by Dianna Love
How could she think about tomorrow when today had so many question marks?
Look at her life right now. For all her freedom, she’d never exercised the right to just travel for pleasure. She hadn’t stepped foot in salt water either.
There were so many things she’d like to share with someone.
With him.
Her devil’s advocate side argued that she would have even less time now that Fayth had been captured in spite of all Scarlett had done to keep her sister and baby safe.
That miserable Lincoln shouldn’t have found Fayth. He wouldn’t have if not for raiding small groups of shifters who only wanted to live in peace and off the grid. How had he managed to stay off the radar of SCIS?
She gave as much aid and time as possible to the shifter law enforcement organization, but to be honest, she shared some blame for Lincoln eluding the law.
She’d put as much distance as possible between the two of them after he’d tried to make her his mate against her will. If she had kept tabs on him through her resource network, she might have stopped him long before now.
The bigger question at the moment was how he’d teamed up with the Pagan Nomads to find Jaz.
He shouldn’t have even known about her connection to Fayth.
Some piece was missing.
Something important she couldn’t put her finger on.
Too many thoughts collided with each other. She needed to catch a nap and clear her head.
A bright yellow motel sign glared at her from a distance in the small town she drove through.
Single-level motels of the past rarely got a one-star rating, but a clean bed and functioning shower were all that mattered.
Turning in, she whispered, “I’ll be right back with a key.”
Gan eyed the small office. “Are you safe?”
She smiled at his sweet concern. “Yes. These are usually run by humans.”
At the front door, a young guy watching a movie on a computer forced himself to get up and buzz the lock open. She passed through a small lobby with an old smell of having been visited many times over the years.
Because she’d technically arrived ahead of check-in for day one, she had to pay for two nights. She would not be checking out before noon.
Once she moved Vic’s truck down to the unit with no vehicle in front and parked, her muscles turned to jelly. She’d bought changes of clothes for her and Gan, plus shoes. She hoped his were large enough.
He got out and handed her the baby. “You go in. I bring everything.”
“Thanks.”
She forced her arms to hold the baby securely, ready to rip anyone to shreds who tried to take this child from her. She had placed the baby in Fayth’s arms a minute after birth and she would put this child there again.
Inside the room, she scrunched her nose at the disinfectant smell, but everything appeared clean. Two full-size beds were covered in thin floral-patterned spreads. A squat wooden chair in the corner wore its age in scars.
One nightstand with a lamp.
No phone, but she’d paid for the two nights only after the kid confirmed the room had a microwave. She would not feed a baby a cold bottle. This one had to still be nursing. She hoped formula food would be suitable.
Gan dropped the bags in a corner. He took a look at her standing there with the baby and waited patiently as she did nothing.
She’d reached the point of exhaustion where she struggled to figure out her next move.
He pulled the covers back on one bed and piled pillows on each side of a gap. “Baby sleep there. Safe.”
“Good idea. I’ve got to change her again then feed her.”
“You change diaper. I make food.”
“Do you know ... how?” Scarlett asked, cringing when she realized how her words might have insulted him.
He pulled out a diaper, powder, and baby oil, piling it on top of the baby. “Yes. Go.”
She didn’t have the energy to argue and turned to the corner of the bed with her back to Gan. He rummaged through the bags, muttering something to himself. She unwrapped the blanket and smiled at the sweet child. Her heart hurt to think about what Fayth had to be going through.
Gan kept up a string of noises that ended with him going into the bathroom to run water.
She called out softly, “What about the microwave?”
“Mamas in camps say never make baby food too hot. Burn baby. Machine worry me. This better.”
Now that she thought about it, the package had said something about not microwaving. She doubted he could read all that. He paid attention to things he considered important.
She had to stop underestimating Gan.
Fayth’s little girl tried to open her eyes, blinking twice, but whatever Fayth had given her kept the child half asleep. That meant Scarlett had to remain vigilant about feeding Lily until the baby was alert enough to let her know when hunger pains hit.
With the diaper changed and the baby wrapped in the brown blanket again, she lifted the small bundle to her shoulder and found Gan shaking drops from the bottle on his arm. That man continued to amaze her. He wiped his arm with a small towel, walked over and reached for the baby.
Scarlett pulled back. “I can feed her.”
He didn’t get angry, just looked at her with understanding. “I know this. You must make calls. I worry about Adrian and your friend. I feed this one.” He waited another second and added, “She is safe with me.”
What better protector could she ask for Fayth’s child?
She’d rank him higher than herself at the moment.
Handing him the baby, she said, “I wasn’t doubting you, but none of this is your responsibility. I feel bad enough about you being stuck in this mess without expecting you to care for a baby, too.”
“Everyone must protect children and mamas. That is most important.” That’s all he said as he snagged the bottle on his way to the chair. The image of Gan holding Lily and smiling down as he fed her would stick with Scarlett the rest of her life.
Tears burned her eyes.
An unwelcome realization smacked her. Something she never expected to happen. Ever.
She’d met a man worthy of a woman’s love, of her love.
A man she would trust with her life.
A man she could spend forever with.
A man she could never have.
Not if she wanted to keep him alive, and she did. Life had sucked since the moment she found out why she had abilities beyond being a shifter. She’d spent every waking minute looking over her shoulder after running from being captured. She’d grabbed Fayth and helped her find a life, then Scarlett had distanced herself to shield those she loved from evil.
She could have kept doing that and not regretting one moment of a lonely existence if she had never met Gan. She’d never find another one like him.
Even if she did, it wouldn’t matter.
She only wanted this man.
He looked up and arched an eyebrow. “Phone?”
That snapped her out of daydreaming. “I’m on it. I’ll step out to keep from disturbing her.”
“Open window so I see you. Do not go far.”
She huffed, about to remind him she didn’t respond well to orders.
He had glanced away, then his gaze returned with a soft look in his tired eyes. He added, “Please.”
A fast study, that one.
She swiped the drapes to each side of the window, then walked outside into the cool air, just feeling it now that she slowed down. After pulling the door quietly shut, she took a deep breath and punched keys, dreading the connection going through.
“Who’s calling?” the male voice demanded on the Guardian’s hotline.
“Scarlett. I’d like to—”
“Hold on.”
Three seconds and the Guardian’s smooth voice asked, “Where are my shifters, Scarlett?”
Well that didn’t sound good. “Gan is with me. I had hoped you would have Adrian in hand by now. Did you not find h
im?”
“I had a team on the way by the time we got your message. My people had tracked him to a house on a lake near Johnson City, Tennessee. The team arrived to find a mix of cat, hyena, and wolf shifter bodies.”
Her throat closed. “What about Adrian?” She couldn’t ask about Jaz.
“He was gone. They found his scent, plus yours and Gan’s.”
The Guardian stopped, clearly waiting on her to fill him in on what he didn’t know.
How much could she tell him? “You knew Gan was with me to help with my friend.” She saw no reason to inform this eagle shifter that she had family involved. “We were on our way to find her when the cat shifters showed up.”
“Lie.” Mr. Polite had left the room.
She pulled the phone back after that sharp word. Even a shifter could not tell a lie through the phone.
Giving it another try, she said, “Not a lie, just not every detail. A female wolf shifter had been protecting my friend. She gave me the address of the house where your people found the bodies. She intended to come over once she knew for sure we were not followed. Her instincts proved true when Adrian showed up.”
She waited this time, but the Guardian did not acknowledge sending Adrian. She continued, “Before we could meet, cat, hyena and wolf shifters found the two women first. They fought them off, but there were too many. They took one. Someone dear to me. The other female shifter broke free and came to warn us to leave, but more shifters from the attack group showed up right behind her.”
“You and Gan left those two to fight a team of shifters alone?”
Time to make a decision to end the call or give him the truth. “They were after a baby that belonged to the woman they captured.” Scarlett paused. When he said nothing, she continued, “The female who came to alert us managed to grab the baby and get it to me. I couldn’t shift with a baby in hand so I told the others I’d get to the truck and take off to draw the predators away. Gan would have stayed, but Adrian told him to protect me if I was going to be the bait. Gan argued, but Adrian told him every second he wasted put all of them in more danger. Gan killed another shifter near the truck then jumped in and we left. Two panthers did follow. One landed on top of the truck, but we got rid of him.” That’s all this eagle shifter needed to know.
From the brittle silence following, the Guardian did not agree with leaving Adrian behind.
She hadn’t been happy about abandoning Adrian and Jaz either, but she stuck to decisions made in the heat of battle and criticized no one.
“You disabled Vic’s vehicle tracking,” the eagle shifter accused.
“Yes. You told me I could return the truck with Gan, then you used the tracking to send Adrian to snoop on Gan, which is how Adrian ended up fighting those cats.”
“I want my shifters back.”
Did the Guardian think she could just snap her fingers and deliver Adrian? As for Gan, she had an issue with the way he’d been treated. She felt certain the Guardian had meant him no harm, but that didn’t alter the fact that Gan hadn’t been better informed or that he hated Wyoming and didn’t want to be stuck there again.
She replied, “I want my friend back, too. I suggest we work together on a common goal.”
“Gan isn’t suited to being in the field like this with no oversight.”
“Oversight? You mean sending Adrian to humiliate Gan? You don’t know much about that tiger.” She shouldn’t have started a verbal war with the Guardian, but who else was going to stand up for Gan?
“I beg your pardon?” That was the eagle shifter’s attempt at being polite in a chillingly cold voice.
“Gan has fought admirably. He shifts back between tiger and human form at will. He followed Adrian’s direction. He ... shit, he’s just better than any of you realize. He deserves respect.”
The Guardian made a sound she interpreted as cursing in a language she couldn’t identify, because he was too well mannered to say it in English. She might as well unload everything off her chest now.
“Something good happened at that lake house as we were waiting for my friend to contact us. Just before Adrian showed up, Gan and I shifted to our cats and played in the lake. When he came out, he shifted back to human form. Adrian saw it. Gan said he had never been able to swim in a big body of water. He’s a blasted tiger. They love water. Did you ever consider putting Gan somewhere he chose? He said you stuck him in Wyoming with Adrian’s crazy wolf as soon as he shifted. Not the best role model. Gan has never been free. Never.” She paused, trying to calm down. Her anger would get in the way.
When the Guardian responded, his words were no longer acidic. He sounded thoughtful. “Those are things I will discuss with Gan.”
“Fine, but you told him three days. He has one and a half left. He will never trust you again if you take that from him by calling him home.”
She hoped that warning would prevent the Guardian from trying to make Gan return involuntarily. She had no idea if her special gift would prevent that from happening, but she wanted to keep Gan free as long as she could.
“Very well. Tell Gan I will discuss these things with him. In the meantime, how do you suggest we find Adrian and your friend ... or is it friends?”
She’d hoped he would not pick up on that. “I don’t know if the female wolf shifter who stayed to fight with Adrian survived.”
“They identified a missing wolf shifter besides Adrian. We shall work under the assumption they were both captured.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Give me a little time to reach my people on the ground and see if I can turn up some intel. I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.”
“I will expect your call by sunset.” Then he was gone.
Not even a goodbye.
She leaned back against the window for a moment.
Gan wanted to escape the Gallize permanently. That meant walking away from her, too, when the time came.
She’d accepted every loss in her life and moved on, but this one would leave a hole she’d never fill. The saying went that if you love someone to set them free. If they come back, they’re yours.
If they don’t, they never were.
He felt like hers, but she would not be selfish and stand in his way. If she had it in her power to free him of the Guardian’s hold, she would kiss him goodbye and accept that she’d never see him again.
The Guardian would hound her for the rest of her days and she’d still be hiding.
Her life would remain the same, at least as viewed from the outside. Inside would be a train wreck she’d never be able to repair.
Chapter 24
Lincoln’s claws hadn’t retracted since leaving that Power Baron. That bastard had humiliated him.
Did Robert think he was the only power player in this world? The only being with magic?
Every time Lincoln thought about how Robert had taken full control of his body sent tremors of cold chills rushing through him. His tiger wanted blood.
So did Lincoln, but he had to be smart about revenge.
If Robert wanted that woman, then someone else might want her just as much.
He swung around to his right-hand man. “You’re sure it was a tiger you saw, Percy?”
“Yes, King.” The young man who had stood out among his guards said, “A Siberian tiger. Huge mother.”
“I want him. He had to be there for a reason. We use her to get him.”
Percy hesitated then asked, “What about the Power Baron? Don’t you have to—”
“I’ll deal with him when I’m damned good and ready. He does not rule the Cat Clowder. I do.”
Lincoln enjoyed the idea of Robert sitting in his mansion, waiting for Lincoln to contact him like a scrawny cat pleading for milk. That Power Baron would never get a second chance to catch Lincoln in a vulnerable position.
First he wanted the tiger.
Only one of Lincoln’s spawn had survived birth and that one grew slowly. Each of the three female tiger sh
ifters had been excited to be the one to birth the first male cub destined to be Lincoln’s next in line. After five stillbirths, the females looked at him as if they knew it could be his fault.
He’d tampered with the elements when he had his witch create a concoction to boost his tiger’s power.
He’d caught a lion to test his strength against and trounced that shifter. Sure, his tiger had been a hundred pounds heavier than the lion, but the battle served his purpose.
No one following him would go up against Lincoln’s beast.
He planned to give the Power Baron what he wanted, but only after Lincoln had this Siberian tiger in hand and under his control. When he met with the Power Baron, he’d have a monster tiger at his right hand and a powerful witch at his left. That should be enough to keep Robert out of his hair. Then Lincoln would breed that tiger around the clock to create a dynasty of tiger shifters.
If those babies did not survive, then neither would his harem of female breeders. He’d keep the Siberian caged until he had replacement females or if he needed an executioner in the meantime.
To insure Robert didn’t turn the tables on him, Lincoln would have to set the stage perfectly. He ordered Percy, “Get the witch.”
Percy’s anxiety zinged to Lincoln, who looked up sharply. “Problem?”
“Not exactly, boss. It’s just that the witch freaked out the last time we sent a cat shifter. That guard never shifted again. We had to put him down, which was not simple.”
“Ah, yes. Johnson. That happens.”
Percy’s voice went up a notch with his obvious fear. “She also turned every wild animal along the southern border of our land crazy when something set her off. Birds wouldn’t fly. Squirrels fought the raccoons for dead mice. Some of the animals just stopped moving and sat still for a predator to kill it.”
That was exactly why Lincoln wanted her.
The Power Baron threatening him liked to control shifters.
Lincoln’s witch once went up against a mage. When the man called forth fire to throw at her, the witch compelled him to toss the ball of fire into the air and try to catch it in his mouth like a peanut.
As the fireball came down, it widened to the size of a tire and lassoed him, consuming the body in flames.
