by A. C. Arthur
She opened her mouth to speak then quickly closed it. The argument most likely would have continued, but the elevator doors opened and Rome, Kalina, and X stepped off. As if that weren’t bad enough, another door opened behind her. Ary knew without turning around that it was Nick.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, looking from her to Ezra.
Ary thought the guard would happily announce that she’d been trying to escape her prison, but he only smiled and nodded his head to her as if giving her permission to do the honors.
“I was going out for some air. Is that allowed or do I have to stay locked in that condo until you say so?”
Kalina walked up, placing a hand on Ary’s shoulder. “Hello, are we interrupting something?”
Ary looked at Kalina, at her only friend in this new world of hers, and replied honestly. “I need to get out of here.”
Kalina only nodded. “We’ll go get some air.”
Rome looked a little strained but didn’t say a word, just took out his cell and sent a text. Ary figured it was to Eli, the other guard, to tell him they were coming down. The Faction Leader took their security very seriously. She had to hand it to him: The stateside shifters had a pretty good setup in place already. With the plans she’d heard they were currently making, there would be a democracy for the shifters in no time. Where she fit in to that, she still didn’t really know. Regardless of what Nick had said, it would be her decision in the end. On that, Ary was adamant.
* * *
“Let’s go inside,” X said grimly to Nick. “You look like you could use a drink.”
“A drink? I’m still trying to figure out what the hell’s going on. One minute she’s not here, the next she is and she’s yelling about some guy massaging motion lotion on her thighs, then she’s trying to leave. I don’t know what’s going on with her.”
Rome and X filed in behind Nick as he entered the condo. He heard the door close but moved into the living room to drop down onto the sofa again. He’d already spent an hour there wondering what had happened with Ary, without success. Now it seemed he was back in the same spot.
“So that’s why you’re so tense,” Rome said. “Another man touched your mate.”
He took a seat on the couch, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “You want to kill him, don’t you?”
X chuckled before Nick could even answer. “Who doesn’t Nick want to kill? He probably has a Rolodex with an alphabetical listing of everyone on his hit roster.”
Nick didn’t find that funny. Nothing about this situation was funny. Jealousy was a new emotion to him, and he wasn’t sure he liked it much. “How the hell am I supposed to feel?” he asked in response. Then he glared at X. “And if you came out of your cave for personal reasons once in a while you’d find some woman to drive you crazy, too.”
He was talking to X, who had already hit the bar to fix himself a drink. Each of their homes seemed to have a bar in at least one of its rooms. Shifters didn’t have the same reaction to liquor as humans; you’d never see a piss-drunk shifter puking in the gutter or falling off a bar stool. No, the shadows held their liquor perfectly. What the drink did was calm them a bit, taking the edge off their already volatile personalities. X almost always drank Hennessy, straight. Tonight was no exception. He poured a glass and downed it, then poured another.
“Don’t need no woman claiming me,” X said taking another swallow.
Nick knew that what his friend really meant was that he didn’t think a woman would claim him. X was really jacked up when it came to women. That didn’t mean he didn’t get sex when he wanted it, but other than the physical his mind just couldn’t process the concept of a woman or a mate.
Unlike Nick, who’d always known who his mate was and had accepted that he’d never have her. Until now.
“Mating makes us stronger,” Rome said.
“Elder Alamar tell you that?” Nick questioned. He remembered when Rome found out Kalina was his mate. The Elder had been the one to break the news to the infamous bachelor. Rome hadn’t taken it too well originally, but Nick had to admit he seemed to be settling into the concept pretty well now.
“I talked to the Elders while we were in the Gungi. It’s a proven fact that the joining increases the male shifter’s strength because he knows there’s a female standing behind him every step of the way.”
Nick nodded. “That old ‘behind every good man is a good woman’ bit, huh?” He didn’t automatically dismiss the notion, but he wasn’t totally sold on the idea, either. He was good without Ary, or at least he’d tried to be. Lately, however, he didn’t like to think about the time he was without her.
“Good shifters are born,” X said. “It’s in their genes.”
He looked sullen when he said that, and Nick and Rome shared a knowing glance as he took another swallow of his drink. Time to change the subject, they agreed silently.
“X has some information. We were coming over to see if you and Ary wanted to go out to dinner so we could talk about it.” Rome shrugged. “Now I guess the three of us will discuss the new developments.”
Nick decided it was better not to comment on the Ary situation right now. Especially since he still had no clue what had happened with her.
“What’s up?” he asked, making an effort to keep his mind off Ary, at least for a couple of minutes.
“Sabar’s circulating his drugs. I talked to some of Kalina’s colleagues at the MPD and they showed me their stash from a raid in Silver Spring last month.” X tossed the small plastic bag onto the table in front of where Nick sat.
Nick leaned forward and picked it up. His thumb traced over the symbol he’d been researching just a couple of hours ago.
“It’s a replica of the Portuguese flag,” he said.
“What is?” Rome asked. “The symbol? How do you know?”
“After we talked I thought back to each time I’d seen the symbol and figured that was the link among my father’s involvement, the shipments, Davi’s involvement, on up to what Sabar’s doing now.”
“It makes sense in the context that Portuguese is the language of the Shadow Shifters,” X added. He rubbed a hand over his bald head, still thinking. “But it’s kind of thin.”
“There are five shields on the flag that represent all the Moorish kings who were defeated,” Nick started again. “But on this symbol there are only four.”
Rome was looking at the little plastic bag now, then up to Nick. “Why?”
Nick waited a beat before he said what had come to him right after the run-in with Ary. “There are four Faction Leaders,” he said solemnly.
“Shit!” X exclaimed.
Rome exhaled and inhaled, over and over again, his brow furrowing more each time.
“He’s sending me a message,” Rome said through clenched teeth.
Nick was already shaking his head. “He’s sending all of us a message.”
“I know where some of his product is moving. I’m putting more guards on the inside to keep a lookout,” X said. “And we’re getting more protection for all the FLs.”
“We should call all of them now, let them know what’s going on,” Nick said, standing. “We need more guards who’ve been trained. Everybody needs to be ready for whenever or wherever Sabar strikes again.”
“Wait a minute,” Rome said quietly. “I’m still the FL.”
Nick and X were quiet, both watching Rome stand. He eyed them as if he still couldn’t believe what had just been stated. Then his shoulders squared and his eyes shifted. No longer were his pupils the brown of the man. Now they were dark slits against bright green pupils. They were his cat’s eyes—which wasn’t good at all.
“I want details on each of the FLs and their families. Then I want guards on the streets tracing every tangible lead, including that bastard’s scent. I want him found and I want him alive,” he said with a deadly calm, his fists clenching and unclenching at his side.
X and Nick could only nod their agre
ement.
Nick knew what Rome wanted, knew the overall goal for the stateside shifters, but had to admit he was certainly glad they were beginning to take some real action.
It was no secret that Nick was the most resistant of the three to building this democracy that would govern all the stateside shifters. He was the one who accepted their differences a lot easier than the others.
He wasn’t only a man. He wasn’t human. He was a jaguar shape shifter and he was proud of it. Had been all his life, despite the battle of his parents and friends to stay secluded and inconspicuous. Still, a part of Nick recognized the need to proceed with caution where this commingling of species was concerned. If he didn’t he would have shifted in front of one of those ridiculously arrogant attorneys he’d gone up against and scared the shit out of them long ago.
Nick knew there was more at stake here than just his personal feelings. That’s why he worked alongside Rome and the other FLs instead of going rogue himself.
Rome and X had gone to the bar to fix themselves another drink, so Nick paused and took a deep breath. He stilled and thought he heard something, but the sound translated to much more like a feeling. A yearning, deep and burning inside him. His dick hardened, his mouth watered, and he thought instantly of Ary.
* * *
“I know just what you need,” Kalina said when they were once again at Rome’s place.
She led Ary down a long hall and into a very homey-looking room decorated in dark browns and beiges. There were-deep cushioned chairs and a fireplace and a pool table. It seemed very comfortable and very unlike the Faction Leader.
“It’s the game room. Rome and the guys chill here a lot. Well, not lately with Sabar making his appearance. But anyway, we can go out this way.” She nodded to the sliding doors just before walking over and opening them. “Let’s go.”
Ary followed without saying a word. They walked across plush grass. Ary slipped off her sandals and let the soft blades rub against her bare feet. Inside there was a sigh, her shoulders releasing some of the stress she held there faster than Alexi had been able to do even with his heavenly massage. Ahead of them were rows and rows of trees. Ary’s heart sang out, her cat pacing impatiently.
“We have to get a little farther inside,” Kalina said, unbuttoning her shirt. “Rome warns me constantly that people driving on the highway might get a glimpse of us if we’re not deep enough in the trees.”
Ary still didn’t speak, just pulled her shirt over her head and held the material in the same hand she held her shoes. When she was finally able to slip out of her shorts, she fell to her knees, chest heaving with heavy breaths. Her cat ripped free with a long stretch, muscles that hadn’t moved in days elongating and shifting. With a moist tongue the cat licked its muzzled face and sharp teeth. Looking over her shoulder, she saw another cat and leapt forward, running, finally.
Kalina’s cat burst in front of Ary’s after a few seconds, as Ary had never run here before. Both cats went through the land that Rome owned specifically for this purpose. They ran up small inclines and traipsed through shallow pools of water. They scored trees that weren’t previously scored and roared with complete satisfaction.
Adrenaline flowed through Ary’s blood, made it pump wildly, her pace increasing. There was something else she felt as she moved through the trees, an intense pull on everything inside her. She’d needed to run, there was no doubt about that, but there was another need. The more energy she exerted darting through the trees, over downed trunks and stubborn inclines, the deeper the need went, until it was a dull ache inside her.
In response to the ache Ary roared, her teeth bared to the air, her nose prickling with scents. It didn’t ease the need but added to its urgency, and so she roared again.
And she didn’t notice they were being watched.
He’d been on his way back from the warehouse in Alexandria, with all the windows to his truck rolled down. The air was stifling him, even with the slight breeze. Gabriel wanted to be out in the open, he wanted to run and climb and stretch, all things a human could not do to the cat’s specifications.
The minute the scent hit him he’d pulled over on the side of the road. Getting out of the truck, he stood there for endless moments, speeding cars whooshing past him on the highway. It was a musky smell, the heavy scent of a female shifter—one in heat. The cat inside him stood on hind legs and roared, begging for release. It had to have this female, wanted to mate just for the physical purpose of doing so. Gabriel had no clue who the cat was, just knew it was in need and so was he.
In no time he had shifted, darting down the incline that led away from the highway. In the distance there were thick crops of trees that stretched as far as the eye could see. She was in there, he knew, and raced to find her.
Chapter 22
The roar was loud, a cry of hunger. Both female cats stopped, their large heads lifting, noses tilted toward the breeze. A glance at each other and a low chuffing was all the warning they could afford to translate before they both broke into a run.
Trees whizzed by Ary at a speed she hadn’t seen in a long while. She was no longer running for fun, but running for her life. There was another cat in the trees, one that wasn’t friendly. The sour scent of a Rogue filtered through the trees with the wind. In a blur of tawny fur Kalina darted past her, leading the way. Ary followed, heart hammering wildly, ears still pricked for any more sounds from the Rogue.
As if she’d summoned it, the strange cat roared into the night air. It was getting closer.
Kalina shot over two downed tree trunks and down through a small clearing. Ary remembered this spot. Just a few feet ahead they’d clear the trees totally and once again be on Rome’s lawn. Unfortunately, so would the Rogue.
Looking upward, she quickly thought of going up, but was reminded that this was not the Gungi. And while the trees were tall, they would not support the weight of a full-grown female jaguar, and they weren’t tall enough to take her into the canopy that would further hide her from the Rogue approaching. No, their only hope was to get to Rome’s house.
Just as Kalina cleared the trees Ary heard gunshots and skittered to a stop. They’d come from the direction of Rome’s property, she was almost sure. Her eyes had already switched to night vision so she could see as deftly throughout the forest as if it were broad daylight. In the distance there was nothing. Turning slowly, she noted nothing behind her.
Then there was a rustling of twigs and a roar. Not the fierce roar she’d heard before, but a low, whining one. The Rogue had been shot. Ignoring the warning bells in her mind she went in the direction of the Rogue, moving at a steady pace so that whichever human had done the shooting wouldn’t get a chance to follow her. At this point she didn’t know who to trust—cat or man.
She came across the cat first, a big dark brown male with black rosettes. It lay on its side, legs spread, flank bleeding profusely from the bullet holes. Its eyes found hers and she stared at them. It licked its muzzle, baring its teeth and making a lazy swiping motion with its front paw. She got as close as she could because she didn’t feel like it was any threat in its present condition. She didn’t recognize it, and it didn’t seem to have any knowledge of who she was. But they were both shifters, there was no doubt about that.
Behind her there was more rustling. She picked up a human scent, one that was vaguely familiar.
“You should go back. Ms. Kalina is waiting at the edge with your clothes.”
It was Baxter, the tall, older man with watery brown eyes and wrinkled brown skin. In one hand he held a rifle. The other lifted and pointed in the direction he wanted her to go, back toward the house.
“I’ll take care of him,” he told her when Ary continued to watch him through her cat’s eyes.
She hadn’t said much to this man in the past, but she knew he was Rome’s caretaker, or something like that. The other thing she was positive of now was that he knew about the shifters and the Rogues. He wasn’t a shifter himself—a fact sh
e’d gleaned before, but confirmed now. And yet he protected them and kept their secret.
She didn’t wait to examine the situation any further but trotted off until she could see light shining through the trees. Not wanting to shift yet—then she’d be naked, and she wasn’t sure who was beyond the trees—she moved at a slower pace, watching carefully what was going on ahead. There were lots of men, some with flashlights, others with guns walking around the perimeter as far as she could see. Kalina caught sight of her and stepped through the trees, offering her clothes.
Ary shifted and asked questions as she dressed. “What’s going on? Who was it?”
“A Rogue. They don’t know his identity yet. Guards are all over the place trying to see if there are any others out there.”
“Where’s Rome?”
“One of the guards called him after Baxter made the kill.”
“I can’t believe he killed that cat. How old is he anyway?”
Kalina smiled. “About a hundred,” she said laughingly. “I don’t know, but he takes care of everything around here. He knows all and sees even more. Rome trusts him with his life.”
Ary shrugged and fastened the ties to her sandals. “And apparently our lives as well.”
* * *
An hour later they were back in Rome’s den, the tension so thick Ary felt like she could choke at any second. She and Kalina sat near the window in two leather lounge chairs. A few feet away Nick stood, his usual frown deepening as he worked a stress ball between his fingers. X was at the computer, punching the keys like he actually expected them to cough up answers. Rome faced a shelf of books, his hands thrust into his pockets, barely containing the rage simmering inside.
The threesome of shifters were beyond angry, their feeling seeping into the air like oxygen. Inside, Ary warred with feeling their same heightened fight mentality and the nagging sensations she’d felt when she ran in the trees. She could not get comfortable as she tried to sit still. It was beyond annoying to try to tamp these feelings down. They were new and intense and she wanted them gone. About as much as she wanted to be out of this room right now.
