by Elle Thorne
He looked into her eyes. Where’s this going? Why the casual conversation now?
“It’s a woman.”
She gasped. Her sandwich fell to the deli paper, split apart and scattered its fixings. She looked down at the sandwich and tried to reassemble it, a messy endeavor.
“That’s a useless cause.” The sandwich was beyond repair. “Let me order you another one,” he offered.
“Oh, no. I’m not really very hungry.”
He studied her face. “You sure?”
She nodded, but her face was so pale that it made him wonder if she was sick.
“Can I trust you?
She coughed. “Sure.”
“I need help.”
Her eyes grew wide. “From me? What kind of help can a kindergarten teacher offer you? My specialties are corralling little children and trying to organize paperwork during reading time.” A forced smile curved her lips.
He laughed, though she didn’t seem amused. “No, I think it’s safer to say I need your shifter skills more than I do your teacher skills.”
* * *
Cade fought to keep her hand from shaking as she raised a chip to her mouth. She put it back down. She’d probably choke on the damned thing.
“My shifter skills?” Why does my voice sound so squeaky? Yeah, like she didn’t know.
“It seems the cat burglar—”
“Who is a shifter and a woman…” She couldn’t help cutting him off. “And you’re sure of that?”
“Yeah. Very. I saw her last night. She’s definitely a woman. All woman.”
Cade wasn’t sure she cared for the appreciative gleam in his eyes when he said that. She knew she was the one… but he didn’t. “Why didn’t you catch her, then?”
“For starters, we didn’t have the… Well, it was just me and Ky. I didn’t have anyone else there.”
“It wasn’t an official thing, then?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“And she got away with it? Whatever she stole?”
“This time.” His jaw clenched. He most definitely wasn’t happy with that situation.
“So I don’t get where my help would come in handy.”
“She’s a feline shifter—”
“What kind?”
He gave her a look, as if he was wondering why she kept interrupting him. “I don’t know. It was dark, and she was quick.”
Thank God. “So what do you need me for?”
“I just thought of it when I came into your place. I can’t jump from building to building like she does. Bears don’t jump. You can.”
“And you want me to risk my life jumping between buildings to catch a common cat burglar that the NYPD can’t?” She shook her head. “And you see nothing wrong with asking me that?”
At least he had the decency to look chagrined. “You have a point.” He scratched his days-old growth of beard.
Why does he have to be so sexy when he does that?
“There’s another option. I could ask my brother if there’s anyone in Unit 13 with InterForce who could help out.” He didn’t look thrilled with the idea.
“But you’d rather not.”
“It doesn’t fall into their jurisdiction. They might be able to help, off the books, but I’d rather make the collar myself.”
“What harm is this criminal really doing, Isaac? Is she stealing from people who are hungry and poor? How do you know she’s not doing something good with the proceeds?”
“It’s a crime.”
“It’s black and white for you, just like that?”
He looked up from his sandwich and stopped his hand mid-air, almost ready to take a bite.
“No exceptions?” she pressed further.
“None I can think of, right off the top of my head.”
“You should think harder.” She bit her tongue and clamped her lips shut.
He studied her face, his expression somber. “Working with little children has given you an amazingly innocent perspective.”
If you only knew. “I always root for the underdog. Let’s go.” She pushed her chair back with a loud scraping sound. “We have shopping to do.”
He held the door open for her as they exited the deli.
Chapter Twelve
Hours later… had it really been hours? She’d actually enjoyed the normally tortuous task of shopping. She’d had a good time, and it was because of Isaac. They’d laughed, his earlier request forgotten, and they’d shopped for gifts for each other’s families. They’d spent hours and hours, and yet, it didn’t feel like it.
He put his hand on her arm just after they’d exited the last store.
The beginnings of dusk were making the city darken as he pulled her into an alcove. Tiny snowflakes swirled around them, creating a magical environment where dreams and wishes could come true.
But dreams and wishes don’t come true. Cade knew better.
“Cadence.”
She loved the way he said her name, not short and choppy like she insisted everyone else say it. On his tongue, it was a caress that flowed through her and then pulled her in for an embrace.
She looked at this man, her enemy, her hunter, and if her panther was right, her fated mate.
Inside, her body was a jumble of nerves. How did he make her feel this way? It wasn’t sex. No, not just sex, but all of what she felt for him met in that one place, deep within her, that spanned from the tip of her toes to her brain.
I’m crazy. This is crazy. This can’t end well.
He raised a hand, put it behind her neck, and moved it slowly, leaving tiny goose bumps in her flesh that had nothing whatsoever to do with the temperature. Shivers raced down her back. Those translucent blue eyes of his held her captive while his hand traveled until it cupped her cheek with such tenderness, her breath refused to leave her body.
She forced herself to breathe out.
Big mistake, because then she had to breathe in.
And what she breathed in was all Isaac, all male, all sexiness, blended with the scent of woods and peppermint.
Heaven help her. She was falling.
“Cadence.”
That word again. Her name, the way he said it, was an aphrodisiac of the greatest proportions.
“There’s something about you. There’s something here. Tell me you don’t feel it.”
She hesitated.
Perhaps too long, because before she could formulate a response, he lowered his head, tilting it just so, and swiped his tongue over her lips.
At first she thought he’d be gentle, as if asking permission, but that wasn’t Isaac’s way, it seemed. He pressed forward, pushing her against the wall, his mouth staking his claim on her, his tongue acting out his desire. He pressed against her, trapping her. His tongue did the eternal dance with hers, a tango that built a fire within her. The kiss seemed to last forever as his other hand drifted to her waist and pulled her against the length of him.
Oxygen was making its way to her lungs, she was sure, because she hadn’t passed out, but at the same time she felt breathless. She couldn’t concentrate on anything but the man in front of her.
He pulled back, his gaze on fire. Her lips were cold in the absence of his.
“I’d like to take you to dinner.”
Dinner?
She couldn’t even fathom the idea of dinner. She took a deep breath to clear her thinking.
No. She had to retrieve her phone. She needed to…
She didn’t know what she needed.
Yes, she did. She most certainly did.
She needed to run away from him as fast as she could before he trapped her in…
Heaven.
One more deep breath, more head clearing—or at least a valiant effort to do so.
“I can’t tonight. I have something to do.”
He nodded slowly, as if he didn’t buy that.
“About your request, though…” she continued.
“Request?”
“To
help you. With catching your cat burglar. I’ll do it.”
I’m crazy.
She wanted to shake herself. What was she thinking? “Just give me a few days to get some things wrapped up.”
Like maybe a final job so that I can officially retire from my life of crime and get Ignacio’s Place funded.
“You’re sure about dinner?” His lips brushed hers.
No. I need to get my phone. And get last night’s bounty to Ben.
Ben, her liaison.
Who am I kidding? He’s a fence. Used to be Uncle Ramon’s fence.
“I can’t.” She left it at that.
Moments later, she’d left him on the corner.
* * *
The struggle between wanting Isaac and trying to avoid being arrested by him was tearing Cade up.
Getting the burner phone back was no big deal. There wasn’t anyone watching the building next to the one she’d robbed.
Cade powered it on while she strode toward her apartment.
She had a text.
Ben: Want another lead?
She called him. “The last lead almost got me arrested.”
“This isn’t from the same guy. And it’s a big one.”
“Keep talking.” Is this the answer to my prayers? The last job?
“Hey, I can only tell you what I know. I can’t tell you what the cops know or plan. Do you want it or not?”
I should wait. I should let more time go by.
Yeah, but if I take this one and wrap it up, I can be done with it.
And she could enjoy the holiday season. And maybe enjoy time with Isaac, because she wouldn’t be his target anymore.
Those two thoughts, holiday season and Isaac, merged with one word: mistletoe.
Damn him. Yeah, she should get this over with, do the last job, get Ignacio’s Place started, and then…
She sighed. “Go on, let’s have it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Isaac walked toward his desk. The station was a hub of noise and activity. He tuned it out, setting his coffee down, booting up his computer. Paperwork. The bane of his existence.
Though the bane would have been a cat burglar, his bear reminded him.
He shoved the smartass back.
“Mister?”
He barely registered the tiny voice calling out. In fact, safe to say he tuned it out.
A tug on his sleeve made that hard to do. He turned his attention toward a seven-year-old with a grimy face and grimier nails.
“What’s up?”
Bright eyes in a curious face regarded him with that open look kids often had. A darkness lingered in the back of the child’s gaze.
“I need help.”
This isn’t social services. He quelled the quick retort that came to mind.
When did I get so fucking hardened to life?
He knew when, he knew exactly when. The day a kid that should have been in kindergarten picked his pocket.
“What do you need help with?” He regarded the urchin’s tattered clothing, the holes in the jeans.
“My mom’s being booked.”
A kid that young shouldn’t even know the words being booked; he sure as hell shouldn’t be saying his mother was being booked.
“What for?”
“Honest, Officer. She was getting us a tree.”
He didn’t need anyone to translate that one for him. She was being booked for stealing. “What did she take?” Take was such a nicer word, especially for one that young.
“A Christmas tree.” He wrung his hands, caught himself, shoved them deep into jean pockets. “It was my fault. I told her I hated her. That she never gave me a Christmas. That I wished she’d never had me.”
Ouch. He nodded. “Who brought you here?”
“I followed the police car.”
Isaac closed his eyes against the image of the little one running behind a patrol vehicle while his mother was being taken away. He opened them.
“Don’t call social services, please. I’ll just run away. I want my mom to come home. Take me instead, it’s my fault, after all. Take me to jail.” He held out his hands, wrists together, ready to be cuffed.
That moment Isaac saw Cadence’s face, heard her words: It’s black and white for you, just like that?
“Fu—” He clamped his mouth shut. Maybe the curvy brunette had a point after all?
He pushed his chair away from the desk and stood next to the kid, towering above the little man who’d learned way too much at too early of an age.
“Let’s find your mother.”
* * *
Isaac’s morning was spent finding the boy’s mother, having her released, then taking them on a shopping excursion, a trip very different from the one he’d had with Cadence.
He’d provided them with a tree and presents for beneath the tree. The little boy once more was a child, not a miniature man who knew too much, too early.
The kid wrapped his arms around Isaac’s legs, thanking him.
The shine of tears were the mother’s thank you.
He’d handed the woman his card. “Call me Monday. We’ll see if we can’t help you find a job.”
The tears had flowed.
Not a bad day, after all. Now he was meeting Ky—time to get the operation going. That damned cat burglar was getting the best of Isaac, and the perfect ending to Isaac’s day would be to close the case.
“Got them?” Isaac glanced at Ky’s empty hands.
Ky patted his pocket. “Got them. Did you set out the bait?”
“Trap’s set.” Isaac knew his smile was grim, but no one was more ready for this ordeal to be over. The thought another shifter was fooling him didn’t sit well.
“You sound like you’re hunting.” Laken watched them from the couch.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.” Isaac glanced at his watch. “I don’t want to delay getting there. I need to be set up.”
The story had been carefully planted with sources in the criminal world. A mansion the NYPD had seized in a drug bust was the place he’d set a trap for the perp.
Again, Isaac was working outside the purview of the NYPD and without backup. Again, Ky had given him shit about it, but this was something Isaac had to do, and he wanted to do it alone. His bear growled in agreement.
The house was two stories tall, surrounded by trees on a moonless night. It was a cat burglar’s dream.
Except he’d make sure the cat burglar got a surprise. He’d catch her.
He’d told Ky he wanted to handle it alone. Being the baby brother of a clan of alpha polar bears hadn’t always been easy. He wanted to follow in Jonah’s footsteps and become a part of Unit 13, but he didn’t want his brothers getting him there.
* * *
Isaac stretched sore muscles. He’d positioned himself in an armoire in the room on the second floor that held the safe. The door was open a crack, placed perfectly so he was facing the safe.
Where the hell is she?
Had the sources not passed the information along? Was the perp not coming? It was almost four o’clock, and she was notorious for striking before four. He found himself admiring the cat burglar even though he would put her in cuffs. She was disciplined and successful, even though her success was in illegal practices.
He set the tranq pistol down and flexed his fingers, careful not to let them pop, because a shifter would hear that from a good distance away.
Come on. Come on.
He paused.
There.
Thank goodness he’d used hunter’s block himself.
A shadow entered the room. She was fully clad in black, from her mask to the tips of her black boots. She moved with grace and stealth, her back to him. If it were any other time, he’d pause to admire the curves on her, except…
She was a criminal.
And mostly…
He couldn’t get another set of curves off his mind.
Cadence.
He pushed the thoughts away. He needed t
o have his mind fully on this mission. There’d be time to think of Cadence later. There was Christmas with his family, after all.
Her back still to him, the perp lifted the black mask off her head and shoved it into a back pocket. She took one of two paintings off the wall, revealing the safe.
It was a different painting than the one Isaac had told the informant about. He’d wanted to see if she’d done her homework.
She had.
He was mesmerized by the confidence in her movements. As soon as she had the bag full of cash and jewelry, he would hit her with the tranq. He wanted her to be beyond denial of her dastardly acts.
Just as she closed the safe, her backpack full of loot, he raised the pistol, took careful aim for her thigh, and pulled the trigger back slowly.
Except she sneezed, and her body flinched.
* * *
At the precise moment she sneezed, Cade heard a slight pop, then felt a sting, like bumping into a cactus. The next thing she heard was the sound of something bouncing off the wall and landing on the floor.
A quick glance verified it was a dart.
A fucking dart? A tranq?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Who would…?
How would they…?
She was ready to whirl around and determine who and where her attacker was when a slight wooziness hit her. She had to get the hell out of here, because she had no idea how potent it was, and how much had gotten into her. And if there was a second one coming.
Oh, shit. Not a second one.
Her hand hooked the backpack as she made a dash for the door, sprinted through and turned left. Then she realized her mistake. She needed to turn right.
Fuck.
She ran into a room and closed and locked the door behind her. She had seconds before whoever shot her would find and open the door.
She opened the window. She could handle this jump. Of course she could. She shook her head to clear it.
Damn wooziness. Everything was out of focus and she was seeing double.
I’d already be out by now if that damned thing had stuck in me instead of glancing off.