by Zoe Chant
And whatever she said, everyone needed someone to rely on. She’d obviously had some bad boyfriends in the past, men who hadn’t respected her at all—his bear growled in alpha anger at the mental picture—but he’d thought she understood that he wasn’t like that. He wasn’t the sort of man who would get in the way of her job just because he was too insecure to be with a smart, capable woman.
And when she hadn’t come to him for something that was demonstrably his job…
That had hurt. But she had no way of knowing how much. She didn’t know that she was his mate.
He needed to tell her, but he had to wait until after the case was over. Sleeping with her had been a big enough mistake.
Oh, but it wasn’t a mistake. His bear was extremely self-satisfied about the sex, and, Levi had to admit, the rest of him was as well. When Maria had shrieked out loud as she came—
Levi almost missed a stoplight turning red and had to return his focus to the road.
The second the case was over, they were having a conversation.
He just hoped he could convince her that he was worth it. That those other guys had been assholes—and they sounded like assholes—and she should give him a chance.
Because he knew that he couldn’t go the rest of his life without hearing her moan his name again.
* * *
When he got to the station—dressed in as close to a duplicate outfit as he could find in his closet; he didn’t want any awkward questions, and cops could be irritatingly observant—he went to the lieutenant and filled him in.
“So you see, sir,” he finished, “Humans Against Shifters are either the culprits, or are interested in taking credit. Either way, it’s worth investigating.”
The lieutenant nodded slowly. “Well, Hale, I suppose I can admit that I was wrong. This is a legitimate lead after all. Are we tracing the number?”
Levi nodded. “I called it in right away. If this guy is stupid, we might be all done with this more quickly than we thought. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a pay phone or a prepaid cell, though.”
The lieutenant nodded. “Well, wait for them to get back to you and see what we can do. If it’s a dead end, we may have to work the connection Ms. Hernandez seems to have with this man.”
Levi could feel his jaw tightening. But he’d known this was the only option when he came into the lieutenant’s office, hadn’t he? “Work how, sir?”
“He seems to believe he’s convincing her of something. Maybe we can convince him back. If she set up a meeting in a public place, we could surround him and take him in.”
“Would Ms. Hernandez need to be present at this meeting, sir?”
“That depends on the suspect’s conditions for meeting and our own risk assessment.”
“Sir,” Levi said carefully, “I believe the risk to be very high. I would be extremely concerned for Ms. Hernandez’ safety in such a situation. If her presence was required, maybe a female officer could impersonate her—”
“Hale, you know as well as I do that we don’t have any female officers that look anything like Ms. Hernandez,” Moyer said impatiently. “Roscoe is six feet tall, Petrov is a tiny skinny little blonde thing, and O’Malley is the whitest girl I’ve ever seen. Even in a wig, no one would think for a second that they were Ms. Hernandez, and particularly not a paranoid militia man. If it comes down to that, we’ll put Ms. Hernandez in a bulletproof vest, set her up somewhere without any sniper sight lines, and surround the place with uniforms. If he shows a weapon, we’ll take him down. Does that satisfy you?”
It did not at all satisfy him, but Levi knew the lieutenant wasn’t really asking for his opinion, just his compliance. So he said, “Yes, sir,” even though it left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Glad to hear it. Go find out about that phone.”
“Yes, sir.” Levi stood and left the lieutenant’s office, trying not to think about Maria staked out like a lamb for the wolves.
His bear roared a protest. Nothing can hurt our mate!
Levi agreed grimly. No matter what he had to do, he would make sure nothing happened to her.
* * *
Maria felt a million times better once Officer Roscoe arrived with a suitcase for her and she could actually get dressed.
She put on jeans and a sweater, not wanting to get back into a work suit until she absolutely had to, and then sat down with her laptop. She called up the research she’d done on Humans Against Shifters a few weeks ago and went through it, adding notes and explanations so it would be helpful for other people and not just for her.
She had Levi’s card in her purse—he’d given it to her last night—so she finished up by emailing him the file with a note saying what it was.
She hesitated before she hit send, thinking about adding something about being sorry for yelling at him, or anything personal to make it clear that she wasn’t mad. But this was his official police email, so that might not be smart. She just signed it “Maria Hernandez” instead, and sent it off.
She hated this sordid situation they’d gotten themselves into. Maria always tried to act in ways that she would be proud of; she was almost never afraid to tell people what she’d done and why. She didn’t sneak around like this.
That was one of the things that had drawn her to Laura—an honest politician for once. Someone that might help not just shifter rights, but the corrupt politics that were the norm around here. Someone that could really make a difference.
She was proud to work for Laura; she was used to being proud of her personal life, too. Maybe she was single and she worked too hard, but she never, ever stuck around with men once she figured out they were bad news. All the guys she’d described to Levi had been unceremoniously dumped very soon after the incidents. She didn’t keep dating assholes, and she didn’t get into relationships she was ashamed of.
Except now, apparently.
The problem was, it didn’t feel like something to be ashamed of. Being with Levi had felt so—perfect, so right and wonderful. Like something inside her had clicked into place. Like she’d found the right one at last.
Shamefully, she was pretty sure she’d yelled at him partly because she was frustrated at how it was all too good to be true.
Because first, the whole thing was an ethical and professional nightmare.
But second, there was also the fact that Levi was a shifter, and that meant that he had a mate out there, a real mate. Most likely another bear shifter. Not a plain human senator’s assistant who happened to be his responsibility for the moment.
Her phone rang, startling her. Unknown number. She picked up. “Hello?”
“If you’re really serious about wanting to learn more about the shifter threat,” said the voice on the other end, “you’re going to have to show some proof.”
Maria’s heart was pounding. “What kind of proof?”
“Up to you. Think of something convincing.” The call ended.
Maria stared at the phone. Something convincing? What could he mean by that?
Well, this time, she at least knew the right thing to do. She picked up Levi’s card again and dialed his number.
* * *
They met in the lieutenant’s office, just Levi, Maria, and Moyer.
Levi was glad for the lieutenant’s presence, because he didn’t know what he would’ve said to Maria if they were alone. The phone conversation had been awkward and stilted enough.
Still, at the same time he was wishing the lieutenant a thousand miles away. If Moyer wasn’t there, Levi could’ve taken Maria into his arms, whispered into her hair that she was his mate, that they could be together forever, that he wanted to take her away somewhere safe—
But that was part of the issue, wasn’t it? She didn’t want to be taken away somewhere safe, and Levi didn’t want to be with someone who’d hide somewhere safe forever. If he’d wanted that, he would’ve stayed at home with his family and married a local girl.
“All right,” said the lieutenant. “I
think this is our opportunity. Hale, you have the phone trace result back?”
Levi nodded. “Anonymous prepaid cell phone. No way to say who it belongs to. When they tried to track it, the GPS had been disabled.”
“Typical paranoia. All right. It looks like this is the best chance we have to smoke this guy out. Ms. Hernandez, are you willing to participate in an operation where you set up a meeting and we arrest the man on the other end of the phone when he shows up?”
Maria’s face was calm, but Levi could smell that she was scared. Still, no trace of it was in her voice when she said, “Yes, I’m willing.”
“Good. You’ll be under the absolute best protection we can muster. Hale, your partner’s been sent to investigate some of the senator’s leads, so I’m afraid he can’t join us on this operation.”
“But sir—” Levi said, startled. He hadn’t expected to be doing this without Danny.
“I know you’d rather have him with you, but I’ll be taking his place personally. I want to oversee this myself.” Moyer raised his eyebrows.
Levi subsided. “Yes, sir.” He’d have to call Danny and see what he was doing, if he could get it wrapped up quickly enough to show up at the station by—“When are we aiming to have this go down, sir?”
“As soon as possible. We can’t risk him taking another shot at Senator Davis or Ms. Hernandez. You said that he claimed he was watching the senator earlier today.”
Maria nodded. “At the police station.”
The lieutenant frowned. “Well, she’s in no danger here, but I don’t want to even consider the possibility that he could follow you or her back to the safehouse, or that he could come after you when you go back to work. We want to get this taken care of as quickly as we can.”
“I couldn’t agree more, sir.” Maria’s voice was subdued, but Levi could hear the hint of steel underneath.
He’d met Maria in a situation where she was totally unprepared, and throughout all of this she’d been out of her depth, inexperienced—but still incredibly impressive. For the first time, he wondered what she was like when she was in her element. He bet she was a force to be reckoned with.
In fact, he had to wonder if he wasn’t looking at a future politician herself.
“We’ll have the entire available force of the Springfield Police Department there to protect you,” the lieutenant promised. “You’ll be wearing protective gear. We will do everything we can to keep anything from happening to you.”
“I understand.” Maria was still totally calm on the outside. Still scared underneath, but…
Levi knew what she was thinking. Better she be put at risk than Laura.
Well, Levi had to disagree, but that was why he’d be there, making sure she was as safe as possible.
“Okay.” The lieutenant sat back. “Let’s make the call. Do you want to go over a script, Ms. Hernandez?”
Maria shook her head. “I can do it.” She swiped her phone open, hit the speakerphone, and dialed.
“Hello?” said the voice on the other hand.
Levi tensed, shoving his bear down with force of will. Hurt our mate! his instincts howled.
I know, he thought grimly. He’ll pay.
“This is Maria Hernandez,” she said steadily. “I’ve thought of a way to prove to you I’m serious.”
“Tell me.”
“I’ll meet you somewhere. That has to be a show of trust, right? I believe you won’t kill me on sight. I want to see your face and listen to what you have to say.”
“That’s a big risk to me,” the voice said. “How do I know the cops won’t be right there?”
Levi tensed, but Maria just said, “You think I’d tell the cops about talking to you? They’re going to think I set Laura up or something.” Her voice was scornful.
And—miracle of miracles, it actually seemed to work. “The Starbucks on Magnolia Street,” said the voice. “Tonight. Eight PM. Don’t be late.” The call ended.
Maria sat back, sighing. “I hope that’s a good location. I don’t think he’s going to change his mind if I call back and ask to meet somewhere else.”
“Just fine,” said the lieutenant. “We’ll seat you near the back, away from the windows. And I promise the police presence will be discreet. He won’t know we’re watching.”
And if he figured it out, Levi thought, he wouldn’t have time to act. Levi would be there first.
* * *
“I’m sorry, man.” Danny sounded frustrated. “There’s no way I’ll be back by eight PM. The lieu ordered me to interview, like, twenty-seven thousand people and I’ve only done three so far.”
As always, Danny’s humor made Levi smile, even through his frustration. “All right, we’ll just have to manage without you somehow.”
“Never happen,” Danny said confidently. “So watch out for yourself, hey?”
“I will,” Levi promised. “The lieu’s taking your place himself, anyway, so you’re plenty outclassed.”
“Hey, I take offense to that—yes, ma’am…” Danny’s voice drifted away as he took his phone away from his ear to talk to someone else. It returned in a second. “Gotta go, man. Good luck tonight. Stay safe.”
“Will do.” Levi hung up and blew out a breath. Looked like he was on his own.
Well, him and almost the entire police department, he reminded himself. It wasn’t like he’d be wanting for backup.
He just hoped they were enough to keep Maria safe.
He turned to head back to the lieutenant’s office and almost ran into Maria, who was coming out at the same time. She stopped. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Levi responded, feeling like an idiot. What could he say?
“Listen,” Maria said. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for earlier. I blew up at you for no reason—you were completely right. I should’ve come to you the second he called. I overreacted and I’m sorry.”
“No,” Levi said, and her eyebrows flew up before he continued, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have commented on your personal life like that. That was—”
He’d been going to say inappropriate or over the line or something like that, but somehow he couldn’t get the words out, and the sentence trailed off into silence.
And then the silence just hung there, heavy with the weight of all the things they weren’t saying.
“Levi—” Maria started finally.
It sounded like the beginning of Levi, this was a mistake, or Levi, I’m sorry.
“I’ll keep you safe tonight,” he interrupted quickly.
She stopped, and looked up at him. Her eyes were so dark, he felt like he was falling into them.
“I promise,” he said, and stepped past her toward the lieutenant’s office.
* * *
At 7:58, Maria sat in the back of the Starbucks clutching a cup of black coffee that she wasn’t drinking. She was tense as hell. There were only two other customers in the Starbucks, a heavyset man reading a newspaper and a woman knitting; the lieutenant had assured her that they were both undercover police.
Maria scanned them covertly but didn’t see anything that would give the game away. Hopefully the same would be true for Sutherland.
Feeling a little dumb, but wanting to have some last line of defense in case nothing else worked, Maria had taken the little pocketknife she kept in her purse and tucked it down into her bra. She could feel it now, a little uncomfortable-but-reassuring lump pressed against her left breast.
She hoped to God she didn’t have to use it, particularly since she’d never practiced using a teeny-tiny knife against another human being and wasn’t that confident that she’d be successful. But if there was any situation in which you couldn’t be too careful…
It will be fine, she told herself firmly. He said he’d keep you safe.
Levi was out there somewhere, staking the building out. She wondered if he could see her. She was mostly out of the way of the windows, to make a difficult target if Sutherland just decided to try and shoot at her
again.
She wondered if he was really serious about trying to change her mind. Maybe this meeting had some other purpose? Maybe he really was going to try to kill her in a minute.
Well, if he did, he’d be dead himself in about five seconds. Which wouldn’t help her out very much if she was dead, but at least then he wouldn’t be able to shoot at Laura anymore, and Humans Against Shifters would come up against an intense police investigation.
The door opened. Maria tensed.
It was Sutherland.
He strolled over to the table like he didn’t have a care in the world, not even looking over his shoulder or at the other patrons. Maria’s hands clenched on the sides of her chair.
“Maria.” He sat down. “May I call you Maria?”
“No.” Maria kept her voice steady with an effort.
“Maria.” He smiled, and it was odious. “Let me just tell you that I would’ve been happy to kill you last night, you and your boss together, but I have to say, I think this is going to make me even happier.”
She barely saw him move. It seemed like one instant he was just sitting there, and the next he was holding a gun on her.
* * *
“Gun!” Levi shouted, running forward. He’d been stationed across the street, to the side of the Starbucks, leaning against a wall under an awning. Apart from the officers inside the coffee shop, he was the only one immediately visible, but the lieutenant had assured him that everyone would be in earshot.
He charged across the street toward the door, his gun coming out. He spared a second to glance around him—and didn’t see anybody.
What—?
And in that second, when he was looking for backup that wasn’t there, Roger Sutherland appeared in the doorway to the Starbucks and started firing.
* * *
Maria screamed as Sutherland dragged her up from the table, wondering why the officers in here weren’t doing anything—
But they were doing something. They were screaming too, and scrambling down to hide behind tables and coffee displays.
That was when Maria realized that something was very wrong.
Sutherland hauled her toward the door, his hand clamping down on her injured arm and making her stifle a shriek.