Max’s head whipped around. “Who are you calling cold and unapproachable?”
“Oh, gee, sorry,” Carter said. “I must have missed you at Ezra’s birthday bash. My mistake.”
Max frowned. He did seem to remember being invited out for drinks by a colleague, but as he didn’t like to socialize, he’d declined. Didn’t mean he was cold. Or unapproachable.
“I was busy,” he said quickly.
“Uh huh, and on Logan’s birthday?”
Max’s frown turned into a glare. “Equally busy.”
“All right gentlemen,” Miller said. “We’re getting off topic here.” He slid two manila folders across the desk. “Here are the specifics. Do what you do best and report back to me when you have something.”
Max nodded then got to his feet. He headed for the door but stopped to toss another glare over his shoulder at Carter. The next time one of his colleagues invited him out, he was going to go, then let any of them try to call him cold and unapproachable. Max Hunter could be the life and soul of the party. He’d show them. He lifted his chin in the air before straight-backing it down the corridor to get to his desk. He spent an hour reading through the file then armed with everything he needed to get started on his mission, he headed out of the office to do what he did best. Back up? He snorted as walked to his car. Like he’d ever needed back-up.
Chapter Four
Mia
Mia ran as fast as her feet would carry her, her heart pounding in her chest. She chanced a glance over her shoulder. She didn’t see her pursuers, but she didn’t for one moment think that she’d lost them—they would be following her scent. She’d been foolish, and now she was going to pay the price for her blunder. What on earth had made her think she could leave the mansion without her bodyguards in tow? She knew better. Or she had. She’d gotten reckless, and now…
With her heart pounding like a war drum in her chest, Mia darted through the labyrinth of quiet streets and dimly lit roads. The group of men chasing her weren’t human, at least not entirely. They were shifters. Earlier, she had caught their unique, musky scent when she had been downwind of them. It was a scent she didn’t recognize, but it didn’t take a genius to work out who they worked for.
These shifters had to be from the Mexican cartel, retaliating against her father betrayal. The cold tendrils of fear snaked their way up her spine as the gravity of her situation sank in. She was alone, her bodyguards nowhere near to help, and she was being hunted by four determined predators.
Keep running. We cannot fight them all,her inner leopard urged, and she was in complete agreement.
With her legs aching from the relentless sprint, Mia used every ounce of her energy to navigate back to the dubious safety of her father’s mansion. Her breath hitched as the intimidating silhouette of the mansion came into view. She was close—she could make it.
Just as relief washed over her, a pair of jaguars—shifters—sprang out in front of her. Their species was all the confirmation she needed that they worked for the cartel. All their foot soldiers were jaguar shifters, and that was bad news for her. The smallest of them was almost twice her size and weight, and her lithe human body felt exposed and vulnerable as they snarled, blocking her route to safety. The powerful creatures bared their teeth, their yellow eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger. The two remaining shifters, also in their jaguar forms, closed in from behind, effectively cornering her. Her heart sank, and thick fear pumped through her veins.
In the eerie silence of the night, Mia’s rapid breath echoed in her ears. There wasn’t enough time for her to shift into her leopard form, and even if there had been, she couldn’t fight four of them. Fear clung to her like a second skin, but a spark of defiance ignited within her. She squared her shoulders and faced her assailants head-on. If she was going to die, she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
In her heart, however, she harbored one regret. If she died tonight, she would never get the chance to see her father pay for his crimes. The thought that justice would remain elusive left a bitter taste in her mouth. A silent vow made its way to her lips as she steeled herself for the inevitable.
“You won’t win, father,” she murmured under her breath. People like him never did.
As the shifters closed in on her, Mia braced herself for the end, her eyes reflecting a last glimmer of courage and defiance.
Chapter Five
Max
Max had been following his quarry for the past ten minutes, taking care to stay downwind of them so that they wouldn’t realize they were being pursued.
He hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that something more was happening in San Antonio, something that went beyond random acts of violence. It was a puzzle that needed to be solved, and Max was never one to shy away from a challenge. He hadn’t been entirely sure that the murders were deliberate terrorist attacks against the US since first hearing about them, and his investigation had led him to conclude that the big cat attacks weren’t random. In the past few days, he had discovered that the victims all had known ties with a big hitter in the crime scene in San Antonio—a crime boss called Ethan Johnson. He suspected the killings were as a result of some sort of gang rivalry, as retribution for a deal gone bad. Max hadn’t been able to confirm his theory just yet, but he was confident that he would with a little more time spent on intelligence gathering.
As he continued to trail the shifters through the maze of silent streets and sprawling roads, an unsettling realization dawned on him. The predators weren’t aimlessly prowling—they were stalking someone. The hunter within Max stirred, his senses sparking to life with a newfound urgency when he learned that the shifters were stalking a young woman.
Red teased the periphery of his vision as he moved closer, angry. The woman they were following seemed frightened, yet determined, her slender form darting in and out of the gloom. A knot tightened in Max’s gut, as his innate instinct to protect rose to the surface. So far, the shifters had only killed men,most of them unsavory characters, not that anyone deserved to die by being mauled to death. But this, a young woman—what had she done to deserve their wrath? Max frowned. Perhaps his instincts about the shifters only targeting people with links to the cartel were incorrect. He glanced around the surrounding area—a quiet road with grand mansions spread out at generous intervals. Was she attempting to reach the safety of one of them?
The danger escalated when the shifters cornered the woman. Every muscle in Max’s body tensed, his mind rapidly assessing the grim scenario. There was no time to waste, no time for indecision. His inner tiger had been waiting for this very moment.
Attack.
Without any further hesitation, Max’s body convulsed, shifting seamlessly into his powerful tiger form. His heart pounded a savage rhythm in his chest as he surged forward, a blur of orange and black fur. The world around him sharpened into high definition, every sight, every sound magnified tenfold. But tonight his senses were sharpened further by the presence of danger. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to shift in order to protect someone, but his tiger was up to the task.
We will protect. We will fight. We will win.
