“Roger that.”
She was caught between five special forces soldiers and one overprotective father willing to go to the ends of the earth to protect his daughter. Oh, and he was former special forces too.
She eased to a crouch and slowly peered over the top of the air conditioner into the darkened jungle. The monkeys went insane.
“Jesus Christ,” Ian muttered. “They can’t get much louder. Just run, Ev. Thread the needle and get out of there. Five, four, three…”
Once the camera’s sweep completed, she eased out from behind the housing, cut a look around the corner, found the path clear, and stepped into the open.
A throaty rumbling sound raised the hair on the back of her neck and turned her feet to stone. Her mind filled with the image of that two-hundred-pound jaguar Hix had told her about. The hair on her arms joined the hair on her neck, and everything inside her shivered.
“Move, girl,” Ian said, his voice filled with urgency. “Ten seconds until another sweep.”
Everly forced air into her lungs, eased into a crouch, and picked up the largest rock she could find.
When she pushed to her feet again, the jaguar’s displeasure r
ipped through the night.
Austin was on his feet, the Glock in his hand before his mind wrapped around the reason he’d jumped out of bed. His brain searched for the source of trouble, scanning for dreams or noises while his gaze cut around the room.
When no threat emerged, he moved to the open door between his room and Bella’s. He found his half-pint sprawled on her twin bed, covers kicked to the ground, her pink nightgown bunched up around her belly.
The sense of urgency-bordering-on-panic ebbed, but some kind of threat still loomed. He could feel it.
His gaze veered toward the security overview in the middle of a short section of wall just to the right of the master bath. All the lights were green, indicating every exterior door and window in the house was intact.
The screech of a howler monkey pulled his attention outside. The gaggle of primates were pissed off over something invading their territor—
The roar of a jaguar pierced the double-paned security windows and skipped down Austin’s spine.
That was it. That was the sound that had pulled him from sleep.
He grabbed his radio from the nightstand. “Decker, report.”
“Just an argument between jungle bunkmates, boss. The guys ran Kujo off.”
He paused for a moment, letting that news sink in to see if it settled the rivulet of unease coursing down the center of his body. Nope. His instincts still revved on high.
But instead of trying to explain that to Decker or send his men on a full property scan like a frightened teenager, Austin said, “Roger that,” and replaced the radio on the nightstand.
He wouldn’t rest until he’d checked the entire house himself.
With his Glock in hand, he moved through the darkened, quiet space on bare feet. His practiced sweep took ninety seconds. He already knew Bella was safe. After a quick check on Renalda, he crossed the kitchen and paused at the door leading to the in-law unit.
It took only a second for him to squash the discomfort of invading Everly’s space. He turned the knob and eased the door open. He’d just peek in on her and go back to—
His gaze landed on an empty bed, then jumped to the darkened bathroom.
“Everly?”
No answer.
Confusion gave way to fear. Fear Everly had been injured by the jaguar before his team had scared Kujo off. Or that she was snooping somewhere she shouldn’t be.
A whispered I knew it rose up from the fear he carried with him every day. The fear of the Seavers sending another team after Bella.
In the seconds it took Austin to cross the room to the door, his imagination soared. His anger spiked. His sense of betrayal mounted. By the time he stepped outside to the bark of howlers, he was livid.