Read Online A Very Jaguar Christmas by Terry Spear - Free Book Online

family. They’ve been really good to me. I don’t want to go back this time. Not ever.”
    Demetria was glad to hear that Brayden was content with the arrangement. “All right, Brayden. Believe me, we have laws to back us up here. You’re staying right where you are. I just wanted to let you know your dad isn’t happy.”
    â€œStepdad.”
    â€œRight. Stepdad. But at least he’s well aware you’re with a family now. He will most likely call the director and try to convince him to release you into his custody again, but it’s not going to happen this time. Your stepdad would have to prove he’s going to make some real changes in his life. The Guardian branch would require him to be monitored for a year first. If he even agreed to it, by the time the year passed, you’d be eighteen and could decide for yourself what you wanted to do.”
    â€œWhat if he learns where I’m staying and tries to make me come home?”
    â€œThe foster family’s name and location are confidential. No one will give out that information. The only way he’d learn of it is if you tell him or he discovers where you’ve been hanging out and catches you there.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œI need to talk to Mr. or Mrs. Stone for a moment. Because of your interest in returning to the jungle, I want to see if they had any trips scheduled or if I could find another family who does and would be willing to take you with them.”
    â€œThe Stones are! I can’t wait. I mean, it’s okay, isn’t it? They said I had to check with you in case I had work to do with you or Everett. They’re going during the New Year’s holiday.”
    â€œOh yes, Brayden. I’m thrilled for you. We’ll make sure you’re off for your entire vacation. We’ll talk later. I just wanted to make sure you’d be able to go there. Also, Tammy wants to show you some of the training they’re doing for new JAG agents. She’ll tell you the times you’ll need to be there.”
    â€œThanks. Do you still want to talk to my foster parents?”
    â€œYes, please.” Demetria spoke with Mrs. Stone again about Brayden’s past jungle experience, wanting to make sure that his upcoming trip to South America would be as pleasant as could be.
    â€œBelieve me,” Mrs. Stone said, “he will have a ball, and all of us stick together at all times.”
    Relieved that the issue was taken care of, Demetria finished speaking with her, and they said their good-byes.
    â€œSounds like a good deal for the boy,” Howard said.
    â€œI’m thrilled he’s going to be able to visit South America again. Hopefully, he will have a much better experience. I’ve got to call my boss and update him on the case.”
    Everett nodded. He was reading his emails or texts or something.
    Demetria’s boss picked up immediately. “I’ve already gotten a call from Lucian Covington,” Ben Knight said. “I’d spoken with Brayden, and I’m completely satisfied he’s happy with his foster family. Lucian said we had no business taking his son into custody, and like last time, he wants him returned home at once. I read him the code about unsupervised shifter teens. No way are they allowed to run freely with human teens, who are also at risk, without any kind of adult supervision. Brayden is just asking for serious trouble. Even if he didn’t do anything wrong, if the other kids he’s running with did, they could all end up in jail together.
    â€œAnyway, Lucian didn’t like my response. I believe he thought he could intimidate me into giving up the boy because he felt he had done it successfully before. But I’ve got our shifter law behind us. There’s no going back. He knows the rules: take care of your kids, or we will.”
    Demetria sighed. “Do you think we’ll have any more trouble with Lucian?”
    â€œI