Chosen Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #2) Read Online Free Page B

strong, sure embrace. The heat of his body seeped into hers. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder with a sigh. Between the ever-present state of vigilance she’d been in ever since Chloe had been kidnapped and weeks of worry about everything, she was relieved to soak in his reassuring warmth and comfort.

Chapter 3

    Jake studied the grain of wood in the floor inside the police station. The building was centuries old and retained the original hardwood oak flooring, worn from years of feet traveling across it, yet still rich in color. Dane was on the phone with Chloe while they waited for Hank. Dane finished his call and slipped his phone in his pocket. He glanced to Jake.
    “Every time I think about the mess Callen created, I wish he was still alive so I could make him pay,” Dane said, shaking his head, his eyes weary and angry at once.
    Jake leaned his head against the wall behind his chair and sighed. “You and me both. How’s Chloe?”
    “She’s good. She’s getting annoyed with me checking in all the time, but she’s putting up with it so far.” Dane paused, his eyes darkening. “I’m relieved she’s okay, but I’m not going to breathe easy until we get to the bottom of this.”
    The door to Hank’s office opened and he waved them inside. “Come on in, guys.”
    Jake and Dane sat in two chairs across from Hank’s desk. Hank took a swig of coffee and turned his gaze to Jake. “So what’s up at the hospital?”
    Jake quickly filled them in, along with the latest update from his online forays. “I’m thinking one of us needs to head to Montana. As it stands, we’re on the defensive on this side while they keep showing up here. Let’s get out in front. I’ve found enough clues online to point us to the right locations. Hell, I can pinpoint the locations of every ISP address linked to the accounts Callen was emailing. Maybe they’re fronts, but everything leads somewhere.”
    Hank glanced between Jake and Dane and shrugged. “I’m with you there, but I can’t go. It’s gonna have to be someone else. Hate to say it, but we can’t send either one of you. You’re too prominent. Plus, if they didn’t know your faces before, they do now. Both of you were all over the news after Chloe’s kidnapping.”
    Dane swore and looked to Jake. “Any ideas?”
    Jake shook his head. “Not yet. Let me think on it.”
    They moved on to developing a plan for surveillance at the hospital. It twisted Jake’s gut that every time they considered the threats shifters were facing, they came face to face with the reality that Callen had recruited within the Catamount Clan. His youngest brother, Randall who’d always been eager to impress Callen, was an easy mark, but they couldn’t assume others weren’t involved. Sussing out whom they could trust was a complicated task.
    Jake walked outside later to find snow drifting down. The police station was in the center of town on one of the streets adjacent to the town green. He crossed the street and walked onto the path that led to the center of the green, leaving footsteps in the fresh layer of snow. It was late afternoon with the sun low in the sky. The bare tree branches cast a network of shadows on the snow. The plump snowflakes glittered as they drifted through the lingering rays of sun angling across the green. He thought of Phoebe, his heart feeling a primal tug. He turned on his heel and walked quickly back to his truck. He needed to see her. Now.
    As he drove toward her house, a corner of his mind tried to remind him why he’d told himself he’d only be with a shifter. His college girlfriend, Naomi, had been the one and only woman he’d been involved with who wasn’t a shifter. He’d fallen so hard and fast for her, he’d ignored the warning signs. She’d been overly dramatic and often portrayed herself as a victim of any number of circumstances. Jake’s hormones found her so phenomenal, he’d charged ahead, thinking she needed someone like him