Rud glared at him and then shot a look at both Percy and Bacus. “You dare to interfere with our species? Do you really believe you can get away with challenging the leader of our people?”
Tomas inclined his head. “Yes. If you prefer formality, Jasmine, would you tell me what Rud is doing with your daughter and what he intended to do with you?”
“He planned on kidnapping Sandrine and forcing me to go with him. If I refused, he said he would kill her,” Jasmine said. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “He intended to use both of us for breeding purposes.”
“As is my right,” Rud snarled. “There is no interference between species.”
“And you?” Tomas turned those brilliant aquamarine eyes toward Sarika. His gaze settled on her. Held her captive. Compelled her to answer him. “I do not believe we’ve met.”
She lifted her chin. She didn’t know why she felt it was important she didn’t look frightened. Inside, she was quaking. It was difficult to control the tremors in her body. “I just arrived yesterday to visit my cousin, Luiz Silva.”
It was an innocent enough statement, delivered in a calm, low voice. She was honest. Direct. But the moment she spoke to him, Tomas’entire attention focused on her. His expression didn’t change, but his eyes did. That powerful predator was suddenly fixated on her. Not only him but his brothers as well. She felt the weight of their scrutiny like a laser piercing through skin and bones to the very heart and soul of her.
She had no idea what she’d said to cause the three Carpathians to focus on her with their strange, piercing eyes, but she wanted none of it. She found their intense scrutiny to be more difficult to deal with than Rud. Rud she could fight. She had a chance of besting him using her brains—her greatest weapon. She had discovered, just by observation, that he could be manipulated. Not so, the three Carpathians. Worse, she feared, even though they hadn’t touched her or taken her blood, they were able to read her thoughts.
“Your name?” Tomas’ voice was low, but this time it was all velvet smooth. More intimate than anything she’d ever heard in her life.
For a moment, she thought to stay silent. Defiant. Self-preservation was strong.
“She is my female, a jaguar shifter, not Carpathian. You have no authority over her or any of us,” Rud snapped. “Don’t you dare tell him your name.”
She detested being told what to do, especially by the likes of a disturbed, misogynistic, arrogant would-be dictator. Every time the man spoke, he set her teeth on edge.
“Sarika Silva.”
Tomas seemed to study her for a long moment, and then his attention was back to Rud. “You have not let the child go. Sandrine, close your eyes now.”
Sarika blinked. That was all. She blinked. She missed everything with that one single motion of her eyelids. When she raised them, Rud was on the ground with blood spurting from his throat, and Sandrine was clinging to Tomas, both arms around his neck.
“Percy, Bacus, it is best if you dispose of your leader’s body in theproper manner,” Tomas advised, but already, his attention had swung back to Sarika.
That fast. That easily. Tomas had killed Rud without any fanfare. He’d done it while she blinked. So casually. She had never witnessed someone being killed. Bile rose as she stared at Rud’s body.
Her throat closed. Her lungs seized. She feared she was going to faint from lack of air, but she didn’t know why. She had always stood her ground. She had traveled extensively all over the world, and she’d learned not to show fear. To always appear calm and in control. There was no controlling her heart rate or breathing. She felt dizzy with fear.
Tomas waited for Percy and Bacus to go to their fallen leader, pick him up and leap into the trees, the foliage hiding their retreat. One of the brothers waited a moment, and then his body shimmered and disappeared altogether. She knew that he followed the two men. She didn’t know for certain if Bacus was a good or bad guy, but she knew Percy wasn’t good. And he wasn’t intelligent. She was afraid he would do something utterly ridiculous, such as return and try to challenge Tomas.
Once his brother had completely disappeared, Tomas crossed the uneven ground to Jasmine to carefully and gently transfer her daughter to her.
“Thank you, Tomas,” Jasmine said as she hugged Sandrine to her. She looked over his shoulder to Sarika, who found herself edging away, back into the shadows. “Sarika, I will never be able to repay you. If you hadn’t put yourself in jeopardy, I couldn’t have stopped Rud and the others. I don’t know why you risked yourself for a complete stranger, but I will forever be grateful to you. I hope you have Luiz bring you to my home to meet my husband. Solange and Dominic will want to thank you in person as well. There is Juliette and Riordan who will want to do the same. Please give us the opportunity.”
Tomas had half turned, his molten gaze finding her in the shadows. Her stomach did a strange flip at the burning intensity of his eyes.
She moistened her lips and called up every bit of courage she had. “There’s no need to thank me, Jasmine. Truly. I couldn’t let that horrid man take your daughter or you. I knew Luiz would come at sunset, although he decided he wasn’t needed.” She was going to have a few things to say to him. “I don’t intend to be here long.” She was running as fast as she could. Like right away. She was good with directions, and she could make her way to the river and get the hell out of the insanity that was this rainforest.
Tomas raised one eyebrow. The way he looked at her with such intensity freaked her out. She wasn’t the type of woman to fall at the feet of an attractive man and say she wanted to have his babies, but if she was around him too long, that just might happen. And she’d just seen him kill a man. Well, she hadn’t seen him do it. It wasn’t like she could testify in court that she’d witnessed him killing someone.
She didn’t look at the blood on the ground. That just freaked her out even more. How could she be attracted to a man who could kill so casually and then look at her with such focused intensity? He terrified her. Her neck throbbed and burned, and her hand crept up to cover the artery protectively.
“Jasmine,” Tomas said without turning his head to look at her. He kept his gaze fixed on Sarika. “Mataias will escort you and Sandrine home. We wouldn’t want to take any chances that Percy or Bacus are waiting out there for you.”
The way he was looking at her, more predatory,hungry, made her heart thud out of control.
“Thank you, Tomas. I’ll let Jubal know to expect you.”
Since Tomas hadn’t said he was paying them a visit, Sarika thought that was very brave of Jasmine. Jasmine sounded sweet, but the expectation was that Tomas would comply. Sarika couldn’t imagine him doing anything a woman told him to do. For that matter, he wasn’t going to listen to men, either. Tomas was a man to go his own way.
Sarika watched in horror as Jasmine turned away from them, Sandrine in her arms. Mataias, the other brother, reached over and tookthe child from Jasmine. The little girl went willingly, displaying complete trust by putting her arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder. She could tell Mataias was whispering to her. Sandrine’s giggle floated back to her.
