His Darkest Hunger (Jaguar Warriors 1)

Everything but Libby.

His vision focused into a narrow beam that encircled her body and nothing else.

Her legs had collapsed as she pitched forward. Instinct took over and his arms snaked out, grabbing her around the waist, and he went with her, cushioning the fall with the hardness of his body. He covered her face with his hands and turned as shattered glass blew out and rained down on them.

Her scent instantly went deep, and the animal that lived inside of him quivered excitedly, wanting…craving the female it had long been denied.

With great effort Jaxon pushed the beast back, his eyes quickly scanning the face he had never forgotten. She was so incredibly pale, a shallow ghost of her former self, and the feel of her frailty hit him hard in the gut.

The look in her eyes when she finally had the courage to meet his own had stunned him. They were full of horror and utter confusion.

In that instant he knew. Libby Jamieson had no idea who the hell he was. No one, not even Jodie Foster, could have faked such a performance.

What the hell had happened to her? And where in the hell had she disappeared to these last three years?

An even more pressing matter occurred to him as the scent of blood drifted through his nasal passages. His heart leapt into his throat as he turned her face in his hands, before they quickly ran down the length of her body.

He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he was satisfied the blood wasn’t coming from her, and he let it out heavily.

Quickly he turned, still cradling her close to his body, and spied the other waitress, Maxine. She was lying in a pool of blood, while a few other staff members were crouched low around her. Within a few seconds Jaxon was able to ascertain that the unfortunate woman was the only casualty.

One of the waitresses was giving her mouth to mouth, but he knew that her life force had already seeped from her limp body, mingling with the pool of blood that was slowly growing larger.

The door from the kitchen flew open and two men charged into the melee of screaming, frightened people. The older gentleman ran to the downed waitress and touched his fingers to her throat before shaking his head sadly. A fresh hail of whimpers sprang from the waitress who had been frantically trying to resuscitate, and she collapsed onto her friend as she cried out in anguish.

The older man patted her head in sorrow before springing to his feet. His eyes searched wildly, and when he rested them on Jaxon, his face went white and his legs almost buckled.

Libby meant something to this man. Jaxon growled and held her possessively as he approached. The beast began to clamor loudly, wanting to make an appearance, and he leapt to his feet quickly, ducking behind a wall, using it as a buffer between him and the sniper who was still out there.

A sniper that had come for both Libby and himself.

Rage, all consuming and black, flushed his face, and the older man halted. It was only concern and fear for Libby that pushed him forward. “Is she…?” His voice was hoarse and tears thickened his tongue.

Jaxon shook his head, answering in a clipped voice. “No. She just fainted.”

“Thank God. I’m Pete, what the hell happened here? It looks like a war zone. I’ve already called 911. The police should be here any minute.”

Pete looked back to the dead waitress and his voice broke. “I just don’t understand how this could happen. I don’t understand…any of this.”

“Can you take Libby?”

Jaxon’s voice cut through Pete’s confusion and he carefully placed Libby in his arms. “I’ll be back. Make sure no harm comes to her.”

He grabbed his bag and strode toward the door, barely contained fury humming along behind him.

“But you can’t just leave. The police are going to want to talk to you.”

Jaxon didn’t bother turning around, but his voice drifted back toward Pete as the door closed behind him. “Just keep her safe. She belongs to me.”

Off in the distance, the wail of sirens signaled the arrival of local law enforcement. Jaxon quickly slipped into the alley behind the diner and reached into his pocket to retrieve a cell phone. He hit number one on his speed dial.

“Yeah, Dec here.”

“Declan, it’s me.”

He heard a long static-filled pause in his ear as he waited for his former weapons specialist to get over the shock of hearing his voice. After their unit was ambushed three years earlier, the team had been dismantled, and they were all been reassigned after the debriefing. He tried to keep in touch, but had not bothered with either Declan or Ana in well over a year.

“How did you get this number? You need a level five clearance before it’s given out.”