Shifter Wars Complete Series

by Sarah J. Stone

  I made an explosion gesture with my hands.

  "Not a pretty sight," I said as we headed up the stairs to the next floor, fellow agents nodding and greeting me as I passed them by. "But, yeah, think of us as the FBI, NYPD, and CIA all mixed into one—maybe with a little dash of ‘black-ops ninja' thrown in on top. With all of the different shifter species in the city, someone's got to make sure that the peace is kept, and that's where we come in."

  "And you all just…live here with us humans?"

  I could tell that her having to refer to herself as a "human" struck her as strange.

  "Don't the police know? The government?" she continued.

  "Some do, some don't. The mayor, sure—it's one of the first things he finds out about after getting sworn in. Your average NYPD beat cop? Just as clueless as you are. Or, were."

  "This is all too fucking strange," Alice said, shaking her head.

  A few agents were shifted here and there, and Alice's eyes locked onto a passing tiger, a small, sprightly fox trotting at its side.

  "Don't stare," I said. "Marks you as a human right away. And it's just not a good look."

  "How can I not stare?" she exclaimed. "There's, like, people walking with tigers and wolves just…hanging out with each other."

  "Do your best," I said, getting a little impatient as we made our way to Taggard's office.

  As much sympathy as I had for this girl and the insanity that she'd been through over the course of the evening, I had to admit that I was more than ready to leave her with Taggart and let the higher-ups figure out what to do with her. I've always worked best solo, and even just having someone tag along like this was cramping my style.

  "Well, I've had kind of a rough night, in case you didn't know."

  "Hey," I said, "I gave you an out. All you had to do was follow me."

  "And jump down a balcony?" she said, her eyes going wide. "What kind of girl do you think I am? ‘Oh, sure, man I just met, let me just drop fifteen feet and hobble out of this skyscraper.'"

  "Doesn't matter now, I suppose," I said. "Now, you're one of the few humans who knows about all this." I gestured to the scene of bustling agents and shifted animals all around us. "We can keep you safe, but there's no going back from being in this world."

  A defeated look crossed her face. "I can't believe this morning the worst thing I had to worry about was working the early shift at a coffee shop," she said. "And now I'm on the run from sex-slaver were-shifters or whatever."

  I let out a little snort of a laugh. "Things can turn on a dime in this city; anyone who lives here knows that."

  "Yeah, but I'm used to bad Tinder dates and getting fired from crappy jobs, not having to worry about spending my life in some rich tiger…person's basement."

  She sulked a little more, and I couldn't help but notice how her childish whining was a perfect blend of "cute" and "extremely annoying." And I didn't doubt for a second that she'd dealt with more insanity in the last eight hours than she had her entire life.

  We stopped at the entrance to Taggart's office.

  "You're about to meet my CO," I said.

  "Your what?"

  I held back a frustrated sigh as I remembered that I was going to have to walk her through every step of this. "Commanding officer. He's a little…prickly, and isn't the biggest fan of humans. So, just speak when spoken to, and keep the whining down to a minimum."

  She opened her mouth to say something—a complaint, no doubt—but I opened the door and hurried her inside before she could speak.

  Sitting behind the desk was Taggart. He stood up as we walked in, stubbing out his cigarette and leaning forward on his desk. He was built like a Buick packed into a short-sleeved shirt with a tie, and his desk creaked under his weight as he regarded the two of us with hot eyes.

  "Jesus, took you both long enough to get here," he said, fumbling for his pack of smokes with his gaze still locked on us.

  He fished out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag.

  "Good to see you, too, Taggart," I said, plopping into one of the chairs across from him.

  "Did I say you could sit down?" he barked.

  "I've had kind of a busy night," I said.

  "So, I fucking hear," he said. "You know, when you told me about your plan for the night, I didn't count on you pulling a goddamn B&E at Anton-fucking-Castile's house!"

  "I can tell you're mad," I said. "You've got that squiggly vein in the side of your head going on. That's how I know you're pissed."

  "Best fucking detective on the force," he said. "He can tell when his permanently pissed-off CO is mad at him. Let's get you another goddamn promotion, Black."

  "I got the girl, though," I said, gesturing to Alice, who'd been standing at the back of the office silently, an overwhelmed look on her face.

  "I can see that," Taggart said, looking her up and down, as if to confirm that she was, in fact, standing there. "Name?"

  "Um, Alice Thorne," she said, her voice small.

  "You're in quite a goddamn mess, Alice Thorne," Taggart said, dropping back down into his chair. "You're on Anton Castile's bad side. How much he pay for you, anyway?"

  "Five million."

  "Holy goddamn shit," Taggart said after letting out an impressed whistle. "Not a chance he's gonna let you walk free, just like that."

  "And we got the rest of his girls too," I said. "But they're so brain-fried from spending the last couple of years of bending over on command that I'm thinking they're not really in a position to do any good."

  "Heard about ‘em," Taggart said. "They're gonna need psych eval for the next month before we can even think about letting them back out on the streets. Not to mention that Castile's gonna be after them too." He turned to me. "And what about Salt?"

  "Nothing new," I said. "He's still running the auctions, still keeping out of sight aside from when it's time to MC these things. Slippery little fuck."

  Taggart shook his head. "Human auctions have been going on for years, and we're still building our goddamn case. And now, thanks to you and your little stunt tonight, we're gonna have to move on this shit, whether we want to or not." He pointed a stubby, smoke-tinged finger at Alice. "And now we've got this girl to worry about! What a fucking mess."

  "Yeah," I said, "sounds rough. But I'll just, ah, go ahead and leave her here with you. I'm sure you'll keep a good eye on her while I get back on the case."

  Taggart responded with a hearty laugh that I didn't like one bit. "You think you're just gonna drop this girl off and dust your hands or some shit? Not a chance, Black—she's your responsibility now."

  I shot forward in my seat. "What? What do you mean she's ‘my responsibility'?"

  "I mean what I said. You're in charge of keeping this girl safe until we can bring this case to a close."

  "Are you telling me that there isn't a single agent here who could watch her for a week? Why me?"

  "Because you're the whole reason that we're strained to the limits here, Black," Taggart said, his voice growing more angered with each syllable. He sat back and looked Alice over. "And on top of that, this is the five-million-dollar-girl." His eyes narrowed as he schemed. "Like I said, Castile's not gonna let her just walk; he's gonna want her back, and bad. Meaning—"

  "Wherever she is, Castile's not going to be far behind."

  "And where Castile is, Salt is just a hop, skip, and a jump away."

  "Wait a minute," Alice said. "You're saying that you want to use me as bait?"

  "A little crude, kiddo, but yeah, that's what we're saying," Taggart said. "Listen, you want to be safe, right?"

  She nodded.

  "And you want to make sure this auction gets shut down, so no other girl has to go through what you've gone through, right?"

  She sighed, and nodded again.

  "Then this is our best shot. You stick with Black here, and we'll draw those assholes out and put them behind bars. They might be rich, but human trafficking's one charge you can't buy your way out of,
especially if we have ‘em dead-to-rights."

  I saw Taggart's point, but that didn't mean I liked it one goddamn bit.

  Alice folded her arms under her breasts and looked away. I could tell that she didn't like this anymore than I did.

  "Then you two can't waste another goddamn second," Taggart said. "Get this girl some rest and get back on the case tomorrow. Keep her safe, and we'll get these assholes locked away as soon as goddamn possible."

  I knew that once Taggart had made up his mind there was no changing it.

  "That all?" I asked.

  "That's all."

  I heaved myself out of my seat and strode out of the office, Alice hurrying behind me.

  "I don't like this," she said once we were back in the hallway. "I want to go home."

  "You don't like it?" I shot out. "I'm the one who has to be responsible for you. I don't like working with a partner, and now I've got some clueless human following me around and making things more difficult for me."

  "Real sorry about getting kidnapped and sold into sex slavery," she said, walking quickly at my side. "I'll make sure to keep in mind not cramping your style if it ever comes up in the future."

  "Listen," I said, "you're in the middle of some dangerous shit, and without any training, you're essentially a weight I gotta carry around. So, if you want to get through onto the other side of this, cut out your complaining and do what I say."

  "'Do what you say'?" she shouted, getting the attention of nearby agents, who stopped in their tracks to watch the fight in progress. "I just got put in some asshole's harem not five hours ago, and now you want me to just shut up and do what you say?"

  "Yeah," I said, not breaking a sweat. "Think of it as your way of saying ‘thanks'."

  She narrowed her eyes into little slivers of pure rage. I had to admit, she was pretty cute when she was angry. Stomping her foot and letting out a pint-sized growl of anger, she realized she was beaten.

  "Unless you want to take your chances out there with every shifter in the city looking for you, then I suggest you just be a good girl and not get in my way. Got it?"

  "This is a load of bullshit," she said.

  "Yeah, yeah."

  We walked through the halls of Sapien HQ, making our way to the garage where my bike was parked. Once we arrived at it, Alice looked it over and shook her head. "I've never ridden on one of these before," she said, her eyes tracking along the large, chrome shape of my motorcycle.

  "Think of it as a metaphor for our relationship during this whole process."

  "What?" she asked, her voice echoing in the parking garage.

  "Yeah. See, I've ridden this thing for years. I know it in and out, and just how to make her purr. Kinda like how I am at this job. Now, however, I've got a little passenger that I have to worry about. And what does a passenger on a bike have to do to make things easier for the driver? Simple: Just get on, hold on, and don't get in the way. Got it?"

  She narrowed her eyes again in that way I couldn't help but like. I was surprised at just how much sass and spunk there was in this little curvy package. "Let's go," she said, her voice low and razor-edged.

  Happy with how much I'd been able to turn the screws, I hopped onto the bike. Alice climbed on as I gunned the engine, and soon we were off. We tore through the streets of the Midtown, and I felt Alice's grip tighten on me as we made our way down to the West Village, where I lived.

  Okay, so maybe I wanted to put the screw to her just a little more by giving her a hell of a ride on the bike. Besides, she had to get used to going through a lot worse if she was gonna get through all of this in one piece.

  We soon arrived at the two-story walk-up where I lived, an old-fashioned townhouse of red brick. Stepping into the living room, I flicked on the lights, illuminating the modern interior of the apartment. The large window in the back looked out over the city, the evening lights of the skyscrapers of the Financial District twinkling in the distance.

  "Could you not drive like a freaking maniac the next time we have to ride that?" she asked, her forehead slicked with a sheen of nervous sweat.

  "Are you telling me that wasn't even a little bit fun?" I asked.

  She scowled, and I knew that I'd made my point. Then she turned her attention to the apartment. "Wow," she said. "Nice place."

  "Thanks," I said, plopping onto the couch and kicking off my heavy black boots.

  The day was catching up with me all at once, and I was ready to crash. But not before a drink, of course. I reached behind me to the nearby bar and fumbled around until I had my hands on a bottle of vodka and a cocktail glass. "Eh?" I asked, waggling the two things in my hands to Alice.

  She looked around as if someone was watching and getting ready to judge her, before nodding. "Fine," she said. "But only because it's been a totally psychotic day."

  "Don't need to make excuses to me," I said, pouring her a glass and handing it over. After I made one for myself, I took a sip and watched her pace around the apartment.

  "I can't believe that a bear lives in this place."

  "I'm a human most of the time," I said.

  "You're a bear in the body of a human; you're like something out of a horror movie."

  "Are you trying to hurt my feelings?" I asked. "Because it's working."

  Alice rolled her eyes. "All of this happening under my nose, under all of our noses."

  "Kinda makes you wonder what else you don't know about, huh?" I asked, smirking just a bit.

  "I don't even want to think about that."

  "Good call," I said, raising my glass before taking a sip.

  Alice looked around a little more. "So, um, where am I staying?"

  My bed's big enough for the two of us, The words popped into my head as though I didn't have any control over them. What the hell was that all about? She's cute as hell, but I've got more important things to worry about than some human with an extremely, extremely nice ass.

  "There's an extra bedroom," I said, getting up. "Follow me." I led her down the hallway toward the guest room. "Clothes in the dresser; you should be able to find something to sleep in."

  Alice walked into the room, finished her drink, and set the glass down on the nightstand.

  "Then I'm gonna try and sleep," she said. "What…what are we doing tomorrow?"

  I hadn't even thought that far ahead. "I keep you out of trouble, and try to figure out what Castile and Salt's next moves are. Get some sleep. Night."

  I shut the door, eager to have the distraction of Alice out of sight, if not out of mind. After pouring myself another drink, I stood by the living room window and sipped, my eyes on the city stretched out in front of me as I wondered just what the hell I'd gotten myself into.

  ***

  I awoke to a clatter in the living room. Shooting up and out of bed, I grabbed my pistol out from the nightstand and threw on a pair of pants. My heart pounded as I rushed down the hallway; I didn't know what on earth to expect when I arrived. Glancing into Alice's bedroom on the way, I saw signs of a struggle, and my heart sank as I realized that this meant trouble.

  Another crash sounded out as I turned the corner, followed by a shriek. Once I stepped into the living room, I was greeted with the sight of three massive men in suits. The door had been picked open, and standing in the arms of one of the men, a gun pressed to her head, was Alice. Her face was in an expression of pure terror, and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

  I raised my pistol at the man in the middle, a goon with a shaved head and shoulders like bowling balls. He cocked his pistol in response, and raised his eyebrows.

  "Ah-ah-ah," he said, tapping the tip of his gun against Alice's temple. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

  "Put it down," said the man on the left, an equally huge thug with a shock of blonde hair tied into a ponytail. "Unless you want this next apartment redecorated with her brain matter."

  I knew that if they were here to get Alice that they weren't about to kill a girl that Castile had paid fiv
e mil for, but I wasn't about to take any chances.

  "How about this," I said. "You let her go and get the fuck out of my apartment and I won't kill all three of you."

  The men turned to look at one another, smug smirks on all of their faces.

  "You do see that there's three of us?" asked the goon on the right, a barrel-chested man with a chrome-dome head and a bushy beard. "Three gorillas versus one bear. Not much of a fucking fight."

  I fired my gun, the shot cracking through the air of the apartment. The goon on the left dropped to his knees, a shocked expression on his face and a small red hole in the center of his forehead. With a thud, he landed on the ground in a heap.

  "Two-on-one now," I said. "Couldn't help but even the odds a bit."

  "Fuck!" shouted the thug holding Alice. "Kill him, now!"

  The man in the center fired his pistol at me, the shot going wide and hitting the wall behind me. I ran for cover, and as I did the goon on the left shifted into his gorilla form and stormed toward me.

  I didn't waste any time in tossing my gun aside and shifting. By the time the gorilla slammed into me, I was in my bear form and ready for a fight. The thug hit me like a damn train, sending us both into the wall behind us. The apartment shook with the impact, pictures falling off of the wall and liquor bottles toppling over in a clatter. The ape raised a huge fist, but I was able to duck out of the way in time, the impact pounding into the wall and punching clean through.

  Moving to the side, my bear form knocking into just about every piece of furniture in the way, I saw that the gorilla was stuck in the wall. He struggled to pull his fist out, his face in an expression of frustrated anger as he roared.

  I wasn't about to let this opportunity pass. Rushing toward him, I opened my mouth and sank my teeth into his stuck arm and bit down as deeply as I could. The gorilla roared in pain as I sunk my mouth down to the bone. He raised his other fist and brought it down on my back, the fat and fur absorbing most of the blow.

  That didn't mean it didn't hurt like a motherfucker, however.

  The gorilla finally managed to yank his arm out of the wall, but I'd done enough damage to turn the fight in my favor. His bit limb hanging loosely at his side, the gorilla steadied himself for another attack. But I was ready to end it. Lifting myself up on my hind legs, I pounced down hard on him, pinning his body to the floor. He struggled to shove off my weight, but I had him just where I wanted him. Bringing down a claw onto his face, I knocked him senseless before sinking my teeth into his neck, giving a quick snap and taking the gorilla out of the fight.