When she did that, Diego stopped worrying about petty details like money, getting to Mexico on an ex-drug- runner plane, and what he’d do when he got there.
At Diego’s house that night, they slept in separate bedrooms. Diego bunked with Xavier in the room that had been Xav’s, and Cassidy stayed in Diego’s old room.
Diego’s mother had placed on the dresser a photo of a very young Diego in his Marines uniform and one of him when he’d graduated from the police academy. Juanita had also framed his military service medals and his commendations both from the Marines and the police. A proud mother honoring her son.
Cassidy touched each medal, reading the certificate that went with it, trying not to think of Diego lying warm and solid in a bed in the next room. Cassidy tried to shut out the mating frenzy that was winding her up, but when she at last climbed into bed and slept, she dreamed of only Diego.
“Sure this thing’s safe?”
Shane looked nervously out the window as they glided south, following the Colorado River as it snaked between California and Arizona. The view was beautiful, the plane far smoother than Diego had feared it would be.
“Yep,” Marlo called back from the pilot’s seat. “Just tuned it up.”
“I don’t like to fly,” Shane said. “If Shifters were meant to fly, they’d be able to turn into birds.”
“So, why can’t they?” Xav said, looking up from his magazine.
“Huh?”
“You have big cat Shifters, wolf Shifters, and bear Shifters. Why not raptors, like eagles or hawks?”
Shane stared at him. “Hell if I know.”
“The Fae created us,” Cassidy said. “They chose the animals. Who knows why? Or why not?”
“I guess an elephant would be tough,” Xav said. “You’d need a lot of space. Or whales. What if you shifted in the middle of the ocean? You’d need to stash scuba gear somewhere.”
“Very funny,” Shane said.
Xav chuckled and returned to his magazine.
Diego found Cassidy’s gaze on him from where she sat beside him. He didn’t mind looking down into her gorgeous eyes, but he wondered why she kept looking at him. Different looks every time. Coy, frank, thoughtful.
The trip was long enough for napping. Diego rested his head against the window, not minding the miles down to the ground. Airplanes didn’t bother him either, he’d discovered. But then, they didn’t have balconies.
Cassidy curled up nicely into his side. He draped his arm around her and dozed off, happy with her against him.
They landed after dark, on an airstrip Diego couldn’t believe Marlo could see. But the man brought the plane down with only a few bumps, and then they stopped.
Hot, dry air wafted over them as they climbed from the plane. “Where are we?” Diego said as he stretched.
“About forty miles from your little town of La Nebeda.”
“
“Yep,” Marlo said. “I figured you didn’t want to get too close to whoever it is you don’t want to see you coming. Planes landing near a town that small are going to be noticed. My friend here has a jeep that can take you in.”
Marlo wouldn’t leave his plane, so Marlo’s friend at the airstrip gave Xavier keys to a rusty but sturdy jeep, and Xavier drove the four of them to the town. Shane sat in front with Xav, and Diego and Cassidy rode together in the back.
This part of Mexico was definitely off the tourist path. It was the territory of drug runners, human traffickers, and people looking for a place to hide. There were no resort hotels for rich Americans here, just long stretches of empty roads and bad men with guns.
“I want the two of you to keep out of sight the best you can,” Diego said to Shane and Cassidy over the whine of the engine. “Who knows how people here will react to Shifters?”
“I’m here to back up Cassidy,” Shane said. “So where she goes, I go.”
“Then you’ll both stay out of it,” Diego said.
Cassidy didn’t answer, but the stubborn way she wouldn’t look at him told him much.
The town, when they reached it, was nothing but old buildings, open bars, dogs, and insects. This was siesta country, where everyone slept during the heat of the day. The sun had gone down an hour ago, and people were emerging now into cool darkness, the town coming to life.
Lights were brightest in the cantinas, three of them in this tiny town. Xavier parked the jeep in the dark at the end of one street, beyond one of the cantinas. Diego climbed down and checked the stash of guns in the back. Shotguns, three of them, in addition to Xav and Diego’s handguns.
“Shane, can you shoot a gun?”
“I’ve done it,” Shane said. “I don’t like to. Claws are better.” He scratched the air, his dark eyes gleaming, sending Diego a sly grin.
“You might have to use a gun if things go bad,” Diego said. He handed Shane one of the shotguns. “Shoot to defend Cassidy, and then get her the hell out of here.”
Cassidy hopped out of the jeep and finally spoke up. “Screw that. I’d not leave you to die. That’s not why I helped you come here.”
Diego checked his gun’s magazine and stashed spare ones in his pockets. “I want to bring these guys in, Cass,” he said, “but to be honest, I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”
Cassidy put her hands on her hips. “
“Hate to say this, Diego,” Xavier broke in, “but she might be right.”
Diego worked with women all the time. One of the toughest detectives he knew was a female lieutenant in homicide. No one questioned her competency or made jokes at her expense-not twice, anyway. Cassidy was just as competent as that lieutenant, probably more so. But the difference was, Diego wasn’t falling in love with the homicide detective, didn’t feel as though he’d protect her with everything he had in him and then some. If something happened to Cassidy, Diego knew it would kick him like nothing else ever had. Not even losing Jobe would compare.
“She’d make good bait to draw them out,” Xavier said.
Both Shane and Diego stared at him. “You mean a honey trap,” Diego said.
“It’s a good idea,” Cassidy said, moving to stand next to Xavier. “If
“No,” Shane said, at the same time Diego said, “It’s too risky.”
“It will work,” Xavier said. “Think about how we wrapped up this last case, Diego. Jemez went into the dealer’s house with her big brown eyes and her short skirt, and those guys fell all over themselves trying to impress her. She got more evidence in one afternoon than the rest of us did in months.”
“I know, and I didn’t like sending her in there either,” Diego said. “Honey traps can be dangerous.”
Cassidy slanted a smile at him. “I’ll be sure to be sweet.”
Cassidy’s good-humored look vanished. “I haven’t always lived in Shiftertown, Diego. In the wild, Eric and I fought other Shifters to protect our family. Sixty years ago, a world war came close to our shores, and we fought then too. We might not have worn uniforms or used guns, but we crossed the North Sea, joined the underground movements, and sure caused a lot of trouble.” She grinned. “They never had any idea how Eric and I did what we did, but we did a lot of damage. Those were fun times.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
