Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

across it, leaving long, thin tears from razor-sharp claws.
    FIFTEEN YEARS
    “IT’S good to see you, Jake,” Jake Fenton said and held out his hand.
    The smile was genuine. His great-grandfather really was happy to see him. Lies had a distinctive scent Jake had come to recognize. Jake Fenton lied when he smiled at Cathy or Ryan, but he always sought out young Jake and sat down to converse with him. Jake genuinely liked him and in a way it was frightening. The old man was the only person who was kind to him, or who ever seemed to care. And Jake scented death on him. He didn’t want to care about Fenton, he didn’t trust caring. He didn’t trust anyone, but he couldn’t help himself. He liked the old man. He enjoyed their brief times together even though it always meant a severe beating after he left.
    Fenton frowned and turned Jake’s hand over, examining his arms before Jake could pull away. “What the hell happened to you? How did you get all these scars, just since the last time I visited? And don’t say you’re clumsy, Jake. You aren’t clumsy.” The old man’s eyes were shrewd.
    Jake glanced around to make certain they were alone. He shouldn’t have worried. He would have been able to catch the scent of his enemies had they been close. Cathy despised the old man and Ryan never went near him. There was secret pleasure in knowing his great-grandfather only came to visit him.
    Fenton lived in Texas and didn’t really care for Chicago, but every now and then he’d take a trip to see Jake.
    It was Fenton who insisted on the best tutors and it was Fenton who would talk openly about stocks and bonds with him. He insisted Jake learn languages from an early age and usually spoke to Jake in a variety of foreign languages, explaining to him that to do commerce in other countries, one had to know customs and languages. He spoke of his land and how he knew there was oil on it, but they’d been unable to find it. Cathy and Ryan made fun of him, calling the acreage “Fenton’s Folly,” but Jake loved hearing the excitement in the old man’s voice when he spoke of finding the huge resource someday. Fenton wasn’t as interested in the money as he was the actual thrill of finding new reserves.
    And that told Jake that Cathy and Ryan were wrong about the old man—he hadn’t thrown his money away; he had so much he didn’t need more.
    “Jake, the scars? Is it that worthless son of a bitch Ryan? Or my granddaughter? She has a streak of cruelty in her. I never believed that nanny of yours beat you. I can’t imagine Cathy not knowing everything that goes on in her household.”
    “Forget about it, Grandfather,” Jake said quietly, his gaze meeting Fenton’s. “I’m handling it.”
    The old man shook his head and dropped down into a chair, looking around the library, his gaze wandering from book to book. Jake already had learned the value of silence and just waited while Fenton obviously made a decision. When he looked up at Jake, he showed every one of his eighty-seven years.
    “Have you heard anyone speaking of the leopard people?”
    Jake’s heart jumped, and he didn’t answer right away, afraid of a trap. He could smell lies and it occurred to him that his great-grandfather might be able to as well. “Tell me.”
    “You must never reveal any of what I’m about to tell you. Not to anyone. Especially not to your parents or the Trents.”
    Jake drew in a deep breath, his heart pounding hard. This was it. This was his moment to learn, to become more powerful. “I promise.”
    Fenton leaned forward and lowered his voice. “The leopard people aren’t a myth any more than the oil on my property is. I know the oil is there even though I can’t find it, just as I know there are shifters in our bloodline even though I can’t shift. I met a true shifter once. They’re a separate species, not fully human yet not fully animal either. They are both.”
    Jake moistened his lips. Did the old man know about him? Suspect? Was he looking to trick Jake? He pressed his lips together to keep silent, but his heart raced as his great-grandfather glanced at him sharply.
    “There are a few shifters left in the Borneo rain forest, men and women who live with honor, who keep to the old ways. Find them, Jake. Learn from them. They are true to their nature, not the corrupt, twisted beings our bloodlines produce.” He sighed heavily. “It’s my grandfather’s fault. He kidnapped a woman from the forest and forced