.

  As much as it would hurt to admit my betrayal, Kaya deserved to hear it from me.

  I bent down to Bart and Abby. “Will you watch my girl for me while I’m out tonight?”

  “Yes.” Bart gave me a solemn nod. “I love Abby.”

  I chucked his chin. “You’re a good man, Bart.”

  He grinned. “Thanks, Uncle Vance.”

  I straightened and caught Kaya’s scent. Unless they covered themselves in cologne, everyone had a unique scent, like a fingerprint. And I was addicted to Kaya’s. She smelled like a desert flower after the rain, clean and strong enough to bloom in a harsh environment.

  When I stepped through the back door onto the porch, my hackles rose. She was laughing with Chandler. The anchorman had a classic look, like a young Paul Newman—bright-blue eyes, tall, and well-spoken. Jealousy coiled inside of me like a cobra ready to strike.

  Kaya’s smiles were mine.

  It wasn’t rational, I knew, but with the change so close, it was tougher to rein in the animal aggression lurking just below the surface. I walked over, sizing up my competition. My fuse was so short that if the bastard touched her, I might clock him.

  “Hey, Vance.” Chandler smiled. “Kaya was just telling me about the intruder last night.”

  I glanced at both of them. “I don’t remember it being funny.”

  “It wasn’t.” Kaya sobered. “But then Chandler told me about an intruder story they covered on the news the other night. The prowler broke into a black belt’s apartment. She gave him a bloody nose and he took off, leaving his cell phone behind.”

  Chandler nodded. “The police arrested him in less than an hour when he returned to her apartment and knocked on the door looking for his phone.”

  “Not all criminals are intelligent,” I added, sliding into a well-practiced smile to cover the animal lurking beneath.

  Chandler cleared his throat. “Thanks for letting me shift with you two tonight. I’ve been spending my new moons alone since I moved from Reno. It’ll be nice to know the cat will be far from human eyes.”

  “Not my call, mate.” I shrugged.

  Kaya’s gaze bored into mine, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Right.” Chandler bobbed his head and scanned the room. “I guess I should be thanking Asher.”

  When he wandered off in search of our Alpha, Kaya narrowed her eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I glanced over at the twins playing with Abigail. “Why?”

  “Really?” She raised a brow. “What was that just now?”

  “Nothing.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine, I forgot he was shifting with us.” Not a lie.

  She came in closer, lowering her voice. “I’m a werewolf, remember? I could smell the rage coming off you. Chandler is a member of our pack. Do you have a problem with him?”

  Only when he makes you smile.

  “No.” I stared up at the tapestry of stars overhead. “I look forward to this night every month.” I met her eyes. “I guess I wasn’t ready to share it with anyone else.”

  Her expression softened. “I felt the same way.”

  “Really?” I pointed toward the house. “Because it looked like you were enjoying his company when I showed up.”

  A crease formed between her eyebrows. “Since when do you care who I hang out with?” She poked my chest with her finger. “I don’t know what this thing is between us, but you’ve made it painfully obvious you don’t have any interest in a relationship with me. You don’t get to be jealous or decide who I spend my time with.”

  She searched my eyes, and I struggled to keep from blurting out my secret. I’d tell her, but a few minutes before we shifted wasn’t the right time. Tomorrow. I’d tell her first thing tomorrow. Then I could share it with Asher. Hell, he might kick me out of the pack for all I knew.

  Kaya lowered her hand from my shirt and took a step back with a half-hearted smile. “Besides, I have one true mate out there somewhere waiting for me, and Naomi swears fate never makes a mistake.”

  I ground my teeth before I said something I couldn’t take back. It was clear now that if she ever did find her mate, my days in this pack would be numbered. There was no way I could sit back and watch her love another man.

  And she’d never love me once I told her the truth about my first trip to Sedona.

  “Let’s just get through tonight, okay?” Her voice softened. “We can talk in the morning.” Her gaze locked on mine, and her spicy scent teased my nostrils, tempting me to get closer. “You’re one of my closest friends. I don’t want to screw that up.”

  Friends. That word. Tonight, it stung.

  And as I lost myself in her dark eyes, the wall I kept up between us, the secret that held me back from acting on my feelings toward her, faltered. All this time, I’d convinced myself I was protecting her, but the pain reflected in her eyes made it clear that the distance I’d put between us was hurting her.

  Dazed, I shook my head and caught her hip, bringing her closer to me. “We do need to talk in the morning.” My gaze fell to her full lips and back to her eyes. “But I need to make one thing clear. I have met people from every corner of the world, but none of them have ever captivated me like you do.”

  She rolled her eyes, and that dimple in her cheek made me ache to kiss her. “You don’t have to try to make me feel better. I’m fine with how things are between us.”

  “I’m not.” I shook my head closing the distance between us. “I never have been.”

  I searched her eyes, giving her ample time to run. Inside, I grappled with my conscience. I didn’t deserve her and she didn’t know my secret, but fuck, I was losing my grip on self-restraint.

  She tipped her chin up toward me, and I claimed her lips. Her breath caught as I wrapped her in my arms. I couldn’t get enough of her. Her lips parted, and I explored her sweet mouth with my tongue. Her teeth caught my lower lip, and the jaguar in my soul roared, clawing toward the surface.

  No, I didn’t want to fucking shift. Not now.

  Now that I’d tasted her lips, I never wanted to let her go.

  CHAPTER 6

  Kaya

  The second he kissed me, a howl echoed from the depths of my soul, deafening in my ears. My vision blurred as my pupils dilated, and my knees wobbled. I wasn’t sure I could stand, but his strong arms supported me.

  Home. Made for me.

  I clung to him, my fingers exploring the chiseled curves of his back through his shirt. Mine. In the haze of animal instincts, I forgot where we were or that it was new moon, nothing mattered but us. I was lost in the passion. Our tongues swirled together, and the urge to strip him right here on the back porch burned through me. I needed to claim him, our mate.

  Our what?

  I broke the kiss, breathless as he rested his forehead on mine.

  Holy shit. Vance? My mate?

  I stared into his hazel eyes while millions of questions raced through my mind. My br
ain hadn’t caught up with my body yet.

  He had actually kissed me.

  And I had no idea why. What had changed?

  Did it matter? Fate chose him as my one true mate.

  But he didn’t know that. Jaguars didn’t have the same instincts as werewolves. Vance could still walk away.

  Finally, I formed one coherent word. “Wow.”

  Okay, so maybe my vocabulary hadn’t recovered yet.

  “Yeah.” He ran the back of a finger down my cheek, and heat pooled low in my belly. Time suspended between us until he whispered, “I’ll never deserve you.”

  I pressed my lips together, debating if I should tell him my wolf had recognized him. Doubt welled up, tightening my chest. The dream flashed through my head again. He wouldn’t be the first man to die because he cared about me.

  Grief pierced my heart. I’d thought I was finished blaming myself for Chet’s death. The night I was bitten, my boyfriend had been with me. He tried to fight off the wolf. He never stood a chance.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, my decision made. Vance didn’t need the added pressure right now. Maybe we could date like normal people, and in a few months, once we found out if we were even compatible, I could drop the mate bomb.

  “We should get out of here before you shift on the porch.”

  He blinked and stepped back. “Yeah, you’re right.” He glanced over his shoulder. “And maybe we can ditch the newsman?”

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “He’s part of our pack. He’s family. We’re not ditching him.”

  “Fine.” Vance cocked his brow and leaned in close to my ear. “But we need to talk afterward. Alone.”

  The spark in his eyes made me ache to get him naked. More than once I’d imagined his voice, that thick Australian accent, whispering in my ear.

  Damn, it was even better in person.

  He straightened up, rolling his shoulders back. “You ready to change, Chandler?”

  The man nodded. “Yeah. My skin’s starting to itch.”

  Asher stepped out from behind Chandler, his gaze on me. “Keep them out in valley.”