Stolen Passions

by Crystal Jordan

  She was being followed.

  Ramon watched Benny tail the she-wolf through the mall. If Lyra managed to identify anyone, it would be Benny, because he was providing close cover while Ramon remained farther behind and across the wide walkway. No one would ever connect his face or scent to this operation. If Benny didn’t understand that score—well, it wasn’t Ramon’s job to educate the hyena-shifter.

  Surveillance like this was best conducted in pairs, so if she stopped, Benny didn’t have to do something stupid that would only draw attention to himself, like bend over and tie his shoe, or pretend sudden interest in a perfume display. The hyena could walk right past and wait up ahead while Ramon watched her from a distance. All they needed was a few moments of her away from Zander and the crowd—a bathroom break, a trip down into a mostly empty store—and it was over. A simple snatch job, then lights out for the Marcus woman.

  Ramon could collect his hefty fee, give Benny a small cut, and be on to the next assignment.

  Until then, they had to be patient and watchful. Ramon had no problem with either, but Benny was a bit of a wildcard. The hyena wouldn’t have been Ramon’s first choice as a partner in this job, but he was the only one available on such short notice.

  “Mierda.” He hissed the word in a voice too low to attract the notice of the humans around him when the leopard stepped out of a store to rejoin the woman.

  He pulled back, slipping into the crowd and out of sight. Another delay. He didn’t like it, but it wouldn’t stop him from finishing the job.

  Patience would reward him. The woman had to be alone some time. When she was, he’d be waiting.

  Chapter Five

  Killing rage pumped through Zander’s system. He paced the length of Nico’s office, rattling off questions, demands, observations from what he’d found at the mall. Lyra had come to him, claiming she was being followed. He’d pulled her into his arms and let his gaze scan the surrounding area as he’d hustled her and her shopping bags out to the Jeep. An odd scent had caught his attention. Not canine, exactly. But not feline, either. And there wasn’t a real dog or cat anywhere in sight. No, this was a shifter. He just wasn’t sure what kind. The scent had faded fast, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Lyra alone to trace it. Frustration still curled in his gut. Fuck.

  Every imaginable electronic gadget and three different computers were neatly arranged on desks that ringed Nico’s large office. The big man dwarfed the space as he kicked back to read a sheaf of paper, occasionally glancing up to scan a wall of video monitors.

  He ran a hand over his military-short hair, slanting a glance at Zander. “I think it’s a professional.”

  Stopping, he rounded on his older brother. “What?”

  “The tailing, the way they worked her over bad enough to leave her near dead, but not. It was too calculated, too good. We’re assuming this is meant to start something between the wolves and leopards. I’m going one step beyond that and saying it isn’t some disposable lackey doing it. Whoever wants to start this shit has hired an assassin to get the job done. Smart of them, bad for us.”

  “I agree. My contacts in the shifter community have pulled up dick. No one leaves a trail this clean without bringing in professional help.” Adrian entered the room as Nico finished speaking, and leaned back against the door after he closed it, folding his arms. He leveled a cool stare at Zander. “To make matters even more complicated, you mated with the Alpha’s niece. I could toss your ass out of Refuge so fast it would make your head spin for this, little brother.”

  “Are you really going to disown me for mating to a woman I love?” Love. The word came out of his mouth, and it felt right. He’d never used it in reference to a woman before, but this wasn’t just any woman, this was Lyra. This was his woman. He wanted to tell her—she deserved to know. Emotions banded tight around his chest, too many to control. Love, need, and intense protective instincts for Lyra—rage, hate and the need to kill the person who wanted to hurt her.

  “Love? You’ve known her about five seconds. Spare me. And a wolf? Jesus, Zander.” Adrian rolled his eyes, glancing back at Nico. Both men wore looks of utter repugnance on their faces. “How the hell did we end up with such an open-minded brother?”

  “Apparently, we didn't beat him enough when he was growing up.” Nico snorted, letting his feet drop to the floor. “If the kidnapping wasn’t enough, then this mating is definitely going to start a shit storm in wolf-leopard politics. Celeste was a human, and she died before anything really got started because of Jason mating to her, but this? They’re already threatening war. What happens when they find out you want to tie the bloodlines with a mating?”

  “Maybe then we can work out this centuries-old bullshit. Do we even know why we hate them anymore? When have they ever done anything to us or us to them?” Zander crossed his arms and met their steely gazes head on. “From where my mate and I stand, that's the best news I've heard all day.”

  “Not from a security standpoint.” Nico sucked his teeth in disgust, his emerald eyes narrowed.

  Zander sniffed. “Killjoy.”

  “Well, while you’ve been getting your rocks off, I’ve been dealing with a thoroughly pissed off werewolf Alpha. I may not be kicking you out of the family, but your mate’s not going to be so lucky. With Celeste, Michael Lykaios has already had one woman in his family die after she mated to a Leonidas, so he’s not going to be happy with this. And Felix Marcus? Talking to him was as fruitful as talking to a brick wall. Mating with her was stupid, Zander. It’s going to cause nothing but problems. You’d have done better to just keep her as a lover and end it at that.” As usual, Adrian was uptight, relentless, and unforgiving. All of that combined with a smooth, unflappable control made Zander want to punch him.

  Especially now when he spoke of Lyra as though she were a disposable plaything.

  Zander drew in a deep breath. Beating his brother to death wouldn’t help anything. “I don’t know, Adrian. You seem a little tense—maybe you should give this whole getting-laid thing a try.”

  Adrian’s nostrils flared. “If I want your opinion on the matter, I’ll give it to you, little brother.”

  Rounding the end of his desk, Nico swept both of them with a dismissive glance. “Regardless of the politics going on here, it’s a security issue. That makes it my concern. I want to question her further. Alone.”

  “No. Not without me there.” The flat denial surprised Zander, but the dangerous looks on his brothers’ faces said they were even less pleased by this new turn of events. Zander opened his mouth to take it back, but that wasn’t what emerged. “Absolutely not.”

  Adrian’s icy pale green gaze sharpened, and he moved away from the door, his voice going deadly soft—a ruler displeased that his subject had turned traitor. “What do you mean, no? She can answer Nico’s questions…unless she has something to hide.”

  When Nico tried to step around him, Zander blocked his path. Nico’s face hardened. “I can kill you, little brother.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, little brother.” Zander made his voice light, but he didn’t budge. Distract, deflect, diffuse. He forced a smile that was half-charming, half-mocking. Even though he was the youngest, he was easily the tallest of his brothers. A fact he rubbed their noses in as often as possible. He would take every advantage he could claim. It was the way of brothers.

  All of the Leonidas men stood over six feet tall, but the reminder that he’d always be shorter than Zander made Nico glower. Adrian just looked disdainful. “We have to question her, Zander, and we’re hardly going to hurt her. This chivalrous streak of yours is getting a bit too wide to be reasonable. Jason lost his grip on reality over a woman too. Remember how well that turned out for him.”

  Reason. Harsh reality. Control. That was all Adrian was about now that Celeste and Hector were dead and Jason had gone to Florida to lick his wounds. Their whole family had been ripped apart with that crash. Zander still staggered under the loss. His other brothers hadn’t
fared any better, though they’d never admit it, even to themselves. Nico was obsessed with the idea that the airplane accident was no accident, but sabotage of some kind. Zander sighed. There was no reasoning with Nico, and there never had been. It was always best to give him room to run and let him work things out his own way. Including accepting the loss of their father.

  Adrian, though. He’d become even more uptight than usual—focusing all his anger and grief at Jason for leaving his younger brother in charge of their businesses, family, and all the shifters who looked to the Leonidases for leadership and protection.

  As second oldest, Adrian wasn’t raised to rule, and he resented having it foisted on him when Jason abandoned the throne. On the one hand, Zander could understand Adrian’s bitterness. On the other, meeting Lyra had given him a new perspective on what Jason must have gone through when his mate died a sudden and violent death. And Zander was going to make damn sure that didn’t happen to him.

  He offered both his brothers a cold, hard glare. “If you have something to ask my mate, then you can do it in front of me. I know you won’t hurt her, but you’re also not going to interrogate her. May I remind you that she’s the one who was beaten and left for dead? I’m not letting you loose on her—either of you—without my supervision.”

  The cell phone clipped to Nico’s belt chirped and vibrated. He pulled it free, punched a button with more force than necessary, pressed it to his ear and barked into the receiver. “Yes?”

  Zander took that as his cue to get while the getting was good. He slid past Adrian on his way out the door; the older man gave Zander a narrow-eyed stare, but didn’t try to stop him. He needed to track down Lyra. He had a few new revelations to share with her, preferably while burning off some of his frustration between the sheets. There was nothing wrong with a little multi-tasking. And they’d both be in a mellow frame of mind when his brothers got to asking their questions.

  If they thought they’d try to force her to take their side in wolf-leopard politics, they were out of their minds. Bad enough that her family wouldn’t take this well. He’d never ask her to betray her kind for him. He loved her just as she was. Strong, passionate, a little wild. He already knew she was a fighter, a survivor. He had a feeling those traits would be put to the test before this was all over.

  A dry, desert breeze ruffled Zander’s hair as he rounded the back corner of his house. He could see Lyra through the window puttering around the kitchen, and it stopped him in his tracks. He pulled in a deep breath, the emotion he’d experienced since the moment he laid eyes on her hammering through him. It was…good to have her here. It was right. He couldn’t get over how perfect it was with her when he’d always shied away from commitment with women. They’d been a convenience to warm his bed for a night or two. That was all. Lyra was anything but convenient. He’d never expected to have anyone like her in his life, but she’d swept in and changed everything before he could run. He hadn’t stood a chance.

  She glanced up and gave him the kind of smile that sent fire shooting through his veins. Stepping out the back door, she reached for him, that intense, animalistic need he felt for her shining in those molten silver eyes. God, he loved her. She was made for him.

  Then he smelled it. The same scent that had fouled the air at the mall. Lyra’s stalker.

  His heart seized as absolute terror gripped him, but he didn’t stop to think, just launched himself forward and tackled her, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her to the ground as a low whistle pierced the air. The stucco on the side of his house exploded to shower down on them. His breathing and pulse raced, and he reacted on pure instinct to protect his woman. Tucking his forearm over her head, he covered her body with his and wedged her up against the rough wall.

  “Someone’s shooting at us.” Lyra’s voice was a harsh rasp. Rage vibrated through her slim form, but he could also smell her fear.

  He tightened his grip when she tried to move. “Stay down.”

  Another bullet slapped into the wall over his head, and bits of stucco rained over them. Lyra coughed and sputtered, spitting out what had gotten in her mouth. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” Darting a glance over his shoulder, he zeroed in on their attacker. There. On a hill overlooking the resort, one of the foothills that led up to the mountains. Too far to get a good look at a face, even with a cat’s advanced vision, but Zander knew the man’s scent and that was all it would take to track him down. And then kill him.

  Sand and gravel sprayed against the side of the house as an electric blue classic car squealed around the corner and rocked to a stop between them and the shooter. Tori barked through the open passenger window, “Get in.”

  Zander jackknifed to his feet, keeping low to the ground to use the car as the best cover possible, and wrenched open the passenger door. “Get out. I’m borrowing your car.”

  “Fuck that. I’m driving.” Hunching over the steering wheel to stay down, she snorted. “This is a ’56 Chevy Bel Air. No one touches my baby but me.”

  “Shit.” He didn’t have time to argue, so he slid in.

  The sound of two doors slamming had him turning in his seat to see Lyra climbing in behind him. The car jolted as Tori hit the gas and peeled out across the desert, sand and loose rocks shooting up behind them as they went. Lyra arched a brow at him. “That asshole is after me, and I’m not sitting around waiting to see what happens.”

  He snarled but didn’t trust himself to speak. Had he ever thought he liked stubborn women? He’d been out of his mind. The noise of the engine rumbled through the car, far more powerful than anything that should be in this model. They were already cresting the hill the shooter had been on, and he turned to Tori to offer a grudging smile. “You souped it up.”

  “Well, yeah. How else was I going to beat my brothers in a drag race?” The blonde woman gave a matter-of-fact shrug. “Look, I’m not a predator, so I can’t track for shit. You’ll have to tell me where we’re going.”

  He dragged in a deep breath as the hot wind whipped through the vehicle, the scent of his prey filling his nostrils. “Take a left.”

  Tori obeyed, then flicked a glance in the rearview mirror at Lyra. “So, you want to tell me why someone’s trying to kill you?”

  Chapter Six

  Fury boiled in Ramon’s veins, but he controlled it with ruthless force. He and Benny had been scouting the resort when the hyena had opened fire with his sniper rifle. Attacking downwind of an enemy? Shooting at a Leonidas on the leopard’s home ground? Reckless. Idiotic. Careless. Hiring Benny on had been a mistake, one Ramon would rectify the second the hyena showed his face. Another fucking loose end to tie up.

  Ramon could have walked away from this job a long time ago, probably should have, but it rankled to leave it undone. He was the best at what he did. He balled his fingers into tight fists at his sides, fangs erupting from his gums. The wild cat inside him growled, and he had to rein in the ocelot.

  At this point, he was so pissed about the woman getting away again that he’d kill her for free. His client didn’t need to know that, but he’d be lucky if the client didn’t hire another operative to take out Lyra and Ramon. A hiss slid from his throat.

  He froze in place when he saw a dust-covered classic Chevy parked outside the deep, narrow cave he and Benny had been camping out in. They’d found him. Lifting his face to the wind, he caught both of their scents, Lyra and Zander. He let a feral grin peel back his lips. Nice of them to make it so easy for him by coming out into remote territory, where no one would hear the bullets. Or the screams.

  There’d be questions about the Leonidas man’s death, but that couldn’t be helped. Collateral damage sometimes happened. Considering who his client was, it might be an added bonus for Zander to die. Anticipation hummed through Ramon as he set aside his rifle and drew the pistol out of the holster at the small of his back.

  Finally, the break he needed to finish this.

  Zander bared his fangs at Lyra and hissed.
She folded her arms and stood her ground against the big leopard. He’d never hurt her, and they both knew it. Her belly trembled at the idea of how much trouble she’d caused him so far. Eventually, he’d decide she was more than he wanted to handle, just like her family had.

  This mating thing was insane, and there was no way it could last. She wasn’t worth the kind of trouble she’d already caused him and his family, let alone what would happen when her family found out they’d mated. It was only a matter of time. She wasn’t sure which scared her the most. The thought that he could still get hurt because of her, or the thought of him leaving her when it was over. She swallowed and lifted her chin when Zander hissed again. “We’ll stay here while you check out the rest of the cave, but we are not sitting in the car.”

  Tori scooted closer to Lyra’s side and mimicked her pose, jutting her jaw for good measure. “Yeah. What she said.”

  A growl vibrated his big body. “Don’t move so much as an inch from this spot.” Lyra opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off. “Is. That. Clear?”

  Nodding, Lyra said nothing as he spun on a heel to stalk away, rage broadcasting in his every movement. Oh, yeah. He was definitely going to get tired of the kind of headaches she would give him. She sighed.

  A soft scrape of rocks rubbing together made her cock her head. Someone was outside the cave, walking with cat’s feet on the gravel. She could sense it. The hairs lifted on the back of her neck, gooseflesh rippling down her arms. Shooting a glance at Tori, she pushed the younger woman back into the deep shadows as a dark-haired man with cold, world-weary eyes entered.