Page 81 of Covert Affections (Shadow Agents/PSI-Ops #5)

“Never. Going. To. Happen,” spat Lindy, her darkness flaring within her.

“You boyfriend can’t help you this time,” Efren said, sneering, his yellowed teeth showing.

“He’s probably dead. Bet he died begging like the little bitch he was.

I made him beg once. I broke him. Did he tell you that?

Tell you how Peters and I tortured him for weeks?

How we left him a broken shell of himself, all because he helped you and the other fucking brats escape. ”

Lindy saw red. She clenched her fists and swayed as her darkness continued to burn in her. It was raw. Full of rage.

Efren grabbed for her and she lifted her hands. When she touched him, much like what had happened in the kitchen at her house with Jesse, Efren went airborne. Only the door he slammed into was up and present—right until he went through it, leaving an Efren sized hole in his wake.

He slid into the fall wall in the hallway and came up fast, growling, spittle flying as he glared at her. “Remember, you picked the hard way!”

There was a massive growl that echoed through the area. A moment later, a huge blur of tan fur came charging through the swinging door that led to the main bar area. The mass connected with Irwin.

Lindy’s mind needed a second to catch up, because one second Irwin was there, not far from her, and the next, a body, minus a head, was there.

She blinked and watched in what felt like slow motion as Fluffy landed on the steel top of the center island.

He had Irwin’s head in his mouth. It was disgusting, yet she couldn’t tear her gaze from the sight.

She stared at the head, in shock, waiting for it to blink or something.

Fluffy dropped the head and went low, snarling at Efren.

“Fluffy!” shouted Lindy, still in shock as Irwin’s body fell to the floor, squirting blood everywhere.

It looked like something out of a horror movie, and yet, it didn’t scare her. It made her hope Fluffy could repeat the act with Efren’s head.

He kept his attention on Efren.

Waverly groaned and moved slightly.

Lindy hurried to her side and knelt. “Waverly?”

Waverly blinked up at her. “Lindy?”

“Are you hurt?” asked Lindy.

Waverly pushed up slightly, looking through the opening in the island at the body on the floor on the other side. Her eyes widened. “Is that body missing its head?”

Lindy nodded.

Waverly looked harder. “Is that Irwin?”

“Yes, it was him,” Lindy said flatly, partially from shock and partially because she didn’t care that he was dead.

“You should be dead already,” Efren said, his focus on Fluffy. “You keep turning up, again and again. Why is that?”

Fluffy snarled.

Waverly’s gaze snapped upward to the center island. “Ohmygod, that’s the biggest mountain lion I’ve ever seen!”

Lindy grabbed her friend by the arm and tugged, pulling her to her feet fully and backward, giving Fluffy plenty of room to maneuver. “Waverly, get to the parking lot, to your car. Go!”

Waverly shrugged free of her. “Oh, there is no chance in hell I’m leaving you here with all this happening.”

“Are you crazy? There is a dead body on the floor, and that man,” Lindy pointed at Efren, “is not human! Get out of here!”

Waverly took a deep, calming breath, her gaze going from Fluffy to Efren. A smile spread over her face. “Hey, One-Eye, you should probably cut your losses and run now.”

“Never!” spat Efren.

“Okay, but you should know, I really feel the need to scream and when I scream, death follows,” Waverly said, still grinning. “And it’s not coming for us or the cat.”

Confused, Lindy stared at her friend. “Waverly?”

“Lindy, are you back here? I have your keys!” shouted Nicholas from the bar area.

A second later, he came strolling through the door to the kitchen that fed directly into the main bar area.

He had her keys in his hand. His gaze went to the dead body on the floor first and then to Fluffy, who was on the center island, growling at Efren. Nicholas dropped the keys. “Jesse?”

Waverly’s mouth opened wide, and she glanced from the newcomer to Fluffy, then to Lindy. “No way. No freaking way! The massive cat is your boyfriend?”

Lindy jerked around to find that Fluffy was looking at her, not at Efren. As she stared into Fluffy’s green eyes, she realized why they’d reminded her of Jesse’s so much. She also got a pretty good idea of what Jesse had still been wanting to tell her.

He was Fluffy—a cat shifter.

She nodded, tearing up. “Yes. My boyfriend is the massive cat.”

Relief showed on Fluffy’s face.

Nick sniffed the air, gasping as he did. His focus shot to Lindy. “He claimed you?”

Efren snarled and then shifted forms into something that was a mix of beast and man. He lunged at Fluffy.

Lindy screamed and pointed. “Jesse, look out!”

“Oh hell no!” shouted Nicholas as he tore off his shirt and was suddenly changing forms too. He looked like a mix of animal and man as well.

Lindy jerked back.

Was everyone a shifter?

The men went at Efren like they’d worked together doing that very thing a thousand times before.

They corralled him and almost seemed to toy with him.

Efren never stood a chance. Fluffy (aka Jesse) sank his teeth into Efren’s throat, tearing it out a second before Nicholas seized hold of the man, hoisted him up into the air, and rushed him out of the kitchen and through the open back door.

Lindy hurried out behind him, slipping in the blood the body was leaving behind it.

Nicholas threw Efren’s body into the parking lot. It landed with a loud smacking noise.

Lindy came to a stop, staring down at the monster who had haunted her nightmares for years. Her mind raced with all the times recently that she’d thought for sure she’d smelled him and all the times she’d felt like she was being watched. The knowledge she’d been right consumed her.

Her fear ebbed away, making room for another emotion.

Anger.

“You fucktwat!” she shouted, pointing down at him. “You have been stalking me! Only Jesse is allowed to do that!”

Nicholas’s brows shot up. “Wasn’t expecting that to fly out of your mouth. But yes, he’s a fucktwat. Hold up, Jesse has been stalking you? What the fuck, Culbertson?”

Lindy tried to go at Efren only to have Fluffy leap in her path. He tried to corral her, pushing her back from the man on the ground. She took a deep breath and lifted her hands before speaking low and slow. “Jesse, move, or so help me God, I’ll skin you and make throw pillows out of your fur.”

He didn’t budge.

She tried again.

He had the nerve to push her back more.

Waverly stepped out of the bar. “There is so much blood in there. I call ‘not it’ on cleaning it up.”

Nicholas glanced over at her and did a double take as his body returned to that of a man. A really sexy man with a chiseled chest. “Hi.”

“So, you’re the infamous baker guy,” said Waverly, clearly noticing how attractive the man was.

“Um, yes?” Nicolas replied.

“Did you bring any baked goods?” asked Waverly, appearing hopeful.

“There is a headless body in the kitchen, and you want to know about baked goods?” he shot back.

Waverly nodded. “Especially if any of them are brownies.”

Lindy tried to use the momentary distraction to rush at Efren, who was stirring on the ground, his hand on his throat, trying, but failing to stop the blood from flowing freely.

Fluffy’s tail wrapped around her, keeping her in place.

She grunted.

He growled.

The air around Lindy began to feel heavy—like it had the night of the storms, when she’d healed Fluffy. Her hair started to lift, static crackling around her.

Nicholas grabbed Fluffy by the tail and yanked him away from Lindy a second before a massive burst of blue energy, which resembled a lightning bolt, struck Efren’s body, leaving nothing but a charred lump in its wake.

Nicholas let go of Fluffy right before Fluffy stopped being furry and was suddenly a very naked and very pissed-off looking Jesse.

He rounded on Nicholas, his dangly bits out for everyone to see. He shoved Nicholas. “What the fuck?”

“Nice to see you too, Culbertson, and you’re welcome.

Pretty sure I just kept you from being well-done,” said Nicholas with a grin.

“Your wife’s power was charging up the area.

Figured you didn’t want to end up extra crispy.

Oh, and I missed you too, asshole. Wait, are you still mind-fucked? You’re an asshole either way, but?—”

Jesse stared at Nicholas like he might attack him. A wash of emotions covered his face as he grabbed Nicholas, hugging him tight.

They embraced fully, doing a very manly, yet very intense hold.

Waverly moved up alongside Lindy. “Can I just say, your boyfriend has a fantastic body.”

A nervous laugh escaped Lindy as she glanced down at her arms. There was blood splatter on her. She tried wiping it with the bottom of her shirt, but all it did was smear it.

“The baker is hot too,” said Waverly.

Nicholas glanced over at her and grinned.

Waverly tipped her head. “Did you mention Jesse’s wife? He’s married?”

Lindy gasped, her gaze landing on Jesse. “You’re married?”

Waverly stared at the men.

Jesse cupped his groin.

Nicholas simply smiled at them.

Lindy’s chest tightened. “Is Waverly right? Are you married, Jesse?”

He offered a sheepish smile. “It’s not what you think, gorgeous.”

“Before I choke the life out of you, I want to know about Charley.” She pointed at Efren, who had finally stopped moving. She was fairly sure he was dead. “He said the rescue was being attacked. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” he said softly. “Totally safe.”

“Great. Now, are you married?” she demanded.

“He is,” said a familiar voice from inside the bar.

Gasping, Lindy spun around. “Teresa?”

Teresa stood there holding an oversized purse that was bright pink with plastic flowers on it. Her skin was tanned to the point it was leathery, and her lipstick matched her bag. She looked past Lindy, directly at Jesse and Nicholas. “Boys, we need to talk.”

Confusion covered Nicholas’s face. “About?”