Chosen Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #2) (3 page)

“Excuse me?” the man asked.

Phoebe realized she’d zoned out and turned her attention back to the man. He had dark blonde hair and slate gray eyes. She made a point of checking his medical chart by the bed and checked his vitals. The name on the chart was Paul Malone though Phoebe’s ‘uh-oh’ radar was so strong, she doubted that was his actual name. Nonetheless…

“So Paul, how are you feeling today?” Phoebe asked as she entered his blood pressure rating in his chart.

“Okay, I guess. Yesterday was pretty scary.”

Phoebe watched him as the man launched into a vague summary of his physical state, increasing her doubt that he had anything wrong with him. But she listened and observed, wondering if Rosie’s suspicions were correct, and if so, what would he want by checking himself into the hospital. Phoebe’s primary concern was that he was after information on any one of the many shifters who worked in the hospital. Shana was a nurse while her brother Dane was one of the back-up emergency room doctors. They were only two of many shifters who were in and out of the hospital throughout the week.

“So, you said you were visiting Catamount. How long do you plan to be here?” Phoebe asked after Paul finished talking.

Paul’s gray eyes bounced to the window and back to her before he replied. “Not sure. I heard it was a nice place. Thought I’d check it out.”

Though Catamount saw its share of visitors in the spring, summer and fall due to its proximity to the Appalachian Trail and its extensive orchards, visitors in winter were much less likely. There was a ski lodge in a nearby town, which tended to draw most of the winter visitors. Phoebe couldn’t help herself. “This time of year doesn’t bring too many tourists here. Do you have family nearby?”

Paul’s eyes tightened, but he kept his expression bland. “I like winter. No reason not to visit just because of that.” He turned his focus back to the television, the message loud and clear that Phoebe was dismissed.

Later that afternoon, she walked outside with Rosie after their shift was over. “Well, I’m with you on that guy. I’d bet money he’s a shifter. Why is he here and why this hospital? I’m stopping by Jake’s office now, and I’ll make sure this gets passed on to Hank and Dane.”

Rosie climbed into her car with a wave. “Call me if you hear anything. See you tomorrow.”

Phoebe headed directly to Jake’s office. As soon as she walked in, desire slammed into her body, disorienting her. All of her promises to herself that she’d be able to put their kiss behind her went up in smoke. Jake was looking at his computer screen and ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t appear to have heard her come in. For a moment, she allowed herself to enjoy the sight of him. Even hunched over a desk, his body was pure masculinity. He wore a soft t-shirt that stretched across his back, the corded muscles along his spine standing out, his strong shoulders taut under the fabric. She wanted to walk over and drop a kiss on the soft spot where the curve of his neck met the bulk of his shoulder.

He suddenly straightened and swiveled in his chair, his eyes snapping to hers instantly, his intense blue gaze igniting sparks inside of her. Less than five seconds had passed, and her breath was short, molten heat swirled in her center, and she lost focus. It didn’t help that Jake’s eyes darkened the moment he saw her, desire flashing in them. His primal gaze set butterflies amassing in her belly.

“Hey,” he said gruffly.

“Hey.” Her one word greeting hung in the air, as she stood frozen inside his office.

All the reasons why she’d kept her feelings for Jake tucked tightly in a corner raced through her thoughts. She forced her eyes away from his, tracking the movement of a cardinal outside flitting in the trees. Its bright red plumage glowed amidst the snowy skeleton of the trees. This is what she’d wanted to avoid—the discomfort, and the worry that he saw the depth of her feelings for him beyond the heat of the moment. Above all, he was one of her best friends. If she lost his friendship, she would be devastated. She was startled out of her train of thought by his voice.

“Phoebe.”

The cardinal flew from one branch to another, and she brought her eyes back to Jake. Her belly did a somersault. She couldn’t seem to force her body to obey her. Years and years of habit should have kicked in, but the kisses they shared last night had blown her control to bits.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it,” Jake said flatly.

His stark words had the intended effect of knocking her mind off its loop. “How about you stop trying to read my mind?” she countered, irritated at how easily he could read her.

He stood from his chair and moved fluidly around his desk coming to a stop in front of her. He leaned his hips against the desk and reached for her hands, which were cold from the snow-chilled air. The feel of his warm, strong hands around hers caused her breath to draw sharply. Her pulse went wild again, but she couldn’t have looked away from his gaze if she wanted.

His hair was rumpled as if he’d run his hands through it repeatedly. His eyes were still tired, though not as weary as they’d been yesterday. Her heart tumbled. The worry she held for him had been constant ever since news had come about Callen’s death. None of them could have realized that event was only a harbinger of more to come.

Jake rubbed his thumb across the back of her palm. “I wasn’t trying to read your mind. How about we agree not to freak out about last night?”

Relief washed through her. Jake understood. He was trying to get them back on friends-only footing, which was exactly where they needed to be. On the heels of relief came a sharp pain, the pain she’d been trying to avoid for years. A less than five-minute span last night, and the heartbreak she’d tried to avoid for years was in front of her. Because dammit, he’d give her a reason to hope. And no matter how many times she told her heart it wasn’t a good idea to hope, her heart ignored her.

Phoebe nodded. “Right. I’m all about not freaking out about last night. It was an aberration. We’re friends, we’ve been friends for years and that won’t change.”

He shook his head slowly. “That’s not what I meant about not freaking out.”

Her belly flip-flopped. “What…what did you mean?”

“I meant let’s not freak out about what happened because it’s absolutely okay. We kissed because we wanted to. I plan to kiss you again…”

Her breath whooshed out of her lungs, and her pulse ricocheted wildly. For a second, her heart flew with joy and longing streaked through her. On the heels of that, she tried to talk her feelings down. She couldn’t let herself think this could be real. It hurt enough to pretend her feelings didn’t exist, it would be far, far worse to water them with false hopes. “Jake, we can’t…”

His thumb stilled its soft strokes. His eyes narrowed, pinned to hers. “Who says we can’t?”

When she opened her mouth to reply, Jake released one of her hands and put his finger to her lips. “Tell me you didn’t want that kiss,” he said, his voice gruff.

Phoebe tried to form the words to tell him she hadn’t wanted that kiss, but she couldn’t because it was an out and out lie. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, Jake’s finger traced the contours of her mouth before his hand fell away. Her lips tingled at his soft touch.

“Okay. So now that we got that out of the way, what brings you here?” he asked with a small smile.

She couldn’t help the smile that bloomed in her heart, her lips following suit. Just when she thought he was going to push too far, he backed off easily and gave her the emotional space she needed.

“Oh yeah, I came by to tell you we think we have a shifter who checked himself into the hospital.”

Jake arched a brow. “And that would be a problem, why? Half the people in town are mountain lion shifters.”

“He’s from out of town and damn vague. Says he came for a visit and had chest pains yesterday. Rosie saw him first before I got to work and then I checked on him. He’s laying low, but I have a bad feeling. I can’t think of anything other than bad reasons for him to want to be in the hospital. Shana and Dane both work there, not to mention that plenty of other staff are shifters. We need to talk to Hank and Dane.”

Jake swore and dropped her hands. He leaned backwards on his desk and snatched his phone up, making two calls in quick succession. He left messages for Hank and Dane to call right away and set his phone down. He turned back to her.

“Okay, here’s the deal, none of you are to be alone with him. We don’t know who he’s working with, or who he’s after. Once I talk to Hank, I’ll see if he can set up a security rotation. How long will he be at the hospital?”

“That’s the thing, there’s no good reason to keep him, but he keeps reporting vague symptoms that we have to run tests on. I think it’s better if he’s there because we can keep an eye on him.”

Jake nodded. “Definitely. Dammit! I was hoping whoever was connected to Seth and Randall would want to stay away after what happened with Chloe. I mean, Seth and Randall are in jail and won’t be going anywhere else soon.” He pushed away from the desk and began pacing. “You’re going to have to keep a close eye on who goes in and out of that room. That might help us sift through who’s working with them here in Catamount.” He paused and looked at her for a long moment. “Promise me you won’t go in his room alone again. For all we know, they’re targeting anyone close to those they’re after. You’re close to Dane, Shana and almost everyone important in the shifter families here. Promise me.”

Phoebe nodded. “I promise. Rosie and I already talked about it after I saw him today.” Cold fear chased up her spine, and she shivered, hugging her arms around her waist. She caught Jake’s eyes. “I wish we knew more.”

He stopped pacing in front of her and leaned against the desk, tugging her into him. Before she could think, he’d wrapped her in his strong, sure embrace. The heat of his body seeped into hers. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder with a sigh. Between the ever-present state of vigilance she’d been in ever since Chloe had been kidnapped and weeks of worry about everything, she was relieved to soak in his reassuring warmth and comfort.

Chapter 3

Jake studied the grain of wood in the floor inside the police station. The building was centuries old and retained the original hardwood oak flooring, worn from years of feet traveling across it, yet still rich in color. Dane was on the phone with Chloe while they waited for Hank. Dane finished his call and slipped his phone in his pocket. He glanced to Jake.

“Every time I think about the mess Callen created, I wish he was still alive so I could make him pay,” Dane said, shaking his head, his eyes weary and angry at once.

Jake leaned his head against the wall behind his chair and sighed. “You and me both. How’s Chloe?”

“She’s good. She’s getting annoyed with me checking in all the time, but she’s putting up with it so far.” Dane paused, his eyes darkening. “I’m relieved she’s okay, but I’m not going to breathe easy until we get to the bottom of this.”

The door to Hank’s office opened and he waved them inside. “Come on in, guys.”

Jake and Dane sat in two chairs across from Hank’s desk. Hank took a swig of coffee and turned his gaze to Jake. “So what’s up at the hospital?”

Jake quickly filled them in, along with the latest update from his online forays. “I’m thinking one of us needs to head to Montana. As it stands, we’re on the defensive on this side while they keep showing up here. Let’s get out in front. I’ve found enough clues online to point us to the right locations. Hell, I can pinpoint the locations of every ISP address linked to the accounts Callen was emailing. Maybe they’re fronts, but everything leads somewhere.”

Hank glanced between Jake and Dane and shrugged. “I’m with you there, but I can’t go. It’s gonna have to be someone else. Hate to say it, but we can’t send either one of you. You’re too prominent. Plus, if they didn’t know your faces before, they do now. Both of you were all over the news after Chloe’s kidnapping.”

Dane swore and looked to Jake. “Any ideas?”

Jake shook his head. “Not yet. Let me think on it.”

They moved on to developing a plan for surveillance at the hospital. It twisted Jake’s gut that every time they considered the threats shifters were facing, they came face to face with the reality that Callen had recruited within the Catamount Clan. His youngest brother, Randall who’d always been eager to impress Callen, was an easy mark, but they couldn’t assume others weren’t involved. Sussing out whom they could trust was a complicated task.

Jake walked outside later to find snow drifting down. The police station was in the center of town on one of the streets adjacent to the town green. He crossed the street and walked onto the path that led to the center of the green, leaving footsteps in the fresh layer of snow. It was late afternoon with the sun low in the sky. The bare tree branches cast a network of shadows on the snow. The plump snowflakes glittered as they drifted through the lingering rays of sun angling across the green. He thought of Phoebe, his heart feeling a primal tug. He turned on his heel and walked quickly back to his truck. He needed to see her.
Now.

As he drove toward her house, a corner of his mind tried to remind him why he’d told himself he’d only be with a shifter. His college girlfriend, Naomi, had been the one and only woman he’d been involved with who wasn’t a shifter. He’d fallen so hard and fast for her, he’d ignored the warning signs. She’d been overly dramatic and often portrayed herself as a victim of any number of circumstances. Jake’s hormones found her so phenomenal, he’d charged ahead, thinking she needed someone like him and enjoying the superficial pleasure derived from feeling like her hero. In a haze of hormonal overdrive, convinced they were meant to be together, he’d told her who and what he was. She’d promptly gone into drama central mode and flipped out. He’d spent months clearing up rumors and feeling like a complete idiot. The saving grace had been she’d transferred to another college in the aftermath. To this day, he didn’t know if she’d done so because she was legitimately afraid of him because he was a shifter, or because she hadn’t counted on how many friends he and the other shifters had who were willing to close ranks around them.