by E A Price
His jaguar perked up, virtually wagging his tail, a moment before Antonio heard her coming. The soft tones of her voice floated up to him before her soft footfalls on the stairs followed. His eyes fixed on the door as he waited for her to knock. Course, she didn’t bother with that. Nope, Hester just burst in and slammed the door behind her. He really shouldn’t have been surprised by that; as lovely and feminine as his mate could be, she could also be feisty and intentionally frustrating. He loved that about her.
Antonio watched in silence as she leaned against his door and scanned his bedroom. His jaguar was clamoring to go to her, to kiss her and lick her all over – the licking was definitely the cat in him – and show her why she should never leave him. But Antonio remained on the bed, waiting for her.
“No nudie calendars or posters of half-naked chicks?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m surprised.”
“No need; I can get nude women on my phone.”
Hester’s lips twitched. “I gave your mother her phone back,” she said crisply.
“I didn’t think you were going to steal it.”
“Just thought I was using it to escape.”
“I wouldn’t blame you, if you were.”
How could he? He had taken her away from her home, her life, her friends and family and he was asking her to stay and mate with him in return. He was asking so much of her, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from doing it. Since the moment he saw that enchanting scowl on her face, he was a goner.
“I wasn’t leaving,” she said with some of her usual waspishness. “C’mon, idiot, if I wanted to get away, I would have jumped at the chance when Roberto mentioned it the other day.”
Yes, he could have kicked Roberto for that, though thankfully Hester’s stubbornness had dismissed it out of hand.
“If you tell me now you want to go, I’ll drive you back to Los Lobos,” he offered, ignoring the protesting bellows of his inner beast.
If there really were no hope, then yes, he would take her home. There was no need for her to suffer more than she had. He wasn’t sure he could get over losing her, but making her happy was more important than his own happiness.
Bullshit howled his jaguar. She will be happy, here with us!
Hester looked almost stricken and uncertain of herself for once. “I don’t… I don’t know what I want.”
She walked over to the bed and flopped herself down on it, so they were side by side. He turned on his side, marveling that getting her into his bed was easier than he expected.
She bounced gently and gave him a naughty smirk. “Comfy. How many girls have you had on this bad boy?”
“None, as long as you don’t count my mother.”
“You’re forgetting Valentina,” she said, thankfully with a fair amount of humor.
“I’m trying to forget, but you won’t let me,” he grumbled.
Hester placed a hand on his cheek. She was going to say something, but he decided to actually listen to his jaguar and kiss her until she wanted to stay with him. Antonio covered her mouth with his. He wrapped his arms around her, dragging her against his body as he delved into her mouth. She moaned and became pliant in his arms as he fiercely possessed her mouth. What if this were the last time he ever felt her perfect pink lips against his? What if this was the last time he ever tasted the sweetness of her? Or felt her glorious body pressed against his? He had to take everything he could from her. Had to remember every moment, had to…
“Antonio!” cried Maria, bursting into the room.
Hester pulled away from him, and he let out a growl. Ordinarily, he would never growl at his mother – perish the thought – but she had just interrupted the best kiss of his life, and his disappointed jaguar would not be silenced.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry!” exclaimed his mother, a blush covering her face like a tidal wave.
His twin brothers could be heard somewhere in the house, cackling like a pair of hyenas. Oh, they were going to get it later.
“It’s fine,” said Hester, definitely not speaking for the both of them.
“What is it?” Antonio snapped with considerable restraint.
“One of the cubs has gone missing,” said Maria, rubbing her hands together nervously. “Mikey wandered off from daycare.”
“Isn’t that my boyfriend, Marco’s brother?” asked Hester.
Antonio was already clambering off the bed, ready for action. His jealous jaguar only let out a small huff at the mention of the attention-grabbing two-year-old.
“Yes,” he replied gruffly, pulling his boots on.
“Everyone who can is going to look for him,” said Maria. “Daniel is nowhere to be found, and Roberto needs you to help co-ordinate.”
Shit. Occasionally a cub had wandered off – hell, his two irritating brothers used to do it on a weekly basis when they were toddlers. The leap always worried, and they were always found, but this was a bad time to lose one - what with a potential shooter out there and all.
“I’m on my way,” he growled at his mother.
Hester grasped his hand and gave it a squeeze. “What can I do?”
Antonio didn’t want her out there searching – she’d had enough close calls in the past week, and he didn’t think his heart could take another one.
“Stay safe,” he ordered.
He didn’t want to lose her today, even if inevitably he would lose her in the end.
Twenty-Nine
Most of the leap was out searching for the cub. Only the human females were left behind with the other cubs. Plus, Hester, who was stranded back at the guesthouse along with the other kidnapped women and Tomas watching over them.
Tomas had started watching her closely – no doubt a command from Antonio – but was soon distracted by Mary who was trying to scratch her itchy scalp. Leaving Hester to slip away, into the garden and inelegantly over the fence. Luckily there was no one around to see her fall flat on her face. In her defense, cheetahs were not made for climbing.
She scented Marta and the boy. She was sure it was Mikey. She hadn’t thought anything of it earlier, or even when they found out the boy was missing, but the more she turned it over in her mind, the more she thought it was Mikey who was arguing with Marta earlier.
Other leap mates wouldn’t have thought anything of Marta being there at the daycare, or even talking to one of the kids. She was a leap female, her daughter worked there – there was nothing to be suspicious about. Leaps, prides, and packs were families, and you trusted your family. Hester wasn’t part of the leap. Not yet corrected her cheetah. All she saw when she looked at Marta was a scheming bitch, and she could easily believe her of anything.
Hester still needed to tell Antonio about her suspicions over Daniel and Vertigo. She had been a little distracted when he kissed her – not that she was complaining about that – but all thoughts of telling him anything sailed out the window when they found out about the missing cub.
But it was possibly worse than just Daniel. Now that Hester had a little time to think, and she wasn’t entirely consumed by mooning over Antonio, she remembered what she had seen the day she collected mail with Maria.
The letter that she saw Valentina collect had the Vertigo logo on it as well. Why on earth would Vertigo be writing to Valentina or Marta? Something was definitely going on. Was Valentina or Marta scheming behind Roberto’s back? Would they really be dumb enough to get mail from Vertigo delivered directly to the leap?
Hester froze as Valentina came out the small building, ushering out another female and a cub. She gave the woman’s shoulder a squeeze and waved at the small boy as they left.
Valentina straightened and squinted into the dark corner of the playground where Hester was trying to hide.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
Hester sighed and stepped forward, wondering if hiding would have been possible if she were a little thinner.
Her cheetah yowled, getting her back on track. That’s right – one of the f
emales she was thinking about had happily found her, and there was no time like the present for a confrontation.
“What was your mom doing here earlier?” asked Hester, using the special hectoring tone she usually reserved for work.
Valentina stared at her, baffled. “What? What does that matter?”
“I heard her here snapping at a kid, and I’m pretty sure it was the boy who’s now missing.”
The jaguar looked a little surprised for a moment, before shaking her head. “So what? A lot of females come and go during the day – they help out during play time.”
“So maybe she took him.”
Hester and her cheetah steeled themselves, waiting for the apoplectic reaction from the jaguar. Female cat shifters tended to be explosive when family honor was at stake. One of her mom’s ex-husbands could attest to that. He still sported a couple of Hester’s shaped claw marks after he dared to accuse her mother of cheating on him. As if her mother would!
But Valentina just stared at her with the same confusion as if she had just declared she was a time traveling astronaut.
“Why on earth would she?”
“Why on earth would your mother try to force you to mate Antonio?”
Valentina turned bright red. “How…”
Hester nodded at the fence. “Yeah, I was listening.”
Valentina scrunched her mouth up. Her anger was starting to get underway, but then she just seemed to deflate. “That’s none of your business,” she murmured.
“I think your mother is a complete bitch, and she is up to something.” Blunt maybe, but that was tame compared to what she was really thinking.
“Kidnapping a kid, though…” Valentina shifted uneasily.
Hester snorted. “Yeah, because your leap never kidnaps anyone.”
“Well, that’s not the same at all!” Valentina stomped a shapely foot, but the docile female didn’t try to do anything else. She’s actually quite a sweet young thing, thought her cheetah in irritation. Ugh.
“Well, prove me wrong. Where is she?”
“She must be out looking for poor Mikey with everyone else.”
“So you have no problem proving to me that she doesn’t have a kid stashed in your home?”
Valentina frowned and then sighed. “I’m going there anyway, to drop my clothes off so I can shift and join the search – if you want to come with me, be my guest.”
The silence was awkward as they walked side by side, but at least the jaguar wasn’t growling or going for her throat. No, she seemed preoccupied and upset.
“You’re worried about Mikey,” guessed Hester.
“Of course I am!” snapped Valentina, finally showing some fury. It quickly turned into anxiety. “He went missing while I was in charge of the daycare. If anything happens, I…” The words choked in her throat.
Her cheetah let out a small whimper, and Hester groaned inwardly. She was not good at being sympathetic, but she patted Valentina’s arm and even said, “There, there.”
Valentina halted and gave her a searching look. “Do you honestly believe my mother is capable of this?”
Honestly, Hester wasn’t sure. She didn’t know Marta that well, but what she knew didn’t suggest that she had a warm and cuddly side buried anywhere within.
“She made her only daughter – a virgin nonetheless – throw herself at a guy who had no interest in her. Most parents don’t do that. I think your mother’s capable of a lot.”
Valentina looked at her feet. “Mom’s always been a little pushy about rank – that’s all. She wanted me mated to the next leap prime. Aren’t most female shifters interested in rank?”
Some more than others, and if she was willing to throw Valentina at Antonio, it must have been a blow when Marta realized she wasn’t ever going to mate the prime.
“She must have been pretty pissed when Roberto dumped her and made it clear she wasn’t going to be top cat around here.”
The jaguar let out a delicate snort of laughter. “Okay, so she wasn’t exactly easy to live with when that happened.”
“So she thought she’d get you to be Antonio’s mate and use you as a puppet.”
They approached the house, and Valentina reached the door. “She’s ambitious, but that doesn’t mean she’s done anything wrong…”
They both stared as she pushed the door open, taking in the scene before them. Hester’s inner beast snarled in alarm.
“No, you’re right, this doesn’t look suspicious in the least,” she whispered.
Thirty
“Oh, my…”
Hester cut her eyes to Valentina – she was horrified. Either she deserved an Oscar, or this really was the first time she was seeing this.
Valentina ran towards Daniel, hovering over him. Hester tried not to gag on the scent of blood. Her cheetah snarled – she already knew Daniel was dead, but Valentina started trying to resuscitate him with shaky hands. Not easy given that the claw marks raked across his chest meant that most of his organs were now on the outside.
Hester went to her and pulled her off him. “He’s gone,” she murmured.
It wasn’t easy, Valentina was working her way up from surprised to all out screaming panic, and wasn’t easily budged from Daniel’s body. But Hester could scent the death. She wasn’t exactly au fait with dead bodies, but she had worked at the SEA long enough to know the scent.
Valentina started whimpering, and Hester gave her a firm shake. Just as Valentina looked like she was about to sober, she’d glance down at her blood-streaked hands and start up again. Hester finally settled on a small slap to the face, and that did the trick. Made Hester feel a little better, too.
“What happened?” burbled Valentina, staring up at her with eyes that flickered from blue to gold. Both the woman and her jaguar were frightened and looking to Hester for answers. Of which she had none, and Hester was not a sympathetic cheetah.
“You’re asking me?! This is your house.”
“My mother… Where is she?”
“Good question,” murmured Hester.
Her cheetah sniffed, but all she got was Daniel’s blood – of which there was a lot - and Valentina’s fear.
“Do you think she’s…” Valentina faltered, and Hester would always wonder what she was going to say. Whether Valentina really thought her mother was a victim, or whether she knew she was the one who killed Daniel.
Hester didn’t find out, as the next moment, the woman in question appeared, dragging the missing cub with her.
“Mikey?” Valentina tried to move forward, and Hester held her back.
“Miss. Valentina!” he exclaimed, trying to look stoic, but his fear was obvious.
Marta rolled her eyes in anger. “What are you two doing here? You’re supposed to be out looking for this brat.”
The brat in question hissed and bit Marta’s hand. He bared his teeth in defiance. She snarled but didn’t loosen her grip.
“Don’t hurt him!” cried Valentina.
“You crazy bitch!” added Hester since no one else seemed to want to.
Marta’s eyes glittered with hatred.
“What on earth is going on?” wailed Valentina.
“She took Mikey to get rid of everyone,” said Hester as her cheetah hissed. “She knew all the jaguars would leave the compound to search for him, and no one would suspect her.”
“Well done,” sneered Marta, her hand still firmly clamped around Mikey’s rapidly purpling arm.
“B… but why?” burbled Valentina, looking like her world was crashing around her. Which Hester supposed it was. How would she react to find out her mother was completely looney? Nah, wouldn’t happen – she already knew her mother was a loon, but not a violent or malicious one, and Marta definitely ticked both those boxes.
“Why?” snapped Marta, her eyes burning with hatred. “Why do you think?”
“Seriously, why?” insisted Hester. She could guess, but it was better to get it out of the horsey mouth – her lips really were too
big for her face and Hester suspected some kind of collagen injection. Plus the longer they kept old horse mouth talking, the more likely it was that someone would come looking for them. Perhaps they could take her – Valentina was almost as big as her mother – but Hester wasn’t sure she could depend on the somewhat docile jaguar shifter, plus they had Mikey to consider.
“Because this leap should be mine!” howled Marta.
Valentina flicked a glance at Hester who in turn gave her a ‘huh’ look. Yeah, it wasn’t just her who didn’t get it.
Marta bared her fangs at their confusion. “I should lead the leap – I deserve to! My grandfather was prime; it should have been my mother who inherited the title and then me.”
“Wait, I thought it had always been the Chavez Leap,” interrupted Hester, earning her an eye tic from the unstable Marta.
Valentina nodded without taking her eyes off her mother. “That’s right; my grandfather was a Chavez. We’re kind of distantly related.”
“That’s a little bit hinky.”
Again, Valentina nodded. “We’re talking generations ago but yeah – the interbreeding is one of the reasons the males started kidnapping brides.”
“Well, yeah, nothing worse than a jaguar with two tails and three eyes.”
“Silence!” bellowed Marta. Fur sidled out of her skin; she was rapidly losing control to her beast, and right next to her was not a good place for Mikey to be.
Hester’s cheetah paced, considering their options. So far all she had was shifting and lunging – not ideal – or waiting for Antonio to rescue her. The feminist in her balked at the idea of waiting around to be rescued, but yeah, a little jaguar help wouldn’t go amiss at that moment.
Marta beat a fist against her chest. “The leap should be mine; it should have stayed in my family. Do you know what it was like to have to watch Roberto’s father take it away from me – what was rightfully mine? Lord knows I tried to get it back. I tried to get his father to take me as his mate, but he wanted to stay loyal to his little human mate.” She spat the words out in disgust. “I tried to get Roberto’s older brother, but he was just as besotted with a fucking human. So I mated and waited for the next prime. By the time Roberto was prime, I was lumbered with a useless mate and a whiny brat.”
