by Meg Ripley
“You’re not going to continue with anyone else,” he growled.
A shiver of electricity flowed through her body and sparked at her pulse points. Her throat tightened and her mouth went dry as she responded to the possessive sound of that statement. The logical part of her brain knew that Jack’s protest only meant that he was being stubborn and he wasn’t about to let anyone see this mission as a failure before it even started. Her body had other ideas, and she quickly shut it down.
Fine. If arguing with him was only going to make things worse, then she’d use logic as a weapon instead. “Look, there’s no way we can possibly make this work. According to everything Mr. Worth has gathered, extremists like to recruit single people who don’t have a lot of connections. They don’t want families because it’s too messy. So he had that whole idea of us coming in as long-time BFFs.”
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but quickly returned his gaze to the road. “Right.”
“We can’t pull that off,” Erica concluded. “We’ve only known each other for a couple of days, and we’re already at each other’s throats.”
Jack pointed at the road. “We’ve got half a day of driving ahead of us. I’d say that’s plenty of time to get to know each other and come up with our backstories.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
His jaw tightened. “Look, you don’t trust me. I get that.”
“Do you?” she challenged. Erica highly doubted that he understood anything about her. No one did, and she didn’t dare try to explain it. It was easier to just avoid people like him, people who gave off waves of emotion and who couldn’t possibly accept her for who she really was.
“I can’t say that I trust you, either. But—”
Erica wasn’t listening anymore. The line of trees through the passenger window disappeared, and in their place, she saw a massive green tractor. As though someone was operating her mind with a penchant for a zoom lens, the machine instantly grew closer. “Slow down.”
“I’m going the speed limit.”
“Stop!” she screamed. Panic blossomed in her chest.
“I’m just trying to explain—”
“No!” Her foot was pumping the floorboard, instinctively searching for a brake pedal that wasn’t there. “Stop the car! Stop the car right now!”
“There’s no place to pull over!” he yelled back. “We’ve been through this!” The sedan topped a hill, and Jack slammed the brakes as soon as they began descending. Their seatbelts strained against them, and the tires squealed as they slowed down just before slamming into the back of a massive John Deere. The tractor chugged along, making its slow march down the road to the next field.
Jack said nothing at first. He concentrated on looking for a safe place to pass the farm vehicle, a flat strip of land where he could see clearly. When they were on their way again without any impediment, he glanced at her. “How did you know about that?”
She’d been waiting for the question. They always came. Sure, most of the time, people didn’t really pay any attention, but every now and then, someone realized that things didn’t quite add up. Fortunately, Erica was an old hand at making excuses. “I saw the tractor on the previous hill and figured we’d be catching up to it.”
“No.” His word was firm. “I did plenty of driving while I was in the service, and you learn to keep an eye on everything. You always look as far ahead as possible so you know what you’re getting into, and it’s not a perishable skill. I still do it, and I’ll be doing it for the rest of my life. Now, how did you know that tractor was going to be there?”
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Erica said flippantly. “We’re in farm country, and there are tractors everywhere.” As though the universe was trying to help her make a point, they passed a field where a massive combine churned up dust as it moved through the rows.
“Hmph.”
He didn’t seem inclined to continue the argument, and Erica couldn’t decide how she felt about that. She wanted to argue; it was easier than acknowledging the heaviness in the air between them. There was something about this man that got to her, something that poked beneath the protective wall she’d put around herself so long ago, something that wouldn’t leave her alone. At least when he spoke, she could focus on his actual words instead of his seemingly random thoughts, and now she distinctively heard one of them. “I am not.”
“What?”
“You just said I’m stubborn.”
Jack shifted in his seat, stretching his spine upwards until his head nearly touched the ceiling and then settled back down again. He let out a breath as he did so. “I didn’t say that.”
“You did. I heard you.” And she’d heard it many other times from other people, especially men. It didn’t bother her in the same way that it used to. In fact, Erica had almost come to like the fact that people thought she was stubborn. Any remark on her character that came from Jack, however, was a potential point of argument.
“All right. I did say that, but only in my head. I never opened my mouth.”
Damn! Had she really done that? Had this man gotten her so vexed that she’d mixed up her signals? Erica had done this before. It was, in fact, how her mother had come to find out about her talent. It hadn’t always been easy to distinguish when someone was saying something instead of just thinking about it, particularly if the thought was a strong one. For a while, Erica made a point of pretending she didn’t hear well and used it as an excuse to watch people’s lips moving. It made her feel better in knowing that the words had actually been spoken before she acted on them or replied to someone. “People do that all the time, you know. They mean to keep their thoughts to themselves, but their mouths betray them.”
His smile wasn’t a pleasant one. “Erica, I don’t know exactly what’s going on here, but something’s up. I suggest you tell me.” He fully turned his eyes from the road to look at her.
Jack’s presence completely filled the interior of the car and Erica thought she might choke on it. There was the man she could see before her, the soldier, the one who’d been called in as a consultant for the DHS, even though she didn’t want him there. But there was someone else as well, someone with the cleverness of a wolf and the cunning of a cat, someone who spent a lot of time alone and had used his skills to slip around fences and penetrate fortresses. Winston had claimed they could trust him, that he was the best man for the job, but she now knew for sure. “I don’t know why you’re bothering to ask me. You’re the one who’s a spy.” It was the only answer that made sense.
“Excuse me?” he practically laughed. “Who the hell am I spying for? I haven’t done a damn thing since you met me besides sit through a bunch of meetings and drive a car.”
Erica rubbed a hand over her forehead. No matter what she did or said, this wasn’t getting any better. His spirit was incredibly strong, and it’d practically invaded her mind. Her skull was starting to throb. “I know.”
“You keep saying that,” Jack reminded her. “I’m starting to think that’s just your sorry excuse for not having done all your work. I don’t blame you. If it’s worked for you so far, then that’s great. You can go right ahead and keep fooling Winston and Mr. Worth with it, but that bullshit doesn’t work on me.”
Something exploded inside her. Erica felt a rage bubble up and detonate like a massive volcano of psychic energy, something she could no longer hold back. “I’m a fucking psychic, okay? Does that make you happy? Is that what you wanted to hear? I can feel both sides of you inside my brain. You’re like two people wrapped into one, and it’s completely overwhelming. If I have to spend another second in this car with you, I think I might explode.”
Jack said nothing.
Erica stared through the windshield, but she wasn’t looking at the road. She closed her eyes. What the hell had she just done?
“A psychic.” It wasn’t a question, simply a statement.
Erica swallowed. This was it. Jack was a trained military
man, the kind of guy who didn’t put up with crazy things like psychic powers. But she’d already said it, and there was no turning back now. She could blame him for ruining her career, but she was the one who’d opened her big mouth. Maybe she could go get a job working for Dionne Warwick. “Yes.”
“That explains a lot.”
She slowly turned her head and opened her eyes. Everything felt heavy and difficult, like she was moving underwater. “It does?”
“Yes. And you’ve got me on the dual personalities. I’m hiding something, but I’m not a spy. I’m a shifter.”
“A what?”
“A shapeshifter.” Jack’s grip on the steering wheel tightened again. “I can morph from man to fox and back again at will.”
Erica swiveled her head back to face the front. Her body sank down into the seat, too exhausted to do anything else. She felt too tired to even talk. Whatever had just happened between them, it’d sucked every ounce of energy out of her. She knew she should still be fighting for him to pull the car over and let her out, and there was no way they could actually make this mission work. She’d just have to try again later. At least, for the moment, the waves of energy Jack was emitting had settled down somewhat. The two of them continued on that ribbon of Kentucky highway in silence.
5
Jack tried to ignore the dirt around the edge of the sink as he leaned over and splashed his face. He’d been driving for three hours, and he needed to get out of the car for a bit. It wasn’t just the ache of staying in the same position for so long, either. It was being stuck in there with Erica.
He snagged a paper towel to wipe his face off and glanced at himself in the mirror. What kind of an idiot are you? he asked himself. Actually telling her what you are, like you’re some kind of amateur? You’ve just sent generations of hard work right down the shitter.
He and the others like him had done a lot to maintain their secret. Granted, there were a few humans here and there who knew about them, but they were shifters’ mates. They’d forged distinct bonds that would never allow for betrayal. Those with animals inside them didn’t even go to normal physicians. Their anatomy was slightly different to accommodate for the movement of bones and organs as they went from one form to another, and anyone who noticed that would surely expose them. Max’s mate, in fact, was even working on starting up a specialized (and very secret) hospital to ensure the shifters got all the medical care they needed. They had their own government in the form of conclaves, and now the SOS Force even served as a small Army. All of that was wonderful, but Jack had decided to just blurt it out.
Not that he could’ve helped it. Jack tried to comfort himself with that thought as he stepped out of the gas station bathroom and into the convenience store area. He perused the cooler, looking for something cold to slake his thirst and make him feel as though he’d been doing anything other than purposely not looking at Erica for the last couple of hours.
He was a fool like any other man around a beautiful woman, shifter or not. She gave him an unsettled feeling inside, one that he’d first interpreted as meaning she couldn’t be trusted. But after their startling revelation in the car—and the way he’d just blatantly laid the biggest secret he’d ever been trusted with on the line—Jack had to wonder if he was wrong. There was more to it than that, though. No doubt, Erica was a knockout. From the way her dark lashes contrasted with the brilliance of her eyes to the tempting sway of her hips as she walked, his fox wouldn’t let him deny that for a second. Regardless of how his inner beast craved her, he had a mission at hand.
Snagging a Coke and a can of Pringles, he headed up to the checkout just as Erica did the same. “Here. I’ll get it.” He gestured for her to put her items on the counter as he reached for his wallet.
Holding her shoulders back defiantly, her eyes met his. “It’s all right. I can get it.” She hugged her bottle of water and a couple of snack bags closer to her body.
He tipped his head toward the counter once more. “Come on. Just let me do this.”
“I don’t care who the hell pays for it, as long as someone does,” said the cashier in a bored tone.
Erica pursed her lips for a moment, then took a step backward. “Fine.”
Jack paid quickly and stepped outside, but he didn’t get in the car just yet. He leaned against the driver’s door, taking in their surroundings. They’d crossed the border into Illinois, but they hadn’t exactly reached civilization. The worn wood paneling of the gas station made it look like something out of an old Western, and the counters on the pumps were still analog. Citizens who slowly drove by in their battered trucks eyed him suspiciously. He’d spotted a bank and a dollar store, but the place seemed to mostly be made up of bungalows and single-wide trailers. These extended even down the river, where old flood damage could clearly be seen.
It was, he realized, not much different than the way people lived in the desert. They eked out their living in any way they could, as evidenced by the logging truck that rumbled by at full capacity. It wasn’t any place special, and there were far grander cities that people could move to in order to expand their horizons, but they chose to stay in a place they understood. It might not be a good plan from the perspective of an outsider, but it was what worked for them.
The car rocked slightly behind him as Erica got in the passenger seat and slammed the door. With a sigh, Jack followed suit. He put the key in the ignition, but he didn’t start the engine. “Erica, I propose a truce.”
Her thin brows drew together as she turned to scowl at him. “Oh?”
Jack waved his receipt in the air. “It’s the closest thing I have to a white flag right now. I know this has been an odd trip so far, to say the least. But the fact is, the two of us are professionals. We have a job to do, and we’ve been selected for it because we’re more than capable.”
“Despite our little secrets?” she asked, arching a brow.
“Maybe even because of them.” It was something he’d had a lot of time to think about as the road swiftly moved beneath them on the way there. Jack knew that being a shifter had made a massive difference in the success of his career. He wouldn’t have made it this far if he hadn’t been able to tap into the primal instincts of his fox side. Surely, Erica’s psychic abilities had served her in much the same way. She knew when things were happening, and even if she couldn’t always explain them, it had boosted her success rate on her missions.
“I suppose that’s true.”
He was making headway with her now, so Jack went ahead and started the car. “I think so. You also have to consider that the two of us are going to be working closely together while we figure out what’s going on with this guy. Mr. Worth did say he wanted us to get to know each other.”
That elicited a small but tired laugh from Erica. “I have a feeling that’s not what he meant.”
He looked away from her as he pulled out of the gas station. God, she was gorgeous when she smiled. She’d been a magnificent and spiritual creature earlier that day as she’d argued with him and tried so hard to sway him, and it’d been a completely different kind of beauty, one of power and passion. It was one that was better admired from afar, yet it drew him like a moth to a flame. But the light in her eyes was warmer when she wasn’t engaged in a full-on battle, and he found it incredibly attractive.
Jack glared at a passing truck as he waited for his turn to pull out onto the highway. Erica was special, yes. She knew his true identity. But that didn’t mean he should put his guard down for one second or let himself get sucked in by the allure of those brilliant eyes and the soft curves of her body, no matter how much he wanted to. His fox panted with urgency at being so close to her, and he chewed the inside of his lip in an effort to calm it down. Jack was level-headed and cautious. He didn’t do anything impulsively, acting only on plans he’d carefully thought out. Erica was changing that about him, and it didn’t seem like a good thing.
“No, probably not, but we’ll have to work with what we’ve got
,” he finally said as he accelerated onto the main road and headed for the larger town where their destination lay. “After all, if we really had been best friends since childhood, we would’ve already known these things about each other. Tell me something else.”
“What do you want to know?”
Jack was no psychic, but he could tell Erica was putting a wall up around herself. If she felt vulnerable after sharing such vital information, then he couldn’t blame her. She was the first human he’d ever told, and it wasn’t an experience he was eager to have again. “Something basic and simple. Where were you born?”
“Lake Placid, New York.”
“I’ve heard that’s a nice area, but I’ve never been there.”
“I haven’t either,” she said with a shrug. “My mother was a travel writer, and being pregnant with me didn’t stop her from doing what she wanted. She was constantly on the go, and once I was born, I was on the go with her. She slowed down a little once I was in school, but we still moved about once a year; that was the longest she could stay in any one place. She always made sure it was an area that had a lot of hotels and resorts so she’d have plenty to keep her in business for a while. I essentially grew up as a tourist.”
“That had to be rough.” It wasn’t anything particularly deep, but it was a start. It was easy for him to imagine a younger version of Erica, exploring the world city by city. Those experiences had stayed with her, he could tell. They showed every time he looked in her eyes.
Erica flapped her hand in the air. “I managed, and I certainly learned how to pack a suitcase. I was more than prepared for my current career when it came to the traveling aspect, and I can’t be upset about that. Mom still travels all the time, actually. She just takes cruises around the world and makes sure she sends postcards. What about you? Where are you from?”