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“Skye,” he said roughly as he began to mov
e toward the mouth of the cave. “We’ll be back. If anyone crosses this threshold, do not hesitate to use the goodies Declan gave me. They’re in my bag.”
She cocked her head to the side but didn’t turn to meet his eyes. “Be careful,” she whispered.
Jagger hesitated, even as the burn began to sizzle across his skin, but there was nothing more.
He turned, pissed and not knowing why. What had he expected? A kiss and a pat on the ass?
He stripped, welcoming the magick as it wound its way up his body. His mind cleared as bones popped and elongated. He ran, his long limbs sliding into the thick black pelt of his jaguar.
Jagger joined the other warrior, who waited at the bottom of the waterfall, and without a backward glance disappeared from view, melting into the darkness that surrounded them.
In the cave, all was silent.
Skye regarded the woman before her, noting the tired circles under her eyes that marred the otherwise perfect skin. She winced slightly as the bruising on her face began to take root, a dark mottled blemish that ran along the length of her jaw.
“Admiring your handiwork?” the woman hissed. “The entire right side of my face is fucking killing me. Thanks for that.”
Skye’s eyes widened. “Um, last time I looked I was saving your ass. Nico would have ripped you apart. Besides, you shot at me, remember?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” The woman held out her bound wrists. Skye rummaged around in Jagger’s bag and found a knife. She quickly cut the restraints. “And just so you know, both the bullets and the arrows were charmed. You would have been fine.”
“What are you doing out here, Jaden?” Skye asked as she handed the woman the beans. “It seems a little extreme even for you—I mean, don’t you think your brothers are going to wonder why you keep disappearing from the resort?”
“First off, my brothers don’t give a rat’s ass what I do. I only hear from them when they want something.” She laughed, a low harsh sound. “I’m pretty much on the bottom rung as far as they’re concerned.”
Her eyes deepened then with an intensity that was palpable. “You disappeared off the grid—what the hell do you think I’m doing out here?”
“But it’s so dangerous. If your family finds out what you’re doing … what you’ve been doing for years, they’ll—”
“Yeah, I know. No more Jaden. I get that and I’m fine with it.”
Skye studied the dark woman across from her. She’d not known Jaden DaCosta for long, had only met her on a few occasions, the first being when she’d been held prisoner at the DaCosta compound less than a year earlier.
She was edgy, dark; a woman whose emotions ran deep. Jaden’s family wholly believed that she was deeply entrenched in the DaCosta agenda. Skye knew better.
Jaden DaCosta worked special ops for the government. To the outside world, she was the successful owner of one of the most posh resorts in Mexico.
Jaden had promised to help her find the portal. She had no intention of seeing her family get their hands on it. Whatever her reasons were Jaden hadn’t shared, and even though she was jaguar, Skye trusted her.
Jaxon Castille had managed to get her out of the compound before Jaden had returned, and as soon as she was able, Skye had contacted Jaden at the resort she owned in Mexico.
She’d been secretly helping Skye, feeding her information, intel on the operations of the DaCosta clan and when she could, tips about the possible resting place of the portal. She’d definitely stuck her neck out and Skye could do nothing but admire her for it, because she knew that if her complicity was ever found out, the repercussions would be deadly.
“Are things that bad?” Skye asked quietly, not really wanting to hear the answer.
Jaden shook her head and looked away. “It’s about as bad as it can get.” She shook her head. “Worse, actually. Cormac is on the warpath, and he’s put a bounty on your head. Every fucking mercenary from here to China is descending on this jungle, all with orders to find you or find the portal and kill you.”
Skye grimaced and looked away.
“My brothers are in a frenzy to find it before Cormac. Dumb bastards think they can double-cross him.” Her words were bitter. “I hope they all rot in hell.”
“I’m close to it Jaden. I can feel it.”
“I hope so, because I’ve been walking around with a sick feeling in the bottom of my gut for days.” Her dark eyes bored into Skye’s. “You need to get to the portal and destroy it once and for all.”
Jaden took a long draw from the water bottle and then turned to Skye with a wicked smile in place. “I’d love to know how the hell you ended up out here with the youngest Castille brother. I thought he bit the bullet after the compound was attacked.”
