Moves Like Jagger (Wolf Mates Book 4) (12 page)

Tiffany grabbed her hand and held it for a moment. “You’re an angel, Viv. Thank you.”

As they made their way across the street, Hector, his aviator hat decorated with a green and red pom-pom, was just coming out of the pet store. He waved and called to her, “Hey, Viv!”

She waved back before ducking into Tiffany’s car. Digging her phone from her back pocket, she texted Jagger, her pulse doing that silly skip as she did.

* * * *

Max clapped Jagger on the back. “I think we have a solid plan for the moment. It’s been eerily quiet, which makes me nervous as hell. Would this shifter just go on about his business and move to another part of the state?”

“I wish I had more to give you, Max. I’ve never, not in all my thirty-some years, encountered another bear shifter like this. It’s damned vicious. No doubt in my mind, if I hadn’t gotten there when I did, Viv would be dead.”

The thought made him pale again, his stomach tighten, his fists clench.

Max pushed his chair back from his kitchen table and rose along with Jagger. “Any luck getting ahold of your parents? We sure could use some wisdom here.”

“I can’t tell you how many lost calls I’ve suffered through. I don’t know where the hell they are, but it must be pretty damn remote. The second I can have a full conversation with them, I’ll ask them to help out.”

Max nodded. “Good enough. Appreciate the time you’ve taken to set up this patrol of the woods. We need every man we can get.”

“I damn well couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to prevent another attack. This bastard’s giving my kind a bad name.”

“You know, that’s something I meant to ask you. Could you tell whether it was male or female?”

“It happened so fast, I didn’t get to parse all the scents. The only thing I know for sure is, it’s Kamchatka.”

Max took their coffee cups to the sink and sighed. “Okay then, at least we know what we’re dealing with. Just wish it wasn’t right now during the holidays. It’s put a damper on the town festivities.”

His phone buzzed against his chest and he pulled it out to see the text was from Viv. He grinned. Stupidly.

“I take it that’s Viv?” Max asked with a nudge and a chuckle.

“It’s written all over my damn face, isn’t it?”

“Oh, hers too, buddy. The writing’s on the wall. So just give up and give in now. And in all seriousness, I’m happy for you. Viv’s good people. If it wasn’t for her shifting to prove to JC the paranormal were real, I’d be deader than a doornail as we speak. After all the shit you were dragged through in New York, it’s good to see you happy.”

Jagger frowned for a moment at Max’s mention of New York, but he shook it off. That was long over. The only thing left to do was tell Viv about it. Something he planned to do tonight.

He read her text with the smiley emoji again then looked to Max. “Do you know anyone with a dog named Perseus and an owner named Ruby?”

He’d become pretty familiar with most of the people here in Cedar Glen when Max sponsored a meet-and-greet several months back in an effort to get him to relocate. Max had said it was mandatory anyone with a farm or pets attend. He didn’t remember a Perseus or a Ruby.

Max’s brow furrowed. “Um, nope. Why’s that?”

“It’s probably nothing. Viv’s got some kind of emergency she’s helping her new friend Tiffany with. Asked if I’d come take a look.”

“
Tiffany
?”

The alarm in Max’s voice made Jagger pause from gathering his things. “You know her?”

“No. That’s the problem. I’ve never heard of her, and I make it a point to vet anyone new in town. We have to be careful about who comes and goes.”

“Could she be a relative of someone? Maybe visiting for the holidays from out of town?”

“She absolutely could be—but there’s no Ruby to visit, Jagger.”

His stomach did a complete somersault as his fingers fumbled over the keyboard on his phone and he tried not to panic.
What’s Tiffany’s aunt’s address?

He waited, seconds ticked by like agonizing hours…

Nothing.

“I’ve got a bad feeling here, Max.”

Max gripped his shoulder, his face grim. “Me, too. I’ve got Derrick, Hector, and Jerry ready to go. Hector says he saw her in town just a little while ago, getting into a white Mercedes with some fancy lady. Mean anything to you?”

Fancy lady? “Not that I can think of.”

“Can you track her scent?”

“Yes,” he said from clenched teeth, his jaw tight.

“Then let’s roll.”

Jagger followed Max out of his cabin and into the snow, racing to his van as Hector, Jerry, and Derrick met them and they all piled inside.

“Let’s go,” he said, forcing himself not to bellow the words in his barely contained rage.

Shit, shit, shit.

* * * *

Viv looked to Tiffany, her serene profile focused on the road. “Just texted Jagger. I need an address to send him.”

She pulled onto an unpaved road and drove past a rundown farmhouse, the shingles falling from the exterior, the porch steps warped, the wood they were made from splintered.

Wow. Aunt Ruby needed a contractor. But Tiffany drove right past what Viv assumed was Aunt Ruby’s house and pulled up to an old, equally rundown mobile home instead.

Reaching out, she touched Tiffany’s arm. “Did you hear me, Tiffany? I need an address. I didn’t catch it on the way in.”

Tiffany jumped, startled. “Sorry. Lost in thought,” she said as she pulled the car behind the tattered mobile home, turning the wipers off.

Fat flakes had begun to come down with force and were now piling up as yet another bout of snowfall assaulted Cedar Glen.

Aside from the in-need-of-much-repair home, it was beautiful out here. Surrounded by thick pines and outlying hills, it was gorgeous in the snow, untouched by footprints and machinery.

This was a place she could live—happily, with plenty of space for as many strays as she could manage to care for. A dream of hers since she was in her twenties, put on complete hold since she’d been swindled.

“Understandable. You’re worried about your aunt. What’s the address here?”

But Tiffany didn’t answer. Instead, she pushed the door open and got out—slick, six-inch red heels and all.

“Hey, lady! Are you nuts? Your feet are going to fall right off your body from hypothermia in those shoes if you try to make the door from here. It’s miles away.”

Wait. Why had Tiffany parked so far behind the mobile home?

But her beautiful new friend wasn’t hearing her. She was trudging around the car to Viv’s side. She yanked open the door and ordered, “Get out.”

Viv twitched her nose at Tiffany’s harsh order. Something was off. She might not know how to identify a scent and pair it with an emotion, but she was getting better, and this smelled off with a capital
no bueno
.

Sure.
Now
her nose was working?

“Tiffany? What’s wrong?”

“I said get the hell
out
!”

Viv’s eyes went wide. What the fresh hell? “Okay, what’s with the Jekyll/Hyde thing? Why are you so upset?”

Tiffany didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she yanked Viv out of the car with such force, she hit her head on the door before she fell face first in the snow.

Sputtering and coughing, Viv wiped at her eyes. “Okay, Princess, I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but you put one more hand on me and I’m gonna kick your ass!”

Tiffany leaned down low, jamming her face into Viv’s. “
Get the fuck up
!” she roared, making the hair on the back of Viv’s neck stand on end. Then she yanked the phone from Viv’s hand, hurling it across the wide expanse of white.

Rather than rattle her any further, Viv rose with a wobble, blood dripping down her forehead and onto her jacket in crimson splotches.

With a fist, Tiffany punched her between the shoulder blades. “Walk!” she shouted.

The blow set off a coughing fit Viv found hard to contain, but she walked. “Where are we going?”

“Shut up and walk, you disgusting whore!”

Whoa.
Whore
?

There was a whole piece of some story she was obviously missing. As they pressed forward, Viv considered her odds for escaping crazypants Tiffany.

Sure, she could run, but in this snow, as deep as it was, it was going to be slow going.

But if she could shift, she maybe stood a chance of climbing a tree. She’d mastered Trees 101.

Yet, the impulse to shed her human form, as usual, eluded her when it was most useful. Taking deep breaths as Tiffany shoved and pushed her toward the edge of the woods, her last choice was upon her.

Kick a bitch’s ass.

She was no weakling. She’d taken self-defense classes and a boxing class or two, though the rules to take out your opponent now escaped her much the way her shifting had.

But she had to take the chance.

As they trudged deeper into the woods, she began to panic. She’d never find her way out of here if she didn’t do something.
Now
.

Whirling around, she confronted Tiffany, who didn’t seem to mind the bitterly cold, rapidly dropping temperatures one bit.

“Who are you and what the hell do you want?”

“You know who I am, you slut!” Tiffany raged the words, spittle flying from her beautiful mouth.

Viv was stunned—speechless. There was clear hatred in her eyes and it was all directed at her.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Vivienne Hathaway of the rich and powerful Hathaways! Surely Jagger must have told you about me?”

Aw, hell. Right up until three-point-two seconds ago, he’d been the perfect guy. But that wasn’t possible. No one was perfect. Especially if they knew certifiable women like this one.

Viv moved in closer to Tiffany, noting her eyes were dilated, her nostrils flaring, her breathing irregular. “I have no idea who you are! Jagger and I
just
began dating.”

Apparently, that wasn’t what this surreal creature wanted to hear. She raised her arm high and brought her hand to Viv’s face with a crack that sent her head flying backward.

“Don’t say things like that! He loves me!
Me!
He’ll always love me!” she howled.

The question was, did
Jagger
know he loved her?

Squaring her shoulders, Viv shook off the stinging slap and moved in even closer. “I don’t know who you are, you crazy bitch! So tell me what the hell you want?”

Her eyes went narrow, like two slits in her head when she grabbed Viv’s face and squeezed. “I want you to
die
! I want you to suffer for trying to steal my husband!”

Perfect guy theory: epic failure complete.

Chapter 11

J
agger scrambled out of the van, his nose on fire with Viv’s scent, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. Yet, it smelled like she was right next to him.

Max and the rest of the men got out of the van and huddled, surrounding him. “Jagger! Listen to me,” Max ordered, clapping his jaw with a cupped hand. “Don’t lose focus. Set aside your emotions and use your tracking skills.”

Hector gripped Jagger’s shoulder. “We’ll find her. Promise, man. Just stay calm.”

“What the hell is this?” Derrick asked, pulling his hat down over his ears as he looked around.

Jagger’s eyes scanned the surrounding area, pinpointing a dilapidated mobile home in front of the trails leading into the woods behind it. And tire tracks in the falling snow, skirting along the makeshift path working its way around the structure.

“The mobile home? Belonged to some of the guys who helped clean up a bunch of fallen trees when we had that big storm back in 98. They brought it out here for a place to keep warm while they worked,” Jerry reminded.

A brief moment had Jagger wondering why Jerry was with them. He was a great guy, but his penchant for getting stuck in shift and his anxieties didn’t exactly make him a prime warrior.

“Jerry, why don’t you wait here?” Jagger asked, finding it hard to keep his concern out of his voice.

Jerry shook his head, his eyes filled with determination. “Because I like Viv and I don’t want to see her get hurt. I’m really strong, even if I can’t shift all the way.”

Max nudged Jerry’s shoulder. “He’s right, Jagger. He
is
strong, and he’s damn quick. If we need someone to drag in more reinforcements, Jerry can call it. Hector has his back if things get out of control.”

Hector’s goggles bounced atop his head as he cracked his knuckles. “I got all your backs. Plus, if this is the jackhole who hurt that poor family of rabbits Max told me about, I want in on getting it the heck out of Cedar Glen.”

Still trying to understand Viv’s location, to understand who was doing this and why, Jagger looked around again and asked, “Why would whomever has Viv bring her here?”

He knew she was here. He smelled her. Her scent, tinged with fear was everywhere.

Max pointed toward the woods where footprints were visible beneath the new-falling snow. “Maybe because it’s wide open space from here on out. Not another house until you reach Pennsylvania. Forget the reasons. Can you smell her, Jagger? I can smell Viv’s perfume. Those tire tracks have to belong to the car Hector mentioned. C’mon—let’s do this!”

“Wait!” Jagger shouted. He was a mixed bag of volatile emotions, but he knew enough to warn them about the strength of a bear shifter. “You have to be careful. I’m betting this is the shifter we encountered in the woods the other night. Even in human form, he has the ability to crush her. He’ll go for her throat—it’s instinctual. If you come across them, let me handle it. I’m not going to end up with one of you killed because of this lunatic.”

“Got it,” Hector said above the howling wind, pulling his goggles down over his eyes. “Now let’s roll!”

Everyone began to run toward the trail leading into the woods, even Scar, who’d been unnerved since they’d all piled into the van. Jagger followed, hot on their heels, his stomach in a batch of knots.

Viv, where are you?

* * * *

“Your husband?” Viv gasped, the shock of those words penetrating her brain like sharp knives.