Her eyes narrowed into slits. Now she got it. Could she be any slower? Zan was informing her in a not-so-subtle way that she belonged to him. Her body, her mind, and her soul. It all belonged to him.
Perversely, some feminine part of her relished the idea. The other rebelled. “That changes nothing.”
His hand curved gently around her nape, drawing her closer still. Hers curled into fists on his chest, grasping hunks of his shirt as if she never wanted to let go. “That changes everything.”
Before he could kiss her and prove what a little liar she really was, he stiffened and pulled back, lips tight in frustration, eyes focused over her shoulder.
Jackie turned, first hearing and then barely making out through the thick trees a vehicle speeding down the long dirt drive, sans headlights. “I hope you know who that is.”
“Scott and Joe.”
Perfect. At least this time Scott wouldn’t be catching her topless and Zan with a mouthful of breast. Recalling why they were following her, she whispered, “Did they drive the whole way without lights?” She warily eyed her surroundings again, wondering if they were being watched even as she spoke.
His hand squeezed gently on her nape. “No. The moon’s too bright. A running vehicle on the road without lights would be obvious. Besides, Scott drove while Joe ran through the forest. Right now they’re screwing around. No doubt Joe’s got a chunk of soap in his hand. He’ll mark the car and Scott will try to determine how many times Joe marked him, whether by sight, smell, or sound.”
Brows drawn in bewilderment, she asked, “Because?”
Behind her Zan shrugged. “It’s a training maneuver, meant to teach shifters to heed every distraction as a potential help or harm while still focusing on a goal.”
A dark form bolted in front of the moving car only to bleed back into the deep shadows of the forest just as the vehicle entered the clearing.
Jackie gasped. “That was close!”
“No guts no glory.”
She glared at Zan over her shoulder. “I hate that saying.”
In the clearing, Scott exited the car, shouted the word eight, and began to peruse the marked vehicle. Joe appeared out of the dark and they started to bicker over what was considered a tag and what wasn’t.
Jackie shook her head. “Are you sure they’re old enough to be in the military?”
Zan snorted. “Chronologically? Yes. Mentally? It’s times like this I have doubts. Watch this.” He covered her right ear so his shout wouldn’t affect her hearing. “Report!”
Like the well-trained soldiers they were, Joe and Scott snapped to attention at Zan’s order and hustled over to stand at the top of the stairs. It was Scott that spoke. “The driver’s identify is confirmed. Marc Shider. Two of his henchmen are with him. Cam Arias and Lenny Denner.”
The hand on her neck squeezed again and Jackie glanced up to see tight lines around Zan’s mouth. “Are they...was it one of them that shot you?”
Green eyes met her wide-eyed brown ones. “Looks like. Let’s go inside and discuss this.” He nodded at the younger shifters who preceded them in the house. “I need to let Dean know what’s going on and find out what he wants me to do.”
Jackie scoffed. “I’ll tell you what he wants you to do. Eliminate the threat.”
His nasty smile gave Jackie the willies. “My goal as well. However, his plans might be different from my own.”
“What plan is that?”
“Getting out of town.”
The thought of him leaving sent her heart thudding to her feet. “Oh.”
“And taking you with me.”
That had her stopping in her tracks. “What?”
Zan turned around to face Jackie. He cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb gently over her shocked lips. “Angel. It wasn’t me he was following tonight.”
Very true. “Care to explain why he was following me?”
Ignoring her question, Zan dropped his hand to clasp hers. “Let’s not keep Dean waiting any longer.”
Jackie allowed herself to be dragged into the kitchen because she honestly didn’t know what else to do. Except run away screaming or curl up in the safest place possible and pray until this was all over. Barring both instinctive ideas, she let Zan pull out a chair for her at the kitchen table where Dean, Kaylie, Joe, and Scott were already seated. Zan flipped his chair around and straddled it, drawing Jackie’s gaze to the play of thick muscles under the denim as he sat, his arms resting along the back.
Turning sharply away, Jackie caught Kaylie’s smirk and wrinkled her nose. Her Lupa’s eyes were bright, and her lips swollen. Evidently Kaylie and Dean had indulged in a lip-locking session just before they were invaded. For his part, Dean gave her a curt but warm nod in greeting and turned his attention to Zan.