Free Tempting the Jaguar by Katie Reus Page B

he wasn’t far behind. It
    didn’t matter that she had protection
    inside, Rainer planned to be a scant
    step behind her, guarding her with
    his life if necessary.
    The two-lane street wasn’t well lit
    and even though it was a nice part
    of town, this strip of shops closed
    down early, which meant there
    were no random humans strolling
    down the street. There weren’t any
    restaurants nearby and most of the
    shops were wholesale places that
    did a lot of business over the
    internet. It was probably one of the
    reasons the vamps had chosen it.
    Using his supernatural speed he
    raced down the street, heading east
    before crossing over to the other
    side. Even though Estrella was
    momentarily out of his line of sight,
    he knew where she’d be entering
    the building and he planned to meet
    her there. Not to mention they had
    other scouts out on the street
    watching her that he hadn’t even
    told her about. He’d brought the
    full force of his pack here for her.
    Ducking behind a building that
    sold wood flooring and carpet, he
    raced behind the few buildings until
    he reached the art studio. The black
    SUV with tinted windows was the
    only vehicle in the paved parking
    lot. It was too dark for him to see
    inside and there were too many
    heartbeats in the near vicinity for
    him to distinguish who was where.
    As he decided on his next move,
    Estrella appeared from around the
    corner of the art building and strode
    toward the back door cautiously. As
    she moved, one of the side doors to
    the SUV opened and Rainer didn’t
    think. He just jumped into action.
    Using his stealth and natural
    animal-hunting abilities, he hurtled
    himself at the tall male in a leather
    jacket and jeans who had stepped
    out and tackled him so that they fell
    back into the vehicle. Rainer
    quickly assessed that no one else
    was inside as he grabbed the
    vampire by the back of the neck
    then slammed his face into the
    window. It shattered under the
    impact. As they struggled, two of
    his pack mates who’d been
    lookouts appeared from almost out
    of thin air.
    Releasing the guy, he shoved him
    at his friends. “Don’t kill him... yet ,”
    he murmured, as his pack mates
    restrained the vamp who was still
    recovering from the bash to the
    head.
    The vamp might be supernatural
    but Rainer guessed he was young
    considering how easy he’d subdued
    him.
    He had complete faith in his pack
    mates’ abilities so he didn’t glance
    over his shoulder as he hurried
    toward the back door where Estrella
    stood. She’d seen him take down
    the vampire and now watched him
    in confusion.
    He couldn’t do it. Just couldn’t
    let her walk in there and offer
    herself up like bait. Take out the
    vamps, but try not to kill them. Just
    make sure Estrella’s friend isn’t
    hurt, Rainer ordered Conrad
    telepathically and prayed the
    woman came out of this unscathed.
    If she didn’t, Estrella would never
    forgive him.
    As Estrella’s eyes locked with
    his, it was like she could see what
    he’d just done. Her eyes widened in
    horror as she jerked the door open
    and raced inside.
    Chapter 7
    Estrella’s heart pounded wildly
    against her chest as her inner jaguar
    took over out of sheer panic. The
    guilt she’d seen in Rainer’s eyes
    had slammed into her chest with the
    intensity of a semitruck. In that
    instant she’d known what he’d
    done and panic had seared her with
    the knowledge that Sabrina might
    be hurt or worse.
    Letting her beast take over,
    Estrella ignored the shredding of
    her clothes and shoes as she
    transformed. Her bones quickly
    realigned and fur now replaced skin
    as she sprinted down a short
    hallway. The sound of angry shouts
    and grunts had her terror growing.
    She followed Sabrina’s scent to
    the door that opened up into a giant
    storage area that took up almost the
    entire back half of the building. She
    used her weight and strength and
    launched herself at it. Her paws hit
    the door and a loud crack split
    through the air as it