Claiming Their Cat Read Free Page A

a means to the end . N ow it was the only thing that mattered. Keeping her or him alive was her only goal. She’d gladly give up her life if her child could live and was safe from Alvarez.
    She’d thought about taking the baby to a church or orphanage, but rumors had swirled thought the compound about DNA tests . Knowing Alvarez, he’d test all newborns within a hundred miles. F or those unlucky ones, he’d kill them…or have Rabid Rio do it. No, her best option was to keep running and figure something out. The farther away from Mexico she could get the better chance Alvarez wouldn’t find them . Bu t money was low; probably not enough for a bus ticket out of here thus her attempt to swap food for sweeping.
    Briefly glancing over her shoulder, the lights from the diner glowed barely visible through the horrid rain, but she wasn’t far enough away. Those thugs didn’t tell Rabid Rio she was wanted alive, and Rabid Rio didn’t do alive . Cutting to her left, she moved parallel to the highway. H itching a ride to anywhere but here was her only option.
    Relying on strangers wasn’t safe, but a chance she’d have to take.
    Stumbling in the dark was her least favorite thing in the world. She shivered as t he rain chilled her to the bone, but at least it kept the snakes away . T hey’d surely drown out here tonight.
    Through the passing lights of a big-rig, she thought she saw something move about thirty feet in front of her. Surely, Rabid Rio couldn’t find her in the dark, in the rain, in the brush. She dropped to her knees and fixed her eyes at the point in the darkness.
    Come on Lady Luck. At least keep me safe from Rabid Rio.
    Cat pulled the steak knife from her pocket and gripped it like a lifeline . The cold metal gave her a fighting chance. Someone like him would have no compassion for a pregnant woman. Hell, if he knew how far along she was, he’d probably rip the baby from her dead body to collect the money.
    A pain shot through her belly. No, God no. Not now. It’s too early.
    Sucking in a calming breath, she stood to alleviate the pain and prayed it was indigestion, prayed that she was hallucinating the movement thing i n the rain. She’d only gained twenty pounds, but her body still protested every chance it got. Her only hope was to get to the road.
    In a dead run—as much as a pregnant woman could—she headed for the highway, hop i ng not to trip. O ut of the night rose a shadowy figure . S he plowed straight into it.
    “You’re running like a scared rabbit . ” A gravelly voice chilled her blood . She struggled against strong arms that held her in something worse than a vice.
    Oh God. I’m going to die!
     
    This woman is mine!
    Rio felt as if a freight train had slammed into his gut, and it wasn’t the physical contact from this slip of a woman. No, this was much deeper. Thoughts raced through his mind as he fought to keep his inner wolf from howling to the heavens. But how could she be his mate? His mate was some whore he’d met in the back room of a Mexican brothel, not Alvarez’s whore.
    Maybe that was why Rio hadn’t been able to find her these past months. She’d snatched Alvarez’s attention, and who wouldn’t trade in an endless carousel of men at a brothel for a rich one. Maybe she was Alvarez’s mistress, which was crazy up until two years ago. Alvarez preferred young men, the younger the better and always had, but then a parade of fresh females started flowing through the compound. None of them lasted very long. Alvarez got tired of everything sooner or later, and this waif must have figured it out and escaped. But why did Alvarez want her back? Did she have something of his or did she know something?
    A kick landed on Rio’s shin pulling him from all the questions running in his mind. He inhaled deep. Peaches. She smelled like peaches, but there was also a strong scent of fear. This woman was terrified of him. “I’m not going to hurt you. Now, be still.”
    “No, let me