Diego’s voice, when he finally spoke, was completely steady. “You need to sit back down, Ms. Warden.”
“Wait. Not yet.”
Diego put one hand on her wrist. She noticed that he kept his other hand over his gun, snapped inside the holster, keeping her away from it.
“You need to obey the rules.”
He wasn’t afraid of her; he was stating facts. Cassidy’s adrenaline wouldn’t let her obey any rules but Shifter instinct. She twined her fingers through the backs of his and raised his hand to her face.
“Please, just a little while,” she said. “I’m so scared.”
Diego’s eyes flickered, and Cassidy couldn’t believe she’d said that. Admitting fear was the last thing she should do.
“You’ll be all right,” Diego said. “I’ve got you.”
I’ve got you. Three simple words, but Cassidy felt a blanket of safety wrap around her. She knew damn well it was a false blanket and that she needed to get the hell out of here, but the basic need inside her responded to the firm strength of his voice.
Cassidy let go of Diego’s hand, wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him close.
Diego found himself with his arms full of tall, beautiful Shifter woman, her naked body obvious beneath the baggy coverall. Dios mio.
He thanked all the saints that no one was in the observation room—at least that he knew of. Diego had spent two hours persuading Shifter Division and his captain to let him interrogate Cassidy Warden alone. Cassidy could have let Diego die up there in that tower, and she hadn’t. Diego wanted to find out why.
But it was against all procedure—Shifter Division viewed Shifters as deadly, unstable animals, no matter what form they were in, no matter that their Collars were supposed to keep them tamed. Diego had won a few minutes alone with Cassidy only because his captain sided with him—reluctantly. Diego hadn’t lied when he’d said that if he couldn’t persuade Cassidy to talk, he’d have to give her to Shifter Division. He sure as hell didn’t want to.
Now, Diego felt Cassidy Warden’s long body against his, the sleek warmth of her hair on his cheek. He inhaled the scent of her, which, considering she’d been running around naked in the desert plus sitting in here for hours, was sweet and good.
Diego’s body responded. He’d kept himself celibate too long, and this woman was beautiful.
No, she was damn hot. He remembered her fine ass when he’d locked the cuffs on her wrists, her beautiful breasts when she’d stood over him on the catwalk.
He felt those breasts now, still unfettered, against him, her strong thighs along the length of his. She had one sweet, gorgeous body, and her face was strong and lovely. A man would have to be dead not to respond to her.
More than that, Diego wanted to lean her back over the interrogation table, open those coveralls, and explore everything he found inside the package. Beautiful, warm woman. Sex with Cassidy would be… explosive.
But Diego also felt her fear. He’d heard truth ring when she’d said, I’m so scared. It had cost this woman a lot to say the words.
Cassidy wasn’t afraid of Diego. Or of being arrested, he sensed, as though she didn’t truly believe the bad shit that could happen to her here. Diego needed to figure out what the hell was going on. It killed Diego to push her away, but he had to do it. Spreading her across the interrogation table, as fulfilling as that might be, would be the end of him.
“Sit down, Ms. Warden,” he said into her ear, liking how the softness of her hair tickled his lips. “And tell me about the man with the tranquilizer gun.”
Cassidy lifted her head. Her eyes were white green as she stared into his, her breath coming fast. The silver Collar around her throat was so damn sexy, though Diego knew it was a controlling device, which would pump shocks and pain into her if she turned violent.
Diego wanted to stroke her hair, to tell her that he’d take care of her and she’d be all right. He wouldn’t let anyone, or anything, hurt her.
He deliberately did not touch her.
Cassidy looked at him for a moment longer, drew a breath, and very slowly sat down again. Diego flicked on the microphone, looked at her, and waited.
“I don’t know who the man up there was,” Cassidy said. “I never saw him before, and I didn’t get a good look at him.”
Diego nodded, encouraging her. “Why were you chasing him?”
Fear flickered through her eyes again. “He was chasing me. That’s why I ran into the building. The two cops saw us and came up, and he shot them.”
“Why was he after you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted a Shifter pelt to hang on his wall. Hunters are allowed to shoot Collarless Shifters, you know. Sometimes they don’t bother to check whether they have a Collar or not.”
Her tone was bitter, grief and rage tainting it. Diego had read the file on Cassidy Warden, so he thought he knew what she meant.
“Another reason you shouldn’t have been running out there on your own,” Diego said. “What happened to your clothes?”
Cassidy touched the top button of the coverall just below her Collar. Diego couldn’t stop his gaze from going there, down into the shadow between her breasts. “I chucked my clothes. I needed to strip to shift.”
And wouldn’t Diego have loved to have seen that? “Leaving behind your money or any ID…”
“I hadn’t brought it with me,” Cassidy said quickly.
“Which is illegal for a Shifter. Why did you leave everything at home?”
Cassidy’s gaze flicked sideways. She was trying to decide what to tell him. She was a bad liar, but Diego sensed that she lied out of fear, not cunning. He was very familiar with lies born of fear. He’d told them for years.
Cassidy wet her lips and shrugged again. “I wanted a run. I’d been cooped up too long. I needed to get away, out of Shiftertown, be somewhere else…”
Diego snapped off the microphone. “Stop.”
She jumped. “What?”
Diego leaned his fists on the table to look into her face. Her green eyes were so near his own, and he could feel her breath on his face.
“Listen to me, chiquita. Trespassing isn’t a misdemeanor for Shifters. It’s a crime with a prison sentence attached. I know you didn’t hurt Hooper and Jemez, because that guy with the gun shot at me too, and I watched you chase him off. But there’s no evidence, only my word, and yours, and you have to know by now that the word of a Shifter isn’t worth shit. If you admit you were running around in the desert for the hell of it, and some crazy Shifter hunter started chasing you, I can help you. You start talking about running away from your Shiftertown, and I can’t help you anymore. They’ll tranq you and lock you up. I’m your best shot at freedom, mi ja, so shut up.”
No Shifter, besides her brother Eric, would look at Cassidy like this or get in her face and talk to her in that stern, obey-me voice. Not unless he wanted to be knocked across the room or go up against her pissed-off brother. But Diego Escobar wasn’t asking for submission or fealty. He was trying to get Cassidy to understand, to obey because it was necessary. To trust him, because he knew the rules of this place, and Cassidy didn’t.
Diego turned the microphone back on. Cassidy’s heart beat in slow, thick beats as she leaned toward it. “I needed a run for the hell of it,” she said carefully. “To let off steam.”
Diego gave her a look that said she’d finally got it. “Good. Now tell me why.”
“Because I lost my mate. It’s the anniversary of his death, and I was going to the place he died to make my peace with it. All right?” That part was the truth.
Cassidy blinked back angry tears. Diego was human—he’d never understand. Donovan had been her mate. You didn’t just say a eulogy and get over it.
Diego looked at the file on the table but not because he was conceding ground. He was giving her a moment to collect herself.
“Donavan Grady,” he read. “The Feline Shifter who was living with you. Died a year ago.”
“He was my mate, not just living with me. The union was blessed under sun and moon. Not that humans understand what that means.”
One year ago, Donovan’s mother and Cassidy had burned photos and mementos of Donovan under the moonlight, while their clans moved in solemn circles around them, easing Donovan into the Summerland. The Guardian—the Shifter whose sword turned a Shifter’s dead body to dust—had done his job, and Eric had held Cassidy as she’d wept.
Donovan the fun-loving any-excuse-for-a-party-baby Shifter had been killed, before his time and for nothing. Cassidy had avoided the place of his passing for a long, long while, but tonight, something had drawn her there. Tomorrow, on the exact night of his death, they’d have his remembrance ceremony at home, but she’d wanted to burn an offering, alone, in the place of his dying. But someone had been there, waiting for her…
“I’m sorry,” Diego was saying. “I know it’s rough, losing someone.”
Cassidy looked up to find his gaze on her again. He’d turned off the microphone, and understanding lingered behind his no-nonsense stare. He knew.
Because, Cassidy realized in shock, he’d lost someone too.
“Was it someone close to you?” she asked.
Diego gave her a surprised look, then he cleared his throat. “My partner. Jobe Sanderson. My best friend.”
“I’m sorry,” Cassidy said, heartfelt. “I’ll say a blessing for you.” A lit candle, a prayer to the Goddess for the human Jobe now in the Summerland.
Diego said nothing, but hurt and grief screamed for touch. Drawn to his pain, Cassidy slid her hand over his, giving him a touch to soothe and ease, like a cat might curl into another for comfort.
Diego’s gaze flicked to their hands as Cassidy drew her fingers along the curve between his thumb and forefinger. He looked up at her, and they watched each other for a while, Cassidy’s heart pounding like crazy, Diego never moving.
After a long time, Diego lifted her hand, placed it back on the table, and turned on the microphone.
“Cassidy Warden,” he said. “Because you have no police record, and because I saw the third person with a tranquilizer gun fire at me, I’m not going to charge you for the trespassing. I’ll record that I gave you a warning, and that you swear to stay out of restricted areas. Also, I’m confining you to your Shiftertown for a period of two weeks, so you’ll have time to calm down and think about it. Interview ended at twenty-one hundred hours.”
Cassidy opened her mouth in outrage, but Diego held up his hand, stopping her as he turned off the microphone again.
“I can’t stay in Shiftertown for two weeks!”
Diego closed the file and lifted his coat, his movements brusque and no longer warm. “I can’t let you go without some kind of punishment. I’ll be checking up on you to make sure you do it. This is my call, Cassidy. I’m putting my ass on the line for you. Don’t make me regret it.”
She stared at him. Diego looked back at her, that same unfathomable gaze locking her in place.
“Why would you put your ass on the line for me?” Cassidy asked. Your very fine ass.
Diego slid his strong arms into his coat. “I don’t know, mi ja. Maybe because you could have let me fall but you helped me instead; maybe because I like your face. Whatever reason, you got lucky. Now go. I called your brother before I came in here. He should be waiting for you downstairs.”
Eric. The relief that her brother had come made Cassidy want to spring up and run to him, but she forced herself to rise calmly. She liked how tall Diego was when they stood toe-to-toe. He was almost the same height as Eric, and he smelled good, like dust and sunshine.
Diego opened the door of the interrogation room and gestured her to leave in front of him. The human-style courtesy betrayed how different their worlds were—a Shifter male would walk out first, checking the hall for danger before beckoning the female out the door. How humans had survived this long, Cassidy had no idea.
Cassidy passed Diego in the doorway, keeping her gaze on him. “You’re a shithead, Lieutenant Escobar.”
His answering smile erased every hard line on his face and made his eyes sparkle. His eyes were so dark, so deep, an entire world within them.
“I do my best, mi ja,” he said. “Go home.”
Diego walked away from her, leaving her to the uniformed policewoman who waited outside in the hall.
His backside moved nicely under his coat. Cassidy thought about the feel of his body against hers, and a shiver went through her as she continued to watch Diego walk away. No doubt about it—despite being human, despite him placing a curfew on her, Diego Escobar was hot.
Eric waited for Cassidy downstairs, all six and a half feet of him, his jade green eyes holding concern. Jace, Eric’s full-grown son, waited with him, eyes just as green but holding more restlessness.
As the policewoman let her out through the locked door, Cassidy ran to her brother and nephew, and they closed arms around her in a strong, soul-healing hug.
Diego’s captain grabbed him before Diego had the chance to return to his desk and start his report. Beckoning Diego to follow him into his office, Captain Maxwell went inside and snapped at Diego to close the door.
Captain John Maxwell stood five feet six and looked thin enough to be taken out in one blow. But the man could outshoot every person in his command and pin a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound biker to the wall and cuff him in five seconds flat. A reminder that looks could be deceiving.
Captain Max now turned a look of fury on Diego. “You are damn lucky I was the only one in the observation room, Escobar. What the hell were you doing?”
“I didn’t touch her,” Diego said.
“No, you let her crawl all over you instead. I thought she was going to lick you.”
Diego had thought so too, and the visual that came with the thought was hot and satisfying. “She stopped when I told her to.”
Captain Max gave him a don’t-bullshit-me-I’m-not-in-the-mood look. “Confining her to Shiftertown for all of two weeks? That’s it? Shifter Division is going to shit a brick.”
“If I charged her with trespassing, they’d lock her up,” Diego said. “You know that. A judge can give her a death sentence for trespassing, if that judge is asshole enough to do it. Cassidy didn’t do anything. Who cares about a building rusting in the desert?”
“And she’s gorgeous,” Captain Max said.
Diego couldn’t stop his grin. “OK, so that didn’t hurt.”
“Damn you, Escobar. I thought your brother was the maverick. You’re supposed to be the steady one, the responsible one.” Captain Max shoved some file folders around his desk, which he did when trying to relieve his temper. “I’m holding you responsible for this Shifter woman, Escobar. I want you checking on her every day. Every day, do you understand? Whether you’re on duty or off, weekdays and weekends. Got it?”
So much for the cabin on Charleston. “Yes, sir.”
“She so much as sets her toe outside Shiftertown, Shifter Division gets her. If she screws up, I’m putting the blame entirely on you. It’s your ass that will get kicked, not mine. Understand?”
Diego nodded. He knew that Captain Max would do his best to save Diego if things went wrong, as he had done before, but Diego didn’t want to put Captain Max in that position ever again.
“Yes, sir,” Diego said, and left the office, dismissed.
CHAPTER THREE
Tell me again.”
Eric didn’t need to be told again, and Cassidy knew it. But she also knew that the story bothered him, especially the part about the hunter’s sudden disappearance. He’d want to hear it again in case there had been some detail he’d missed.
Cassidy humored him and told him the story from beginning to end, while Eric stood at the barbeque in the backyard, fork in hand, muscles moving under his spiraling tattoo as he turned the steaks. Cassidy omitted that fact that, in the interrogation room, she’d had an uncontrollable need to touch Diego, to embrace him, and hadn’t stopped herself. S
he also neglected to mention how much clinging to Diego had both comforted and confused her.
Eric went silent as he flipped a red piece of meat, the juices sizzling on the coals. He kept his gaze on the grill, but Cassidy knew that her brother was thinking through the story, reassessing it.
“This hunter wasn’t Shifter?” he asked after a time.
“Couldn’t have been. I would have scented Shifter.” Cassidy rubbed her arms, cold despite the balmy March temperature. “I’ve never smelled anything like him, actually.”
Eric looked at her, green eyes sharp. He didn’t say anything, just stood still while one muscle moved in his jaw. Then he said, “Hmm.”
“What?” Cassidy asked, worried. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking the human cop is right, and you should stay close to home.”
“I didn’t finish making the offering.”
“Finish it another time, Cass. Donovan would understand.”
Cassidy felt the anger, which a year of grief had honed. “I’m going to find the bastards who killed him.”
Eric’s look softened. “I know you are.” He pulled his sister into a one-armed embrace, the other hand still holding the barbeque fork. “You’ll do it, Cass. But not tonight. Now, help me cook this mess of steaks. The trackers are going to help us eat them, and you know Brody’s always hungry.”
The next day after work, Diego drove his restored Thunderbird into Shiftertown and stopped in front of Eric Warden’s house.
Shiftertown wasn’t at all what Diego had thought it would be. This one had existed on the north edge of town for twenty years, but Diego had never been there. He’d expected a slum, as in the rougher neighborhoods of Las Vegas where he’d grown up. In his old neighborhood, prostitutes openly walked the streets and meth labs occupied every other house.
The streets of Shiftertown were completely different. Diego drove through an open chain-link gate to find small, well-kept houses and trimmed yards lining every street.
These houses had been built by the government twenty years ago, a housing project that had been turned into a Shiftertown once word came down that Shifters would be located here. The houses were crap, like any lowest-bid project houses, but they were painted, clean, and well repaired.