Free Wild Cat by Christine Feehan Page B

“Immediately.”
    Bannaconni studied her face. He didn’t blink. The edgy restlessness began to hurt, to burn. Her temperature soared. She tried breathing the feeling away, but her ribs prevented that from working very well.
    â€œYou’ll have to do better than that, Miss Arnotto.”
    â€œMy grandfather was killed last night. Murdered. I’m not safe . . .” She broke off as her leopard leapt, surging forward. She turned her head toward the shadows.
    Elijah Lospostos walked out. He looked as gorgeous as ever. Not at all like she looked. Not as if one single thing had been ripped from his life. He walked like a jungle cat, and he stared at her bruised face with the same unblinking focus as Jake Bannaconni had.
    She was up, out of the chair and across the room instantly, shaking hand on the door. “I’m sorry. I made a terrible mistake in coming here.”
    Jake Bannaconni was associates with Elijah Lospostos. That meant he was part of the underworld her grandfather had alluded to. She could barely breathe. Worse, with her cat raging at her, and the way their eyes had changed, she feared they were also part of the shifter world.
    â€œSiena.” Elijah said her name and her stomach lurched.She couldn’t face him. She wouldn’t. Not after what she’d done with him. Not after the things he’d said to her. Not after knowing that he was right and she’d been whoring herself out for her grandfather as a distraction for his hit man.
    She yanked the door open and hurried out, rushing past the secretary to the elevator. Fortunately the doors to the elevator were open, allowing her to step in and go down fast. She was terrified one of them would issue an order to stop her so she all but ran out of the building, tears swimming in her eyes, blinding her. She had nowhere to go. No one to run to. She had no idea what she was going to do.
    She wasn’t looking where she was going and she ran straight into a solid body, a man standing right outside the double glass doors. He caught her arms in a viselike grip and dragged her to him. To her horror, she knew instantly who had her, without even looking. She knew his scent. She knew that fury.
    Struggling, she tried to escape as he manhandled her into a waiting vehicle. When she tried to throw herself out, he shoved hard on her belly, and then slapped her, knocking her into the vehicle and climbing in after her. The door slammed closed and the car sped away with her in it.

4

    E LIJAH took two steps after Siena to follow her. The sight of her bruised face both infuriated and sickened him.
    â€œShe’s leopard, Elijah,” Jake said. “And she’s terrified. There is no way that woman was whoring herself out for her grandfather.”
    â€œYou think I didn’t figure that out?” Elijah snapped. “Hell. I was so fucking pissed and my leopard was so insane I couldn’t think straight. I was all over her, took her on the damn floor like an animal. When I shot Marco, I was so angry, thinking she was involved. Too angry. I should have known what was happening; I’d figured out, after Don Miguel was murdered, that Arnotto was making a move on territories, but I didn’t know how he was getting away with it, making everyone drop their guard. When she showed up with the wine, I knew then.”
    â€œBut she didn’t know,” Jake persisted.
    â€œI got that after I threw her out and called her everydisgusting name I could think of. After she was gone, I could see blood on the floor where we’d been and on me. She was a fucking virgin, and the things I said and did . . .” He shook his head and raked his fingers through his disheveled hair. “I don’t have a clue what to say to her, how to fix this, but she’s mine. There’s no going back from this. I know she’s mine. If she’s really in danger, I have to help her.”
    â€œDo you think her