Mine to Crave (Mine #4)(9)
Author: Cynthia Eden

The phone on his desk began to vibrate. Noah grabbed it and put it to his ear. “Where is she?” Drake said because he’d recognized Chad’s number on the screen.

He heard the head of security inhale sharply. Oh, the hell, no.

“Sir, I, um, the team on her—”

“Tell me that she’s in their sights right now.”

“They thought she was just heading to the bar, but in the crowd, she slipped away from them and—”

“Find her.”

“Do we need to call in the authorities? Did she—”

“No authorities. She’s mine.” His hand was too tight around the phone. “Now get out there…find her.”

He rewound the image on his screen. Froze it at the moment when Jasmine first stared down at the photograph.

The longing on her face was so strong. Longing. Sadness.

That woman was a mystery. He headed for the door. She only had a few moments lead on him.

And he never let his prey escape.

***

The Arrow’s goons had no idea how to deal with a woman like Jasmine Bennett.

But Wayne did. So he wasn’t waiting for her near the hotel’s main entrance. He was in the back. In the alley. And when Jasmine slipped out, joining with the shadows, he was right on her trail.

The woman was good, he’d give her that.

But he was better.

He reached into his pocket. While he’d been waiting, he’d taken the liberty of getting a few things from his car. The handcuffs would definitely come in handy. And if she fought, he’d have to use the knife, too.

He smiled as he followed Jasmine into the darkness.

Chapter Three

Jasmine knew she was being followed. Unfortunately, her list of enemies just kept growing and growing, so she wasn’t exactly sure who might be shadowing her through Vegas.

The city had too many lights. Way too many. She stuck to the shadows as best as she could, and she hunched her shoulders each time she heard a voice floating on the wind.

She’d made it at least a mile from the Arrow. In her heels. Damn impressive—especially considering the path she’d taken.

Jasmine wanted to jump toward the main strip, hail a taxi, and get out of there but—

Someone is following me.

At this point in her life, she knew better than to ignore her instincts. And the tenseness at the base of her neck, that too-aware intensity, it told her that she was being followed through those Vegas alleyways.

Was it that bozo who claimed to be a bounty hunter? Like she believed that BS.

Was it Drake’s security guards? Drake?

No, she discarded that idea almost immediately. Drake wouldn’t bother coming after her himself. If he’d had cameras in that room, like the guy claimed, then he would’ve watched them by now and seen that she hadn’t taken anything.

So that left her with option three…the man who’d put her on Drake’s trail…he could be the one in the shadows. She did not want to come face to face with him. Especially since she had to let the guy know that she hadn’t managed to get the information he wanted.

Her back brushed against a brick wall. She strained, trying to listen desperately for a sign of her pursuer. But the fellow was good. She’d give him that. No rustles. No heaving breaths. No—

“Got you, sweetheart.”

The rough words came from her left. Jasmine rushed forward as the dark form of a man pulled away from the shadows.

The bounty hunter. Something was glinting in his right hand. She didn’t know if that glint was from handcuffs or from a knife, and Jasmine wasn’t in the mood to find out.

She kicked off her shoes and sprinted for the safety of that main Vegas strip.

The pavement bit into the bottom of her feet, and she heard the bounty hunter huffing behind her. Ah, now there was the huffing breath. If only he’d given away that sound earlier!

Jasmine jumped from the shadows and ran for the brightly lit street. Horns honked. Cars whizzed past. She only had a few seconds lead on the guy. She raised her hand. “Taxi—”

He grabbed her hand and whirled her around in his arms. Jasmine was pretty sure that she felt the sharp tip of a knife shove into her side.

“You’re not getting away this time.”

Her head turned, and her eyes met his. Even in the darkness, she could see the evil twist of his lips.

“No one’s gonna save you now, sweetheart.”

That was the story of her life. Good thing she’d learned to save herself.

The knife pricked her side. Jasmine gasped.

“This time, you’ll pay.”

***

Jasmine.

Drake saw her, on the side of the street. A taxi was pulling away from the curb, as if she’d just tried to hail it.

She was in a man’s arms. It was too dark for Drake to see the man’s face, but a nearby street lamp spilled light right onto Jasmine’s dark red hair. He saw the back of her head, but he knew it was her. Same dark clothes. Same tempting thief.

He jerked his steering wheel to the side, parking as quickly as he could.

Jasmine and the man were rushing away. The guy glanced back, and Drake caught a glimpse of his face then.

The jerk from my club.

Had he been working with Jasmine all along? Were the two running a scam together?

Only…Jasmine was fighting with the guy. Struggling against him.

“Stop!” Drake shouted as he hurried after them.

Jasmine’s head whipped back. The man didn’t stop, though. He started rushing forward even harder, nearly dragging Jasmine with him.

Jasmine drove her fist into the guy’s face.

He still didn’t let her go.

They were heading for the alley, and Drake raced into that darkness too. He wasn’t just—

“Man, you need to back off.”

Drake stilled. He couldn’t see the guy, but he had caught the flash of light. A knife. The SOB had a knife pressed to Jasmine’s side.

Fury pumped through Drake. “Let the woman go.”

“I told you before…” The man inched forward a bit, and the blade of the knife glinted even more. What had been the jerk’s name? Hardin. Wayne Hardin. “I’m not letting her just get away again. She’s a wanted woman.”

“And you have a knife to her side. Drop it.” Or Drake would drop that bastard.

But Hardin just shook his head. “It’s her eyes, isn’t it? You aren’t the first dumbass to get pulled in by them. She looks all innocent, then you blink, and that innocence is gone. If you gave her the chance, she’d rob you blind, just like she did to the others.”