Caitlyn sniffed as more tears streamed down her face. “Tanit is dead. We left him in the Temple of Death.”
Pat inclined his head. “It is an honor to die in service to the Master.”
She snorted. Then that was an honor she wished on the professor and the rest of his crew. “What are you doing to Rajiv?”
“We need him alive, so he will not be harmed. We are fitting a silver collar around his neck. I believe that will keep him from shifting. If not, we will have to keep him tranquilized until we can bring him to the Master.”
“What will the Master do to him?”
“The real question is what will the cat shifter do to the Master?” Pat headed out the door, then paused. “We must keep you locked up until this evening. I may be able to release you at that time, but I do not know. The decision will not be mine.”
She swallowed hard. “Who makes the decision?”
“Guardians of higher rank than I. I am merely a mortal, but they are chiang-shih. They will awaken in a few hours.”
Pat and Sawat left the room, and she heard the scrape of a bolt sliding into place.
With a sigh, she touched Carlos’s face. “I hope you wake up before the vampires do.”
She wandered about the room, looking for a way to escape or something that could be used as a weapon. The window was covered with bars and boarded up. She found a clay pot under the table and figured it was the toilet. On top of the table was a bowl and pitcher full of water. She might be able to whack someone with the pitcher, but first she would put the water to good use.
She took the sheet off Rajiv’s pallet and tore it into strips. Then she poured a little water into the bowl and set it next to Carlos. She washed the blood off his bare chest. He was still wearing his khaki pants and hiking boots.
She stretched him out on the pallet. Even though he couldn’t feel anything, she wanted him to look comfortable. She emptied the bloodied water into the chamber pot, then washed her own face and hands. With nothing else to do, she lay down beside Carlos and waited for him to come back.
She must have dozed, for she awakened when she felt Carlos’s body jerk. Yes! He was going to revive again. She sat up, her heart expanding in her chest.
His body jerked again and his eyes opened.
She grinned. “Carlos. Thank God.” She smoothed a hand over his chest and abdomen. The wounds were gone.
“I died again,” he whispered.
“You’re all right now.” She caressed his face.
He glanced around the room. “We’re prisoners?”
“Yes.”
He sat up, his eyes wide with alarm. “Is there another room where you can go?”
“No. We’re locked up together.”
“Merda.” He pulled off his hiking boots and socks. “The Surge is coming. I can feel it.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not!” He unbuckled his belt. “Each time it happens, the panther is more powerful. I don’t know if I can control it. Caitlyn, you can’t let me bite you.”
She drew a quick breath. If he bit her, she might become a were-panther. Or she might die.
He pulled down his pants and underwear. “Caitlyn, promise me you won’t let me bite you.”
She hesitated.
He grabbed her by the upper arms. “Don’t even consider it. I will not be responsible for your death.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You’ve died twice for me. Why shouldn’t I risk it once for you?”
“Because you don’t come back like I do!” He jumped up and paced across the room. His gaze landed on the window. He punched a fist through the bars and shattered the glass.
“What are you doing?” She grimaced at the blood on his hand.
He pulled a jagged shard of glass from the window and dropped it on the pallet beside her. “If I try to bite you, stab me. It won’t kill me, but it’ll help me come to my senses.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You have to.” He stepped back as his body started to shimmer. “Sometimes it hurts to do the right thing.”
With a roar, his body shifted. He came down on all fours and arched his back. She winced at the sound of his bones crackling and elongating. He was by far the largest cat she’d ever seen. Larger than a male lion. She suspected he was larger than a saber-tooth tiger.
He turned his head toward her and growled low in his throat. She picked up the shard of glass.
He lifted a massive paw and set it down in her direction. His golden eyes gleamed, focused intently on her. His body lowered to a few inches off the floor.
She held her breath. She’d seen this move before with her kitten, Mr. Foofikins. It was the classic crouch stance before the pounce.
“Carlos?” Her heart stuttered when his eyes turned red and began to glow. How much of him was a beast? How much control would Carlos have? If he pounced on her, would he maul her to death? Or was he simply driven to bite her and make her his mate?
A growl rumbled low in his throat. His tail twitched. Then he pounced.
His paws hit her shoulders and knocked her back. He stood over her, his legs straddling her. He lowered his head with a grumbling sound in his throat.
She gazed into his red glowing eyes, searching for Carlos. His body trembled, and she realized he was there. He was fighting the beast.
She flung the shard of glass away. “Go ahead,” she whispered. “Bite me.”
He threw back his head and roared. She winced at the sight of his fangs. When he lowered his head, she turned her face away and squeezed her eyes shut. A wet, raspy tongue licked her neck, and she shivered.
Pop. She gasped. His fangs had broken her skin. He licked her once again, then backed away.
She touched her neck, then drew away her hand. There was blood on her fingers.
His body shimmered and shifted back. He wiped the back of his hand against his mouth and stared at the bloodstain. He looked at her, his eyes amber once again. They widened at the sight of her neck. “No, no.”
“It’s okay.”
He jumped to his feet. “No!” He clenched his fists and pressed them against his temples. “The beast was too strong. I tried to fight it.”
“Carlos, it’s all right.”
He fell onto his knees. “Oh God, what have I done?”
“It wasn’t your fault! It was my decision. I threw away the shard of glass. I told you to bite me.”
He gave her an incredulous look. “Why?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Because I love you. And like you said, sometimes it hurts to do the right thing.”
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “The next part of the Surge is coming. I can feel it.”
“What part is that?”
His eyes opened, and they were red once again. “I need sex.”
Her breath caught. Now she remembered the Surge he’d gone through in the cave. After shifting into a panther and back, he’d wanted sex. And she had refused.
He stood slowly, and her gaze went instantly to his erection. No way was she going to refuse him this time.
She pulled off her hiking boots as he walked toward her. The intensity of his red glowing eyes made her tremble with anticipation. She undid her belt and unzipped her pants.
He leaned over, grasped the hem of her khaki pants, and yanked them off so roughly she fell onto her back. He ripped off her panties, then shoved her legs apart and knelt between them.
He inserted a finger inside her and growled. “You’re already wet.”
“Yes.” She wrapped her legs around his back and lifted her hips.
He grasped her butt cheeks and pulled her toward him. She gasped when his erection slammed into her. He ground her against him so her clitoris was tickled by his crisp pubic hair.
He thrust into her, hard and deep. Tension rose inside her higher and higher. He leaned his head back and roared. He pumped into her wildly, and she screamed her release.
Then he fel
l onto the pallet beside her and gathered her into his arms. Her body throbbed with aftershocks.
He stiffened suddenly and sat up, looking at the door. She heard it a few seconds later. Footsteps running toward the door.
“Get dressed,” he whispered.
She pulled her underwear back on and reached for her pants. Carlos jumped up and pulled on his pants.
“I heard strange noises,” someone shouted in the hallway. “It sounded like the roar of a cat.”
“Impossible,” another voice said. “The panther is dead.”
“Open the door,” the professor ordered.
Caitlyn fastened her pants. Carlos ran barefoot to the side of the door and pressed himself against the wall.
The bolt scraped, then the door cracked open. The muzzle of a rifle slid through the opening. Carlos waited, then grasped the muzzle and yanked the man into the room. As the man fell forward, Carlos karate-chopped him on the back of the neck and wrenched the rifle from his hand.
As the next armed man ran into the room, Carlos spun around and swung the rifle like a bat. The man fell on the floor.
Another armed man ran into the room, but Carlos flipped his rifle over and shot three darts into the man’s chest.
Gunshots rang out and several tranquilizer darts hit Carlos in the chest. He ripped them out as more armed men ran into the room. They tried to shoot at him, but he ignored the darts and charged after them.
“Magnificent.” Pat slipped inside the room. “So incredibly strong, he can defy death.”
Carlos leaped at another armed man, knocking the rifle out of his hand, then punching him in the face. More darts were shot at him but he kept fighting. Caitlyn realized he was a level five were-panther now. He possessed superhuman strength and speed. He’d taken down several men in just a few seconds.
The click of pistol hammer drew her attention, and she gasped. Pat had a revolver aimed at her head.
“I suggest you stop,” Pat told Carlos. “Or I will be forced to shoot your wife.”
Carlos stopped, and was instantly bombarded with dozens of tranquilizer darts.
“The woman, too,” Pat ordered.
Caitlyn winced as several darts pierced her skin. Her vision grew fuzzy. She saw Carlos crumble to the floor.
“What an amazing specimen!” Pat exclaimed. “He must be the strongest cat in the world. The Master will be so pleased.”
Caitlyn collapsed on the pallet as everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-seven
S ean Whelan banged on the door at Romatech Industries, then shouted at the nearby surveillance camera. “Open up, damn you!” These damned Vamps kept the place locked up tight at night. It was infuriating that he had to beg entrance in order to see his own daughter and grandchildren.
“Open up!” They had to know he was here. The guard at the front gate would have alerted them.
The door opened and he burst into the foyer to find Shanna and that damned bodyguard, Connor Buchanan.
“Dad, what’s wrong?” Shanna asked. “Is Mom okay?”
He gritted his teeth. “Do you know where Caitlyn is?” He spotted Phineas McKinney rushing into the foyer. “Where the hell is my daughter?”
Phineas gave him an exasperated look. “Relax, dude, she’s okay.”
“Then you know where she is?” Sean demanded.
“Yer daughter is on assignment,” Connor replied. “Angus saw her last night, and she was fine.”
“The hell she is! I just got a call from the State Department. A hill tribe contacted the American consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and reported she was missing. They heard gunfire—”
“What?” Shanna interrupted.
“You heard me,” Sean snapped. “The tribe said there was a gunfight, and Caitlyn was taken. The consulate asked the local police to investigate, and they found a bunch of dead bodies in the road.”
Shanna gasped. Connor pulled a cell phone from his sporran.
“They also found an abandoned car and two backpacks,” Sean continued. “One had Caitlyn’s passport inside, and the other had a Brazilian passport for Carlos Panterra.”
Phineas nodded. “They’re on assignment together.”
“You sent my daughter into the jungle with a damned shape shifter?” Sean shouted.
“We’ll contact Angus as soon as possible,” Phineas began. “He won’t be awake just now.”
“I have his voice mail.” Connor talked into his cell phone. “Angus, it looks like Caitlyn and Carlos have been abducted. We’ll e-mail you the details.”
“You’d better find her!” Sean yelled. “You can tell Angus that if something happens to her, I’ll hold you all responsible. I’ll hunt you down—”
“Dad, please!” Shanna hissed. “We’re just as upset about this as you are.”
Sean fisted his hands, attempting to regain control. “Can you track her whereabouts? Don’t the MacKay employees have some kind of homing beacon implanted in their arms?”
“We did that after Robby was kidnapped,” Phineas said. “But only for the Vamps. We didn’t think the shifters or mortals would ever be targeted.”
“Well, you were wrong, weren’t you?” Sean growled.
Phineas motioned for Sean to follow him. “Come to the office so we can get all the information you have. I’ll broadcast it to all MacKay employees. It’ll be our top priority.”
Sean scoffed. “A lot of good that’ll do. It’s daytime in Thailand, so your Vamps won’t be any help at all.” He glanced over his shoulder. Shanna and Connor were following them down the hall. “This is your fault, Shanna. You just had to drag her into this foul world of yours.”
Her face turned pale.
“Enough, Whelan.” Connor glared at him. “Ye were going to do the same, offering her a job on yer bloody Stake-Out team.”
Phineas opened the door to the MacKay security office, and Sean strode inside. He paced about as Shanna took a seat and Connor stood by the door, glaring at him.
Phineas sat behind the desk. “I was just reading the report Angus filed. He left Caitlyn and Carlos with the Akha tribe.”
“I want to read that report,” Sean demanded.
Phineas glanced at Connor, who frowned.
“Verra well,” Connor said. “Let him see it. The information is most likely related to her abduction.”
“What information?” Shanna asked.
“Evidence of a powerful Chinese vampire who appears to have mortals assisting him,” Connor explained.
“They call him Master Han,” Phineas added.
Sean snorted. “I should have known a vampire was involved in this. He could teleport Cait anywhere on the planet. We’ll never find her.”
“We have employees all over the world,” Connor said quietly. “We will find her.”
“Why should I believe you?” Sean sneered at him. “You’ve been looking for Casimir for years, and you keep failing.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed.
“We’ve been kicking ass,” Phineas insisted. “We’ve killed off a bunch of his minions.”
Sean shrugged. “They’ll keep coming as long as their leader’s alive, and you can’t even find him.”
Connor’s jaw clenched. “We’ve located Casimir twice.”
“And he always escapes.” Sean enjoyed seeing the red flush of rage on Connor’s face. “If anything happens to my daughter, I’ll raze this place to the ground. I’ll destroy you all.”
Connor zoomed over to him in a blur of vampire speed and seized him by the shirt collar. His eyes blazed with anger. “Mind yer manners, Whelan. Ye need us.”
Sean wrenched himself free. That damned Connor. Once he started killing the Vamps, he’d make sure Connor was second on the list, right after Shanna’s damned husband.
Carlos blinked his eyes open. The place was dark, but his eyes adjusted quickly. The floor beneath him vibrated slightly, and he could hear the hum of engines.
“There you are,” Caitlyn whispered. “
Welcome back.”
He planted a hand on the floor to push himself into a sitting position, and felt something tug at his wrist. He was in handcuffs with a foot of chain between his hands.
He sat up and felt another tug at his neck. “What the hell?” There was a collar around his neck, and a heavy chain extended from it to a metal bar. “We’re in a cage?”
“Yes.” Caitlyn sat beside him, leaning back against the bars. There were no handcuffs or chains on her, and she had a blanket draped around her shoulders. “They kept you drugged for hours. They’re scared to death of you.” The corner of her mouth tilted up. “I can hardly blame them. You can really kick ass.”
He grasped the thick chain in his fist and tugged. With his added strength, he might be able to break it. “Where are we?”
“On a plane. In a cargo hold.” She wrapped the blanket tighter around her. “We’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”
“We?” He glanced around and spotted Rajiv, the were-tiger.
The young man was dressed in baggy pants. His long black hair hung over one shoulder in a braid, and there was a silver collar around his neck. His hands were also cuffed. He said something in his language.
“He’s glad you’re all right,” Caitlyn translated.
“I didn’t know he’d been captured,” Carlos said.
“Well, you have a good excuse.” She gave him a wry look. “You were knocked out and dying at the time.”
“Better me than you.” He thought back to their hike through the jungle. “I thought I heard a tiger.”
She nodded. “He followed us, then tried to help us. Pat was delighted to capture a second cat shifter since you were dying at the time.”
He arched a brow. “Do I detect a little anger?”
“I’m a bit peeved because you keep dying all the time. You don’t have an unlimited amount of lives, you know.”
Neither did she. Carlos’s gaze drifted to the bite mark on her neck. It was true. He’d bitten her. His mind was so fuzzy with the aftereffects of tranquilizers that he’d hoped he had only imagined biting her.
“It’ll be all right,” she whispered.
He hung his head, closing his eyes.
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