Page 69 of Jameson

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jameson

Ifelt the soft rise and fall of Greer’s breaths.

I was glad she was getting some sleep. I watched the monsters. They were tearing into the meat and grunting.

They were definitely communicating. I felt more than a slight niggle of unease. They were working together, and I’d rarely seen that. Not in any coordinated way.

The Gizzida had been an intelligent, cunning species, but the hybrid monsters never had been. Growing up, I’d heard about the monster hunts. The squads had fought slavering beasts that only wanted to hunt and kill.

But I also knew the monsters had been breeding and mutating over the years.

Who knew what abilities those mutations had given them?

I tested the ropes on my wrists again. They were too tight and there was no give. A muscle in my jaw ticked. I really wanted to get Greer out of here.

Patience, Steele.

I sucked in a breath. The guys would come. I knew they’d be looking for us.

I had no idea what these monsters were planning to do with us. I didn’t want to hang around to find out.

Greer made a small sound and settled again. The more sleep she had, the better. If we had to make a run for it, we’d need to move fast.

The monsters had thrown my weapons and armor into the water. They were smarter than they looked. The canine lifted its head and looked over my way.

In its one red eye, I saw hunger. It wanted to attack us.

Come closer and I’ll take you down.

The creature sat back down, but one of the humanoid monsters rose. As it walked toward us, I tensed. I kept my gaze locked on it.

It came closer and made a grunting noise.

“You’re going to die tonight,” I said evenly. “I promise.”

There was no sign it understood me. It leaned down and touched Greer’s hair.

“Don’t touch her,” I snapped.

She jerked awake and made a gasping sound.

The monster stepped back, stared at me for a beat and bared its teeth. Skin flared around its neck, fluttering and menacing.

Shit. It reminded me of a frilled-neck lizard. They used their neck frills to scare off predators. This monster must have some of the reptiles’ DNA in it.

“God,” Greer said.

The monster grunted, then it walked off into the trees.

If only I could get free, dammit. “It’s okay, Greer.”

“What did it want?” Her voice was uneven.

“It was just curious, I think.” I heard her pulling in some deep breaths. “That’s it. Just relax.”

Silence fell again, and I saw the monster by the fire looked like it was napping.

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