Page 5
CHAPTER FIVE
L indsay knew Xav wanted to yell at her. She pretended to be interested in the dark streets rolling by outside the window while she braced herself for his anger.
Diego had relented to her acceptance of AC’s task, saying Lindsay was her own person, and if she wanted a paying job from AC, that was her business. But—Diego insisted—she would use DX Security as her backup, essentially becoming an adjunct employee, or Diego would turn her over to Eric.
Diego played dirty. He knew Eric would lock Lindsay in her basement if she didn’t do what Diego asked, recruiting Lindsay’s parents to stand guard over her. Her mom and dad would agree with Eric and Diego and do it.
Lindsay had expected Xav to become all overbearing human male and suggest they lock her in her basement regardless, but he’d just stood there like a stone. Not a happy stone, but he hadn’t argued with Diego or overridden his decision.
When they’d departed, Xav had guided Lindsay out to the parking lot and the black SUV that he drove for work. Her protest that her own car was sitting right there didn’t deter him. He was taking her home, promising Diego would have her car delivered later.
Lindsay decided not to fight him on that. She trusted DX’s guys with her car far more than Graham and his Lupines, and besides, she welcomed the chance to be alone with Xav, no matter how awkward the situation.
Now they were moving north through the city toward Shiftertown in absolute silence.
Even this far from the Strip and downtown, Las Vegas’s nightlife bustled. Clubs were open, and Lindsay wished Xav would pull into one so she could work off her excess energy.
Xav was clearly not in the mood for dancing. He was furious, but he kept it in, as only he could. Diego got very active when he was mad, but Xav could become a wall.
Lindsay waited for Xav to say something—anything—but he remained stubbornly quiet until they pulled into Shiftertown and stopped in front of the small house Lindsay shared with her folks.
Across the strip of yard behind it lay Eric’s house, home to Cassidy and Diego, Eric and Iona, and their collective brood of cubs. Lindsay loved visiting them, basking in the love and laughter that filled the rooms. Plus, Xav usually hung out there on his days off.
Her own house was quieter, though no less loving. Theirs was a small family but a close one.
“Why, Linds?” Xav finally spoke as Lindsay lingered, not wanting to open the door and leave him. “AC is bad news, and you can’t trust him. Why don’t you believe me?”
“I do believe you.” Lindsay turned in the seat to face him, happy they were finally talking. “Who says I’m going to trust him? But is AC being a baddie a reason to let his brother suffer? I wouldn’t if it was my brother. I don’t have a brother, but I can imagine what it must feel like.”
“So, compassion is driving you?” Xav’s gaze was merciless, piercing her bravado. “Or do you simply enjoy running headlong into danger?”
Lindsay shrugged. “Not much else to do around here, is there?”
Xav wasn’t wrong, and she hated that. Lindsay excused her restlessness as wanting her independence, but she knew what she truly longed for. But the mate bond took its time, and it might have someone else in store for her altogether.
The uncertainty of it all drove her wild. Xav glaring at her accusatorially didn’t help.
“This is between me and AC,” Lindsay declared. “DX Security will be my backup, like Diego said. It’s not really your decision, Xav. Good night.”
She made herself turn away and thrust open the door. She hopped out, remembering at the last second to grab her backpack. She thought about how nervously she’d packed it tonight, worried for Xav and his dangerous mission and planning to celebrate with him afterward.
Lindsay slammed the door and turned to find Xav standing almost against her. How he’d moved so quietly, she didn’t know. Her Shifter senses must have failed her in her agitation.
“Take this seriously, Linds,” he said.
Lindsay had trouble concentrating on anything but Xav. His eyes were midnight dark, moonlight glowing in his sable hair. She loved his face, square and hard, the kindness in him almost hidden behind his toughness.
Xav must have expected her to answer, because he frowned when she didn’t.
Lindsay tried to think of a lofty response, but before she could form words, Xav jerked her against him. She gaped up at him, startled by the fierce light in his eyes, the one that revealed the hard man beneath his lighthearted exterior.
Her heart hammered as he gazed down at her, unreadable as always. Lindsay, with her superior scent-sense usually knew what others were thinking, but never Xav.
Just when she thought he’d release her and turn away, Xav swiftly leaned to her and took her parted lips in a hard kiss.
Xav didn’t kiss Lindsay often, but when he did it, he did it well.
His mouth commanded, compelling her to open to him, to kiss him as powerfully in return. The world melted as Lindsay’s frustration dissolved on a wave of need.
She tasted the coffee he’d drunk at DX to stay awake, as well as his anger, and his lingering apprehension. Xav might have died tonight if things had gone differently, and he knew it.
Lindsay clutched at his jacket, wanting him closer. His body came against hers, the need tearing through both of them making itself known as a hard ridge against her abdomen.
The SUV behind Lindsay held her upright, its cold surface a stark contrast to Xav’s warm strength. He pressed her against its door, hands on her shoulders, fingers biting.
She couldn’t stop the yearning sound that escaped her throat. The SUV was waiting, and it had wide back seats …
Abruptly, Xav broke the kiss. Lindsay gasped as he pulled away, she the agile cat struggling to retain her balance.
Xav gazed down at her with his starlit eyes, his breath coming fast. She couldn’t read what he was thinking, couldn’t scent it through the pounding in her head.
He stared at her for an interminable moment, then he turned on his heel, walked around the SUV, and climbed in without a word.
Lindsay stepped back, bereft, as Xav pulled away from the curb without acknowledging her. The SUV glided down the street, taillights flashing as he slowed for the corner.
Xav took the turn and was lost to sight, leaving Lindsay with her heart aching and her mouth tingling from that spectacular kiss.
* * *
Xav couldn’t avoid Shiftertown if he wanted to. The very next day, after he’d tossed and turned all night, he was obligated to go back.
While he’d lain awake, his restless mind had spun pictures of Lindsay gazing at him with her sultry green eyes while he growled at her for being brave enough to rescue him—twice.
When he hadn’t been buried in thoughts of her, he’d had unnerving flashbacks to the hours he’d spent as a captive, not knowing if he’d ever see Lindsay or his family again. He’d been certain Diego would come for him, but there’d always been a good chance Diego wouldn’t make it before his captors grew impatient and shot him.
Diego and Lindsay had made it, he kept reminding himself. Xav had come out of the adventure with only a few scrapes and bruises.
Xav’s conflicted emotions had propelled him from the SUV last night when Lindsay had climbed out in front of her house, because he hadn’t wanted her to walk away. Instead of playing it cool and letting her go, he’d kissed her.
That kiss had been dangerous. Lindsay had softened to him, making Xav believe she’d surrender. They could spend a night enjoying each other, her returning kiss had promised, and behave sensibly again in the morning.
But no, Lindsay would always, always do exactly as she pleased. It didn’t matter that she put herself into terrifying danger and made Xav sick with worry. She was a Shifter, and while Xav admired Shifters, they truly believed themselves invincible and were surprised when humans expressed concern for them.
That kiss had to be their last. Xav was done fighting with her.
After hours of sleeplessness, Xav had finally crashed, his body taking over and forcing him into recovery mode. Being knocked out, tied up in the back of a truck, and then threatened in a remote, aging bank vault took its toll.
The next morning was Sunday, and also the birthday of Callum, Eric and Iona’s cub. Xav had been ostensibly invited by his three-year-old Trek-loving niece, Amanda, to attend Callum’s party. Uncle Xav could never say no to Amanda, and so early afternoon saw him driving back to Shiftertown, this time in his silver Mustang, no work vehicle today.
Xav walked into Eric’s house to find it packed. Cubs ran everywhere, in both human and animal forms, moving too rapidly to distinguish who was who. Xav heard Diego and Cassidy in the kitchen, as usual, because Diego was pretty much the cook for the entire family. Iona, a lovely woman with dark hair and ice-blue eyes, lithely ran after the cubs.
Eric Warden lounged on the sofa like the king cat he was, surveying his domain. Xav had come to know that the laid-back Eric was in fact very astute, knew who was doing what at all times, and could leap into action in a heartbeat.
The bears from next door were there, filling out the small room and spilling into the backyard. It was a mild day, in the high sixties, perfect for cooking out. Shane, Brody’s brother, beamed his large grin on everyone. He was smug, now that he’d mated with Freya, a wolf-Shifter, and they were expecting a cub.
With them was Keira, a Lupine who’d until recently been feral. She still regarded everyone warily, though she relaxed when she was around the cubs.
Stuart Reid greeted Xav as he entered. Reid worked for DX Security, but he wasn’t Shifter. He was dokk alfar , he’d quickly correct anyone who called him a Fae, but other humans didn’t realize he wasn’t human. Reid had the handy skill of being able to teleport himself, and if things had gone worse last night, Diego might have deployed him.
Xav was just as glad he’d ridden out of the desert the conventional way. Teleporting with Reid was a stomach-churning experience.
The only person Xav didn’t see in the crowded house was Lindsay. He thought he heard her voice mingling with Cassidy’s, but by the time he made his way through the hordes in the living room and into the kitchen, she was gone.
Diego, in a long blue-and-green striped apron, threw a handful of chopped chiles into a pan sizzling on the stove. A Dutch oven on a back burner emitted the unmistakable savory odor of carnitas. Diego had learned his carnitas recipe from their mom, Juanita, and the result would be melt-in-the-mouth pork that was perfect rolled into a fresh tortilla, no need of any other seasoning or sauce.
Xav’s love for carnitas was eclipsed by his frustration over Lindsay. He craned to peer out the back door, which he swore he’d heard slam as he’d slid through the crowd.
“She’s gone,” Cassidy informed him.
Tall, blond Cassidy turned her leopard stare on Xav, not without some sympathy.
Once upon a time, Diego’s love for this woman had gotten Xav abducted by murderous feral bears and his arm smashed, but hey, anything for his bro’s happiness, right?
“Who’s gone?” Xav asked, trying to sound innocent. “That smells great, hermano .” He gave Diego a friendly pat on the back. “Can’t wait.”
“Lindsay.” Cassidy had a glass of water in her hand, another hint that she was pregnant. “She had to go home.”
“Did she?” Xav gave up the pretense he hadn’t been looking for her. “She went out the back, because I came in the front?”
“Yes.” Shifters were known for telling the painful truth.
“Shit,” Xav said softly.
Cassidy tilted her head to indicate she wanted to speak to Xav in private before she sauntered to the back door and outside. She didn’t mean to sashay, though Diego turned his head to watch her every stride. Felines always moved with lithe grace.
Xav walked out the door with much less finesse and slammed it behind him.
The open yard was filled with more cubs and Shifter adults. All of Eric’s Shifters would come to celebrate their leader’s son.
The birthday boy, Callum, who was two, ran around in the black leopard form he’d recently begun to shift into. Eric and Iona were both leopards, but they’d wondered if Callum would have his father’s snow-leopard markings or the dark fur of his panther mother. The conundrum was over, which contributed to Eric’s pleased-with-himself expression.
Several bear cubs chased Callum, followed by two boys who were twin wolves, all yelling at the top of their lungs.
Cassidy watched the cubs in fondness but the gaze she turned to Xav was steely. “What did you do?” she demanded once they’d found a relatively empty patch of ground in which to converse.
“To Lindsay?” Xav regarded his sister-in-law in exasperation. “I told her to stop racing into danger before she got herself killed. Excuse me for caring.”
Cassidy’s look turned pitying. “You told a Shifter woman to stay home while the menfolk go out and fight the battles?”
“Not exactly.” Xav shrugged. “All right, maybe. But she scared the shit out of me last night. She followed us to a bust, and then she accepted a deal with a seriously bad—I mean bad— man. She didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with that.” He let out breath. “I guess I don’t know anything about Shifters.”
“No, you don’t know anything about women .” Cassidy gave him a smile. “You try your best.”
“Thanks a lot, Cass. What do I do to make it right?”
“Do you still want her to back off this thing with AC Parkes? I know what it’s about. Diego told me.” Diego told Cassidy everything, so her declaration wasn’t a surprise.
“AC can’t be trusted,” Xav said with conviction. “I feel bad for his brother, yes, but DX Security can extract him if necessary. We’re experts at it. I don’t want Lindsay to get caught up in bad shit and hurt.”
“I don’t want her hurt either.” Cassidy studied Xav in her unnerving cat way. “Shifter women don’t stay out of the battle, Xav. They’re very protective of their mates and their families. Male Shifters need all the teeth and claws on their side they can get, and they know it.”
“I’m not her mate,” Xav said. Why did that statement make him feel empty? He’d never pictured himself settling down, which was why things worked with Lindsay. She was as adamantly free-spirited as he was.
“You’re family,” Cassidy said. “Maybe not literally, but Lindsay and I are best friends, which makes her a part of my family, and me a part of hers. I’m mated to Diego, and you’re Diego’s brother. We’re all connected.”
“Are you saying I’m dating my cousin?” Xav joked. “Don’t go there, Cass.”
“Very funny. You know what I mean. We’re all close, and you two have a relationship, if a weird and undefined one. Lindsay’s going to protect you, and you can’t stop her. Preventing her means not letting her follow her instincts, which is a sure way to break things off for good.”
“Hiring herself to AC for his possibly deadly mission has nothing to do with her protecting me,” Xav pointed out.
“Maybe it does. You basically told Lindsay not to protect you, so she’s trying to prove herself to you. Shifters aren’t human, hermano . We’ll never follow your rules, so don’t try to impose them.”
Cassidy absently touched the Collar around her throat, which, like Lindsay’s was fake.
“Not my rules,” Xav said quickly. “I hate what Shifter Bureau has done to you.”
Cassidy lowered her hand. “I meant that a Shifter woman isn’t going to act the way a human man wants her to.” She shrugged. “We can’t.”
They were momentarily interrupted by three cubs—a bear, a snow leopard, and a wolf—who circled the two of them at an insane pace and then raced away again.
“I think I figured that out a long time ago.” Xav’s mood softened. Cubs had that effect on him. “The protective thing is why you stayed with me when that crazy bear and his followers grabbed me. You could have gotten away from them easily. Diego wasn’t even your mate yet, and you had no obligation to me.”
“He was my mate in my heart.” Cassidy smiled, the love she had for Xav’s annoying older brother shining in her eyes. “That means you were already my brother, and he couldn’t be there to look out for you.” Her gaze sharpened. “I thought you were unconscious for most of that.”
“Not as much as I was going to let those bears think.” Xav had learned that the tactic often worked, which was why he’d employed it last night. “I wished I’d been unconscious when Reid took me out of there.” He shuddered.
Cassidy had rescued a female bear that day who was now mated to Reid. Piegi, the bear in question, sprinted by in pursuit of a cub just as Xav spoke.
“I’ll tell Stuart you said thanks,” Piegi called as she raced past.
Xav rolled his eyes. “I can’t open my mouth around here. Are you going to tell Lindsay I feel bad for yelling at her, or are you going to make me do it myself?”
Cassidy smiled. “What do you think?”
Xav suppressed a sigh and squared his shoulders. “Wish me luck.”
Cassidy could have said something snide about him not needing it if he did things right, but she only continued her warm smile.
Xav doubted she ever lost an argument to Diego.
Cubs swarmed around Xav as he started across the yard toward Lindsay’s house, using him as a marker for turning around and racing the other way. Xav waved as the cubs screamed their greetings and farewells. Sometimes it was fun being an honorary uncle to Shifters.
Xav usually went straight to the back door when he jogged from Eric’s house to see Lindsay, but today for some reason, he decided the front door would be best.
The houses on Lindsay’s street were low and long, built in an era before air conditioning became the norm. Low ceilings, thick walls, and small windows kept rooms cool against the blasting sun. Where summer temps could reach a hundred and ten and more, retreating under deep porches and into dim interiors made sense.
Ruminating on mid-twentieth century architecture let Xav procrastinate about knocking at the door. Unfortunately, Shifters had great hearing, so before he raised his hand, the door opened, and Lindsay’s mother gazed out at him.
Leah Cummings greatly resembled Lindsay, with the same golden hair and green eyes, though with a stateliness Lindsay hadn’t aged into yet. Leah’s eyes danced as much as her daughter’s, and she possessed the same intense stare, as though she knew everything about a person at first glance.
Lindsay’s mom and her dad, Martin, were both lynx Shifters. They’d mated in a time before Shifter species intermixed much, when different sorts of Felines still avoided each other. Technically, all Felines were Fae-cats, originally bred by the Fae in their distant world, but over the centuries, the Feline clans had each tended toward some type of wildcat.
“Hello, Xav,” Leah greeted him, sounding neither forbidding nor welcoming. “I’m sorry, honey, but she says she doesn’t want to speak to you. Ever again, I’m afraid.”