Catalina felt the shift in Cooper the moment the taunting words passed her lips. The man might not be a shifter, but he was a predator all the same.
“You’re too smart to throw out such a ridiculous challenge, Catalina. Tell me what you’re afraid of—and I want to remind you, omitting pertinent information is still lying.” She’d been so focused on the way his hands slipped through the folds of her dress to grip the cheeks of her ass in warning, she almost missed the question buried skillfully in his censure.
Cooper was one of those rare examples of a recruit surpassing the skills of his mentor. He’d soaked up everything Cameron Barnes taught him like a sponge, then added his own experiences and observations to the mix. Cooper was nearly impossible to fool when she was fully on her game, and tonight, Catalina’s libido wasn’t letting her function anywhere near her peak.
Refocusing on their conversation, Cat realized whether they were dreams or premonitions didn’t matter as much as the toll they were taking on her. He’d seen through her attempt to goad him, and his response was a testament to his training as a Dominant. The most aggravating part was his utter mastery of self-control. She watched the steady rise and fall of his chest as his pulse throbbed steadily beneath the surface. Her wolf scented nothing but concern. He wasn’t angry or frustrated—those two emotions changed a person’s body chemistry much the same as fear, the scent easy for a shifter to detect.
Damn, damn, fuck it all. He was right, she was deflecting. Ordinarily, Catalina approached everything head-on, but as unnerving as it was to admit, she was afraid. Afraid to admit her growing concern for what was coming, afraid she wasn’t going to be able to shield her family from the dark side of magic still lurking in the background, and most of all, afraid she was going to end up heartbroken when it was all said and done.
“All of it, Princess, spit it out. Remember, I can’t hear what you’re thinking, although I’d probably be able to make a couple of reasonable guesses.” He tightened his hold on her ass cheeks. His grip wasn’t painful, but the message was clear—he wasn’t going to back down. “The foundation is always trust, Catalina. Your safety is my number one priority, but I need your help. I’m playing from a disadvantage since I don’t have your magical abilities. I need your help when we’re dealing with forces I don’t fully understand.”
Nodding her understanding, Catalina took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. With her family nearby, there was a real possibility one of them would pick up enough of this conversation to start asking questions. Cooper was the only one who knew the details of her captivity. If it hadn’t been for his tenacity, she’d have died in that small cell without anyone ever knowing what happened to her. Everyone she loved would have been forever haunted by the fact she’d simply vanished. Cam Barnes had been instrumental in smoothing the continuing issues of diplomatic fall-out, but it had been Cooper who’d stormed in with guns blazing to pull her out of hell on earth.
Briefly outlining the dreams she’d been having wasn’t as difficult as she’d thought it would be. Cooper wasn’t pressing her for details, but Catalina knew the hard questions had to be asked… eventually. The simple truth was, she had a lot more questions than answers.
“I want to sit in on the debriefing. Hell, it’ll be worth our time to find out where the hell Lilly got her hot little socialite hands on that kind of firepower.” Cat couldn’t hold back her smile. Lilly West was a firecracker of the first order. Her love of powerful guns and explosions was only eclipsed by her loyalty to the people she cared about. Kent and Kyle West owned the Prairie Winds Club and managed several freelance special operations teams. Their wife was a handful, and their kids challenged their parents at every opportunity, but it was Kent and Kyle’s mother, Lilly, who challenged them at every turn.
“If I were you, I’d be reluctant to ask about the gun. Consider it a… well… sort of a don’t ask, don’t tell situation. It’s probably best to maintain some level of plausible deniability with the Agency.” Catalina leaned into him, grinning, grateful for the break in the tension between them. Walking into the light, Cat found herself pulled into so many hugs she lost count, but it was Charlotte standing to the side holding baby Marshall who caught Aunt Catalina’s attention. Making her way quickly to stand in front of her sister-in-law, Cat held out her arms and noted the relief in Charlotte’s expression.
“Thank you. My arms were starting to go numb. Why does everyone assume new mothers don’t want to share their babies? It’s a big heap of donkey dung. I speak for new moms everywhere when I tell you—we’re exhausted. Take the baby… bring him back next Thursday. I just want to take a nap.” Cat tried not to snicker but knew she hadn’t fooled Charlotte. “Go ahead and laugh, but someday, you’ll find out I’m right. I have two nannies, and I’m still up to my ass in alligators. I kept up with your demanding brother and his obsessive-compulsive fraction-of-a-minute calendar without batting an eye, but one tiny human is draining me… literally.”
Charlotte’s maniacal laughter was a little frightening, and their conversation was beginning to draw unwanted attention. Austin’s wife wasn’t usually given to dramatics, but with her arms windmilling and her non-stop chatter, the performance was edging close to Oscar-worthy.
“You think I’m kidding about the draining thing? Nope. Absolutely a fact. Nursing is good for the baby. You have to do it for the baby. The baby doesn’t get all the important antibodies if you don’t breastfeed. There isn’t a woman on the planet who isn’t given a ticket for this guilt trip… that sucker’s a one-way coupon, too, let me tell ya. Then they give you a machine that works way too much like the milking machines I saw once at a dairy farm. It’s just wrong… and hysterically funny on so many levels.” Catalina stared at Charlotte as huge tears filled her eyes. The petite beauty started to sag just as Austin and Bristol appeared at her side.
“Come on, little mama, let’s get you inside. I think I can help.” Dr. Bristol Adler, Israel’s new wife, was Charlotte’s obstetrician and personal physician. Bristol was one of the most sought-after specialists in the state for good reason. No one was surprised by the exponential growth of Bristol’s private clinic; the woman was as compassionate as she was brilliant. Dr. B had also made it her personal mission to cater to magicals and kinksters. According to Israel, his mate nearly worked herself to death before she’d been able to recruit a quality physician to join her growing practice.
Austin scooped his wife into his arms, and Catalina’s heart ached for Charlotte. Her sister-in-law was going to be mortified when she was feeling more like herself and realized how public her melt-down had been.
We won’t let her be embarrassed. That’s what family does, Cat.
Israel’s smooth voice moved through her mind, making her seek him out. He was standing a few feet to her left, and when their gazes met, he made a point of looking at the sleeping infant in her arms.
What’s your plan for our nephew?
Holy fucking hell. What was she going to do with a baby? She didn’t know anything about babies. Well, she knew they leaked, and you had to feed them a lot… which was probably why they leaked so much. She’d visited her sisters after they’d had their children, but she hadn’t been actively involved in caring for their children. Feeling herself start to panic, Cat was shocked when Cooper stepped in front of her and took the baby into his arms.
“Come here, little man. Your aunt looks like she is closing in on a panic attack. How about you hang out with me until Tobi or Lilly realize I’ve got you.” Catalina stood with her mouth open, staring in disbelief at the man she thought she knew so well. When Cooper finally looked up at her, he looked bewildered.
“What?”
“I had no idea you knew anything about babies. How did I not know this?” Catalina wasn’t going to deny she was impressed. “People don’t surprise me very often, but you have shocked me to my toes.” She almost laughed out loud at the irony. Cat had been on missions with Cooper when the situation was so hot, neither of them knew if they’d get out of it alive. During her rescue, she’d watched him kill more men than she wanted to count—the path he cleared to pull her out of hell had been wide and bloody.
“I’m trying to decide if I should be pleased, knowing I was able to surprise you or insulted you didn’t think I spent time with my niece and nephew.” How could she have forgotten his younger sister and her husbands had children? Not only was she an incompetent aunt, apparently, she wasn’t a particularly good friend, either. Looking at her, his gaze softened before he continued.
“I love how Lakyn’s men have no interest in knowing who the genetic father of either child is, even though it’s easy to figure out. Little Cooper is three and already taller than most five-year-olds. Leiloni is all dark eyes, soft ebony curls, and beautiful bronze skin that makes her look like she just returned from a Caribbean cruise.”
Listening to Cooper wax poetic about his niece and nephew made her realize how little time she’d spent with her own. She popped in when she could, showered them with gifts, took their mamas for spa days, then disappeared for months at a time. She’d held the babies for photos, then quickly handed them back to whoever was closest. The contrast between them was damned humbling as she watched Cooper Hicks, former US Navy SEAL, CIA operative, and sexual Dominant, handled baby Marshall like he was born to the job. The whole evening was edging dangerously close to bizarre.
A few minutes ago, Cat hadn’t been able to think about anything beyond several rounds of swinging from the chandeliers, wild monkey sex. How in the hell had she gone from raging hormones to watching Cooper rescue her nephew from her? She was getting damned tired of all these humbling moments. Catalina had been snatched off the street in Bum-Fuck-Nowhere before she had even checked in to her hotel. The torture and beatings she endured came damn close to breaking her spirit. Two things kept her from giving up—hearing her mother pleading for her to hold on just a few more hours and her certainty Cooper was doing everything in his power to find her.
“You shouldn’t have blocked me, Cat.” Israel surprised her by speaking at her side rather than into her mind. She tried to smile but didn’t think he was fooled when his brows drew together. “Don’t even try it blow smoke up my ass, sister.” When he turned to face her, Cat mirrored the action, facing the brother she shared a special bond with because he could read her so easily. “I appreciate your effort to protect me, hoping I wouldn’t go out of my mind with worry, but blocking me was worse. Feeling your panic, followed by nothing but deafening silence was terrifying.” He pulled her into his arms, hugging her so tight, Cat heard herself squeak. “Don’t do it again.”
The surge of emotion washing over her made it impossible to speak around the lump in her throat. The backs of her eyes burned, and she dreaded the tears she knew would follow. Crying sucked. Some women looked sweet and vulnerable when they shed tears—Cat looked like she’d gone a few rounds in the ring with… hell, what was his name? The guy with the strange face tattoo who did cameos in movies. Geez, what was wrong with her? Giving herself a mental facepalm at her lack of sports knowledge, Cat couldn’t hold back her laughter when Israel laughed and provided Mike Tyson’s name through their shared link.
“It’s interesting you used a boxing reference when you’ve always given me and Austin hell for following the sport.” Giving her a final squeeze, Israel released her but only put a few inches between them. She watched as he gave someone behind her a quick nod before his attention once again centered on her. “When you are ready to talk, I’ll be here.”
“Thank you. I’m not sure when that will be, but I’m working on it.” She wasn’t working on it intentionally, but she had little choice. For the moment, all she could do was try to cope with what was being thrown her way.
“Hand him over, Cooper. You get plenty of baby time with Lakyn’s angels.” Lilly West’s voice filled the area around them. She’d swooped in on Cooper, lifting Marshall from his arms. Cat didn’t know anyone who didn’t love the gorgeous West matriarch. Lilly was an inspiration in so many ways. Stunningly beautiful, a familiar face in too many social circles to count, and a wild card.
“If you’re going to baby-snatch, you have to tell me about the gun. Holy hell, there isn’t enough left of those guys to get a positive ID.” Cooper grinned at Lilly, but her gaze never left the sleeping infant cradled in her arms.
“Did you see Grandma Lilly toast those two water intruders, Marshall? The bad guys were going to hurt your family, and that wasn’t acceptable, so I brought out the serious artillery. I’m already teaching my grands how to shoot, but that’s a secret, so don’t tell their anal-retentive dads. You’ll learn soon enough—sometimes it is best to play your cards close to your chest.”
“We know you are teaching the kids to shoot. If you thought the range owner wouldn’t call us, you’ve forgotten he’s a member of the club.” Cat wasn’t surprised to see Kyle West step out of the shadows. He might be retired from the Special Forces, but he was still a trained operator. The man could write a book on stealth movement and had an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time.
“I don’t have a problem with you teaching them the basics, but we’re drawing the line at explosives. Your granddaughter is too much like you for anyone’s comfort.” Kent’s comment drew Lilly’s attention away from Marshall.
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. I’m thrilled you think she is like me and overjoyed to know it gives you pause. It has never been my intention to make you or your brother comfortable. Challenging you has always been my greatest joy.” Her saccharin tone belied her words, and anyone with a Southern mama would recognize the slap down Lilly had given her sons.
Del and Dean West, Lilly’s husbands, both coughed, trying to cover up their laughter, even though no one else standing in the small circle made any attempt to hide their amusement. The woman was the absolute embodiment of Southern belle—sugar sprinkled with lots of spice.