The hint of feminine pique made him smile, despite the gravity of his admission and the wound it reopened in his chest.
Axel glanced at Heidi before saying, “See that you leave the instant you are capable.” His gaze returned to Javier to punctuate a tone filled with authority.
Javier nodded and dropped his hand from Heidi’s hip. “You have my word.”
Just then, both fathers appeared in a doorway, one declaring, “I’m starved,” and the other asking, “Is dinner ready yet?”
Though they didn’t say it, Javier suspected the elders had witnessed the whole confrontation. He admired the family unit, the fathers stepping aside to let the eldest take his rightful place as alpha.
Would he have one day passed the legacy to his eldest? Would he have grown old, watching his children protect their mates, their siblings and children?
As Heidi and the ladies jumped into action to finish setting the table and arranging seating, Javier turned his attention away from the painful thoughts to watch the family settle around the table. Axel and Gunnar visibly relaxed as the elders filed into the room followed by four younger males.
Introductions were made. Kelan and Reidar, the two who’d fought with Heidi to gain entrance into the bedroom the night before, Beth’s mates. And the two youngest, Sindre and Torsten. All of the males looked like carbon copies of their fathers, fair of skin, hair and eyes. He wondered what the alpha’s children would look like when they were old enough to shift, their coloring so different from the cougar coloring of their fathers.
Each male took a seat at the table without any signs of opposition to Javier’s presence. Apparently, if the alpha accepted him—for the time being—then he would be allowed to recuperate in peace.
Chapter Eight
Lev moaned in pure ecstasy as the masseuse dug into the muscles of his lower back. This was just what he needed. The last few months had been hell, flying from country to country, making deals that would make him and his partners rich. But it was exhausting. Murder was exhausting.
“Harder,” he groaned when she let up on the pressure of the intense massage. “Hurt me.” His body relaxed for the first time in what seemed like forever.
Just then, the television across the room caught his attention and he lifted his head in time to see grainy photos of... “Montero.” The word left his mouth like a curse. “Son of the bitch!” He sat up, the masseuse yelping in surprise, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
“...a hoax that caught the attention of a local newspaper reporter in Leavenworth, who contacted the town’s veterinarian. Doctor Heidi Falke denied the existence of a black panther, stating that such creatures did not exist...”
Lev frowned at the television. Leavenworth was the town where he’d ditched his rental, the last place he’d seen Montero.
“Handleman has admitted the pictures and video of what appeared to be a large, wounded animal he posted online were a prank that got out of hand. Both he and his brother have since denied the shooting, calling themselves experienced hunters who would never really mistake one kind of animal for another.”
Lev grabbed the remote from the end table and muted the television. Dr. Heidi Falke of Leavenworth, Washington might not have treated a black panther, but she damn sure could have a black jaguar. Of course, if Montero was under her care, she wouldn’t know what she was in possession of, but he did. And if that cat was injured, now was Lev’s chance to get rid of him.
He went to the phone and punched in the number of one of his local Seattle contacts. When the ring was answered, he said, “Paul. Lev. Where is the new passport I ordered?”
“I told you I’d deliver it tomorrow morning,” said the nasal voice on the other end. “I’m working as fast as I can. I had to wait for a new order of the chips to come in.”
“I need it now. I must leave town. Do you have my driver’s license finished?”
“First thing in the morning. I can’t work any faster, boss. I can’t.”
The panic in the man’s voice made Lev sneer in disgust. “Bring it as soon as it’s done. I have business to attend.” Too bad the guy was the best in the business. His forged identification was undetectable by authorities.
“Yes, sir.”
He hung up the phone and glanced at the television, but the story had changed from the black panther prank in Leavenworth to gas prices in Seattle.
Finally. Finally! After two years of running from the bastard, he’d finish off the Montero family as he should have done the first time.
After her brothers and Beth left for work the next morning, Heidi entered her bedroom to find her wounded guest sleeping soundly.
“What are you doing?” The gruff, sleepy question came from Javier, who sat up and blinked at her with a curious smirk.
“I’m not snooping,” she said, a bit defensive. She’d tried to be quiet as she packed the last of Javier’s meager belongings into his duffle bag, but apparently not quiet enough.
“Didn’t say you were.” After a yawn and a stretch, he threw back the sheets and slid his legs off the edge of the bed, moving more easily than she’d seen him do in days, despite the cast.
His bare, broad chest and sexy abs froze the air in her lungs, and she had to force herself to focus on something other than his gorgeous body.
“You look like you’re feeling better.”
He pushed to his feet and grabbed one crutch instead of two. “The ache is more tolerable.”
Damn, the man looked good in nothing but gym shorts and a plaster cast. His sleep-tousled locks softened his hard features and made him appear more approachable, more...adorable.
He glanced at his bag again. “Am I going somewhere?”
“I’m taking you to a hotel.”
He smiled. “Ready to get rid of me already?”
“No,” she said too quickly, then met his gaze and frowned at the humorous glint in his eye. Was he glad to be getting away from here...or her? “I mean, I figure you’d want some privacy and a chance to heal in peace, away from...all of this drama.”
“Ah...the drama.” He nodded and stared at her.
With a shrug, she handed him his toothbrush, zipped the duffle and slid it toward the door. “I left a change of clothes on the chair by the bathroom door. Cereal okay for breakfast?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll have a bowl ready for you when you come out.”
Watching him make his way into the bathroom, she sat on the foot of the bed and wondered if she was doing the right thing.
She wanted to get to know him better, but doing so in her home surrounded by the watchful eyes of her fathers and brothers created more stress than she could deal with.
He was moving with more confidence today. In another day or so, she’d be able to remove the cast, and he’d leave. That thought bothered her in more ways than one.
She didn’t want to see him go, but that neediness made her edgy, angry with herself. Javier was a stranger who’d suffered the loss of his mate. Past hurts that tugged at her heart and helped her better understand his tough façade, the gruff demeanor and volatile explosions of anger.
He was hurting and alone as far as she knew, but he was also a grown man with a life to live in another country. He was not a stray pet she could beg her parents to let her keep.
The night before, his face-off with her brother had worried, surprised and irked her. Javier opened up to Axel with things he’d been unwilling to share with her. A hint of jealousy still burned. She wanted him to herself, to reach beneath that crusty exterior to gain his trust, to rekindle the fire he’d shown for too brief a moment during their first kiss. But he’d been dreaming of another woman. His deceased mate. Isabela...not Heidi.