Coyote's Kiss

by Crissy Smith

  Luca opened his mouth to show Adam his sharp teeth.

  “Okay, coyote boy,” Adam teased. “You could have taken that damn kitty.”

  He nodded his head, pleased with the acknowledgment.

  “Do we really have to carry this damn pussy all the way back to the entrance?” Brady bitched.

  “Excuse me?” Calvin snapped.

  “Oh shit!” Brady jumped away from Calvin. He’d obviously forgotten that Calvin also belonged to the feline species. Calvin glared at Brady but didn’t go after him.

  “Yes.” Adam pointed between Brady and Calvin.

  Brady and Calvin groaned but walked over to pick up the now docile and sleepy leopard. Luca darted in front of them so that he could lead the way and make sure that no one came for them. It sounded as though the fights were over and he was anxious to make sure that everyone had made it out okay. Plus, he really wanted to check on Jade and Cole.

  He kept his ears and eyes aware of his surroundings until they reached the fence that someone had busted through. He turned his head as two EMTs following behind Cole as Zak rushed Cole and the bed he was lying on toward the waiting ambulance. Obviously the human EMTs hadn’t been moving fast enough for Zak. If Luca had been in human form he would have laughed.

  “Hey, coyote!” Jamie called.

  Luca turned his head.

  “If you want to go to the hospital with Jade, you better shift. They’re about to leave.”

  Shit, he’d forgotten his clothes. He turned to go back and saw Flynn jogging up with his hands full.

  “Go ahead and change,” Flynn called. “I got them.”

  Grateful, he moved away from everyone else for privacy. Sal followed him, still in his coyote form also, and stood in front of Luca like a guard until he was panting in the dirt, once again human.

  “Thanks, bro,” he said as he rose to his feet.

  Flynn tossed Luca his pile of clothes. “Go! I got Sal’s back.”

  He pulled his jeans on as fast as he could and was off toward the ambulance as he pulled on his shirt.

  “I want to see Cole!”

  He heard Jade’s sharp, irate voice, and grinned.

  “Ma’am, he is going to the same hospital as you are and you shouldn’t be walking until we know if your spine was damaged.” One of the EMTs was trying to hold Jade down.

  “If you call me ma’am one more time I’m going to—”

  “Let them do their job,” Luca shouted before he jumped in the back next to her.

  Her eyes widened. “You okay?” she asked.

  “Yes, now be a good patient and maybe I’ll give you a kiss.”

  Jade snorted. “You’ll kiss me anyway.”

  “True,” Luca told her with a grin and a wink.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jade was floating in a haze of pain medicine as the doctor finally left the room. After poking, prodding and X-raying Jade, the medical staff had declared her bruised but okay. She turned her head to watch Luca as he held his cell up to his ear and paced. He was keeping her updated on the three arrests that had been made and Cole’s condition.

  The Lake Worth Medical Center was one of the best in the country at dealing with both human and shifter patients. Cole had lost a lot of blood but would make a full recovery. Luca noticed her attention on him and stopped beside her bed. “Thanks, Sal,” he said into the phone. “I’ll let you know when we leave here.”

  “Everything okay?” she asked when he’d pocketed his cell.

  Luca leaned over the side of the bed to kiss her forehead. “Yes, the shifters are still sedated. We still don’t know who they are, but they’re in custody. Their fingerprints are being run to see if they’re in any database. We’re working a hunch so we started with law enforcement. We should have their names soon.”

  “Do we need to get back to the office?” she questioned. She could probably make it, maybe, although she couldn’t feel her toes. Maybe Luca would carry her again. She’d liked that. His strong arms around her. She’d felt safe and warm. Mmm, yeah, she should have him do that.

  She jerked when she felt his lips on hers.

  “I don’t know what you were thinking about, but I think I like it,” he murmured.

  “I like you,” she blurted out. Oops, maybe the good drugs were affecting her more than she’d realized.

  “I’m glad to hear it since I don’t plan to let you get far,” he said. “I’ll be keeping you, just so you know.”

  She smiled. “Promise?”

  “Yes. And to answer your question, no we don’t have to go into the office. Cody and Sal have it covered. Zak and Jamie are still with Cole so he’s not alone. You just rest.”

  “I’m not tired,” she argued. “And I want another kiss.”

  He peered down at her. “You look like you do right after we make love. All soft, sweet and sleepy.”

  “Well, if you enjoy it so much,” she said, trying to pull him down, “come here.”

  “I don’t think your doctor would appreciate me climbing on top of you after he just looked over every inch of you,” Luca teased.

  “Doctors are stupid,” she whined. She really wanted Luca in the bed with her.

  “Maybe, but he also has really good drugs.”

  “Oh yeah,” she agreed. “These are awesome.”

  “I figured. Why don’t you close your eyes for a minute? That way you can see Cole when he’s awake.”

  If Luca refused to cater to her needs, she didn’t see the hurt in taking a short nap. “Fine, but don’t leave me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. She liked the sound of his voice.

  She’d heard some of the others talking and knew that he had shifted earlier. She wished that she could have seen it for herself. Maybe she could talk him into a private show when they got out of the hospital. Which should be any time now. She didn’t need to stay. And she wanted to be with the others as they waited for Cole to come round. Plus, she didn’t want to miss anything with the investigation. She still wanted to know where the hell the shifters had come from. One leopard, a wolf, and the sniper had transformed into a wolverine when he’d tried to get away.

  “Stop thinking.” Luca brushed his hand over her hair. She sighed and wiggled her butt deeper into the mattress. She could do that.

  * * * *

  Luca had brought Jade a pair of his sweatpants with one of his T-shirts to change into for several reasons. The first being that he wanted his scent on her. He was laying claim to her. Second, he enjoyed the sight of her in his clothes. And last, it had been easier to just go his home and grab a shower and clothes for both of them and return.

  He helped her pull up the faded cotton pants before hugging her to him. He didn’t know how Zak and Abilene were managing to work together when they were so in love. It had about killed him when Jade had been injured. He couldn’t imagine what it would feel like when he was deeply in love with her. He knew that’s where it was headed. There was no doubt in his mind that they would end up together. He wasn’t ready to propose, especially since she wouldn’t believe another one so soon, but he did plan to go home with her and never leave. She just didn’t need to know that yet.

  First, he needed to check on Cole before they met everyone else at the Coalition office.

  “You okay?” she asked as she tipped her head back to look up at him.

  “Just glad to be getting out of here,” he told her.

  “Me too,” she agreed. “And the doc gave me some of the good stuff just in case.”

  “Not so stupid now, is he?” he teased.

  She snorted. “Would have been better to have you in bed with me, but I guess I’ll just have to make sure I get my way tonight.”

  “Sounds good.” He released her to pick up her duffel bag. “Ready?”

  “Lead the way.” She waved him forward.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a wheelchair?”

  “Yes, Luca.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sore but okay.” />
  He knew he was being somewhat of a mother hen but he couldn’t help it. “Just take it slow.”

  “Yes, dear.”

  He grabbed her hand as they left her hospital room. Cole had been moved a few doors down earlier. Jade hadn’t gotten to see him and he hadn’t thought he could have put her off much longer when the doctor had finally come in and said that they were releasing her. They’d kept her overnight for observation and luckily she’d slept through it. But once she’d woken she’d demanded to see her partner.

  He was relieved to be able to finally take her to him. They strolled down the hall until they heard raised voices.

  “Uh-oh,” Jade commented. “Cole’s not happy.”

  From the sound of things Cole wasn’t the only one pissed off.

  “You’re not going!” Zak shouted.

  “You can’t keep me here. You’re not my boss,” Cole yelled back.

  “No, but I can keep you away from the Coalition,” Zak told him.

  “Oh come on,” Cole argued. “I just want to find out who tried to kill me.”

  “You got shot. You need to keep your ass in that bed and recover. We’ll take care of the assholes we arrested.” Zak lowered his voice. “I get it, man, really, but you need to let us do our job.”

  “I won’t do anything. I just want to be there,” Cole promised.

  They’d reached the door and Jade peeked inside. Luca was biting his lip to keep from laughing and announcing their presence.

  “Just let him come,” Jamie spoke up. “I’ll make sure he has a nice comfy chair to watch the show from.”

  Zak growled. “Shut up, Jamie!”

  “Maybe we should go in.” Jade turned to Luca.

  “I don’t know, it’s kind of entertaining,” he told her.

  She shook her head before yanking him into the small room. All three men turned toward them as they entered.

  “Hey,” she greeted her partner, letting go of Luca and rushing over to him. “How are you feeling?”

  Cole’s expression changed from mad to soft when he looked at Jade. The bond between the two of them was strong, and Luca was happy to be the one to help them reconnect.

  “I’m fine. I just wish that asshole would let me do my job.”

  Zak flipped Cole off but didn’t verbally respond.

  “Maybe you should stay,” Jade told him. “You had to have blood and stitches.”

  “I don’t even hurt. How do you feel, though? I heard you got tossed a pretty good distance last night,” Cole said.

  “I got the good drugs,” she told him happily. “If you’re a good boy I might share them.”

  Cole leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I still want to go into the office.”

  She sighed before she glanced over at Zak and shrugged.

  “Are you serious?” Zak said as he threw his hands up.

  “He knows how he feels and we’ll keep an eye on him. If someone had shot me I’d want to know who and why. I actually can’t wait to meet the guy that locked me in that damn container.”

  “Fine.” Zak pointed at Cole. “But you stay out of the interrogation rooms.”

  “I will,” Cole promised.

  “Let’s see about getting you released then.” Jamie jumped up from where he was sitting.

  * * * *

  After an hour the five of them were finally walking out of the hospital and climbing into the Coalition SUV. Jamie and Cole were still giving Zak a hard time, and Luca wondered when the tiger shifter would snap. His phone rang as Zak started the vehicle, his brother’s name popping up on the screen.

  “Hey, Sal.”

  “How much longer are you going to be?” his brother asked.

  “We’re headed there now,” Luca told him.

  “Good.”

  “What’s going on?” Luca asked. Sal sounded shorter than normal.

  “We’ve got a problem with the leopard shifter,” Sal said.

  “Hang on.” Luca pulled the phone away and put it on speaker. “Okay, we can all hear you. What’s up?”

  “The shifters woke and started to transform back to humans.”

  Luca glanced up at Jade who was frowning. “Okay, why is that a problem?”

  “Sam recognized the leopard.”

  “Who is it?” Jade questioned. Luca knew that was who she believed had hurt her.

  “Sam’s ex-partner, Danny.”

  “What?” everyone chorused.

  “Yeah, and it only gets better from there. The other two shifters? All FBI agents and one of them is on our missing persons list.”

  “What the fuck!” Cole exclaimed. “Why are they trying to kill me?”

  “Why aren’t you in the hospital?” Sal snapped.

  Luca grinned. Leave it to his brother to not only recognize Cole’s voice but yell at him for being stupid, too. They all knew that Cole should still be recovering but they hadn’t wanted to be the one to tell him.

  “Never mind that,” Cole replied. “Did you ask them what they were doing?”

  “Following orders,” Sal told them.

  “Whose orders?” Luca asked.

  “That’s where things get weird. Or weirder. Just get here as soon as you can so we can all try to figure this out.” Sal hung up.

  Luca glanced around at the others and saw the same shocked expressions that had to be on his face. This was just so strange. They needed answers and they needed them quickly. Whoever had sent Danny and the other two shifters might have already learned that they’d failed. It was only a matter of time before they started to clean house, and Luca was not going to allow them to slip through their fingers. Someone was going to pay for putting Cole and Jade in the hospital. He’d stay on his brother’s ass until Sal guaranteed it.

  “I don’t understand any of this,” Jade said quietly.

  He gripped her hand. He didn’t either. “Doesn’t matter, we have them for attacking you and Cole. They’ll either talk or go to jail.”

  “We’re missing something, though,” she pointed out.

  “We’ll figure it out,” he promised.

  * * * *

  Jade glared at the man whom she was sure was responsible for her injuries. He kept glancing between her and Luca but wouldn’t answer any of their questions. She looked up at the one-way mirror in the room, knowing that Cole was on the other side. So was Sam, for that matter. Maybe they should let the partners talk?

  She pulled on Luca’s sleeve and motioned to the door. He nodded. Jade smiled at the leopard shifter. He paled slightly, probably wondering what she had planned.

  Once they were in the hall, the viewing room door opened and the others stepped out.

  “I think Sam should go in,” she explained. “It might shake him up a little.”

  “Me?” Sam shook his head.

  “That’s a good idea,” Zak said as he joined them. “The wolf shifter started talking right away. The wolverine knows he’s in trouble—he did shoot an FBI agent. He’s already lawyered up.”

  “No attorney is going to get him out of those charges,” Jade said.

  “It depends on what they claim. The wolf shifter is John Revelez. We have him listed as missing. But he says he was moved to a new division with the FBI. He was given pictures of Cole and Jade and told that they were selling out undercover agents for profit. He claims he has orders for the job,” Zak explained.

  “Can he back that up?” Luca asked.

  “Cody’s heading to the hotel to pick up his stuff. He also gave us the other two’s hotel rooms and we have a warrant to get in. We might have enough without them talking, but we really need to get who ordered the hit. John claims the orders were to kill Cole and take Jade to face charges. I don’t know what they would have done with you,” Zak said, turning to her, “but it wouldn’t have been anything good.”

  Cole and Luca both visibly bristled.

  “Has anyone connected the orders to either our boss or Sam’s?” Jade asked.

  “Not yet,” Z
ak said. “Sal and Flynn are working that angle while we try to get to the bottom of this new department. Commander Green wants us to find out if the other missing agents are in whatever program they are running.”

  “Fine,” Luca agreed. “Sam and Jade can go interview Danny and see what they can get from him. I’ll wait with the wolverine until his lawyer arrives. What’s his name, anyway?”

  “Eric Nobles,” Zak said.

  “I… Can I get Danny a ginger ale? He likes them,” Sam asked.

  “Sure.” Jade nodded.

  “Would you like anything?”

  “Water please,” Jade told Sam. She turned to Luca as Sam hurried off. “I don’t know what to do with that kid.”

  Luca nodded. “You’ll probably have to guide him through the interrogation, but I think you’re right. It will shake Danny up.”

  “I hope so,” she said as she stretched her arms up. She winced slightly, but hoped that Luca didn’t catch it. Her muscles were tightening up and she was getting tired.

  “You can take a break,” Luca told her.

  She smiled. “I will if I need to. I promise.”

  “I’ll see you soon. Kick ass.” He kissed her quickly.

  “You too,” she told him. She spotted Sam hurrying back to her. She pushed open the door and motioned for Sam to enter first.

  “Sam?”

  “Hey, Danny,” Sam greeted. “I brought you a drink.”

  “Thanks, what are you doing here?” Danny questioned.

  “Let’s talk about that,” Jade said as she took the chair directly across from him. She accepted the bottle of water. “Why don’t you uncuff one of his hands so he can drink?” she suggested.

  Sam hurried around the table to release Danny’s right hand.

  “I appreciate it,” he said.

  Jade nodded.

  She waited while Sam opened the bottle for Danny and sat beside her. “From what Sam tells me you used to be his partner?”

  Danny nodded.

  “Were you aware that Sam was there last night with us?” she asked.

  Danny’s eyes widened. “No!”

  “He could easily have been killed or seriously hurt,” she pointed out. “You attacked innocent agents, why? You that pissed off at your ex-partner?” she pushed.