Joining the Jaguar: BBW Paranormal Jaguar Shifter Romance (6 page)

She couldn't hear anything, not even the sound of passing cars. A basement room, probably completely underground. A sickening, claustrophobic feeling rose in her chest.
Buried alive
, she thought. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm.

They'd given her a mattress and a blanket. Whoever had brought her here didn't want her dead, at least not yet.

She slowly pushed to her feet. She still felt nauseous and had a hammering headache from the lingering effects of the chloroform.

The room had a single door with a small slit near the bottom that a tray might be passed through. The door was locked, or course. She tested the knob, but it didn't give. When she crouched down to peer through the slit, there was nothing but darkness outside.

Sarah tried to concentrate, despite the nausea and the pounding in her head. Should she call out? What were the changes that anyone but her captors would hear her, in a windowless underground cell
—
and what if it pissed her captors off?

The walls were closing in on her. The air already tasted stale.
Stay calm
, she told herself.

People would notice she was missing when she didn't open the office tomorrow morning. The pack would look for her. Jake wouldn't rest until they'd found her. He might not be interested in her as a lover or a partner, but he was fiercely protective of his town and his people, and she knew that he counted her among his people by now.

All she had to do was stay calm a little while longer. Her captors would probably turn up sooner or later. She'd have a chance to figure out what they wanted, find a way to turn the situation to her advantage.

She sat down on the thin mattress again, although it was hard to stay still. Eventually she ended up pacing again, and then suddenly she couldn't take it anymore. She gave the door a hard kick. It didn't budge, not even when she threw her whole body against it. Someone had to be out there, right? They hadn't just
forgotten
her down here, they wouldn't just
leave
her
—

"Help!" she screamed. "Help!" She hammered her fists against the door. Her breath sawed in and out of her chest. Her face was wet. "Let me out, God damn you! Help!"

No one heard. No one came. Finally Sarah sank down next to the door, too exhausted even to cry. She crawled back to her mattress pad and curled up with her arms around her knees, shivering.

***

Jake hadn't gotten where he was in life by pining after things he couldn't have. He wasn't pining now, he told himself. It was way past time to stop thinking about Sarah Anderson when she'd made it more than clear she wasn't interested in him.

It didn't help that everyone in the goddamn town seemed to feel the need to talk about her all the time. Wasn't it bad enough that she was gorgeous, and a firecracker in bed? Did he have to keep hearing about how competent and kind she was, too, how hard she worked to take care of his people?

Jake sighed, dropping his head in his hands. This was getting ridiculous. There was work to be done.

He pulled over one of the teetering stacks of files on his desk. He'd just have to keep busy. The feelings would go away in time.

He was halfway through a file when the hairs rose on the back of his neck in sudden alarm. He snapped his head up. His office was quiet and empty. Outside, he could hear the sounds of his pack going about their lives. But something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

Sarah
, he thought, with a sudden stab of terror. But no, that was ridiculous. Sarah would be home by now, eating dinner or reading a book before bed.

But he couldn't seem to settle down. Every instinct he had was screaming at him. He couldn't get over the feeling that she was in danger, and he had to help her.

He was imagining things. A mate bond might let him know if his mate was in danger, but she wasn't his mate. They'd never had more than that one single time together. Surely his one-sided, unwanted feelings couldn't have been enough to trigger a bond between the two of them. Even his jaguar side couldn't have been so impulsive and stupid as to tie him forever to a woman who didn't want him.

But if this
was
some kind of stunted, one-sided bond calling to him… then the danger might be real.

Jake was on his feet before he even finished the thought.

***

Sarah's apartment was dark and empty. There were a few lingering traces of her scent in the hallway in front of her door, but they were hours old. She hadn't been here all day, and it was already close to midnight. The feeling of danger sharpened until it clawed like a knife in his chest.

She was probably at work, Jake told himself, or on an emergency house call somewhere. He knew how hard she worked.

He pulled the car to a halt at her office with a screech. Vince and Jeremy watched him with concern. They'd come with him when he'd told them he'd felt something wrong, but he knew they didn't quite believe the danger was real.

He knew he needed to get it together and be the calm, unflappable alpha his pack expected him to be. But his heart was hammering in time with the terrible knowledge,
Something's wrong. Find her. Find her. Find her.
There was no doubt left in his mind.

The office was empty and deserted, but her scent was fresh in front of the door, overlaid with something else: a sharp chemical smell that raised his hackles.

There were scuffed footprints in the soft dirt beside the path, a man's big boots and a woman's smaller shoes. A few drops of blood were spattered around them. The scent of blood was faint, but enough to confirm that there'd been a struggle. Someone had taken her, had used some kind of chemical to subdue her.

Jake turned back around. Vince and Jeremy took a step back at the sight of his face. Jake became aware that he was making a sound, a low, deep growl in the back of his throat, pure animal rage.

They'd taken her.

He'd find her. He'd make sure she was safe. And then he'd make them pay.

***

Sarah startled to her feet when she heard steps coming down the stairway. She shifted nervously, wrapping her arms around herself. If only she had some kind of weapon, a gun or something... not that she'd know what to do with one if she had.

Well, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing they'd managed to scare her. She crossed her arms and braced her shoulders.

The door opened. A tall man stood in the doorway. He wore a heavy leather jacket over enormous shoulders, and an unkempt beard covered half his face. He held a gun, dangling loosely from one enormous hand.

"George Smith," she said, startled. She knew him. He led the biker gang.

"Dr. Anderson," he replied. He grinned at her, baring yellowed teeth. Sarah had to fight not to flinch back when he took a step towards her.

"If you know who I am, you can probably imagine what I want," he said. "So let's not beat around the bush. This is a war, and you're going to have to choose a side, lady. I'm done letting that upstart cat pretend he's running my town. Everyone who picks his side is going to regret it. You're going to stop helping him and his pack of mongrels, and no one's going to bother you and your little office. Or you can choose his side, and find out what happens to people who go to war against me."

"So what are you gonna do, kill me?" Sarah asked. "Half this town knows me. You're not going to get away with that."

"We'll see about that," Smith said. He cocked his gun and pointed it at her forehead. His eyes were hard and cold, a fire burning behind them.

He's insane
, she thought.

"Get on your knees," he ordered.

"Jake's going to find me," Sarah said. Oh God, he was going to kill her. She clenched her hands by her side. She wouldn't let him see her shaking.

Smith took a step closer, until the gun almost touched her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut.

The door crashed open. Sarah opened her eyes. Jake came flying through the doorway, moving so fast his powerful jaguar form was nothing but a blurred streak. Smith whirled around, trying to point the gun at him.

"Watch out!" Sarah yelled.

Jake jumped. One huge paw batted Smith's gun away with effortless ease, and then the jaguar barreled into him, knocking him flat to the floor. Once he had Smith pinned, Jake shifted back to his human form. If anything, he looked more menacing as a human than he had as a cat. His broad shoulders flexed and bunched when he shifted to pin Smith to the floor. His dark eyes glowed with rage. But when he turned his head to look at Sarah, his eyes softened.

"You all right, doc?" he asked gently.

"I'm fine," Sarah said. "He didn't hurt me."

"Good," Jake said. And then he looked back down at Smith, his face hardening. "And that's the only reason I'm going to let you live. You ever touch her again, you ever even show your face in my town again, and I will kill you. Are we clear?"

"You can't
—
" Smith began.

"Yes I can," Jake said, his voice a primal growl. "I'm not interested in starting a war with the bikers, but if you hurt my people, I'll do what I have to do to protect them."

He shoved to his feet, leaving Smith lying stunned beneath him. Vincent came through the door, gun in hand.

"Get him out of my sight," Jake said, jerking his chin at Smith. Vincent wordlessly pulled Smith to his feet and escorted him out of the room. It felt like a heavy weight eased off Sarah's chest once she was finally alone with Jake, as if she could finally breathe freely again for the first time in hours.

"Thank you," she said. Her voice shook. She pressed her hands against her stinging eyes. She'd managed to hold it together the entire time, and now she was going to lose it? The last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself in front of Jake again.

"I'm fine," she said, or tried to; it came out as a sob. She squeezed her eyes closed. Damn it.

"Hey," Jake said gently. There wasn't any mockery in his voice, and not even any pity; nothing but warmth. "You're okay. You're safe now, I promise." He put his hand on her shoulder, and Sarah lost the rest of her careful composure. She buried her face against his shoulder, clinging to his solid warmth. Jake wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. His big hands were warm and steady on her back. "You're all right, you're safe," he said, in a low, steady voice.

"I'm fine," Sarah said again.

He squeezed her shoulders. "Sure you are," he agreed easily. "Come on, I'll take you home."

***

Her apartment was warm and cozy and brightly lit. It should have made her feel better, but instead she could feel her hands starting to shake, as if, now that the danger was over, her body was starting to fall apart.

"Here, sit down," Jake said, nudging her gently until she folded down onto her couch. He wrapped her big fluffy blanket around her shoulders. She huddled gratefully into the warmth.

"I'll make you some tea," Jake said.

It should be her making the tea, she thought faintly. It was her apartment, after all. He didn't even know where anything was. And yet somehow she couldn't bring herself to move. She sat, wrapped up in her blanket, knees pulled up to her chin, and listened to the sounds of Jake moving around her kitchen.

Finally Jake was back. He pressed a steaming cup into her hands. She clutched it gratefully. Jake sat down beside her and wordlessly wrapped an arm around her shoulders while she sipped her tea. After a couple minutes, she finally felt like she could breathe again.

"Better?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm sorry." She could feel herself blushing.

"You have nothing to apologize for. You were incredibly brave," Jake said. "Come on, let's get you to bed. You should get some rest."

Even now, she couldn't help but feel a little zing at that, him saying "get you to bed" in his low, smoky voice. But she knew he hadn't meant it that way. He waited while she got changed into her pajamas in the bathroom with the door closed, and then he did nothing but took her comforter tightly around her shoulders.

"Sleep well," he said. "We'll keep a watch on your apartment tonight. No one can get to you. You'll be safe."

"Thank you," Sarah said. And then he was turning to leave, and her hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve. "Sorry," she said. "But could you stay?" She really didn't want to be alone right now.

Jake turned to look at her, surprised. "You don't have to," she said. She was a big girl; she wasn't scared of the dark. She could manage fine on her own.

But he only smiled at her. "Yes, of course," he said.

Jake stretched out on top of the covers, still in his jeans and t-shirt.

"Thank you," Sarah whispered.

"Sleep well," he said.

Ten minutes ago, she would've thought she'd never sleep again. But now exhaustion was sinking down over her. She could hear Jake breathing slowly and steadily beside her, and her eyes were falling closed.