Middlemarch Shifters Box Set 4--6, page 14
Emily gasped. “He’s here?”
“Yeah, and I know you’re worried, but it’s best that she’s not here while this guy is skulking around.”
Saber shot him a sharp glance. “You said we. Where’s Isabella?”
“She’s out hunting him.” Leo’s stomach clenched. He needed to be with Isabella. “I’m going back out now. I wanted to warn you first.”
“You should go too,” Emily said to Saber. “And maybe you’re right about Gina, but that won’t stop me worrying. I’m going to ring around her friends. When I find that girl, she’s in big trouble. Grounded for three months at least.”
“No,” Leo said. “I don’t think Emily should be left alone. This guy is a professional. He’ll want to extract information and he won’t care how he gets it.”
Saber gave a quick nod. “You going in feline form?”
“Yeah, it’s quicker.”
“Take care, Leo.” Saber grasped his shoulder and squeezed. “If he’s an assassin, he’ll have a weapon.”
Leo ripped off his T-shirt and shucked his jeans, grinning as Saber clapped his hand over Emily’s eyes. He strode outside and shifted to leopard, letting out a low grunt of farewell before he hurtled along the driveway and leapt over the fence into the paddock. When he neared the rental car, he slowed, paused to listen. Someone walked in the paddock below the road. He didn’t think it was Isabella because the footsteps sounded heavier than hers.
“Going somewhere, Mika?”
Leo crawled up to the fence on his stomach and peered over the road into the paddock below. Mika stood fifty feet from Isabella. The look on the male’s face matched his own surprise. How the hell had Isabella crept up without him sensing her?
Mika recovered rapidly, his hand hanging at his side. He might pretend to be relaxed but Leo sensed the other male’s tension.
“What are you doing here?” Mika asked, aiming for pleasant.
Leo cursed. He needed to get closer to help. In that moment he trusted his mate. He hadn’t been sure until now. She’d saved Sylvie, and she’d had the chance to go straight to the house to nail Tomasine. She hadn’t. Instead, she was here facing Mika.
“What? You haven’t figured it out yet?” Isabella mocked.
“You want the hit,” Mika said. “I should have suspected when you offered the information that the queen and her child were in Auckland.”
“They are in Auckland.”
Leo took a chance and jumped the fence, landing silently on the other side. Neither of the mercenaries spared him a glance.
Mika advanced, still relaxed, as if he thought he could take her in a fight. “If they’re in Auckland, why are you here? I ask myself this question, Isabella. What the hell sort of game are you playing?”
Leo wanted the same answer. Although he’d given his trust, he hated not knowing the plan. This was his mate, and she was in danger. Instinct drove him to protect her. His lip curled up in a snarl and his tail flicked from side to side, agitation bleeding out in the equivalent of toe-tapping.
Just his luck to mate with a woman who didn’t need protection. A mercenary for fuck’s sake. A low rumble of irritation escaped until he realized he risked giving his presence away. The noise ceased, and he crawled closer, thankful for the rock outcroppings that gave him cover.
“No games, Mika. I don’t play games. This is a job like any other.”
“Why haven’t you checked in? Everyone thought you were dead.”
Isabella snorted. “I’m a self-employed contractor, working on my own. I do the job the way I see fit.”
“You’ve changed. Grown soft. Fuck, you’ve fallen for a guy.”
Even Leo saw the flash of emotion on Isabella’s face, and he wasn’t near the couple. His tail stilled and satisfaction filled him. His mate. Once he got her back to the house, they’d talk. No more secrets.
“My private life is not your concern,” she said in a cool voice.
“This hit is mine.” Mika grabbed a gun from inside his jacket and fired. The shot echoed as Isabella let out a hoarse shout. She grabbed her knife from her boot and fired it at Mika.
A strike.
Mika’s second shot went wild. Leo sprang from cover with a ferocious snarl, charging the couple. He watched Isabella waver and drop to the ground. Mika fled, heading for his vehicle.
No contest. Leo let him go and ran to Isabella’s side. He heard the rapid departure of the rental vehicle as he shifted to human form and knelt beside her. A steady pulse. Still alive. Blood seeped from a wound in her chest.
The bastard had hit her at close range.
“Come on, sweetheart. Stay with me.” Leo picked her up and ran toward the house as fast as he could. He clutched her close, fear riding him at her unconscious state.
Saber must have heard his crashing progress. The front door flew open and Leo sprinted inside, clutching his precious burden.
“She’s been shot. The mercenary.”
“Take her into your room,” Emily said. “I’ll get the first-aid kit.”
Leo placed her on his bed and removed her leather jacket. She stirred, groaning as he ripped her cotton shirt to expose the bullet wound. Saber came up behind him to stare over his shoulder. As they studied the wound, Isabella’s flesh rippled, and the bullet worked its way out.
“Holy shit,” Saber said in awe. “What is she?”
“Smells human,” Leo said, blinking when the flesh knit, closing Isabella’s wound. She sighed but didn’t wake.
“Not human, bro, but pretty.”
“Mine,” Leo snarled, clasping one pale feminine hand in a statement of possession.
Saber laughed and backed up to give Leo space, his hands raised in surrender. “Not arguing the point. I have Emily.”
“Sorry,” Leo mumbled. “I—”
“Once the mating process is complete life becomes easier.”
A feminine scream jerked their attention from Isabella.
“Emily!” Saber disappeared from his room in the blink of an eye. Another scream and a masculine snarl prodded Leo into action. He sprinted down the hall, coming to an abrupt halt. Mika had Emily, a gun pressed against her temple.
Saber growled, a low sound that made the hairs at the back of Leo’s neck prickle. His gut jumped, fear and adrenaline attempting to punch holes in his chest. He’d watched Mika shoot his mate with no apparent regret. The man’s mean expression told Leo he’d have no compunction in killing Emily.
“What do you want?” Saber’s green eyes glinted with icy control.
Leo turned his attention to Mika and Emily. His sister-in-law bristled with anger rather than succumbing to tremors of fear.
“Where can I find Tomasine Brooks?” Mika asked.
Saber appeared to relax. “Why?”
“She has information I require.”
“What sort of information?” Leo asked.
“Don’t come any closer,” Mika snapped. “I’ll shoot her.”
“Hiding behind a female.” Leo shook his head. “Not cool for a tough dude.”
“I meant it,” Mika snarled. “No closer.”
Saber stepped back. “We don’t know the person you’re looking for. Let Emily go.”
“Don’t lie. The locals call her Peeping Tom. She married your brother. I just want to talk to her.”
“You could have rung and made an appointment,” Leo said. “That’s what normal people do.” At least the man didn’t realize Tomasine was the very person he was searching for and wanted to kill.
A soft sound—a footstep—attracted Leo’s attention.
Saber must have heard it too because he frowned and spoke to Mika. “Tomasine isn’t here. Give me your number and I’ll get her to ring you.”
“Not good enough.” Mika’s grip tightened and Emily groaned and attempted to twist free.
Gina appeared behind Mika, ghosting through the kitchen door. She held a gun in her hands, a look of determination on her face. The look of a warrior.
“Drop, Emily,” Saber shouted.
She didn’t hesitate, her weight falling without warning. A gun fired, the shot loud in the kitchen. Mika spun. A second shot echoed, and he toppled, the bloom of blood bright red against the cotton of his shirt.
“Come over here, Emily,” Saber ordered. He wrapped his arms around his mate and held her, a wild expression on his face.
Gina stalked closer, a hard look on her chubby face, the gun still extended, ready to fire again.
Leo stooped to check the stranger’s pulse. Mika didn’t move. Not even when Gina crouched beside him. She checked his pulse too.
“Dead,” she said.
“You okay?” Leo asked.
She nodded.
“I’ll go and check on Isabella,” Leo said.
Gina eyed him. “She’s not there.”
Acute disappointment flooded him since Gina’s flat tone told him it was true. Even so, he had to see for himself. Leaving the kitchen, Leo hustled to his bedroom. Empty. The net curtain billowed in the breeze created by the open window.
“Damn.” He thought they’d come to an understanding of sorts. Appeared not. Disillusioned and heartsick, he trudged to the kitchen. Right now his family needed him. He could try to sort out his personal life later.
“She gone?” Saber asked, looking up from Mika’s body. Gina and Emily stood silently side by side.
“Must have left via the window.”
Emily turned to glare at Gina. “What are you doing with a gun? You’ve shot a hole in my kitchen cupboard.”
“She also saved you, sweetheart,” Saber said. “One little hole isn’t serious.”
“But she has a gun,” Emily repeated.
“Where did you get the gun?” Leo asked. “Did Isabella give it to you? Did she say anything when she went?” Okay, so he was officially sad. He couldn’t stop thinking about his mate.
“The gun belongs to me,” Gina said.
“What?” Emily shrieked. “Since when?”
“I have something to tell you,” Gina said.
“You’d better not be pregnant,” Saber snapped. “Tell me about the gun and what the hell you’ve been up to.”
“I’m not pregnant,” Gina said, her chubby body tensing at the charge.
Emily scowled. “Then why have you been sneaking around? You’ve given me gray hair.”
“I…um…” The teenager sounded unusually diffident. “Oh shit,” she said. “There’s no easy way to do this.” She stepped around the kitchen table until it stood between her and the three of them. A faint green glowed around her body.
Saber stiffened but Leo didn’t take his eyes off Gina. The green grew brighter until it surrounded every inch of her chubby body.
“Damn, she’s shifting,” Saber said in astonishment.
“She’s a leopard like the rest of you,” Emily answered. “We’ve seen her shift before.”
“Not with the green,” Leo said, thinking back. “She always shifted in private where we couldn’t see.”
“I thought it was because she’s shy,” Emily said. “Not like the rest of you exhibitionists.”
“She didn’t take off her clothes this time,” Saber said.
Leo could see Gina’s body changing shape. She grew taller. Slimmer. The green died away leaving Isabella standing where Gina had stood seconds earlier. His mouth dropped open as he stared in shock. “Isabella?”
“Yeah. It’s me,” she said.
Horror filled Leo while he stared at her. He backed up until the cool stainless of the refrigerator halted his retreat. Gina. Isabella. They were the same person.
Saber frowned. “Which is the real one?”
Yeah, exactly the info he wanted. Not once had he blundered into wrong with Gina. She was a kid, for god’s sake. Isabella, now… He shifted his weight, uncomfortable with the way his thoughts were veering.
“I am of age.” Isabella straightened, her chin rising in defiance. “I am not a child.”
“Fine,” Leo said, his tone a big hint that he wasn’t fine at all. “But what are you? You’re not feline. Who are you?”
“Why the secrets?” Saber asked.
“I want to talk to Leo in private.” Isabella stood at ease, her violet-blue eyes defiant while she made her demand.
“Wait. How do we know you won’t harm him?” Saber asked. “What happened to the gun?”
“For goodness’ sake,” Isabella snapped. “If I’d wanted to hurt any of you, I could have done it ages ago.” But she pulled a gun from her inside pocket plus a knife out of one of her boots and slapped them on the table. “The knife I keep in my other boot is the one I threw at Mika before Leo brought me back to the house. You can search me. I don’t have any other weapons on me.” She waited until it was obvious no one intended to take up her offer. Then, with a final glance at Leo, she stalked from the kitchen, her boots thudding on the wooden floor.
“What are you waiting for?” Emily demanded.
Leo exchanged a glance with Saber.
Saber shrugged. “The woman’s right. She’s lived with Tomasine and then us without hurting anyone. She killed him.” He indicated the dead mercenary with a jerk of his head. He reached for Emily’s hand and squeezed it with obvious emotion. “Whoever she is, she’s earned the right to have a private meeting with you.”
Leo nodded, closed his eyes for an instant, trying to quell his panic. “I’m mated to her. I thought I knew her, but it turns out I don’t.”
Emily patted him on the shoulder. “Talk to her. I’m sure everything will turn out okay.”
“What about him?” Leo asked. “We need to take care of him.”
“I’ll help Saber,” Emily said. “I’m a Mitchell now. I can take the bad along with the good.”
“And a fine Mitchell you are, sweetheart.” Saber curled his arm around his wife’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Let’s take care of business and leave Leo to sort out things with his mate.”
Leo nodded at Saber, gave Emily a quick kiss on the cheek and strode from the kitchen. Both nerves and concern combined to bounce around inside his stomach like a ping-pong ball on speed. Hell, he admitted it. He was out of his depth. He didn’t know what to think. What did Isabella intend to tell him? With the lies and half-truths between them it was difficult to see a future.
Chapter Twelve
Isabella paced the length of Leo’s bedroom, aware of the askew sensation, the sense of trespassing. Although she flirted with him in her Gina guise, she’d never pushed the bounds of propriety. She’d respected his privacy and tried not to dwell on the parade of woman through his life. Fear flared afresh. She loved the man, but had no idea how he’d react to the truth.
She could hear the soft murmur of voices in the kitchen. Leo, Saber and Emily. It wasn’t difficult to guess the topic. Her. Was she trustworthy? What were they going to do with her? She huffed out an agitated breath and spun to make the return journey across the polished wooden floorboards. At least Felix and Tomasine could come out of hiding now. One positive in a host of negatives.
Mika had been the last of the mercenaries on the queen’s trail. As long as Joseph died soon they’d be safe. No second chances for Joseph. Once she’d talked to Leo, she’d have a word with Saber and offer to do the job for free. It was the least she could do to repay the kindness Tomasine had shown her, saving her from a gang rape at the hand of the soldiers Joseph had sent to kill his brother, sister-in-law, niece.
Footsteps approached, and she froze. Leo appeared in the doorway. She took a deep breath and prayed she hadn’t betrayed her agitation.
“Who are you?”
“Isabella Black.” She wanted to add more but her throat knotted so tight it was difficult to force out the words. Swallowing didn’t help.
Leo scowled and her heart fluttered. Even grumpy and surly looked good on the man. “What are you?”
“Shifter,” she whispered hoarsely.
“You’re something,” Leo snapped. “We saw you transform.”
His temper broke the communication barrier, unblocked her throat. “Do you think this is easy? Do you think I liked the lies, the subterfuge?”
“The lies can’t have bothered you too much,” Leo fired back. “You used me, used my family.”
“No!”
“Yes,” he mocked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. “What sort of shifter?”
She swallowed hard, lifted her chin and boldly met his gaze. “Chameleon.” She’d done the best she could in the circumstances. Damn if she intended to apologize. She glanced at him, saw the drift of his gaze toward her heaving breasts.
Maybe, she’d just throw herself at him again, finish the mating bond and go through the rest of their lives proving her love, her good character. Isabella took half a step toward him before she realized she couldn’t use smoke screens any longer. From now on she needed to tell the truth, no matter how much it hurt her chances with Leo. Isabella turned away and walked over to Leo’s bed, sinking onto it with a soft sigh of reluctance. Leo deserved the truth. “I’m a chameleon shifter.”
“Which means what?”
“It means I can take on any shape I desire. I don’t have to remove my clothes and objects such as weapons morph with me if I’m wearing them on my person at the time.”
“Why haven’t I heard of chameleons before?”
“Full of questions, aren’t you?” she mocked.
“I want the truth.” He met her gaze and held it.
Isabella looked away first, her heart thudding erratically. No doubt he could hear her turmoil. “What else do you want to know?”
“Why me?”
A laugh escaped. “Leo, have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re gorgeous. The women look at you and start wanting.”
Leo stiffened, his expression going impassive. “I’m more than a pretty face.” Distaste shaded his tone.
“You are. You’re kind, intelligent, good at your job at the vineyard. You’re always ready to help out on the farm. You’re sexy, good in bed. And that’s just a start. Why wouldn’t I want you?”
A glow lit his green eyes. “Is this your real form?” He gestured at her body, his attention sending a surge of nervousness swirling through her stomach.
