Passion's Prey: The Shadow Shifters (25 page)

“What time?” Sabar asked him

“Midnight. I’ll give you the address.”

Ralph pushed a card across the crisp white linen tablecloth. “I know you’ve got your little setup going down at Athena’s. Heard money has been pouring in pretty good for you. But this is the real deal.” He leaned his hefty elbows on the table. “This guy doesn’t fuck around so I’d suggest you keep your end of the bargain or this transaction will go to shit faster than you can blink those funny-looking eyes of yours.”

He knew the moment the words were out they were a mistake.

“Don’t threaten me,” Sabar said slowly, using his large dark-skinned hands to pull back the locks of his hair, so that they now fell down his back.

He looked feral, this one. Like at any moment he would jump over the table and rip Ralph’s throat out. That was a genuine fear, because Ralph sensed that even being in a public place didn’t mean much to this guy. They’d robbed that bank a month ago not giving a damn who saw their faces and their claws. Ralph had confiscated all the tapes—paid a pretty penny for them, too. They were sitting now in a safe at his house, his insurance policy for when these animals decided they wanted to change the rules.

“I’ll be there and I’ll have the money. You make sure this guy has my shit or both of you are gonna wish you never met me.”

Ralph was kind of wishing that right now.

*   *   *

Tonight was like a flashback of old times. X hadn’t realized how much he’d missed being with Nick and Rome like this until just now.

At Rome’s old place they had a room that had been specially designed for them. There was comfortable leather furniture big enough to accommodate all of their six-plus-foot heights, a pool table, plasma television with an entertainment system that would rival any department store, and a full-service bar. At Havenway, Baxter, Rome’s longtime butler and confidant, had seen to it that they had a comparable space.

It was almost midnight when they’d finally finished the conference call with the other Faction Leaders. Neither Nick nor Rome had been ready to return to their females after that enlightening conversation. And if truth be told, X wasn’t really in the mood for the solitude of his own place. In fact, he was dreading going back there alone, dreading lying in his bed and facing the dreams he knew would come. The nightmare that continued to haunt him.

This room was actually bigger than the one they’d had back at Rome’s. It was on the first level of the compound, with gleaming hardwood floors, because cats had a tendency to rip through carpet in the heat of their shift. Instead of the glass patio doors that had opened out to the running space Rome had constructed at his mansion, there was a control panel hidden beneath the regular light switch that opened two heavy steel doors at the far side of the room. Those doors opened right into the dense foliage of Great Falls National Park. Of course it wasn’t the Gungi, but it was open space where the cats could get out and stretch their bodies without too much fear of being noticed. It seemed the chance that the shadows might be revealed to their human counterparts was ever growing.

“It sounds like they’ve got some pretty in-depth notes on this mystery species they’re researching,” Rome said as he sat at one end of the wheat-toned leather sofa.

Nick was in a recliner, leaning all the way back with his hands folded behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling as he nodded. “A government lab looking into an unidentified species—sounds awfully familiar,” he said.

“They have to have some concrete evidence to launch this type of investigation,” X told them from the spot where he stood looking out one of the small windows. It was dark outside, and to anyone but a shifter nothing could be seen. But in his night vision he saw the sway of trees in a pre-fall breeze. Every now and then he’d see the eyes of an owl staring out into the darkness to see if there was anybody or anything staring back.

“You think they have a shifter in their custody?” Rome asked.

X didn’t immediately answer, as if to do so would somehow validate his thoughts.

“It would not be the first time this government has possessed another being and held it for investigation,” Baxter said, coming to stand in front of Rome with a tray holding three filled glasses.

Rome took his glass and stared quizzically at his friend. “What are you saying, Baxter?”

The tall thin man, with his weather-beaten brown skin and watery rimmed eyes, walked with quiet footsteps over to the chair where Nick sat offering him a glass. Well, not necessarily offering. With Baxter you took what he was giving you or dealt with his silent reprimand. Most times all he had to do was give a knowing look and his will was obeyed. There was a quiet authority about the guy, a sort of allegiance they paid to him even though none of them really knew why.

Baxter knew everything there was to know about the shadows, and some stuff they didn’t even know. He’d been with the Reynolds family for longer than any of them could remember. He was also on speaking terms with the Assembly, which meant that he was accepted by them in some way. But he wasn’t a
Topètenia
. That fact had always perplexed X.

“I am saying, Mr. Roman—” He spoke as he came up behind X, stood, and waited. “—that they must have some proof in order to investigate. What you should be trying to figure out is where that proof originated.”

X turned to take the drink even though he didn’t really want it. Baxter’s impending scolding was even less welcome, X thought as he took an absent sip.

“Bas said he was planning an operation where he’d send in a team to check things out more thoroughly,” he said.

“And that is a good idea. Mr. Sebastian has a good head for planning operations. He will no doubt come out with knowledge. The remaining question is, what will you do with the knowledge he obtains?” Baxter left the question hanging in the air as he moved back to the bar to place the tray he’d handled there.

“I’d say bust in and kill the nosy bastards, but I think what’s happening was inevitable,” Nick said with a sigh, coming to sit upright in the recliner. “The exposure of the shadows wasn’t something we could expect to have avoided forever.”

“We’ve done a damn good job of it so far,” Rome said.

“That was before Sabar and the Rogues,” X chimed in. “Shadows live by the
Ètica,
we care about the threat of exposure. Rogues don’t give a damn what they do or how they do it. You saw that when they robbed that bank and when they started a battle with us right in the middle of a public street.”

Rome took a swallow from his glass. His skin was darker than X’s, and so was his cat. He looked menacing even though he rarely scowled and usually had a mild-mannered demeanor.

“So somebody else might know about us as well,” he said, then cursed.

X figured Rome was feeling this was his fault as the Faction Leader. He was supposed to protect the secret of the shadows.

“You can’t control what others do,” X told him. “Rogues don’t give a shit; they’re out there for all to see. There’s no way we can contain that type of blatant attack.”

“I hate to say it but he’s right, Rome,” Nick added. “Even if we kill Sabar tomorrow, we need to accept that the damage may have already been done.”

Rome was shaking his head. “The damage was done when our parents started working with Cortez. That’s where the door opened to our exposure.”

X had already told him what he’d learned from Hernandez. They’d decided that the immediate issue was still Sabar. But now it all seemed to be coming together to make it all relevant.

“Kalina found some journal entries,” Rome offered. “The dates match those same dates Hernandez gave you.”

“So your father took notes after meeting up with Cortez?” X asked.

“Yeah, brilliant man that he was,” Rome quipped.

Nick shook his head. “At least your father left you something to follow his trail. If my parents had anything I guess it went up in that car fire with them.”

“Either way, the evidence shows that your parents weren’t traitors. They were doing what was necessary to keep the tribe viable. We probably would have died out there in the forest without any outside help.” X had been thinking about this since returning from Sedona.

Yes, Loren Reynolds and Henrique Delgado went to Cortez and took his drug money to supply the needs of a tribe that shouldn’t exist. A wrong deed to support a good cause. X couldn’t hate them for that. Hell, at least their parents had cared enough about their own children and the families of others just like them—whether they knew them personally or not—to take such a risk. If you asked him, they should be commended.

“I think you guys need to lay off your parents about this. They did what they thought was best at the time,” he told them.

Both Nick and Rome looked at him as if he’d spoken in another language. X shrugged. It wasn’t often that he talked about their parents like this; usually he just went along with what they said because he didn’t want to offend them or because he just didn’t know. How was he supposed to know how good parents acted when his were at the bottom of—no, they were beneath—the totem pole?

“They put us all in danger,” Rome said, staring down into his glass.

Nick shrugged. “They probably thought it was the only route to take.”

“You do what’s best for that moment. Sometimes you can’t think about the long term,” X said.

“And what about your parents—you forgive them for not thinking about the long term?” Nick asked.

X’s already weird mood took a turn for the worse. “We’re not talking about my parents,” he said.

“We never do,” Nick rebutted. “But it’s obviously affected who you are now, who you’re trying to be.”

“And why is that your business?”

“Because who you are now is tied to my sister.”

X cursed. “Dammit, Nick. We’ve been over this already. What Caprise and I do is none of your damn business.”

“But what happens to all of us as a result of what you and Caprise do is relevant, X.” Rome put his drink down and took a deep breath. “Look, you know we’ve never pried into your past. Even when we could have looked back to see exactly what happened in Atlanta, we didn’t, because you’re our friend and we respected your privacy. But you’ve got to respect where we’re coming from now.”

X walked across the room, leaving the window yet keeping his back to them. They were supposed to be his friends, but right at this moment he wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t sure about a lot of things, especially after talking to Caprise earlier.

“That has nothing to do with the here and now,” he told them.

“You sure about that, X? I mean, I’ve watched you over the last few years with women. I know the stuff you’re into and I don’t pry because what goes on in one man’s bedroom has nothing to do with me. You’re a good agent and a loyal shifter, but you’re haunted by something and it seems like it’s taking its toll on you now,” Nick said.

He wasn’t yelling, wasn’t accusing as he had been in the last few days. He was just telling him something, as he’d done many times in the past.

“I think that’s part of the reason that agent is looking at you for this Diamond Turner thing. He had to see something in you to make him think you could do a thing like this.”

X whirled on Rome so fast, his entire body shaking with rage. “I did not kill that girl! And FL or not, I should kick your ass for having the balls to stand there and accuse me.”

Rome stood up, went toe-to-toe with X. “I’m saying what that agent is thinking. From his point of view you’ve got the rage, the strength, and since he has that business card he figures the opportunity to do this.”

“He said as much when he called me yesterday,” Nick added.

“He called you and you didn’t tell me?”

“I’m your attorney, but I don’t have to tell you about every call I take.”

“When it concerns me and my life you do.”

“X, he’s not charging you. He doesn’t have enough evidence for that. But you standing in an alley killing that tiger wasn’t helpful.”

“Oh, like you killing Ary’s father in a fucking parking garage? Nick, give me a break with your psychoanalysis bullshit! You’re just as volatile as I am and you would have done the same thing if you’d seen the fear he put in Caprise. Shit, half the shifters in this building would have done it. It’s who and what we are.”

“We’re not disputing that, X. We just think maybe there’s something else bothering you,” Rome said.

“No. There’s nothing bothering me,” X said before storming out of the room.

After he’d slammed the door Nick and Rome exchanged knowing glances.

“Do not worry, Mr. Rome,” Baxter said from the spot he’d been standing beside the bar.

He had been trained in the art of being there but not being noticed. It was part of his heritage. But he’d seen and heard everything. In fact, he’d known this was coming. Mr. Xavier had been like the proverbial pot of boiling water, only someone had set the flame very low with him years ago. Now the water had just begun to boil, the rage just ready to explode. Unfortunately, the remedy was not going to lie in this friendship.

“He will survive this,” Baxter finished. “He will survive and be much better because of it.”

“How do you know this?” Nick asked. “You always know everything, even before things happen. How is that, Baxter? Who are you really?”

Rome did not object to any of those questions, even though they may have been better coming from him. But he looked at Baxter waiting, hoping, he would deem it appropriate to answer at least some of them.

He did not.

“I am who I am, Mr. Dominick. And I am doing my job. Watching the three of you grow up has been a privilege. You are very good friends to Mr. Xavier. But you are not who or what he needs to make it over this hurdle. That is for his mate alone.”

To that Nick cursed and Rome shook his head. It seemed neither of them had much faith in their friend or the true strength of a
companheiro
.

Chapter 22

“Took you long enough,” Caprise said the moment X came out of what they called the “boys’ room.”

The room was at the far end of the north corridor, and was always locked. She’d figured out long before she’d overheard them talking about meeting there that it was expressly for Rome and his two commanding officers.