Page 6 of Finding His Way (The Protetors #5)

J eremy fought his cat back under control. Rage tinged his world red and he longed for nothing more than to eliminate every single threat to his woman. Not one single person he laid eyes on was left alive. He knew there was one person other than Dianna breathing. But that man was far away from him, being guarded by his brothers. That dead man’s fear permeated the air, its acidic scent burning his nose.

The angry leopard settled the moment it looked at its mate. Rage didn’t dissipate, no, because she had been injured and was bound. And, she was trying to escape when he’d deliberately told her to stay put. His jaw physically hurt from the combination of keeping his fangs concealed and clenching his teeth.

The feline in him wanted to bite her and pin her down until she submitted to his law. His mate should listen and never, ever go against his command. Right now, the human was fairly on board with such an idea.

He stalked over the floor to stand before her, his soul settling purely on the reason he was closer to the woman who had no idea how much she owned him. Raking his gaze over her, he bit the inside of his jaw to keep from yelling at her for being kidnapped. The zip ties on her wrists were way to tight and he could see how they’d been digging into her skin.

She had her back against the wall, eyes on him, wide and uncertain. He didn’t blame her. He knew he was a scary mother fucker. But no fear scent wafted from her and he approved. This woman had faced untold hell but she still defied showing the slightest bit fear.

Jeremy stepped into her more, shoving his thigh between her legs and lifted so his jeans rubbed against her core. Asshole behavior?

Perhaps.

Definitely. Especially, given what she’d been through but this was his woman and both him and his beast needed to remind themselves she was here. And alive.

He leaned close, rubbing his nose along the side of her face and down to her neck. The feline growled as the scent of one shifter came to him.

Aleks.

He fucking touched her. Had his hand around her neck, the scent of her blood lingered intermixed with the infuriating stench of Aleks “Frost” Morozov.

That mother-fucking bear shifter.

Keeping his face pressed along hers, he rubbed slightly, much like his cat would if that were the form he were in, head butting, pushing, scent marking. Settling a hand on the other side of her features, he extended the tips of his razor sharp claws and dragged them down her skin, listening to the uptick in her breathing and her pulse.

Their one night together, he’d found out firsthand how much the light teasing caress of his claws turned her on. He didn’t slow his movement down, continued on until he reached those fucking zip ties marring her skin and sliced through them like they weren’t even there.

“Hello Dianna.”

There it came. The shudder and he knew her limit neared its end. Moving his leg back, he smiled as he picked up on a whimper he knew she didn’t want him to hear. It was nothing but pure lust.

“You walking or am I carrying you?”

It physically pained him to ask this as he didn’t want to let her out of his arms. He wanted to scoop her up and carry her everywhere, but she was a proud woman. A defender. A survivor .

“Walking.”

That was his woman. Ignoring the stench of Aleks on her skin, he rubbed his cheek along hers until their mouths touched. Her lips, cracked and chapped, pushed more anger through him, the thought of what this woman had endured, simply enraged him.

“Let’s go.” He stepped back, dragging two knuckles down the side of her bruised face.

Gratitude shimmered in her gaze as she nodded once before heading for the cave entrance. He felt the wave of uncertainty sweep her when his brothers stepped into view. Shifting closer to her—how he managed to do that without actually climbing into her skin, he wasn’t entirely sure—he curved an arm around her.

He needed touch.

His cat needed touch.

She needed it as well, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

Macsen and Vaughn jutted their chins in his direction but didn’t speak. He spied the lone witness behind Vaughn, slumped unconscious. Macsen ran his blue-gray gaze over Dianna once more before he spun wordlessly on his heels and struck out of the cave. Jeremy followed and behind him, came Vaughn and the prisoner.

He understood why they did what they did. The brothers were defense until they could get her safe. Aleks was out there. While he was completely aware of the world around him, he couldn’t deny that most of his focus was on the proud woman struggling to keep on her feet beside him.

The winds had ramped up while he’d been inside getting his woman and while he didn’t mind the cold, he needed to protect her. Tucking her closer to him, he wished he had a coat he could put around her.

A beat up old SUV waited and while they approached, he watched Macsen move around it before giving a subtle nod then getting behind the wheel.

“Expecting a bomb?”

Her question shocked him and yet, he knew it shouldn’t. she was, after all, a cop.

“I need you safe, mate.” He opened the back door and lifted her in before sliding in after her. The moment he had settled in, he plucked her up and placed her on his lap.

She stiffened and struggled.

The animal growled and the man mimicked it. She stilled, cop or not, she understood an angry predator’s warning.

“Don’t push me, Dianna.” He latched his arms around her, tucking her beneath his chin. “Don’t fucking push me right now. Sit her and let me fucking keep you safe.” His words were rough and graveled.

Somehow her body stiffened even more and he wanted to scream and erupt to the sky. Follow that up by killing everyone again. Did she think him capable of hurting her?

The door on the other side of the back opened and Vaughn slipped in along with snow and icy wind after tossing the limp body of the prisoner in the way back. Dispassionate eyes moved over him and how Dianna was as flexible as rebar.

“Comfort.”

The word fell from his brother’s lips, far below the auditory signal she could hear, but he could, courtesy of his feline.

They were moving before Vaughn even got his door closed. His cat reached for its mate, needing to do just that. Offer comfort. Turning the woman in his arms deeper into his chest, Jeremy allowed the low rumble of protectiveness and love, combined with pride she’d survived to roll from him.

Increment by increment, the strong, amazing woman in his embrace softened into him, accepting his warmth and protection. Allowing his eyelids to close, he took the moment and calmed.

“Fuck.”

Macsen’s muttered curse reached him the moment the whine of a rocket did. Snarling in anger, he instantly adjusted his hold on the woman in his arms.

“Don’t suppose you brought a gun did you?” Her low question pulled laughter from all three of them in the vehicle. Not much, but it was enough.

No, he hadn’t but Vaughn bent and lifted two that he offered without a word. Macsen swerved and a tree off to the side exploded. Dianna didn’t try to get off his lap but she did reach out to take the guns.

A Skorpion and one HS2000. She checked to make sure both were loaded and gave Vaughn a brief nod of thanks. Then she slipped off his lap and neither he nor his cat approved.

Macsen pulled another few juke moves, keeping them on their forward trajectory. He and Vaughn glanced around. Three vehicles bore down on them, closing the distance at a speed which was far to quick for his liking.

“What’s the plan?” Dianna shoved the HS under her thigh as she bent to tie her definitely improperly sized boots tighter. She moved to her waist next, tightening the woolen pants before rolling her shoulders, loosening up.

“I like her.” Macsen grinned in the rearview as he ripped them around a snowy corner, drifting far more than Jeremy was comfortable with, especially with his mate in the vehicle. As usual however, Macsen handled it beautifully and one of the pursuing vehicles didn’t make it around the corner but fell over the cliff they were racing along.

“Stop,” he growled. His cat was on edge, needing to mark her and claim her. It was a lot to have two other unattached males near her, even though they were his brothers.

“Don’t know who the hell you are,” she replied, not looking away from the man driving the SUV. “But you’re with him,” she jerked her thumb over in Jeremy’s direction, “so for that alone, I like both of you as well.”

He curved his hand around her neck, anchoring his snarling beast. “Don’t.”

That garnered him a look from her. “Don’t? Are you seriously telling me not to like two shifters who helped you get to me.”

He snarled at her as both men snorted in amusement despite the situation.

“Didn’t need their help and my brothers need to mind their own damn business.”

The vehicle shuddered again as Macsen took another corner at dangerous speeds. “Save your quarrel for later, we have to bail. They’re going to overtake us soon and I’d rather not be going over a cliff when that happens.”

“Brace yourself!” Vaughn hollered seconds before a vehicle t-boned them on the driver’s side. Even as the car catapulted into the air and began rolling, he yanked Dianna into his chest and curved his body protectively over her. Stronger. Faster. And a better healer, he would take as much damage as he could to keep her protected.

I’m doing a shit job at it for sure.