And then there was Percy. He was in the shadows of the tree, observing the scene, his muscles locking him in place with what could have been the first step of a freeze-frame stalk. She couldn’t tell if his attention was centered on the woman or on the man with the child. She doubted if she had an ally in him, but she would do her best to persuade him he wanted to be aligned with her.
“Let Sandrine go, Rud,” the woman said, her voice more pleading than demanding. “She’s just a baby.”
The little girl appeared to be four or five. She had a pixie face and wild gold-and-silver hair, much like her mother’s. She appeared to be a sturdy child, and she clearly was a fighter.
“She’s jaguar, same as you, Jasmine. You have no business holding yourself and this female away from the males,” Rud snapped. He sounded ferocious. His voice seemed overly loud and overbearing. He was supposed to be in command of the situation, and yet he seemed extremely belligerent.
Steroids? Did male jaguar shifters use illicit drugs? Rud reminded her of someone who was jacked up on steroids and had taken them fora long time. She couldn’t imagine that this far out in the rainforest, Rud would be able to get his hands on that specific drug, but he wasn’t right. Not by a long shot.
“Let her go and I’ll come with you without fighting,” Jasmine offered.
Jasmine was really quite beautiful, with the long, thick hair that marked the shifter’s species. Her hair was golden, very shiny, and cascaded to her waist. She had the most striking eyes. Cat’s eyes, but a vivid emerald green. She was thinner than most shifters, but that didn’t detract for a moment from her regal lines.
Rud’s expression changed to one of cunning. To leering. “I like a fight with a woman,” he said. “We’re taking both of you.”
Sarika decided it was time to insert herself into the scenario. “Who is your friend, Rud? The one skulking behind Jasmine?” She threw her voice to the opposite side of them, as if she were in the lower branches of the kapok tree there.
Jasmine whirled around to spot the man, who had gone very still. She didn’t indicate that Sarika’s easy familiarity was not known to her. All three male shifters scanned the trees and surrounding forest in an effort to find her. Sarika felt very, very lucky to have the ability to send her voice from any direction. She didn’t like the expressions on the three men’s faces. Well, two of them. The third shifter, the one behind Jasmine, was as unreadable as Luiz had been.
“Bacus, I should have known you would be here,” Jasmine said. “You and Rud always travel together.” She took several steps to her left so she could include the shifter in her line of vision.
Bacus didn’t react, but he stopped moving toward Jasmine now that he had been spotted. He didn’t even edge closer to her. That worried Sarika. Bacus seemed the most dangerous of the three men to her, and she didn’t want to forget he was there. His very stillness allowed him to fade into the background.
“Who’s your friend, Jasmine?” Rud demanded.
Sandrine suddenly bit down hard on his arm, and he swore,releasing her. The little girl streaked toward her mother, but Rud was far too fast. He was on her in less than a second, catching her by her wild hair and shaking her.
“You’ll pay for that, you little brat.”
Jasmine took a step toward him. “Don’t you dare hurt her.” This time she didn’t sound in the least pleading. She sounded fierce.
“Stop, Jasmine,” Sarika cautioned, alarm coming through in her voice. It was enough to freeze Sandrine’s mother in place. Sarika had been so concerned that Jasmine would get too close to Rud that she didn’t know if she had successfully projected her voice from the trees opposite her. That would have been a major mistake.
“If you want her, you’ll have to come take her from me,” Rud challenged.
“Don’t move, Jasmine,” Sarika called out, once more throwing her voice from the trees opposite where she was located. “Percy has arrived. He’s a friend and will help you and your daughter. Percy, I’m so thankful you’re here.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened in alarm, and she gave a brief shake to her head. Sarika ignored the warning. She was putting Percy in the position of having to choose, looking like a man who would rescue women from dangerous male shifters or letting her know he was solidly with them. She didn’t doubt for a moment that Percy ran with the two other males and participated in their despicable deeds. She noted Rud sent a secretive, triumphant smirk toward Bacus. That solidified in her mind that Percy was an enemy. The knowledge didn’t deter her. She’d assumed that would be the case just by the way Percy had acted toward her, as if he were entitled to her.
The best way to stall for time was to get them talking. They would believe they could easily handle two adult females and one child. The two men visibly relaxed while Percy tensed.
“Rud and Bacus would never hurt the little girl,” Percy said. He stepped out of the shadows and cast a careful look around. “Come out and we’ll talk this through, Sarika.”
She realized he had deliberately used her name to show the other two shifters that he knew her. He wanted to impress them, but now, as they stared at him, wariness and suspicion crept into their expressions.
“What’s there to talk about? Jasmine needs to take her baby home. Your friend Rud needs to let go of her.” She paused for a short moment and then let out an alarmed gasp that could be heard throughout the trees. “Is he some kind of pedophile? If he is, you know that Luiz will never stop hunting him.”
Jasmine lifted her chin. “The De La Cruz family will never stop hunting any of you, nor will Solange. You’re making tremendous enemies with your behavior, Rud. You know how they all feel about children.”
“A death wish, then,” Sarika said, interjecting, keeping her voice calm and steady. Musing aloud. Stalling. “How sad. Surely, you have things to live for.” This time she poured sympathy into her tone, hoping to throw him off. She didn’t want Rud, or any of them, thinking about how close the sun was to setting.
“Who are you?” Rud’s face darkened at the implication that he was deliberately inviting death. That he couldn’t possibly handle Luiz, his family or a woman named Solange. Rud swung his gaze to Percy. “Who is she?” That was a clear demand. A command to an underling.
Sarika saw Percy wince at that tone. He didn’t like being made to look small in front of the two female shifters.
“She is cousin to Luiz.”
There was silence following that particular revelation. Even Jasmine sent a wary glance around. Apparently, her cousin had somewhat of a reputation. Not only did the men look uneasy, but Jasmine did as well, and the little girl stopped fighting the shifter. Suddenly, it felt very good to have Luiz as a cousin.
