“She’s also the enemy.”
I groaned. “I knew you would never give her a chance. I knew it.” I went to the door and stopped. “I’m leaving in the morning.”
“What?”
I repeated myself a little louder. “I’m leaving in the morning with Lana. Nero has been hunting for her, and I knew the Pack wouldn’t accept her, so we’re leaving town. This is my last full moon with the Pack.”
“You can’t mean this, Adam.” He took a step in my direction. “You’re my successor. You will be the Alpha.”
I opened the door and shot a glare over my shoulder. “Aren will be a much better Alpha than I ever would anyway.”
“You’re wrong.” Another step closer. “Your brother is a great fighter and a thinker, but you’re my first born son. The mantle has always been yours. You can’t expect your brother to shoulder it because you’re running away.”
“If you can’t accept my mate, then how can you possibly expect me to stay?” I fought to keep from shouting as I circled my father. “Has Mom been gone so long that you forgot what it feels like to love someone so much you would give up everything just to see them smile? You’d lay down your life and die for them?”
His green eyes shone, and somewhere deep beneath my rage, the boy inside of me wanted to hug my father. I knew he’d never gotten over the pain of losing his mate.
He took a deep breath. “I would die for any member of this Pack.”
“Because it’s your duty.” I let my voice drop a little. “I’d give up my life for Lana because I couldn’t live without her.”
That verbal blow actually knocked Malcolm back a step and he growled, “Enough of this. We will not have a jaguar in our Pack.”
“Then you won’t have me either.” I turned to go out the door, but Malcolm’s voice froze me where I stood.
“Answer me this: how do you know she didn’t have anything to do with Gabe’s murder? If Nero is looking for her then she means something to them. How can you be sure where her loyalties lie?”
“Because she could have killed me a hundred different times.” I met my Alpha’s stare and added, “She also saved Aren’s life. That bullet that went through his ankle was meant for his head.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond. I stormed out into the late afternoon sun and slammed the door behind me. Jason and his twin, Jared, were getting out of his truck as I made my way to the barn. Jared pulled himself up straighter and squared his shoulders when he saw me coming. The wind made a mess of Jason’s hair, but Jared had his tied back and his fiery hazel eyes flashed with bitterness. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was daring me to attack. It was obvious Jason must’ve told him about our confrontation earlier.
As twins, Jason and Jared couldn’t have been more opposite. Jason was a doctor. He fought battles with his mind, but Jared was a carpenter and worked out regularly. His fights were with his body and his spirit. He was tough. But I was so pissed at Malcolm right now, that seeing Jared giving me his I-dare-you-asshole glare made me want to beat him senseless.
Before I could say anything, Jason maneuvered himself between us, clasping my forearms in greeting. “Did you tell Malcolm about the jaguars?”
I nodded and rolled my shoulders back, releasing a little of my aggression. It wasn’t completely Jared’s fault. We all got punchy with the full moon so close.
Jason and Jared shared a look and then focused on me again. “So do we have a plan for tonight?”
“Ask Malcolm. He’s the Alpha.”
I walked past them toward the barn when Logan came barreling down the road to the barn. He slammed on his brakes, sending up a tidal wave of dust so thick we couldn’t see him getting out of his car. When he emerged from the dust cloud he looked confused.
“Adam? What are you doing here?”
The corner of my mouth quirked up. “Last time I checked, I live here.”
“Yeah, but your Jeep isn’t here.” He frowned. “I thought something happened to you.”
“Why?” I could feel my muscles tense. Lana had my Jeep.
“I saw the Jeep with two flats on the edge of the highway. I pulled over to see if you were okay, but there was a laptop on the passenger seat and nobody there.” He held out two metal cylinders. “Then I found bullet casings.”
I took off running and called to Jason. “I need to borrow your truck.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lana
Sasha drove me back to the airport and parked on the rooftop of the parking structure. The power windows engaged all at once, dropping the glass around me. The sun bathed me in orange light while she got out and leaned against the front of the car.
My wrists were starting to ache. The metal of the cuffs was biting into my skin, and no matter how I shifted around in the backseat, I couldn’t seem to relieve the pressure. I blinked rapidly, not allowing myself to cry. I wouldn’t be able to think if I got upset. My only hope was to keep a clear head. If I could get to my cell phone, I could call 911, but it was safely in my front pocket and my hands were trapped behind my back. I was screwed.
I leaned forward, keeping an eye on Sasha. She was on her phone again, so I peered around the front seats. She had a map of Reno strewn across the floor of the passenger side in a mass of improperly folded paper. And beneath it was the black grip of a gun or…a Taser. Sasha was still busy conducting business on the hood of the car, and I looked down at the Taser again with a sigh. Even though I knew where it was, unless I got free of the cuffs, I wouldn’t be able to use it.
Great. Back to square one.
I leaned back against the seat but shifted so I sat sideways with my shoulder against the seat back, giving my wrists a break from being smashed against the metal cuffs. I stared outside watching the sky turn a deeper orange, like a fire spreading across the horizon. Time was running out. If I didn’t think of something soon, I’d be handed off to the Nero Organization, and Sasha would be free to kill Adam.
Unless that was a ploy to get me to follow her. I wouldn’t bet Adam’s life on that, though. That left me with…
Sebastian. At the front of the car. My heart started pounding. Was he here to rescue me? It didn’t look like it. I took a deep breath and forced my inner voice to shut the hell up so I could use my enhanced hearing. If I could just quiet my mind, I was sure I’d be able to hear them.
Sebastian glanced at me through the windshield, but he didn’t give me any indication, and his words were too low to make out.
It was easier to hear Sasha’s voice because it was pitched higher than Sebastian’s, and I caught little bits of her side of the conversation.
“I’m not going to let you have her. She’s my ticket and you know it.”
Sebastian said something about Nero then, but I couldn’t determine all of his words.
Sasha looked over at me and back at Sebastian. “So if they come for her, you’re just going to kill her? That makes no sense.”
I strained to hear, but all I caught was Sebastian saying, “She is a treasure…not a twisted science experiment.” I lost his voice for a second, then I heard, “She would be better off dead than with him.”
My heart sank. Sebastian wasn’t here to rescue me from Sasha, he was here to kill me if she traded me to Nero. A tear ran down my cheek, and I fought to keep my breathing slow. Sasha’s cell phone rang, distracting me from the panic that welled up inside my mind.
It was a quick call, and once she closed her phone she was in motion. As she opened the front door, she slowed and looked over at Sebastian. “Stay out of my way tonight. You owe me at least that much.”
She slid into the driver’s seat and fired up the engine. The tires squealed as she gunned the accelerator and I rolled around in the backseat, unable to steady myself with my hands behind my back.