His Darkest Hunger Page 21

  He ignored the excitement that hung low in his gut. He needed to be in control. He had to focus and banish thoughts of the previous evening far from his mind.

  It was hard…incredibly hard. Guilt hung heavily around his neck. He couldn’t shake the feeling, and felt like a first-class asshole. He hadn’t planned on seducing Libby; in fact, he’d hoped a run in the forest would quiet the animal that raged inside him.

  Instead it had done the exact opposite, and when he returned to camp after a strenuous hour or so with his brother, her scent lingered in the air, leaving a trail of sweetness that called to him on such a primal level, he’d not been able to resist. He’d made love to Libby. And then left her.

  Again.

  On top of that, he had gone along with Declan’s idea to charm her into a deep sleep.

  There would be hell to pay when he next saw her, and not just for him. He looked to the left at Dec and sighed. Libby would kick both of their asses. But he had to admit, he’d rather have her pissed off back at base with Ana to protect her than out here on the hunt facing possible death.

  He couldn’t lose her. Not ever again.

  Jaxon shook himself mentally, calling upon the steel resolve that lay deep at the heart of the jaguar. He took a long swig of water, his hand fisting upward, motioning everyone to stop. They’d been hiking through the mountain range for almost eight hours, and the sun was low in the sky. Soon nightfall would cover the landscape.

  The forest was alive with sounds, smells, and activity. Declan had used an invisibility charm to cloak their presence from the animals that lived out here. They didn’t want the DaCostas to sense any change in behavior from the creatures that called their territory home. Howler monkeys and a whole host of screeching birds would have been sure to trumpet their presence, but for now the charm was working wonderfully in aiding their silent approach.

  And so, their quiet, deadly foray up the mountain had moved quickly, hidden from prying eyes.

  Jaxon turned his head to the right, nostrils quivering as he scented the air. They were close.

  He motioned to his brothers. “It’s time.” His dark eyes went from the emerald green of Jagger’s to the deep topaz eyes of his older brother, Julian. A flood of emotion cracked through his thick outer shell, and he took a moment to compose his thoughts.

  He’d worked with Jagger on several occasions and knew his younger brother was both a skilled warrior and a deadly soldier. But to have Julian there, on the front lines, putting his life at risk, was something he’d not anticipated. It meant a lot.

  “Julian, you sure you want to go through with this? I understand if you want to hang back, and—”

  His brother hissed at him, “I might not have the warrior tattoos, but I am by no means any less of a threat than either of you. I will do this. No one makes a move against a Castille without facing the consequences.”

  His eyes had morphed to a deeper amber color, and his mouth slashed into a harsh grin as he began to strip the clothes from his back. “Truthfully, I’ve not felt so alive in a long while. I’ve been spending so much time in the boardroom, I neglected the very nature that makes me what I am.”

  “Yeah, Jaxon, don’t worry about us,” Jagger growled deep from his gut. “I need to hunt me some DaCosta meat.”

  “Nice.” Declan chuckled. “You boys know the plan?”

  Julian and Jagger nodded, and after stripping completely, ran toward the forest as mist formed long tentacles around their bodies, obscuring the change that was taking place. Within a few seconds two distinctly different jaguars glanced back at them, and Jaxon was overcome with pride and love for his brothers. He nodded at them and watched both cats, one golden and one black, disappear into the thick blanket of foliage that laced the forest floor.

  Cracker spat from the side of his mouth, coming to a halt beside the others. He opened up a handheld unit and after a few seconds flipped it shut.

  “The compound is about two miles dead ahead. Satellite images Ana sent show limited activity.” His face darkened as he turned to Declan. “You sense any magick here about? Seems to me they’d have all sorts of wards in place, or whatever the hell it is you people do.”

  Declan frowned but shook his head, “No, there’s nothing out here that I can find. Surprising, actually. I was expecting to at least come across traces of the dark arts used back in Manhattan.” He looked around and shrugged his shoulders. “There’s nothing.”

  “I don’t like it. Something don’t feel right to me.” Cracker looked at Jaxon, and made no effort to hide the worry that lined his face.

  “This whole situation is fucked, but right now I don’t see any other alternative.” Jaxon’s face was fierce and his voice rough. “This is ground zero. It’s the only logical place to start looking for those bastards.”

  “Yeah, the problem is, they’re smart-ass sons of bitches,” Cracker said. “They should know we’d be gunning for them after they attacked Jagger’s cabin.” He shook his head and added, “We gotta play it safe and be alert.”

  Jaxon nodded. “Agreed. The chances are high that we’re walking into a trap.” He looked to Declan and Cracker, glad to see the deadly resolve in both of their eyes. “Let’s do this.”

  He started toward the compound, and the two men followed a few steps behind. The three assassins moved quickly, the excitement of the hunt spurring them forward as a deadly calm settled over their bodies.

  Ahead, their scouts moved with sinuous grace through the thick underbrush, the animals quivering with the need to hunt as they edged closer to their target.

  The great cats’ agile bodies and powerful frames allowed them to creep close to the compound well ahead of their team members. The black jaguar veered off to the right, sending a soft bark to his partner as the golden cat went to the left. Their nostrils quivered in excitement as they slowly encircled the encampment, seeking out any of their enemy that might be on point duty.

  Julian’s heart was near bursting, so intense were his feelings. His spirit was screaming in joy as the animal inside him howled at the thought of the coming hunt. He’d not exaggerated earlier. It had been way too long since he gave in to the wild animal that was so much a part of him.

  He’d spent too much time ignoring its pleas for release. He’d actually grown afraid at the thought of letting his jaguar out. But now…now his senses were burning with a fire that propelled him forward with a vengeance. He could no longer deny what he was. Nor what he was capable of doing.

  The encampment was surrounded by a crude attempt at a fence. Julian rounded the far end of the compound and stopped as a foreign scent made his nostrils quiver in anticipation. The great cat licked his lips slowly, his head bobbing back and forth as he tried to find the source of the smell.

  He crouched low on his belly, noticing movement up ahead. Slowly, he made his way forward. When he spied a guard leaning against a tree a few paces to his right, he froze. He began to salivate and his heart trembled. He felt his humanity slipping from him, but didn’t care. Savagely, he welcomed the power that surged through his body.

  His prey was drawing hard from a cigar, the smoke plumes no more than tiny slivers of white ribbons. They danced just above his head, and if the idiot had been paying attention, he would have realized that the forest had become silent.

  Guess there were limits to Declan’s charms after all, he thought.

  Inside, deep in the hidden recesses of his soul, the cat quieted. He slowly crept closer to the guard, who was unaware of the threat to his life. The man was human. There was no scent of shifter about him as Julian crouched a foot away, ready to pounce. Then, as planned, a large explosion ripped through the early evening.

  Startled, the guard dropped his cigar and swore as he tried to retrieve the little bit of Cuban tobacco hidden amongst the underbrush at his feet.

  A second explosion led the guard to straighten and stand upright, but it was too late. With lightning speed and incredible strength, the jaguar leapt up and poun
ced hard, his paws digging in deep as the man screamed in pain.

  His eyes widened and filled with terror at Julian’s roar. He tried frantically to move, but the heavy beast had him pinned, and then he was frantically begging for his life.

  “Please, I no bad person. I only work for money.” Clearly the guard knew that this was no regular animal atop of him. He cringed as the jaguar snarled again, unaffected by the human’s attempt to sway him.

  The man worked for his enemy. The math was simple—only one of them would leave this patch of paradise alive. With a powerful lunge, his canines pierced the man’s skull, and less than a minute later the guard lay dead at his feet.

  Smoke from the explosion drifted toward him, and Julian took off like a shot, the euphoric rush of the kill giving him more power, as a black energy inched its way into his essence.

  Julian Castille was not a killer. In fact this was his first coup. The scary thing was not only had it come incredibly easy to him, but that he’d enjoyed it.

  The jaguar soon lost his human train of thought as more animalistic urges rose to the surface. He quickly faded into the forest, leaving the body there to rot.

  After the first charge went off, Jaxon slipped through the poor excuse for a fence and made his way toward the large building at the far left of the compound. Cracker had gone to the opposite side, and at any minute the second charge would explode.

  Several men stumbled out of the small bungalows that lined the main area of the compound, half hidden by a thick overhand of trees. They seemed intoxicated, and Jaxon felt a sliver of unease. Something felt off here, and he signaled silently to Declan to proceed with caution. They each drew their weapons, and as the second explosion rocked the air, quickly made their way to the large outbuilding.

  A screech rent the night, and Jaxon glanced back as angry snarls accompanied the shrieks. Jagger and Julian had arrived, and he pushed aside his pride at the ferocity and strength his brothers shared. He needed to focus.

  And bag a DaCosta.

  He and Declan could hear excited voices coming from inside the building, where it seemed that people had barricaded themselves from attack. The unease he’d felt earlier spiked. These were not seasoned soldiers.

  Jaxon snarled savagely. They were fools.

  Declan silently crept up the steps that led to a large door. His hand snuck out and he tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. He signaled to Jaxon, who stood on point while Declan went to work setting a charge at both the top and bottom of the door.

  He jumped off the landing and both he and Jaxon had moved when the charges split the door in two, leaving a billowing cloud of smoke and a gaping hole in front of the building. They were joined by Cracker, and all three charged forward, guns raised and adrenaline pumping furiously.

  Jaxon was the first inside, and he scanned the dimly lit interior. There was a group of women cowering in the corner, and he swore, but ignored them to continue toward the area where he expected to find the DaCostas.

  But there weren’t any men to be found there, and he took a second to scent the air, his nostrils telling what his mind already knew. The only people there were the women in the common room. He’d get Declan to find out what they knew.

  Something caught his attention then, as a wisp of energy cut the air. He signaled to Declan and quietly made his way past the kitchen area and down toward a narrow hall.

  If Libby’s details were correct, this was where the offices were located, as well as the weapons room.

  There were four doors to choose from, and Jaxon began to check them all. The first two were crudely built storage closets, the second of which had obviously been used as a weapons room at one point. As of now, it was empty of any sort of weaponry other than a few shell casings scattered haphazardly across the floor. The door was open, as if the room had been emptied in a hurry.

  He swore under his breath, his feeling of unease now a deafening cascade of warning bells that clamored for his attention.

  Something stank, and frustration built in his gut at the thought of being denied the chance to face his enemy. The jaguar wanted to kill. He wanted to kill.

  He was met at the door by Cracker, who raised his eyebrows, shaking his head in confusion. He signaled that he was going back outside and left as silently as he’d come.

  Jaxon paused in front of the last door, which was closed. His senses reached out, searching for that elusive whisper of something he’d sensed earlier.

  It was gone, and his anger boiled over as his foot made quick work of the door, reducing it into a wreck of splinters, leaving only one large piece hanging by the hinge.

  The room was like the others. Empty. Heat burned its way up his forearms as he crossed to an old metal desk and searched through a mess of papers left scattered on top.

  Something caught his eyes, and his blood turned to ice as he turned his attention to the wastebasket at his feet. He scooped out several photos and documents that had been thrown into the trash in an attempt to burn them. They were surveillance shots…of his brothers, as well as Libby, Declan, Cracker, and Ana.

  His fear became more palpable as he pieced together what the photographs meant. All of the photos were recent. Some were from the airport in Texas the day before, and a few others had been taken in San Ignacio.

  The anger he felt was immediate, as well as the sinking and empty feeling of a mission not completed. The DaCostas had fled like the cowards that they were. He would not have his revenge.

  His com unit began to cackle and he grabbed it. “Jax here.”

  He waited for the static to clear, but her words only confirmed the worst. “You guys need to get the hell out of there. We’ve got two blackbirds coming in fast, loaded with explosives.”

  “God dammit!”

  Fear for the safety of his team and all the civilians left in the compound flooded his mind. Adrenaline pumped through his veins at a vicious pace as he ran for Declan, his mind working furiously. He needed to get those women out of the building because he sure as hell wouldn’t be party to their innocent deaths.

  His com unit was crackling and he could hear Ana fading in and out.

  “We’ve got maybe two minutes before this entire compound is blown to bits,” he told Declan, and pointed to the women who were huddled together in a confused and scared circle. “I don’t care what you do, just get them the hell away from here. I’m going for my brothers and Cracker.”

  Declan was moving toward the women before he finished his sentence, and Jaxon sprinted out into the dark night. Smoke was heavy in the air, and his long legs carried him across the compound in seconds. He spied Cracker, who held his com unit high in the air, indicating he was aware of the situation.

  Low-lying clouds had converged and helped make an already dark night thick black and deadly. Jaxon spotted a golden jaguar and ran toward it, shouting at the animal as it cornered several men against an outbuilding he’d not noticed before.

  “Julian! We’re under attack.” The cat froze, his long tail flicking back and forth, a testament to his agitated frame of mind. The large golden eyes caught and held Jaxon’s as he signaled for the animal to retreat deep into the bush.

  His senses were on full alert, but with the number of humans present, and their mixed emotions coloring the air, he couldn’t lock onto his other brother’s trace signature. Wildly, he looked around, and as he began to move away, he shouted out into the night air, “Jagger, retreat!”

  Off in the distance his ears picked up on the speeding aircraft that were locking in on them, and he turned to follow his older brother out into the jungle. Cracker was close on his heels, and Jaxon’s lungs felt about to burst as he ran hard and fast.

  He hoped Jagger had heeded his warning and fled.

  When the blasts went off, they scorched the earth in a series of massive explosions that lit the night and rocked the ground violently. Jaxon was thrown forward with such force his body hit a stand of trees. Even though he tried to fight it, he began to s
lip away, then lost consciousness.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out when the persistent cackling of his com unit brought him around. His entire body ached. He was pretty sure he’d bruised a couple of ribs, but all in all he felt extremely lucky to be alive.

  Jaxon looked to his left and spied Cracker slowly gaining his feet, and he pulled the com out from under him and clicked the receiver.

  “—find her?”

  “Ana, you’re breaking up, what was that?” His voice was raspy and he hoped she was able to read him.

  “Libby! Have you seen her?”

  Jaxon stilled at the vampire’s words and felt everything melt away. Every sound that echoed in the jungle, his anger and hatred for the DaCostas…all of it ceased to exist.

  “What the hell do you mean have I seen Libby? She’s with you.”

  There was a long pause, and Ana’s voice broke as it echoed into the night. “No, she’s not. She left not long after you did and was heading your way.”

  Chapter 20

  Intense pain wrapped its way around his heart and choked his airway. Jaxon reeled and fell back against the tree, his heart pumping like mad, fueled by a spike of adrenaline. He was dizzy, and fought against the thick blanket of fog that threatened to overcome him.

  Libby! Here? Would she have made it this far?

  He groaned at the thought of her anywhere near the compound, and as his gaze traveled to the smoking ruins, he turned to the side and heaved, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the moist earth.

  It passed, his moment of weakness. And was quickly replaced with a steely determination that blackened his mind to any possibility other than the survival of the woman he loved.

  Cracker’s feet slowly shuffled toward him, and he focused on them, waiting as a cool calm began to slip into his bloodstream. He would find her. He would claim her as his once and for all. He would not take no for an answer.