Guarding His Heart

by Serena Pettus

  “Let go of me! Oh, God, Jag! No, don’t hurt him, please.” The sound of Lynn begging for mercy on his behalf did nothing more than earn him another kick, this one to the stomach. “Fucking cowards! Messing with women half your size then attacking men when they can’t defend themselves?”

  The man standing above Jag simply clucked his tongue. “Such a pretty little potty mouth you have. We’ll have to do something about that.”

  A shove to the shoulder with the guy’s boot turned Jag to his back and made it possible for him to see where Lynn was held by a very large man. What he wouldn’t give to have Liam or one of the other shifters show up. Jag couldn’t believe the screams that had alerted him hadn’t drawn more of the Pride to the house.

  As the male, who appeared to be the leader, moved closer to Lynn, she struggled in her captor’s arms. “So feisty, yet so very fragile. I’ll never understand what humans hope to accomplish by taking on one of us.”

  “Maybe, it’s because most humans have no idea what you are, genius,” Lynn spat. She glared defiantly up at him. When the rogue’s hand flashed out, a loud smack following, Jag saw red. However, his rage hit an all new level when the guy stepped to the side and he caught sight of Lynn’s limp body.

  Jag’s skin rippled, his bones humming as his jaguar fought to force a shift. The drug’s effects were quickly being burned off by his rage and the adrenalin pumping through his veins. The three rogues’ eyes widened as they took notice.

  “Dude, we need to go,” the one holding Lynn urged. “If he’s coming out of that dose already, the others will be coming around soon too. We gotta get out of here or they might be able to follow us.”

  “Yeah, it’s a miracle we were able to tranq all of them, but our systems burn this shit too fast. Let’s go,” another said then climbed into the driver’s seat of a large, white utility van.

  Jag was forced to watch as Lynn was loaded into the backseat along with Kitty, who’d been restrained with what looked like some sort of silver barbed wire. The one who’d been taunting him jumped up into the passenger seat.

  “Don’t forget to keep your phone handy if you ever want to see her again,” he called as his parting statement.

  It gave Jag faint hope that they didn’t plan to kill Lynn outright, but then again, they could have just done that here without taking her. Why bring Kitty, too? She wasn’t romantically involved with any humans, unless they were targeting her simply for being friends with Lynn.

  It was at least another five minutes before he could push himself upright. A few feet away, the enforcer who’d been hit first roused. “They took both women,” Jag informed him. “We need to contact Dylan and get men out looking for that van as soon as possible. I don’t want them getting far.”

  Stumbling to his feet, Jag made it to the back door on shaky legs. He extracted his cell phone from his pile of clothing and dialed the Prime.

  Dylan answered on the first ring. “Jag, why hasn’t anyone checked in? I just dispatched twenty men your way.”

  “They took them. The bastards used some sort of tranquilizer and took out all the men guarding the house. Lynn and Kitty were just taken away in a large, white cargo van. Double back doors and no windows past the front doors. I need your men to divert to the streets and start looking for them now,” Jag ordered, knowing full well speaking so directly and telling the Pride leader what to do, could get him exiled from the territory. “They have Kitty tied up with what looked like silver barbed wire, but they hit her with some kind of super sedative, and she wasn’t conscious when they pulled away.”

  A string of expletives were snarled over the line, and Jag heard Dylan stomping around before a door was closed. “Listen, I don’t want to explain this to Samantha until we know more. Hell, hopefully, not until we have Lynn back.” There was a pause and what sounded like the clacking of fingers on a keyboard. “I just sent a new directive to the team lead. I’ll bring more guards into the resort to keep watch over Sam and Eli then I’m heading your way. Have you heard from Liam? He was supposed to be out there somewhere.”

  “Not a peep since we came home. I’m about to search for the others, but the rogue told me to keep my phone handy if I ever wanted to see Lynn again. That has to mean there’s a chance for me to free her, right?” It was the only shred of hope he had at this point, and Jag looked for any confirmation that he’d correctly understood the statement.

  “It sounds like a possibility, but let’s just take things one step at a time. Right now, we need to find the van, and you need to keep your phone charged and with you.”

  “I will. I really want to just take off and search them out, but I know how foolish that would be. They’re probably miles away by now, and I have no clue which way they went after getting to the main road. I’ll start looking for Liam and the others, and see you when you get here.”

  * * * *

  An hour later, dozens of guards, enforcers and patrols scoured the area for any signs of the rogues. Several calls had come in yet none provided news of any value. Dylan had become even more agitated when informed the shifters had masked their scent, not that Jag expected anything different.

  “This will make tracking them damn near impossible,” Dylan growled, raking his fingers through his hair before pounding his fist down on the table. “If they used the same stuff on the women, we’ll be searching blindly for them, too. There had to be more than three rogues for them to be able to take down all the enforcers stationed around the house. Now, we’ll have to be on the alert for another attack, too.”

  “I explained the reaction my body had to the drugs and Dr. Lewis is seeing if he can extract any of the drug from inside the darts. With any luck, he’ll come up with something to counteract the effects.” It was a long shot, but Jag was doing his best to remain optimistic. If he gave in to his fears, the rogues wouldn’t be Dylan’s only problem.

  The front door slammed open and several scouts poured through. “We found the van, Prime. It was burning in the middle of a field to the south of here. There was nobody inside, and it appears they had another vehicle waiting for them there.”

  For a moment, Jag’s heart had completely stalled, but at the mention of the van being empty, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Did you find anything helpful?”

  Another shifter stepped forward with his hand extended. “We found one of their tranquilizer darts on the ground, filled with whatever they used to knock everyone out. There was also a torn piece of paper with what appears to be part of an address written on it.”

  Jag held his hand out, eager to find wherever Lynn and Kitty were taken. “There’s only a street number and the letter N,” he growled. What the hell was he supposed to do with that?

  “Easy, Jag. We’ll do a search for all the streets in a fifty-mile radius beginning with N then we’ll find those with a matching address. And when we do locate it, we’ll wipe out every last one of these fuckers,” Dylan promised. “I won’t have them coming after any members of my Pride again.”

  A vibration from Jag’s cell cut off his reply. “Shit,” he hissed as he struggled to pull it out. “It’s a text message from Lynn’s phone.”

  Pulling up their conversation on his screen, Jag saw it was actually a video. Dread settled in his heart as he forced his finger to tap play. The first thing he noted was the concrete walls and floors as whoever manned the camera panned around the small room. A chain came into view, the end anchored to a thick bolt in the floor. There was no sound at all, but as the cameraman followed the winding path of the links, a bare foot came into view, followed by slender legs and on up until Jag stared at Lynn, clad only in her bra and panties. Her hands were bound before her, the heavy chain attached between her tiny wrists. She lay so still, he feared the worst, but the slightest moan came through, followed by a sinister chuckle.

  “The games will begin soon, feline. I wonder who will win.”

  The video cut off. The phone shook in Jag’s palm. He’d recognized the voice as one of the
men from before, and he made sure to commit it to memory. Death would visit that man soon. “Get someone searching for that address now,” Jag ordered. “She’s alive, and I want her to stay that way, damn it!”

  Everyone but Dylan and Liam scattered, hopefully to find the answers he needed because right now there wasn’t much Jag could do without completely losing control. His skin crawled with the need to change forms. His claws had already extended, and his canines were prominent enough to make closing his mouth difficult. “I need to run.”

  “You need to remain in human form,” Dylan replied. “If they happen to call, instead of text, you have to be available to speak to them. I doubt they’ll be patient enough for you to shift back, and they may even take it out on Lynn.”

  He had a point, but Jag still had to do something.

  “Come with me.” Liam turned and headed for the door. “Let’s go outside before you start demolishing the house. It’s obvious you’re only seconds from hitting something, and I’m pretty sure Lynn wants to come home to her house the way she left it.” They all looked at the mess left by the struggle the women had put up before their kidnapping. “Well, you know what I mean.”

  He did, and Liam was right. Jag not only wanted to hit something; he wanted to pound someone into the ground. When they got out in the yard, Liam surprised him, taking a defensive stance and crooking his finger. “Show me what you’ve got.”

  Dylan stood on the porch, watching with an almost amused expression. “Just remember all the times he flirted with Lynn, Jag.”

  “Hey, whose side are you on? I’m just trying to help him let off a little steam, not get killed!” Liam exclaimed.

  Jag realized then how lucky he was to have these two as his friends. Given Jag’s fighting skills and the level of aggression coursing through him, Liam was incredibly brave to allow Jag to use him as a punching bag. Nevertheless, Jag would take Liam up on the offer because Dylan was right and Jag would never risk letting Lynn down.

  Finally letting go, Jag tossed his phone to Dylan then launched himself at Liam.

  * * * *

  Lynn came to with a groan. Her jaw ached, and she felt as if she’d been lying on a block of ice. It took only a few minutes to realize just how bad the situation was. She was on the ground in a small square room, wearing nothing but her undies. Her hands were bound in thick shackles attached to a chain connected to a loop in the floor. The room had no windows, the only light coming from a bare bulb, hanging overhead.

  She followed the second chain length and discovered Kitty on the other side of the room. Her friend was a bloody mess, her usual black-and-white streaked hair now dirty and matted with what appeared to be dried blood. She’d also been stripped down, but her body looked as if she’d been severely beaten, too. Bruises riddled her pale skin, and one of her eyes was swollen, though still open.

  “Are you all right?” Lynn felt stupid even asking, but she knew shifters were different and healed faster. Aside from being cold, Lynn only hurt from where she’d been decked before being brought here.

  “I’ll live. How about you? Looks like you took a pretty good shot from one of them. Still have all your teeth?” Kitty half-crawled over, and Lynn saw her friend’s ankles were cuffed as well. “I can’t come very close because my arms are attached to the ring in the middle of the room, but my legs are chained to the wall over here. With the lengths they put on me, I can’t even stand.” Kitty sighed. “Mine are silver, so if I struggle too much and cut myself with them, it will really suck. Otherwise, I could have had us both free by now.”

  “I wonder why they gave me so much slack then? My legs are free, and I can probably walk over to where you are.”

  “They aren’t scared of you. You’re human, and they know you can’t hurt them.” Kitty frowned as she studied Lynn’s restraints. “I can’t tell from here whether or not your chains are silver.”

  “What difference does it make? I’m not strong enough to break them.” Lynn tugged her wrists apart. The sound of the chains rattling echoed off the walls in their prison. Hell, even those in prison were lucky enough to have a toilet and sink in their cells.

  The thing Lynn found most disturbing was the drain in the middle of the room. There were no showerheads or any other source of water in sight. That left her imagination coming up with all manner of horrific reasons for it to be there. Kitty’s gaze followed hers.

  “I can smell blood coming from it, but there are other things too,” she said, nearly sending Lynn into a full-out panic attack. “There’s no telling where we are though. This could be an old butcher’s place, or a morgue. It would explain the scent, but I’ve got a feeling we aren’t that lucky.” Suddenly, Kitty’s head jerked to the side, her eyes narrowing. “Someone’s coming. Get back against the wall and lay down. Maybe, they’ll think you’re still out. They’ve been checking every so often. The last time, I played like I was still out, but I watched them video you on your phone. I’m not sure, but I think they sent it to Jag.”

  “Oh, God,” Lynn whispered. She could only imagine what Jag would feel if he saw her like this. Would he blame himself again? He’d done everything he could to try to save her when she’d been abducted. Right now, she took comfort in them sending things to him. That meant they hadn’t killed Jag while he was drugged.

  Quickly scrambling back to where she’d been before, Lynn tried her best to resume the position she’d been in when she’d awoke and hoped the guy bought it. The door opened, and she worked hard to slow her breathing and calm her racing heart.

  “Nice try, Goldilocks, but I can already smell your fear. There’re three bears here who are more than ready to play with you, so get up before I pull you up by your hair.” The guy was a giant if the size of his feet were anything to go by.

  Lynn glared up at the asshole standing over her. He appeared to be just an average everyday guy, which shocked her. Aside from being very tall, he could have passed Lynn on the street and she would have never given it any further thought, and it scared her. He had an attractive face when he wasn’t scowling. His brown hair was styled in a businesslike cut, and he wore only jeans, a plain navy-blue tee and steel-toed boots. The power evident in the build of his body, combined with the fact he was a shifter, erased any comfort in her situation.

  “It’s kind of hard to get up when my hands are tied together.”

  A nasty grin showcased his yellow teeth before he barked, “Figure it out, bitch! We don’t have all day, and you really don’t want us angry before we get started.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that one bit and wanted to ask what they planned to do, but instead, she did her best to get up, using the wall for leverage. Even when she was fully upright, he towered over her, clearly over seven feet. Unease skittered along her spine, and Lynn glanced over to Kitty in time to see her friend’s eyes flash amber for a second before going back to brown.

  “What do you want with us?” Lynn asked, trying to keep her voice even, lest he know just how deep her fear ran. “We haven’t done anything to you.”

  “She,” he snarled, pointing at Kitty, “nearly killed one of us, but we’re working on settling the score now, aren’t we little kitty cat?”

  Kitty smiled, her expression mocking. “You couldn’t handle my cat even if I let you try,” she taunted.

  “We’ll never know since you can’t shift,” he sneered. “What a waste.” Turning back to Lynn, he added, “This sort of shit happens when shifters muddy up their bloodlines with you weak-ass humans. Either she can’t shift or her animal is so fucked up she’s embarrassed to change.”

  “Wrong on both counts, Hoss.” Kitty giggled, her eyes twinkling as she poked the angry bear. “I choose not to switch forms around others because I’m something that’s not been seen by many.”

  “What? A mutant tiger? I hate to break it to you, but white Bengals aren’t as rare as you might think. With your hair color, I’m guessing that’s what you are or at least part of what you are. Do you have t
wo tails? Webbed paws?”

  “And you’re still batting zero, Slick. Care to take another guess?”

  “You’ve got a dick?”

  “Aw, is that what you’re into? No wonder you’re so cranky.”

  Lynn watched in horror as the behemoth stomped over and kicked Kitty in the face, snapping her head back and leaving her flat on her back as he placed his boot on her chest. “Maybe later, I’ll show you exactly what I’m into,” he growled.

  The large door slammed open, and two other men came inside, one holding a gun and the other a small duffle bag. The gun-toting thug had a short military cut, his hair a startling white color, though his eyes were black as night. The other had dark locks, which hung to the tops of his ears and over his brow to just above a pair of startling, pale-hazel eyes.

  None of them really had a look that screamed, “I’m a psycho”, though the man with the buzz cut gave her some decidedly creepy leers. He walked over to where Kitty lay, still under the boot of the first asshole.

  “I see you’re having trouble with the ladies, as usual.” Ignoring the scowl from his partner, he crouched next to Kitty then gripped her chin and forcing her to look up at him. “Do you see this?” he asked, holding up the firearm. “If you give us any trouble, I get to shoot your ass. If you’re not ready for another nap, I’d suggest you keep your freakish self quiet.”

  “Kiss my ass,” Kitty hissed, spitting in his face and earning one hell of a slap in return. “Does it make you all feel better to beat up helpless women? You wouldn’t be so tough if we weren’t chained, I can promise you.”

  “Don’t you worry. We’ve got something really special planned for you later. A little payback, but first we need to send a message to this little whore’s mate.” A hint of fang showed as he made a show of looking Lynn up and down. “We only have to figure out how detailed this message should be.”

  The sound of a zipper caught Lynn’s attention, and she automatically assumed the worst. After all, she was in the company of three men who’d stripped her down and tied her up. When she discovered it was from the duffle bag, she felt a moment’s relief until she saw what the guy pulled out.