Page 60 of Confusing Hearts

“Jenna, this place is huge. It’s not a cabin—it’s a really big house, and literally feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere. How many acres came with it?”

“Thirty-some. They were selling it with three, I think, but Chase wanted the raw land surrounding it, too. It gives us a place to run if needed, without worry of being seen, like the forests surrounding the ARC.”

“So cool! I swear you have the coolest boyfriend ever,” she squealed. “He bought you a house, Jenna.”

I was starting to relax, not seeing anything alarming. Her words rang true to my heart and made me happy.

That feeling was short-lived, though, as the front door of my house opened and a man I didn’t know walked out. He walked right up to the car and knocked on the window, motioning for me to roll it down. I only cracked it, not even enough for him to stick a hand through.

“Hey, can I help you? You ladies lost or something?” the stranger asked, and the tone of his voice and the way his sharp eyes washed over me caused goosebumps to break out over my skin, and not in a good way.

“No,” Anita said. “We’re just waiting on a friend.”

I shot her a glance of warning.

“Here?” the man asked, and I could see him shift uncomfortably from one foot to another and look back towards the cabin.

I took in a deep breath, smelling the air around me. Shifter. I knew this guy was a shifter. That thought on a normal day would have provided at least a little comfort, but in that moment, it only heightened my anxiety.

“My friends and I are meeting a buddy here, too. Why don’t you ladies come on inside and wait where it’s warmer?” the stranger said with a gleam in his eyes.

I glanced back to the front porch and now saw four other large and equally strong men watching curiously. I shuddered, realizing we were dealing with a small pack of something—my panther told me they were dangerous.

I needed to warn Chase.

“It’s fine. We’re good here. Chase should be here anytime,” Anita told him, and I wanted to punch her, or duct tape her mouth shut.

“Chase called a few minutes ago and said he was running late,” the guy added, not missing a beat. “Come on inside. I’m sure he won’t be long.”

“It’s okay, really,” I assured him. “We’re fine here. And”—I looked down, grabbing my backpack and pretending to look for something—“shoot, I left my calculus book back at the house. Do you think we could run back and grab it?” I asked Anita, pouting.

At least she finally seemed to catch on. “Again?” she asked dramatically as she rolled her eyes. “So, what’s your name?” she asked the stranger. So much for her catching on.

“Stan,” he said, only hesitating slightly.

Anita strained to look at the men on the porch. “Is that Jack?”

That seemed to really throw Stan off. He stuttered as he finally managed to get out a “Yeah.”

“Tiger, right? He’s dating one of our sorority sisters I think. He’s a TA over at Archibald Reynolds, right?”

I vaguely remembered Tessa mentioning she was dating a tiger, a TA from one of her classes, which suddenly made me stop and rethink things. Could these guys really be that bad then? But what were they doing in my house?

The man that must have been Jack walked over curiously. He stared down at me with obvious shock.

“Tessa, what the hell are you doing here?” Jack asked.

“What the hell areyoudoing here?”

Jack turned red in the face and uncomfortably shifted from one foot to the next. “I’m meeting a few friends here, that’s all.”

“Well, I’m meeting some friends here,” I told him.

Stan seemed to have wandered around the other side of the car towards Anita. Jack motioned for me to roll the window down as he squatted next to the car. Against my internal warnings, I did.

Jack leaned in through the now-open window and moved to kiss me on the lips. I turned my head at the last second so he got my cheek instead. I couldn’t stomach the idea of any other man’s lips on me. My panther roared in my head, but I fought back for full control. It disgusted us both, but he thought I was Tessa and something told me that was a good thing.

He appeared to nuzzle against my cheek as I clearly heard him whisper, “Babe, I don’t know what you’re doing here, but take your friend and get the hell away from here. I’ll call you as soon as I can. You just have to trust me on this.”

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