Shifter Wars (Mind Sweeper Series Book 3)

by AE Jones

  I grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips. “You are the best fake boyfriend I’ve ever had. Now go ask your woman out on a date!”

  He laughed and hugged me. He let me go and I scrambled out of the car. I stopped short when I caught sight of Griffin in the window staring at me. I walked slowly to the door and opened it, not bothering to knock.

  I stepped into the foyer and shut the door. Griffin’s eyes narrowed on me, and his nostrils flared slightly. “Do you have any news?”

  So this was how it was going to play out. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better.”

  And he did look much better. He was vertical for one thing, and his coloring was almost back to normal. But when he stepped toward me, he was still favoring one side.

  I shucked off my coat and hung it in the hall closet. “Why don’t we go sit somewhere and I can fill you in?”

  He led me to his living room. The fire in the hearth was low, but the room was still toasty warm, and I sank gratefully onto the couch. Griffin sat down more slowly. I almost reached up to help him, but changed my mind. It would not go over well.

  Once he was settled, I launched into what we’d found out since the last time he and I had talked. He stayed quiet throughout my report, and when I finished he still didn’t speak. I looked into his eyes and smiled. He didn’t smile back.

  Finally he spoke. “What was Jason doing here?”

  “Put down your club, Conan the Barbarian. Jason and I are friends. The kiss meant nothing.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “I know you’re friends. I can smell him on you. He cares for you. Wants to protect you, but doesn’t want you.”

  I gaped at him. “If you know, then why are you…?”

  “Holding back with you?”

  “Yes!”

  “Because I can smell your uncertainty, your hesitation. I’ll not rush you. If you still need time to get over Dalton, I can wait.”

  “Thank you.” The scary thing was, I didn’t know if the hesitation he smelled was because of Dalton or because deep down I was afraid I didn’t know Griffin as well as I thought I did. “I need to ask you something.”

  “What?”

  “Why are you the leader of the pack?”

  He frowned slightly. “I told you already. William died, and I took over in his place.”

  “I know, but according to shifter law, once Tim reached adulthood, he would have taken over the title.”

  He kept studying his hands. “It’s complicated.”

  “Did William abdicate the throne, so to speak?”

  Griffin struggled to his feet. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Or did the Council remove him and his descendants from power?”

  “Why is any of this relevant?” he demanded.

  “Because it may be why someone is trying to kill you!”

  “No one outside the Council knows the truth, and that’s how it will remain.”

  “You’re wrong to keep it from your pack. Secrets make people create their own version of what happened, and it’s oftentimes way worse than the truth.”

  “I’m not worrying about these rumors. Why should you?”

  “Because I care, damn it!” I jumped up and stood in front of him. “Did you know there are rumors you killed your brother to take over the pack? If someone truly believes it, it could be the justification they’re using to come after you.”

  He flinched as if I had slapped him. “Do you believe this?”

  “No, but I don’t understand why you won’t tell everyone the truth and dispel the rumors once and for all.”

  “I don’t need to justify something which happened before you were even born. It’s a shifter matter.”

  I was about to turn away but stopped myself. Our relationship was becoming ridiculously dysfunctional. One or the other of us was pissed at all times. That wasn’t going to cut it with me anymore.

  “It’s not going to work this time.”

  “What?” he demanded.

  “You acting high and mighty and me getting pissed off so I’ll stomp out of here. We have to stop dancing around each other.”

  He stared at me in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I paused before speaking. “It’s true I have been hesitant with you because of my past. But I think you’re just as hesitant. Here’s the thing. I don’t know where this is going between us. There are no guarantees. With humans, we don’t get the luxury of smelling emotions. So with me, things aren’t going to be cut and dried. I’m not in the mood for games anymore, Griffin.”

  His pupils glowed amber. “I’m not either. Come here, and I’ll prove it to you.”

  So it was decision time. If I was going to walk my talk…I took a step toward him.

  His eyes softened, and he reached up and ran his fingers along my hairline and down my cheek. He then brushed his thumb lightly over my lips in a more than sensual motion, before leaning forward and kissing me ever so lightly. His lips teased mine, brushing over my mouth, feather-light, before backing away, his eyes taking in my reaction.

  I let out a shaky breath, and he smiled. His tentative kiss was the perfect response to my mixed emotions. He leaned forward and rested his mouth next to my ear and whispered, “I have wanted to taste you since the first time I saw you sitting in the tree house with Trina.”

  I smiled. So much for taking it slow. His hands framed my face, and he kissed my closed eyelids, and then his kisses ran along the side of my face. He nipped my earlobe, and my nerves went kablooey, tingling from my ear down to my toes. He then made his way to my mouth again, and his tongue slipped in. Not to be outdone, I added my tongue to the equation.

  He growled. I wrapped my arms around him in response, and he flinched. I backed away quickly.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “I think we need to slow down before this goes too far. You’re not up for it.”

  He smirked.

  I didn’t dare look down. “Okay, bad choice of words. You need to recuperate a few more days before we explore this further.”

  He groaned in what I hoped was frustration and not pain. “What if you let me explore for a while?”

  I held up a palm. “Now you’re begging, and it doesn’t become the leader of the shifter nation to beg.”

  * * *

  I lay in bed—alone—and thought about my most recent encounter with Griffin. I was relieved we had not taken our initial exploration beyond kissing. Which in itself was interesting, since I had never had trouble with relationships. Actually, if I was honest with myself, I had never had trouble with sex; relationships left me quaking with fear. And unless I was mistaken, that was where Griffin and I were headed.

  I sighed and punched my pillow, rolling onto my back to stare out the window. The moonlight was bright, bouncing up off the snow. It was one of the things I loved about winter, the clear nights and luminescent snow. I sighed again. I was frustrated in more ways than one. We needed a break in the case before someone else got hurt.

  I closed my eyes and tried a few relaxing breaths. After a while I drifted off, until a raspy voice sounded in my ear.

  “It’s time to wake up, Lieutenant, we have much to discuss.”

  I opened my eyes and looked up into Sebastian’s pompous face. I gasped and scrambled away from him, slamming my back into the headboard.

  He shook his head at me. “I forget how weak humans are. I would not have pushed you so hard before if I had known you would pass out. I do not have time for this.”

  I glared at him, knowing this must be a memory, but my body reacted as if it was real. My heart was pounding, hands sweating, as tendrils of pain ran down my neck and along my spinal cord.

  His eyes narrowed, and he took a step toward me. “Where is the Key?”

  I opened my mouth, and Dalton’s voice echoed through the room. “I don’t know!”

  “This is tiring and non-productive.” He
reached for me, and his nails lengthened into points, puncturing my upper arm.

  I screamed and jerked away from him. Blood beaded in the nail holes he had made and slowly ran down my arm. The streaks coalesced into a pool of blood in my palm.

  Soon after, a tingling sensation on the back of my hands overshadowed the pain. I turned them over, and my fingers shortened and white fur sprouted from my skin. The tingling increased until pins and needles raced up my arms. I pulled them close to my chest, wrapping myself into a ball. A low moan erupted from my body, but instead of Dalton’s voice, it was a girl’s cry of pain.

  I jerked awake, bolted upright, and escaped the bed, tripping over the comforter and landing with a hard thud on my hands and knees. I crawled to a corner of the room and sat there propped against the wall, shaking. I was alone, and morning light shone in through the window.

  I hesitated for a second before looking down at my hands. There was no blood or fur. What the hell?

  “You okay, sweetie?”

  I glanced up to find Marie hovering in the doorway, her brows knitted.

  “Just peachy,” I mumbled. “Either I just had a bad acid trip, or I’m losing it.”

  She floated into the room. “Neither, dear.”

  I gaped at her. “Uh, Marie, are you floating?”

  She grinned proudly. “Yep, I’ve been practicing. What do you think?”

  “Cool, I guess.”

  “You guess?” she huffed. “I have been working on this for a while now. It’s hard to let go of our human limitations once we’re dead. Floating is quite an accomplishment for a novice like me.”

  “Sorry. Can we get back to what just happened?”

  “Of course, dear. Why don’t you climb back into bed before you freeze down there on the floor?”

  I almost protested, until I realized my teeth were chattering…whether from cold or fear, I wasn’t sure. I got back into bed and hauled the covers up to my chin, closing my eyes for just a second. When I opened them again, Marie was sitting next to me on the bed.

  She smiled. “You don’t look quite so pale now. Do you want to talk about it?”

  I rattled off the dream, waiting for her to tell me I was certifiable.

  “You need to stop fighting these visions, Kyle.”

  “Fighting them? I’m reliving them down to the nitty-gritty, painful details.”

  “They’re trying to tell you something. You just need to listen.”

  “How can I listen when they aren’t making any sense? Furry hands? Where did they come from?”

  Marie shrugged. “Maybe it isn’t literal. Maybe it’s symbolic?”

  “Of what? What does any of this mean, and how does it help with the poachers?”

  “I think you need to tell your friends what’s going on. They might be able to help, especially that handsome Frenchman.”

  I rolled my eyes, and she grinned.

  “Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean my libido is.”

  Oh Lord. I had no response, so I ignored her. “I can’t risk anyone else until I have a better idea of what’s going on.”

  “Now you’re just being melodramatic. Your friends can take care of themselves. Get up and take a shower. It’s time for work.”

  Sympathetic Marie had left the building.

  Chapter 27

  After the night I’d had, work at the body shop was downright boring. I found a contact list in Monica’s desk and took a picture of it with my phone, then sent it to Misha so he could work his magic with Ken’s phone number.

  By five o’clock, I was more than ready to shut down everything and go home. As I turned off the computer and straightened the desk, the back door slammed shut. C.J. stalked up front.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Ken’s just being a prick. No offense.”

  I stood. “None taken. He didn’t try to hurt the cat again, did he?”

  “No. I asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner with me and Bill, and he got pissy. Said he had some business to take care of at the Steak House tonight. I’m sick of trying to include him. He’s on his own from now on.”

  I slipped into my coat, my adrenaline kicking up a notch. Maybe Ken was meeting with the poachers tonight. Booger strolled up to the front and jumped onto the desk. When Jason drove into the lot two minutes later, I scooped up Booger and went out the door.

  Once outside, I spoke in a low voice. “Misha, did you hear that?”

  “Yep, little one. I think we need to check it out.”

  Fifteen minutes later, we met Misha and Jean Luc. Matthew was back in his human form again, and we had decided to take the van to the Steak House to see what Ken was up to. Misha was ecstatic, since stakeouts were a favorite hobby of his. It didn’t help that stakeouts reminded him of countless TV cop shows which he would then relate to his captive audience ad nauseum.

  This time, while we sat waiting for Ken and the others to arrive, Misha regaled the group with Starsky and Hutch episodes. Jean Luc closed his eyes and was doing his Zen-vampire thing. I wished I could detach myself from the surroundings as effectively, but instead I got to listen to Misha and Jason argue over whether Huggy Bear added value to the show.

  After a while, I couldn’t take any more. “Enough! Jason, you weren’t even alive when this show was on! How can you argue about it?”

  Jason rolled his eyes at me. “Duh. Repeats on cable.”

  “Excuse me for actually spending time away from the TV.”

  Matthew chuckled, which increased my irritation. “What are you laughing at?”

  “Nothing. You guys remind me of my dysfunctional family, that’s all.”

  Before I offered a retort, Jean Luc spoke urgently. “Children, it is time to pay attention.”

  I peered through the front window to see Ken get out of a car with two other men and walk toward the restaurant. “Misha, are you getting this?” I asked.

  “Yes. I never thought I would get to use my camera with the night lens—”

  Jason interrupted him. “You’re getting their faces, right?”

  “Of course,” Misha huffed.

  Jean Luc sat forward. With his vamp vision, he didn’t need a night lens to see details. “The shorter man is the passenger from the Jeep that attacked our caravan.”

  My heart sped up. “So Ken is definitely working with the poachers.”

  A truck pulled into the lot, and another man got out. I didn’t look too closely at him until he walked under the parking lot lights and Jason muttered “shit.” My stomach bottomed out when I recognized who it was—Bruce. What was he doing here?

  I shook my head. “I can’t believe he’s in on this.”

  “It’s too much of coincidence he’s here,” Jason answered.

  “I still don’t believe it. We have to find out for sure. We need to be on the inside.”

  Jean Luc turned to me. “You and Jason cannot do it. They might also recognize Misha and me from the attack on Trina.”

  “I can do it,” Matthew volunteered. “They haven’t seen me in my human state before. Give me an earpiece.”

  Misha handed one to him, and he opened the door of the van.

  I grabbed his arm. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  He grinned wickedly. “Me? Never. If I can’t get too close to them, I’ll listen in with my super-duper shifter ears and relate it back to you when I can.” He sauntered toward the restaurant.

  Misha turned on the equipment. “Can you hear me?”

  “Loud and clear,” Matthew answered as he opened the door and disappeared into the restaurant.

  There was silence from the listening device for several seconds, and we sat there impatiently. Well, maybe I was the only one, because when I glanced around at the guys, they all appeared calm. After a couple more seconds, I started to bounce my foot. Not being able to see Matthew was sending my nerves into high gear. After another minute, I couldn’t take it. “How can you be so calm?”

  Misha shrugged. “We’v
e been doing this for weeks with you. We’re getting used to it.”

  “Right. Sorry.”

  A voice came over the recorder. “What’ll you have?”

  Matthew replied. “Scotch on the rocks.”

  “Shouldn’t you be listening in on the conversation instead of drinking?” I blurted.

  Matthew didn’t answer. Instead there was a loud rustling through the earpiece.

  I looked at the guys. “What’s he doing?”

  Matthew’s voice came through the device. “I took my phone out so I can act like I’m talking on it instead of talking to myself like a crazy person.”

  “What have you heard so far?”

  “Ken introduced Bruce to the others. He didn’t know them.”

  I did an internal hell, yeah! “What are they talking about now?”

  “Cars. Their boss wants to hire Bruce to work on some of his vintage cars. Now put a sock in it so I can listen.”

  I clamped my lips shut.

  Misha chuckled softly and murmured, “I’m starting to like that cat.”

  An excruciatingly quiet hour later, Matthew stepped outside and walked slowly to the van. By the time he opened the back door, I was ready to yank him into the van and pummel him myself.

  “Well?” I blurted before he was seated.

  He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Patience is a virtue.”

  “Spill it, Sylvester.”

  He placed his palm over his heart. “You’ve wounded me with your insensitive cat references.”

  “Matthew!”

  “Okay, they are just finishing up in there and paying their bill. Like I told you earlier, Ken introduced Bruce to the two guys. They talked to him about working on some cars for their boss, a guy by the name of Lucas.”

  “Is Lucas his first or last name?” Misha asked.

  “Not sure. The conversation was pretty harmless until close to the end. The guys asked Bruce if he liked to hunt.”

  My heart thumped. “They’re trying to recruit him.”

  Matthew nodded. “It looks that way. Ken bragged about Bruce’s military background and the other two ate it up.”

  “What did Bruce say?” Jason asked.

  “He was pretty noncommittal about it, but I didn’t get the feeling he’s very interested. My guess is he didn’t want to alienate them since they’re potential clients.”