His Darkest Hunger (Jaguar Warriors 1)

A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach took hold as dark thoughts crept through his brain; thoughts of his lady, tortured and beaten, and all because of him. Thoughts of the DaCosta clan touching her made him see red, and he growled savagely as he envisioned all the ways he would make them pay.

Just thinking about it was painful, and he was vaguely aware of the voices dancing around his mind. The last three years had been a blur of hatred toward a woman he’d blamed for the betrayal of his unit, and the death of his cousin. He could acknowledge now that his hatred had been magnified a hundred times, because deep down he was shattered at her betrayal of him. It wouldn’t have hurt so much if he’d had no feelings for Libby, but they were there all along, he’d just been too damn stubborn to admit to them.

He loved Libby Jamieson.

Had always loved her, in fact. From the first time he’d laid eyes on her at Quantico, he’d been done for.

Jaxon swallowed thickly as the weight of realization hit him in the chest. He’d never once told her that. Never.

He sighed softly and closed his eyes. He’d been willing to put a bullet through her skull because of a betrayal that now seemed to have never happened. It was becoming obvious that she’d been taken away for three years, savagely tortured and beaten, and all because he’d claimed her as his own without even realizing it.

Anguish knifed through his heart, striking deep and hard as he remembered their last conversation. How she’d wanted something more from him than he’d been willing to give. And stupid ass that he was, she’d already had it. He’d just been too blind to see.

And she’d paid for his stupidity tenfold.

Ana’s hands on his arm snapped him back, and Jaxon inhaled roughly. He turned away, his shoulders and neck rotating in an effort to bring some semblance of calm to his body and mind. He needed to focus. He needed to make things right.

“It’s the DaCostas. It’s no coincidence that Alexio attacked Libby here in my territory. The arrogant bastard came with only three other jaguars. It was his last mistake.”

Jaxon whirled around, a deadly calm now blanketing his features, the darkness that lived inside of the jaguar out there for all to see. His eyes blazed with an intensity that would make most mortal men cringe.

And usually did.

He was beyond anger, fury. As of now, he was in the zone, and nothing would stand between him and the DaCostas. He would exact payment for their crimes, and the cost would be heavy. He would methodically destroy each and every one of them.

“I want intel on the whereabouts of every known member of Jakobi’s offspring. I want to know where they sleep, who they sleep with, where they relax, and where they like to torture innocent women.”

Jaxon’s voice was low, but controlled. “I will hunt tomorrow, so let’s get our game on and come up with a plan.”

Ana grabbed a folder and quickly flipped through several reports until she found the one she needed.

“In addition to the youngest, Tomas, who we’ve already retired, so to speak, and Alexio, I have five more siblings, four males and a female. All of the men work directly under Jakobi, but the daughter, Jaden, runs two luxury resorts in Mexico. From what I can tell, she has nothing to do with the family business, but that doesn’t mean the resorts aren’t used to launder all their illegal monies.”

Ana grabbed a glass filled to the brim with warm blood and gulped heartily as her eyes ran down the pages before her. “I think we need to focus on Texas and Mexico. They have two large strongholds there, with a lot of property to do whatever the hell they want.” She whipped her head back to Declan. “You think you might be able to get some satellite images?”

“That would be a total waste of time.”

Jaxon froze as Libby’s voice echoed through the cold basement where they were working. His eyes sought hers, but she ignored him and focused on Ana and Declan. His heart began to accelerate and he braced himself as she walked past, wanting to touch her, but afraid of her reaction.

“How the hell did you break through my protection ward?” Declan asked. “You shouldn’t have been able to leave your bedroom!” He was aghast, and his question hung in the air between all of them.

Libby laughed softly at that, but her voice dripped ice, and no warmth fell from her lips when she spoke. “Never stopped me in the past, now did it, Dec? Some things you just don’t forget.”

An uneasy silence followed her statement, broken by Ana. “Why would it be a waste of time, Libby? I know for a fact that two of the brothers are in the United States and at least one was last seen near the family compound in Texas.” She looked back to her notes. “Two days ago, in fact.”

“Well now, Ana, it wouldn’t be a waste of time if those two were in fact the brothers that you want. However, I have intimate knowledge as to the whereabouts of Degas and Frank DaCosta.”

The lead ball in Jaxon’s belly flipped over, and his eyes never left the cool blonde who now s

tood before them. Her eyes met his briefly, and inwardly he was shocked at the coldness that lay there.

“Libby—”

“I’m not done talking, Castille. Don’t interrupt me again.” The words were hissed, and Jaxon was taken aback at the depth of anger in them.

She turned to him, the violet of her eyes shaded dark and full of emotion. Her breathing had become ragged, but she held her head high and took command as she spoke.

“If you want a chance at the bastards who took a shot at you, then you better put aside any notions you have about Texas and Mexico. They’re not there.”