Wild Cat

CHAPTER NINE

By ten that night, Cassidy was so wound up she thought she’d have to shift and run around the parking lot to work it off. She settled for dancing, shimmying around the middle of the floor with Lindsay while male groupies drooled on themselves.

Coolers was one of the few clubs in town that let in Shifters. Most club owners didn’t like the “element” Shifters drew, preferring to cater to rich tourists, but the Shifter-admitting clubs did a bang-up business.

Shifter groupies were humans who wore fake Collars, dressed in skimpy clothes or biker leather, painted on whiskers, and lived for contact with Shifters. Most groupies were happy to simply stand near a Shifter; others wanted full-on sex. Shifters, both male and female, were libidinous as a rule, so the sex seekers didn’t always go home disappointed.

Cassidy did her best to ignore the groupies who wanted her in bed-or in a car or against a wall in the alley. She’d learned long ago that most of them didn’t truly care about Shifters. They wanted the thrill of being with one, nothing more. A lot of the Shifters didn’t mind-hey, if these humans wanted sex, fine-but Cassidy cared.

She understood the difference between sex for the thrill of it and sex with love wrapped around it. The absolute joy of the second type made sex for the thrill of it empty and unfulfilling.

So, why was she was all charged up and excited about seeing Diego tonight? She was acting as giddy as a cub. Maybe because when Diego came tonight, he wouldn’t be the cop checking up on her; he’d be a man coming to a club to unwind after work. A hot man who’d shared beer with her brother and with whom she’d talked about things close to her heart.

The air in the club changed. Cassidy knew, even before she turned in the dance, that Diego Escobar had just walked in the door.

He wore jeans and a leather jacket, definitely off duty, and he’d brought Xavier with him. Cassidy didn’t miss how both of them slowed to check every part of the room before walking farther inside, at the same time taking care they weren’t silhouetted against the open door.

“Oh, yes,” Lindsay shouted to Cassidy. “Diego for you. Xavier for me. We compare notes in the morning, girl.”

Cassidy wanted to yell back, I didn’t ask him here for sex! But the thought of having Diego’s tall body in her bed, if only for one night, sent the mating heat crawling up and down her body.

Diego and Xavier moved through the dark crowds on the dance floor to where Eric lounged against the bar. Diego walked with his usual ease, aware of every single thing around him while appearing to be relaxed. Xavier again was more restless but just as aware.

Lindsay grabbed Cassidy’s hand. “Come on.” She dragged Cassidy across the room at high speed, not that Cassidy wasn’t willing to go.

Eric looked up at Diego, started to greet him, but just then Shane materialized out of nowhere to stand behind Diego, his growl rumbling even over the music. Shane’s stance was predatory, angry.

Eric stepped to Diego’s side, still acting casual, but Cassidy knew he could strike in an instant. Whether he’d strike down Shane or Diego remained to be seen.

When Cassidy reached them, she understood Shane’s concern. She smelled it again, clinging to Diego like a mist, the sulfur and mint scent of Faerie.

Diego found himself reaching for the pistol in his hip holster as Eric, Shane, and Jace became a growling wall surrounding Diego and Xav. Stuart Reid’s words flashed through his head.

You can’t tame them, you can’t trust them, and most of all, you can’t be their friend.

Cassidy came up next to Eric, hot as hell in a white body-hugging dress that bared most of her long, curving legs. The woman was a walking wet dream.

Cassidy’s eyes were changing from deep jade to a lighter green, her nostrils widening.

“Want to tell me what the hell is the matter?” Diego asked her. He felt his brother at his shoulder, saying nothing but ready if there was trouble.

Eric glanced at the humans around them, men and women with chokers around their necks, some of whom had painted whiskers on their faces or made up their eyes to look catlike.

“Let’s talk about this somewhere private,” Eric said.

“Sure,” Diego said.

Eric gestured to a door at the back of the club, as nonchalant as ever. Shane, on the other hand, looked ready to kill. Diego hadn’t seen Shane since they’d talked in the hall outside Cassidy’s bedroom. He thought he’d gotten the bear-man to trust him a little, but there was no trust on Shane’s face now.

Cassidy gave Diego a nod, as though trying to tell him everything would be all right, before she started toward the pitch-dark back of the club. Diego and Xavier made to follow her, but Shane stepped in front of Xavier.

“Not you,” he said. “Just Diego.”

Xavier faced Shane without flinching. “If my brother is going into a back room with a bunch of pissed-off Shifters, I go too.”

Eric signaled to Lindsay. “Lindsay, keep Xavier company while we talk to Diego.”

Lindsay slid to Xavier’s side. “Sure thing.”

“No offense, Lindsay, but no,” Xavier began.

“Xav.” Diego had the feeling that what he did and said here would be very, very important for a long time to come. “Give me five minutes.”

“They can kill you in thirty seconds.” Xavier’s eyes were hard, the tough kid he’d been shining through.

“I give you my word that Diego won’t be hurt,” Eric said. “We just need to talk. Lindsay will be your hostage, our pledge of good faith.”

“Hostage?” Xavier’s voice went flat. “What the hell does that mean?”

Lindsay hooked a hand around Xav’s arm. “It means that if they kill Diego, you have the right to kill me. Thanks a lot, Eric. I can think of way better things for me and Xav to do.”

“Jace will stay with you too.” Eric nodded at Jace, and Jace nodded back, unsurprised. “Also as my pledge.”

“He means it, Xav,” Diego said. He knew that Eric would never sacrifice his son. Eric had made that pretty clear the first night Diego had met him. Eric wasn’t planning a kill.

Xavier exchanged a long glance with Diego and finally made a conceding gesture.

“Five minutes,” Xav said. “Then I’m in there.”

Diego squeezed his brother’s shoulder and followed Eric to where Cassidy waited at a door beyond the bar. Shane stepped in behind Diego.

The door Cassidy opened led to a paneled, carpeted hallway. It was quiet back here when the main door closed, the hallway lined with rooms marked “Private.” Why the Shifters had access back here, Diego didn’t know.

Cassidy led the way. God, she was gorgeous. Her blond hair hung in a straight swath to the middle of her back, and her spike-heeled blue pumps made her legs look a mile long under that white dress.

Eric stepped around Cassidy to open one of the “Private” doors. Diego saw him jump in surprise, and he looked over Eric’s shoulder into the room.

Two people were having sex on a sofa. Not Shifters. Though one wore a Collar, she was clearly a groupie, and the man wore no Collar at all. Or anything else for that matter.

Eric pushed his way in. “Get out,” he rumbled.

The girl squealed and grabbed for her clothes, but the young man gave them a drunken smile. “Hey, join us. There’s room.”

Eric growled again, but the man paid no attention, sprawling on the couch in his naked glory.

Diego pulled out his badge and shoved it under the human man’s nose. “Out.”

The woman managed to hide herself as she fled through the open door. The young man eyed the badge, heaved a long sigh, picked up his pants, and shambled drunkenly after her.

Shane closed and locked the door behind him.

Diego tucked away his badge. “Five minutes,” he said.

“You stink,” Shane said. “Hell, I even started liking you.”

“I took a shower,” Diego said. “And my clothes are clean. Washed them last weekend at my mom’s. She insisted.”

Shane continued growling, claws showing. Diego knew he should be afraid-Shane could make short work of him, even with his Collar, and it remained to be seen whether Eric would stop Shane or not, pledge or no pledge.

But Diego felt no fear. Maybe because he’d gotten to know Eric and Cassidy a little, or maybe because he sensed that they, at least, were more worried and puzzled than angry.

Or maybe because they were on the ground floor. No heights, and Diego Escobar was one brave guy.

Cassidy stepped in front of Diego. “Leave him alone, Shane.”

“Cass, he’s been with Fae.”

“Fae?” Diego asked. “What’s Fae?”

“The Fair Folk,” Eric said in his mild voice.

“You mean fairies?” Diego stared at Eric in amazement. “You believe that?”

“Of course we believe it,” Shane said. “The bastards made us.”

“They’re real, Diego,” Eric said. “I’ve fought the Fae. I almost died against them. They kill Shifters, and they laugh about it. They made sure we were put in these.” He tapped his Collar. “They want us as we were-their slaves to hunt and kill for them. You’ve been in contact with one recently. I smell it on you now, and I smelled it when you came to the house yesterday.”

Diego sniffed, but he couldn’t smell anything but his own sweat and the sweet scent of Cassidy next to him. “I haven’t met any fairies. I think I’d remember that.”

Cassidy’s jade eyes were full of worry. “They can look human, Diego. That hunter up in the mountains, he smelled like Fae.”

“Cass,” Eric rumbled.

“He needs to know this, Eric. If he’s had contact with a Fae, he’s in as much danger as we are.” She turned back to Diego. “Have you talked to anyone lately you didn’t know? Or who looked suspicious?”

“How would I know? What do these fairies look like? Do they have wings?”

“No wings,” Shane growled in disgust. “They have dark eyes. It’s like looking into voids.”

“They’re blond or white haired,” Cassidy said. “Very fair skinned. Plus, they can’t touch iron. It makes them sick. They fashion their weapons from silver and bronze.”

Diego considered. “I haven’t talked to anyone off the force except during the drug bust I just finished, and all those guys carried plenty of iron. Or steel. Knives, pistols, machine guns, you name it. No one upchucking when steel handcuffs were slapped on them either. Could it be someone here in the club? Maybe someone I walked by when I came in. Or at the grocery store? I stopped for food on my way home.”

“No.” Eric shook his head. “It’s faint, but I’m guessing you spent a little time with him or her, at least. Not here. I would have noticed a Fae in the club or in the parking lot.”

Diego had gone to Captain Max’s office before he’d left work tonight. But Captain Maxwell was about five feet six, with a fringe of brown hair, though he had very dark eyes. No blond hair or pointed ears-plus he always carried a Glock.

“It could have been a half Fae,” Cassidy said. “They can look more human.”

“This is too strong for a half Fae,” Eric said. “The Fae scent wouldn’t linger on Diego so much. I’d say full.”

“Can’t think of anyone,” Diego said. His watch beeped. “Time’s up.”

Eric studied him thoughtfully, but Shane was still angry. “We can’t trust humans, Eric. I always said so. Let me get the truth out of him.”

“Leave it, Shane,” Eric said.

“I think we’re done here,” Diego said. He turned around, only to find himself facing the wall of Shane. The man could move fast for someone so big.

Shane topped Diego by several inches. His face was changing into the bear-man’s Diego had faced outside Cassidy’s bedroom, his fingers again razor-sharp claws.

Diego looked straight into Shane’s eyes. “Move.”

Shane didn’t move. Neither did Eric or Cassidy, though Diego sensed Cassidy ready to spring at Shane. Eric had laughed when Diego had refused to be intimidated by Shane, but he wasn’t laughing now. The man was waiting to see who won the battle of wills, Diego realized. They were establishing dominance.

“Understand something,” Diego said to Shane in a careful voice. “I know I can’t fight you one-on-one. I don’t have the strength. You could kill me right now, and I’m betting that your Collar wouldn’t slow you down fast enough to save me. But I will promise that if anything happens to me back here, you’ll be facing Xavier. Trust me, you don’t want to. Xav might act like a guy who lives to party, but he’s got a lot more anger in him than I do. If something happens to me, he’ll go for you, and he won’t stop for anything.”

A spark jumped on Shane’s Collar. Cassidy stood rigidly beside Diego, and Eric waited, quietly, for the outcome.

“Eric,” Cassidy said softly. “Stop this.”

Eric said nothing. Diego figured Eric would have a reason for not intervening, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Was he testing Diego? And why?

“He’s been with Fae, Cass,” Shane said. “We can’t trust him. You can’t trust him.”

Cassidy kept her gaze on her brother. “Eric, let me vouch for him.”

Eric’s quiet stance vanished. “No.”

At the same time, Shane said, “Don’t you dare let her.”

“No, it makes sense,” Cassidy said. “My fault for bringing him here tonight. My fault for bringing him to Shiftertown at all. There’s a lot of Shifters out there, and if he’s going to be safe from them, they need to know he’s protected. You’re leader, you’re needed. You can’t pay the price. But I can.”

“Price?” Diego demanded. “What price?”

“Cass, no,” Shane said, sounding anguished.

“Someone tell me what’s going on,” Diego said. “Now.”

“Cassidy, don’t do this.” Now Eric was pleading.

“If he’s going to be around Shifters, it’s the best way. You know it.”

Brother and sister exchanged a long look. For a moment, Eric’s eyes held pain, raw and stark. Then they filled with understanding, even sympathy.

“This is what you want?” he asked quietly.

Cassidy stepped to Eric and put her hand on his chest. “This is what I want.”

“It might not work out,” Eric said in a warning voice.

“Then it doesn’t.”

The two exchanged another look, rife with emotion, then Eric nodded once.

“No,” Shane growled. He brought up his claws.

Cassidy snarled. Her own fingers turned to claws, and she slashed quickly. Not at Shane-at her own hand.

Diego couldn’t stop her. By the time he grabbed her, Cassidy had slashed three deep marks into her palm and turned her hand upside down over Eric’s. Blood rained down to Eric’s open hand.

“I swear by my blood,” Cassidy said.

Shane’s Collar sparked. “Damn it, Cass, no.”

“It’s done,” Cassidy said calmly. “Let him go, Shane.”

Shane looked devastated.

“Cassidy, what the hell did you just do?” Diego demanded.

Cassidy plucked a tissue from a box on a table and wiped her hand with it. “I vouched for you. Now, no Shifter in our Shiftertown will give you problems.”

“What are you talking about?” Time was running out. Any second now, Xavier would try to burst in here, probably with LVPD’s finest at his back.

Shane stepped solidly in front of Diego again. His claws had vanished, his face human again, and his Collar had stopped sparking. He looked angry but resigned. “Listen to me, human cop. If you make Cassidy pay for your mistakes, I’ll kill you myself. I don’t care about Collars or human law. I’ll do it.”

Diego could arrest Shane and confine him for the rest of his life for even saying that. But he was tired of the whole confrontation. “Just shut up, Shane,” Diego said. “I’m not in the mood.”

Shane remained fixed. Beside him, Eric took Cassidy’s hands and kissed them. He gave her a worried and a loving look.

“I’d never let Cassidy pay for my mistakes,” Diego said to all of them. “Understand that.”

Shane’s dark eyes were still filled with fury. “Understand this, Diego. Cass took a blood oath for you. That means that if you step out of line, if you betray any Shifter in any way to anyone, Eric will have to kill her.”