Hour of the Lion

by Cherise Sinclair

Here in her town. The thrill of seeing him had lasted one whole second before turning to worry.

  And dread. After some hard calculation, she straightened her shoulders and followed him into Angie‘s Diner. I can do this.

  Supper rush had ended, and only two men in overalls and work boots occupied stools at the counter. Wells had taken a table near the corner, and he motioned for her to join him. Her footsteps on the old wooden floors sounded like a drum roll of doom as she walked into the room.

  "Vicki, dear!" The owner, Angie O‘Neal, came out from behind the long counter, hands outstretched in greeting. "I didn‘t get a chance to tell you how pleased we are for you and the men. You‘ve been good for them, and for little Jamie."

  Oh, this was so not the time for this. Vic forced a smile and let the woman squeeze her hands. "Thank you, Angie. That‘s sweet of you."

  "What can I get you? The special tonight is meat loaf and mashed potatoes."

  "Just coffee, thanks. I‘m meeting a friend," Vic added, nodding toward Wells.

  He stood as she walked up to the table, politely pulling out a chair for her. Attired in jeans, T-shirt and a dark brown corduroy jacket, he‘d dressed to fit in. They waited until Angie had set two cups and a pot of coffee on their table and returned to her counter.

  Face impassive, he studied her with clear blue eyes, then nodded. "You‘re looking well, Sergeant. Very healthy, in fact."

  "Thank you, sir."

  "I was in the area and had a notion to see how you‘re doing. Have you adapted to civilian life?"

  In the area? Sure, you were. She summoned a smile. "I think so. It‘s been harder than I thought in some ways." There was something wrong here. His expression and body language were...off.

  "I‘m not surprised." He changed subjects. "As you requested, I investigated the ex-marine named Swane."

  "I—I told you that the locals took care of it." She realized her mistake immediately.

  His eyes turned cold. "But they didn‘t, Morgan. The homeless crimes are unsolved, and Swane isn‘t in custody. In fact, they don‘t have his name at all in conjunction with the case."

  Oh shit, she was screwed.

  "Your Swane is an ‗enforcer‘ who works for a Tony Vidal. So I checked out Vidal. Typical mobster with some odd interests."

  She kept her eyes down, pretending to watch her coffee. Pupil dilation, eye movements—

  Wells could read the smallest flicker. "Really." How much did the spymaster know?

  "He‘s investigating rumors of people transforming into mountain lions."

  Worse and worse. She turned her shock into amusement. "Excuse me? Mountain lions?"

  "Odd isn‘t it? But about two months ago, he captured a young man…who transformed into a mountain lion when tortured. Vidal wants to know how to create more monsters. That is where using the homeless as specimens came into play."

  "Are you serious?" Please, don"t take this story seriously. Laugh, dammit. She saw her coffee lapping at the sides of the cup—her hands were shaking. Moving her hands back, she exhaled the anxiety out, inhaled calmness.

  "Oh yes. He took recordings of the transformations." Well‘s lips turned up. "Keeps them on his laptop."

  Holy fuck. Wells had documentation. "He‘s keeping all that information to himself? Why not give it to the National Inquirer for some big bucks?"

  "His motivation is unclear at the moment. He‘s focused only on how the creatures are created."

  "He doesn‘t sound sane, sir," she said lightly. If the information was still in one place, the shifters could destroy it. Calum needed to hear—

  "Did you know the young man—the one who turned into a mountain lion—was captured nearby?"

  Fingers of ice closed around her spine. "In Cold Creek?"

  "That‘s why Mr. Vidal is holed up not far away. I intend to pay him a visit later tonight to discuss his recordings." Wells looked her straight in the eyes. "Do you want to tell me again why you‘re here, Sergeant?"

  Don"t do this, she wanted to say. "Because my life is here. I fell in love, married, quit the service, you know how it goes." She pushed to her feet. "And speaking of new lives, I need to get back to work."

  "Gone over to the enemy?" he asked softly. "Would you like a charge of treason added to all your medals?"

  The slash was quick and brutal. "I‘m no traitor, dammit!"

  "Then tell me about these animals. How many are there? How are they created?"

  Created? Did he think some evil scientist had made them? She wanted so badly to give him the truth. She couldn‘t. "I don‘t—"

  "You‘re lying, Morgan." His voice had gone flat, his eyes icy—he‘d never looked at her like that before. "I‘d never have believed you would betray your country—or me. I loved—" He broke off his sentence, breathed out harshly.

  The pain surged all through her, hurting more with every pump of her heart. How could she lose him like this? After her first assassination, he‘d showed up at her apartment. Ignored her shaking hands, her teary eyes. Stayed up all night with her, drinking coffee. Just being there.

  He‘d always been there. Guilt shriveled her spirit.

  "Vicki," he said softly. "Have you seen these creatures?"

  A tried and true technique. Slam the subject over the head, induce guilt, be their friend again. She searched for some answer to give him, and then simply shook her head. "Sorry, sir. I haven‘t seen any creatures."

  All the life drained from his face, and his blade-like voice hacked bloody pieces from her soul as he said, "They‘re monsters, Sergeant. However they‘re created. You get me the information I need so we can hunt them down, and there‘ll be a medal for you." His voice dropped to an almost inaudible whisper. "Otherwise you‘ll have your discharge, Morgan. A dishonorable one."

  She stared at him, her jaw clenched. Dishes crashed behind her, the sound mimicking the shattering of her heart. I"m sorry, sir. Trying to find enough air to speak, she inhaled…and caught a scent. She turned.

  Alec and Calum stood in the doorway.

  *

  "They‘re monsters, Sergeant. However they‘re created. You get me the information I need so we can hunt them down, and there‘ll be a medal for you." For the first time in his life, Alec cursed a shifter‘s hearing as the blood in his veins turned to ice. His heart slowed, each thud painful. His chest was squeezed too tightly to inhale.

  Surely he‘d misunderstood what the man had said. Surely she‘d been misleading the human.

  Alec looked at Vicki and his hope disintegrated. Guilt showed clearly in her shocked face, her horrified eyes as she stared at him and Calum. Her color drained away.

  "Vicki?" He couldn‘t feel his lips, but the word escaped anyway.

  She‘d lied to them, to him. Lied and lied and lied.

  Knowing his brother had frozen, Calum stepped in front of him. Victoria‘s face was white, her eyes wide, the scent of her anger mingling with…guilt.

  Guilt. What kind of traitor had they harbored in their midst? The man‘s words " hunt them down” hovered in the room like the vultures had hovered over his wife‘s body. Demon.

  Monsters. “Hunt them down.”

  Calum shook his head, trying to escape the images, as his fears and memories mingled into a terrifying brew: Thorson holding his bloody shoulder, Angie with open staring eyes, Lenora…so cold, all life fled, Alec torn apart like so much meat, Lachlan lifeless on a steel table, his Jamie…

  Calum choked, drowning in horror.

  Burning with fury at this female he‘d thought he knew, who he‘d brought into his home, trusted with his daughter. Loved. And all the time, she‘d been setting them up as prey for Lachlan‘s killers.

  "Calum—I—" the human female called Victoria held her hands out to him. She met his gaze and flinched, taking a step back. "I didn‘t. I didn‘t, Calum."

  Hunt them down. A medal. The growl boiled up from inside him and as it escaped, so did his control. Wildness filled his soul, pulling at him, trying to change him into th
e beast.

  Alec‘s hand closed on his arm. "Steady, brawd."

  She looked at his brother. "Alec? I never—I didn‘t tell him."

  Alec raggedly asked, "You‘re not a spy for the government?"

  The question struck her like a blow, and she took a step back.

  The sound Alec made was that of a mortally wounded animal.

  As Calum scented his brother‘s despair, the door in his mind burst open. The mountain seemed to shake under his feet. Claws sprouted from his fingers.

  "Dammit, get out of here before he kills you." Alec‘s words were hoarse as he yanked Calum against his chest.

  Everything blurred. As Calum fought the trawsfur, he barely heard Alec‘s grief-threaded whisper, "And Herne help me, so will I."

  "No," Vic whispered. This couldn‘t be happening.

  Calum‘s face had distorted with anger, his eyes black as the pits of hell. Snarling…like a maddened animal. The tingle of shifting was strong in the air. He‘d kill her. As furious as he was, he wouldn‘t be able to stop, and he‘d tear her to bits.

  Alec struggled with his brother. His last look at her had held only anger—none of the love, the tenderness.

  When someone grabbed her arm and spun her around, Vic barely pulled her punch in time.

  Angie‘s face was red and furious as she shoved Vic back a step. "Get out of here. I‘d like to kill you myself, but if Calum does, he‘ll never forgive himself." When Vic couldn‘t move, Angie slapped her, the cracking sound followed by fiery pain.

  Vic shook her head. She hadn‘t tried to block the blow and didn‘t fight now as Angie pushed her toward the back. And out. The door slammed behind her.

  Blackness surrounded her as she stood in the alley, trying to breathe, staring at the building.

  Her ears rang; her head swam with pain and guilt. Alec. Calum. God, no. She hugged herself.

  What can I do?

  Somewhere close, a car started up and moved slowly away. Without lights. Wells.

  Breaking into a run, she headed for the police station.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  "Easy, brawd, easy." Alec held his brother tighter, impending trawsfur tingling against his hands. "Stay human, Calum. Hear me? This is no time to lose control."

  His words finally penetrated, and Calum stilled, his head bowing. The magic faded away.

  "There you go. That‘s good," Alec soothed, not taking his gaze from the back door. The need to chase after her, yell, hold her, understand burned inside him, but he couldn‘t.

  He wouldn‘t.

  A spy. It was so plain he couldn‘t believe they hadn‘t put together the clues. Her fighting skills. That night she‘d followed Calum through the tunnels to spy on him —they‘d been suspicious until she drew them off the scent with her tale about Lachlan.

  Those big brown eyes had sucked them right in, and, by Herne, he still couldn‘t accept her behavior was all a lie.

  Calum straightened to stand alone, then ran his hands over his face as if to reacquaint himself with human form. "Thank you."

  "You did it often enough for me." But no one had ever had to help Calum regain control.

  Damn her!

  "This is...not good," Calum said, hoarse from snarling. "She knows everything about us."

  The pain in his voice was as clear as that in his eyes.

  And in Alec‘s heart. He felt as if something essential, like an arm or leg, had been ripped away; he couldn‘t seem to find his balance. "She fooled us completely. Agents will cover Cold Creek and Elder Village like flies on carrion."

  Calum‘s eyes narrowed. "I wonder how much she told her boss. Did she share that she"s a shifter also?"

  "Well, damn, I bet not." The thought that followed hit Alec like a blow to the gut. "Brawd, if she doesn‘t have us anymore, is—" he choked, managed to spit out the words, "is she going to go feral?"

  "It‘s...possible. Does that kind of person have friends?" Calum‘s dusky skin had turned gray.

  "Whether she does or not is irrelevant. She is shifter and has betrayed our clan to the humans.

  She will have to be killed."

  Calum‘s stomach turned over at the thought of sentencing Victoria to death, and he leaned against the wall for a moment. He hurt like an animal with one leg caught in a trap. But the only way to escape the steel teeth was to gnaw off his leg—to kill his love for her. He closed his eyes.

  How had he not seen what she was?

  "Cosantir?"

  Calum opened his eyes to a room edged with red and black. "Angie. Is Vic—the female gone?"

  "Out the back door right after her boss." Angie‘s mouth tightened. "What do you require?"

  Calum‘s gaze met his brother‘s, but the cahir tilted his head, deferring control. Calum inhaled slowly, trying to force his mind to function. "Those with children—this is an excellent time to visit relatives in other states. Remind them to watch for anyone following, to change cars when possible, to avoid using any ID or credit cards. You all know the drill."

  "We do, Cosantir. And the rest?"

  "Stay alert. If there‘s an influx of strangers, if you feel anything is dangerous, escape to the mountains."

  Alec added, "I‘ll send the Murphy brothers to the Village to warn them and help evacuate if needed. They can take Jamie with them."

  "Good." Calum took a step, and then glanced at Angie. "Alec and I have a murderer to visit.

  If we don‘t return—"

  She held up one hand. "Don‘t go begging for bad luck. We‘ll guard your cub. You be careful and come back to us."

  *

  Vic had stolen the patrol car from behind the station. She gave a bitter laugh, knowing how furious Alec would be. Wiping tears from her cheeks, she concentrated on the red tail lights of Wells‘ vehicle. The dispersing crowds from the movie shoot had slowed the spymaster‘s car enough that she‘d caught up to him on the country road.

  Her smile was bitter. No one tailed Wells successfully…except perhaps a shifter with a cat‘s night vision who could drive without lights.

  Would he continue with his plan and go to Vidal‘s?

  Everything in her wanted to simply turn around and leave, run away from the mountains where she‘d been happy, the town where she‘d actually found friends.

  Where she"d given her heart away. A fucking sappy expression. Only, God, it was true. She pressed a hand to her chest and could feel the emptiness inside. All that remained was pain.

  Dammit, Calum. His face kept wavering into her vision, reminding how his smile would appear in his eyes before flickering across his lips. His deep rough voice would sound in her ears…and then turn into the choking snarls of a wounded animal. In the diner, his pupils had gone black with her betrayal. What had she done to him?

  Guilt cut through her, ripping her up inside. Before she lifemated them, she should have told them about her past. They were so paranoid—and with good reason. But if she‘d explained, maybe they‘d have believed her now.

  She scowled, anger fizzling along her skin. But fucking-A, after all this time with them, shouldn‘t they figure she wasn‘t out to get them?

  Then again, the evidence had been damning. Fucking animal hearing. They‘d caught Wells‘

  offer of a medal…and obviously hadn‘t heard the threat that came after it.

  And she‘d just stood there in shock, looking as God-damned guilty as she‘d felt.

  Her jaw firmed. Her life here was destroyed, and it was her own fault. She‘d taken too long to learn to trust. She couldn‘t blame Calum and Alec— much— she‘d been the one doing all the lying. And Wells had made her look so fucking guilty.

  Damn him anyway. She swallowed against the painful knot in her throat. He‘d looked as if…as if he really cared for her. She‘d never looked very hard at the careful roles they‘d played over so many years, but the way he‘d turned on her, so terribly angry, showed he‘d felt betrayed.

  Yes, she‘d wounded him…but his return fire had been far more
destructive. Fatal, maybe.

  Fatal? With the thought, horror blindsided her hard enough that her car skidded on the road.

  She fought for control. An oncoming car flashed past as she steadied, hands squeezing the steering wheel. She‘d lost her lifemates, Jamie, her friends. Am I going to go feral now?

  What if she turned into some monster Alec would have to kill? She remembered the agonized look in his eyes after he‘d executed his friend, Renshaw.

  He was so loving and big-hearted. And the way he looked tonight, filled with such pain and anger and betrayal—she‘d done that to him.

  "Oh, Alec," she whispered, "I‘m so, so sorry." Of all the people she could have hurt, why Alec? He‘d never given her anything but joy. And love. Like the other half of her soul, he understood her like no one ever had. In return, she‘d cut him beyond healing.

  Surely her loss wouldn‘t turn them feral…but no, they still had each other. And Jamie. Her little Jamie who called her MomVee. Becoming a mother had been like finding a coat hung by the door, just waiting to be slid on. Vic managed a smile and tasted salty tears on her lips. The thought of mothering someone had scared her spitless until she‘d realized Jamie had enough love to forgive any stupid mistakes.

  Maybe not enough to get past this. At least Vic hadn‘t had to see the betrayal in the kid‘s eyes. Or had to face Thorson. Would her honorary grandfather spit when he said her name now?

  With that fresh pain, she realized she wouldn‘t turn feral. Her ties to others weren‘t gone.

  No, the bonds were still there and hurting so much they felt like burning brands on her heart.

  Okay, then. She hiccupped a little and increased speed as the taillights in front of her turned left off the main road. Yes, Wells was heading for Vidal‘s place.

  Because of her, Wells wouldn‘t have called in back-up or documented anything. He‘d have wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. So all the information he‘d acquired would probably be on his laptop. Convenient. If Vidal‘s damning evidence disappeared, Wells wouldn‘t quit, but he‘d have trouble getting anyone to believe him. After all, he‘d never seen a shifter himself.

  Vic sighed and made the turn after Wells. She‘d screwed up, and before she took herself off to somewhere very far away, she‘d do some damage control. She almost laughed. Her life might be in chaos, her heart broken, but the call of duty still sounded like a fucking trumpet. Go figure.