Hester was sure Diego’s snarls could be heard in Brazil. He was furious and lashing out at everyone for the attack on Laurel.
But, it was technically meant to be an attack on Hester, and one which she was mightily pissed about. Her cheetah was prowling, searching for danger in every noise she heard, every shadow she saw.
Lorenzo and Tomas were holding back Diego while the leap healer, Francisco tended to Laurel. Diego was agitated and didn’t want anyone near Laurel – even the healer who was helping her. Both Sadie and Mary looked on, worried and uncertain what to do.
Roberto and Antonio watched everyone grimly. Antonio’s eyes flickered to Hester every few moments as if checking she was still there, still okay, still alive!
The only person who actually seemed calm was Laurel.
“I’m fine now,” she said waving a hand.
The healer had given her something to help her vomit, to get all the tainted chocolate out of her system, and now he was giving her something for her stomach pain.
“Though I’m not sure I’m ever eating chocolate again,” she joked weakly.
Sadie and Mary smiled and squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. Laurel was trying to get up, and Sadie gently propelled her back onto the couch.
“Nuh uh, young lady, you stay right where you are until we say so.”
“But…”
“No buts, you’re still sick, and you need to listen.”
Laurel sighed and relaxed back onto the sofa.
The prime and Antonio kept looking at each other before returning their attention to Laurel. If Hester didn’t know any better, she’d think they were communicating telepathically. Hester had already recounted what she knew, but it didn’t give them any clue as to what was really happening.
Since they were being close-lipped, Hester asked aloud, “How did the chocolates get into the house? I found them in the kitchen.”
“That was me,” admitted Mary, seeming to shrink her already tiny frame as she looked around nervously.
“You?”
Tomaso let go of Diego and moved to stand in front of Mary protectively, daring anyone to try and get past him.
“I found them on the stoop, and so I brought them in. I’m so sorry; I thought it was just a romantic gesture from Antonio.”
It was said with such a longing sigh that Tomaso’s expression twitched, but he remained glaring at Diego and to a lesser extent both Antonio and Roberto.
“I did not put them there,” grunted Antonio.
Hester had already gathered that – first of all when they turned out to be poisoned and second of all when he was completely surprised when she told him about them.
“Someone must have,” said Hester.
Maria was hovering in the background, eager to help, but not wanting to get in anyone’s way. Francisco seemed competent enough, but he reeked of alcohol and his attitude towards everyone had been dismissive, to say the least. The only person he treated with any respect was Roberto – and that was probably only because Roberto was twice the breadth of him. Healers were somewhat excluded from the hierarchy in shifter groups – they were still answerable to alphas, but they were special and honored members of their groups. This one clearly had a strong sense of his own specialness.
Roberto moved forward and took hold of Diego, cupping his neck and almost touching foreheads. Lorenzo let go of Diego’s arm. At first, the gesture seemed aggressive, but Hester could see that Roberto was trying to calm the young jaguar who was struggling to hold on to his beast.
“Take Laurel to the clinic in town. Have the doctor check her out.”
Diego was still vibrating in a fury, but he seemed to have calmed marginally – enough to listen to his prime.
Francisco gave Roberto an affronted look, but that was ignored, and huffily, the male started packing away his things.
“Maria,” rumbled Roberto.
“I’ll call ahead and make sure the clinic staff are waiting,” she said, pleased to be able to help.
Roberto nodded his thanks and looked to Lorenzo. “You drive them.”
He opened his mouth to argue – presumably that he had no desire to leave Sadie - when Sadie cut him to the quick.
“I’d like to go with Laurel and make sure she’s okay.”
Roberto inclined his head in agreement, and they fussed with getting the stricken Laurel out and into the car. The healer left, mumbling to himself about ungrateful leap mates.
Hester was a little surprised Daniel was not there – as the second surely this involved him. Surely Roberto needed him there?
Roberto gave Antonio a significant look, and the two of them walked away into the kitchen – more telepathy she thought with a sigh. Hester figured they needed to have a private talk, so she followed them in order to listen and give them her input.
Roberto narrowed his eyes at her, but after raising an eyebrow, Antonio slipped an arm around her waist. Ordinarily, she would object, but this was not the time, and it was doubtful that the prime wanted to listen to her mock outrage at Antonio’s familiarity, and she wanted to hear whatever he had to say.
The truth was that someone had left those chocolates for her – someone wanted her to eat the silver. What was dangerous for a human could be lethal to her as a shifter.
Someone seriously did not like her. She had no problem with that. Her cheetah almost chuckled as she thought of all the people who hated her – there were so many! Other lawyers, criminals she put in prison, coworkers who she gave an earful to when they said or did something that ticked her off, her next-door neighbor who always parked in her spot, fellow cheetah coalition members that she had argued with over the years, and that mailman who always squashed her parcels – the list was endless. But they were all in Los Lobos and had no idea where her kidnapper had brought her.
“Any thoughts on who would do this?” she asked before Roberto could even open his mouth.
Roberto gave her a hard look, but Antonio’s grip tightened, and briefly, she saw the strain on his face. He was worried for Laurel but downright pissed that someone had tried to hurt her. She could see his beast, simmering below the surface.
“I mean, what with the shooting and all…” she prompted in the face of the tightlipped males.
Finally, Antonio said, “Not long ago, a developer from Los Lobos approached us about selling our land. We said no, and they didn’t exactly take it well. We suspected they were behind the shooting, but this…”
His fingers dug into her waist as his fury boiled.
“Perhaps Valentina?” suggested Hester.
She didn’t exactly want to get the other woman in trouble, but if the bitch was actually trying to kill her…
“What about Valentina?” snapped Roberto.
Antonio winced. “She tried to…”
“Molest Antonio the other night.”
“I wouldn’t say…”
“I would; she turned up in his bed – completely naked.” Not that she cared. Grrr. Nope, not at all. Double grrr.
“That why you punched her?” asked the prime in an even voice.
Hester felt the heat rising to her cheeks. “Oh, ah, you heard about that?”
“Heard about it, didn’t know why until now.”
“You don’t want to punish me for that, do you?” She looked at the huge prime uneasily.
“Figured Valentina had done something to deserve it – couldn’t hurt to take her down a peg or two.” He gave her a look of grudging respect and almost gratitude, and Hester realized that Roberto didn’t want to punish the females. Given that most of the females were human, it probably didn’t come up much, but she guessed he had trouble when dealing with Valentina and her mother. No wonder they thought they were queen bees around there. Well, they could just buzz off because Hester wasn’t about to put up with them acting like total bee-holes.
“I’ll speak to Valentina,” said Roberto, though without much heat.
“You don’t think it was her?”
“I don’t think she’s quite that vindictive.”
Hester sighed. “No, as much as it pains me to admit it, I didn’t get the single white female vibe from her.”
Roberto frowned at the reference but nodded. However, his face hardened a moment later.
“What is it?” pounced Hester.
“I… may speak to Marta, too.”
Antonio’s eyes widened slightly. “You don’t think Valentina’s capable, but you think Marta would be?”
“I’ll speak to her,” replied Roberto, ever so slightly evasively.
“That why you broke up?” asked Hester keenly. “Because she’s a crazy bitch?”
Roberto eyed her dispassionately, while Antonio looked between the two of them, mildly confused.
Hester pressed her lips together as her cheetah quailed. She may have stepped over the line. But he wasn’t growling at her, nor was he denying the truth in what she said.
“We spoke to the representative of Vertigo today - Draper,” said Roberto, smoothly changing the subject.
“Vertigo?”
“The company that wanted our land. It is possible this is retaliation for that. I would not put it past Draper to be vindictive.”
“But how would this Draper know about me? How would anybody get into the compound to leave the chocolates?”
Roberto looked at Antonio. “That is the question.”
It was left unsaid, but there was the worry that someone within the leap was working for Draper, and that left a bitter taste.
“Perhaps you should go back to Los Lobos,” suggested the prime and Antonio let out a lengthy snarl in protest.
“I don’t think so,” spluttered Hester, surprising them both. “Hey, if some cowardly dickwad is after me, I want to stop them. I’m not running away from this.”
Slowly, a triumphant smile spread across Antonio’s face, and she was half tempted to slap it off.
Roberto nodded. “As you wish.” He turned to Antonio. “It’s getting late; I want you to co-ordinate with Tomas and arrange extra patrols tonight. I want someone with your mother, too.”
Antonio’s expression turn stony, and Hester thought of what Maria told her earlier. Sensing Antonio’s unhappiness at his uncle’s perceived interest in his mother, Hester wiggled against him, moving her body in front of his, distracting him with her overly round ass. She had been told before that it had hypnotic qualities. It worked too. One moment he was ready to growl, and the next his body was quickly responding to the way she moved against him. Or at least, one part of him was.
“I will speak to Valentina and her mother, and then I will visit the rest of the leap and ask them if they saw anything. For now, I think it best we keep this under wraps.”
“Probably not going to happen,” said Antonio.
Roberto cocked his head questioningly.
“Given that Francisco knows.”
Roberto scowled. “You’re right, but if anyone asks, try not to be too detailed.”
“You’re going to visit everyone in the leap?” asked Hester.
He nodded before a tiny wince crossed his features. “We were supposed to be having a barbecue tomorrow.” His eyes darted between Hester and Antonio. “An idea of your mother’s to help the new females settle in. Perhaps we should cancel.”
“Let’s wait and see,” interrupted Hester. “If Laurel’s okay, then why not have it?”
Mostly, she was thinking that she would like to see all the leap members together, to gage which one of them could have left those chocolates for her. She wished it could be Valentina, but after the female’s response to her ass whoopin’ – or at least her slap – Hester really doubted it. Marta maybe – that female was certainly cold and sneering enough but did she really think it worth killing Hester so her daughter could get her jaguar claws into Antonio? Did she honestly believe Valentina would get him if Hester suddenly went bye bye?
Roberto rumbled uncertainly. She doubted he wanted to ruin the leap’s fun. “If Laurel is well enough, we will go ahead.”
He nodded and left them. Antonio’s arm was still around her, his now growing erection pressing against her buttocks. Worryingly, she was now starting to get excited too.
Yes, she’d almost been a murder victim that evening, but her body apparently didn’t seem to care. Perhaps she should just give in, drag Antonio up to her room and show him what a cheetah could do. After all, if someone was so set on ending her life – this may be her last chance to have sex, and more importantly to have sex with Antonio. For all her grumbling, he was deliciously sexy, and that kiss he managed to land earlier… hot damn that was scorching. She rubbed a finger over her lips, sadly disappointed that the taste of him had all but evaporated.
“I best talk to Tomas,” said a disgruntled voice above her ear.
“Yes,” she murmured. Probably for the best that he move away now.
Neither of them moved a muscle. Antonio groaned and leaned closer to her.
“I really do need to move, otherwise…”
Otherwise, there was a distinct possibility that she wouldn’t bother with the bed at all and they would just drop to the floor and find out for themselves how comfortable floor tiles could be.
“I need to arrange patrols tonight.”
Sighing, Hester stepped away and turned to find wild, yellow eyes watching her. His beast really was angling to be free – both because of the poisoned chocolates and the fact that she had now incited his lust.
“How come he asked you and not Daniel?”
She was trying to distract him, because, at that moment, he was bristling and wild looking and too sexy for his own good.
Besides, this was surely a job for the leap second, yet, Daniel was still nowhere to be found.
“I don’t know. How did you know Roberto wasn’t seeing Marta anymore?”
“Actually, your mother told me.”
“How did she know?” he asked suspiciously.
“Your mother’s a smart lady.” Something he wouldn’t dare disagree with. “But you can stop worrying about anything happening between her and Roberto.”
Antonio scowled. “I see the way he looks at her.”
“Bah, just a crush – nothing to worry about.”
“You’re very knowledgeable.”
“You should find out now; I’m always right – about everything.” Or at least she was very good at arguing her point until her opponent completely gave up and agreed with her.
Antonio chuckled. “Good to know.”
“Seriously, you don’t have to worry about Roberto. It’s a seven-foot bear called Roman that’s the real problem.”
“What?!”