Page 10
CHAPTER TEN
A fter a moment of staring, all Lindsay could do was step back and allow Emma inside.
Emma headed into the kitchen as though she knew the exact layout of Xav’s home. “That him in the shower?” she asked. “Ooh, coffee. Mind if I have some?”
Lindsay expected her to simply grab one of the two cups, but Emma politely waited for Lindsay to rummage around and produce another mug. The machine kept gurgling, emitting warm-smelling coffee, and Lindsay set the mug on the counter next to the others to wait.
“Kind of early for a visit.” Lindsay’s cat hackles were rising, her possessiveness too high. She needed to cool it.
The Shifter cat inside her wasn’t listening. My mate. Mine. Rowwwl.
“I’m always up early,” Emma said breezily. “I don’t sleep much. Love a good run in the morning.”
Her movements were as restless as Lindsay’s. Lindsay’s guard, which she’d let down to enjoy her time with Xav, rose high now that Emma, a woman Xav greatly admired, had zipped in, eager to see him.
“I know what you mean,” Lindsay made herself say calmly.
I’m a cat, bitch. I can strike lightning fast, so watch out.
Emma gave Lindsay an assessing onceover. Lindsay had grabbed one of Xav’s T-shirts, which hung past her hips, and wore nothing but her underwear she’d retrieved beneath it. She’d put on socks, because the floors were cold. She must look ridiculous.
Emma’s smile became admiring. “Good for you, sweetie. He’s been mooning over you too long. I bet you both needed that.”
Lindsay felt herself blushing. She never blushed about sex. She was a Shifter, and Shifters had mating needs. Nothing to be embarrassed about.
She managed to shrug. “It was late. We were horny.”
Emma burst out laughing. Even that sound was lovely.
“No judgement from me, honey. Xav is awesome, and he needs someone.” She seemed to sense Lindsay’s uneasiness, because she held up both hands. “Oh, not me . Unh-uh. I really like Xav, but we’d clash and crash. It would be a train wreck, without any fun to make it worthwhile.”
The coffee maker beeped, signaling it was done. Lindsay distracted herself by pouring two cups and handing one to Emma.
“Why do you say that?” Lindsay asked, her curiosity pushing through her rancor. “About clashing and crashing? Xav and I clash too, but I don’t mind.”
“In a different way.” Emma leaned comfortably against the counter and sipped her coffee. “You two were made to clash.”
Lindsay didn’t know what to make of that, so she took a gulp of coffee and didn’t answer. Too confusing.
“I’m going to make an observation,” Emma said, her gaze shrewd. “I’ve known Xav a while. Worked with him and Diego on a number of jobs. Xav is sharp, can think on his feet. Never screws up a mission. But I only see him truly relax when he’s with you, or when he’s talking about you. Whatever magic you’re working on him, it’s a good thing.”
Lindsay would love to think so. She wasn’t relaxed at all when Xav’s name came up. She either wanted to race around and yowl or be teasing and sarcastic.
“He also tries to tell me what to do,” Lindsay couldn’t stop herself saying. “I’m a cat, and cats don’t like that. We love our independence.”
Emma beamed her another big smile. “Well, you don’t have to listen. Guys always think they have to shelter women, because back in caveman days, they kind of did. There must be a node in their brains that keeps telling them that. I’ve learned to nod and smile, and then do whatever the hell I want.”
Lindsay found herself grinning in return. Maybe this woman she’d been so jealous of was more a kindred spirit.
“Shifter males truly have that node in their brains,” Lindsay said. “They all believe I should mate with them, for my own protection, of course. They think it’s weird that I like a human.”
“They’re feeling their biological clock ticking,” Emma said. “They want cubs before they’re old and decrepit. Don’t look so surprised—I know a lot about Shifters. I once worked for Shifter Bureau.”
The glimmer of camaraderie instantly died. Growls filled Lindsay’s throat, and she felt her claws come. “Shifter Bureau?”
“Don’t look at me like that. Back before I joined DX, I needed to do community service, and I got assigned to them. They’re horrible. I always thought they wanted to do good—help Shifters integrate into society and make sure they get access to food and housing, and all that. But it’s just another organization wanting to keep people who are different under their collective thumb. They offered me a permanent position when I was done, but I bailed. I learned a lot about Shifters in their databases, though, and later when I met people from your Shiftertown. Like Brody.” She relaxed. “He’s pretty cool.”
At any other time, this interest in Brody might have piqued Lindsay’s curiosity, but her suspicions were ramped high. “Xav and Diego must know you were with Shifter Bureau. And never bothered to tell me.”
Emma’s brows rose. “I’m surprised they mention me at all. I’m just another asset gathering data or helping on an extraction.”
“No, they sing your praises. They say you’re crazy smart and capable of handling very dangerous people.”
“Really?” Emma continued to sound perplexed. “Hey, if I’m that amazing, I want a raise. Wait, is that why you looked at me like you wanted to scratch my eyes out when you opened the door?”
“Yes.” Lindsay never saw any benefit in lying.
“Hm, well, I’m glad to hear Xav and Diego like me, but not that they’re setting me up for grudges from people I have to work with. Or want to be friends with.” She saluted Lindsay with her cup.
Lindsay started to soften again, though she’d told herself she’d remain cautious about a person who’d been trusted enough by Shifter Bureau to be offered a job. She lifted her cup in return. “Screw ’em. We’ll be friends anyway.”
Emma laughed. “I’ll drink to that.”
In this auspicious moment, Xav wandered into the kitchen. He was fully dressed—he must have heard that he had company—and was rubbing a towel over his very wet hair as he entered.
“Emma.” He gave her a nod, went straight to Lindsay, cupped her hip, and kissed her on the mouth.
Lindsay gaped at him when he turned away, her lips tingling. Xav dumped the towel on a chair and headed for the coffee pot. Emma winked at Lindsay as he took up the remaining mug and filled it.
“I did some research on the names you and Diego gave me,” Emma said as Xav turned, cup in hand. “I didn’t want to talk about it over the phone, and I figured you’d be up by now for your run. I didn’t realize you were busy.” She smiled into her mug.
“No problem,” Xav said. “What did you find out? You can talk in front of Lindsay. She’s part of the team.”
Lindsay warmed to his words, though she’d chosen this mission, so technically Xav was part of her team. But she wasn’t going to fuss.
“AC Parkes, you know about,” Emma began. “Busted by you and Diego for importing weapons to sell to gangs here and in L.A. He plea-bargained down, but still served about fifteen years.” She peered at Xav. “You and Diego must have been babies when you arrested him.”
“One of our first busts as detectives,” Xav said without gloating. “Helped us move up the ranks.”
“I’m sure. AC served out his time, kept his nose clean, took advantage of classes and work programs and emerged reformed, so his paperwork says. Ready to integrate back into society. Dean Parkes, his little brother—different story.”
Xav settled in next to Lindsay, close enough that their arms touched. It was intimate, acknowledging that they belonged together.
Lindsay, so focused on the way the tendrils around her heart came to life, almost missed Emma’s ongoing report.
“AC practically raised Dean, because their parents were in and out of rehab,” Emma continued. “AC is nine years older than Dean. AC had a strict no-drug policy, because he saw what drugs did to their mom and dad. Dean pretty much stayed out of trouble until his brother went off to prison. He was fine at first while he finished up high school, but once Dean was out on his own, he started doing small jobs for gangs, then bigger jobs, and finally became tight with the leaders. He’s been arrested a couple of times, but Dean seems smart. Evidence doesn’t stick to him.”
“Tallies with what AC told us about Dean falling in with some truly bad guys,” Xav said. “So what happened? Did he piss off one of the higher-ups? Did they mean to kill him or not? Lindsay says Dean’s most likely alive.”
“He was when he got into the helicopter,” Lindsay amended.
“Yeah, that’s weird,” Emma said. “What were they doing flying around in the middle of nowhere in a helicopter? Way to draw attention. If they took Dean to that area to kill him, why didn’t they?”
“Maybe he talked his way out of it.” Lindsay suggested. “That’s what I’d do.”
Xav chuckled. “Yeah, you’d be good at it. Better than I was with AC. He only kept me alive because he needed something.”
Lindsay suppressed a shiver of disquiet. “The fact that we found you meant you did a pretty good job.”
She recalled how she’d known that Xav had been taken the direction she’d decided to go, even without an obvious scent trail. She’d thought it had been Shifter instinct that led her across the desert to the old bank vault, but she wondered now if it had been the mate bond pulling at her.
The idea raised both hope and concern—Xav wouldn’t necessarily form the bond with her in return. There was never any guarantee it would go both ways.
“How you can joke about being grabbed by a guy like Parkes is beyond me,” Emma said. “I’d have shit myself.”
“No, you’d have taken him out with your bare hands and walked away,” Xav said with continued good humor. “You wouldn’t have let him get the drop on you at all. Even if you’d been seriously distracted, like I was at the time.”
Emma shrugged. “Maybe.”
Xav had been distracted by arguing with Lindsay for interfering with the mission to arrest the arms dealer. Xav might have been able to avoid AC’s goons if she hadn’t pissed him off, a thought that did not help her current agitation.
“Back to Dean,” Xav said. “I’m guessing that he disagreed with his gang leaders for some reason. They decided to take him out to that campground, maybe planning to kill him, then changed their minds and left with him in a helicopter. A couple of the men with them probably drove away, which is why Lindsay and Neal smelled a vehicle of some kind at the campground. Helicopters only hold so many. We’ll be working on where the helicopter went, flight paths, and so forth.”
“That’s up to you and your computer wizardry.” Emma set down her empty cup. “I’m better with people.”
“Which is why we send you out to ask questions,” Xav said. “I have different help with the computers. In fact—here come some more early risers.”
Xav gestured toward the kitchen window, which gave a view of a slice of front driveway. Two men had climbed out of a pickup that had pulled up to the house, one with a long, muffled object on his back. The other man was larger and wore a scowl.
“Wow, how’d you pry Brody out of bed at this hour?” Lindsay asked in surprise. “Looks like you’d better make more coffee.”
“On it.” Xav had another packet of coffee out of the nearest cupboard and more water in the coffee maker before Neal and Brody reached the back door. “Emma, can you let them in?”
Emma, who appeared suddenly uncertain, stepped to the door she’d so recently banged on and opened it as Neal raised his hand to knock.
Neal and Brody had both met Emma on previous DX Security missions, but they stopped and stared at her as though they’d never seen her before.
“We have the right house?” Brody growled behind Neal.
“This is the address he gave us,” Neal said, his tone wary.
“Then what’s she doing here?” Brody demanded.
Lindsay hurried to intervene, as Xav was working on the coffee and Emma had frozen, her hand on the doorknob.
“Way to say good morning,” Lindsay told Neal and Brody. “Seriously rude, guys. Yes, Xav lives here. Yes, Emma is visiting. They work together, remember? I’m here for a different reason.”
Brody’s grumpy gaze softened the slightest bit. “Finally. If you two had kept apart any longer, I’d have lost a bet.”
“Mind your own business, bear,” Lindsay growled. “You can let them in now, Emma.”
“Oh. Right.” Emma jumped and swung the door wide, then quickly turned away before Neal and Brody stepped inside.
Neal unslung the wrapped broadsword from his back and stood it against the wall as Brody closed the door and lumbered into the kitchen in Emma’s wake. Neal clicked the lock on the door, something he’d never do in Shiftertown, and sent Lindsay a silent glance.
His eyes abruptly narrowed—Guardians were more perceptive than other Shifters.
“Does he know?” Neal asked in a near whisper.
Lindsay’s alarm sprang high, as did her elation. If Neal could sense the mate bond, maybe it was real. “No, and you aren’t going to tell him.”
Neal, a man of few words, stared hard at Lindsay and then went on into the kitchen.
“Coffee in a minute, Brody,” Xav was saying. “You should have called ahead—I’d have had it fresh and hot.”
“It was fresh and hot, but we drank it,” Emma informed Brody. “You’re too late.”
Brody glared at her. “I was dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn on a Monday by a wolf with a sword. Now I’m being scolded by a human woman before I’ve had caffeine.”
“Not scolding,” Emma said with bravado. “Just stating the truth.”
Brody stared back at her for a few moments, his dark eyes shielding his thoughts. “Whatever,” he huffed and lumbered to the refrigerator, opening it to examine its contents.
“How’s AC?” Xav asked Neal, ignoring the exchange.
“Surprisingly docile,” Neal answered as he leaned comfortably against the counter. “Settled in at the cabin with no problem, went to bed, no sign of him trying to escape. Nell and Cormac relieved us so Brody could get his beauty sleep.”
Brody backed out of the refrigerator with a pitcher of orange juice, scowling.
Xav chuckled. “Nell will keep AC in line.” Brody’s mom could be one mean grizzly. “Did you have time to track the info I wanted?” Xav continued to Neal. “Or did you need your beauty sleep too?”
“I have it.” Neal regarded Xav impassively. “I’ll need to get into the Guardian Network to show you, but that’s no problem. I have my own hotspot.”
“I have a VPN, if you’re worried about anyone pinpointing your location,” Xav answered.
Emma rolled her eyes. “And when they start with the nerd speak, I know it’s time to leave.”
“And me.” Lindsay set her empty mug and Emma’s in the sink. “Can I bum a ride from you, Emma? You can let me off anywhere near Shiftertown.”
Xav, who’d pulled a laptop out of the desk built into the end of his kitchen counter, set down the computer and moved swiftly to Lindsay. “You’re going?”
Lindsay’s heart fluttered as Xav laid a warm hand on her shoulder. “Watching you boys gaze at numbers on a screen isn’t my idea of fun.”
“Mine either,” Brody broke in. “But Eric assigned me bodyguard duty. No choice.”
Xav kept his focus on Lindsay. “I understand.” He sounded deeply regretful, which spiked Lindsay’s yearning higher. “When we’re done here, mind if I come over?”
Lindsay was aware of the other three watching them intently, not even pretending they weren’t eavesdropping.
“You’d better,” Lindsay said softly. She smoothed her hand down Xav’s chest. “How else am I going to know where to look for AC’s brother?”
Xav touched his forehead to hers. “See you later, then.”
“Guess so.”
Xav cupped Lindsay’s face with one hand and pulled her close for a kiss. Lindsay had meant to keep it short, because of their watchers, but one touch, and she was lost.
Xav tasted of coffee and afterglow, plus the tingling fire that confused Lindsay as much as it exhilarated her. The kiss turned deep, a spark of passion from the previous night igniting.
When they finally eased back, Lindsay realized she’d wrapped her arms all the way around Xav and pulled him close. She continued to hold him in the embrace Shifters used for comfort, for security, for the joy of being with that person.
Lindsay exhaled over Xav’s neck, strengthening the scent mark she’d begun the night before.
Even now, Lindsay wasn’t certain if Xav had escalated their relationship to one more serious but the scent mark broadcast to every Shifter that she had.
Xav sent her a puzzled look when Lindsay pulled away. “I’ll call you when we’re done,” he promised.
“Sure,” Lindsay said.
Xav’s bewilderment grew as Lindsay quickly turned away. Neal and Brody stared at her hard, knowing exactly what she’d just done. Emma, sensing something was up, watched Neal and Brody.
“Let me get dressed and grab my stuff,” Lindsay said to Emma. “Meet you out front.”
Emma only nodded, and Lindsay left the kitchen as rapidly as she could. Brody watched her go in surprise that was turning to amusement, Neal in understanding.
* * *
“You gonna tell me what that was all about?” Emma asked as they headed out of Xav’s neighborhood.
She drove a modest minivan, nothing flashy, which Lindsay supposed made sense if Emma wanted to keep herself low-key. No one paid attention to a thirty-something woman in a beige car.
Lindsay could have feigned innocence and said What was what all about? but she knew Emma would call bullshit.
“I marked Xav as mine.”
Emma’s brows rose. “You mean walking around in his T-shirt and not much else didn’t say that loud and clear?”
Lindsay didn’t laugh. “It’s a Shifter thing. I thought you knew about Shifters.”
“Apparently not everything. Subtleties can’t be found in a database.”
“Tell that to our male friends back at Xav’s house.”
Emma laughed. “I like you, Lindsay. I hope you don’t mind. I’ll take you all the way to Shiftertown, don’t worry.”
“I don’t mind.” It might be nice to have another friend. Lindsay still spent plenty of time with Cassidy, but it wasn’t the same as when they’d run around everywhere together with no cares. Cassidy had a mate and cub now, with more to come, plus she had much to do being Eric’s second.
Then again, Emma had been with Shifter Bureau. Lindsay didn’t scent lies on her when Emma had proclaimed why she’d quit them, but it was wise to be cautious.
“Don’t mind at all,” Lindsay repeated. “Call me when you have a free night, and we’ll party.”
“Sounds good to me. Diego and his boys sure like to work.”
“They do.” Lindsay sighed. “Maybe a little too much.”
“I saw the way Xav looked at you,” Emma said as she navigated through Monday morning traffic. “And the way he kissed you. Trust me, Xavier’s mind isn’t entirely on his job.”
Lindsay would like to think so. Her own thoughts, on the other hand, were all over the place. She needed a good run out in the open or through the mountain woods to sort things out.
It wasn’t long before Emma turned down the long street that led to Shiftertown. Lindsay expected Emma to drop her off at the gates, but Emma continued through, as Xav had done last night.
Lindsay directed her to the Cummings house, and Emma slowed to a halt in front of it.
“I’m taking you up on the party thing,” Emma informed Lindsay as Lindsay hopped out. “Hope you weren’t just being polite, because I’m in the mood to dance.”
Lindsay beamed her a smile. “Let’s do it.”
“I’ll call you,” Emma promised. “I have your number—Xav gave it to me for emergencies. See you, Lindsay.”
Lindsay blinked at that information, but she sensed Emma impatient to get on with her day, so she stepped back with a quick good-bye. Emma lifted a hand as she pulled away, then she rounded the corner and was gone.
Lindsay sighed as she made her way into the house, rehearsing her explanation for being out all night, if necessary. Her parents were Shifters—they’d understand.
Her mother, in fact, intercepted Lindsay before she could dart down the hall to her bedroom.
“Lindsay, honey.” Leah enfolded Lindsay in a motherly hug, holding her daughter close. Lindsay returned the embrace, sinking into the comfort her mom had given her all her life.
Leah eased away after a time but held Lindsay’s shoulders as she gazed at her, Leah’s eyes as green as Lindsay’s own.
“I think we need to talk,” Leah said. “Come on. Your dad wants to say something too.”
Lindsay’s alarm rose as her mother took her by the hand and led her deeper into the house.