by Kit Tunstall
She knew his counterargument would include something along the lines of it would be an unwelcome distraction to have to face Ashley again in her panther-shifter form without security, but it seemed unlikely that the crazy woman would approach her in front of people.
In fact, it seemed unlikely Ashley would approach her at all, because it was taboo in shifter culture to seduce away another’s mate, since most shifters mated for life. Ashley had already gotten herself into big trouble with their laws, and she didn’t need to compound her error by continuing to pursue a married man. It would practically assure total banishment from shifter society, if she hadn’t already guaranteed that with her murder attempt.
Her gaze darted to her left hand to stare at the large diamond gleaming up at her. They weren’t officially married yet, but in his culture, they already were, having become so the minute he bit her. Still, she was looking forward to the human trappings of a wedding, and she knew her parents wouldn’t want to miss that.
They were already slightly distraught that she was moving so far from home again, but she was going to try to persuade them to join her in her relocating. They were retired, and Kingston was receptive to the idea, so there was no reason they couldn’t move with her, unless they chose not to. Everything was in place for her own happy-ever-after, aside from the bothersome Ashley still being free.
A polished woman appeared at the doorway in a black pantsuit and red heels. “Grace DiPlaski?”
Grace stood up from the chair she had taken and walked over to meet her interviewer, extending her hand. “I’m Grace, and you must be Kelly?”
Kelly nodded, but didn’t speak. She didn’t react at all, other than to give a limp handshake.
A chill went down Grace’s spine, especially when she saw the contempt in the other woman’s eyes. She had been through this before, having submitted résumés and gone for interviews only to realize very quickly that the person conducting the interview had a fat bias, and they would never hire her in a million years, no matter how qualified she was. She really hoped that wasn’t the case with Kelly, because the woman had contacted her based on her résumé posted on LinkedIn. Whatever the issue, clearly the woman didn’t like something about her.
The other woman was tall, with long legs, and she made no concession for Grace’s shorter legs. She hurried to catch up and keep up with her, her heels tapping on the linoleum floor. It was the industrial type that seemed common to all hospitals, but she was surprised to see it in the office area too. It was ugly, as was the rest of the utilitarian décor, but she didn’t care as long as the job came with a decent salary and good benefits.
She didn’t really have to worry about that, since Kingston had a lot of money—the kind of money she couldn’t even fathom—but she refused to let him pay her way for everything. She would stand on her own two feet and maintain a job, at least until they decided to have children someday soon. That was assuming she could find a job, which seemed unlikely, at least at this hospital based solely on Kelly’s cold manner thus far.
They entered a small office/conference room. The other woman nodded briskly at her to take a seat, and then left the room, not speaking at all. The door was cracked open, so presumably she’d gone for something, but a word of explanation would have been nice.
Grace sat in the chair nearest the door, tapping her neatly trimmed nails on the mahogany table. This was the weirdest interview she’d ever been to, made doubly strange by the fact they had contacted her. She hadn’t applied for this position at the hospital, because it hadn’t been listed anywhere that she had seen during her job search. She’d never worked in medical records before, but Kelly had assured her that was fine when they’d spoken on the phone.
The other woman had been a lot warmer on the phone than in person, leading Grace back to the assumption that she had a problem with her curves. What did it matter, since she worked in back rooms mostly anyway, but it was better to know now than to take a job and end up working under a prejudiced bitch who made her professional life miserable.
The door opening interrupted her reverie, and she plastered on a professional smile that melted from her face a second later, when she saw the identity of the new arrival. Ashley stood in the doorway, staring at her with a predatory look for a second before she closed the door with a click. The lock snicked a moment later, and the white-haired woman made her way around the room to lower the blinds.
“What are you doing here?” demanded Grace, trying to keep any hint of fear out of her tone.
Ashley almost purred as she stretched across the table, not quite within reach, but close enough to be threatening. “I’m here to finish what I started. You’re not good enough for him, and you won’t take him from me.” She raked Grace with a contemptuous look. “I can handle a bit of flirtation, though I don’t know what he sees in you, but you’re not going to steal my mate.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “He’s not your mate, and he never was. He never would have been and never will be. Even if you killed me, chopped me into bits, and scattered me in your kitty litter, he’s never going to turn to you. Just let it go with some dignity, sweetie. You’re turning into one of those psycho girls nobody wants to be around.”
Ashley screeched at her, and halfway through the screech, it turned to a roar, as the other woman leapt at her, clothes ripping in the process as she shifted to her panther form.
Grace had been trying to keep Ashley distracted as she reached into her purse discreetly, fumbling for the items she had been carrying on her since Panther Lady had gone after her the first time. As Ashley reached her, barely raking her shoulder with razor-sharp claws, she let out a small cry of her own—one of pain mingled with triumph, as she lifted the pepper spray.
She had a perfect angle and didn’t hesitate as she aimed the nozzle directly into Ashley’s eyes, holding down the trigger until the other woman cried out with her cat cry again and flinched backward, pawing at her face.
Since Ashley could quickly recover, or at least enough to be completely pissed off rather than severely impaired, Grace removed the second thing from her purse, a gift from Kingston. Sharp prongs extended when she pressed a button, and she touched them to the panther’s side, turning it to full voltage to give the bitch the Tasering of a lifetime.
Ashley twitched and whimpered, squealing pathetically, but Grace didn’t have pity on her. It wasn’t until the other woman fell silent that she took away the Taser.
Slowly, she slid her chair backward, reaching into the purse for her cell phone to call her guards waiting outside. After speaking with Sully, she immediately called Kingston to tell him where she was.
He picked up as the men burst into the room, immediately going to Ashley’s prone form. “Kelly?” he repeated after she had told him the details and was assured Sully and his partner were in the room with her. “As in Kelly Toth?”
“She said her name was Kelly Jones, but it could be Toth.” Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at Ashley, who was starting to come around. As the woman’s awareness returned, she shifted back to her human form, glaring at Grace. “Do you know Kelly Jones?”
Ashley sneered, though her voice was a weak imitation of what it had been a few moments before. “Kelly Toth,” she said with a snarl.
“Her cousin,” said Kingston in her ear, through the phone line. “Steer clear of that witch and Ashley until I get there. The trackers are also coming to pick her up, and Sully and Jared will do their best to clear out the department so there’s little fuss or human involvement in the procurement of Ashley.”
“Thank you for the Taser,” she said to Kingston with a wicked grin, winking in Ashley’s direction. She couldn’t deny she enjoyed the gritted teeth and low growl coming from the other woman. “It was handy with this nasty little cat.”
He laughed, though his voice still sounded concerned. “I’m glad you handled her, but are you okay?”
“I’m fine, love. It would take more than this white-haired witch to separate us
.”
“I’ll be there soon as possible.”
Grace nodded, though he couldn’t see the motion on the phone. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
After hanging up, she slipped out of the conference room, no longer wanting to be in Ashley’s proximity.
Sully had remained with Ashley, and Jared accompanied her to the waiting room. It wouldn’t take long to pick up her cousin, Jared assured her, but Grace wasn’t overly concerned either way. She knew for certain Ashley would be dealt with, and it seemed likely Kelly would too. And just because Kelly had been willing to help her cousin orchestrate an opportunity to get to Grace didn’t mean she was going to turn it into a crazy family vendetta and go after her.
She was surprisingly sanguine about the whole thing, still riding high on the tide of success, having dispatched Ashley by herself. If she could handle a psychotic panther-shifter out for her blood, she could handle anything.
Two men and a woman in black bodysuits arrived shortly thereafter, bearing a strange insignia she had never seen before on the patches adorning their biceps. They nodded to her and Sully before approaching, waiting for her guard to tell them where to find Ashley.
Ten minutes later, they came through with Ashley clapped in handcuffs and dressed in what looked like a janitor’s coverall. Ashley glared at her as they moved past, digging in her heels to say one last thing. “If he’d rather have you, he’s not worthy of me. You two deserve each other.”
“Yes, we certainly do,” said Grace with a large grin. “Now run along and stop being a bad kitty.”
The other woman’s eyes flashed with fire, but she stopped digging in her heels as the trackers nudged her forward. In seconds, the white-haired woman was gone, and she was confident she would never see her again.
Kingston arrived a few moments later, and he swept her into his arms for several kisses and a long embrace before he seemed assured she was okay. When he pulled back, his expression was one of regret. “I’m sorry this happened. I thought we had a plan, and it’s my job to protect you.”
She cupped his face, pressing her palm against his cheek. “Honey, you did protect me. You’re the one who gave me the Taser, and we knew she might crop up again. You can’t blame yourself for this. I was prepared, and nothing bad happened.”
“But it could have. I would’ve lost you, and if you’re gone, what’s the point of anything? My happiness is all tied up with yours.”
Her heart melted at his words, and she softened her voice further while she stretched forward to press a gentle kiss to the side of his lips. “We’ll just have to make sure we keep each other happy then, my love.” She kissed the other side of his lips. “We have the rest of our lives to get that right.”
“We don’t need any help or practice at that. You make me happy just being here.” He kissed her full on the mouth, his passion clearly rising.
Hers was mounting too, and she vaguely entertained the idea of finding the janitor’s closet, assuming there must be one since Ashley had worn a janitor’s coveralls after her arrest. “I love you, Kingston.”
He growled, that pleasing growl of possession that made her shiver with delight. “I love you too.”
Hand-in-hand, they walked from the hospital in search of an expedient place to mate that didn’t involve a janitor’s closet. She was looking forward to a lifetime of this—of little moments of quiet happiness interspersed with the bigger explosions of joyous events. She would be content to be a by his side for the rest of her life, whether they were curled up by the fire reading a book or planning their wedding. There would be countless moments like those, since they were mating for life.
******
Bear’s Secret Baby (Emerald Shifters, Book Three)
Blurb
Shayla adopted her niece at birth when her sister turned her back on the baby without a real explanation, besides the “strangeness” of the father’s people. Aislinn is ill, and the doctors have given up hope, so she takes the girl to Bear Island, where her father and his people live, praying for a miracle. She finds truths she isn’t ready to face among a clan of bear-shifters. In Kade, she finds an angry bear denied the knowledge of his daughter’s existence. There is more beneath the anger, and when he looks at her, she knows he feels the pull between them too. Their attraction is as impossible as it is irresistible, but they must work together when an outside force tries to remove the baby from both of them.
Chapter One
Shayla shivered faintly as the first sight of the island appeared in the mist the closer the boat drew to it. It looked ominous, though she supposed that was more to do with her own perception based on what Lila had told her, and the boat captain’s reaction when she’d asked him to give them a ride to the island. He’d seemed to regard her as crazy and had tried to talk her out of coming there.
The gruff old man came up behind her, as though her thoughts had summoned him. “That’s Bear Island,” he said in a rough tone.
She nodded. “Yes, I thought it must be, since we’re heading right for it.” The island was unofficially named Bear Island, according to the captain, though it had no official name. Existing as part of the San Juan Islands chain in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it was officially uninhabited. Apparently, Kade Lassiter and his people felt otherwise, because they had inhabited it for several generations, at least according to her sister Lila.
“Are you sure about staying, Miss Dalton?” The captain scratched his white beard and sent her a look of disapproval. “Like I said, I won’t be back for another month with a delivery of supplies. I can’t promise you’ll be able to get off the island until then, and the people who live there aren’t exactly warm and friendly.”
Shayla squared her shoulders and ran a hand down the bundle in the sling. “I’m sure.” She wasn’t actually sure. She was terrified at the prospect, but she had run out of ideas, and no one else had had the answers as to why her baby niece was not growing despite a healthy start in life.
With a sigh, the captain moved away from her, and they docked at the island less than fifteen minutes later. As the boat’s crew, which consisted of three men including the captain, started to unload the supplies, three other inhabitants appeared, seeming to solidify from the mist itself, and their eyes were wide with shock when they saw her step off the boat.
She ignored their response, hesitating for a moment before approaching the youngest-looking one. He might have been in his early twenties. His expression wasn’t quite as hard and unwelcoming as the other two flanking him. She forced a small smile, because she couldn’t make it any larger with a sudden bout of nerves seizing her, and looked up at him. “Could you please tell me where I could find Kade Lassiter?”
“Who wants to know?” asked one of the men standing behind the younger one, his expression stern, and his voice unfriendly.
“That’s personal. If you could just tell me where to find him, I’ll get out of your way.”
“Outsiders aren’t welcome here,” said the one who hadn’t spoken yet, his unfriendly expression matching the man beside him.
She turned a pleading gaze to the younger man, pinning all her hopes on him. “Please. It’s really important.”
After a moment, the younger man lifted a hand and waved it vaguely in the direction from which he and the other two had come. “Keep walking straight down the road, until you come to the sheriff’s office. That’s where you’ll find Kade.”
She nodded her thanks and hurried away before the other two with him could intercept her, or try to force her back onto the boat. As she hurried through the small village, she was careful to avoid making eye contact with anyone she came across. There weren’t many people out on the main street, but she still felt like eyes were on her the entire time as she traversed the length of the town. She shivered as she remembered the conversation she’d had with Lila three days ago.
“You don’t want to go to that island for any reason.”
Shayla had protested, “It’s for Aislinn. Some
thing has to happen. I have to do something, and maybe her father’s family knows something we don’t. Genetics or something…”
Lila had laughed bitterly. “Genetics. Yeah, that’s it. Just stay away from that whole cult.”
Shayla had probed before, but her sister had always refused to expound on what she meant by cult when she referred to Kade and his people. At the time, she had issued a small sigh. “Lila, she’s your daughter. You can’t want her to die.”
Lila had sounded cold and utterly convincing when she’d said, “I don’t care either way. I would’ve gotten rid of it if I could have.”
Shayla had felt the familiar surge of irritation and bewilderment at her sister’s lack of maternal feelings for her daughter, but she had tamped them down. “Fine, if you don’t care about Aislinn, then tell me how to get to the island so that I can help her, and do it for me. You still love me, don’t you?”
Lila’s tone had softened marginally. “Of course I do, even though I don’t understand your need to keep that thing. We could have just given it to the foster system, and someone else could have adopted it.”
Shayla had persisted, until Lila had finally told her how to find Bear Island.
Now, recalling her sister’s words, she wasn’t certain if she was allowing them to taint her impression of the town, or if it was simply her own observations and the general air of unwelcome that clung to the place. Whatever it was, she felt like an outsider and vulnerable to attack. It was a ridiculous notion, because people didn’t just attack someone for entering their town, but instinct warned her to turn around and run back to the boat.
She might have listened to the fear guiding her if it hadn’t been for Aislinn curled against her chest in a warm little bundle. The baby hadn’t roused much during the boat ride, or before that. She was so listless and nearly lifeless that it broke Shayla’s heart and hardened her resolve to stay. She was probably pinning her hopes on something that wouldn’t help either, but she wasn’t leaving until she spoke to the child’s father and ruled out all possibilities of helping Aislinn.