They were fighting, big cats that belonged in the jungle were fighting, breaking everything in this medium-size human room.
Instinctively the cop in her came to full alert. Kalina scrambled her human legs across the floor, reaching for the gun she saw lying there, and grabbed it with human fingers. She looked down at her hands holding the gun. They were normal again, four fingers and a thumb on each, creamy butter-toned skin wrapped around a cold black gun that she was now lifting and aiming.
How to tell who was who? She took a deep breath as she stood, her human legs not necessarily accepting the quick shift she’d apparently made, but cooperating just the same.
Rome was the black cat, his green eyes and dark rosettes like a beacon to her in this room full of felines. She would not shoot him. But the cat he was fighting, the lighter one with black rosettes set far apart, was the enemy. She remembered his eyes from the night at the party and she squeezed the trigger happily.
The bullet tore through the fat skull of the cat, and it fell back away from Rome’s clutches. Next, she turned to a thinner yellow-gold cat that was swiping at a reddish brown cat with her heavy paws. Kalina knew this one, too.
The yellow-gold cat was Melanie, the lying backstabbing so-called friend Kalina had believed like some naive schoolgirl. The woman had tricked her; she’d known all along who Kalina was and why she was there. She also knew something Kalina didn’t. They’d mentioned it several times when they thought she was asleep. Kalina was Sabar’s mate, whatever that meant.
Lifting her arm, Kalina aimed at the bitch and fired, cursing the cat and the one time she’d opened herself up to friendship. She fired again for good measure and felt waves of fury ripple through her.
Two other cats had pulled back. A huge one with heaving sides and jade-green eyes. That one kept watching her, its long tongue lolling from its mouth as its labored breathing continued. The one beside it, which was only smaller by a fraction, nudged its big head against the other’s flanks.
“Shoot him,” Kalina heard a male voice saying, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from the one with the dark eyes.
His head lifted, his nose sniffing the air, and she took a step back. The gun was still in her hand but her fingers were shaking. She’d never shaken before, never hesitated to shoot. But at this moment, something held her back.
The other cat nudged again when the sound of sirens echoed in the air and the two took off.
“It’s okay, baby,” were the next words she heard. Strong arms encircled her, a hand going to her wrist, pushing at her fingers until the gun fell to the floor. “It’s okay, I’m here.”
Rome hugged her close, whispering all kinds of words into her ear as his hands rubbed up and down her back. She let her head drop to his shoulders, let the heat continue to swim inside, and wondered what the hell had just happened.
Dorian heard the vicious roaring and was out of his car heading for the house when out of nowhere something smacked him from behind. He was falling to the ground just as he managed to get off one shot.
JC ran from the house the moment he heard the gunshots. They were up there, those animals, fighting and whatnot. He didn’t want to be a part of it. Hoped they all killed one another so he could get on with his life. He had money now; he could go anywhere and make any future he wanted. He just had to get out of here.
But his next steps were quickly halted by two huge look-alike goons. With shaking fingers he quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out his badge. “MPD,” he said with authority.
The one guy laughed while the other landed a beefy fist against his jaw. Lights flashed before JC’s eyes as he reached for his gun, determined not to go down without a fight. But go down he did, falling with a sickening thump against the concrete.
“Leave them here. Their people are coming,” Baxter said, coming up behind Eli and Ezra.
The twins didn’t even ask where the old man had come from or what he was doing here.
“Let’s get Rome and the others. We’ve gotta move now!” Ezra said, leading the way up the steps.
Eli and Baxter were right behind him, taking the stairs until they found the room where the shifters were. In a far corner Rome was holding Kalina. Baxter immediately went to them, gathering up Rome’s clothes as he did and trying to cover them both as much as possible.
Nick and X had already put on their pants and were looking out the back windows with deadly glares.
“What happened?”
“Sabar and his man got away,” Nick said tightly.
“Kalina shot the other two,” X added.
Eli looked to the floor at the two cat bodies with blood oozing from their wounds. “We need to get rid of them and get the hell out of here. Cops are on their way.”
X nodded. “Get them out first.”
“I’m working on that, Mr. Xavier.” Baxter was trying to guide Rome and a still-dazed Kalina out of the room.
“Burn it to the ground,” Rome said as he approached the door.
“Yes sir,” Ezra said, already reaching for the can of lighter fluid he’d brought inside with him.
A shifter’s body must never be found, so with each death the corpse was burned. There could be no evidence of their species, no reason for anyone to come looking for more of their kind. It might seem inhumane to some, but for the shadows it was a survival tactic, one they’d used for years. One they hoped would continue to protect them.
Chapter 28
Kalina rolled over to look at the clock. With a moan she deduced she’d been asleep for about twelve hours. Flopping onto her back, she let an arm fall over her eyes and waited until she was fully awake.
The room was dark, the blinds and curtains closed, but she knew exactly where she was.
He’d brought her here again, to his home, his bed.
They’d arrived here after the fight in the city. Every part of her body hurt, especially her head. She felt nauseous and wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and just lie somewhere. Instead Rome had taken care of her.
He’d stripped his shirt from her otherwise naked body and lowered her into a tub of very hot water. Climbing inside with her he’d bathed her tenderly, even washing her hair. She’d been too tired to protest and let the lovely feel of his tender touch wash over her. After the bath he’d carried her to his bed, where he’d tucked her in tightly. A few minutes later she heard Baxter’s voice; then Rome was at her side encouraging her to drink. It was hot and sweet and floated through her body like honey. She had no idea what kind of drink it was but knew that it made slipping into sleep a lot easier.
It had been a dreamless sleep, which was a welcome relief. If she’d thought her dreams of one cat were bad, just imagine what her subconscious would conjure up after seeing six of them.
But now she was alone. Her body was still sore, her mouth more than a little dry, but she was alone. The way it seemed she always ended up. With that thought she tried to roll out of the bed but came to a complete stop when she felt him.
Rome was there.
Had he stayed with her the entire time?
“Where are you going?” he asked in a gruff voice.
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said swallowing at the realization that not only was he here, he was also awake.
Again with tender hands he helped her from the bed and walked her to the bathroom. He didn’t join her, for which she was supremely grateful. But when she came out he was right there, ushering her back to the bed once more.
When she was lying beneath the covers again and he’d settled next to her but not close enough to touch, she cleared her throat.
