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.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
She glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “I’m not sure yet. I put the coordinates in my GPS so we’ll know soon.”
Not that it mattered. I didn’t have much time left.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jason jumped in the passenger side just as I cranked the wheel and fired the truck up the dirt road.
“What the hell is going on, Adam?”
I kept my eyes on the road, gripping the wheel so tight I thought I might crack it. I briefly considered a lie, but Malcolm knew I was leaving. No reason to keep everyone in the dark anymore. “I found my mate.” That stunned Jason silent. Then I said, “And she was driving my Jeep.”
He was quiet until we got on the highway, then he pulled out his cell phone and called Logan to find out where exactly he found the Jeep. When I pulled up behind Chaney, Lana’s scent was thick, and panic coursed through me. I couldn’t lose her. No way. Not when we were so close to forever.
I got out of the car and peered inside the Jeep. Her laptop and a small handbag were lying on the floor of the passenger side. That ruled out a robbery.
Jason walked up behind me and froze. “Jaguars have been here.”
I nodded, and resisted telling him I was in love with one of them. Instead I followed Lana’s scent away from the Jeep. At the edge of the asphalt, I picked up another female jaguar’s scent.
Sasha.
One more step and I found a drop of blood in the dust. I wiped my fingers into it and lifted my hand to my nose. My lungs constricted on the scent. It was Lana’s blood.
But one drop wasn’t a mortal wound. She had to be alive.
I rushed back to the truck, with Jason close behind.
“They must have left in another car,” he said.
I nodded, accelerating back onto the highway. “Looks that way.”
“So we won’t be able to follow their trail.” He glanced up at the sky. “Plus, we’re going to change soon.”
My eyes cut over to him. “I’m going to find her.” I looked back at the road. “Call Malcolm and tell him…” Shit, what could I tell him? I’d just told him I was leaving the Pack for a jaguar. I swallowed the lump in my throat and passed an RV. He was still my father, and I’d always be his son. “Just tell him I need him. And I hope he’ll be ready with the Pack to help me.”
Jason nodded and made a call while I tried to figure out where Sasha might take Lana. She wanted to give her over to Nero so she’d have to leave town. The airport it was.
I pulled into the terminal, rolling down the windows and breathing in all the exhaust fumes and aftershaves and perfumes, searching for any sign of Lana.
“Why are we at the airport?” Jason asked.
“Just a hunch. Help me search for jaguar scents.”
Jason nodded and leaned toward his open window. After trolling slowly past the terminals, I drove around and headed up the parking structure. The tires squealed as I made the tight turns. When I was nearing the top floor, a black Mercedes came careening around the corner and nearly hit us. I slammed on the horn and kept circling until we reached the roof.
Sebastian stood up top. Alone, like a dark sentinel. I stopped the truck and flew out of the cab. He didn’t move or try to defend himself when I grabbed his shirt and got in his face.
“Where is Lana?” I growled.
“I told you not to leave her alone, wolf. Now your mistake could cost her life.”
I punched him in the mouth, grateful to see blood bloom on his lower lip. He smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth. “If you are through being an animal, perhaps we can help one another.”
Jason came up beside us, looking at each of us before he spoke. “Adam, are you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“This is Sebastian. He’s going to take me to my mate.
The jaguar raised his arrogant brow and yanked my hands off of his shirt. “Your mate? Does she know?”
“Fuck you.” I shoved him backward. It was too tempting to have him so close to me when I wanted to rip his head off so badly I could taste it. “Sasha’s got Lana.”
He wiped his lip and nodded. “Yes, she does. She’s meeting with Nero for a trade.”
“Where?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know exactly.”
My head felt like it was going to explode. I signaled Jason back to the truck. “Fine. I’ll find her myself.”
Sebastian pulled something out of his pocket. “I can probably find her a little bit more easily since I put a tracking device on Sasha’s rental car.”
With my keen wolf hearing, I caught every word and looked back at Sebastian. “Get in the truck. You navigate.”
