The jaguar slammed her knee into his groin so quick that I winced. Aren’s legs buckled, and he fell to the ground coughing. She squatted down beside him and raised her hand, but before she could clock him with the butt of her pistol she leaned in a little closer taking a deep breath.
Suddenly she straightened up, her brow furrowed. “Her scent is all over this town, but it’s not on you.”
“That’s because I’m her boyfriend.” I stepped out from behind the metal trash bin.
The woman pivoted and pointed her gun right at my head. Aren didn’t hesitate. He reached out and grabbed her ankles, yanking her feet out from under her. A gunshot echoed through the alley as Aren wrestled with the jaguar. He slammed her hand against the pavement until the gun skittered across the blacktop. I ran over and tucked the gun in my belt before she could reach for it.
I waited for an opening to help my brother, but the petite woman in head-to-toe black leather was holding her own. The two rolled over so many times it was tough to tell where one ended and the other started. Suddenly she head-butted Aren, stunning him long enough to break free of his grip. She struggled out from under him and scrambled free, leaving my brother dazed. The other end of the alley was a dead end. She only had one exit. Through me.
She stared me down for a second before she sprinted toward me, throwing a nasty elbow into my ribs. I caught her arm and jerked her in close. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“To finish my mission.”
“Your mission is over.”
I could see the goose egg forming on her forehead. She might think twice before head-butting a thickheaded werewolf again. Aren stood up, wiping the blood off of his face with the bottom of his shirt as he made his way over to us.
“Her mission is aborted.” Aren kept his gaze squarely on her face, but he still looked dazed and maybe a little confused.
She glared at him. “Wolves aren’t my mission.”
Before I realized it, the jaguar spun to the right, breaking free of my grip on her arm. Aren started to chase after her, but I called him back.
“Aren, let her go. We’ve gotta get to Lana.”
“What?” He was still looking in the direction the jaguar ran. Finally he turned toward me, his nostrils flaring. “You’re not serious. You still trust her after this? Come on, Adam, that jaguar thought I was you, and she attacked me.”
“Because she wants Lana. I don’t have time to explain right now. Just help me protect her.”
Aren cast one more glance in the direction his attacker went and then shook his head, muttering under his breath, “It’s you I’m worried about protecting.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lana
I finished with the newspaper archives and started reexamining what was left of my foster care records. I entered a couple of notes on my laptop, but before I could digest the information I caught the scent of blood wafting around me. My entire body went on full alert. When Adam rounded the corner with his twin, I frowned. Aren’s nose was bruised and swollen, and he had blood all over his shirt.
“What happened?” I looked Adam up and down, relieved to see he didn’t look injured. I glanced at Aren. “What’s he doing here? Have you been following us?”
“We’ve gotta get out of here. Now.”
He had me by the arm so quickly that I almost didn’t get a chance to grab the envelope and my laptop from the table. “What’s going on? Did you see Sebastian?”
“Yes,” he said, scanning the library.
We headed for the doors. Adam was in front, I hustled up behind him, and Aren was right after me. If I hadn’t been terrified, I would’ve laughed to find myself in the center of a werewolf sandwich.
When Adam opened the door to our floor, his shirt rose up and caught on something. I didn’t realize what it was until I walked past him.
“When did you get a gun? What’s going on?”
“Let’s get to the hotel first. Then I’ll explain”
We got outside and Adam frowned. “Dammit. We took a cab here. Who knows how long it’ll take to get one.”
Aren yanked keys from his pocket. “I have a rental in the lot straight ahead.”
Adam grabbed the keys, and we all ran toward the lot. Aren took the lead with Adam and I close behind. The automatic locks popped open as we neared a white Lexus. “I’m driving. You could have a concussion.”
“I don’t have a damn concussion.” Aren grunted, but he climbed in the back seat just the same.
Once we were in, Adam pulled out and got us back to the Fairmount without incident. “Stay together,” he commanded. Adam made sure I was directly behind him in the parking structure, and I rolled my eyes.
“We know what Sebastian looks like. It’s not like we wouldn’t see him coming.”
Aren nudged me forward to follow Adam to the elevator. Ugh. Men.
Safely inside our hotel room, I set my laptop and file on the table and turned. “Okay, one of you start talking. Did Sebastian do this? And where did you get a gun? I thought you left it here in your bag.”
They looked at each other. Aren shook his head, stalking over to the window. I guess he still didn’t want to be anywhere near me. Great.
Adam pulled the gun out and laid it on top of my envelope. “This wasn’t Sebastian. Nero sent another jaguar. Sebastian’s pretty beat up, too.”
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Did you get a good look at him? Do we know who we’re watching out for?”
“It’s a woman, Lana. She’s the one who cracked Aren’s nose.”
My eyebrows rose, and I looked over at the back of Aren’s head. I was pretty proud of myself for biting back the comment I wanted to make.
Something struck me, and I looked up at Adam. “Wait…it was a woman? I know they were trying to breed female jaguars, but Sebastian told me they still weren’t being born into their powers.”
Aren finally turned around. “She wasn’t born into her power. Someone converted her.”
I glanced over his way. “How do you know that?”
He pointed to his shoulder just above his collarbone. “She had a scar right here. I saw it while we were scuffling on the ground.”
I shook my head. “So why would they send her out on missions? Sebastian made it sound like they capture females and convert them for breeding.” My gut twisted at the thought. Knowing I was a product of one of their sick breeding experiments didn’t help. “From the records we read and Sebastian’s cryptic comments, it doesn’t sound like the women who go inside Nero ever come out again.”
His voice echoed in my mind telling me my mother was “eliminated.”
“She was well trained and fast.” Aren glanced over at Adam from the window. “And that pistol is police issue.”
“You think she’s a cop?” Adam looked as surprised as I felt.
“I think she used to be.”
“Before someone bit her?” I shook my head. “Why would a police officer start working for a covert corporation? Are you sure she was from Nero? Why would she beat up Sebastian if she’s on his side?”
“Who knows?” Adam replied. “But she had that same tattoo—that lion with the ‘N’ on the forehead. I saw it on her wrist when she elbowed me.”
“It doesn’t make sense. She’s got to know they kill people.” I still couldn’t wrap my brain around a police officer working for Nero.
“They could have threatened her family.” Adam shrugged. “Maybe she was in love, and after she got bitten she still wanted to work? It doesn’t really matter right now. We’ve gotta get back to Reno.”
Aren looked out the window again. “I’ll stay behind and slow her down.”
Adam shook his head. “No way. We go together.”