Free Jason's Salvation by Kiera West Page A

came to a clearing. He saw an SUV parked by a makeshift hunter’s cabin. The tracks led up to the front door. His joy at finding the small hut was short-lived when he realized there would be only a couple of reasons to bring Eve here. Neither of them were good.
    Jason quietly walked up to the front door. He heard someone talking, then Eve’s voice. Relief poured through him. Treading softly, he leaned over to look into the window. What he saw there had his relief dissolving in an instant. It was one of the fucking cats, just like he had thought. And he was walking toward Eve. He saw the fear in her eyes, and the way her face seemed to drain of all color. Her lip was split and he could already see the bruise forming on her cheek.
    “I don’t think I stuttered, Eve. The clothes.” The cat grabbed her by her shirt and pulled her up off the bed. “Is this what you want with that asshole, Noah Dillon? I heard he likes to rough women up.”
    At the mention of his cousin, anger flashed in her eyes. “Noah doesn’t need to rough women up. He doesn’t need to abduct them either. Only a coward has to do that.”
    The cat smacked her with the back of his hand. The hit was so hard she fell back onto the bed, her head smacking against the brass headboard. She fell lifeless on the bed.
    “Fuck,” the cat muttered.
    Rage heated Jason’s blood as he turned toward the door. He tried the doorknob, but he couldn’t get it to move. He pulled back, and using his shoulder, he pushed the door in. It shattered on the impact and he fell forward. The cat turned on him, and Jason saw the knife but paid no attention to it. All he could see was Eve lying on the bed, lifeless, blood on the sheet beside her. At the moment, Jason wasn’t even sure if she was still breathing.
    The cat charged him and Jason avoided the collision. Jason kicked him in the back of the leg. The cat fell forward and into the wall.
    He turned and faced Jason. “You bastard.”
    “There has never been a question of my birth, Javier,” Jason said.
    They circled each other and Jason had to fight to keep his attention on his adversary. He wanted to look at Eve, to check to see if she was breathing. If he turned his back on the cat, Jason would certainly lose his edge.
    “So, you like beating up women?”
    Javier snarled. “We were coming to an understanding.”
    “Of course you were. Now, when did she say she wanted to get raped?”
    “I was just going to show her what she was missing. Of course when I am leader of the council, it won’t matter.”
    Jason laughed. “Like they would ever accept a cowardly loser like you.”
    Javier launched himself at Jason, and this time, he was ready for him. He feinted left and Javier fell again. Jason bent over and grabbed Javier by the collar. As he stood, he pulled Javier with him. The anger he had been keeping in check surged forward. Jason pulled his arm back and punched him. The cracking of the cat’s nose beneath his fist gave him a sense of satisfaction. Blood poured from his nose as Jason punched him a second time. They fell to the ground and he kept hitting the bastard. He let loose the rage and everything faded away.
    “Jason,” Max said, tugging on his arm. “Jason, damn it, he’s almost dead.”
    The red haze dissolved and he found himself straddled on top of the cat shifter. He had his hands around the man’s throat. The cat was limp but he was still breathing. Jason dropped him.
    “Eve,” he said. Desperate to touch her, he turned and hurried to the bed. He pulled her up in his arms. Her breath was warm against his throat and he felt some of his fear fade. She still wasn’t responding to him though.
    “Move back. Let me see her,” Max said. Jason ignored him, as he pulled her against his chest. She was still breathing, but he needed to feel her warmth next to him.
    “Damn it, Jason, let me see her. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
    Finally, it registered that he needed to let Max see her. He was