You Had Me at Jaguar Page 3

  Howard said to Jillian on his phone, “We’ve lost him. They probably took a vehicle from the parking lot we’re standing in. We’re on Sycamore.”

  Val got a call, and she said, “Yeah, Mom? No, lost him.” She glanced at Howard. “You and dad were behind this? Sheesh, Mom. Yeah, I know about it. They’re not really that great at undercover work.” She gave Howard a cocky smile.

  It depended on the kind of undercover work she was talking about. Howard smiled back at her.

  Jillian drove around the block and pulled up in front of them.

  “No, we lost him, Mom. So, see? It didn’t help to have them watching my back. With so many of us after him, we probably spooked him. I’m returning to headquarters. Where are you going to be? Belize? Tell me you are going down there for a vacation this time. You and Dad need to retire.” She rolled her eyes. “Be…careful. All right? Okay, talk to you later.”

  “You’re headed back to Houston?” Howard asked Val. He was surprised.

  “I could stake out the club and keep searching this area, but I’m afraid he won’t return now. I’m worried about the new woman he’s hooked up with. What if he turns her too, and she doesn’t like it any more than his wife did? Maybe he won’t marry this time though. Just see if it works or not. Though it makes me wonder if he’s done this before. Turned human females and killed them when it didn’t work out.”

  “That would be bad news.”

  “It sure would. I’ll just walk through the alleyway and back to the parking lot.”

  “I’ll go with you.” Howard wasn’t about to let her roam around in the dark by herself. Streetlamps only lighted so much of the street; the shadows darkened in the alleyways. Sure, because of their jaguar genes, their night vision was phenomenal. Their hearing and scenting abilities were vastly superior to those of ordinary humans too. But his job was to watch out for Val.

  He was afraid she meant to continue to look for Benny and the woman on her own, believing—as she’d told her mom—there had been too many of them looking for him.

  “All right. Fine. You can drop me off.” Val climbed into the front passenger’s seat, leaving Howard to take the back seat.

  Jillian glanced over the seat back. “Did you want to drive?”

  He shook his head. He decided right then and there that he didn’t trust Val one little bit. She’d agreed too readily to accept their help as backup. She didn’t even seem to be bothered that she’d lost Benny. He thought she had some clue as to where Benny might have gone.

  “Are you leaving for Houston tonight?” he asked Val.

  “It’s nearly midnight. I’ll stay at my hotel another night and leave in the morning. So what case will you be working on next?”

  “Nothing on the agenda, as far as we know,” Howard said. Nothing except continuing to provide Val protection. And that wouldn’t end with her leaving for Houston.

  “Why don’t you go by the name of Thorsen? God of thunder? Or Thor?” Val suddenly asked.

  “How in the world do you know my middle name is Thorsen?” Howard was really surprised. He didn’t share it with anyone if he could help it.

  Jillian chuckled. “I like it. God of thunder. Suits you, Howard.”

  “One of your friends called to you during one of the training exercises,” Val said. “And then another said, ‘Yeah, the mighty Thor, who has lost his hammer.’ You quickly took the one down to the mat and then the other. They were laughing their heads off but in good fun. I was impressed. Especially when I had the god of thunder under my control shortly thereafter. I asked the boss, and he told me your name was Thorsen but some called you Thor for short.”

  He’d known that would come back to haunt him, but he hadn’t expected her to mention it in front of Jillian, who chuckled. “Next time, I will have you right where I want you,” Howard said to Val.

  “Oh?” Val’s comment was a challenge. She was a challenge.

  “Next training session.”

  “You no longer work for the Enforcer branch.”

  “I’ll be there. Just for you.”

  She smiled.

  Jillian pulled into the parking lot near the club, and Val got out. “Thanks for the ride.”

  Howard left the truck and climbed into the front passenger’s seat. “We’ll follow you to the hotel.”

  “Naturally.” Val crossed the parking lot and climbed into a red Subaru.

  He shut his door, and Jillian and he watched Val as she drove to the entrance to the parking lot.

  “Do you think she’s still going to search for the perp?” Jillian asked Howard, following Val’s car as she pulled onto the street.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Are we following her back to Houston tomorrow?” Jillian sounded concerned for Val’s welfare.

  “Yeah. Until we’ve been reassigned to another case, we continue to do our mission and watch her back. I don’t trust her. I think she believes we caused Benny to run and she wants to do this on her own, just like her boss said she would.”

  Jillian turned onto the next road. “What if Benny knows she’s out to get him now? She puts herself at more risk by not having us to watch out for her.”

  “I agree. Which is why we’re sticking to her.” The training exercise reminded him of how unpredictable Val could be. Which might be why she was so successful on her own.

  “Do you think she knows of some other place he could have gone?”

  “Maybe. Which means we need to take turns watching her vehicle tonight.” Howard gave Jillian the choice of whether she would stay up first to keep an eye on Val’s car. He had no intention of losing track of Ms. Valerie Chambers.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have told her we were her backup. I take it that’s what happened in the club when you danced with her.”

  “She had seen my truck parked out here several nights. She hadn’t seen us, but she checked my plate and called the boss to see what I was doing down here.”

  Jillian laughed. “Maybe she just wanted to see you again.”

  “I doubt it. She guessed we were here because of a job, despite our bosses denying it.”

  Smiling, Jillian shook her head. “So much for our undercover work, if even our chiefs couldn’t convince her otherwise.”

  Once they arrived at the hotel, Jillian went up to their suite of adjoining rooms while Howard followed Val to her room to ensure they knew which one she was really staying in.

  “Don’t you trust me?” Val pulled out her key card.

  He just smiled and waited for her to use the key on her room.

  “See?” The green light flashed, indicating it was her room. She pushed open the door. “I’ll call you if I get another lead.”

  He wouldn’t hold his breath. “It’s not that late. Do you have a swimsuit? Do you want to go for a dip in the pool?”

  “Nope—to the swimsuit.” Then she gave him an interested smile. “But yeah. What jaguar wouldn’t want to try out the pool?”

  Her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID. “Yeah, Mom? Are you still up?”

  “See you in a few minutes here?” Howard asked.

  She smiled at him, nodded, and shut her door.

  He left for his room on the next floor up. He would have preferred being right next door to Val, but the hotel hadn’t had any rooms available on this floor. Jillian would be watching Val’s car from her window after Howard and Val went swimming, just in case Val tried a disappearing act.

  Chapter 2

  “Yes, Manuel, I had to…take care of some business. Otherwise, I would never have called you my mother. Did you learn where else Benny might have gone?” Val asked. He was one of the agents who did investigations in an office at the Enforcers’ headquarters. She didn’t want Howard and Jillian to learn she might have updated information on Benny, follow her, and spook
him again.

  She began pulling off her blouse and then her skirt.

  “That’s why I’m calling. I’ve been checking the airlines and finally found Benny booked on a flight leaving for Belize at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon. The next flight out is 5:30 that evening. You can try to fly standby on the earlier flight. There are still seats available on the later one. Hey, the other business you mentioned wouldn’t happen to be with regard to Howard Armstrong, would it? It sure sounded like his voice.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. He and a wolf with the USF were given the mission of watching my back undercover.”

  Manuel laughed. “He’s too good at his job to get caught. He must have wanted you to know he was there watching out for you. You know, rarely do any of the guys take him down in training. For you to have managed…”

  “Don’t tell me you think he planned it that way.”

  Manuel laughed again. “Since your parents are down there, you can probably work together. Then Howard and his partner won’t have to tail you any longer.”

  “Thanks! I’ll let Howard know. And I’ll tell my folks I’m on my way down there.” Val had never worked with her parents on a case. Her dad had always taken charge anytime they did anything all the years she was growing up. She could just see that if she signed on with them, she and her mom would be relegated to the role of the Enforcer crew, while he was the captain of the ship. She could captain the ship on her own just fine. But if they needed her once she finished her mission, she would be there for them, since she’d already be in the country.

  “Just let me know which flight you end up getting on.”

  “I will. Thanks for the tip.”

  They ended the call, and she phoned Howard’s number. “Hey, it’s me, Val.”

  “You didn’t change your mind about swimming, did you?” Howard sounded as if he was going to be disappointed if she had.

  She smiled. “No, you can come down and get me. I’m joining my parents in Belize to help out with their case. You and Jillian can tell your boss, and he can assign you a new case to work on.”

  “Belize. What happened to catching up to Benny? The guy needs to be taken down at once.”

  She didn’t want to tell Howard the real reason she was going to Belize. What if Howard didn’t believe she would have her parents’ protection while she worked her case? Especially since they were already on a case. What if he thought he had to follow her down there?

  “I’m sure we’ll get another lead soon, and then I’ll jump on it.”

  “When are you going?”

  “Five thirty tomorrow evening. The earlier flight is booked.”

  “Okay, see you in a few minutes.” He ended the call.

  She frowned at the phone, surprised he’d end the call so abruptly. She suspected he was going to call her boss to try to learn if she had a new lead. Or confirm she didn’t have an earlier flight. Didn’t he trust her? She smiled.

  She tied back her hair in a ponytail and glanced at her matching purple bra and panties that had no seams so they looked enough like a bathing suit. She should have thought to bring one on the trip. Though she hadn’t believed she’d be swimming with a sexy jaguar in a hotel swimming pool.

  Before long, Howard was at her door, but before he could knock, she was opening it, courtesy of her jaguar hearing. He dropped his hand and looked her over, frowning. “I thought you didn’t have a swimsuit.”

  “I don’t.” She headed for the stairs; she always used them to stay in shape.

  “You could have fooled me. Nice…underwear,” he said.

  She smiled as she headed down the stairs. They often stripped naked in front of other jaguars before they shifted, so she wasn’t embarrassed to be wearing underwear that looked like a bathing suit in front of the very interested male jaguar. Glancing back at his trunks, she said, “Like your suit.”

  “I always take it on trips, just in case I can get in some swim time.”

  “I thought I was going to be busy doing surveillance so late every night that the pool would be closed before I was through for the evening.”

  “I’m glad to be able to do this tonight.”

  “What about your partner?”

  “Jillian is texting her mate and told me to have fun.”

  “She must really miss him.”

  “She does, but she’s fully dedicated to the job. She just figures only one of us needs to be down here safeguarding you.”

  Like Val really needed them to watch her back, but she didn’t make any comment.

  When they reached the floor where the pool and bar were, they went inside. They had an hour before closing, and no one was in the pool area. Thankfully. Val really didn’t feel like swimming with noisy kids or trying to swim in a pool crowded with adults.

  She grabbed a towel from a stand and put her key card and cell phone on a table. Howard did the same. Then she moved to the pool and sat on the edge. Howard dove into the deep end as if he couldn’t wait to go swimming. For a moment, she observed him creating small waves in the water, his muscles rippling with his powerful strokes. God, he was magnificent. She slipped into the pool and began swimming laps like he was doing, until she noticed he’d paused to take a break at the deep end of the pool, treading water, watching her.

  She should have continued to swim and not looked to see what he was doing, but she couldn’t help herself. Howard did intrigue her. Now she was treading water, not drawing closer to him. He suddenly pushed off the wall and dove under the water, heading straight for her. She could see his muscular form growing closer and closer under the water. She wanted to stay, she wanted to flee: both natural instincts for a jaguar being hunted.

  She was going to hold her spot, come what may. She wasn’t going to swim away. She wasn’t. But the thrill of the chase was in her blood, and she suddenly dove under and away from him, turning in a wide circle to reach the deeper end. The chase was on. He was a powerful swimmer and quickly touched her foot. She swam faster. But she couldn’t keep out of his longer reach, and he soon caught her foot, pulled her close, and they both came up for air. He was testing her to see if she would kick at him to release her or allow the intimacy.

  Then he was holding her close in the pool, treading water to stay afloat with her hanging onto his hips in a light embrace as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He wasn’t smiling. She was. He was turned on, his eyes lust-filled, his gaze on hers but slowly drifting to her mouth. It couldn’t be helped when he was swimming in the water, chasing after a she-cat, and she had allowed herself to be caught.

  “Now what?” she asked, wondering just where the hunky cat was going to take this.

  “I’ve wanted to do this ever since you got the better of me in training.” And then he lowered his head and she lifted hers and they kissed.

  She was so glad no one was here as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave in to the hotness of the kiss, their tongues caressing, his hands sliding down to her bottom and pulling her snug against him. She instantly felt his full-blown erection. Ohmigod, he was such a jaguar. She almost regretted she had every intention of leaving him behind and going after Benny on her own. Then again, her mission was her mission, and she was certain she could take him down without any problems. Having the male jaguar and female wolf trailing her? That would only hamper her.

  For now, she gave in to the kiss, licking Howard’s wet mouth, nibbling on his wet neck, loving this unexpected bit of bliss. But then she heard the telltale sounds of kids’ noisy chatter and adults telling them not to run. Her time with Howard was abruptly at an end. Or at least she thought so. He was either too wrapped up in his lust-filled thoughts, or he was just ignoring the inevitable.

  So she continued to kiss him as if there was no tomorrow, which there wouldn’t be. Not like this.

  And then three boys flew into the pool room, a woman yelling at them, “Wal
k, don’t run!”

  Howard nuzzled Val’s cheek, making a disgruntled sound. She imagined he’d need a towel to cover up, if what she was feeling against her lower belly was any indication.

  “Guess it’s time to head on up to bed.” She almost regretted having to say that, but the kids hit the pool and were wild and excited, splashing about—which she would have done as a child—but as far as she was concerned, this was late enough to be adult time only. The kids should have been in bed hours ago.

  “Yeah.” Howard’s voice was husky, raw with passion, his eyes hot with hunger.

  She smiled and pulled away from him. “Come on, hot stuff. Time to go.”

  It was time to end the brief fascination she had with the god of thunder. But man, did he have some moves.

  She climbed out of the pool at the deep end, and Howard followed her. She shouldn’t have looked, but she had to. Yep, he was hotly built, muscles and all the rest, his swim trunks plastered to his arousal.

  They grabbed their towels from the table where they’d left them and started drying off. Wrapped in their towels, they picked up their keys and phones and hurried out of the pool area, racing to her room to avoid the hallway’s chill.

  As soon as she was at her room, she unlocked the door and turned for a brief good night. As cats, they could have sex at any time and it didn’t mean they were mated, but she really didn’t want to do that with him and then leave, which was what she was getting ready to do.

  “Night, Thor. That was some swim.”

  He gave her a wicked smile. “Hell, anytime.”

  She hadn’t planned to kiss him again, but slipping into her room like a scared rabbit just wasn’t her. She kissed him briefly. “Pleasant dreams.” Then she slipped into her room.

  “Yeah, you too.” His voice was still rough and deep.

  She closed her door and leaned against it. Wow. Why did he have to leave the Enforcer branch?

  She quickly removed her underwear and took a shower. After drying her hair, she got dressed, throwing her wet underwear into a plastic dry-cleaner bag, and then sat down on the bed, intending to leave the hotel and stay at another as soon as she thought Jillian and Howard might be asleep. Then she got a call from her mother. It was ten o’clock. Why in the world was she calling at this hour? “Mom, is anything wrong?”