Rome’s Pride: Chapter Nine

Rome went into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and forced Zuri to take the antibiotics and pain reliever he found. Then he scooped her up, carried her into her bedroom, and laid her on the platform bed. She had dried blood on her, so he went into the bathroom, dampened a washcloth and came back to the bed to wipe her down. After returning the washcloth to the bathroom sink, he flipped through her closet until he found a loose, large shirt he could slip over her head. As a rule, shape-shifters didn’t mind nudity, but with the fever she’d be cold.

In the tropics, there wasn’t a need for blankets. Still, Rome managed to find a soft, hand-made, crocheted throw slung over one of the chairs in the living room that felt like it would do an excellent job of retaining body heat. He returned to the bedroom and laid it over her.

Rome spent time studying Zuri as she slept. His mate was in his life again, and this time he wouldn’t toss away the blessing he’d been given. This moment might not have taken place. Someone had almost managed to eliminate her before he could get to her. It wouldn’t happen again.

He left the room and went out onto the small balcony/porch. In the semi-darkness he took out his phone and made a call.

“Yo!”

“Jackson, I need intel.”

“Monk, good to hear from you. Whatever you need, you get.”

“Someone tried to take out my mate. Bastard gutted her with his claws.” Rome’s jaguar roared inwardly with a fury that matched the man’s.

Jackson’s cheery demeanor instantly changed to that of the warrior Rome knew him to be. “He gutted a female? Tell me everything.”

Rome laid out the situation.

“This guy tried to take over a pride full of women and children? Spineless bastard deserved everything he got,” Jackson said.

Rome dragged a hand through his curly hair as he paced the small space. “My concern is he wasn’t acting alone. We’re not far from the Panama border, and Zuri’s property sits in prime territory. News reports state there’s a new international airport being built in this region. You know what that means.”

“Yeah, between the port, the regional airport, and the one they’re building, lots of ways to move stuff without anyone noticing,” Jackson said grimly. “You down there alone?”

“No, our local alpha sent a couple of his wolves along to watch my back.” Rome still couldn’t believe it.

Jackson laughed. “Wolves protecting a cat? Now I’ve heard it all. Listen, I’ll put my ear to the ground and let you know what I find out. Don’t be surprised if the threat mysteriously gets eliminated. My men don’t take kindly to our women being mistreated, especially not when there are so few of them. If I see things headed that way, you want in on the action?”

Rome thought about it, hard. Hell yeah he wanted payback, but protecting his mate had to be his first priority. “I’m needed here. She’s got a couple of old cats working the property, but I don’t know their capabilities. The wolves have combat training, but this is jaguar territory. I won’t leave her unprotected.” The word “again” hung in the air unspoken.

“Okay. When this is over, I want to know why you didn’t tell the squad you had a mate. You know we wondered why you never bagged any of the free pussy being offered.”

“I’ll tell you now and end the speculation. When I left for BUD/s she’d just turned seventeen. You know what our life was like. I wouldn’t put any woman through that. When I got out, she’d married one of her own kind. Zuri’s a lioness.”

Jackson whistled. “I’m surprised you didn’t go after her anyway.”

“Probably would have, if I’d known where she was. I thought about it often enough, but her father wouldn’t give up her location and even with my considerable resources, I couldn’t find her,” Rome admitted.

“Well, you have her now. Take care of her.”

“That’s the plan,” Rome said.

“I’ll holler at you tomorrow. Watch your six.”

“Always.”

They disconnected. Rome went into the bedroom to check on Zuri. She was sweating, which meant her fever had broken. Good. Shape-shifter bodies could handle a lot of stress but high fevers were still dangerous. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Rome called Bull to give him an update, find out their location, and make arrangements to pick up his things.

“Kane and Ethan are patrolling,” Bull said.

Knowing the men would be loaded for bear, Rome asked, “Are they being discreet?”

“Don’t worry, boss. Only a trained observer would spot the weapons they’re carrying.”

“Good. I’m getting ready to shift and scout around. Tell Kane and Ethan, or whoever took the early morning watch, there’s a group of campers who went out whitewater rafting today. They’re due to hike back in tomorrow. Zuri’s nephew, Manny, is one of the guides.”

“Will do, boss. Be careful out there. Not all of the wildlife is friendly in these parts,” Bull said.

“Roger that.” Rome swiped the END CALL button and set his cellphone on a side table in the living room where it wouldn’t get wet if it rained. He stripped off his sweaty clothes, and stacked his weapons in a place where they would be easily accessible when he returned, but wouldn’t stick out to anyone who happened to drop by. Zuri’s home didn’t have doors or locks, but he guessed she didn’t have to worry about crime, out here in the middle of nowhere.

After today, she might need to rethink that.

He shifted into his jaguar and roamed the treehouse, sniffing around. Restraining the cat’s urge to claw and mark its territory, Rome urged it outside to the lush world awaiting them. Here his jaguar was in its element. This was his native home.

Padding through the forest, he climbed trees and jumped from branch to branch. He hunted, ate, and played in a few natural pools. During his career in the military, Rome had deployed to a few jungles, but none matched the beauty of his native country. He spent hours exploring and marking his territory in warning to other predators before the need to see Zuri and assure himself of her safety got the better of him.

He took a circuitous route to the base camp. As he wandered the grounds, he ran across the wolves, who upon recognizing him, gave a brief report.

“Everything’s quiet. This place pretty much shuts down after dark. The last few people hanging out at the outdoor fire pit left fifteen minutes ago, right before the path lights went dark,” Ethan said.

Rome nodded his acknowledgement and continued on. The ground level contained a series of rock and gravel pathways. The upper levels in the trees were connected by zip lines and roped walkways. He crisscrossed them all before gradually making his way to Zuri’s treehouse. As the wolves said, all the guests had hunkered down, waiting for daylight to begin their day’s adventures anew.

He made a small leap and landed lightly on the landing. One small lamp still burned in the living room. Abby would probably have a small shitfit if she knew about the waste of electricity. She came across to him as one of those eco-fanatics who wanted to save the planet. Abby didn’t just make the spiel, she believed it.

Rome shifted, and not liking how open everything was, spent a few minutes lowering all the netting until there was only one access point, the main entryway. When he took a closer look at the doorframe, he realized Zuri’s home had a hideaway door in place of the traditional front door. Rome closed it and flipped the flimsy lock, aware it wouldn’t keep out a determined toddler let alone a shape-shifter bent on trouble. Still, it was the best they had, for now.

He picked up his cellphone, clothing, and weapons and carried them into Zuri’s bedroom, laying them on the floor by the bed within easy reach. Zuri was in a deep, healing sleep, so he carried his gun with him into the bathroom and took a quick, hot shower. Back inside her room, he debated for all of a minute before climbing into bed beside her. The gun went on the short nightstand near his head. If she needed him, he’d be right there to hear her. If his nudity bothered her, tough shit. She’d have to get used to him and now was as good a time as any to start.

It was late, well after midnight, and he’d had a long day. Yawning sleepily, he adjusted his position and the thin memory foam mattress conformed to his body. With he and Zuri both sharing the double bed, the fit was a little cozier than he liked, but he’d make do.

He set his mental alarm to wake him in a few hours and with one more tired yawn, drifted to sleep to the sound of gentle rain.