Jaguar Hunt (16 page)

She was riding him as she kissed and licked and gently bit his neck. He'd have a few light bruises to show she'd claimed him. Every time she did it, he had a more feral-cat look about him and growled more, his ravenous eyes shining in the sunlight peering between the building clouds. And she loved it.

He pumped into her, the waterfall spilling into the pool, drowning out the sound of their groans and sighs of pleasure, their bodies washed in the splashing water. She felt him tense just before release.

He hugged her tight to his hard body, letting the warm water swirl around them, soaking in the sounds of the rainforest, and they both laughed when it began to rain. She'd always remember their last day in Belize as the most fun sexual experience she'd ever had. And romantic. And…wild.

She clung to him, enjoying just being with him in this way, pushing out all the worries of the world, because as soon as they left Belize and this peaceful little place of paradise, they were bound for more trouble.

David didn't want to release Tammy in the waterfall pool. She felt so good in his arms and in this place, as if it was a jaguar-shifter haven for mating. He'd never been with a woman with whom he wanted to cherish the moment for as long as he could after they made love. Previous girlfriends would roll over and go to sleep after they made love in bed, needing their space. He treasured how Tammy loved to cuddle, sharing the intimacy of the moment longer.

Yet he needed to release her so they could return to the resort, eat, and retire to the bungalow to pack. After that, he planned a lot more bed sport—if she was agreeable.

Instead, he held on to the naked she-cat in his arms and soaked up the feel of them, their bodies still joined. Even thinking of them like this was making him harden.

She lifted her head from his chest and smiled. “I think…you've got a tiger in your tank.”

He chuckled, but he didn't make a move to disengage them.

“Maybe we should get back to the resort,” she said, her finger caressing his nipple as if she really wasn't all that interested in returning.

“Agreed.” He still didn't let her go.

Her smile broadened.

He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth, one last long, searing, hungry kiss. “This doesn't end here.”

“Mmm. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about anything, but all I've got to say is wow.”

“Which means this doesn't end here,” he reiterated. He wanted to remind her that he didn't believe in one-night stands—in tropical settings or anywhere else. When he had sex with a woman, it was only the beginning of a blossoming relationship.

Still, since he was getting worked up and she wasn't quitting with her strokes and she'd resumed kissing, the notion of doing this a little longer appealed.

He loved how attuned they were to each other. When they were finished for a second time, they shifted into their jaguar forms and paddled toward the shore, her tail waving in front of his nose. He wanted to grab it in playful fun.

And he almost managed to snag the tip, right before she climbed out of the water and shook all over him. She gave him an impish, toothy jaguar grin and then began to lick the water off her body, but the light rain wasn't helping. He wanted to suggest they switch, and he lick her body while she licked his.

She leaped up the rocks to the cliffs above and they headed back to the resort. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds and would begin to fade as it did at this time in summer. By 6:30, the sun would have set. With the sun-blocking trees and a storm overhead, that meant it would be dark even earlier. They skirted way around the area where the waterfall rappelling site was, assuming the guide and tourists would have been there and headed back to the resort by now, but David and Tammy needed to be careful.

They were getting much closer to the resort, only about ten minutes away, when they heard a jaguar roar.

Tammy and David looked at each other. They both dove into the jungle in the direction they'd heard the cat roaring, and David prayed that if it was one of the boys, neither was in any danger.

***

The rain ceased, and after an hour of searching for the jaguar, Tammy and David reached a bungalow where the kids seemed to be staying, since their scents were strongest there. Why would the boys lead them to the rental unit this time?

Inside, the place had been trashed—the teens' scents and David's aftershave fragrance were here, but so were Weaver's and Krustan's scents, and Joe Storm's. Tammy felt nauseous with worry as she rushed through the one-bedroom unit, searching for clues that either of the boys was still here.

None. If they'd had luggage, it was gone now, too. And if they'd parked a car nearby, it was no longer here.

David nudged at Tammy to leave with him, and then they returned to where they'd left their backpack. It was gone.

Feeling panicked for the boys' safety and now their own if they couldn't find their clothes, she and David backtracked, circled the area, and sniffed the ground. She recognized the teens' scents around here. Right here. Where they'd left their clothes. The boys had to have taken them. What the hell was going on?

She looked at David. He was staring off into the jungle, whiskers moving, ears twitching, sensing smells, movement, anything to clue them in that the boys were nearby.

What if not only the boys' place had been trashed? What if theirs had been also?

Men tromped through the brush in the distance, calling out, “Tammy Anderson! David Patterson!”

Crap! What the hell had happened? Now, neither she nor David had any clothes, so they couldn't change forms. They needed to get back to their bungalow, shift, dress, and let the staff know they were fine.

They ran until Tammy found a big tree to climb into. She grunted at David and leaped into one of the lower branches.

He joined her, nuzzled her face, and sat down. They listened for the men combing the rainforest, calling for them, looking for them. She hated that they worried, but for the moment, she and David couldn't do anything about it.

When the men's voices faded into the jungle, she and David jumped down and loped back to their bungalow. Men's voices speaking in Spanish near their rental unit made Tammy and David halt in their steps.
Great.
They couldn't even sneak into their place to get some clothes.

In the distance, they found a tree to climb with a view of their place. She smelled Nate's scent here. So the teen had watched their bungalow from this vantage point. Luckily, it was far enough from their rental unit that the teen couldn't see beyond the wall of the outdoor shower.

They watched four men in uniform leave the bungalow, one remaining behind, sitting down on the wooden chair on their deck.
Super
. He was going to wait for their return, in case they showed up?

Not that she wouldn't have done the same if she was them, worried about the missing tourists.

She and David watched the man for more than an hour, but he wasn't dozing and he wasn't leaving.

Someone moved out of the jungle toward the man and said in Spanish, “No sign of them. They just vanished.”

“They haven't come back here yet, either.”

“Okay, I had to take a break and see if they had returned.” The man stalked off to the dining hall.

The officer folded his arms and stared into the jungle.

Tammy nudged David, telling him she was leaving the tree to sneak into their place if she had to. They had to let the men know they were okay, though she couldn't figure out why anyone would be searching for them.

David shook his head, letting her know he didn't want her to go anywhere. Fine, she'd be the lookout and come to save him if he got himself into trouble.

He jumped down from the tree and ran off. She lost sight of him in the thick foliage, and then saw the man returning from the dining hall.

“Anything yet?”

“No,” the officer said.

“I will be back.” He headed into the jungle.

Her heart nearly gave out as she worried David and the searcher would run into each other, but David in his big-cat form ran around the back side of the shower wall. With a soaring leap, he landed on the top of the wall, and before the guard could look, David jumped down inside.

She wondered what David would say after he shifted and dressed when he spoke with the officer. How would he explain that he'd suddenly shown up without the guy seeing him arrive? How would he explain where Tammy was? Not good. What if the officer thought David and his girlfriend had a fight, and he had gotten rid of her in the rainforest?

She stood, ready to jump down and join him, but saw David leap onto the top of the shower wall, still as a jaguar, and jump down into the bushes. What was he doing?

He raced into the jungle and within minutes was climbing back into the tree to rest on the branch with her. She waited for him to tell her something, totally clueless about what was going on.

He shifted. “Hell,” he said. “Someone trashed the place like they did the boys', and our clothes, suitcases, everything is gone. Maybe that's why the police and others are searching for us. Believing we met with foul play.”

She wanted to groan out loud and managed a low, angry growl instead.

Tammy was shocked that all their stuff was gone—passports, cell phones, and clothes, so they couldn't even shift. She just stared at David, unable for a moment to think of what they had to do next.

He wrapped his arm around her neck and let out his breath as he sat naked in the tree and she curled up next to him on the branch as a big cat. “We'll figure something out.”

Like what? Break into another bungalow, steal someone else's clothes, tell the staff they were all right but needed a ride to the nearest U.S. Embassy for passports and a way to call home?

What a disaster!

“Joe had been in our bungalow.”

What? He was supposed to have been long gone. A chill went up her spine.

“Of course the kids' scents were there. And I smelled Quinn and Weaver and Krustan. So it seems like we had a party at our place, only the host and hostess weren't there.”

So they were all in on this together. Quinn, too? He was supposed to have taken a flight out. And so was Joe. Damn it!

“I've got to wait until the people staying in the cabana farthest from our place have gone to the dining facility—the one out of the policeman's view. Most of the guests are sauntering over there now. I can't wait too long, or everyone will be retiring to bed. I'll grab some clothes for us, and we can return them once we're able.”

She nodded and shifted into her human form, and he pulled her into his arms. “I worried that when they saw you, they might try to arrest you for getting rid of me in the rainforest,” she said.

He smiled and kissed her cheek. “I did have that thought, too. But when I saw that nothing of ours was there, that was the least of our worries.”

“We can't even call anyone to let them know what a mess we're in.”

“Yeah. We'll have to get dressed, and hell, I don't know. Make up some story.”

“Was it trashed really bad?”

“No, just the drawers pulled out as if they were looking for stuff. Mattress shoved aside. I was worried someone might have planted drugs to make it look like we were selling or something and get us into more trouble. But nothing. The living room appeared fine. It looked like they were just searching for something.”

“And our intel had it wrong that both Quinn and Joe had flown out already.”

“They must have paid someone else to take their places and given them false IDs.” He glanced in the direction of a cabana hidden in the foliage. “Okay, this is as good a time as any. I've got to go.”

“I'm going with you.”

He studied her expression for a moment, kissed her mouth, and rested his forehead against hers, his hands cupping her face. “All right. We do this together.”

They shifted, leaped down from the tree, and moved through the darkening rainforest like two shadowy predators. Off in the distance, she heard men still calling for them and felt terrible that they were going through all the effort for nothing.

She wanted to strangle whoever stole their clothes and the rest of their personal items, stranding them in such a dangerous way.

She was following David toward the cabana he had targeted when he suddenly veered off. She wondered where he was going, worried that maybe he'd heard the people returning to their cabana while she had missed hearing the warning sounds.

Then she realized he was following a scent trail—Alex's and Nate's.

The boys had been all over this area, so why follow a trail they'd left now? She saw a rubber—XXL, unused, lying on the ground.

She sniffed it. Alex had held it. So he must have dropped it at some time when he went this way.

Several yards away, she saw another one. Every few feet they found another. Like Hansel and Gretel leaving bread crumbs to find their way back home.

She and David moved deeper into the rainforest until she realized they were headed for the pool at the base of the waterfall rappelling site.

David reached the edge of the cliff and peered down. He grunted. She hurried to join him. Down at the base of the cliff and next to the pool of water now shimmering in the moonlight sat both their bags.

She looked at him to see his take on it, and David gave her a jaguar-sized and very toothy grin.

***

David quickly found a path he and Tammy could take. They made their way down the rocks, glad that jaguars were good climbers, and finally reached the solid-rock ground. He watched Tammy for a moment, saw she was doing fine, then loped over to quickly inspect their bags. The boys' scent was all he found on them. He shifted and unzipped his and found only a dozen or so condoms left, though everything else appeared to be there, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned.

Tammy joined him and shifted, then checked out her own bag. “Nothing missing in mine.”

He lifted his nearly empty box of condoms and she smiled a little.

Then lightning speared the night sky and they both glanced up before the rains started again. Hell. More rain suddenly burst from the clouds.

Hurriedly dressing, David said, “Let's see if we can find another, safer way out of here.”

Tammy dressed just as fast. And then they finally found an easier slope, buried in trees and shrubs and vines, and made their way up to the top.

Tammy looked totally worn-out. He pulled her into a hard embrace and kissed her wet lips. “Let's go.”

The rain continued pouring down on them as they rolled the bags through the jungle, stumbling over plants and buttress roots in their path.

“The condoms are all gone,” Tammy said as she looked around the path for them.

“Good Boy Scouts. Leave no trace behind.” Not that he thought the boys had been in the Boy Scouts. Most of their kind didn't participate in human-run organizations like that. He could just imagine a boy shifting on a camping trip, wanting to be one with nature and his jaguar half.

“Do you think the boys have been watching us the whole time?” Tammy asked.

“Maybe, until we picked up our suitcases and they made sure no one else had discovered them.”

David wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

“Okay, we've got to talk about a couple of things. Weaver's and Krustan's scents were in our place and the boys' bungalow also. What do you know about them?” David asked.

“Weaver is a club addict. He's there all the time. He dates some, pays his bills, and never is in any trouble, except when I solved the case without him and Sylvan was pretty hot under the collar about it.”

“So he could have a vendetta against you.”

“Maybe. He's kind of a mystery otherwise. Sticks to himself. Reads James Bond novels. Big on security, but had his place broken into anyway. That's hush-hush, by the way.”

David smiled at her.

“Weaver loves chocolate cheesecake. When they serve it at the branch's dining hall, he's the first one in line to get a couple of slices.”

“Anybody who likes chocolate cheesecake can't be all bad.”

She laughed.

“What about Krustan?” David asked.

“He loves women. Like Joe and Quinn. He likes being with someone. Not a loner. He's on the Enforcers' volleyball team.”

“What about you?”

“The guys are way too rough. I actually tried out. Had the big, hulking guys landing all over me. Left their sneaker tread marks on my shins. Decided I needed a different sport. Like…running.”

He smiled. “I love running, playing chase…especially if you're in front of me. Anything else?”

“Krustan's got a cute little shih tzu that he adores. He's brought him to work a couple of times, once when the condo he was living in caught on fire, and he said his dog won't eat if he kennels him. And another time when it was the day for agents to bring their kids to work and tell them about what they do, Krustan brought his dog. I think he uses him to catch the women's eyes, too. Do you think someone who loves such a cute little fur ball would be a bad guy?”

David smiled at her, shaking his head. “But you ditched him on assignment and he could still be sour about that.”

“Yeah, I agree. So I don't know. All four of them in on this? Joe, Quinn, Krustan, Weaver?”

“Could be.”

When they finally reached the lodge, they looked half-drowned and muddy. They'd come up with a story, though. They dragged their luggage onto the lodge's deck and rolled into the dimly lit place.

While most of the accommodations were separate bungalows and cabanas, ten rooms could be rented here for those who didn't want to be as surrounded by the jungle and wanted cheaper accommodations. Card tables were set up for guests who enjoyed playing games at night. The guests were all tucked in their beds. Everything was quiet. Except in one of the rooms upstairs. David heard the soft moaning and groaning of a couple making love. That was one problem with his enhanced cat hearing.

Both he and Tammy were dripping water all over the tile floor. He glanced down at his bedraggled partner, and she smiled knowingly up at him. He smiled back and she blushed.

He rolled his bag to the counter and tapped on a bell.

No one came to the front desk. He rang it again.

A dark-haired man, Carlos, the manager, came out, his eyes half-lidded, but they instantly widened in recognition. He sputtered in Spanish. Remembering his English, he said, “The police have been looking for you everywhere.” He pulled out a phone to call someone.

“We went on a hike, and we saw a couple of men taking off with our luggage and realized they must have broken into our bungalow and stolen it. We chased after them through the jungle. It took hours to catch up to them. We had our passports, cell phones, everything in the luggage and couldn't afford to lose them,” David quickly said, the same speech he had rehearsed a few times before they arrived at the lodge.

It was a flimsy story, but the lodge manager seemed so relieved to have them back that he didn't question it. He relayed the message to the police in Spanish.

“We finally just got back here and wanted to report that we're okay and got our luggage back.”

“Anything stolen?” Carlos asked.

David said, “No. We chased them off.”

“Description?”

David made up a couple of fake descriptions—two scrawny, tall, blond males, middle-aged, wearing black ninja-type clothes—figuring no one would find anyone to question who fit that account.

“The men had broken into your room and made a mess of it. We've straightened the place up. Here's the new key. You…you stay longer?” Carlos asked, sounding concerned that his place might get a bad review over this.

“We're leaving tomorrow,” David said. “We're tired. We need to get to the bungalow and clean up and go to bed.”

Carlos spoke to the police again. “
Sí.
” Then he said to David, “The police want to talk to you in the morning.”

“All right. We'll see them in the morning.”

He headed outside with Tammy into the pouring rain. They rolled their suitcases along the stone path until they finally reached their secluded bungalow. He had to walk slowly because Tammy was dragging, she was so tired.

When they got inside, he said, “Take a shower and I'll wheel our bags into the bedroom.”

She nodded and headed for the bathroom.

They would sleep and then discuss tomorrow's plans in the morning. Since the boys' place had also been broken into, he suspected they wouldn't be staying there tomorrow. He hoped the kids were okay and that they'd get in touch soon. But for tonight, he and Tammy needed rest.

He headed outside to the patio shower to wash off the mud and found a pineapple and a bunch of bananas sitting on the bench. He cleaned up and grabbed the fruit. When he lifted them, he saw a note that had been written in indelible waterproof ink. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to read, as wet as it was. RTN HM. CT? AN

Return home? David carried the note and fruit into the bungalow and noted Tammy was still showering in the bathroom. He set the fruit down on the dresser, opened her bag, and found a skintight tank top and her red silk panties that he'd admired when they had first arrived.

She walked into the bedroom, towel wrapped around her body, and looked at the selection he'd made for her to wear. She shook her head. “The way you keep this place like the polar ice caps, I need to wear flannel pj's.”

He laughed and grabbed a pair of boxers. She eyed the fruit and the note.

“What do you make of it?” he asked.

“Return home? Connecticut? Alex and Nate.” She slipped on her panties.

“Yeah, that's what I figured. Except on the CT, I suspect it might be cat.”

“Do they mean they're going home?” She pulled the tank top over her breasts, and he smiled at the sight of the fabric stretched across them, her pointed nipples visible.

“Uh, yeah,” he said. “I think so.”

“Question mark on the cat. Asking us if we want to know where it is?”

“Or the cat is missing.”

Tammy's expression darkened.

“We don't know for sure about anything. I suspect after their place got broken into, they left the area. Maybe after they picked up the condoms, they drove to Belize City for the next flight out tomorrow. They might even be on our flight.”

She climbed into bed with David, and he pulled her into his arms and yanked the covers over them. “Yeah. It's time to check out the circus,” she said.

“Yeah, it is.” He held her close, loving the smell of tangerine on her. “You hungry?”

She shook her head. “Just tired.”

He should have eaten a couple of bananas. He was starving, having missed eating dinner and then exercising so much today. But he wanted Tammy snuggled against him all night. He breathed in her sexy smell, listening to her heart beating and absorbing the warmth of her skin.

“Why did you pick this for me to wear?” she asked sleepily.