Jazz stepped forward at the same time as Xander, in his wolf form, crouched, readying for an attack. “She’s a child. You can’t—”
Jon looked over his shoulder at Xander. “You move, the kid dies. I’ll rip his head off.” Jon tightened his grip on Seth’s neck as if to prove his point. Blood dripped down Seth’s throat.
Xander froze.
Jon faced Jazz. “Enough games. Tell me where Nina is, and when I get to my car, I’ll let the boy go.”
“Don’t you want to know how to find Molly?”
“Nope. Cindy was nice enough to leave those pictures she sent you on her phone for me to forward on. Kid won’t do me any good anyway. I’m already mated. So tell me where to find Nina”—he held Seth up as if he were a prize—“and you can keep our boy.”
“Why should I tell you anything? I don’t believe you’ll let the child go. You’ll hurt him the minute you get to your car or try to run with him.”
Jon shrugged. “And? You’ll still have the other one. This one’s broken anyway.”
Her heart raced. “Broken? What are you talking about?”
He lifted Seth and stared into his face. “How many cats do you have, kid?”
Seth whimpered but didn’t answer. Jon bared his fangs, and Seth blurted, “Three.”
“Yeah? How many can you shift into?”
Seth shook his head, and more blood ran down his skin.
“Answer me!” Jon yelled.
“Two,” Seth sobbed.
Jon met Jazz’s gaze. “See? Kid’s broken.”
Two animals? Seth always talked about all three. He’d described them in detail and had even commented on their personalities. But…but she’d only ever seen him shift into his tiger or his jaguar. Never his lion.
“Oh god.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. How had she missed that?
“Tell me where my mate is, and we’ll call this even. You took two of my kids. I killed two of your friends. We’ll both go on our merry way.”
Murdering Tony and Cindy most certainly did not make it even. Instead of saying that, she nodded. “Okay, but not until we get to your car.”
He held out his hand, and the growls coming from behind her increased. Kade obviously didn’t approve of her plan. What was she supposed to do? She needed to get Seth away from Jon. The man was clearly unstable or desperate to get his mate back. Both options left him unpredictable. Neither was acceptable, not while he held Jazz’s son in his grasp.
Jazz laid her hand in Jon’s palm. He squeezed her fingers, tearing a scream from her as pain shot up her arm, then yanked her against him. Seth squeaked and fell to the ground.
She didn’t get the chance to see if he was okay. Jon dug claws into her stomach. She cried out, but he clamped his other hand over her mouth, stifling the scream. With the hand digging into her belly, he lifted her and tossed her over his shoulder. Her breath whooshed out. Agony whipped through her.
He hooked his arm over her thighs and ran. Each step he took radiated more piercing pain through her.
Seth’s crying carried over the snarls of the cats. She lifted her head. Josh held him against his chest. Kade—in his lion form—stepped next to Seth.
A wave of relief swept through her. Seth was safe.
Kade chuffed. She met his eyes. He flicked his gaze to the left then back to her. It was her only warning.
A roar rang out. Something rammed into Jon. She fell. More agony ripped into her belly, but she turned her head, desperate to see what was going on.
The scene playing out before her tore a strangled gasp from her throat. She pressed against the sharp sting in her chest. Wetness met her fingers. Blood. A lot of blood. It drenched her hand. She was hurt. Badly. The thought came easily, then skittered away. Her concern focused on the man she loved, not on her injuries.
Two lions fought in a brutal, fast fight she could barely follow. She kept her gaze locked on the black-maned one she knew was Rafe. He rose on his hind legs to meet the other cat’s snapping lunge. Rafe was taller. In this case, the extra height left him open for Jon’s attack, but Rafe countered it before she could scream a warning. He bared huge fangs and bit Jon’s shoulder. Jon rammed his head into Rafe’s chest, and they rolled before Rafe knocked Jon off.
Rafe was no longer the comforting male she’d snuggled with the night before. He was vicious—an enraged predator protecting his family.
He snarled and lunged at Jon but missed when the smaller lion rolled toward her. Fur brushed her leg, and the tuft of hair on his tail smacked against her arm. He snarled at her but never got the chance to bite. Rafe dug his claws into Jon’s flank and yanked him away from her. Jon didn’t stay down, though. He hopped to his feet and swayed.
He was hurt but wasn’t giving up. There was a crazed look in his eyes. He reminded her of how some druggies fought. Pain never registered in their brains the way it did for other people. They thought they were stronger. Invincible.
Until they crashed.
Rafe planted his body between where she was sprawled on the ground and Jon. Another cat, a white tiger with blue-gray stripes, came up on her left and Mira—in her jaguar form—approached on Jazz’s right.
Jon flicked his gaze between her protectors. He lowered the front of his body and leapt the same time Rafe did. Their bodies smacked. Their claws tore at each other’s flanks, but Rafe was obviously the stronger lion. He pushed Jon back, then clamped his mouth over Jon’s neck. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the horrible sounds.
Finally, silence descended. She pried open her eyelids. The branches above her head gave her a dappled view of the gray sky. After a moment, a black-maned lion came into view. The lion faded and the face of the man
