HISS (8 page)

“I have a patient. I can’t leave.”

“Rolo? Fuck him. If that dog ain’t died yet, he won’t.”

“Marree!” Etienne heavily accented voice drifted into the office accompanied by the crunch of

glass.

“In here,” she called out.

Beyond Jamison, Etienne and Sasha filled the broken doorway.

“Well damn.” Sasha whistled. “Marree, girl, would you mind aiming that pop gun at the wall.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” She lowered he weapon

Jamison pounced, grabbing her arms and yanking her forward. He roughly brushed his lips on hers

and broke away before dipping his body to catch her around the middle and throw her over his

shoulder. She glanced up at Etienne then she was twirled around to face the wall.

“Urgh! Dammit! Put me down!” Marree wailed.

Jamison ignored her outburst. “Look Etienne, do you really want to get between me and my mate?”

Jamison asked calmly.

“Etienne, fucking do your job and arrest this bastard. Sasha, help me!” Marree wiggled to slide

down.

Jamison started to move past Etienne. She was jostled with every step he took. Marree glanced up to

see Etienne holding Sasha. The woman’s lips turned down and her hands formed fists at her side.

Marree met Etienne’s watchful gaze and the corners of his mouth lifted in a brief smile.

“What about my patient?” she called out.

“We’ll take care of him,
cher
. Enjoy your evening.” Etienne waved them toward the door.

She should have known mofo male shifters would stick together. Mentally adding Etienne’s name

to her growing revenge list, Marree pummeled Jamison’s back. “Put me down.”

“Are you going to behave?”

She decided not to answer.

Jamison mumbled, “Stubborn as ever.”

He stopped. The hinges on a door squealed and she was thrown into the backseat of a vehicle. He

slammed the door shut and dashed around to the driver side. A breeze whipped through the interior

when he jumped into the seat and started the SUV.

“Where are you taking me, Jami? What about Karma?”

“Sint and Mais have agreed to watch Karma. My business here is concluded. And the alliance is

airtight. Eivan left this afternoon with the contract and the remaining board member. I’m taking us

back to where everything between us began.”

Marree whipped her head up. “There is no way on this earth I will set foot in Texas again.”

“Guess it’s a good thing you’re not driving.” He put the vehicle in gear.

* * * *

Jamison stared in his rearview mirror at a sleeping Marree. She curled up into a tight ball in the corner

of the seat. Originally, he’d only wanted to get someplace quiet so they could talk. The decision to

drive to Texas was on a whim. But it felt right. As his mate the house, bank accounts, everything fell

to her to handle should something happen to him. The Anaconda Clutch needed to see them as a

unified couple before his mother could spout her poison and try and turn more of their people against

Marree.

Late night or early morning, no matter how he looked at it, he needed to talk to Tee. She could catch

a flight and be in Rattler long before he got there. He placed the Bluetooth in his ear and tapped the

icon in his steering wheel.

“Hey Jamison, what’s up?” Tee whispered groggily.

“I realize you no longer want or need to be my lieutenant. But I want you to do one last assignment

for me.”

“I’m here. What do you need?” Concern tinged her voice.

“Catch a flight. Drive to Rattler and evict Cheryl from the Alpha’s residence.” He reached over and

turned on the heat.

“For real!” Tee screeched in his ear.

“Yeah. As my mate, Marree is entitled to all privileges.”

“What about Cheryl’s supporters?”

“I am Alpha. If some snakes choose to break off and follow my mother tell them they can take what

they can carry in a suitcase. Everything else remains with our clan including all automobiles. Those

motherfuckers can walk for all I care. Escort them to the town lines and just so we are clear—that

includes Cheryl.”

“Mos def, It will be my pleasure, Alpha. I will kick that self-righteous, two-faced bitch out right on

her bony ass. Sorry you had to hear that, Jamison.”

He sighed. “It’s okay, Tee. I’ve known about my mother’s fucked-up ways for a long time.”

“So you and Marree finally got it together. I’m happy to hear you found peace.”

“Well not exactly. I kinda kidnapped her, but we’ll work it out.”

Tee sputtered. “I don’t want to know. I’ll be waiting for you in Rattler.”

In the background he could hear Tee talking excitedly to Myka. Static filled the line and the words

were becoming jumbled. Jamison disconnected the call. Suddenly his truck jerked and the engine

whined. The lights dimmed, the vehicle slowly started to lose power and gently rolled to a stop.

Marree leaned forward between the seats. “What did you do?”

He met her stare in the mirror. “I thought you were asleep. And why would you assume it was me?”

“You’re the one driving. I told you trying to get me back to Texas was a bad idea.”

“It’s probably nothing. Reach into the back and grab me a flashlight.”

“Have you ever heard of the word please? And I don’t know if you understand this, but there are

probably gators out there and I don’t think they are as friendly as Etienne’s pets, either.” She

disappeared into the gloom behind him.

A beam of light split the darkness and she placed it under her chin to illuminate her face. “Exit at

your own risk. Bwahahaha.” She cut off the lantern and climbed over the seat. “Never mind. If you get

eaten that would make my life so much easier.”

“You still watch all those weird-ass shows, don’t you? Please tell me you aren’t exposing Karma to

that crap you see on TV and like to spout as scientific fact.” He pulled the lever to open the door.

He flicked the on switch and the slim ray of dim yellow light was swallowed up by the night.

“Hate to tell you this but I don’t think that flashlight is going to last much longer.”

“You’re a wealth of information tonight, aren’t you? Pop the hood for me,
please
.” He heard her

scramble around in the front cab followed by the snick of the hood latch releasing. Jamison slid his

finger along the edge until he brushed his digits over the mechanism and pressed down. The hood

popped up but the bulb didn’t blink on to illuminate the various components under it.

Marree called out to him. “Jami, I do believe your truck is dead.”

He flicked his beam over different wires, sliding his fingers across them. There wasn’t a

disconnected cable or lead that he could feel. Everything appeared to be in place. He yanked the hood

down and walked back to the driver’s side where Marree sat. She chewed on her bottom lip.

Jamison reached out and softy pulled it from her between her teeth. “Stop fretting. Someone will

drive by eventually.”

“Did you try your cell phone? Does anybody know where you were taking me?” Her pitch was dry.

“Not exactly, but it’s a road people use all the time, I’m sure. And my phone was getting static.”

Marree leaned forward and looked in both directions. “This isn’t a main road.”

“No, it’s a short cut to the expressway according to the GPS.”

“Good Goddess. You got me back here on some deserted lane in the middle of a swamp with heaven

knows what.”

He crossed his arms. “Still favor the drama too, I see.”

A mask of innocence covered her face. She blinked quickly for a few seconds. “Hey, you wanted

me. I was perfectly okay living my life with my daughter.”

“Our daughter,” he corrected Marree.

A sharp whine split the air and cut across his cheek as he turned his head. An explosion of glass

erupted from the passenger side window. He grabbed Marree, hauled her down, and covered her with

his body as bullets pinged against the metal above them.

“Are you okay?” He spoke low against her ear.

“I’m fine. Guess I’m not the only person you’ve pissed off,” she replied dryly.

“I don’t know what the Goddess was thinking pairing me with you. Can you get under the carriage?”

“Are you still trying to insinuate something?”

“Just that I need you to move your ass. We get to the other side of the vehicle and we can hide in the

swamp.”

“I’d rather face the gunman. It’s not me everyone is angry at.”

“Move, Marree, or I will move you.” He grunted as a bullet whizzed past his head.

He followed her as she crawled under the truck.

Chapter Eight

Marree rose to a crouch on the other side of the big vehicle. The hail of gun fire which had she and

Jamison taking cover ceased abruptly, and a tense silence fell over the swamp as if the nocturnal

critters waited for something else to happen. Jamison grabbed her hand, yanking her arm when he

moved to the slippery shoulder. They slid down the embankment. Cold water flooded her tennis shoes

and her feet sunk into the muck.

“Son of a bitch!” Sucking sounds could be heard every time she lifted her feet. Goo slipped beneath

her heel when her foot slid out of her shoe.

Jamison glanced over his shoulder. “Put a move on it, babe. I want to put as much distance between

us and the shooter as possible.”

She dropped down and swirled her hands through the debris strewn mud searching for her foot wear.

Jamison doubled back and dropped to her eye level. “We cannot stay here. Come on, Marree, we have

to get past the trees.”

“My shoe. I am not walking barefooted through this shit.”

“I’ll carry you.”

“You can’t lug me through the swamps!” Her voice was rising.

He wrapped his palm around her bicep. “At least we’d have a chance to survive instead of sitting

out in the open to be picked off.”

“For heaven’s sake, leave me and shift. You can slither away.”

“I swear, Marree, we are really going to have to work on this melodramatic trait you’ve developed.”

He snatched her up.

She lost her other shoe.

Jamison scanned the area around them. “At least try and keep your voice down.”

“I hope whoever is after you takes a shot at your nuts,” she whispered at his back.

“Even without balls I would still rock your world. Hell, if I was dickless after I’m done you still

wouldn’t want another man,” he volleyed back at her.

Sludge permeated her socks and she slipped on the moss covered ground as they moved up the

embankment. He tugged her along. High above them, the half-moon did little to illuminate their way.

Somewhere in the distance ahead of them an owl hooted. She stared into the deeper shadows created

by the dense tree groupings surrounding them. Her animal lurked around the fringes of her

consciousness. The damn beast always showed but never really took over. Something or someone was

still out there and she got the impression her animal was warning her of danger that was closer than

she believed. Distracted by her thoughts, she slammed into Jamison. Surrounded by large oaks and big

cypress with silvery moss hanging from the branches dancing in the wind like ghostly entities, they

came to a stop.

He cupped her cheek. “Do you remember how to scale a tree?”

She snorted.

Jamison interrupted her before she could say anything more. “Listen, I need to circle back to the

truck. Pick a tree and climb it.”

“No, I’ll go with you. Better yet, let’s just walk parallel to the road under the cover of foliage.” Her

toes curled into the soft silt.

“Stay here. I’m hoping whoever is after us won’t look up. I won’t be long.”

“I bet if I were Tee or Mais you wouldn’t think twice about accepting my help.” The idea that he

saw her as a hindrance sent a sharp pain through her chest.

He sighed. “You can’t shift and if you go with me… I need to be able to act quickly and—if

necessary—kill. With you around I won’t be able to do that competently.”

“So I’m a liability?” She uttered the words under her breath.

“You’re my mate and Goddess help anyone who tries to harm you.” He turned her toward a tree and

tapped her ass. “Come on, get up there so I’ll know you’re safe.”

Marree leapt for the first branch and deftly climbed higher. When she looked down Jamison was

gone. She scanned the area below her, narrowing her eyes to make out faint shapes. Something

amazing happened—her vision changed to her beast’s. Briefly she could make out faint reddish

outlines of rats scurrying along the marsh floor. Shocked, she dipped backward and quickly grabbed a

hold of the branch she was perched on. She blinked and her sight cleared.

Fuck it. Marree shook her head in revolt. Here she sat in a tree waiting for some idiot to come play

target practice on her ass. Sometimes she wondered if she had the word “stupid” tattooed on her

forehead. Marree swung down, catching branches as she moved closer to the ground. She landed softly

on Jamison’s clothes that were haphazardly lying beneath her feet. The pop of gunfire sent her