Primal Bonds (40 page)

On the other side of the next girder Diego found Bud Hooper and Maria Jemez. Maria was fairly new, just out of the academy, too baby-faced to be up here chasing a crazy perp. They were slumped together in a heap, still warm, breathing slowly, out cold.

Footsteps, running. Diego swung around. Something moved upward in the middle of the building, not bothering with the lift. The shadow detached itself from the catwalk and rose in a graceful leap to the next level.

Another
ping
sounded beside him.

Diego let his instincts take over. He rolled, returned fire.

He heard a grunt, but he couldn’t tell if he hit his mark. Then someone barreled at him, a second perp, not the thing that had so easily leapt to the floor above. Diego dodged out of the way and went down, landing on his side, but he didn’t lose hold of his gun. He brought it around, but there was nothing to aim at.

“Drop your weapon and get on the floor,” he bellowed.

Silence. Nothing but the rising desert wind humming through the building.

Diego saw the rifle barrel a split second before he rolled out of the way. Another dart struck the catwalk where his head had been. He fired once before the catwalk seemed to slide out from under his body, and he found himself falling, falling, falling through empty space.

Son of a fucking—

Two strong arms caught him. He looked into a ferocious face that was somehow beautiful, a mouth full of gleaming fangs, and white green eyes.

Before Diego could draw breath to shout, the creature deposited him on another catwalk and leapt away, the morning light glinting on the silver links of a chain around its neck. Diego heard a wildcat’s scream, like a panther’s, meant to terrify.

Diego lay still to catch his breath. It was one thing to believe that Shifters were rounded up, contained, Collared, rendered harmless. Another thing to lie in the darkness listening to one snarl, knowing that a wild beast with human intelligence was fifty stories in the air alone with you. Collars or no, Shifters were still damned dangerous.

Diego got up on his elbows. He heard running, a strangled cry, and then a clattering as the tranquilizer rifle skittered toward him across the catwalk. He rolled over, aiming, when two feet landed in front of his face.

Two human, female, naked feet. Diego lifted his head to find two strong female legs right in front of him, skin tanned from the desert sun, a thatch of dark blond hair between her thighs. He forced his gaze to continue upward, over her flat stomach with a small gold stud in her navel, to firm breasts tipped with dusky nipples. He forced his gaze past
them—
though he’d dream about them for a long time coming—to be rewarded by the sight of her breathtaking face.

The Shifter woman had a strong face, but it contained the softness of beauty. Her eyes were light green, a shimmer of jade in the darkness. A mane of pale hair fell past her shoulders, and a chain with a Celtic cross fused to it glinted around her slender throat.

Damn
. Diego had never seen a female Shifter before. His cases had never taken him to Shiftertown, which lay north of North Las Vegas, and he’d only ever seen the male Shiftertown leader, Eric Warden, on the television news. He’d had no idea that their females were this tall or this sex-humping gorgeous.

Her breasts rose in even rhythm with her breathing, and she expressed no embarrassment at her nakedness. She didn’t even seen to notice it. “You all right?” she asked.

“Alive,” Diego croaked.

He saw her light-colored eyes flick to the tranquilizer gun a few feet from him, watched her calculate the distance to it.

Diego brought up his pistol. “Don’t try it, sweetheart. Get facedown on the floor, hands behind your back.”

She blinked. “What? Why? I just saved your ass.”

“You’re trespassing,
niña
, and two cops are down. On the floor.”

He gestured with the gun. The Shifter woman drew an enraged breath, eyes flashing almost pure white. For a moment, Diego thought she’d leap at him, maybe change into the wildcat and try to shred him. He’d have to plug her, and he really didn’t want to. It would be a shame to kill something so beautiful.

The Shifter let out her breath, gave him an angry glare, and then carefully lowered herself facedown on the catwalk. Diego unclipped his handcuffs.

“What’s your name?” Diego asked.

Her jaw tightened. “Cassidy. Cassidy Warden.”

Related to the Shiftertown leader called Warden? This could get interesting.

“Nice to meet you, Cassidy,” Diego said. “You have the right to remain silent.” He droned on through Miranda as he closed the handcuffs on her perfect wrists. Cassidy lay still and radiated rage.

Diego’s hands were shaking by the time he finished. But that had less to do with his fear of heights than with the tall, beautiful naked woman on the floor in front of him, hands locked together on her sweet, tight ass. The best ass he’d ever seen in his life. He wanted to stay up here and lick that beautiful backside, and then apply his tongue to the rest of her body.

He broke into a sweat, despite the cool wind wafting from below, and made himself haul her to her feet. The Shifter woman’s look was still defiant, but he wanted nothing more than to crush her against him and kiss that wide, enticing mouth.

Diego cleared his throat and made himself steer her to the lift.

Not until they were rapidly descending did Diego realize that since Cassidy Warden had come into his view, he’d not once thought about how far he might have fallen had she not caught him and the spectacular splat he’d have made when he hit the ground.

Berkley Sensation Titles by Jennifer Ashley

LADY ISABELLA’S SCANDALOUS MARRIAGE PRIMAL BONDS