Shifter Wars (Mind Sweeper Series Book 3)

by AE Jones

  Misha nodded and gestured with his donut while powdered sugar rained down on the laptop. Jean Luc sighed with resignation, blew the sugar off the keyboard, and moved the laptop over to open a file.

  “Misha has set up a fake identity for you, Kyle. Since you have been involved in the supernatural community for a while, there’s a chance the poachers know your name. Your name is Kate Johnson, age thirty, originally from Columbus. You moved here to live with Jason.”

  “Am I employed?”

  “Not yet. You did some general office work, but have not found a job here.”

  “Got it. What about Jason?”

  “He works nights as a security guard. Now, Misha or I will monitor you from the van. We want to make sure your cover holds.”

  “Ahhh, Jean Luc? We don’t have a van anymore,” I said softly, fearing he might be in denial.

  “I rented a van this morning to use until we can order a new one.”

  “Okay, so what have you found out about the Smith Body Shop?” Jason asked.

  Misha had finished his donut and wiped his fingers like a good boy, so Jean Luc scooted the laptop back to him and he began typing. “Bruce Smith owns the shop. He’s former military, so Jason’s military background might help. His younger brother Jim runs the office, and they have several mechanics working for them. They’re well known in this area and have a decent reputation for restoring old vehicles.”

  I stood, walked over to the counter, and poured a cup of coffee. “That’s their public relations info. What else have you found?”

  “Jim Smith has a juvenile record, which is sealed, so it’ll take me a little more time to retrieve it. Around the time Jim was getting into trouble, Bruce’s stint in the military ended. He didn’t re-up.”

  “Maybe he decided to stay home and watch over little brother,” I mused. “What about their mechanics’ backgrounds?”

  “They have three full-time mechanics. I’m researching them as well and will let you know when I find something.”

  “What about the sketch of the guy Jean Luc saw in the 4x4?”

  Misha flipped the screen around so both Jason and I could get a look. The man was balding and had large bags under his washed-out blue eyes. “I already compared the composite with license photos of Bruce, Jim, and the mechanics, and there was no match.”

  I set my mug down and turned to Jason. “You ready to go under cover?”

  “Sure thing, sweetheart.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Hey, if you’re my woman, I need to call you something. How about babe, or doll…I got it! Honey bun.”

  Misha laughed his deep belly laugh, and Jean Luc had the nerve to grin. I knew I shouldn’t have left Stanley at home.

  Chapter 9

  Jason and I scoped out the body shop. The building was pretty nondescript. The front was light brown brick with a heavy wooden door and a large window showing the front counter and office area. A driveway led around the side of the building to the bay doors where cars were serviced. If it had been warm instead of tundra-cold, the doors would be open and the sounds of auto work would add to the atmosphere. Right now, it was eerily quiet.

  “Can you hear us, Misha?”

  “Your earpiece is working fine, little one. We’re a few blocks down the street. We’ve got your back. “

  We jumped out of the car and bustled into the building, Jason holding the door for me like a good boyfriend should. The front counter was unmanned, so I checked out the waiting area. A few chairs and a table littered with car magazines sat along one wall. There was also a table with free coffee, but from the looks of the carafe and the smell of charred beans, it was past time to brew a new pot.

  “Hello?” I called out.

  A voice sounded from the back. “Be with you in just a minute.”

  Jason stood next to me, casually peering over the counter, more than likely to see if there was anything interesting on the desk. Since I’m five foot six, I couldn’t help him with that particular bit of snooping. A few seconds later, a man who looked to be in his late twenties came up to the counter. He was well built with bright blue eyes and blond hair that had way too much product in it. Not who I was expecting to see in a body shop.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yep,” Jason answered. “I’m looking for someone to do some body work on my truck.”

  The man held out his hand and Jason shook it. “I’m Jim Smith.”

  “Jason…and this is Kate.”

  Jim glanced in my direction before turning back to Jason. “What type of work are we talking about?”

  “I’ve reworked the engine on a 1985 Chevy truck. But the body needs some major work, which isn’t my area of expertise.”

  “I can have you talk to my brother Bruce. He’s the expert on body work. I’ll get him up here.”

  I interrupted him. “Actually, since this is a Christmas present from me, I want to check out the establishment. Is that okay?”

  He beckoned. “Sure, come on back.”

  We walked around the counter, and Jim opened a door leading to the work area. The beautiful racket of air guns and pneumatic drills filled my ears. The garage was a mechanic’s dream come true. Everything was top of the line. It was enough to make a girl salivate.

  Three out of the four lifts were full, with mechanics working on some tricked-out cars. Jim walked us past the cars to the far corner of the building, to an area separated by Plexiglas. Inside, a man was bent over, inspecting the paint on a cherry red 1965 Mustang convertible. Jim knocked on the glass, and the man straightened and looked in our direction.

  Bruce Smith was a mountain of a man. He had his brother’s blue eyes, but there’s where the similarities ended. His arms were big enough to bench press a small truck. While he wiped his hands with a rag, I noticed a multi-star tattoo on his inner arm. He walked through the door and came over to where we were standing.

  “Bruce, this is Kate and Jason. They’re looking for some body work on his truck.”

  “Nice to meet you. What type of truck?”

  I left them alone to talk about the specifics. Wandering over to a 1969 Camaro, I glanced surreptitiously at the men working in the bays. None of them matched the composite Misha showed us. I turned my attention to the engine. The rework confused me a bit.

  “You look like you have a question.”

  I glanced up. Bruce was standing next to me, and Jason joined him a second later.

  “Why would you put the original parts on this? Isn’t there a better aftermarket intake for these types of motors?”

  He grinned at me. “There’s nothing sexier than a woman who knows cars.” He glanced at Jason. “No offense, man.”

  “None taken. I agree.”

  He steered me around the engine and pointed to the intake. “This is going to be a racer. This car is set up for a stock class, so we have to use the original factory intake. What else do you want to know?”

  I stared hard at him to make sure he wasn’t patronizing me. He seemed to be sincere, so I launched into a series of questions about the engine. After a few minutes, I was satisfied.

  “You have a smart woman, here.”

  Jason grinned like the cat that had swallowed the canary before he put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me against his side. “I know that for sure.”

  “Why don’t you bring in your truck tomorrow morning so I can take a look at it, give you an estimate,” Bruce added.

  I smiled. “Great. Just to let you know, Jase and I will be getting several estimates, and then we’ll decide who to go with.”

  “That’s smart.” Bruce shook Jason’s hand, then mine. “Of course, I think we do the best work, but you’ll have to make up your own minds.”

  We walked out of the building, and Jason leaned over and kissed me lightly. Then he whispered in my ear, “Jim is watching us through the window.”

  I leaned back into him until he let me go and we settled into the truck. I turned to him and smiled in case t
hey were still watching us. “You might want to give me a warning next time, you almost got gut-punched.”

  Misha’s laughter blasted my ear.

  Chapter 10

  I had been summoned to the Royal House of Griffin. Or at least it felt like a summons. When Jason and I had returned to the office, Dolly was there hovering.

  “What’s up, Dolly?”

  “Griffin called.”

  I frowned. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, he wants you to come to the house tonight.”

  “Did he say why?”

  Dolly’s eyes widened. “I didn’t ask why. You need to go see him.”

  I bristled. “Griffin is not my fearless leader. I don’t have to go see him.”

  To my surprise, Dolly looked scared. She stuttered, “He…he might not be your leader, but he’s mine. I don’t want him to think I didn’t give you the message.”

  I sighed. “Fine, I’ll go see him.”

  Her face changed immediately, and she smiled and grabbed her purse. “Great! I have a date now, so see you tomorrow.”

  I watched her flounce triumphantly out the office. “Suckered me right into that one, didn’t she?”

  Jason chuckled. “Yes, she did.”

  Half an hour later, I drove up in the SUV and parked in Griffin’s driveway. Ringing the doorbell, I stomped my feet to stave off the cold. I kept moving while I peeked through the side window to see if anyone was coming and spotted Griffin walking around the staircase from the back of the house. Today he had on dark brown cords and a tan Henley. He definitely knew how to dress.

  He opened the door and stood back when I came charging in from the cold.

  “Kyle, thank you for coming.”

  “I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?” A bit snarky, I know, but I was irritated about Dolly conning me.

  His eyes narrowed. “You always have a choice. I doubt anyone could force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”

  “You’re right about that.”

  “Kyle!”

  I jumped slightly. Trina was standing right next to me. I hadn’t heard her approach.

  “Hi, Trina.”

  “You dyed your hair.” She tilted her head to the side and studied me. “I like it, but purple is still my favorite.” She looked around. “Is Jason here?”

  “Not tonight.”

  She shrugged. “I thought I could smell him. Did you come here to see me?”

  Griffin answered her. “Pet, she is here to see me tonight. Did you finish your homework?”

  “Yes. But I promised Molly I would read her a story before she went to bed.”

  He smiled down at her. “You better run along, then.”

  She hugged me and then backed off, eyes wide. “You smell like Jason. Is he your boyfriend?”

  I flinched. I forgot how direct shifters were. “No, we’re just friends.”

  She giggled. “He’s cute.” She turned toward the stairs, singing out over her shoulder, “Night, Uncle Griffin.”

  We watched Trina jog up the stairs in an awkward silence. I unbuttoned my jacket, and he held out his hand. I guess I was going to be sticking around for a while. If I wasn’t mistaken, when I handed him my coat, his nostrils flared ever so slightly. Was he sniffing me too? After Griffin hung my jacket in the hall closet, he led me to the right. Instead of going into his office, he took me past it to a living room with a mammoth stone fireplace.

  “I thought you might want to warm up by the fire.” He gestured to one of the chairs by the hearth.

  “Thanks.” I sat down and nearly moaned out loud. The chair was perfect. So soft I wanted to sink into it and curl up with a good book. The nubby fabric felt warm from the fire as I ran my hands over the arms. After a few seconds of silence, I glanced up. Griffin was staring at me with amusement.

  “Does the chair meet with your approval?”

  “Yes. It’s great. How’s Trina doing?”

  He sat down across from me. “She’s sad she can’t go to school. I have a tutor working with her so she doesn’t get behind in her studies, but she misses her friends.”

  “It’s good of you to take them in.”

  He frowned quizzically. “They’re my pack and my responsibility.”

  Somehow I felt sure it was more than that. “What can I do for you tonight?”

  “I was curious about your plans for the investigation.”

  “Jean Luc got a glimpse of the passenger in the 4x4, and Misha is running his description through facial recognition software. We’re also checking out the body shop where Mark Brennan worked.”

  “How?”

  “Misha is digging up any dirt he can find on the owner and everyone who works for him, and Jason and I went there today.”

  He jerked toward me. “You what?”

  “We went there today on the pretense of needing body work for Jason’s truck. We’re supposed to take it back in tomorrow.”

  He stood, walked behind his chair, and rested his hands on the back. “And you think this is safe?”

  I knew where this was going, and I didn’t like it one bit. “When you brought me back here, you didn’t think I was just going to sit around and do nothing, did you? Just sit around and wring my hands while you big, strong males take care of everything?”

  He shook his head at me like I was a troublesome child. “Kyle, I do not expect you to do nothing. I know you. Is Jason going to be able to protect you if something happens?”

  Now it was my turn to stand, my anger bubbling near the surface. “I actually do a pretty good job of protecting myself on my own. Jason and I were the logical choices to go under cover, since we’re human. Jean Luc and Misha are backing us up. What have you got against Jason?”

  “Nothing. I just don’t know much about him.”

  “All you need to know is he has my back and I have his.”

  Before Griffin could respond, Beatrice poked her head into the room. “Sorry to interrupt, but you have a call. It’s the one you’ve been waiting for.”

  “Thank you, Bea.” Griffin stared at me for a second, his jaw tensing. “We are not through talking about this.”

  I shrugged. “I think we are.”

  He was about to respond, but stopped, since Bea watched us like a finals tennis match. He turned and walked out of the room. I glared at his retreating back and stuck my tongue out at him.

  Beatrice laughed. “You don’t have to run off, do you? I thought we could talk.”

  “Sure.”

  “Give me five minutes. I’ll be right back.”

  She hurried out of the room, and I decided to poke around a bit. Next to the fireplace were large windows overlooking the back of the property. Since it was dusk, I couldn’t see much other than the outline of trees. I gazed out into the night and just concentrated on breathing. Something about Griffin always seemed to push my buttons.

  As I stood contemplating whether or not I should tell Griffin to stuff it, I caught a quick flicker of light in the dark. I tensed. Who would be in the back yard now? One of Griffin’s guards? I squinted in the general direction of where I had seen the light. Maybe I had imagined it, but after a couple of seconds it flickered again, and that’s when I realized it was part of some larger outline in the dark, and it was moving. When it turned in my direction, I backed up a step and gasped. The “light” was a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Holy crap!

  I jumped when a voice came from behind me. “Kyle.”

  Beatrice walked into the room carrying two large mugs. She took a look at my face and stiffened, setting them on the coffee table. “Are you okay?”

  I probably wouldn’t have said anything under normal circumstances, but Trina’s safety was at stake. “I just saw a pair of glowing eyes outside.”

  Beatrice sighed and then motioned to the chairs. “I’m not surprised.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Have some cocoa.”

  I reached for a stoneware mug piled-high with whipped cream. I took a
small sip. It was luscious and rich.

  “I can tell by your face you like it,” Beatrice smiled. “I see what Seamus means about you being so expressive.”

  “The cocoa is wonderful.” But she wasn’t going to distract me. “Can you explain to me about the eyes?”

  She hesitated. “How much do you know about shifters?”

  “I haven’t had as much exposure to shifters as I have demons and vamps. I know you have an animal form you can transform into.”

  “Yes. Each one of us has an animal self and a human self. It is important we change into our animal self periodically to maintain balance. For shifters who turn into smaller animals you would normally see in Northern Ohio, it’s easier to maintain the balance.”

  “Like Matthew Johnson.”

  Beatrice smiled. “Exactly. I hear he lived with you in his cat form for a while.”

  “Yes. He almost got his balls shot off when I found out what he was.”

  She chuckled. “I would love to have been a fly on the wall during that encounter.” She took a sip of her cocoa. “Now, for those shifters whose animal form is more exotic, they cannot simply change and wander around the Cleveland suburbs.”

  “So they come here.”

  “Griffin’s property is extensive, and fenced in, with a high level of security on the perimeter.” Beatrice sipped again before continuing. “Members of our pack are able to come here and change, knowing they’re safe.”

  “So shifters can be any type of animal?”

  “Yes. It can get confusing, since we call our groups packs, which usually is associated with wolves, but we can be any animal.”

  “Wow.” I hesitated for a moment and then plowed on. “Why are you guys so secretive about your animal form?”

  Beatrice looked at the fire for a moment before responding. “I wouldn’t say we are secretive, really. As shifters we can normally sense what another shifter’s animal is, but we have chosen not to share that knowledge outside the packs. Our animal form is sacred to us. I am surprised Matthew told you what he was.”

  “He didn’t tell me. I caught him changing and my gun convinced him to tell the rest of his story.”