She turned to Jazz, seeing the hardening of his jaw, the dangerous set of his expression. Whatever the hell was going on, it was more than she was being told and she didn’t care much for that at all.

“When you’re finished, Casanova, I’m going home,” she told him softly. “So try not to take all night because I may leave without you.”

The look he shot her was brooding and filled with latent male dominance and warning.

Yeah, she was really going to let that one intimidate her.

“I won’t wait all night,” she promised. “When I’m tired of waiting, I’ll walk home.”

“And when I catch up with you there’ll be hell to pay,” he growled back at her.

Rising to his feet, he strode to the dogs then bent and spoke close to the male’s ear. Marcus lifted his ears, his proud, intelligent gaze watching everyone behind his master. As Jazz straightened and motioned the other two women to the kitchen, the male Rottweiler focused on her.

Kenni had a feeling Marcus had been given his orders to keep her there. And that dog was big enough to make damned sure she stayed.

Narrowing her eyes on their retreating backs, she decided they had half an hour and that was it. At that point their little meeting would be finished. Then she was going to kick Jazz Lancing’s ass.

CHAPTER 8

Kate and Lara Blanchard looked like the girls next door until you paid close attention to their eyes. A hint of the bitterness and disillusionment lingered in their violet gazes. It wasn’t their eyes Jazz was concerned with tonight, though, it was the information he knew they must have, otherwise they wouldn’t have shown up like this.

Arriving without notice indicated they’d learned something they wanted no one else to hear, and these girls didn’t trust phones. Not cell phones, landlines, or any other traceable form of communication.

They were paranoid, suspicious, and distrustful. A hell of a combination in two women who were a little on the short side, curvy, and decidedly feminine. They were also damned loyal when it came to those they chose as friends, and willing to fight to the death to protect someone they believed in.

Those traits added to their surprise arrival sent tension racing through his body. Muscles tightened, all his senses went on alert as that gut-deep awareness warned him that their information could be far more important than he could guess.

Closing the door as he stepped to the porch, he let his gaze move between them. They wouldn’t have shown up if it wasn’t important, but there was a hesitancy about them that warned him of their uncertainty in telling him whatever they’d learned.

He’d never seen these two uncertain.

Twilight filled the valley now, not quite dark yet daylight had given its final farewell just before their arrival. Shadows stretched out along the porch, helped along by the heavy vines of honeysuckle that grew thick and heavy along the front of the porch.

Kate and Lara slid along those shadows to the porch swing hanging in front of the windows next to the door while Jazz moved to the chair, his back to the honeysuckle, across from them. He watched the two women silently, sensing the tension emanating from them as they stared at him consideringly. It had been a lot of years since they’d been this uncertain around him.

They were two of the most efficient investigators he’d ever known. They could uncover information others were certain couldn’t be found. Give them a puzzle and it wouldn’t take them long to fit all the pieces in their place, and that was what the job was to them. Each case was a puzzle, Kate had once explained to him. A puzzle that had to be solved.

They weren’t speaking yet. He knew them well enough to know their silence was an indication that whatever they’d learned was either excessively dangerous, guaranteed to piss him off, or both. When it came to the woman calling herself Annie Mayes, he had no doubt it was probably both.

“Is it that bad?” he asked quietly, his gaze flicking between the two of them.

The sisters glanced at each other, sharing some silent communication that only twins have before turning back to him.

“It’s difficult,” Kate answered him as she sat back fully in the heavily cushioned swing and rested her elbow on the arm of the seat while gripping the chain with her hand. “I’ll tell you, Jazz, I don’t think I’ve ever been so torn between information and a friend in my life.”

His jaw clenched with enough force that he wouldn’t have been surprised had he heard his back teeth crack. It was several seconds before he could release the tension enough to speak.

“What’s making it so difficult?” This was one of only a few instances that either woman had hesitated to tell him what he needed to know.

“I’m very uncomfortable with this.” Kate sighed. “I feel like I’m betraying her, even though it’s fairly obvious she distrusted us on sight. What she’s been through, how she’s survived so far, amazes me.”

For all her strength and tough attitude Kate had an incredible soft spot for survivors. Unfortunately he couldn’t afford to allow that soft spot to influence their decision to turn over the information.

“She’s facing a nightmare, Jazz, and it’s about to become your nightmare if you decide to stand behind her. If you’d prefer not, then let us know before we leave. We’ll find her someplace safe to hide. We’ll do our best to protect her.”

The resources the two women had were extensive, he knew, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he was letting Annie go.

Leaning forward, he gave each woman a long, direct look before speaking. “This morning someone tried to run her down in the middle of the street as she left a café.” He deliberately hardened his tone, his expression. “She’s in danger and I will protect her, with or without your help. But, if you hold back what you have and something happens to her—”

“You would never forgive us,” Kate finished for him, her voice heavy as she rubbed at the back of her neck. “God, it’s been years since they attacked…”

Kate broke off and turned to her sister once again. This time it was more than just concern that reflected in her expression. This time, Jazz saw a hint of fear.

“Tell me.” Lara turned back to him, one hand clenched on the arm of the swing, the other in the cushion beneath her. “How well do you know the Maddox clan, Jazz?”

That was the last question he expected to come from either of them. What the hell could his connection to the Maddox clan have to do with any of this?

The question gave birth to a suspicion, though—one he refused to contemplate.

“Why?” He could feel the hairs rising at the back of his neck now, a primitive response to whatever was coming, a warning that whatever it was could change his life forever.

“From what we’ve learned in the past week—” Kate breathed out heavily. “—Cord Maddox, and possibly his two younger brothers as well, head a mountain militia group stretching God only knows how far. They call themselves Kin. The same Kin that murdered her mother and have chased her across just about every state in the nation as well as parts of Canada and Mexico. They’re tenacious.”

Yes, the Kin were tenacious, merciless, and thorough. Most were former military, all were from the mountains that bred and nurtured them, and every damned one of them inducted into the Kin was bound by loyalty, and in many cases by blood, to the Maddox clan.

How Kate and Lara had gotten so much as a whisper of information concerning them was surprising. The information they had was damned unbelievable.

Every muscle in his body tightened to a breaking point. Jazz could feel the punch line coming and the implications of it had his senses stilling while a cold, murderous rage began to simmer inside his soul.

“The night her mother died she was rescued by her uncle, but not before she was shot. She was only sixteen. Since that night, from what we’ve uncovered, she was nearly killed in three other attacks over the past ten years. Rumor is, two years ago they found her uncle in a Chicago warehouse where he was brutally tortured for information on her whereabouts. They say he died without ever admitting who she was, or where she was. His body was never found, and she was never seen nor heard from again. Now we know why. He sent her to hide right beneath their noses.”