Chapter 13

 

“Seriously, Ronin, you have to tell me how you got my mother to like you,” Kat said.

After dinner they had grabbed two more beers and moved to the living room. Kat tried desperately not to think about how she had fucked Ronin on this very couch and wondered if he was doing the same thing.

“I can’t reveal my secret for winning over mothers, Kat,” he said with a grin. “It’s taken me years to hone that skill.”

She laughed and took a drink of beer. “Well, congratulations. I can honestly say it’s the most impressive feat I’ve ever witnessed.”

“Are you close to your family?” Ronin asked.

She nodded. “Yes. We’re not attached at the hip or anything and sometimes my mother drives me crazy with her incessant, ‘find a man and give me grandkittens’ talk but I love her to death.”

“Do you want kids?” He asked curiously.

“Eventually,” she said.

“Is that why you don’t take the drug to curb your heat?”

She gave him a look of surprise. “You know about that?”

He nodded. “Yes. After I offered to help you out with your heat, I did some research.”

For some reason she blushed and she gave him an apologetic look. “Again, I’m really sorry for clawing you so badly and for making you say that, uh, stuff I did.”

He just shrugged. “Do you have siblings?”

“Yes, I have an older sister and a younger brother.”

“I didn’t take you for a middle child,” he replied. “You’ve got the bossiness of an oldest kid.”

She gave him a mock scowl. “There’s only fourteen months between my sister and me and half the time I act like the oldest sibling.”

“Ahh, you’re the responsible one, huh? Why am I not surprised by that?”

She rolled her eyes. “My sister is great, just a little impulsive.”

“And your brother?”

She laughed. “He’s great too just really impulsive. How about you? Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope, only child here.”

“Surprise, surprise,” she said dryly.

He laughed. “I totally have the ‘spoiled only child’ vibe, don’t I?”

“Maybe,” she said. “Do your parents live here?”

“They used to,” he said briefly. He couldn’t exactly tell her that his parents had been forced to go into hiding and he hadn’t spoken to them in over two years. The first thing he had done after escaping from the lab was call them. His mother was the same as him and if Wyatt found her…

He shuddered and Kat touched his arm briefly. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yes,” he said. “How long have you been a partner at the security firm?”

“Just over three years,” she said. “I started working for Mal and Bishop in the IT department, doing some, uh, research work.”

He grinned. “You mean hacking.”

“Maybe,” she said innocently. “Anyway, after six months they asked if I wanted to buy into the company and become a partner and I said yes.”

“That’s impressive,” he said.

She smiled at him. “Thanks. Why did you leave the police force?”

He stared blankly at her for a moment, almost tempted to blurt out the truth in a moment of madness. He didn’t want to lie to Kat.

“Ronin?” She gave him a concerned look. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” he said. “I had a partner, her name was Lora, and we were really close.”

“Lovers?” He wondered if that was jealousy in her voice.

“No. She was married. A good guy, we got along well. Anyway, Lora got sick and I -–I tried to help her and I failed. She died and after that, I couldn’t go back to working as a cop. It was too difficult. So I taught surfing instead.”

“That’s quite the difference,” she said.

“I enjoyed it. But I couldn’t bum around on the beach forever so after a couple of years I came back here and applied for a job with your firm.”

He was hiding something from her, she could see it lurking, dark and painful, in his eyes and she frowned at him. “Ronin, what –“

He drained the rest of his beer before standing. “It’s getting late, I should go. Thanks for having dinner with me, Kat.”

She stood and caught his hand. “Ronin, wait.”

He stared at their hands before linking his fingers with hers. A shudder of desire went through her, so strong it made her knees weak, and she licked her lips as she gazed at his mouth.

“Kat,” he said and the unmistakeable desire in his voice had her lunging forward and mashing her mouth against his.

He kissed her hungrily, his hands threading through her hair as he slid his tongue into her mouth. She sucked on it and he groaned before pressing his erection against her. “I want you so much, kitten.”

“Ronin,” she whispered, “I – I know I said we should only be friends but I’ve been thinking about the last couple of days and I know I wasn’t very, um, attentive to your needs. Maybe we should spend one more night together so I can, uh, concentrate on you this time.”

He reached down and cupped her ass, squeezing it roughly. “I was more than satisfied, kitten, but I like the direction you’re going with this.”

She laughed softly and he kissed the tip of her nose. “One more night sounds good to me.”

“Come with me,” she whispered. He followed her up the stairs to the bedroom and she tugged at the hem of his t-shirt. He raised his arms and she pulled it off of him before making a gasp of surprise. His skin was smooth, no trace of her marks remained, and she touched his warm skin in surprise.

“What the hell?”

“I told you I would heal,” he said.

“Ronin, you’re a fast healer,” she said. “You – you’re as fast as a grizzly at healing.” She studied him closely. “What kind of bird are you?”

“I told you – just a mutt,” he said with a grin. “Now, at the risk of sounding embarrassingly impatient, let’s get you naked.”

They helped each other undress and when she was standing naked in front of him, he made a low groan of appreciation. “Fuck, your body is amazing, kitten.”

He pulled her toward the bed. “Lie down. I’ve been dreaming about eating your sweet pussy all day.”

She shook her head and pushed him into a sitting position on to the bed. “No, it’s about you this time, remember?”

She kneeled in front of him, pushing his legs apart so she was on her knees between them and he muttered a low curse as she stroked his cock with her warm hands. “I’m not going to argue.”

She grinned up at him before bending her head and licking his shaft with her warm, wet tongue. He inhaled sharply, his hands tightening in her hair, but before she could slide her lips around him, he pulled her head up.

“No fangs, kitten,” he said.

She laughed and shook her head. “I’ll be good, Ronin.”

She sucked him into her mouth, tracing the ridge with her tongue before sucking hard. She kept her teeth away from him, and kissed and licked the head of his cock before taking more than half of him into her mouth.

“Fuck,” he said in a low moan, “you’re being a very good kitten. Suck harder, sweetheart.”

She did what he asked and the silken glide of her hot mouth made his hips thrust uncontrollably. He watched the up and down slide of her mouth, sizzling bolts of raw lust flickering in his veins, as his world boiled down to the feel of her wet mouth and the touch of her soft hand stroking the base of his cock. She sucked and caressed and licked his throbbing cock for nearly ten minutes, until he was moaning loudly and so close to coming, he could feel his balls tightening.

“Kitten, stop!” He said hoarsely.

She ignored him, her head bobbing rapidly up and down and with a low curse, he pulled her off his cock. He held her hair, preventing her from taking him into her mouth and she hissed angrily at him.

“Mine! I want it – give it to me!”

He hauled her to her feet and pushed her on to the bed. She purred loudly, her anger forgotten as he moved between her thighs.

“Yes, fuck me,” she demanded.

He eased into her, a little worried that she was sore despite what she had said, and groaned at the familiar grip of her pussy. She cried out and let her thighs drop open as he propped himself up on his hands above her and moved slowly back and forth. Her hands gripped his hips and he waited for her to sink her claws in. She squeezed him roughly but didn’t claw him and he felt a brief moment of disappointment before she licked at his mouth.

“Please, little bird,” she murmured.

He bent his head and sucked on one nipple, rolling it between his lips until it was an erect little bud and she was making soft noises of pleasure. He switched to the other one and pulled on it with his lips before licking the tip of it.

She stroked his back, tracing her nails across his flesh but not breaking the skin. He lifted his head and studied the golden colour of her eyes as she met each of his slow thrusts with a short pump of her hips.

“So good,” she whispered.

“Yes,” he agreed before dropping to his forearms. It pressed his chest against her breasts and he relished the vibration of her purring as her warm breath brushed his cheek.

He kissed her slowly, sliding his tongue against hers as she wrapped her arms around him and clung tightly to him.

“Keep looking at me, Kat,” he whispered when they broke apart. She stared obediently at him as he pressed a soft and tender kiss against her mouth.

“Mine,” she said in a possessive voice before embarrassment flickered across her face. “I’m sorry.”

He brushed his mouth against hers before whispering, “Yours.”

Her purring turned up a notch and she squeezed his hips again. “Harder, Ronin.”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” he murmured before thrusting hard. She cupped his face and kissed him repeatedly as their lovemaking turned rough and urgent. She was still keeping her claws to herself and he realized he was desperate to feel her mark him.

He slowed down, barely moving inside of her, and grinned when she hissed angrily and raked her claws down his back. The sting made him flinch and her eyes widened.

“Shit, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I like it when my kitten marks me with her claws,” he admitted hoarsely.

Her pupils turned to narrow slits and she growled at him. “My pretty bird. Say it.”

He just grinned at her and her fangs descended with a soft pop. “Say you belong to me, Ronin.”

Her nails sunk into his back and he made a harsh groan of pain before fucking her roughly. She mewled with pleasure. “Say it, little bird.”

He could feel her pussy tightening around him, her nipples were hard points against his chest and he ground his pelvic bone against her clit. She screamed as she climaxed and sunk her fangs into his shoulder. The feel of her smooth teeth sinking into his flesh made him come hard and he bucked against her as her pussy milked him eagerly.

“I belong to you,” he rasped as she pulled her fangs from his shoulder.

“Always,” she said. “Always, Ronin.”

“Yes, always,” he cried as his orgasm continued to wash over him. He collapsed against her and she licked the bite mark until he rolled off of her on to his back. They panted in unison, their legs tangled together as Kat stared up at the ceiling.

Holy shit, what the hell just happened? She had made Ronin tell her he would always belong to her, she had scratched him and bitten him and this time she couldn’t even blame her heat cycle. She shivered as she thought of how sweet, how slow and tender their lovemaking had been until she had begged him for it to be harder. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be just casual sex, nothing more.

“Ronin?” Kat said hesitantly as their mutual desire faded and a thick curtain of awkwardness blanketed them.

“That got a little weird, huh?” He said.

She nodded. “I’m sorry. I really meant not to bite or scratch or um, make you say – “

“I should go,” he said abruptly.

She winced and tried to touch his arm. “Ronin, you don’t have to leave. I know that was intense but I won’t let it happen again.”

He climbed out of the bed and dressed quickly. “It’s fine, Kat. Really. I just, you know, don’t normally spend the night in a friend’s bed.”

“Oh, right. Of course,” she said as she wrapped the quilt around her naked body.

He hesitated before leaning over and pressing a brief kiss against her mouth. “Bye, Kat.”

“Bye, Ronin.”

 

* * *

 

Friday morning, Mal was studying a file at his desk when he heard the front door open and the scent of his mate drifted to him. He smiled and closed the file before starting toward the door. He’d gone to an early-morning meeting so he hadn’t driven in with Willow this morning. Before he could open his door, he smelled another scent and he groaned inwardly.

“Marika, it’s so good to see you,” Willow said brightly. “It’s been forever.”

The lizard shifter gave Willow a brittle smile. “It’s nice to see you too, Willow. Where is your wolf shifter? I need to speak with him.”

“He had a client meeting but I’m sure he’ll be back any minute. Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Willow asked as she flicked on the lights.

Mrs. Belfry shook her head. “No, thank you.”

Mal sighed. He needed to go out there. Marika liked Willow – well, as much as she could like anyone who wasn’t related to her – but it wasn’t exactly manly of him to be hiding out in his office. He started to turn the handle and then froze again when he heard Marika speaking.

“Why didn’t you invite me to your wedding, Willow?” There was a note of displeasure in Marika’s voice. “I distinctly remember you saying you would.”

“Oh, we’re not married yet,” Willow said hurriedly. “Of course we would invite you, Marika.”

Marika gave her a look of surprise. “Did that boring wolf not bite you months ago?”

“He did,” Willow said.

“Then what on earth are you waiting for?”

“It’s kind of complicated,” Willow said.

“Because of his grandfather, I imagine,” Marika replied.

“Actually,” Willow said. “Amos is starting to be rather pleasant to me.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Marika said impatiently.

“There isn’t a problem, exactly,” Willow said slowly.

“Oh for God’s sake, just spit it out, Willow.”

Willow laughed. “Secretly, I’m waiting for Mal to ask me to marry him.”

“Ask you?” Marika raised one nearly non-existent eyebrow at her. “I don’t quite know how to break this to you, Willow, but your wolf shifter has marked you. You’re his mate whether you like it or not.”

Willow laughed again. “I know but it’s human tradition for the man to buy a ring and get down on one knee and formally ask, you know?”

Marika sighed. “Humans and their silly traditions.”

“I suppose it is kind of silly,” Willow said wistfully, “but I still really want it to happen that way.”

“Does your wolf shifter know this?”

“I – well, no, I guess he doesn’t.”

“Then perhaps you should tell him,” Marika replied.

She glanced at her watch and sighed loudly. “Do you think he’ll be much longer? I have a very busy schedule today and I – “

“Willow, is that you?” Mal came strolling out of his office with a file in his hand. “Can you photocopy – “

He paused and smiled at Marika. “Mrs. Belfry, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Indeed,” Mrs. Belfry said dryly. “How are you, Mr. Burke?”

“Very well, how are you?”

“Fine,” she said briefly. “I’m here to speak to you about the security at the warehouse.”

Mal frowned. “Is there a problem?”

“Yes,” she said. “I want the bird back.”

“I’m sorry?” Mal blinked at her as Willow headed to the kitchen to make coffee.

“I want the bird back,” she repeated.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Belfry but we needed Ronin on another assignment.”

“What assignment?” She asked.

“We have a vampire client who – “

“Ugh. Vampires are the worst,” Marika’s tongue, long and forked, flicked out in disgust. “Such wretched creatures. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Burke?”

“Well, I, uh…”

“I like them,” Willow said cheerfully as she returned to her desk. “I find them quite fascinating.”

Marika’s snort of derision turned into a hiss of delight when the office door opened and Ronin walked into the office.

“Mr. Smith!”

“Mrs. Belfry,” Ronin stopped in front of her and kissed her rough cheek. “How are you?”

“Very well,” Marika gave him a wide grin and Mal stared in surprise at Willow when the lizard shifter hooked her arm around Ronin’s and leaned against him. “I was just telling Mr. Burke that we want you back at the warehouse. We miss you.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Ronin replied. “I miss your butterscotch cookies.”

Marika giggled like a girl. “I have an entire tin of cookies waiting for you in my office.”

“You’re making it very hard to resist,” Ronin said with a flirty little grin.

Willow, her mouth open, stared wide-eyed at Mal. He gave her a tiny shrug as Marika turned her gaze to him. “Well, Mr. Burke, will Ronin be returning to the warehouse?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Belfry, but we really need him on his current assignment.”

She sniffed angrily and Ronin patted her arm. “Perhaps we could have coffee sometime, Mrs. Belfry, and catch up.”

“Actually, that leads me to my next point,” Marika said. “Koren’s birthday is Wednesday and I’m throwing him a party that evening. I will expect you,” she pinned her gaze on Mal, “as well as your mate, and your associates to be there. Let Mr. King and Ms. Frost know they’re welcome to bring guests.”

She squeezed Ronin’s arm. “You will also be there, Mr. Smith.”

“I would love nothing more,” Ronin said, “but unfortunately I’m working that night.”

She hissed under her breath before glaring at Mal. “Surely, Mr. Burke will give you a night off.”

“I wish I could, Mrs. Belfry,” Mal said, “but Ronin is the only one available to keep an eye on our client.”

Mrs. Belfry sighed loudly before staring at Ronin. “Bring your vampire with you, Mr. Smith.”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure…” Ronin glanced at Mal for help.

“Mrs. Belfry, our client is a vampire and – “

“I’m well aware of that, Mr. Burke,” Marika snapped.

She smiled up at Ronin again. “I will not take no for an answer, Ronin. Bring your wretched vampire with you but I expect you to keep her from snacking on my guests.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ronin said.

She kissed Ronin’s cheek before holding out her hand to Willow. Willow squeezed it lightly and kissed Marika on the cheek.

“It was good to see you again, Marika.”

“You as well, my dear. We’ll see you on Wednesday night. The party starts at seven, don’t be late, please.”

“We won’t,” Willow said.

“Mr. Burke,” Marika nodded to Mal before leaving the office.

“Well, someone has a crush,” Willow laughed as Ronin grinned at her.

“Ronin, can you keep Mavina well-behaved?” Mal asked.

Ronin shrugged. “I can try but no promises. That chick is crazy.” He paused. “Maybe I shouldn’t bring her. She’ll be happy to go – she’s all about the parties – but I don’t have to mention it to her.”

Mal shook his head. “No, bring her. If you don’t, Marika Belfry is likely to terminate our contract just because she’s pissed.”

Ronin laughed before turning to Willow. “I got your email, Willow. What did I do wrong on my timesheet?”

“Oh, right. Come over here and I’ll show you,” Willow said.

Mal watched as Ronin followed Willow to her desk. A small smile crossed his face. His mate wanted a proposal and he was determined to make it happen.

 

* * *

 

“Remember,” Clay stared at the group of five men standing in the shadows of the building. Like him, they were dressed all in black, and each of them carried a gun. “We move in, dart the squirrel shifter, and move out. There’s a lynx shifter in the apartment with her. Doven, you’ll dispatch him.”

“Dart or bullet?” Doven grunted.

“Dart only,” Clay said. “He’ll be fast and he’s armed so be quick.”

“Not a problem, boss,” Doven said.

Clay glanced at the dark sky. It was just after three in the morning and the street was silent and empty. “Watch your backs in there. She hasn’t turned yet but if she bites or scratches you, you will turn and I will kill you. Understand?”

The men nodded and Clay vanished before reappearing on the other side of the locked door of the lobby of the building. He eased it open and the five men followed him silently up the stairs.

 

* * *

 

Sandra, her leg on fire and her head throbbing so painfully she wanted to vomit, staggered into the bathroom. She eased up the leg of her pajama bottoms and made a harsh cry before turning and vomiting blood and bile into the toilet.

“Oh God,” she moaned weakly. “What is happening?”

Her leg was swollen to twice the size, pus dripped in a steady stream from the wound and her squirrel was screaming and chittering away.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” She shouted before slamming her fist into her temple. It sent a wave of agonizing pain through her entire body and she vomited again as there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Ms. Mickelson?” The lynx shifter’s voice was concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Go away,” Sandra moaned. “Just go away!”

Davis leaned closer to the door and sniffed delicately.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath before covering his nose and mouth with his hand. There was a horrible stench of rot and decay drifting out from the bathroom and he knocked again on the door.

“Ms. Mickelson? Sandra, open the door.”

There was a high-pitched chittering noise that set his teeth on edge and made his lynx hiss loudly. He jerked and stumbled back when there was a loud thud and the door shuddered against the frame.

“Sandra?” He said loudly. “Open the door and come out of the bathroom.”

There was no reply and fear trickled down his spine at the sudden silence. Something was very wrong with the squirrel shifter, she had been pale and shaky all night but had insisted she just had a case of the flu, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

His lynx was snarling and hissing and he tried to calm it as he quickly phoned Mal. He waited impatiently for the wolf shifter to answer.

“Mal? Hey, it’s Davis. Sorry to call so late but there’s something wrong with Sandra Mickelson. She’s sick, I think, and won’t come out of the bathroom. I’m going to call an ambulance.”

He listened for a moment. “Yeah, I think it’s that bad. I don’t – “

The door opened and he stared at the squirrel shifter. “Just a minute, Mal.”

He took a cautious step forward. “Sandra? How are you feeling?”

His lynx was hissing and spitting and the hair on the back of his neck was trying to stand up. The squirrel shifter seemed twice her normal size and his eyes widened when she suddenly lurched into the hallway.

“Holy fuck!” He shouted. The monstrosity standing before him was the squirrel shifter, he could smell her scent under the smell of decay, but all resemblance ended there. Her eyes were bright orbs of red and her front teeth had lengthened until they protruded well below her chin. She snapped her jaws at him as dark fur grew on her face. Her body swelled, he could hear her bones cracking, and he made a startled shout when her long, bushy tail snapped around his leg like a snake and yanked him off his feet.

His phone fell from his hand and he scrambled backward. His clothes were starting to rip as he began his own shift. He hissed at the creature and she screamed angrily before chittering in a loud squeal that made his lynx whimper in sudden fear.

“Fuck!” He snarled as his fangs popped out.” Get the fuck away from me!”

She reached for him, her nails dark and sharp but before she could tear into his rapidly-shifting body, the door to her apartment burst open. Five men, dressed in black, rushed into the room and the squirrel forgot about Davis and turned on them. She leaped forward, she was a blur in the dark, and latched on to one of the men. She knocked him to the floor and buried her teeth in his neck before ripping out a mouthful of flesh. Blood sprayed in an arc, coating her face and the thighs of the men standing in horrified shock in front of her and she chittered triumphantly before lapping at the blood still spraying in the air.

Davis flinched when the remaining four men raised their guns and fired at the squirrel shifter. There was muffled thuds and Sandra screamed loudly before staggering back. She turned to flee but her gaze fell on Davis and she growled loudly before dropping to all fours and rushing toward him. He could see the bright red darts sticking out of her face and chest and he scrambled back as a man roared, “Again! Hit her again!”

More muffled thuds and Sandra arched her back. Her legs collapsed beneath her and her head hit the floor with a hard bang as she slid along the floor. Her head bumped against Davis’ legs and he made a snarl of disgust at the smell radiating from her.

A man stepped in front of him and Davis stared up at him before frowning. “You. I know – “

He flinched, his hand reaching up to touch the dart in his neck as he stared groggily at the gun in the man’s hand.

“Fuckin’ shot me,” he slurred before slumping on to the floor.

“Goddammit,” Clay swore before turning and staring at the men. “Doven?”

“Dead,” one of the men answered and Clay swore again.

“We need to move quickly,” Clay said. He bent and grabbed the squirrel shifter’s arm before vanishing. He reappeared less than thirty seconds later and glared at his men. “She’s in the back of the van. Go quickly. I could hear fucking sirens already. The neighbours must have dialed 9-1-1.”

“What about him?” One of the men asked before pointing at the unconscious lynx shifter. “He acted like he knew you.”

“I’ll take care of him. Go, you idiots, before they set up fucking roadblocks,” Clay snarled.

They ran quickly and quietly out of the apartment and Clay pulled a second gun from his shoulder holster and checked the clip. This one held bullets rather than darts and he rested it against the lynx shifter’s forehead as his finger tightened on the trigger. He hesitated and closed his eyes before shaking his head.

“No,” he whispered. “No.”

He holstered his gun and grabbed Doven’s arm. He and the dead man vanished as footsteps sounded in the hallway outside of the apartment.

 

* * *

 

“Davis?” Bishop rushed into the emergency room. It was just after five in the morning and the ER was remarkably quiet for a Saturday.

“He’s fine,” Mal said. “Still a little groggy from the tranquilizer but he’ll live. They’re doing some tests on him right now, just to make sure everything’s good.”

He squeezed Willow’s hand. “You should go home, honey. Go back to bed and get some sleep.”

Willow shook her head. “No, I’ll stay. I called Davis’ sister in California and she’s waiting for me to call her back once the tests are finished.”

Kat, her dark hair in a messy bun and her face free of makeup, came hurtling into the ER. “Is Davis okay?”

“He’s good,” Mal said. “Just groggy.”

“What the hell happened?” Bishop asked.

Mal sighed. “Let’s go to the cafeteria and grab a coffee. I’ll tell you everything Davis told me.”

 

* * *

 

“Was Davis bit or scratched?” Kat asked.

It was half an hour later and she stared at her untouched coffee as Mal shook his head. “No. He says he wasn’t and the doctors examined him and couldn’t find any marks on him.”

“Thank God,” Kat breathed.

“How did Davis even know it was this Clay guy,” Mal asked.

“He was at the office when Clay came in to meet with Kat,” Bishop replied. He tapped one large knuckle on the top of the table. “So Davis was certain that Sandra killed one of the men.”

Mal nodded. “When Davis’ phone went dead I drove to Sandra’s apartment. The police were already there and they weren’t letting anyone in to the building. I spoke with the neighbour who was the first to go into Sandra’s apartment and he said that he found Davis unconscious on the floor as well as a massive amount of blood on the floor and sprayed on the walls.”

“Where the hell was the body then?” Bishop said. “Maybe, Clay and his men could have smuggled Sandra out without anyone seeing them but Sandra and a dead body? No way.”

“Maybe they had more men waiting for them outside,” Kat said. “They moved their dead guy while Clay and the others moved Sandra.”

“Maybe,” Bishop said doubtfully.

“What doesn’t make sense,” Mal said, “is why Clay left Davis alive. Davis is sure that Clay realized he knew him. Why didn’t he kill him?”

“Because they’re scientists who work in a lab and not murderers?” Willow said. “For all we know, they could be doing something to help Sandra right now. If they wanted her dead, they would have just killed her right there, wouldn’t they have? According to Davis they just knocked her out so obviously they want to help her. I think we need to give this Stowe Laboratories the benefit of a doubt. Kat hasn’t found anything suspicious about them.”

Mal gave her a small smile. “Look at you being the voice of reason.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions about this Clay guy or Stowe Laboratories until we have more evidence. I didn’t get any funny feelings from Clay when he was at the office.”

“Will, just because you see ghosts doesn’t mean you have the ability to sense when people are bad,” Kat said gently.

Bishop shrugged. “I don’t know - she knew that snake shifter Royce was rotten.”

“Thank you, Bishop,” Willow said before turning to Kat. “I have excellent spidey senses remember?”

Kat grinned at her as Mal said, “Do you still have Clay’s card, Kat?”

She nodded and rummaged through her purse before pulling it out.

“Call him, let’s see what he has to say.”

She called and they waited patiently before she hung up the phone. “Straight to voicemail.”

“Surprise, surprise,” Bishop said. He suddenly stiffened and stared across the cafeteria before growling, “What is he doing here?”

They turned to see Bren Matthews ambling across the cafeteria toward them. Willow smiled and stood as he approached.

“Detective, it’s nice to see you again.”

He shook her hand. “Nice to see you as well, Ms. Tanner.”

“Oh please, call me Willow,” she said.

“Only if you call me Bren.”

Willow quickly introduced Mal and Kat to Bren as Bishop glared at the detective.

“Mr. King,” Bren said. “Nice to see you again. How’s Ava doing?”

“She’s good. She’s living with me now and she’s pregnant,” Bishop blurted out.

Willow choked on her swallow of coffee and Mal pounded her firmly on the back as Bren said, “Congratulations. Tell Ava I said hello, would you?”

Bishop nodded as Bren sat next to Willow. “So, I just spoke with your employee, Davis Wendle. Apparently, Sandra Mickelson hired your firm to protect her from what she believed was a porcupine shifter stalking her. Is that right?”

Mal nodded and Bren waited patiently. When no one said anything, he smiled briefly. “Your employee was as closed-mouth as the rest of you about details of this morning.”

He leaned forward. “Last week I had a very mutilated, very dead squirrel shifter in the park not five blocks from Ms. Mickelson’s house. He was, in fact, Ms. Mickelson’s boyfriend. The ME tells me that it was a porcupine shifter who killed him although he’s never heard of a porcupine shifter deciding to eat his fellow shifters. However, Ms. Mickelson did corroborate his theory.”

He tapped his fingers on the table. “Now, Ms. Mickelson is missing, your employee is in the hospital with an extremely powerful sedative running through him, and there’s an unsettling amount of blood - human blood - in Ms. Mickelson’s apartment.”

He leaned back and smiled at them. “Who wants to start explaining first?”

Mal glanced at Bishop and Kat. Bishop shook his head but Kat said, “I think we need to tell him, Mal.”

“No, Kat,” Bishop snapped.

“Cool it, big guy,” she said. “He might be able to help us get into Stowe Laboratories.”

“Stowe Laboratories?” Bren said.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Kat replied.

“I have nothing but time, Ms. Frost.”

 

* * *

 

“So,” Bren scratched his chin thoughtfully, “you believe that it’s some kind of virus that’s mutating the shifters?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Kat said. “But we do know that if you’re bitten or scratched, you get infected.”

“It appears that way,” Bren replied. “But Ms. Mickelson never mentioned that she had been injured by the porcupine shifter.”

“Maybe she was afraid,” Willow suggested. “Lots of shifters still don’t trust humans.”

Bren nodded. “You’re probably right. What do you think the odds are that Stowe Laboratories caused the virus?”

“Maybe,” Kat said. “That’s a possibility that we hadn’t thought of. It makes sense though. If they were experimenting on shifters, trying to enhance their healing abilities, it’s possible they accidentally created the virus or infection. And it would explain why they’re so desperate to round up anyone they think is infected. If this got out to the general public, they’d be ruined.”

“I think we should drive out to Stowe Laboratories on Monday morning and try and talk to this Clay guy,” Bishop said. “It’s doubtful he’ll return any of your calls, Kat.”

“I’ll go with you,” Bren said.

“No thanks,” Bishop grunted. “We can handle it ourselves.”

“Hold on, Bishop,” Kat said. “It would be helpful to have Detective Matthews with us. He could get a warrant and – “

“Afraid not,” Bren interrupted. “We have no real evidence that Stowe Laboratories is even involved.”

“We spoke to Clay, I have his business card,” Kat said.

“Still not enough to convince a judge to give me a warrant. Plus, it takes days to even get one. The paperwork alone will take a week.”

“That’s fine,” Bishop said. “Kat and I can go alone.”

“I think I should still go with you,” Bren said. “Sometimes flashing a badge opens more doors than a bear shifter with a security company.”

Bishop growled softly and Kat placed her hand on his arm. “He’s right, Bishop. You know he is.”

Bishop didn’t reply and Kat glanced at her watch. “Maybe we should go out there this morning?”

“It’s Saturday, Kat,” Mal said. “I doubt anyone of importance is there. Hell, for all we know the lab could be completely empty.”

“They have Sandra there,” Willow said. “Someone would be around. We need to make sure she’s okay, Mal. We told her we’d keep her safe.”

Mal took her hand and squeezed it gently. “I know, Willow, but it’s like you said earlier – if they wanted to kill her they would have done it at her apartment.”

“I guess,” Willow sighed. “But what if they’re torturing her or something?”

There was silence and she leaned against Mal as Bren handed his card to Kat. “If anything happens between now and Monday, give me a call, okay? Otherwise, I’ll meet you at your office say around seven, Monday morning?”

Kat nodded and Bren said goodbye before leaving.

“I don’t like this,” Bishop said grumpily. “We don’t need that guy coming with us and – “

“Bren’s a good guy,” Willow said. “You just don’t like him because he likes Ava.”

Bishop blushed. “That isn’t it at all, Willow.”

“No? Then why did you tell him that Ava was pregnant? You’re keeping that quiet, remember?”

Bishop’s blush brightened and he cleared his throat. “Uh, maybe don’t tell Ava that I did that, okay, Will?”

She laughed. “Your secret’s safe with me, big guy.”