Beneath the Skin: de La Vega Cats, Book 3

by Lauren Dane

  He knew where the trail was. He’d been the one to suggest it to her because it wasn’t so often used by others, and she hated to run where it was crowded.

  But cop cars were there when they arrived. Dario put his hand out to stay him. “I know you’re worried, but you can’t do anything with the cops there.”

  Ambulances had pulled up. “Fuck that. What if she’s hurt?”

  “What can you do for her if she is? You’re not married to her. You can’t ride in the ambulance with her. They’re going to want to know who you are. How can you explain it?”

  “I’m not going to sit here watching as she dies. What kind of cat do you think I am?” He pushed from the car but walked around the scene, using his nose to find the spot where she’d hit the bushes. Her phone was there, along with her clothes. He grabbed them and climbed down the small hillside to the street below. It was only about a mile to her apartment so he headed that way, calling Dario to tell him to meet him a few blocks away.

  “I’m not saying you don’t care about her. I’m saying be smart.” Dario risked continuing the conversation when he got back into the car.

  “She’s one of my cats. Do you think I’d walk away if it was you? Or her brother or any of my people? It’s my job. I am the Bringer. It is my role to keep her and others like her, safe.”

  “I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re falling in love with her.”

  He glared but Dario had known him long enough to let that go.

  Once they’d arrived at the stoplight a block away from her building he got out and headed over. “Meet me there.”

  He didn’t bother with calling up. The door was being opened by someone leaving and he caught it, heading up to her place via the stairs. He pounded on the door. “Mia, are you in there?”

  She opened moments later, holding a towel over herself.

  He pushed inside and locked up. “What’s going on?” He took the towel, ignoring her squawk of annoyance, and gave her a close look. She stopped struggling, and he was so angry that anyone would touch her that he could ignore all that pretty skin he usually wanted to lick from head to toe.

  “I’m all right. Mainly. One of them tore at my back. That’ll take another hour or so. They fucking shot at me. Shot at me! What the hell? They were shifters. The same scent as the night you were shot. I don’t think they used silver though.”

  “Get your things.” He stalked, pacing back and forth.

  “What? I’m not going to the hospital. I was attacked when I was shifted. Those fuckers were not anywhere near as good as me.”

  “Don’t try to be cute.”

  “I don’t have to try. Don’t hate, Gibson. I’m naturally cute. Why are you all Pacy McPacerson over there?”

  “What if they know where you live? You can stay with me. Or with your parents. Or with my parents for that matter. You’re one of our cats.”

  Her eyes widened, and he realized he’d made some sort of man mistake but didn’t know what it was.

  “You look here. I am no one’s responsibility. You got me?”

  “What? Of course you are. They clearly think you saw something when you helped me that first night. Or they see us together and believe you to be my mate, or important to me. You’re in danger because of me and I’m involved because of the jamboree business. So of course you’re my responsibility.”

  “You need to go.” She pushed him toward the door but he stopped, not wanting to be moved. Dario called, Gibson knew his ring and he picked up.

  “I’ll get back to you. I want you to look around, see what you can see. Any signs of surveillance and I want to know about it immediately.” Gibson hung up.

  She tried to push him toward the door again and he sighed. “You’re not strong enough to move me and you’re only going to make that slice on your back worse. Just stop.”

  She stepped back, the air between them, usually so hot, was now icy cold.

  “What the fuck is wrong?”

  “I’m apparently a weakling and a burden.”

  “What? I never said that.” And that’s when he realized they were totally in a relationship and she was his—for wont of a better term—girlfriend.

  “I already told you I’m no one’s responsibility and I’m not so weak I can’t take on two full-grown shifter males and kick their ass. I hope they bled out on the sidewalk.” She began to pace now, snatching her towel back and putting it around her body. “You’re damn right they wouldn’t be fucking with me if they hadn’t seen me with you. But that’s neither here nor there. It’s done. They’re trying to kill me, just like they’re trying to kill you, and I notice you aren’t living with your parents.”

  “Why is it that women always interpret words in the worst possible way?”

  Her brows flew up as she spun, the towel nearly losing purchase, and then he remembered how much he liked what she had going on underneath it.

  “You know, it occurs to me you either have a death wish or you’ve never been in a real relationship with a woman.”

  He felt a little of both.

  “I’m not saying you’re a burden.”

  “You’re avoiding the issue.”

  Christ. “This is why I’ve never had a long-term relationship with a woman before.”

  “You don’t even need a shovel to dig yourself in, do you? Astonishing. Go, Gibson. I don’t want to fight with you right now. I ran four miles before I got attacked. So I was already grumpy. Then two shifters tried to kill me in the middle of a running path. Then I had to run home and not get caught. And now you’re in here talking shit and being a dumb dude and I don’t have the energy for it.”

  “You’re being—” But he shut up when he saw the look on her face. Now he didn’t feel so funny for all the times he poked at Max and Galen over the trouble they got into with their women.

  “I’m not going anywhere. If you won’t stay elsewhere, I’ll stay here.”

  She sighed and walked past him, into the bathroom, slamming the door. Moments later the shower went on and he made a call to Dario.

  “Across the street. The three-story brick? Yeah, on the roof.”

  “How many?”

  “Two, maybe three. If there are three, two of them are related. She’s not safe here.”

  “I tried to tell her that. She nearly ate my face off.”

  Dario laughed but quickly got himself under control. “What do you want to happen?”

  “I want to know who owns that building. See if it’s connected or if these cats are just sneaking up there. I’ll let you know if I want extra people on this place in a bit. But I want another guard on her parents’ shop and their home. I figure you can deal with them through her brother. Get me info on what happened to those cats on the trail. Dead? In the hospital and, if so, which one?”

  “On it already. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know anything. You want me to keep watch out here for the time being?”

  “I want you on Max and Kendra. I’m fine here for now.”

  Dario hung up and Gibson took a deep breath before calling Max. But it was Kendra who answered so he filled her in.

  “She can stay with us. We have the room.”

  “I don’t want her with you. I want her with me, so I can keep a close eye on her.”

  Kendra laughed. “Oh, Gibson, you’ve gone and fallen for a complicated female. If I didn’t like her so much I’d be laughing a lot harder. What did you do to piss her off?”

  “You assume I made her angry.”

  “If you hadn’t, when I offered our place you would have told me she was staying with you. You didn’t. You said you wanted her with you. Which is different.”

  “I thought Max was the lawyer.”

  “Ha. He is. But I’m observant. And a woman.”

  “She thinks I said she was a burden and weak. When I really said she was my responsibility as one of my cats. And she was trying to shove me out of her apartment and I wasn’t budging and I told her she wasn’t st
rong enough to move me.”

  “This is after she took down two full-grown male jaguars on her own. Overcoming wounds of the like I hope to never experience firsthand. Hearing it from a man she’s in love with and who she admires.”

  “Whoa, no one is talking about love. And I wasn’t insulting her! I’m trying to protect her. She took what I said and twisted it into something ugly.”

  “It’s a good thing you’re so pretty because you are dumb. Almost as dumb as Max. Maybe more. Prove me wrong and grovel.”

  “Grovel? Me? For what? I didn’t do anything but try to protect her! How is that a bad thing?”

  “You already know. That’s why you’re so pissy and defensive. Go on. I’ll fill Max in on what happened. Keep us updated. Grovel, Gibson. Believe me when I tell you that make-up sex is spectacular.” She hung up, leaving him glaring at the phone in his hand.

  The shower was still going in the bathroom so he took the liberty of rearranging her place to keep her a maximum distance from the windows. Grovel. Not in this lifetime.

  Chapter Nine

  The nerve.

  She soaped up, wincing a little as the newly healed slash in her back tugged when she reached up to get her hair soaped up.

  He normally did that. He had good hands, and while he was washing her hair, he gave a great scalp massage too.

  But of course he was outside being a dick and not in here with her getting lucky. Boys could be so stubborn sometimes.

  She wasn’t weak. She didn’t need protecting, though since this was a private conversation in her head, she could admit she sort of liked it when he got all protective. Being his focus like that was…it made her sort of shivery. Gave her butterflies.

  On the other hand, feeling like a responsibility or a burden sucked.

  She managed to finish rinsing off and get out. Her clothes were in the bedroom so she had to go out.

  But he was waiting, on the bed. Her clothes at his side.

  If he thought he was going to get in any naked, horizontal fun with her after all this stuff he did, he was out of his furry mind.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She froze, eyeing him carefully.

  “For what?”

  She could see him count to ten in his head. “For hurting your feelings.”

  She grabbed a nearby robe and put it on. “Apology accepted. Now go.”

  He rolled from the bed, looking stupid gorgeous as he did. Damn it.

  “I didn’t say, nor did I mean you were weak.” He got closer and closer, and her anger began to melt away. She shored it up as best she could.

  “And when I said you were my responsibility, I didn’t say it all. I mean, I only mentioned part of it. As Bringer, you’re my responsibility because you’re one of my cats. It’s my job to protect you. To protect everyone. I take that very seriously.” He licked his lips, and she didn’t step back once he reached her and tugged on the belt of her robe.

  “Stop that.” She slapped his hand but he was undeterred. Probably because she hadn’t slapped him hard enough. Easily remedied.

  “What I didn’t say was that I like you not dead. I like you safe. Because I like you, Mia Porter. I like you in my bed. I like you eating all the Oreos in the package in one go. It’s already hard enough knowing I wasn’t there for you yet again, but now you’re more to me than one of my cats.”

  Well it wasn’t a declaration of love and she wasn’t expecting that anyway. But it was a genuine apology. And for a male like him to be so sincere and open meant a lot.

  “How am I doing?”

  She snorted. “Keep going.”

  He sighed. “Please stay with me. Or with someone else if you don’t want to be with me. This place is exposed on three sides. Dario found a nest across the street on the roof. They’ve been watching you. Which means they know where you are. My place is fortified and well guarded.”

  “Fine.”

  “I’m forgiven?”

  “You have a lot to learn about females.” She walked past him to get dressed.

  “I do.”

  “My suitcase is in the closet at the end of the hall. I need to call my family.”

  Mia knew there’d be some sort of come to Jesus with her family when she arrived at the shop the next morning.

  Her mother called to her father and they both came down. “We need to speak with you.”

  She didn’t even have her bag put down yet! Thank God she’d had coffee at Gibson’s before she left.

  “All right.”

  “Do you really think it’s wise to continue associating with Gibson? With all this escalation of threats against your life, shouldn’t you be getting the hell away from the de La Vegas instead of living with them?” Her mother shook her head. “It’s bad enough you enlisted and went to Iraq. Bad enough you went to Los Angeles and then nearly got yourself killed there. But you come back here and get shot pretty much immediately! And now this new attack. Mia, this is dangerous and it’s about the de La Vegas. They’ve done enough damage to this family, don’t you think? It’s one thing to go to dinner there and to attend a few jamboree events a year. It’s another to…to consort with them while they put your life in danger.”

  Her father interrupted. “We know it’s not your fault. We don’t blame you. We just want you safe. You can go away for a while. Your uncle says you can come stay with them for a while up in Vermont. You’ll be the hell away from here and safe. Let the de La Vegas handle this. They’re better trained and it is their business after all.”

  She crossed her arms as Drew wandered into the room and froze. But to her immense relief he moved to stand next to her, not with their parents. A subtle but clear indicator of where his allegiances lay.

  “What’s going on? You okay?”

  “Mom and Dad are telling me to stay away from the de La Vegas and go to Vermont for a while.”

  “Why is that a bad idea? Answer me that, Mia.” Their mother glared.

  “It’s a bad idea because I have a life here. I have a job. I have friends and family. I have Gibson.”

  Drew raised his brows, but smiled.

  “Yes, I’m living with him. But it’s temporary until this all gets tied up. It’s not some part of his nefarious plot to get sex for free and then dump me. Yes, they screwed Grandma over and that sucks. But I know it wasn’t a single one of the de La Vegas who run the jamboree now and it has nothing to do with Gibson.”

  “Watch your mouth, young lady. Being involved with the de La Vega family has brought nothing but woe to us. And it’s the same now, whether you want to see it or not. You’re fine when you get back and then bam, you do something nice to help and look. You got shot! Here in our shop. And then last night you got attacked while you were jogging. All because of them. No good can come of this.”

  “Mom, I’m involved.” She shrugged. “I know you’re worried. I’m sorry this has touched your lives and this shop. More than you can know. If I could take it back, I would. But I won’t now. Because I happen to like Gibson. A lot. This isn’t about him being a bad guy. He’s not going to get me pregnant and dump me. I’m careful anyway. And in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a strong woman in a completely different era.”

  Drew put an arm around her shoulders. “I agree with Mia. They care about her. About all their cats. If anyone can protect her, it’s Gibson.”

  Their mother countered. “Fine job he’s done so far.”

  She sighed. “Your feelings on the matter have been registered. I hear you and I respect that you’re scared. Now, I’ve got work to do and I know you do too. I’ll be living there until this is solved. And what I have with him isn’t… Well I don’t know what it is entirely. But I know he respects me. And I like him. Like him/like him. I’m asking that you respect that, and I’ll keep you as updated as I can. You worry and I’m sorry about that. Believe me, I don’t want to get shot again either. But I think you both need the jamboree and they want you. Drew needs that too. He’s going to imprint, you know, and then mar
ry. The Lennons are super involved in jamboree business. You’ll have grandbabies and they’ll be involved. Don’t let yourselves keep out in the cold because of something that happened a long time ago. I don’t think it solves anything, and I don’t even know that Grandma feels that way anymore.”

  Her father nodded. “If you get killed, I want you to understand we will burn shit down. Do you understand? If the de La Vega family gets my daughter killed, there will be no end until they are all dead with you.”

  She blinked hard against tears that her normally sweet and good-natured father just declared a blood war should she get hurt.

  She took his hands. “If I die, there’s nothing to do. I’ll be dead. But I’m working as hard as I can to not let that happen, and I swear to you right now that Gibson is doing everything he can to make sure that doesn’t happen too. I love you both. I love this family. But I think it’s time to end this nonsense between Porters and de La Vegas. They’re sorry. The person who did it is long gone. Let the past remain there.”

  He’d really had no idea what it would be like to have her with him so much.

  But a week later, as he was at the range with Jack, he realized it was better than he’d imagined. Which was scarier than anything he had to face as part of the job.

  She was there when he woke up. Which he already knew he liked because she’d been spending three or four nights a week with him anyway. He liked her clothes in his closet, her scent lingering in the air.

  He liked her toothbrush, not just an emergency one, but her real one, in his bathroom. She wasn’t a visitor in his house, but a resident.

  And so her life had clicked in with his and vice versa. Which he also enjoyed. She was there when he got home and it made his cat happy. Made the man happy too.

  Jack was one of his brothers-in-law, mated to his brother Galen and their wife Renee. Jack was the Enforcer of the National Werewolf Pack. Sort of their national government. His job was pretty similar to Gibson’s, so they’d developed a friendship as well. Jack was blond and ebullient. He seemed to love being around people. Essentially he was Gibson’s opposite. But Gibson didn’t hold that against him. In fact, it gave him a perspective Gibson sought out often, as it added to his own in really excellent ways.