“None. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
“That you’d been searching for missing jaguars or that you had found none? How would I know that? Besides, we’ve been in Belize for the past week.”
“Both of you?” Thompson said, sounding surprised. Then he narrowed his blue eyes at Wade. “Of course. A jaguar haven.”
“Which is exactly where they belong,” Wade said.
“And that’s why three big males were roaming through Maya’s garden center? Maybe even four of them?”
“They were?” Wade asked, squeezing Maya’s hand. She looked cool and collected, but her hand was cold and clammy in his. “I’m sure Maya’s customers would have reported it, and when she got home, she would have heard about it. Three, you say? Or four? So were the sightings reported? Since she’s mentioned nothing to me about that—”
Thompson skirted the question. “I know what I saw.”
“So it happened at night? Early morning? When we were gone? Before we left for Belize? I’m just trying to get a picture of it in my mind,” Wade said, studying the big man.
Thompson sat back on his chair and regarded Wade coolly but didn’t say a word.
Wade shrugged and took a swallow of beer, set the iced glass on the table, and considered Thompson further. “Okay, if you were there when the garden shop wasn’t open, you must have been trespassing.”
Thompson’s face reddened. “I want my cat back,” he said.
“Fair enough. Maya’s already told you that she had nothing to do with your stolen cat.”
Thompson tapped his fingers on the table, then lifted his beer mug. “They’re dangerous predators. Not a feral animal you can truly train. Sure, circuses give the illusion they have the wild cats coached to do as the trainer wishes, but in the end, the beast is never tamed. You’re fighting with fire when you let those big cats run loose. Someone’s going to get injured. Maybe killed.” He looked at Maya.
“You’re right, of course,” she said. “They’re dangerous. No one would have let a bunch of jaguars loose on their property unless they wanted to suffer the consequences.”
Thompson folded his arms, his eyes dark and troubled. “This is not something to joke about. I know you’re involved. If I’d had any doubts, I wouldn’t after what I saw.”
Maya lifted her tall glass and took another sip of her drink. “Why do you think I have anything to do with the jaguars?”
Thompson left out his breath. “They were serving as guard cats. One stood with you in the entryway of the back door of your home. They ran in and out of your place as if they belonged there. Hell, I was ready to run in and try to save you!”
Her lips parted a little. Wade couldn’t help but admire the man for having been terrified but still wanting to protect Maya.
Thompson waited for Maya to respond. She sat silently. Even Wade didn’t know what to say to that.
“You didn’t report it,” Wade finally said.
“No. You must have packed the cats up in your vehicles the next morning and taken off with them. There wasn’t anything to report that anyone would have believed.”
It wasn’t good that Thompson thought they had a bunch of jaguars at the garden nursery, but he didn’t have proof, and he hadn’t seen any of them shift.
Wade squeezed Maya’s hand. “There is no such thing as a trained jaguar guard cat. Maya and her family don’t own any jaguars, male or otherwise. That’s all we’ve got to say about it.”
Thompson shifted his attention from Wade to Maya. “You remind me of a lady I know—Bella Wilder. She loved wolves and we’re pretty sure she freed a wolf from the Oregon Zoo. I’d taken the female wolf to the zoo to protect her, and she was getting to know another red wolf when she vanished and a naked female—Bella—ended up in her place. Now, we’re friends, but I still believe she and her husband had removed the wolf and freed her into the wild.”
Wade didn’t look to see how Maya was reacting to the news. Just because some crazy woman who loved wolves thought to release one into the wild, it didn’t have anything to do with them.
“I’m beginning to think we have a similar situation here. Except wolves do run wild in Oregon. Jaguars don’t in Texas,” Thompson said.
David headed back to the table with Candy, his face dark. “Can I have a word with you alone, Wade?”
Wade was torn. He couldn’t take Maya with them. Why the hell weren’t her cousins here yet? He couldn’t leave her here alone. Thompson was studying them, analyzing the situation.
“I’ll be okay,” Maya quickly said. “You guys go take care of business. Thompson and I can just talk about plants or something.”
“We’ll be right back.” Wade kissed her cheek, gave Thompson a look that warned him not to upset Maya, then rose from the table. He squeezed Maya’s hand, then left the club to speak in private with Candy and his brother.
“What’s going on?” Wade asked Candy in the alley beside the club as David listened in.
Candy smiled up at him. “I called the buyer. He said we can meet him at another location tonight if you want to do some business with him.”
Wade had two choices—leave his brother to watch over Maya and try to take down whoever the buyer was on his own, or take Maya with them. He didn’t like either choice.
David must have been thinking along the same lines. “We can’t take Maya with us.”
“That’s right,” Candy said. “She can’t go along for the ride.”
Wade ignored her.
David cleared his throat and said to Wade, “Our friend Thompson could take her home.”
Wade knew what he was referring to. Thompson had protected her at the club before, and Martin had checked him out and determined he was one of the good guys. Wade still didn’t like the idea.
“It’s about our only choice.”
“The buyer won’t wait forever,” Candy warned.
“All right,” Wade said, hating to agree to this. But if they could take down the buyer, they had to do it. He wasn’t certain that Maya would go along with the plans, but he didn’t want her driving home alone, either. “Wait for me at the car. I’ll be right back.”
Wade stalked into the club and saw Maya watching for his return. He smiled at her, and as soon as he reached the table, he pulled her into his arms and said into her ear for her hearing only, “We’ve got a chance to meet the buyer.”
Her eyes widened.
“I don’t want you to drive home alone,” he said out loud.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’ve got to take care of business. I don’t want you to be alone,” he said again. “If your cousins were here…”
“I could wait for them.”
“No, it could still take a couple of hours for them to get here.” He glanced at the dancers in the club. He was afraid Lion Mane might show up still.
“You need me to take her home?” Thompson asked.
Not looking really pleased but knowing how important this was, she finally let out her breath. “Okay, Thompson can follow me home if he doesn’t mind. We both have our own vehicles.”
Wade gave her a searing kiss and another hug, then reached over to shake Thompson’s hand. “Thanks. I owe you one.”
“I promise you I’ll see her safely home.”
“Thanks.” Then hating it, but pumped up about catching the buyer, he gave Maya one last squeeze and headed out of the club.
“Do you want one last dance?” Thompson asked Maya.
Yeah, with Wade. She looked up at Thompson. “Sure, but I want you to know we’re the good guys.”
“Good guys, how?”
“We don’t steal jaguars. We love them. We would protect them with our lives, but we don’t steal them.”