Contracted: Mercenary Shifters (Mercenaries for Hire Book 3)

by Becca Vincenza

  My nose tingled with an irritating scent as I set my hand on the doorknob. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and a shiver went down my spine, coating my body with a fine layer of frosty fear. The air rushed next to me, and I dropped to my knees. A large grunt followed.

  I looked up to see a swing of a large, thick arm. Following the arm to the body, I saw a monster of a man. With thick, powerful muscles, he looked fit to kill. His head was shaven, he had a hard, square jaw, and eyes that promised no mercy.

  “Oh crap.”

  “Goin’ to ‘ake this ‘ard on yarself?” His accent was thick and hard to understand.

  I scrambled away from him, ending up on my butt on the kitchen tile. He lumbered forward, his eyes burned brightly with his animal. Fear seized my body, but I couldn’t allow it to slow me. I had to keep moving. Jumping to my feet, I watched his unrushed charge forward.

  My heart pounded in my chest, and my throat tightened. Each of his footsteps echoed on the floor and vibrated through me. Just a little bit longer. I waited. Just a few more steps.

  He continued forward, his black, beady eyes focused on me: his prize. Good. I needed that. With his next stomp forward my body contracted, squeezing down into my mongoose form. My body burned with the shift, and the giant shifter never saw it coming. I had perfected shifting quickly over the years, a small shifter trait big predators and apex animals hadn’t mastered.

  The pile of my clothes lay where my body had been. I ran out from my pant leg and bolted underneath his wide stance. Once I got to the other side of the rug, I stopped and shifted back into my human form. I grabbed onto the rug. The shifter twisted to face me as I crouched down and yanked the rug as hard as I could. His one foot still stood on the edge, the other was firmly planted on it. The unexpected movement had him flailing backwards.

  The large shifter started to teeter forward. I twisted on my heel toward the apartment door. Shifting again would drain me, I knew it would, but I had no other choice. Running around naked would draw too much attention, not to mention in my neighborhood … I shuddered at the thought. There were too many unsavory people in this area.

  My body eased back into the form I had just taken. Fatigue weighed heavily on my limbs, but I had no time to waste. I had to run. Run to Mallory. Run from the beast behind me. Run to … Lucas.

  I shook my little head and bunched my hind legs, ready to leap off. Large hands gripped my ribs, crushing them in. I squeaked in pain and tried to wiggle from his hold to give myself some room to breathe. I panted heavily in his hands and twisted and turned. The beast turned me in his hands. His flat nose pressed down, reforming in an impending shift. He was barely controlled, and I feared what he would do in his animal form. From the ashen, gray hue his skin started to turn, I guessed he was a black rhino.

  Frantic, my animal instinct took over. Rearing my head back, I slammed my teeth into the fleshy part of his hand. With a coppery rush, blood coated my tongue and filled my mouth. The rhino roared in pain, but I refused to let go until his grip loosened. His right hand twitched and my sharp teeth dug farther into his left.

  He tried to pry me off with his right by pulling me by my waist. My teeth, which remained firmly in his skin, dragged long lesions in his hand.

  With a hard yank of his right hand, he pulled me from the skin of his left. I moved quickly, twisting and turning, making sure he lost his grip on my body. Wind rushed past my ears, and I braced myself for impact. The second my claw-tipped paws hit the ground, I was off. I ran as fast as I could. Instead of taking the straight shot to the door, I tried to run under discarded items. The sight of my torn apart apartment had been heartbreaking before, but now it might actually save my life.

  My small claws clicked against the tile of my kitchen, and my heart pounded in my chest. Almost there. Almost …

  Thundering footfalls sounded from behind me, and I drew my tail close, but it hindered my running. Panting heavily, I tucked my ears backwards and streamlined forward. There were no other options than escape. Mallory needed me.

  The scent of fresh air hit my sensitive nose. I peeked over. The window!

  How could I be so stupid? One of the windows in my house was perpetually open. It was a small crack but it might be enough space for me to escape through.

  The window sat at the far end of my kitchen. I stopped near a pan to take in my surroundings. The rhino was swinging his head, looking for me, kicking objects he most likely had torn from their respective places. Hot anger rushed through me. The small predator inside of me, though, knew there was no real chance at me winning, but still wanted to claw his eyes out. This was my home, and he had treated it like trash.

  His back was turned to me right now, if I could just …

  No. Focus.

  Swinging my head back to the task at hand, my gaze traced up the cabinets of my kitchen. The countertops were scattered with shattered plates, cups, and other debris. I would make too much noise, but it was the only escape. Once I got out of here, I would have to head to Lucky’s. I had a clean set of work clothes there.

  My muscles tensed with the need to move as the rhino lumbered his way toward the door. He came across a pot and kicked it with his steel-toe booted foot. My pot went flying into the wall, creating a loud bang.

  Not willing to wait for a better opportunity, I did what my little beastie did best. I climbed. My claws dug into the wood and I cringed. I wouldn’t be getting my security deposit back on this place.

  My limbs shook with exhaustion as I continued to climb. I had to make it up the cabinets. I had to get out that window. There was no other choice. The quick shifts left me feeling fatigued and the rhino’s assault had worn me down. All this coupled with the fact it had been a very long time since I allowed my animal such freedom and liberties, I was in major danger.

  I made it up the cabinets without attracting the rhino’s attention. He was breathing deeply, his hot breaths the only sound between us and his continuous attack on my house. There was a sound of a crashing object against the wall, but I refused to look back. I had worked so hard for these things and he broke them in seconds. Months of labor.

  Didn’t matter. He was here to either kill me or take me to a fate that was much worse than death. Perched on the counter, I took a single moment to breathe before rushing forward. I kept my eye trained on my freedom, narrowly avoiding sharp pieces of glass, and kept my tail up, away from anything on the counter.

  Halfway across the counter there was a halt in the constant noise. In that hush, my front paw tapped a fork that sat too close to the edge. My eyes widened as the fork fell to the ground.

  Fudge.

  “There you are, you little bitch.”

  I squeaked at him, offended. I didn’t have time, though. My heart pounded hard against my ribs. Kicking off with my back feet, I rushed forward, uncaring about the noise I made now. His legs were much longer, but I hoped the maze of debris would slow him down.

  The window was so close. Rushing to the sink’s edge, I didn’t hesitate. I trusted my body and used the edge of the sink to propel myself forward. My front paws gripped the wooden trim of the window, and I pulled myself up, tucking my back legs upwards and gripping the wood.

  “You little fucker!” His voice was so close, it echoed in my ears.

  The window didn’t have much of an opening. Squeaking, I forced my way into the tiny space, twisting my head to squeeze through.

  The night air cooled my lungs but my body still burned. Every second he was getting closer. I tugged forward with my front paws and pushed with my back legs, which were still inside. I didn’t think he would have any trouble getting the window open while clutching my tail. I flinched at the thought. I had to get through the window. Now.

  Laying my hips flat, I pulled myself forward with my front legs. My tail was mostly fluff and slid through the window. I sat on the edge of the window, blinking slowly at the fire escape ahead of me.

  The iron ladder was my only chance of escape. My h
eart pounded at the jump. What would happen if I missed? What would happen if the rhino caught me? Torture, breaking my bones, making me watch as they hurt Mallory, abusing my body or, Gods forbid, hers. I shivered.

  The muscles in my back legs bunched together, and I loosened my hold on my front.

  The window rattled as the rhino started to push it upwards. It caught and the old glass rattled. I launched forward. Reaching out with my front legs, I caught the ladder in my paws. My chest heaved with heavy breaths. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, fueling the heat in my blood.

  “This ain’t over, bitch.”

  I started to climb up the ladder with a tiny relieved smile parting my leathery lips.

  Perhaps.

  Once I hit the roof there was a booming roar from a couple floors down. Stupid rhino. Lucky’s first, then I had to go check on Mallory. I couldn’t show up to the medical facility as a mongoose or naked.

  Chapter 4

  Lucas

  I cracked my neck for the third time, trying to relieve the restlessness growing inside of me. It didn’t help. I couldn’t seem to sit still while the computer program searched for who put the bounty on Mazy. Anger wove its way through my veins at the thought of someone targeting her.

  Running the program for Dominic, Quentin, or myself never took long because I had done it many times before. It could weed out our names and take down our bounties in minutes. This was different. I didn’t want to just take down Mazy’s bounty, I wanted to trace it to its source. I wanted a name. I wanted blood.

  While my programs were running, there was nothing I could do, and my restlessness continued to grow.

  Although it hadn’t taken me long to find Mazy’s, it was taking forever to pull it down. She had a hefty sum on her head. The most disturbing part was dead or alive. My canines punched through my gums, and my lips pulled back in a sneer at my computer. Stupid fuck. Whoever put a bounty on her head was going to pay with their lives. That, of course, meant finding the trail, which meant leaving the bounty up until I could unravel the cyber trail.

  My programs were running, doing their magic. There was nothing I could do. I had to wait. I pulled up another file, a male I was tracking for a bounty. The stats sat in front of me: height, weight, hair color, preference on men or women. Information that I could use to track him through the computer. My beast twitched again, his impatience started to grate on my nerves.

  Pressing my feet flat, I scooted my chair backwards. I stretched my back for something to do, but instead the strain in my tightened muscles pulled taut. The beast swelled inside of me; my skin stretched tight against muscle. I ground my teeth and cursed quietly. He had never been so dangerously bold before. Not when it came to finding a bounty.

  Lifting my hand, I pressed my callused fingers to the back of my neck, rubbing out the tension that wouldn’t cease. My left leg started to bounce. My muscles twitched with the need to move. In the back of my head, I had the constant nudge to keep moving.

  Mazy was fine. She was probably already in bed. I had left her over an hour ago. She wasn’t awake pining for me. Unless she was. My animal perked up at the thought of that, and I did as well. It was hot to think my little mate was waiting for me to come to her.

  But the feeling that kept crawling up and down my spine wasn’t impatience to see my mate. It was telling me something was wrong. I rolled my eyes upward. Paranoia.

  I had watched her move through her apartment, she was fine.

  The lie tasted sour on my tongue.

  Fuck.

  Ma mere believed our animals were also touched with the gift of sight. Not necessarily that we could see the future, but we could sense more than the average shifter. She was also very close friends with a voodoo priestess who agreed with her. No one talked back to Madame Laveau. I straightened my back just thinking of her.

  There would be no relaxing until I went and checked on her myself. It was important for me to find out who put the hit out for Mazy so I could track them down and kill them myself. However, the programs would keep working even if I wasn’t here.

  The clock that sat on my desk blared an angry red 1:08 at me. Fuck.

  “Merde.” I pushed off my armrest and headed to the front of the house, ignoring my jacket. I had a feeling it would get ruined if I took it. The walk down my stairs to the front door felt torturously long. Since I was on the move, the beast inside pushed forward again. He was urging me forward, faster.

  What was wrong with him? The beast loved to fight, but this was odd even for my brawler. He wasn’t itching for a fight but rather there was a sense of urgency. Something had him on edge. My feet pounded heavily against the concrete steps. The door leading to the lobby was a metal framed design door. I pulled the knob and strode through the short lobby where the mailboxes sat to the left and the manager’s window on the other side.

  There was no manager. No other tenants. This was my building. I didn’t use it any more than I needed, but I didn’t trust any others in my home. In my den. None but Mazy. Even Quentin and Dominic had never been to my building. They have visited ma mere’s home but they hadn’t come here.

  I stepped outside and checked the street before running across to the parking garage. My doors were set to automatically lock behind me, and if that didn’t work then I had video cameras. My neighborhood wasn’t as shady as Mazy’s, but those who did feel adventurous knew there was something off about me and stayed away.

  In the garage, I strode to my bike. It would be the fastest way to her. I swung my leg over my classic roadster Harley. It was black with only hints of silver trim. It started up with a roar that was echoed inside of me. My animal revved up with the bike, the powerful machine between my legs and the powerful beast in my body.

  Driving out of the parking lot, I headed full speed to Mazy.

  My nostrils flared. No, something wasn’t right with my mate.

  ***

  It didn’t take long for me to arrive outside of Mazy’s apartment building. The unrest I had been feeling since I left her came back in full force. Her lights were still on, but it was well into the evening. She worked late hours at Lucky’s, so perhaps she kept weird hours. However, my beast seemed to think otherwise. Standing up, I lifted my leg and swung it over the bike.

  The air was calm, no new scents that set me on edge. But still the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. A low growl worked its way from my gut to my throat. My lips peeled back into a snarl. I clenched my fist tight, taking earth-eating strides to the front of the building. My animal was riled up.

  I took in a deep breath. Standing next to the front entrance to her building, I could smell her. Mazy.

  Fuck, the woman smelled like sage, mingled with a sweet zest. A woman shouldn’t smell that intoxicating. She was the perfect scent, mingled of home, and so uniquely her. But her scent was outside of the building, and it was relatively fresh.

  The front door was open for anyone to enter and a wave of protectiveness flushed through me. I would make sure the building had better security if she insisted on staying at home. Mazy was in danger whether she knew it or not, and I would protect her any way I could. I hoped she would allow me.

  Her trail led me to her door. There was small splintering by the doorknob, and the knob itself was scratched up. Alertness shot up my spine. Rarely shifters used human fire-arms, in this case I wish I had brought my Glock with me. I trusted my claws and my strength. Above all, I trusted my animal to keep my mate safe, but if she was being held at a distance, there was a better chance of her getting hurt.

  Of course she was a shifter herself—a mongoose. She could shift quickly and bolt for it. There could be a chance the splintering and marks on the door were from a previous break in, but these markings were too subtle. Someone who was very good at what they were doing, but not good enough.

  They wanted to sneak in unnoticed and wait for her. My canines, which had shrunk, popped out again. I gripped the doorknob and twisted slowly. There was no point in sta
rtling both Mazy and her attacker.

  It didn’t shock me that someone else was already trying to collect the bounty. She had a pretty price on her head, and from her descriptions, she looked like an easy target. Good thing whoever posted her name didn’t know about her shifter heritage. Or they did and kept quiet about it, maybe fearing people would back off. There were too many questions and not enough solid facts for me to decide.

  I liked my facts, but in most cases, I was a lot less thorough. This was Mazy, though. My mate. My everything. There would be no winging it. I understood now why Dominic fought fiercely for his mate, and why Quentin betrayed everything he was born and bred for, to mate his girl.

  The door was barely cracked, and I waited, listening. Nothing sounded on the other side. Had they already come for her? Was I too late? Her scent was overwhelming, but mingled with her smell was the scent of coppery blood.

  It didn’t smell like her, though. Not her blood.

  Feeling reassured no one else stood on the other side with Mazy at gun point, I opened the door wide. The place was a disaster. Nothing stood upright, the cushions were torn, the innards strewn about. Pots, pans, dishware, even her food was pulled out and littered the floor to the point I could barely see the tile underneath.

  The animal inside of me rushed to the forefront. My shoulder lurched forward as he attempted to steal control and overtake my human body with his. I held back, gritting my teeth.

  “Fuck.”

  There was a scuffle of noise that followed my quiet curse. I opened my eyes, feeling the burn of my animal. He was so close to the surface, but this room already took enough damaged. If I shifted in here … nothing would survive.

  “Little bitch,” a voice muttered as footsteps sounded from the back of the apartment. I waited silently as his barely there scent came closer and closer. Fuck, I hated rhinos for this exact reason. Their scents were so subtle it was hard to tell they were on you until they were right on top of you.

  “Best not be talking about mon cher, rhino.”

  The bald rhino looked up at me with anger flashing through his eyes. His lips twisted in to a sneer.