* * *
Diego found himself reaching for the pistol in his hip holster as Eric, Shane, and Jace became a growling wall surrounding Diego and Xav. Stuart Reid’s words flashed through his head.
You can’t tame them, you can’t trust them, and most of all, you can’t be their friend.
Cassidy came up next to Eric, hot as hell in a white body-hugging dress that bared most of her long, curving legs. The woman was a walking wet dream.
Cassidy’s eyes were changing from deep jade to a lighter green, her nostrils widening.
“Want to tell me what the hell is the matter?” Diego asked her. He felt his brother at his shoulder, saying nothing but ready if there was trouble.
Eric glanced at the humans around them, men and women with chokers around their necks, some of whom had painted whiskers on their faces or made up their eyes to look catlike.
“Let’s talk about this somewhere private,” Eric said.
“Sure,” Diego said.
Eric gestured to a door at the back of the club, as nonchalant as ever. Shane, on the other hand, looked ready to kill. Diego hadn’t seen Shane since they’d talked in the hall outside Cassidy’s bedroom. He thought he’d gotten the bear-man to trust him a little, but there was no trust on Shane’s face now.
Cassidy gave Diego a nod, as though trying to tell him everything would be all right, before she started toward the pitch-dark back of the club. Diego and Xavier made to follow her, but Shane stepped in front of Xavier.
“Not you,” he said. “Just Diego.”
Xavier faced Shane without flinching. “If my brother is going into a back room with a bunch of pissed-off Shifters, I go too.”
Eric signaled to Lindsay. “Lindsay, keep Xavier company while we talk to Diego.”
Lindsay slid to Xavier’s side. “Sure thing.”
“No offense, Lindsay, but no,” Xavier began.
“Xav.” Diego had the feeling that what he did and said here would be very, very important for a long time to come. “Give me five minutes.”
“They can kill you in thirty seconds.” Xavier’s eyes were hard, the tough kid he’d been shining through.
“I give you my word that Diego won’t be hurt,” Eric said. “We just need to talk. Lindsay will be your hostage, our pledge of good faith.”
“Hostage?” Xavier’s voice went flat. “What the hell does that mean?”
Lindsay hooked a hand around Xav’s arm. “It means that if they kill Diego, you have the right to kill me. Thanks a lot, Eric. I can think of way better things for me and Xav to do.”
“Jace will stay with you too.” Eric nodded at Jace, and Jace nodded back, unsurprised. “Also as my pledge.”
“He means it, Xav,” Diego said. He knew that Eric would never sacrifice his son. Eric had made that pretty clear the first night Diego had met him. Eric wasn’t planning a kill.
Xavier exchanged a long glance with Diego and finally made a conceding gesture.
“Five minutes,” Xav said. “Then I’m in there.”
Diego squeezed his brother’s shoulder and followed Eric to where Cassidy waited at a door beyond the bar. Shane stepped in behind Diego.
The door Cassidy opened led to a paneled, carpeted hallway. It was quiet back here when the main door closed, the hallway lined with rooms marked “Private.” Why the Shifters had access back here, Diego didn’t know.
Cassidy led the way. God, she was gorgeous. Her blond hair hung in a straight swath to the middle of her back, and her spike-heeled blue pumps made her legs look a mile long under that white dress.
Eric stepped around Cassidy to open one of the “Private” doors. Diego saw him jump in surprise, and he looked over Eric’s shoulder into the room.
Two people were having sex on a sofa. Not Shifters. Though one wore a Collar, she was clearly a groupie, and the man wore no Collar at all. Or anything else for that matter.
Eric pushed his way in. “Get out,” he rumbled.
The girl squealed and grabbed for her clothes, but the young man gave them a drunken smile. “Hey, join us. There’s room.”
Eric growled again, but the man paid no attention, sprawling on the couch in his naked glory.
Diego pulled out his badge and shoved it under the human man’s nose. “Out.”
The woman managed to hide herself as she fled through the open door. The young man eyed the badge, heaved a long sigh, picked up his pants, and shambled drunkenly after her.
Shane closed and locked the door behind him.
Diego tucked away his badge. “Five minutes,” he said.
“You stink,” Shane said. “Hell, I even started liking you.”
“I took a shower,” Diego said. “And my clothes are clean. Washed them last weekend at my mom’s. She insisted.”
Shane continued growling, claws showing. Diego knew he should be afraid—Shane could make short work of him, even with his Collar, and it remained to be seen whether Eric would stop Shane or not, pledge or no pledge.
But Diego felt no fear. Maybe because he’d gotten to know Eric and Cassidy a little, or maybe because he sensed that they, at least, were more worried and puzzled than angry.
Or maybe because they were on the ground floor. No heights, and Diego Escobar was one brave guy.
Cassidy stepped in front of Diego. “Leave him alone, Shane.”
“Cass, he’s been with Fae.”
“Fae?” Diego asked. “What’s Fae?”
“The Fair Folk,” Eric said in his mild voice.
“You mean fairies?” Diego stared at Eric in amazement. “You believe that?”
“Of course we believe it,” Shane said. “The bastards made us.”
“They’re real, Diego,” Eric said. “I’ve fought the Fae. I almost died against them. They kill Shifters, and they laugh about it. They made sure we were put in these.” He tapped his Collar. “They want us as we were—their slaves to hunt and kill for them. You’ve been in contact with one recently. I smell it on you now, and I smelled it when you came to the house yesterday.”
Diego sniffed, but he couldn’t smell anything but his own sweat and the sweet scent of Cassidy next to him. “I haven’t met any fairies. I think I’d remember that.”
Cassidy’s jade eyes were full of worry. “They can look human, Diego. That hunter up in the mountains, he smelled like Fae.”
“Cass,” Eric rumbled.
“He needs to know this, Eric. If he’s had contact with a Fae, he’s in as much danger as we are.” She turned back to Diego. “Have you talked to anyone lately you didn’t know? Or who looked suspicious?”
“How would I know? What do these fairies look like? Do they have wings?”
“No wings,” Shane growled in disgust. “They have dark eyes. It’s like looking into voids.”
“They’re blond or white haired,” Cassidy said. “Very fair skinned. Plus, they can’t touch iron. It makes them sick. They fashion their weapons from silver and bronze.”
Diego considered. “I haven’t talked to anyone off the force except during the drug bust I just finished, and all those guys carried plenty of iron. Or steel. Knives, pistols, machine guns, you name it. No one upchucking when steel handcuffs were slapped on them either. Could it be someone here in the club? Maybe someone I walked by when I came in. Or at the grocery store? I stopped for food on my way home.”
“No.” Eric shook his head. “It’s faint, but I’m guessing you spent a little time with him or her, at least. Not here. I would have noticed a Fae in the club or in the parking lot.”
Diego had gone to Captain Max’s office before he’d left work tonight. But Captain Maxwell was about five feet six, with a fringe of brown hair, though he had very dark eyes. No blond hair or pointed ears—plus he always carried a Glock.
“It could have been a half Fae,” Cassidy said. “They can look more human.”
“This is too strong for a half Fae,” Eric said. “The Fae scent wouldn’t linger on Diego so much. I’d say full.”
“Can’t think of anyone,” Diego said. His watch beeped. “Time’s up.”
Eric studied him thoughtfully, but Shane was still angry. “We can’t trust humans, Eric. I always said so. Let me get the truth out of him.”
“Leave it, Shane,” Eric said.
“I think we’re done here,” Diego said. He turned around, only to find himself facing the wall of Shane. The man could move fast for someone so big.
Shane topped Diego by several inches. His face was changing into the bear-man’s Diego had faced outside Cassidy’s bedroom, his fingers again razor-sharp claws.
Diego looked straight into Shane’s eyes. “Move.”
Shane didn’t move. Neither did Eric or Cassidy, though Diego sensed Cassidy ready to spring at Shane. Eric had laughed when Diego had refused to be intimidated by Shane, but he wasn’t laughing now. The man was waiting to see who won the battle of wills, Diego realized. They were establishing dominance.
“Understand something,” Diego said to Shane in a careful voice. “I know I can’t fight you one-on-one. I don’t have the strength. You could kill me right now, and I’m betting that your Collar wouldn’t slow you down fast enough to save me. But I will promise that if anything happens to me back here, you’ll be facing Xavier. Trust me, you don’t want to. Xav might act like a guy who lives to party, but he’s got a lot more anger in him than I do. If something happens to me, he’ll go for you, and he won’t stop for anything.”
A spark jumped on Shane’s Collar. Cassidy stood rigidly beside Diego, and Eric waited, quietly, for the outcome.
“Eric,” Cassidy said softly. “Stop this.”
Eric said nothing. Diego figured Eric would have a reason for not intervening, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Was he testing Diego? And why?
“He’s been with Fae, Cass,” Shane said. “We can’t trust him. You can’t trust him.”
Cassidy kept her gaze on her brother. “Eric, let me vouch for him.”
Eric’s quiet stance vanished. “No.”
At the same time, Shane said, “Don’t you dare let her.”
“No, it makes sense,” Cassidy said. “My fault for bringing him here tonight. My fault for bringing him to Shiftertown at all. There’s a lot of Shifters out there, and if he’s going to be safe from them, they need to know he’s protected. You’re leader, you’re needed. You can’t pay the price. But I can.”
“Price?” Diego demanded. “What price?”
“Cass, no,” Shane said, sounding anguished.
“Someone tell me what’s going on,” Diego said. “Now.”
“Cassidy, don’t do this.” Now Eric was pleading.
“If he’s going to be around Shifters, it’s the best way. You know it.”
Brother and sister exchanged a long look. For a moment, Eric’s eyes held pain, raw and stark. Then they filled with understanding, even sympathy.
“This is what you want?” he asked quietly.
Cassidy stepped to Eric and put her hand on his chest. “This is what I want.”
“It might not work out,” Eric said in a warning voice.
“Then it doesn’t.”
The two exchanged another look, rife with emotion, then Eric nodded once.
“No,” Shane growled. He brought up his claws.
Cassidy snarled. Her own fingers turned to claws, and she slashed quickly. Not at Shane—at her own hand.
Diego couldn’t stop her. By the time he grabbed her, Cassidy had slashed three deep marks into her palm and turned her hand upside down over Eric’s. Blood rained down to Eric’s open hand.
“I swear by my blood,” Cassidy said.
Shane’s Collar sparked. “Damn it, Cass, no.”
“It’s done,” Cassidy said calmly. “Let him go, Shane.”
Shane looked devastated.
“Cassidy, what the hell did you just do?” Diego demanded.
Cassidy plucked a tissue from a box on a table and wiped her hand with it. “I vouched for you. Now, no Shifter in our Shiftertown will give you problems.”
“What are you talking about?” Time was running out. Any second now, Xavier would try to burst in here, probably with LVPD’s finest at his back.
Shane stepped solidly in front of Diego again. His claws had vanished, his face human again, and his Collar had stopped sparking. He looked angry but resigned. “Listen to me, human cop. If you make Cassidy pay for your mistakes, I’ll kill you myself. I don’t care about Collars or human law. I’ll do it.”
Diego could arrest Shane and confine him for the rest of his life for even saying that. But he was tired of the whole confrontation. “Just shut up, Shane,” Diego said. “I’m not in the mood.”
Shane remained fixed. Beside him, Eric took Cassidy’s hands and kissed them. He gave her a worried and a loving look.
“I’d never let Cassidy pay for my mistakes,” Diego said to all of them. “Understand that.”
Shane’s dark eyes were still filled with fury. “Understand this, Diego. Cass took a blood oath for you. That means that if you step out of line, if you betray any Shifter in any way to anyone, Eric will have to kill her.”
CHAPTER TEN
Cassidy ran after Diego as he stormed down the back hall. As soon as they hit the club, he swung on her, his eyes glittering with rage.
“What crazy, fucked-up thing was that about?” he demanded.
“Diego.” Cassidy reached for him.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xavier start for them. Diego shook his head at him, warning him off. Xavier nodded once, took Lindsay’s hand, and led her to the dance floor.
Diego took Cassidy’s hand and turned it palm up. The slashes she’d made had already closed. Shifters healed quickly. “Trust me,” she said. “It was necessary.”
“Let me understand. If I do anything Eric considers a betrayal—to you or to him, or to any Shifter—he thinks he can kill you for it?”
“It won’t come to that,” Cassidy said. “The Shifters will know I wouldn’t make a pledge lightly. But what you had with Shane was just a taste. If I don’t protect you, you’ll have dominance fight after dominance fight with every Shifter you meet. Some harmless, some violent.”
“Damn it, Cassidy, Shifters can’t touch me, no matter what kind of dominance fights you think they’ll start. They’ll be arrested if they even try. I could haul off Shane for what he’s done, and he’d be locked up forever, if they didn’t terminate him.”
“Instinct doesn’t always listen to reason, Diego. If Eric lets me do this, then he’s essentially saying he backs me up. Shifters will know to leave you alone.”
“Eric’s word is nothing. He can’t kill you. He’d be executed—fast. He has to know that, and the Shifters do too.”
Cassidy kept shaking her head, knowing Diego couldn’t understand. “Eric is my pride leader and my clan leader. His word is law to me.”
“No, it isn’t. Even my word isn’t law—I just enforce what’s on the books. If Eric touches you, he’ll be arrested and executed before he knows what hit him. They’d make a special example of him, since he’s your Shiftertown leader.”
“That doesn’t matter. Eric will honor the pledge.” Cassidy stepped closer to Diego and put her hand on his shoulder. She caressed, loving the hard muscle beneath his coat. “You were willing to vouch for me when your Shifter Division wanted to lock me up and not let me out. It’s only fitting that I return the favor.”
Diego lifted the hand she’d cut to his lips. “Not the same thing, Cass.”
“Isn’t it? What would have happened if I’d been arrested again? To you, I mean.”
Diego shrugged. “Mark in my file. Disciplinary action, maybe. Suspension, depending on what it was you did. But Captain Max wouldn’t shoot me for it.”
“You did it because you decided to trust me.”
Diego leaned to her, smelling good despite his brush with Fae—something she and Eric still needed to figure out. “And then you ran off again.”
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“I did what I needed to do, then I was finished. You’d never have known I’d gone if you hadn’t popped up that evening. I wouldn’t have betrayed you. And I believe you won’t betray me.”
“That’s a lot of faith.”
“I know.” Cassidy put her other hand behind his neck. “Because of you, I can dance tonight in the club, celebrate with my family.”
She wanted to touch him. The need to be near this man was driving her insane. Diego stirred every protective instinct she had and every mating instinct too. Maybe the crazy protective urge was because of Donovan. She hadn’t been able to protect her mate, when she should have. She refused to let Diego die on her watch as well.
Cassidy also wanted the Fae scent off him. Other Shifters here would worry about it, even though Eric would warn them off confronting Diego. She believed Diego when he said he hadn’t encountered any Fae, to his knowledge. His confusion had been genuine.
She lifted herself up on tiptoe and spoke into his ear. “Dance with me.”
Diego’s eyes went soft. He lifted her hand to his lips again and led her to the dance floor.
The music was wild and rocking. Groupies were dancing with Shifters, Lindsay twirling herself around Xav. Xavier was a good dancer, body relaxing as he let himself enjoy it.
Diego tugged Cassidy toward a more deserted corner of the floor. She turned to him, put one arm around his waist, and rested her unhurt hand on his shoulder.
There was a slow beat in the music underneath the fast one, and Cassidy started to sway to it. Diego caught on and stepped into the dance with her.
He knew how to dance, this man, knew how to move his body with controlled power. He guided Cassidy in slow circles around the rapidly gyrating couples in the darkness. Those around them danced to the rapid beat; Diego and Cassidy swayed together in their own rhythm.
Cassidy touched Diego’s face, his jaw rough with dark whiskers. She came against him, resting her head against his cheek, letting her own scent mark him and erase the stink of Faerie from his skin.
Around and around they stepped, in slow, sensual rhythm. Diego’s hands rested protectively on her hips. Cassidy lifted her head, and Diego looked down at her with sin-dark eyes. She kissed him.
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