A dark SUV was parked in the back corner of the lot. Three of the four doors opened as she approached and three large, leather-clad men piled out. The driver had long dark hair while his companions were both blond. It stood to reason that this was Jake and his men. They seemed to be expecting her. Still, a shiver of apprehension skittered down her spine.
There were a few cars parked near the restaurant at the other end of the mall, but none were occupied. She parked a couple of spaces away from the SUV and hesitated. Was she about to jump from the frying pan into the fire? Who should she trust? Was the enemy of her enemy really her friend, and how could she know for sure that they were Osric’s enemies?
Something bumped her seat hard enough to rock her forward. She looked back and found cougar-Kyle’s massive amber eyes watching her intently. Had he head-butted the seat or swiped it with his paw? Either possibility was so unbelievable she just shook her head and sighed.
The dark-haired man tapped on her window, but his attention was immediately drawn to the backseat. “Why’d he shift?” he asked as she rolled the window down.
“He’s hungry. Are you Jake?”
“In the flesh.” A roguish smile parted his lips as his thick-lashed gaze settled on her. “Ava, I presume. My hunters were starting to wonder if you exist.”
She glanced at the two blond men waiting by the SUV. They were both tall and brawny. One wore a biker jacket, the other a leather vest. Both sported wallet chains and extensive tattoos. Men like these had been hunting her as well as Osric and Kyle? What made her so popular—or so hated?
Shaking away the tangent, she looked at Jake again and fought back another shiver. Without a smile, his features were sharp, his bearing watchful, his gaze downright piercing. “How should we do this?”
“Open the passenger door. I’ll back up to you so he can jump in.”
It made more sense than blithely walking a mountain lion across the parking lot. She looked back at Kyle and asked, “You doing okay?” He made a rumbling sound and she shook her head. Had she expected him to answer?
Spurring herself into action, she walked around to the passenger side of the Jeep and opened the door. Jake, or one of the blonds, had opened the back end of the SUV and laid down the seats. Jake backed across the parking lot until the tailgate nearly touched the open door of the Jeep.
Kyle leapt into the back of the SUV and one of the blonds closed the tailgate as the other one closed the door.
“You’re with me.” Jake motioned her toward the SUV.
“I’ll be right there.” She ran back around to the driver’s side of the Jeep and dug her backpack and Kyle’s jacket out from behind the seat. The rifle had slipped mostly under the seat and it would connect them with the mercenaries anyway, so she left it where it lay. “Kyle confiscated one of their guns. It’s under the seat.”
The blond nodded then climbed in behind the wheel. It was all neat and efficient and…strange. Had Jake told them not to talk to her or was this their idea of being respectful? It was almost as if they didn’t know what to make of her. Well, the feeling was mutual. She was thrilled to be back on semi-familiar ground, but now she was surrounded by strangers.
She hurried to the passenger side of the SUV as Jake leaned across and pushed the door open for her. “Thanks,” she muttered, and checked on Kyle before she locked her seat belt into place. He lay on his stomach, head resting on his crossed paws. He looked almost like an oversized housecat.
“Did he intentionally shift or was this spontaneous?” Jake waited for his men to take off before he continued on Two Rivers Road. Though dark and smoky, Jake’s eyes were actually green. And he hid model-perfect features under scruffy whiskers and a bad boy’s scowl.
“He weakened after he healed me.” Jake shot her a sidelong glance, clearly surprised by her answer. “I tried to feed him energy, but it wasn’t enough. He was in pain for hours before he lost control.”
“Start at the beginning. When did Kyle catch up to you and how did you end up on Frying Pan Road in a stolen Jeep?”
Kyle obviously trusted this man, but she wasn’t sure she trusted Kyle. “Do you have a phone? I’d like to call my sister. Kyle said she’s staying at a cat sanctuary with a man named Quinn.”
He chuckled and shifted his gaze back to the road. “I guess I’d be suspicious too. What did Kyle do with his phone? It was disposable, hard to trace.”
“It must be on the floor of the Jeep. His transformation sort of eclipsed everything else.”
“I’ll bet.” He was silent for a moment, apparently lost in thought.