Jinx's Mate
Authors: Marissa Dobson
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Sunshine Press
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Jinx’s Mate
Copyright ©2014, Marissa Dobson
Edited by Rosa Sophia
ISBN: 978-1-939978-39-4
This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and
are used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to
actual person—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
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Jinx’s Mate
Alaskan Tigers: Book Six
Marissa Dobson
To
my readers who pushed me to give Jinx his own story. For those of you who fell
in love with Jinx and wanted him to have his own happy ever after, here it is.
Enjoy
this newest adventure to Alaska.
Jinx
spent his time divided between his clan, the West Virginia Tigers, and helping
the Alaskan Tigers with their journey to unite all the clans. On a mission to
eliminate an abusive Alpha, he finds more than he expected.
Summer
has lived under the abusive Texas Tiger Alpha all her life. Thanks to her very
protective brother she doesn’t have the physical scars as others do, but the
emotional ones run deep. With a little girl depending on her, she must find a
way to put it behind her, and start a new life.
Now
on the verge of a whole new world, they must bond together for the sake of
themselves and their species.
He
felt the fear that radiated from Manetka Resort, could taste the blood of
tortured victims in the stale air. It was once a joyful gathering place for
shifters, now a prison for all those who served under the Alpha. And Jinx was
there to stop it.
He
strolled through the empty lobby to the reception desk, the clicking of his
cowboy boots echoing through the open space. The freshly polished wood
reflected the light from the chandeliers. Manetka Resort was one of the few
places that catered only to shifters. For years it had been a must visit destination.
That was until Avery began abusing his members. Now everywhere Jinx looked, it
was clear the resort had begun to suffer.
A
small seating area sat catty-corner to the reception desk, with large
comfortable looking chairs, and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the
massive swimming pool and hot tubs.
“Welcome
to Manetka Resort! How may I help you?” A girl in her early twenties stood
behind the counter, and he could smell the tigress, her apprehension drifting
toward him.
“Yes,
I’m checking in.” He came to stand in front of the counter and set his bag
down. “I have a reservation. Jinx.”
She
glanced at the leather bound book to confirm it, not bothered by the fact he
only had one name. It wasn’t uncommon for shifters to use just one name. It
gave them an identity that didn’t tie them to family members. Allowed them to
go forth without prejudices. Since shifters tended to have a very long lifeline
this made things easier for them to intermingle without centuries-old grudges
hanging over their heads.
“It
appears to be an open check-out date. Do you have an idea how long you’ll be
with us?”
“I
suspect just through the weekend, but I’d like to leave it open if that’s okay.
I have some business that I need to attend to while I’m in town, and timing
might be an issue for the other party.”
She
wrote something in the book and nodded. “That won’t be a problem. You’re
welcome to stay as long as you like. I’ll have your room key ready in a moment.”
“I’m
not in a hurry.” He glanced around the lobby again. “Slow time of year?” He
knew the reason for the place being empty, but wanted to hear the official line
Avery had come up with.
The
woman paused, and bit her lip before gathering herself. “Actually, we were
supposed to have a conference here but they had to cancel. It left most of the
resort empty, since we were closed to only their members for the week.”
He
nodded, amused by the interesting cover story. A conference? Did Avery really
think someone was going to swallow that? Shifters didn’t hold conferences. Clans
had their own things going, but they would never rent out a hotel to hold it
in, not when they had their own land to do it on.
“Lucky
me, seems like I’ll have the place to myself.”
“If
you prefer isolation, then it’s the perfect time for a visit.” She laid his
room key on the counter. “I’ve booked you on the eighth floor, you’ll have an
excellent view of the grounds. No other rooms are occupied on that floor, so
you’ll have all the privacy you need. Enjoy your stay.”
He
smiled at her and grabbed the key. “Thank you.” Manetka’s keys were old fashioned,
none of those electronic ones you slid into a card reader. It appeared Avery
didn’t trust technology. The resort had a website managed by a solitary
shifter, deeply hidden so humans couldn’t stumble upon it, but that was as far
as his technology reached. Even security cameras were absent.
He
grabbed his bag and headed to the elevator. Having the floor to himself would
allow him to come and go without being seen, giving him the opportunity to
check the passages Shadow had discovered on the blueprints that linked the
other buildings to the main one.
As
he made his way to his suite he kept his sunglasses on, taking in everything
without anyone being suspicious. Not that it mattered—the place was deserted. Other
than the woman behind the counter, no one else was around. Even with his enhanced
shifter hearing he couldn’t pick up on any movements behind the walls. Where
was everyone?
Stepping
off the elevator was like stepping into a ghost town. A thin layer of dust
covered the surfaces, all the curtains were drawn, light bulbs had gone out and
no one bothered to replace them. The resort was going to need some work to get
it back into the condition it had been only weeks before.
Once
Tex had escaped the tortures and vowed himself to the Alaskan Tigers, the news
spread of what was happening under Avery’s control. People cancelled their
reservations to the resort, choosing to stay home or go to another resort that
catered to their kind, and things fell into disrepair quickly.
He
slid the key into the lock, and opened the door. Inside was much the same as
the rest of the floor. The only difference was someone had tried to clean up
before he checked in. The bedding and towels had been changed, a quick sweep of
the duster, but nothing could replace the staleness in the air. The room had
been closed for too long.
His
cell phone vibrated with a text message. Instead of answering it, he took a
wand the clan had developed to check for any listening devices and scanned the
room.
He
knew it was Ty who wanted an update. With the mission hanging on what he found
inside the resort, he couldn’t take any chances. Ty didn’t like that Jinx was
risking himself to do a little recon before they took down Avery. Jinx was the
Alpha to the West Virginia clan, and he had people willing to do this for him. It
had never been his way. He had Elder guards, all Alphas did, but he rarely used
them. He didn’t like to ask someone to do something he wasn’t willing to do
himself.
The
scan came up clean and he pulled his cell phone from his belt and dialed Ty’s
number. Even with another Alpha, Ty couldn’t stop himself from trying to
protect everyone. Thankful for that, Jinx didn’t mind. He knew Ty was just
trying to protect him. With the future as it was for the Alaskan Tigers,
Tabitha soon to claim her place as queen, Ty needed the support of the West
Virginia Tigers.
“It’s
about time. You were supposed to check in ten minutes ago,” Ty bitched.
“Traffic
and the receptionist had me delayed.” He tugged open the curtains, bringing
light into the dark room. “As we expected, the place has fallen. I don’t
believe there’s a guest in the entire resort. They put me on the eighth floor,
a corner room near the stairs. Seems slightly odd it wouldn’t be closer to the
elevator since she mentioned there was no one else here.”
“I
don’t like this. Avery might know who you are, and suspect why you’re there.”
“I
won’t be here long enough, and I didn’t make it to Alpha without knowing how to
protect myself.” Jinx slid his hand into his pocket, playing with a silver talisman
that had been in his clan for centuries, handed down from Alpha to Alpha. “He’s
fearful of technology. No security cameras, even the registration isn’t done on
a computer.”
“Tex
suspected it, but he was rarely allowed to leave Avery’s compound. It was just
by luck he was the only one available to go to the landing strip to guard the
helicopter until Adam and Robin got there, or we’d still be in the dark about
what’s happening there.”
Jinx
set his bag on the edge of the bed and pulled his weapons out. Walking into the
resort in full battle gear would have raised alarms, but there was no way he’d
leave them behind. “With the place dead, I’m going to scope it out. See if I
can find out anything else. In the meantime, call Avery and put the second part
of our plan into action. If we can get him away from here to confront him it
would be best. There are too many floors, rooms, and passages to take him down
without people getting hurt.”
“I’ll
let him know I’m coming to the area to return Tex. I’ll see if he’s willing to
meet me at the same landing strip. If not, we’ll have to do it there, so we
need you to find an access route to him.”
“I
have the blueprints, and I’m going to check out the places Shadow marked.” Jinx
slid a second gun into his shoulder holster before strapping a knife to a wrist
sheath.
“Don’t
get yourself killed,” Ty ordered.
“I
won’t. I’ll call you when I get back.” He slid his light jacket back into
place, hiding his weapons.
“You
have one hour or I’m sending a team in after you.”
“Make
it two. I don’t know what I’ll find.”
“That’s
the reason. You could end up lying somewhere bleeding out and we wouldn’t know
it. One hour. If you run into danger get the hell out of there.”
“I’m
not here to try to get myself killed.” Jinx smirked.
“No,
you’re there because you’re an idiot. We don’t need you risking yourself when
we could storm the place and end it.”
“We’re
wasting time,” he reminded Ty.
“Be
safe.” Ty hung up before Jinx could say he would.
* * *
Finding
the basement and access to the tunnels had been no problem at all. The issue
came when Jinx realized there were more than just those on the blueprint. Additional
passages had been dug out, some of them leading nowhere, others leading to new
sections altogether. With each turn he made, the danger level rose. There were
too many places someone could attack from. The tunnels were a maze meant to
confuse anyone who found themselves where they didn’t belong.
He
couldn’t leave a trail of breadcrumbs, or a rope leading back to where he came
from. Instead he counted his steps, marking it down in a small notebook he
shoved into his back pocket on his way out the door. It wasn’t the best way of
keeping track of where he had come from, but there were few options. If he had
to run back the way he came, he’d be out of luck.
He
could either continue on or turn back. Rather than admit he’d failed, he
continued forward. Following the most likely route Shadow mapped, he carefully
kept track of how he’d come, the steps and direction of his movements.
His
cell phone vibrated and mentally he cursed Ty. This was not the time. According
to Shadow’s notes there were only another seventy-five feet separating him from
what should be the entrance to Avery’s compound. He thought about ignoring it
but when it vibrated again he snatched off his belt and read the text message.
Get
out! Get to your SUV now! Call when you get there.