Read Lure of the Jaguar: Hades' Carnival, Book 7 for Free Online Page A

moon cloaked by the clouds. She swallowed hard and peered through the trees. Where was Stavros? What was he doing?
    He was crazy to take on those men by himself. They needed to call the local police.
    She shifted her weight and realized she was no longer shivering. Nor did she feel quite so afraid. Not with Stavros here. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She’d never depended on a man before. But these were extenuating circumstances.
    Her legs cramped and she moved, shifting her position for a better view of the yard. The three men were still there. One was lying on the ground with another one next to him. The third man, the one with the gun, turned slowly from side-to-side, watching the woods.
    It occurred to her this would be a good time to run. With the men worried about the cougar, they wouldn’t be looking for her for the next while.
    Stavros, the idiot, was out there with the wild cat and the gunmen. She didn’t even know if he had a weapon or any way to defend himself. No way could she leave him. Her hand tightened around her weapon and she forced herself to relax her grip.
    No, she couldn’t leave Stavros. They were in this together.
    She hunkered down to watch the small clearing, all the while cursing men in general and Stavros in particular.
    Stavros was back in his jaguar form, sliding through the underbrush. The scent of blood filled his nostrils and he twitched his whiskers. The injured man might die from his wounds if they didn’t get the bleeding stopped soon. Not that he cared. They’d come to hurt Toni.
    “Do you see him, Roy?” Paul asked. He was sweating profusely now and blood continued to seep from his wound.
    “No. Now shut up and let me listen.” He swung his flashlight from side-to-side, sending its beam over the surrounding woods. Roy was nervous. Stavros could smell it. He had to take this man down first. He was the deadliest of the bunch, the most unpredictable.
    Stavros launched himself from the shadows and leapt toward Roy, easily clearing twenty feet in one leap. He swiped at the gunman with his long, lethal claws. The gun in Roy’s hand jerked and his shots went wide.
    Roy screamed, but the terrified yell was quickly cut off when Stavros sliced through his jugular without a moment’s remorse. Blood spurted from the wound and Roy fell to his knees and then backward, hitting the ground hard. The gun and flashlight dropped beside him. The flashlight rolled a couple of inches before stopping. The light created a pool of light around Roy, spotlighting his dead body.
    The other two men yelled in terror as Stavros disappeared into the shadows and blended once again with the night. “What the hell was that?” Paul screamed.
    The other man was crossing himself and praying. “That ain’t no cougar. That thing was huge.” He stumbled to his feet and backed away.
    “Don’t leave me here, Billy,” Paul implored. “Help me.” His friend ignored him and ran, leaving Paul to his fate.
    Stavros circled around and caught the fleeing Billy as he abandoned his friend. The man pissed his pants when he caught his first glimpse of the massive jaguar. Stavros wrinkled his nose at the pungent smell. The man held his hands out in front of him as though he could ward off Stavros, but nothing could save him from the jaguar’s wrath. Stavros raked his deadly claws across Billy’s throat. The wounded man clutched his shredded neck and fell to the ground, gurgling out his last breaths.
    Stavros turned his back on Billy and silently padded back to Paul, who was valiantly trying to pull himself toward Roy’s body. Paul caught a glimpse of Stavros and whimpered as he dragged himself closer to the abandoned gun. Stavros beat him to the weapon and shoved it aside with one large paw. The illumination from the flashlight allowed the other man to see him perfectly.
    He hunkered down next to Paul and stared at him, deliberately intimidating the man. He had questions and he wanted answers. He also