Chosen Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #2) (11 page)

Hayden shrugged. “If I had to guess, I’d say they knew you were a leader in the community. Since Callen died, they probably wanted to persuade you to either support their smuggling operation, or ignore it. I’d love to tell you I knew where this giant mess started. But all I know is a few years ago rumors started swirling around here that shifters were getting paid to smuggle drugs. So far, I’ve only been able to link it to individuals. Whoever’s running this show is not in this area. Until they made contact with Callen, far as I could sniff out, the smuggling was limited to the West from Montana down to New Mexico. The big money comes from smuggling from Mexico into the United States. With so many mountain lions out here, it’s easy for shifters to move freely when they are in lion form as long as they steer mostly clear of urban areas. I’d like to say I was surprised they wanted to work out East, but it’s about money. If they can start funneling the drugs to the East Coast, that’s a huge market. I didn’t think Callen would be stupid enough to fall for it. Mountain lions have been considered extinct out East for a long damn time. You can’t move freely. I don’t know how you manage it.”

Jake sat back with a sigh. Hayden was confirming his suspicions. He’d hoped Hayden would have more information about who might be behind this. “Any ideas on who started this?”

“Not much to go on. I don’t think it started here though. I can point you to a few local shifters who I know to be involved, but their involvement is what Callen’s was. I’ve been investigating this since I heard about it, but it’s not exactly easy. You might think I’m crazy to be working for the Feds, but I’ve had this job for years. Being a shifter in this role means I’ve got my ear to the ground about any rumors about shifters. We don’t have to worry as much as you do out East, but the last thing we need is for people to find out shifters truly exist. Myth works in our favor.”

Dane glanced to Jake. “Mind giving us a few names for the locals involved?”

“Not at all. I’m glad to know you’re working on this too. Maybe between us, we can find the source. Ever since Callen died and then I saw the news about the kidnapping in Catamount, I wondered if anyone would show up out here.”

Jake leaned back in his chair. Tension knotted his shoulders, and he rolled his head around to ease it. “We meant to get out here eventually, but circumstances forced our hand sooner.”

At Hayden’s arched brow, Jake and Dane quickly summarized the events in Catamount and Shana and Phoebe’s unexpected journey. When Dane mentioned the shifters Shana and Phoebe had seen yesterday, Hayden swore. “The last thing they need to be doing is heading out in the foothills around here. I don’t know about your numbers back East, but easily half the mountain lions you might encounter out here are shifters. The area they found happens to be the camp of one of the local guys who’s been smuggling.”

Anger tightened its coil inside Jake. He couldn’t think about Phoebe without being afraid of what could have happened. Right now, he just wanted to march her to the airport and get her back to Catamount. Reason reminded him that Chloe hadn’t been safe in Catamount, so he couldn’t assume Phoebe would be safe there either. All he knew was he couldn’t bear to think of her at risk.

***

Phoebe took a sip of coffee and glanced around the diner where she and Shana had come for a late breakfast. She’d woken in the early hours of the morning with Jake spooned behind her. The gray light of dawn filtered through the curtains. The feel of his heartbeat against her back had sent desire curling through her veins. A sharp knock at their door had interrupted the moment. Jake had dropped a soft kiss on the back of her neck before rolling out of bed. He’d called to Dane that they’d be out shortly and proceeded to drive her wild inside of five minutes.

He departed after she was all but limp, leaning against the shower wall, shudders reverberating through her. The recollection made her flush. She shook her head, forcing her mind back to the moment.

“So, you and Jake?” Shana asked, a teasing glint in her eyes.

Phoebe nodded, her flush returning. “Yeah. I, uh, didn’t really expect it. But things seem to be happening. I’m not sure what it means in the long run.” She paused and considered what to say. Shana was her closest friend, yet Phoebe had held the secret of her feelings for Jake close because she’d never thought it would amount to anything. She took a breath to get to the other side of her nerves. “Honestly, if I let myself think about it much, I go a little crazy.” She stopped there, not ready to say aloud what her heart knew. Things had already progressed too far, too fast with Jake. They’d blown past the point where they could ever return to being just friends. She didn’t know how her heart would survive if it didn’t work out. Her initial fears about losing their friendship seemed quaint and simple now. Now, she feared her heart would be shattered.

Shana looked at her for a long moment, her blue-gray eyes soft and warm. “He loves you, you know.”

Shana’s words slammed into her center, sending butterflies up in a swirl inside. “You think so?”

Shana nodded slowly. “I’ve always thought he loved you for years, just like I thought you loved him. I didn’t say anything about it because he was stuck on not dating any woman who wasn’t a shifter, and I figured you didn’t want to rock the boat. I always meant to eventually give him a good shake, but he seems to have finally come to his senses on his own.”

“Was it that obvious?” Hope beat like a drum in her heart. To hear Shana say she thought Jake always loved her was a thread she grabbed and held onto, hoping it would lead her to what her heart so desperately wanted to believe.

“If you mean how you felt about him, it wasn’t too obvious. I had a hunch because I know you so well. To anyone else, it probably wasn’t so obvious. As for Jake, Dane thought it was obvious and he knows Jake better than anyone.”

Phoebe added a dash of cream to her coffee, watching the swirl as she stirred it in. “I’m trying not to worry, but it’s hard. I love him. I managed to keep it together all this time. If this blows up, I’m not so sure I can handle it.” Her breath caught, her throat was tight. She met Shana’s gaze. “On the one hand, this is what I wanted for so long, I almost can’t believe it. On the other, I’m in too deep already. If this doesn’t work out, I’ll lose everything I had with him because I can’t go back to being his friend.”

Shana tilted her head and sighed. “How about you focus on what’s happening instead of what’s not happening?”

Phoebe twirled an errant curl around her finger and echoed Shana’s sigh. “I’ll try.”

Shana reached over and squeezed her hand. “With everything I’ve had to come to terms with lately, I’ve become a big fan of focusing on the moment. I could spend all day obsessing over memories, wondering how I could have missed what Callen was doing, but it doesn’t change a damn thing.” A tear tipped over Shana’s lashes, and she swiftly wiped it away.

“Shana, I’m so sorry. I wish…”

Shana shook her head. “I know you want to fix it, to make it all better. You’ve been the best friend ever through all of this just by being there. I’m hanging in there. I know I shouldn’t have pressured you to come with me out here, but I’m damn glad you did.”

Phoebe’s eyes filled with tears, so sad for what Shana was going through and wishing she could find a way to ease her grief. Their waitress arrived at that moment, hesitating when she caught their expressions. She started to back away when Shana shook her head. “Oh, don’t you worry. Food will help,” she said with a wry grin.

After their waitress served them and refilled their coffee, Shana met Phoebe’s eyes, lifting her coffee mug up in a toast. “To friends and second chances.”

Phoebe clinked her mug against Shana’s and dug into her pancakes. As their conversation moved onto lighter matters, Jake and Dane arrived with an unfamiliar man in tow. In short order, they were seated at the booth and had ordered breakfast. Hayden introduced himself. Conversation stayed superficial though Jake and Dane had both assured them that Hayden was on the safe side. As they ate, Jake’s leg pressed against hers in the crowded booth. It didn’t matter that only hours earlier she’d been tangled up with him, she wanted him with every breath and every beat of her heart.

Chapter 11

Phoebe walked alongside Shana in downtown Bozeman. Jake and Dane had headed back to another meeting with Hayden to review data Jake had compiled. Phoebe and Shana headed downtown for the superficial purpose of shopping, while also following up on some tips Hayden offered about a few areas shifters frequented. Dane and Jake had grudgingly agreed after Hayden assured them that he considered the area safe due to its density. Downtown Bozeman included a historical district filled with art galleries, shopping and restaurants. After Jake and Dane had shared that Hayden estimated half of the mountain lion population out here were shifters, Phoebe found herself constantly assessing everyone they encountered. Though Catamount was heavily populated with shifters, their existence back East was much more prescribed. Mountain lions had healthy populations throughout much of the West. It was strange to consider shifters had such a presence here. Within the context of recent events, this worried Phoebe. She didn’t know whom she could trust beyond her small circle of friends.

Shana hooked her hand in Phoebe’s elbow and tugged her into another art gallery. “We have to bring something home for Roxanne and Lily.”

Roxanne was a good friend of both of theirs, along with Lily who was Jake’s younger sister. Phoebe glanced around the gallery, which was filled with a mix of pottery, jewelry, metal sculptures and watercolors. Shana gestured to where she was headed while Phoebe moved to look through the pottery selection. The gallery was busy with a low hum of conversation and soft music in the background. She found a pair of mugs she thought Roxanne would like when she thought she heard someone say her name. When she looked around, she couldn’t find anyone looking in her direction. She headed toward where she’d last seen Shana, but couldn’t find her. Unease snaked up her spine. She spent the next few minutes circling the gallery. Shana was nowhere to be found. She finally asked a salesperson if they’d seen Shana, providing a brief description of her.

The woman gave her an odd look and slowly nodded. “Yeah, there was a woman here who looked like that. She left with a man. I thought they were together. He had her by the arm. Is everything okay?” she asked, her eyes widening.

Fear bolted through Phoebe, knotting in her belly. “Are you sure she left?”

“I’m only sure a woman who looked like the one you described left. If that’s her, yes, she left.”

“Oh my God! Did you recognize the man with her?”

The woman’s eyes were wide with fear at this point. She shook her head rapidly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she wasn’t with him. Let me call the police for you.” She stepped to the counter and called.

Phoebe fumbled in her purse, tapping on Shana’s number immediately. To her relief, Shana answered. “It’s me,” she whispered.

“Where are you?” Phoebe asked, stepping out of the way of some customers by the counter.

“Across the street at a little café. One of the men I saw yesterday when we were in the woods came up and asked me if we could talk. I told him I’d only meet in public. Don’t freak out, I’m in plain sight. He went to order something at the counter. I was just about to call you.”

Phoebe’s heart didn’t slow, but she was able to catch her breath. She was furious with Shana. Every time she thought Shana’s recklessness was waning, she went and did something like this. Phoebe glanced up and gestured at the saleswoman, pointing to her phone and giving a thumbs up. “I’m coming over now. Don’t hang up. I want you on the line with me until I get there.”

She strode briskly over to the saleswoman, tilting the phone away. “I’m on the line with my friend. No need to call the police, but thank you for your help.” At the woman’s nod and smile, Phoebe turned and raced outside, asking Shana every few seconds if she was still there. When she saw the small café across the street, she jogged over and walked inside.

Shana sat at a small table by herself. She waved once she saw Phoebe. The line went dead in Phoebe’s ear when Shana tucked her phone in her pocket. Phoebe slipped into the chair beside Shana.

“Where’s the guy you followed over here?” Phoebe asked immediately.

Shana shrugged. “After he asked if I wanted to talk, all he said was we should be careful. He left after he got a coffee. I was about to call you when you called me. I figured you’d be about to freak out. Aside from the fact that he pissed me off when he grabbed my arm, I figured I’d be safe because we were in the middle of so many people.”

Phoebe forced herself to breathe slowly. “Did you forget Chloe was kidnapped in in the middle of downtown Catamount?”

Shana didn’t flinch though Phoebe knew her tone was sharp. “No. I didn’t forget. It might have been the middle of Catamount, but it was late afternoon when not many people were around. We were in a crowd over there. I get that you’re pissed, but I figured I might as well see what he had to say. Not much though.”

Phoebe took another breath, her pulse finally slowing down. The fear that had knotted in her belly loosened. She held her words back. Part of her wanted to lecture Shana, but she wasn’t Shana’s best friend for nothing. She knew Shana well enough to know a lecture would only result in Shana completely ignoring her. At the moment, Shana was safe and that was all that mattered.

“Did he happen to mention his name?”

Shana shook her head. “It’s weird. I kinda think he wanted to make sure we were okay. Or if he meant to say something else, he changed his mind.” She paused and glanced around. “Do you want to get something to eat while we’re here?”

Phoebe took another breath. Her initial thought was to say no, but she was starving. “Why not? I’m calling Jake though.”

Shana nodded quickly. “I’m not being stupid. I already texted Dane. He wants us to meet them back at the hotel.”

***

A mountain lion raced into the foothills behind Hayden’s office. Jake paused as they walked across the parking lot. His lion rippled under the surface of his skin. He turned to Dane who walked beside him. “See that?”