by Zoe Chant
“What do you think Apex would’ve done then?”
“Probably exactly what they did do, only Shane would’ve been giving me CPR.” Justin frowned. “Okay, I see what you mean. But the important part is what happened at Apex. That was when I really would have needed invincibility. If I hadn’t been laid up, we all would’ve been out of there. And then nobody would’ve died.”
“Except you!”
“Well...” He trailed off as if he wanted to disagree with her but couldn’t figure out how.
“You’re the medical expert, not me. What would’ve happened if you’d had the same injuries, but you’d been able to get up and run around and fight anyway?”
Justin took a moment to think about it, then reluctantly said, “I’d have died. But I was willing—”
“Yeah, you were willing. How about Shane? He’s a paramedic too. He’d have known what would happen. Even if you’d had your invincibility, would he have let you use it like that?”
“Umm.” Even more reluctantly, Justin admitted, “I actually did try to get out of bed a couple times. He held me down. Threatened to tell the doctors to strap me down if I tried it again.”
Fiona stared at him, her eyebrows raised, letting his own words sink in.
“I hadn’t remembered that till you reminded me just now,” he said slowly. “You know... Maybe it wouldn’t have even made a difference if I’d never been shot in the first place. Shane was distracted and I was out for the count, but the others weren’t. Apex still got all of us. So if I hadn’t been wounded, they probably wouldn’t have kept us together or they’d have had higher security from the get-go. Once they made us into shifters but before they’d put us through Ultimate Predator, they chained us to the walls. They could’ve done that from the start.”
“They chained you to the walls?” Fiona repeated. The fact that he’d said it like it was a minor detail that hadn’t been important enough to mention before made it even more horrifying.
“Yeah. That’s pretty bad, huh?”
“I’ll say!” She squeezed his hand.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I’m glad I told you. When I was keeping it all bottled up inside me, I had no perspective. I was so sure the only thing stopping us from escaping was me.”
“What was stopping you from escaping was Apex. Everything that happened was their fault and their choice. Not yours.”
For a long time, he was silent, looking thoughtful. “You’re right about the invincibility. It’s cutting my own heart out, and for what? An extra five minutes to do something that won’t change anything, at the cost of my life? No. I can’t do that anymore. I won’t.”
Fiona hugged him. “You don’t need to, anyway. You were alone before. Now you’ve got me. Don’t forget, I’m a bodyguard. Wherever you go, I’ll be there to watch your back.”
“Same to you,” he said promptly. Then his gaze turned away from her and to the bright light from the window. “Do you want to go out again? We have the whole rest of the day. And Carnival comes but once a year.”
“Absolutely. I don’t think we’d be able to get a flight out before tomorrow, anyway. Let Dr. Mortenson cool her feet in Montana.”
She offered her hand to Justin, but he didn’t move. His brow wrinkled as it he was trying to remember something, and then he said abruptly, “We can’t go to Montana. It’s a set-up. She knew I was listening in. If we show up, she won’t have a couple of men with bear traps, she’ll have a lot of men with something she thinks can take me down. Nets, maybe. Tranquilizer darts don’t work on me anymore. It was one of the Ultimate Predator side effects.”
She trusted his judgment, but didn’t understand how he’d figured it out. “What makes you think it’s a trap?”
“Dr. Mortenson had this tone she always got when she was lying about something to fuck me over. I didn’t realize it at the time because I was invincible. I guess because I can’t feel emotions, it’s harder for me to pick up on them. I only realized when I thought back on the call just now.” He gave an ironic chuckle. “You were right that invincibility is bad news. If I’d kept it on all the way to Montana, she’d have gotten us for sure.”
She hesitated over bringing up the obvious solution. He’d shot it down before... but things had changed. They’d changed, and so had their relationship. They’d stripped each other down to the naked truth, and neither had flinched at what they’d seen. She didn’t have to hold back with him anymore.
“We can still ambush her,” she said. “We just need reinforcements. Let’s bring in my team.”
For the first time, Justin didn’t flinch at the suggestion. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s time.”
“Are you okay with seeing Shane?”
His lips quirked in a half-amused, half-sad smile, making her think of the mask Mr. Toscani had made for him. “We’ve been best friends for ten years. He’s saved my life more times than I can count. I want to see him. It’s just that I felt guilty over getting shot and him not leaving me and me thinking he’d left me and then me leaving him... Stop me before I talk myself out of this.”
“Would it help if I told you that Shane feels guilty over believing that you were dead and leaving you?”
“Not really. But I’ll survive. And I want to say hi to Catalina. And see Nick—I always like seeing patients of mine after they’re recovered. And I’m curious about your other teammates. They must be great.”
“They are,” Fiona assured him. “You’ll love them. Except—”
“What?” Justin asked suspiciously.
“They’re very protective. So any time someone comes in with a mate...”
“They go all big brother, huh? ‘You break her heart, I break your legs?’”
Fiona tried and failed to think of a way to explain the Protection, Inc. mate hazing rituals that didn’t make them—which included her—sound like a bunch of lunatics. “Something like that.”
Justin smiled. “Don’t look so nervous. I have no intention of breaking your heart, so my legs are safe.”
She gave up. Probably they wouldn’t do it to him, anyway. Shane certainly wouldn’t, Catalina already knew Justin, and Nick owed him one. And all the previous mates had been civilians. It was natural to be concerned that a delicate princess or a purple-haired stage manager might not have the steely will and death-defying courage that one’s teammate needed and deserved. But Justin was a PJ. His will and courage had already been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.
He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s say good-bye to the confetti angel before we go.”
Chapter Thirteen
Justin
As Fiona and Justin drove to the Protection, Inc. office, she said, “About that hazing thing I mentioned...”
“It’ll be fine,” Justin said absently. He patted her hand where it rested on the steering wheel. “I just want to tell Shane I’m sorry.”
She shot him an odd glance, then smiled. “He’ll be over the moon to see you.”
At Justin’s request, she had texted Shane to make sure he was at office, but hadn’t said anything other than that she was coming in. He’d texted back, The gang’s all here, having lunch. If you hurry there might be some sandwiches left.
They parked in an underground lot, where Justin gave an appreciative glance to the several beautiful sports cars, and also to a tank-like armored car. “Someone’s got a need for speed. Several someones, looks like.”
“The Dodge Viper belongs to Nick, the Porsche Carrera belongs to Lucas, and the Ferrari belongs to Grace. And the armored car is Hal’s. His previous car got blown up, so he got a bit obsessed with durability.”
“I can see how that could happen,” he allowed.
They walked into the lobby, where he glanced at the hardwood floors, black leather sofa, and animal photos on the walls. There was a wolf in a forest, a panther lying in wait on a tree branch, a snow leopard caught in mid-leap from one icy crag to the next...
“Ah-ha,” said Justin. “N
ice shot of you. Where was that taken?”
“Destiny dragged me on a ski trip to Mammoth,” Fiona said. “She thought it’d be fun for me to be in my natural environment, and I couldn’t figure out how to say it wouldn’t without telling her stuff I didn’t want to get into. It’s a great photo, but that was the last time I ever let anyone take me somewhere where the snow’s the main attraction.”
“For our anniversary, I’ll take you to Death Valley,” he offered. “Hottest place on Earth. Good hiking, too.”
“That’s right, we have an anniversary now. And it’s in the winter. Nix on Death Valley. I vote for Tahiti.” She took out her cell phone. “Let me get you and Shane a moment before everyone pounces on you.”
Peering over her shoulder, Justin read the text, Come into the lobby. Alone.
“That doesn’t sound at all suspicious,” he remarked.
Shane came in. The door swung shut behind him as he stopped still and stared.
All the words Justin had meant to say melted away. He knew in that moment that there was no need for apologies, and that he had nothing to apologize for. Shane was the friend he’d lost and found and found again, this time for good.
“Hey, Comeback,” said Justin. “Long time no see.”
“About time, Red.” Shane pulled him into a bone-cracking embrace.
For a moment, Justin was too startled to respond. In his experience, Shane was not the hugging type. Then he threw his arms around his buddy. If there had ever been a man who deserved a hug, it was Shane.
“Do I get a hug?” Catalina inquired from the doorway.
Justin and Shane broke apart, grinning.
“Sure you wouldn’t rather get your ears scritched?” Justin asked, then lifted her off her feet and swung her around.
“You want one too?” Shane asked Fiona sardonically.
She held up a hand to stop him, looking mildly horrified. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”
“You look good, Justin,” Catalina said, inspecting him. “Much better than when I saw you last.”
Shane gave him and Fiona a sharp glance. “How did you two find each other?”
“Well...” Fiona began.
Before she could go on, a whole crowd piled into the lobby. Justin recognized Ellie, the blonde paramedic who’d been caring for Shane after he’d been shot, and who was now visibly pregnant. But the rest were strangers.
A chorus of exclamations and questions arose from the crowd, half addressed to Fiona and half to him. He felt a little dazed. He’d only just gotten used to having conversations with anybody at all, and he hadn’t been the center of this sort of attention for years.
A young man in a black leather jacket slapped him on the back. “Thanks, man. Don’t think I remembered to say that before.”
“Yes, thank you very much,” said an elegantly dressed woman with flowing silver hair and silver tattoos winding down one arm. “I owe you a great debt.”
It was only then that Justin recognized the pair. The last time he’d seen them, she’d been in tattered and bloodstained dancing clothes, crouched in a dark alley and holding the man, who’d been naked, badly wounded, and pale with shock.
“You must be Nick,” Justin said. “How’s your leg?”
“It’s fine,” Nick said, flipping his hand dismissively. “Completely healed. So what’re you doing here? Visiting Shane?”
Before Justin could answer, Fiona’s clear voice cut through the chatter. “Everyone, this is Justin Kovac. Also known as Red. He and Shane were PJs together. He’s a snow leopard shifter. And he’s my mate.”
The room instantly split into two factions. Shane, Catalina, Nick, and the silver-haired woman looked delighted and started congratulating him and Fiona. And everyone else—not just Fiona’s teammates, but the women who must be their mates—fell silent, staring at him suspiciously.
A handsome man with a lot of shiny black hair switched out the glare for a charming smile as he offered Justin his hand. “I’m Rafa Flores. Pleased to meet you. It’ll be nice for Shane to have another Chairborne Ranger to talk shop with.”
Justin had heard that one before, along with jokes about the Chair Force, and had a retort ready. “Our chairs travel at Mach 3.” Then, remembering Fiona saying Rafa was a Navy SEAL, he added, “I hear the surf’s great in Santa Martina. We should go some time. I’ll bring a floatie for you.”
Rafa chuckled, and when he stepped back into the crowd, his smile stayed.
A big man shook Justin’s hand and said in a very deep voice, “Great to see Fiona paired up. You probably know her better than we do now. You can see this gang loves teasing, but we’ve never been able to get any dirt on her. She’s so cool and collected. But I bet she lets down her hair around you.”
Feeling awkward, Justin said, “Well...”
A young man with a golden chain wrapped around his throat chimed in, “Yes, Justin, tell us something we can tease her about. Only in fun.”
“Like an embarrassing story from when she was a kid,” the big man went on. “Go on. Spill the beans on the ice queen.”
In fact, Fiona had told him a few stories that were exactly the sort of thing that buddies would tease each other about. But she was private. If her teammates didn’t already know those stories, then Justin had no right to repeat them. In a tone designed to squelch the entire subject, he said, “If Fiona wants you to know something about her, she can tell you herself.”
He expected the men to try again—the type of guy who’d pry for dirt on a woman, even with harmless intentions, wasn’t the type to drop it at the first refusal—and to accuse Justin of being uptight and no fun. Instead, they looked at each other and smiled.
“You’re a good man,” said the big man, in an entirely different tone.
“Very honorable,” said the man with the gold chain, sounding like he sincerely approved. “Fiona deserves no less.”
Shane shot them both an exasperated glance, “You guys, this is Justin. Of course he’s honorable.”
In a frigid tone, Fiona said to the men, “Have you had enough of testing my mate? Because I certainly have had enough of you doing it.”
“Oh,” Justin said, enlightened. “That was the thing you warned me about. I was expecting something a bit less subtle. Like, ‘See this shovel? It’s what I’ll bury you with if you hurt her.’”
He eyed the men with new appreciation. They’d not only been looking out for Fiona, they’d known her well enough to check for something that actually could hurt her. Of course she shouldn’t be with a man who wouldn’t keep her secrets, even seemingly inconsequential ones, or respect her right to have them!
“Maybe I’ll get a shovel,” Fiona said icily, glaring at them.
Justin patted her shoulder. “It’s fine, Fiona. No harm done.”
“Hal Brennan,” said the big man, offering Justin his hand.
Justin blinked, his perception of the man shifting. So that was Fiona’s boss—the one who’d sat with her in the snow, patiently talking her back to humanity. No wonder he hadn’t introduced himself till afterward. His little trick would never have worked if Justin had known who he was.
“Pleased to meet you,” Justin said, and meant it.
“I am Lucas,” said the man with the golden chain. After enough of a pause that Justin wasn’t expecting a surname, he added, “Dragomir.”
His hand, when Justin shook it, was oddly hot.
Except for Fiona, the women of Protection, Inc. had clustered together. Ellie and Catalina stood in a group with the silver-haired woman, a curvy black woman with short braids, a purple-haired woman in a ruffled pink dress and combat boots, and a redhead wearing casual clothing and very expensive-looking jewelry. The women who didn’t know Justin were openly staring at him.
“Hi,” he said, offering his hand to whoever felt like taking it.
The woman with braids introduced herself as Destiny, Fiona’s teammate. The redhead introduced herself as Lucas’s mate Journey, and the silver-haired wom
an as Nick’s mate Raluca.
The purple haired woman took his hand. “Hi. I’m Grace Chang, Rafa’s mate. Your hair, wow. Very retro. But you know, if you’re going for a 90s grunge look, you really ought to be wearing a plaid flannel shirt and black-and-white high-top Converse sneakers. Your jeans are okay, but you need to rip them up a bit.”
“A Pearl Jam T-shirt would work too,” the redhead suggested.
“And your hair should be bleached, not black,” Destiny said, examining it critically.
Instantly self-conscious, Justin lifted his hand to his hairline. “It’s not supposed to look like this. I’ll cut off the dyed part as soon as it grows out a bit more.”
The women all murmured sympathetically.
Grace rummaged around in her purse, which was shaped like a Hello Kitty with safety pins through its ears, and pulled out a slip of paper. “Got it! Oh, this’ll be perfect. Take it, Justin. Fiona was the maid of honor at my wedding. I’d be honored for her mate to have it.”
The other women leaned over to look at the paper, muttering softly amongst themselves and blocking his view.
“What...?” Justin began.
“Excellent,” said the silver-haired woman, straightening up. “Fiona deserves a mate she can be proud to take to any occasion.”
“And you’ll enjoy it, Justin,” said Catalina, grinning. “It’s very relaxing. Just what you need.”
“But what is it?”
“A Groupon for a luxury makeover!” Destiny held it up and read aloud, “‘Includes a haircut and coloring, a mani-pedi, full-face threading with shaping, eyebrow microblading, and mink eyelash extensions.’ But the best part is the manscaping!”
He had no idea what any of that was other than the haircut, but it all sounded deeply alarming. “What’s manscaping?”
Gleefully, Grace said, “That’s when they shave off ALL your hair!”
“Or shave it into shapes!” said Journey.
“Like a landing strip!” said Catalina. “Which is perfect for you, right? Since you were in the Air Force...”
