Page 2
CHAPTER TWO
I was thinking I just saved your life, Lindsay growled.
She couldn’t answer in a way Xav would understand while she was still a lynx, so she gave him an angry cat stare before she stomped off to the backpack she’d left hidden under the first row of bleacher seats.
Fortunately, Xav gave her some privacy to go through the annoying contortions it took to morph back into her human form. Some Shifters could flow easily into their animal and back again, but Lindsay’s shift required time and energy.
Once she rose on human legs, which were sore from hanging onto the rafters, she pulled clothes out of her backpack. On went undies, jeans, and a thin T-shirt, leaving off the heavier shirt and jacket she’d worn earlier. It was cold outside, but Lindsay was always hot after shifting.
Xav didn’t look any less angry by the time Lindsay returned to him. The fact that he’d waited for her gave her hope—he could have stormed off and left her on her own.
They’d settle this and then go out, she decided. Xav would cool down, and they’d have a night of fun.
Xav apparently wasn’t interested in fun. “Those guys meant business, Linds. They’d have shot you dead without a second thought if they’d known you were here. Where were you, anyway?”
Lindsay pointed upward. Xav tilted his head back to gaze at the truss that held up the roof. The beams were barely visible to Lindsay in the dim light, which meant Xav’s human vision wouldn’t see them at all. But he knew what they looked like—every spring Xav brought an at-risk boy’s group out here to coach them in basketball.
“Seriously?” Xav switched his glare back to Lindsay. “I know you think you’re an indestructible Shifter, but you could have died from that jump.”
Lindsay realized her choices had been less than good tonight, but it wasn’t in her nature to hang her head and take a scolding.
She planted one hand on her hip. “Yeah, but did you see me stick that landing? It was awesome.”
And a great relief. She’d proved she could jump thirty feet, hit her target, and survive. Cats really did land on their feet. Or on someone else’s head.
Xav’s expression didn’t soften. “I know you wanted to help. You were worried, and I appreciate that. But I had Diego and our guys a step away, not to mention all those cops, and we were following a plan. We had it covered.”
Lindsay lost her feigned nonchalance. “Humans can’t move as fast as Shifters,” she said heatedly. “That man was going to shoot you, Xav, right between your shoulder blades. You’d have died. I wasn’t going to let that happen.” She matched his scowl with a fearsome one of her own. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m wearing a vest, Linds.” Xav pulled up an inch of his shirt to show her padded black fabric. DX Security’s bulletproof vests were less bulky than what most cops wore, thanks to Xav’s connections to people who made state-of-the-art defensive tech. “I knew he’d try to shoot me at some point. Figures he’d wait until my back was turned.”
“You’d still have been on the ground, and maybe out of it for a few days. And what if Diego hadn’t come in fast enough? The guy could have shot you in the head—or is that a Kevlar hoodie?” She pointed at the jersey fleece that hung down his back.
“A lot of things could have happened.” Xavier’s growl told her he’d reached the end of his patience. “If you’d missed him, if he’d shot you instead …”
Xav caught Lindsay by the wrists. She hoped he’d pull her into an embrace, lower her head to his shoulder, and confess how much he’d hate it if she were hurt.
Xav let out a breath without doing any of those things. “I don’t want to explain to your parents—or to Cassidy—why I let you get yourself killed. Cassidy would drag me up to those rafters and dangle me off them, and you know it. I understand you had good intentions, but you have to let me handle these jobs the way we plan them.”
Lindsay jerked from his grip. “You needed me here, Xav. Humans are unpredictable, but I can scent what they’re going to do before they do it. I had to follow you and hide because you refused to tell me what you were up to tonight. I didn’t know what to think. Maybe you had another lady stashed away.” Lindsay pretended to ease back on her indignation and move to flirtation. “I didn’t want to be jealous.”
Something warm flashed in Xav’s eyes, and for a moment, Lindsay thought he’d relent. He’d tug her to him, tell her he couldn’t stay mad at her, and they’d go dancing. Xav liked to dance, and he was good at it.
Xav’s hardness returned. “If our detainee complains that a Shifter attacked him, the case against him can be thrown out. A Shifter assault is considered more egregious in the eyes of the law than a gun deal gone bad. Also, he might mention that your Collar didn’t go off. How are you going to explain that?”
Lindsay listened in disquiet. She knew Xav was right—the stupid laws and rules about Shifters put her status beneath that of a lowlife peddling weapons to even worse people.
Her Collar hadn’t gone off, because it was a fake. When Shifters had first been exposed to the rest of the world, Shifter Bureau had fitted them with Collars that were part tech, part Fae magic that fired excruciating shocks whenever a Shifter grew violent.
A while back, Eric and another Shiftertown leader had figured out how to remove the Collars and create fakes. Lindsay and her family had already had theirs replaced, so Lindsay could rescue Xav tonight without pain to herself. However, If any human figured out that the Collars no longer worked, all Shifters could be endangered.
Xav was correct that Lindsay hadn’t thought about whether her impulsive actions would curtail Xav or cause more problems than they solved. She’d only wanted to keep him safe from people who wouldn’t hesitate to leave his dead body here for the cleaners to find.
She’d pictured him being grateful, maybe celebrating with her when they went back to Shiftertown. He might invite her to his new place, where they could celebrate in private.
That clearly was not going to happen tonight. Lindsay had only succeeded in making Xav mad at her for everything that could have happened. And yeah, if the guy claimed a Shifter assaulted him, the whole operation would be for nothing.
Lindsay stepped back, so Xav wouldn’t see she was about to do something stupid and cry. She had to maintain the seductive bearing she always took with Xav, teasing him and tempting him, so she’d maintain some sort of influence in their relationship.
Their non -relationship, she corrected herself. There’d been no commitments, no exclusivity. Only the two of them getting together when they felt like it, neither of them admitting to wanting more than that.
Lindsay wanted a lot more. But tonight, she’d blown it.
“Convince the police that the Shifter attack had nothing to do with DX Security,” she said in a steady voice. “Which would be easier if you hadn’t called me by name. But you can do it. Everyone listens to you.” Lindsay considered all the other things she could add to her argument—rebuking him for not being more careful, pointing out that he could have explained to her about the mission first place.
She decided it was time for an exit.
“See ya, Xav.”
Lindsay turned her back on him, standing straighter and more confidently than she felt at the moment. She scooped up her bag and walked away, letting her hips swing.
Xav said absolutely nothing as Lindsay made her way to the nearest door. She resisted looking back as she went, not wanting to spoil her departure.
When she reached the outer hall that ran all the way around the arena, she couldn’t stop herself peeking back in through the open doorway.
Xav was gone. He’d probably tramped away the minute she’d sashayed off and hadn’t witnessed her attempt to make him regret her leaving.
Damn it.
Lindsay pushed through an outer door to the parking lot and let it slam behind her. This side of the arena was deserted—Diego and the cops were around the other side with their catch for the night.
She quickly made for her tiny blue car, parked in the darkness beyond any lights. She’d left a minute dress and her party shoes in the back seat, in anticipation of this evening ending differently.
Once inside her car, Lindsay started it up and got the hell out of there. She ignored the vans hunkering beyond the arena, and the seriously sexy human man who was talking quietly with his brother.
Though she longed to peel out and roar away in a cloud of dust, Lindsay knew that would be a stupid move. She drove quietly away from the arena, heading into Las Vegas and making for her favorite dance club, the ache in her heart becoming an acutely painful throb.
* * *
Humans. What did she need them for?
Okay, so they made great dance partners, like the five men who surrounded her on the club’s dance floor. While most Shifters went to a place called Coolers on the north side of town, Lindsay didn’t want to face her friends tonight. They’d ask her coyly where Xav was, and less coyly— what is going on with you two?
Lindsay didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t know what to talk about, anyway. Xav obviously wasn’t in a rush to settle down or even be semi-serious about a relationship.
She knew what she wanted, but lately Lindsay had started to wonder why she was wasting her time. She was already past her hundredth year, well beyond her Transition from cub to adulthood, the age she’d become old enough to take a mate.
There were plenty of male Shifters in Shiftertown, because the ratio of females to males was low. That meant Lindsay could be choosy, but it was looking less and less likely that her main choice—a sexy human—was in her future.
Besides, she didn’t simply want a mate, someone to bear cubs with. Lindsay wanted what all Shifters did—to find the mate bond, that powerful, magical tie that tethered Shifters to their beloved. Every flutter in her chest when she was around Xav made hope leap high that she was forming it with him.
Then Xav would get mad at her, like tonight, or else they’d have a blast together and say goodnight, nothing moving past lighthearted fun, and Lindsay’s hopes would die once more. Whether Xav could even form the mate bond with Lindsay—or any Shifter for that matter—was a question she hesitated to explore. The answer might devastate her.
Her five current dance partners never sensed her inner turmoil. They only saw a lady in a blue glittery dress ready to have fun.
Lindsay tried to let herself enjoy watching the guys show off, busting out their moves, trying to get close. They were hoping for payoff, which she should tell them wasn’t going to happen.
She could have her pick of them, but she held off, because she only wanted Xav.
Lindsay hid a sigh. She was going to have to rethink her whole life.
That one had prospects, Lindsay decided, studying her coterie. He was dark haired and blue eyed, filled out his shirt nicely, and didn’t wear a wedding ring or have a tan line where he’d taken one off. He looked like he’d be fun and not bother her afterward.
So, why wasn’t Lindsay sashaying over, cutting him out of the herd, taking him someplace nice and relieving her ever-growing mating need?
Lindsay forced her feet to move in his direction. The guy caught on, beaming her a wide smile. Not as nice as Xav’s million-kilowatt smile, but whose could be?
Her restlessness wanted this, but her heart was still torn, as was the wildcat that lay within her.
When had she decided it was Xav or nothing?
Lindsay had just convinced herself to let it go, run off with this guy for what fun she could have, and move on, when her phone buzzed.
On any other night, she might ignore it, but Cassidy, who was the second-ranking Shifter in all Shiftertown, sometimes asked Lindsay to help out in whatever crisis was going down. Plus, Cassidy was carrying another cub, and though she had a while to go yet, she relied on Lindsay more and more these days.
It said a lot about Lindsay’s state of mind that she welcomed solving the problems of contentious Shifters to a night of impulsive shagging.
She lifted her forefinger at the guy, telling him to give her a second, and slid her tiny phone from the small pocket in her dress.
It was a text from Xav, and contained only one word.
Help.