Diego went upstairs to his desk and greeted his brother, whose bloodshot eyes looked worse than Diego’s. Xavier gave him a tired wave but a cocky grin. Xavier loved a good party.
Diego turned to his reports for a three-month-long case he’d concluded a couple of days before he’d met Cassidy. Now, the final bust, which had been such a victory, seemed to have happened in another lifetime. He’d met Cassidy and… everything changed.
Diego walked around that thought as he finished the report and e-mailed it to the captain. Then he got Xavier, who wasn’t getting much paperwork done here, and took his brother with him to Shiftertown.
* * *
Cassidy lifted her aching head from the kitchen table when she heard the throb of the Thunderbird outside. “Oh, Goddess, it’s Diego.”
Shifters weren’t supposed to have hangovers. Their metabolisms were strong enough to negate the dehydration of too much alcohol. Cassidy didn’t remember drinking that much beer, but then, if she’d been able to remember all the beers, she probably wouldn’t have this hangover.
What she did remember was the kiss, finding herself in Diego’s arms, his mouth slanted over hers in the dark living room. His big hand on her thigh, the strength of him as he held her. He’d tasted of warmth and power, and she’d loved it. She’d flung her arms around him and kissed him with wild abandon.
How embarrassing.
Jace opened the front door and greeted Diego and Xavier. Eric was… Who the hell knew where Eric was? Cassidy struggled to her feet as Jace led the brothers into the kitchen and offered them coffee.
Did Diego look ashamed of the kiss, of the way he’d scooped her up to him with his arm under her buttocks? No. He flashed her a grin, his eyes dark and sparkling with teasing wickedness. He looked fresh and rested and not the least bit worried.
Cassidy felt her face heat. What was the matter with her? Shifter women weren’t prudes. They enjoyed their love affairs and made no secret of the fact that they were after the best mate they could get. Cassidy hadn’t pulled up her shirt to flash Donovan on accident.
She found herself wanting to look away from Diego, so she made sure she met his gaze. “Hey, Diego. I’m still in Shiftertown. I feel too crappy to run away anywhere today.”
Diego’s gaze roved her up and down. “Yeah, you look a little ragged.”
Xavier took the steaming cup of fresh-brewed coffee from Jace. It smelled wonderful in the kitchen—the rich coffee scent overriding everything. Jace’s brew was legendary. Cassidy reached for the cup Jace handed her and cradled it like a lover.
“Never tell a woman she doesn’t look her absolute best,” Xavier said. “Bad, bad idea.” He took a sip of coffee and shot Cassidy a white-toothed grin. “You look great, hermana.”
Diego shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “This is good.” He gave Jace an admiring look. “Do you always make the coffee?”
Jace gestured to the old-fashioned coffeepot with the percolator on top. “Just call me coffee king.”
Diego looked around. “Where’s Eric? I’m going back out to that rock cave to look around, and he might want to come too.”
Cassidy opened her mouth to say she’d join them, then she remembered that she was grounded. Damn humans and their stupid laws. Shifters had never worried about going everywhere they pleased before the Collar. She sat down, head pounding, and filled her mouth with beautiful coffee.
She sensed warmth next to her. Diego had sat down with her and now smiled into her face. “You all right, mi ja?”
Cassidy loved it when he called her that, the beautiful syllables rolling in his dark voice. She heard Xavier and Jace in the background, the two men walking out the back door, but she barely registered them.
“Headache,” Cassidy said.
“I thought Shifters didn’t get drunk.”
Cassidy blushed again. “Hey, last night was rough for me.”
Diego’s arm rested across the back of her chair. His body heat touched her through her thin T-shirt, making her want to squirm. She inhaled his scent… and stopped.
What met her nose was Diego’s usual musk and spice, but something touched it a tiny bit, a hint of acrid smoke and mint she’d smelled last night at the place where the hunter had hidden. Cassidy turned her head and sniffed his suit jacket. No, she hadn’t mistaken it, though it was very faint.
Maybe something lingering from last night? Could be. Diego had showered—she smelled the soap, and he was wearing a different jacket today. Plus, she hadn’t noticed the same kind of smell on Eric.
“What are you doing?”
Diego’s low voice arrested her. Cassidy looked up at him so close, noting his face was clean-shaven again this morning. She liked his dark skin, his hair as black as midnight, and his eyes nearly as dark.
“You smell… interesting,” she said.
“Oh, great. Do I need more aftershave?”
“No.” Cassidy inhaled the scent of his coat again while Diego sat very still. Eric had told her, when she’d limped out this morning, feeling like shit, what the smell up in the mountains had been.
Fae.
Cassidy had never met or seen a Fae in her long life. Fae hadn’t lived in the human world for centuries, leaving finally for Faerie after the Fae-Shifter war. Shifters had elected to remain in the human world and live the best they could, while the Fae had gone. The Fae had already begun leaving when humans started using more and more iron. Fae hated iron.
Cassidy’s head was too fuzzy to puzzle it all out this morning. Eric hadn’t given her a long explanation. Cassidy had just sort of mumbled, “Fae, right,” before sitting down and begging for coffee.
But now she wondered. The shooter had been using a rifle—which was made of steel. Plus he’d vanished in a bright light, just as he had up in the construction site. Did Fae do that? And why did Diego smell like one now?
“Cass.”
Cassidy looked up at Diego, who was watching her with dark eyes. “Hmm?”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you last night,” he was saying. “Or let you kiss me. I was way out of line. But I haven’t been doing anything right since I met you.”
Cassidy could only look at him. She should think of something witty to say. She’d always been able to be witty with Donovan. Their mutual wisecracks had filled every room. Now, with Diego, Cassidy sat tongue-tied. She couldn’t think of anything more witty to say than, “Oh?”
“But I don’t regret it,” Diego said. He drew his thumb along the back of Cassidy’s neck. “I don’t regret it at all.”
Cassidy shook her head. “Me either.”
Diego grinned down at her. Damn, he had a nice smile. “Good. But if I try anything like that again, you stop me, all right?”
Oh, sure, stop him. Cassidy had been the one pretty much climbing up him last night. “OK,” she said. Could she carry on a brilliant conversation, or what?
“I’m supposed to be watching over you,” Diego said. “I’m the arresting officer, and you’re under probation. I don’t have any business kissing you. Or wanting to kiss you.”
Cassidy casually leaned back until her head rested on his shoulder. “What about after my probation is over?”
His smile widened, his dark eyes warming. “We’ll see what happens after that.”
Cassidy’s heart started pounding off the scale. The promise in his smile sent hot things through her body, awakening a frenzy she thought had died the day Donovan had.
Oh, no.
Oh, yes. It was happening, the tingling in her fingers, the buzzing in her head, the hot need that flushed her body. She felt warm, open, needy. And it wasn’t just the hangover. Crap.
Cassidy rubbed her head on Diego’s arm again, and again, he sat unmoving. She didn’t like the Fae-like scent, but if she nuzzled hers on him, she could cover it.
“Mi ja,” Diego said softly.
Her mating frenzy wanted to answer. It wanted Cassidy to turn around and straddle him in the chair, strip off his tie and open his
shirt. She wanted to unbuckle his pants, open them, reach inside to find him hard for her.
She’d shed her own shirt and jeans, let him lick her bare skin, touch her all over. Some Shifters liked to have sex only in their animal forms, but Cassidy loved the feel of human skin against human skin, where she could make love face-to-face. Kissing was the best thing, mouths melding as male and female joined.
Diego’s breath came faster. Cassidy looked up into his eyes, her heart thumping as she saw the naked need in them.
He wanted her. Whatever he was fantasizing right now, it was driving him as crazy as Cassidy’s fantasies were driving her.
But Diego was holding himself back. He was a strong man, would be an alpha if he were Shifter. Diego had rules he had to follow, and by Goddess, he was following them.
Cassidy was about to throw the rules to the wind and let her frenzy out when Eric walked in the back door. Her brother took in Cassidy and Diego sitting so close, and his nostrils widened.
Eric must have smelled the faint Fae scent, because he stopped, sniffed, and riveted his gaze to Cassidy. She shook her head the slightest bit.
Diego was definitely human, not Fae, not even half Fae. Though Cassidy had never seen a Fae, she knew what signs to look for; every Shifter did. Full-blood Fae had pointed ears, white blond hair, and cold, cold eyes. Half human, half Fae could look human, but their eyes were just as cold.
Eric didn’t pursue it. “Your brother says you want to have a look at that outcropping where the shooter was,” he said to Diego. “Good idea. You can drive.”
Cassidy itched and burned. She wanted to go with them; she wanted to find out why this hunter was stalking her, and whether he had anything to do with Donovan’s death. Despite her awakening frenzy, she wasn’t letting go of her quest to bring down the hunters who’d killed Donovan. He’d been her mate and hadn’t deserved to die.
She knew that if she told Diego she wanted to hunt and kill the men who’d shot Donovan, he’d do his best to stop her. Shifters were Collared, tamed. Supposed to be anyway. Diego would say it was his job to stop her.
Cassidy had things to do, anyway. She folded her arms as Diego stood up, his warmth going away. She had this hangover to get rid of, for one, and people she had to take care of. Being Eric’s second meant she helped Shifters with their troubles, keeping Eric from being overwhelmed with all but the direst problems. People came to Cassidy first.
“Just tell me everything,” she said.
Eric came up behind her chair, leaned down, and folded his arms around her. He nuzzled her cheek, his warmth comforting her as it had since she’d been a tiny cub. Eric rubbed her arms, kissed the top of her head, and straightened up.
Diego was looking at them, as though he longed to give Cassidy a good-bye hug too. Cassidy stood up, arms slightly open at her sides, a signal that she was open to an embrace. Whether Diego understood the body language or not, he gave her a regretful look, turned away, and followed Eric out the door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
They took Xavier’s truck back up the mountain, because he had four-wheel drive and Diego didn’t want to abuse the T-Bird any more than he had to. He remembered the way—he was good at memorizing terrain—but let Eric point it out anyway.
The three of them went over the area for several hours but returned to Shiftertown without much to report.
Cassidy was in the backyard when they returned. Diego took one look at her bending over in her form-hugging jeans, her cropped top hanging a bit loose at her stomach, and started sweating. The woman was gorgeous. Her light hair swung over her shoulders as she played with the small wildcat at her feet.
Cassidy wasn’t skinny—Diego had noted that most Shifter women were larger than human females—but she was well proportioned to her height. That meant the long, strong legs he’d seen nice and bare, full breasts, and curved hips. Luscious.
When she heard them come out, Cassidy scooped up the cub and greeted them. The cub looked like a white tiger, and it had the sweetest blue eyes Diego had ever seen.
“This is Torey,” Cassidy said, holding up the cub, its oversized paws batting the air. “He just lost his dad.”
“Poor thing,” Xavier said. He put a hand out to pet it, then jumped back when Torey growled and swatted at him. “OK, looking at the cute kitty from over here.”
Cassidy grinned. The squirming cub had pulled Cassidy’s shirt up a little, baring her navel with the little gold stud. Diego would have to ask her what happened to the stud when she shifted.
Jace walked out behind them and started handing out bottles of beer. He seemed to be the beverage dispenser of the family. “Torey doesn’t trust full-grown males yet, for good reason.”
“Why’s that?” Diego asked. He politely took the beer but didn’t open it.
Eric answered while Cassidy stroked the tiger’s head and cooed at him. “Because he’s an orphan, no father, mother, or pride leader to look after him now. The other males in the clan instinctively want to kill him.”
“Shit,” Diego said. “Why?” And just this morning he’d sneered at Lieutenant Reid for claiming Shifters were too violent.
Eric shrugged. “It’s instinct. A male wants his own genetics passed on. When a male dies, other males move in to try to take the female, kill her cubs, and start their own prides or packs. That way they don’t have to worry about those cubs—especially the male ones—growing up and pushing them out.”
Xavier listened, openmouthed. He closed it again. “I was going to say that was barbaric, but you know, after our dad got killed, other men tried to put the moves on our mother. And they didn’t much like me and Diego. She didn’t have any money or anything, but she was good-looking. And alone.”
Cassidy’s compassion showed in her eyes as she looked at Diego. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d lost your father.”
“Shot by a robber in his own store,” Diego said flatly.
“And then Mamita lost the store,” Xavier said, never shy about giving anyone who asked his life history. “Too many bills, taxes, and besides, the store wasn’t doing good at all. She had to go scrub toilets to put food on the table. Bless her. Now we take care of her.”
Jace listened, sipping his beer. “So did any of those men who put the moves on her succeed?”
Xavier laughed. “With Mamita? No way.”
Diego thought about his mother and the fierce way she’d protected him and Xavier—at the time they hadn’t always appreciated it. But she’d kept them safe and together, and for that he’d love her forever.
“So what did you find out there?” Cassidy asked. She put Torey down. The cub scampered off but didn’t go far, as though an invisible tether tied him to Cassidy.
“Nothing,” Eric said in disgust.
“Shell casings,” Diego said. “From a rifle that shoots thirty-aught-six rounds, pretty common for a hunting weapon. I’ll run licenses and see who owns one, but there are tons of unlicensed weapons out there.”
“Then we don’t know anything more?” Cassidy looked from Diego to Eric, seeming to ask Eric a silent question. Eric shook his head, and Cassidy turned away to walk after Torey.
Eric, Jace, and Xavier watched the cub awhile, then drifted back into the house. Diego handed his unopened beer to Xavier but stayed put, lingering to be alone with Cassidy.
He followed her around some tall mesquite trees to the middle of the common. “So are you babysitting that tiger or does he live here?”
Cassidy sat down on a plain stone bench that stood near one of the trees. The trees had just started to leaf out, a brush of misty green contrasting their dark trunks. Torey took the opportunity to run in wider circles but never far enough for Cassidy to be out of sight.
“Babysitting,” she said, watching Torey. “He has a foster mother, but sometimes she needs a break. She has four cubs of her own.”
“I can see that. What happened to Torey’s mother?”
Cassidy looked sad. “She died bringing Torey in. Tha
t was three years ago. Torey’s dad kind of went to pieces after that. He and his mate had the mate bond, and some Shifters don’t recover from that. Torey’s dad… He killed himself.”
“Damn,” Diego said. “Poor kid.” He watched Torey scampering in circles, chasing a butterfly. “I never heard about a Shifter committing suicide.” Something like that would make the newspapers, or at least the files in Shifter Division.
“Eric kept it quiet, told the humans he died of natural causes,” Cassidy said. “Our Guardian sent his body to dust right away, so there was no chance for human doctors to check.”
“If it’s a secret, why tell me?”
Cassidy looked up at him, her green eyes full of sorrow but also conviction. “Because you know how to keep things to yourself. Because you know when to bend rules. I’ve seen you do it for me. And you didn’t do it for personal gain. None that I can tell anyway.” She watched Torey again. “We don’t need Torey getting taken away. This is the best place for him, where he knows everyone, not arbitrarily transported to another Shiftertown.”
Diego nodded. “I get that.” Their secret was safe with him.
“So, Torey’s alone,” Cassidy said. “His foster mother is unmated right now, so it was safest to put Torey with her.” She smiled a little. “But he’s a handful.”
“Are you serious that Shifter males would try to kill him?”
Cassidy shook her head, her blond hair brushing her shoulders. Diego liked how close he had to sit to her on the bench, her warmth spilling onto him. “They won’t. Not with Eric as Shiftertown leader—that means he has authority over all prides and clans here, regardless of species. Everyone obeys Eric, and besides, males only killed cubs like that long ago in the wild. But even though we’re civilized now, the instinct is still there. If a male Shifter is drunk, or angry, or whatever, and loses control, he might hurt him, even without meaning to. So Torey needs to be in a safe household for a while, until he grows up enough to defend himself.”