Treasured Find (Royal Pride Book 1) (12 page)

A tall guy she hadn’t noticed pushed away from the wall across the room. A pair of sunglasses were hooked into the neck of his polo shirt, and his chin-length brown hair had blond streaks and wisps of gray. Darkly tanned skin with fine wrinkles and a lean body suggested he was an active, outdoorsy person. Khaki shorts and leather sandals completed his outfit. The overall image was that of a well-off, middle-aged man.

His face was model worthy—a perfectly slanted nose, full mouth and strong cheekbones—but his eyes chilled her. Dark brown, they should’ve looked welcoming but didn’t. They appeared cold. Empty. Then he blinked and warmth filled his eyes, brightening them. A smile spread over his face, and the stark expression disappeared.

It was the guy from the night before, the one who’d saved her from falling. She’d recognize those eyes anywhere. She also remembered the way he’d made her skin crawl. No, she didn’t care how inviting his grin appeared. He terrified her on a basic level. The urge to run and hide was strong. She swallowed hard and pressed her back into the wall, but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped between a potted plant and a grandfather clock.

He walked toward her with his gaze locked to hers. A hungry mask slid over his features, but it didn’t hold sexual interest, at least not a healthy kind. Demented. Sick. The words bounced in her head. She had to get out of here. The fear choked her. Real or not, she wanted to run and run and never stop, not until she was safe.

She stepped forward, but he was suddenly there, invading her personal space. He leaned over her, palms to the wall over her head, caging her in. His cologne drifted to her, something rich and musky that reminded her of fine cigars and whiskey. She choked on it.

“Hey, beautiful. Did your lover run out on you?”

Her stomach clenched. “No. He’s picking me up.”

The stranger raised a brow and glanced at the elevator. He smirked. “So you spent the night alone? No one to warm your bed?”

She pushed against his chest. Her shove didn’t move him. “Back off. I’m not interested in talking to you.”

He grabbed her wrists, dragged her hands down his stomach and pressed them to the bulge in his pants. With his mouth at her ear, he whispered, “Talking isn’t what I want to do, little female.”

She gritted her teeth. She would not freak out. They were in public. Everything was fine. He couldn’t do anything to her with people only a few feet away. The rationalization gave her courage. “Move or I’ll scream.”

“Is that a promise?”

He directed her hands, forcing her to stroke his cock.

Oh no. This isn’t happening. It can’t be.

She opened her mouth to yell for help, but he swallowed her cry. He kissed her while he used her hands to stimulate him. She bucked and squirmed, but her cries were muffled.

And nobody came over.

She dug her nails into his groin, squeezing his trapped shaft as hard as she could. He only groaned and shoved his hips closer. Tears ran down her cheeks. Tremors shook her body. She didn’t know how to stop him. He was too strong.

“Get your fucking hands off her.”

The man kissing her pulled back at Josh’s bellowed order. “We’ll finish that later, sweet thing. I’m patient. I’ll wait my turn to get between your thighs.”

Josh grabbed the guy’s shoulders and shoved him. The push knocked the guy over a chair. It tipped, landing on top him. People gasped, some woman screamed, but the man who’d forced himself on Jazz grinned.

“Come near her again, and you’ll regret it.” Josh pressed a booted foot to the guy’s chest, then leaned forward on the bent leg. The man on the floor gasped. Josh smiled and pushed a little harder until the guy groaned. “It’ll be your last damn mistake. Do you understand me?”

The guy chuckled and gazed at Josh with the same heated lust he’d shown her. “Oh yeah. I understand. Consider your warning delivered.”

Josh gave him one last hard glare, then grabbed her hand. She tumbled against him. He tucked her close and walked across the room, never taking his eyes off the sprawled man until the revolving door blocked him from view.

A light mist fell, and the humidity in the air made it hard to breathe. Add in the terror still making her limbs shaky, and she was close to a full-fledged anxiety attack. Josh squeezed her arm. The gentle reminder she wasn’t alone calmed her. She stepped closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

His SUV was a welcome sight. It meant they’d be safe soon. He popped the locks and waited until she was inside before jogging around the car and getting in.

He turned in his seat, one leg bent. “What happened?”

She hadn’t mentioned anything in the text other than she needed him ASAP because really…what was she supposed to say? She wasn’t so sure she knew what was the truth and what was a lie. Everything had seemed so much clearer the previous night.

She glanced from Josh’s concerned face to the hotel. “Not now. We’ve got to get out of here. He might come out.” And beat the living hell out of Josh. Rafe struck her as the possessive type.

One corner of Josh’s mouth lifted. “That bastard’s not going to bother you while I’m here.”

“Not him.” Josh’s brows furrowed, and she forced herself to add, “The man I spent the night with.”

Josh’s lips thinned, and his nostrils flared. He tipped her chin so she met his narrowed eyes. “Did he hurt you? Force you?” He snapped his teeth together. “I’ll kill the fucker.”

Her first instinct was to protect Rafe. She didn’t fight it. Josh looked capable of carrying out the threat, and she wasn’t sure Rafe deserved it. Maybe the crazy part of her that wanted to throw herself back into Rafe’s arms was right, but she couldn’t trust it. The risks were too great. She had to get her kids to safety first, then worry about unraveling the truth.

“No, wait. He didn’t hurt me.”

“Then what? Did you wake up and have second thoughts?”

She glanced at the lobby door. The guy who’d groped her stood under the awning with a phone pressed to his ear. He wasn’t looking their way, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching them. Or maybe she was just being paranoid.

The guy slid his phone into his pocket and strode across the lot. She tensed. He was headed their way. Josh noticed him too. He cursed and started the car, but the guy walked down the next aisle to where a cab waited. He opened the door but turned his head and locked gazes with her. He winked, got in the cab and was gone.

She shivered, and Josh took her hand in his. It was warm, comforting, but his touch didn’t chase away the chill. She turned the heater on. Josh frowned but didn’t say anything. It was over eighty degrees, but she couldn’t stop shaking. The blast of hot air helped. The tremors slowed. She faced Josh.

“I never got the chance to talk to you about Megan.”

“That can wait. Why don’t you tell me why you called me to come rescue you from the guy you spent the night with?”

“Actually, it can’t. Megan is one of the reasons I ran from him.”

“What?” He cut her a glance. The enraged look he’d worn for the guy in the lobby twisted Josh’s features. “Explain yourself. Right now.”

“Megan is a shifter.”

“What the hell are you talking about? A shifter? As in she can change into a wolf or something?”

“A white lioness, actually. Or she will at some point. She hasn’t shifted yet.”

“Then how do you know she’s a…a shifter?”

“Seth and Levi told me. They scented her animal the moment they met her.” She held Josh’s gaze. “They’re shifters too. So is Rafe.”

Chapter Sixteen

Rafe woke with a smile on his face and reached for Jasmine. Cold sheets met his fingertips. He sat up, looked from the floor where Jasmine’s clothes had been to the door. He parted his mouth and inhaled.

She was gone.

His inner animals paced, growling their displeasure. He ignored them and dressed. Then he stood there, unsure what to do. He felt as if somebody had kicked him in the gut. His whole damn body hurt.

His female had left him. Why? He couldn’t come up with a reason. She’d allowed him into her body. Twice. Slept with her head pillowed on his chest.

Whatever the reason, I’ll soothe her once I have her in my arms again. It’ll be fine.

He ran a hand through his hair, then reached for his phone to call Kade. It too was gone. He swept his gaze over the room, looking for some clue. The bathroom door stood partially open. The scent of shampoo and Jasmine drifted from it.

His phone was lying on the counter. He grabbed it and left.

The elevator took forever to travel three floors. It opened once. The two men waiting to get on took one look at him and told him they’d catch the next one.

Rafe slammed the button and paced the confines of the square enclosure. It finally opened. He rushed out, nearly knocking over an elderly human. He righted the woman, mumbled an apology and jogged into the lobby.

Smells assaulted him. Quite a few people had been through the room but Jasmine’s fragrance was strong and familiar. Because of the scent-claim he’d added to her cut, his scent was twined with hers. It eased the possessive edge of his persona.

One whiff and all shifters would know that Jasmine was a beloved human. His female. He took in another deep lungful but the one scent lingering in the air ruined his enjoyment and stirred his primal side.

Josh.

She’d run to the human.

Rafe curled his fingers and bent his head so the strands of his hair hid his glowing eyes. He pushed back his anger. Giving in to it with innocents close was unacceptable. Once colors replaced the grays, he strode to the desk. The woman there was a different one from the night before. She had kind eyes and lines wrinkling her face. Hopefully she could help him.

“I’m looking for a woman. Blonde, beautiful, gorgeous gray eyes. About this tall.” He motioned to his chest.

The clerk nodded. “Yes, she was here a little while ago. Thought I was going to have to call security.”

“Excuse me?”

“One of the other customers was giving her a hard time, but her boyfriend showed up and the two of them left. Nice-looking man. Seemed very protective too. Not many young boys these days are.” She gave a little shake of her head. “Shame really. In my day—”

He snapped his teeth together. “Thank you.”

He strode across the room and stepped outside. The phone in his pocket vibrated. A quick look at the display showed Devin’s number.

Megan.

“What’s wrong?” Rafe asked as soon as the call connected.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. I thought something might’ve happened to you.”

“Something has. I lost my female.”
To a human.

Silence stretched. Finally, Devin cleared his throat. “Well, I found her. She and the human, Josh, just picked up Megan and are heading toward her house. What do you want me to do with her?”

“Stop them.” His guttural voice betrayed his loss of control. Thankfully there wasn’t any humans close by to hear him.

“Are you sure that’s wise? Megan might freak. She hasn’t been around adult shifters in years, if ever.”

As much as he wanted Devin to intervene and get Jasmine away from Josh, Rafe couldn’t, not if it stressed a child. There was no reason beyond his own jealousy to justify it.

“You’re right. Follow them. I’m headed out there.”

And when he got his female back, he was going to make sure she knew to whom she belonged and that leaving him was no longer an option.

Chapter Seventeen

While Josh drove, Jazz stared at the passing landscape without seeing it. The rhythmic swoosh of the wipers and splatter of rain hitting the SUV were the only sounds. Megan slept in the backseat, and Josh had barely said a word to her since they’d picked up Megan. That left Jazz with plenty of time to think. The more she did, the more she wondered if she hadn’t jumped to the wrong conclusions.

She’d called Mr. Wilkins, and he’d assured her they were safe. He didn’t know why Seth and Levi were frightened, only that they were locked away in one of the bedrooms. He’d said Kade had introduced himself, apologized for frightening the dogs, then taken up a spot on the porch. He hadn’t even asked to come inside.

She blew out a breath and forced her fingers to unclench. Yes, she’d been warned to be wary of shifters. Actually to run if she ever saw one.

But was Rafe really a threat? He could’ve left her sleeping in the hotel room and taken her boys, along with Megan. He hadn’t. Neither had Kade. He’d done exactly what Rafe had told her Kade would do—watch over her boys.

So they didn’t go missing like his sister had.
She dropped her head into her hands.
Of course. That’s reason for Rafe’s protectiveness. He’d even said as much.

She’d overreacted. Learning Rafe was a shifter had freaked her out.
That’s probably why he didn’t tell me. He was afraid I’d react exactly the way I had. Irrationally.

Had he discovered her gone yet? There was a chance he was still asleep.

She bit her lip and glanced at Josh. “Can I borrow your phone?”

“Sure.” He held his cell out. “Why?”

“I’m going to call the hotel and see if Rafe is still there. I want to talk to him.” She reached for the phone. Josh pulled it back.

“No. That’s not happening.”

She took in the hard stamp of determination tightening his features and sighed. “I think I overreacted.”

“No. You did the right thing.” He slid the phone into his pocket.

“I freaked out when I realized he was a shifter. I couldn’t risk them.”

He flicked his gaze to her. “And you’re willing to risk them now?”

She pointed to the road. It was raining too hard not to pay complete attention to his driving. He faced forward.

“No, but calling Rafe doesn’t hurt anything.”

“Maybe not, but you should trust your instincts. I know I should’ve trusted mine five years ago. I didn’t and fucked shit up.”

She could probably guess what he was getting at. Assumptions could spiral out of control, though. “When I dumped you?”

“Yeah. Something didn’t seem right about the whole thing, especially your reaction when I yelled at you. I’m sorry about that. I’d like to make it up to you.”

She glanced at where her hands were fisted in her lap. Here was the opening that would allow her to mend things between them. Josh practically delivered it on a silver platter.

She focused on his familiar face and said the only thing she could. “No.”

He cut her a quick look. “Did I mess things up that badly? Is that why you’ve held my at arms’ length?”

“No.” She sighed. “I mean, a lot of those things you said to me were true. I did use you. We grew up together. You were familiar. Comfortable. You were my friend as much as you were my lover, and I—”

“Would have been safe with me. I could’ve helped you with Seth and Levi. Protected them.”

“I’ve done okay with them on my own.”

“Are you going to tell me how exactly you ended up with your boys?”

“No.” She didn’t want to share the details. Josh would take it upon himself to avenge her, not that it would do him any good. The men who’d run the place were long gone.

“Why not? I know it’s been five years, but we can still get the cops involved and—”

“Alert others to the fact my kids aren’t human?”

“No, but… You should’ve trusted me.” He glanced at her. “I could’ve—”

Eyes wide, she pointed at the lion on the road ahead. Josh cursed and swung the wheel to avoid it. They drove around the animal. The lion’s eyes—glowing brown—locked on to hers as they passed, but it didn’t move or follow them. She watched it in the side mirror until the road curved and blocked him from view.

“The bad lion.”

Megan’s sleepy voice yanked Jazz’s attention to the little girl. Jazz shoved her fear deep and focused on remaining calm for Megan’s sake. “What are you talking about?”

Megan rubbed at her eyes. “The bad lion. He’s going to get us if we don’t run.”

Did she see him? Jazz could’ve sworn she’d been sound asleep. No matter. Jazz agreed. “Hurry, Josh.”

Josh ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t worry. I’m on it.”

The car picked up speed. The rain fell harder. Josh flicked the knob to turn the wipers on to the next speed. They whooshed faster but didn’t do much to clear the pounding rain. Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled.

She jumped.

The groping man’s face from the hotel filled her vision. Brown eyes. Cold. Exactly how a predator’s eyes would be. Her breaths came quicker. It was him. She knew it.

Josh took the bend in the road too fast. The car hydroplaned into the other lane. Megan screamed, and Jazz grabbed the door handle, but Josh eased up on the gas and got the car under control.

Jazz took in the curvy road ahead and braced herself against the dashboard. “Slow down.”

“No. That guy showed himself for one reason—to warn us. He’s either following us or knows where we’re going. Either way, time’s against us.”

“What if he already has Seth and Levi?”

“Call the house.” He shifted in his seat and pulled out his phone.

She took it and dialed but before she hit send, Megan screamed. Josh slammed on the brakes.

Jazz flicked her gaze to the road. An uprooted tree blocked it.

Their vehicle jerked. The world spun. Screeching tires and the sound of branches scratching along the doors mixed with Megan’s cries. They hit something. The seatbelt stopped her forward momentum. She slammed against the seat, and the airbags deployed. Dust and gas filled the air.

Silence stretched for a brief moment before Megan started sobbing. Jazz cringed at the sharp pain in her neck but fumbled with the release on her seatbelt. It popped free, and she leaned between the front seats. Megan had her stuffed lion clutched to her chest and tears filled her eyes.

“Are you okay, sweetie?”

Megan nodded. Her eyes widened a second later. She pointed.

A lion lay crouched next to a hole in the ground. The tree that had once stood there was stretched over the road. Jazz swept her gaze over the area. Their vehicle was a few dozen feet inside the woods and the lion sat between them and freedom.

She laid a hand on Josh’s leg. “Josh?”

He didn’t respond.

She glanced at him. His eyes were closed. Blood trickled from a cut on his forehead. Jazz glanced from an unconscious Josh to the lion advancing in a slow, crouching crawl.

She fumbled for the phone she’d dropped. It wasn’t anywhere she could see. She reached farther under the seat, touched the edge of the rubber case and wrapped her fingers around it.

Something slammed into her door. She looked up in time to see a lion’s fangs. Only the window separated them. The phone slipped out of her hand. She pressed her back against Josh’s slumped form.

The muffled sounds of screeching tires reached her. The lion whipped his head in the direction of the road then hissed at the man running toward their car.

The lion faced her and snarled before taking off.

She glanced at the man headed their way. His hair was brown, not a patchwork multicolor dye job, but his face matched that of the man from Rafe’s phone. He stopped a few feet away, hands clenching and releasing at his sides, and chest heaving. He scanned the woods, spinning slowly on his heel to take in every inch.

After a moment, he lifted his lips, revealing a set of fangs. Jazz stared at the sharp teeth denting his lower lip. He was a shifter. Like the lion he’d chased off. Like her kids and Megan. Like Rafe.

“Jazz, I’m scared,” Megan cried.

So was she, but she grabbed Megan’s hand and squeezed. “It’s okay, honey. He’s one of the good guys.” She hoped.

“How do you know?”

Jazz took in the man’s cautious approach. He moved with his hands held up and out to the side—an attempt to show he wasn’t a threat. It was a lie. With a thought, he could sprout claws and fur, but he hadn’t done anything to them.
Except save us.

“I know his friend, and I…I trust him.”

Josh groaned and reached for her. “Jasmine? Megan?”

She grabbed his hand. “I’m here. So is Megan. We’re both fine.”

Josh’s unfocused gaze met hers. “Thank god.” He shook his head, blinking hard, then leaned forward to peer out the windshield. “Son of a—”

She grabbed his arm to stop him from opening the door. “Wait. He’s Rafe’s friend.”

“How—”

“I saw his picture on Rafe’s phone. He just chased off the lion we saw in the road.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. We don’t know Rafe’s story. I don’t trust him or his friends.” He popped the seatbelt, then tried the door. It stuck. He threw a shoulder into it, knocking it open.

Jazz hooked her fingers around his waistband, stopping him from climbing out. “I do, Josh. I don’t know what’s going on, but I trust him. I should never have left him.”

Anger darkened his eyes. “So you can trust a guy you just met, but not the one who’s stood by you for twenty years?”

She released him. “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. I—”

Rafe’s friend opened the door before she could finish speaking, not that she knew what she would’ve said.

The shifter’s nostrils flared. Mouth parted slightly, he inhaled. His brown eyes flicked between them before focusing on Megan. The hard lines on his face softened. His reaction eased the last bit of tension in Jazz’s shoulders.

“Be calm, little cub.” Although his voice was rough and gravelly, it had a soothing quality to it. “You’re safe now.”

“Who are you?” Jazz asked.

“Devin Moore, your male’s friend.” He glanced at Josh. “And the one who’ll stop Rafe attacking Josh for daring to touch what belongs to him.”