Jaguar Fever

cottages.

Then he smelled Wade and the other female jaguar. What the hell?

And the odor of men. Two of them.

He could tell from Maya’s scent that she was terrified. The men had to be hunting the jaguars. Connor was trying to keep a clear head where Maya was concerned, but his blood was racing through his veins, his heart pumping hard as he feared for Maya’s safety.

He moved through the jungle, smelling the ground and low tree branches, sniffing the air. Unable to contain himself, he roared for Maya.

She immediately responded, her jaguar’s roar sounding like music to his ears.

He’d covered another mile from when he heard her roar and discovered two dead men with Maya’s scent all over them. He looked more closely at a place on the ground where a jaguar had lain, his body pressing the grasses down into a mat, and smelled the scent—Wade Patterson’s. A female jaguar was still sleeping on the ground nearby.

His heart hammered his ribs. Where the hell was Maya? And Wade?

* * *

Maya had been so relieved to hear Connor’s roar that she let him know just where she and Wade were hiding. Her brother would help get Wade to the resort, and then she could assist Connor in moving the dead men and hiding the jaguar female until she revived enough to take care of herself.

Everything would be all right.

Before she could tell Connor where they were again—she thought he probably had been sidetracked as he checked out the dead men—she saw him staring up at her and Wade as they sat on the tree branch together above him. Well, Wade was reclining, unable to sit. Tension filled every one of Maya’s muscles as she worried about her brother’s reaction.

Connor just waited, as if he was thinking she should come with him now. Connor grunted at her. She licked Wade’s cheek, although Wade didn’t take his eyes off Connor. The two jaguars were ready to do battle. If only Connor knew how unable Wade was to fight in his current condition.

She jumped off the tree branch and landed next to Connor. He nudged her as if telling her to return to her cottage, but she nudged at him to go with her instead. He followed her, and she led him back to Mylar and then pawed at the gun that the man had used to tranquilize Wade and the other cat. She waited for Connor to get it. She moved away from the dead man and pawed at the earth where Wade had been sleeping.

Connor sniffed at the ground, then stared at her.

He got it. Wade was not in any shape to help himself. She bolted back to the tree where Wade still waited for them, too drugged to move.

This time when Connor joined them, he shifted and folded his arms across his chest, looking up at Wade. “I take it you’re too tired to move much at all.”

Wade bowed his head.

Connor shook his. “I can’t carry you. What do you want to do? Stay here until you’re more yourself?”

Maya grunted at him.

Connor looked down at her, scowling. “You aren’t staying out here with him all night. What if more men return to hunt down the cat that killed those men?”

They just might. That’s what she was worried sick about! Lion Mane was still unaccounted for. She wasn’t leaving a drowsy big cat out here to fend for himself. And Connor needed her help disposing of the dead men and helping the female cat to find shelter until she could safely leave the area.

“Maya,” Connor said, exasperated. “You’ve got to come with me.”

Maya glanced in the direction of the resort. She wasn’t leaving Wade no matter what Connor wanted.

“Hell, Maya. All right, stay with him. I’ll get us some clothes and we can carry him back to your place. Don’t get caught.”

She licked his hand, then jumped into the tree. He watched her for a moment, gave Wade a growly look, then shifted and tore off through the jungle.

She’d known her brother would come up with a solution. With tension filling every muscle, she reclined on the branch with Wade, hoping that they didn’t encounter more trackers, the hunters, or any other humans. Or that anyone would find the dead bodies.

She thought they were relatively safe up in the well-shielded tree, but Wade appeared anxious, despite being so lethargic. He kept lifting his head, trying to turn, his tail twitching. She was apprehensive, too, and jumped down from the tree. Pacing between the two dead men, she wanted to move them to their final resting place, a nearby river. The crocodiles and piranhas filling the river ought to take care of the spoils of war.

Two rivers converged not too far south of here. She’d drag Bettinger, the shifter, there first. She gently bit into the gun belt strapped diagonally across Bettinger’s chest and began to drag him over the rainforest floor. She was pissed off at the man for being one of their kind and leading hunters to jaguars. Not to mention that he’d planned to kill both Wade and her.

Wade grunted at her, sounding like he wanted her to stay. She couldn’t, in the event someone came along who was investigating what had happened to the men. She also couldn’t leave all this for Connor to handle. The quicker they took care of it, the better.

She heard water running over debris at the edge of the river some distance from her. A woof made her remember the dogs! She growled under her breath. She and Connor had to free them, too. They couldn’t leave the dogs tied up where another predator could kill them, yet she wasn’t sure how they’d manage that as the dogs would want to chase after the cats.

Dragging the body with her, she didn’t think she’d ever reach the first of the rivers. She waited, watching for any signs of movement—people boating or swimming or fishing. Not this late at night. Unless it was a jaguar fishing.

If she had a flashlight, she could shine it over the water and see the red glow in the crocodiles’ eyes. She heard something slither nearby and a splash.

Shit! She was bringing the crocs dinner, but she didn’t want to be on the menu.

Chapter 14

Connor could not believe the dangerous mess his sister was in. As stubborn as Maya was, he knew he couldn’t budge her from protecting Wade and the other cat. Which put her in even more danger.

Now he’d have to face another female cat who was just as stubborn and would be just as much of a problem when he wanted to take care of this on his own.

“You’re not going with me,” Connor said as soon as he’d dressed on Maya’s deck and found Kat waiting there for his and Maya’s return.

The fact that he was alone said volumes.

“What’s happened?” Kat said, her brows knit in a tight frown.

“Maya’s in trouble. Wade, too. The female jaguar roaming around in our territory has been tranquilized, along with Wade in his jaguar form. There are two dead hunters in the vicinity.” He rushed back to their cottage for a pair of drawstring pants for Wade, Kat hot on his heels.

“Of course I’m coming,” Kat said, sounding annoyed.

He scowled at her over his shoulder as he pulled a pair of pants out of his drawer for Wade. “You’re pregnant. It’s too dangerous.”

“Maya can’t manage by herself. You can’t manage this all alone, either. I’m going with you.” She tucked her dark hair behind her ears, folded her arms, and looked about as furious with him as she could.

“I love you,” Connor said frowning, “and I don’t want you to come with me.” She smiled so brightly that he groaned. “Kat, I really want you to stay.” From her stubborn expression, he knew Kat wasn’t changing her mind.

“We have to run the whole way back. The men were hunters. There are bound to be more of them. They’ve