“I’m not your f**king treat,” she snarled.
White teeth flashed in the moonlight. “Oh yes, sugar, you’re my treat, all right. I just have to dig for the sweet.”
The jaguar hissed and stalked closer. Eli pushed into her body, moving her back several steps. His body surrounded hers. Protecting her, for God’s sake.
She shoved angrily at him and yanked her wrist from his grasp. “All right, let’s go.”
“Give me your weapons,” he said calmly.
“Fuck you.”
He stood, arms crossed then looked back over his shoulders. “They look hungry to me.”
She slammed the rifle against his chest, backing him up one step. She yanked a pistol from her shoulder harness and offered it to him. Then she took the two remaining knives she had and dropped them on the ground.
“Damn, girl. Have I ever told you how sexy you look in commando mode?”
She glared at him. “Let’s go, pretty boy. You and I have things to discuss.”
He took her arm and herded her toward the house. She almost laughed. How ridiculous was this, anyway? Pride wouldn’t allow her to just show up and ask for his help. Instead she had to posture, show how tough she was and that while she might suggest a partnership, she didn’t need his damn help.
That whole pride goeth before a fall thing came readily to mind. She could swallow it for D, she reminded herself.
They entered through two gates that Eli had to punch security codes in for. He led her through a small courtyard then punched yet another keypad before they entered the house.
“Got something against visitors?” she asked as he continued to push her further into the house.
“Depends on who’s visiting. You have an open invitation, sugar. But next time, just call. It’ll save a lot of pain in my ass.”
They stopped in what looked suspiciously like Eli’s private little domain. All it lacked was a bed, though she wouldn’t be surprised if one didn’t fold out of the wall somewhere.
There were two leather couches, dark brown with an invitingly comfortable look. She was dead tired and the idea of melting all over one of them was making her work up a drool.
To the back, there was a desk littered with papers, a laptop, a desktop, two phones and a shitload of electronics. Organization was obviously not his friend.
She didn’t wait for an invitation. She wrenched her arm free of his grasp and trudged over to the couch, turned around and flopped onto it, closing her eyes as her head hit the back.
Eli gazed intently at her. There was trust in that action, though he doubted she intended for it to be perceived as such. Now in the light, he could see the shadow of a bruise around her jaw and the dark red cut on her lip, just at the corner.
Her face was pale with a hint of vulnerability in her obvious exhaustion. The leather jacket she wore was torn in at least two places, and there was old blood smeared on the sleeve. He frowned as he remembered hitting her there.
He crossed the distance between them and knelt in front of the couch. Her eyes flew open as he tugged at her jacket.
“Relax,” he murmured. “Just getting your jacket off.”
She watched warily as he maneuvered the coat off and tossed it aside. There was more blood on the black muscle shirt, how much was hard to tell as it faded into the dark material. Then his gaze lit on the gash on her arm.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly to the wound.
She yanked away, her brow furrowed, a dark frown on her face. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“Didn’t your mama ever kiss your booboos to make them all better?”
Her eyes became emerald ice. “I don’t have a mother.”
He withdrew slowly, watching as an impenetrable shield surrounded those beautiful eyes. He rocked back on his heels then finally stood, purposely using his position over her to indicate subtle power.
“So, you’re here. Care to tell me why?”
Something flickered in her eyes. Brief uncertainty. And then the cool, unflappable look was back. She turned her chin up and stared unflinchingly at him.
He wanted to smooth his hands over the bruises on her face, but more than that, he wanted to track down the motherfucker who’d put them there and beat his ass.
“Esteban Morales wants you. Alive. Your friends? Not so much. He hired me to take them out and bring you in.”
It was hard not to react to a statement like that, but he kept his gaze steady and stared back at her. “And here you are. I can’t wait to hear how you’re going to pull off killing my team and hauling me in alive.”
Her gaze skittered sideways. “Where are they?”
“Who, Ian and Braden? I imagine they’re still outside pissed because I took their kitty treat from them. They’ll be even more pissed when they hear you want to kill them.”
“I never said I wanted to kill them,” she said calmly. “I said Esteban hired me to kill them.”
“So you’re here out of the goodness of your heart? Forgive me if I don’t quite buy that.”
She got to her feet, her hands fisted at her sides. “I’m here to save Damiano. I don’t give a damn about you or your cat friends.”
Eli cocked his head in surprise. “Damiano Ruiz?”
Her lip curled. “Yeah, you know, the guy who led your team into Adharji and took a shot of the same chemical agent you did.”
“I thought he died,” Eli said quietly. “When we got out…” He dragged a hand to the back of his neck and down his ponytail. “We wouldn’t have left him. We considered him one of ours.”
“He didn’t die,” she said icily. “We got him out. And now he’s got the same problem the rest of you do.”
“And that is?”
“Don’t play stupid mind games with me. He’s a shifter. Only he can’t control his abilities like you. He’s…” Her voice broke off, and her shoulders shook as she fought to compose herself. Then she looked back up at him, resolve burning brightly in her eyes. “I have to save him, and you’re going to help me.”
Fuck. What a goddamn mess.
He checked his watch as he realized that Ian and Braden should have been in by now. Not that they were predictable by a long shot, but he could usually time the duration of their shifts, just not when they’d happen.
“Stay here,” he said. “I need to go see about Ian and Braden.”
She frowned. “I’ll go.”
“Fine.” He wasn’t going to argue with her.
He turned and hurried toward the back again, hoping they hadn’t gotten behind the high security fence he’d had installed. It should do the job of keeping them contained, but then a wild cat didn’t always play by the rules.
“Why are you checking on them?” she asked as she hurried to catch up. “What’s wrong with them?”
“They’ve been out too long.”
She caught up to him again as he opened the last security gate and stepped onto the grounds. He listened intently for any sounds, any indication they were near. When she started to speak again, he silenced her with an upraised hand. Surprisingly she complied and kept to his side, as quiet as he was.
He hurried to the last place he’d seen them, where Tyana had come across them. When he got close, his pulse ratcheted up as fear gripped him.
Braden was lying on the ground while the jaguar prowled close by. When the jaguar scented them, he turned his head and hissed, his teeth flashing and his ears flattening.
“Oh shit,” Eli murmured.
“What’s wrong with him?” Tyana whispered. “Why doesn’t he just shift back?”
He didn’t answer. His attention was fixed on Braden, trying to see if he was moving. He prayed to God Ian hadn’t attacked him in jaguar form.
“Ian,” Eli called. “Ian, goddamn it, you have to let me go to him.” He felt stupid for talking to the damn cat. There was nothing of Ian inside, not when he was in shifted form. But he was starting to feel desperate. How could he sacrifice one brother for the other? He couldn’t hurt the jaguar. Ian had no control over his actions. He became the predator.
The jaguar snarled again and stalked slowly toward Eli and Tyana. Eli shoved Tyana behind him and held her there with one arm. He could shift and easily evade the cat, but it would leave Tyana unprotected.
Braden stirred and Eli heaved a sigh of relief. At least until the jaguar turned when it sensed Braden’s movement. The cat padded back to Braden, and Eli knew he was going to have to intervene. He wouldn’t stand back while Braden was mauled.
“If this goes bad, you get your ass back to the house,” he hissed in Tyana’s direction.
Then he let go, let the air swallow him whole. He streaked toward the jaguar as he bent his head to sniff at Braden’s chest.
Eli curled around the muscular neck of the jaguar, but to his surprise, the cat nuzzled against Braden, licked his cheek and backed off.
And then he began the shift.
Eli retreated, materializing a few feet away as Ian fell to the ground, his muscles contorting. The cat hissed in pain as his limbs elongated. His body rippled as fur and skin stretched and faded. Eli winced as the human face stretched in agony as Ian finally came back to himself.
Ian panted and a groan worked itself from the depths of his chest. He opened his eyes and looked first at Braden lying beside him and then turned his tortured gaze to Eli.
“What have I done?” he whispered.
He struggled to get up and collapsed to the ground again. Eli rushed forward to help him, but Ian shrugged him off as he fought desperately to get to his brother.
“Ian, he’s alive. I’m not even sure he’s hurt.”
Still, Ian pulled himself to his brother, and Eli knelt beside them both.
Braden blinked with glazed eyes. His muscles twitched and spasmed, and a heavy sweat bathed his entire body.
“Braden,” Ian croaked. “Are you okay? Talk to me, man.”
“I’m good. I think,” Braden whispered, his voice hoarse and laced with pain.
Eli felt Tyana walk up behind him. “Back off,” he growled.
The two brothers looked up at Tyana in confusion.
Eli stood and whirled around, anger and his need to protect his men uppermost in his mind. “I said, back away.”
She stared past him, not even absorbing his demand. Confusion simmered in her eyes as she stared at the brothers in a mixture of sympathy and horror.
“What’s wrong with them?” she asked. “Why didn’t they just shift back?”
“Because they can’t. You should know this, Tyana. You said Damiano was the same. They’re as unstable as he is.”
She shook her head, tears swimming in her eyes. “But you’re stable. You can control it. I thought…I thought they would be able to as well.”
And then Eli knew. That was what she wanted. It was why she’d risked her ass to chase him across the globe. She thought he had answers that would help her brother. How could he tell her that there was no answer? That he was the freak, not Damiano. Not Ian and Braden.
Ian rose unsteadily to his feet, pulling Braden up with him. Eli gave them his attention then shot Tyana a sharp glance. “Help me get them back to the house.”
She didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around a naked Braden as he leaned heavily on her. He didn’t seem to care that a complete stranger was hauling him toward the house. He looked too washed out and exhausted to process much of anything.
Eli grabbed on to Ian and slung Ian’s arm across his shoulders. Then he started forward, dragging Ian’s weight with him.
As he watched Tyana struggle with Braden’s much larger form, he wondered if she’d make it back, but she didn’t complain, nor did she let go of Braden.
Eli cursed when he realized she was taking the brunt of Braden’s weight on her wounded shoulder.
Several long minutes later, Tyana and Eli hauled the brothers into the house and toward their bedrooms.
“Hold up right here,” Eli instructed Tyana as he reached over and leaned Braden away from Tyana and against the wall. “Sit tight a second and I’ll come back to help you get him into his room.”
Tyana nodded wearily.
Eli grunted as he heaved and tugged at Ian. He finally got him muscled over to the bed and leaned him down. Ian sagged against the pillow and his eyes opened, dull and shadowed.
“Did I hurt Braden, Eli? Tell me the truth. Did I attack my own brother?”
“No, man. I wouldn’t lie to you. You know that. You were protecting him. From us. He was out of it from the shift. You watched over him.”
Ian closed his eyes in relief. “Tired,” he murmured.
“Rest, dude. You’ll be hungry as hell when you get up. I’ll try to make sure there’s something to eat.”
Ian cracked a half smile. “Won’t you be too busy with your lady friend?”
Eli rolled his eyes. “Noticed her did you.”
“I’m not dead,” Ian said dryly. “Nice ass. I got a good view on the way back. Think she’d hold the fact that Braden and I are cats against us?”
Eli gave a disgusted snort. “She’s not here to be your kinky plaything. You two get your own damn woman to sandwich.”
Ian smiled faintly. “Yeah, I know. You don’t share.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Eli warned.
Ian struggled to keep his eyes open, and Eli put his hand on his shoulder. “Get some rest, bro. This was a bad one.”
Ian nodded and closed his eyes.
Eli hurried back out to the hallway where Braden was still propped against the doorframe to his bedroom. Naked as a damn jaybird. He glanced over at Tyana but she seemed oblivious to Braden’s nudity.