Placing one foot behind the other, she stepped back once, then again.
“Go home to your handler, Coyote,” Cabal ordered him coldly. “Or I’ll have you carted home.”
Cassa took another step backward. Just a little farther, she thought, then she might have a chance of actually getting out of Cabal’s sight before he decided to focus on her. If angels were watching out for her, then she could actually make it back to the Jeep and to her hotel without having to face him.
“You have such an amazing capacity for self-confidence, Bengal,” Dog drawled. “Sorry, but I’m here to stay for the time being. There seems to be quite a bit of a mess that needs to be cleaned up in these mountains.”
A mess? That was an understatement if she had ever heard one.
One more step back.
“Cassa, make another move and you won’t be sitting on that perky little ass of yours for a week.”
The utter sincerity in the threat had her freezing.
“Dog has taken care of that for you,” she snapped out, glaring at both men. “I won’t be sitting for a week anyway.”
When Cabal moved, it was with such swiftness that even Dog’s rumored lightning fast reflexes couldn’t help him avoid that fist that planted itself in his face.
He hit the ground with a thud that Cassa swore she could feel even from where she was standing.
To give Dog credit, he didn’t come back swinging. He rescued his cigar from the ground, brushed the tip off and replaced it between his obviously swollen lips before breathing out heavily.
“Bengal, that one’s free,” he stated as he propped himself up on his elbows and stared up at Cabal. Cassa swore she saw a gleam of red in his eyes. “Don’t try it again.”
“Touch her again and I’ll kill you.” The promise was harsh, Cabal’s voice vibrating with rage.
“Felines are so dramatic,” Dog sighed, rising lithely to his feet as he glanced at Cassa.
“Drama” wasn’t exactly the word she would have used for it.
“They’re something, that’s for sure,” she muttered. It wasn’t a compliment.
Dog gave a brief, hard laugh. “He’s Bengal. You should have him explain exactly what that means.”
It could be worse than just being a Breed? She eyed Cabal suspiciously. She’d hate to imagine he could be more arrogant or stubborn than most Felines. It would be her luck though.
“Shut up and get the hell off this mountain,” Cabal snarled. As he spoke, Cassa cocked her head and listened. Swinging around, she turned and lifted her head. The silhouette was dim. The black against the clouded night sky was hard to detect, but the gleam of metal and the soft, almost undetectable hum was unmistakable. A Breed heli-jet.
She had been so close, almost within sight of the little valley she had been searching for. And now it would all be gone: Alonzo’s body as well as any proof that it had ever been there.
She turned back to Cabal slowly, feeling that familiar sense of betrayal rising inside her.
She should be used to it by now. Any story that might actually give her an insight into the Breeds, or might shed some light on the hell they still lived through, and she was blocked. Anytime she came close to the truth, it was covered up.
“Bastard!” She glared at him furiously before turning on her heel, despite his warning, and moving back along the path she had followed in.
Damn him.
“Cassa. Stay where you are!” Hard, cold demand filled his voice.
“Go to hell!” She tossed the words back at him, intent on getting just as far away from him and as fast as possible.
“Give him hell, Ms. Hawkins,” Dog laughed. “This is almost as good as actually catching Jonas covering up a crime. Perhaps we’ll be luckier next time and really find something. Don’t you think the Breeds should be revealed for who we are? You are a reporter after all. Doesn’t the story matter?” She could hear the smirk in his voice.
As if she wanted to find anything while he was in the vicinity. The next time she would make certain she blocked her scent first. That way, nosy Coyotes couldn’t stop her, harass her or otherwise endanger her self-preservation, where Cabal was concerned.
“I said hold up, dammit.” Hard fingers wrapped around her arm and dragged her to a stop, despite her struggles. “You’re not going anywhere.”
She wasn’t going anywhere? Cassa lowered her gaze to stare at the sight of his darker, broader fingers as they encircled her wrist, holding her in place. There was just enough light to make out his features, to detect the glitter of gold in the forest green eyes, and the hint of red as moonlight glinted within them.
Animal eyes. He was a Breed, and she often let herself forget that one little point. He wasn’t a normal male, and the reaction she had to him sure as hell wasn’t normal.
“You can file a complaint for harassment,” Dog’s voice echoed in the night again. The Coyote was damned brave considering he and his two men were surrounded by well-armed Felines.
“Shut up, Dog.” Cabal’s tone was just hard enough to hint at the tension that suddenly flared between them.
Cassa felt it. She watched his nostrils flare, knew he was drawing in her scent, that he could smell her arousal as well as her reaction to the clasp of his fingers.
Such a simple touch, yet the powerful dominance and clear arrogance that was so much a part of him wrapped around her tightly.
It was just his fingers, but she felt so much more. She swore she felt his touch traveling through her body, through her veins, soaking into her pores.
“Let me go, Cabal.” Mating heat had started with much less than such a simple touch.
Dog’s chuckle echoed through the night again. “Boys, this could get interesting. These Felines get a little intense over their women. And she smells like a hot one.”
Heat flamed through her face. Cassa could feel the wave of angry embarrassment that washed through her as she glared back at the Coyote. Her angry look was met with a flash of strong white teeth in the darkness.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Cabal warned her, the softness of his voice sending chills racing down her spine.
“Of course I shouldn’t have,” she agreed sarcastically. “I should have just let you have your little party alone. Let you hide the truth and bury my head in the sand just as everyone else does, shouldn’t I?”