Spotting His Leopard (Shifters, Inc.) (4 page)

                Every nerve in her body lit up like a Christmas tree, electricity crackling through her.  She wanted to tear at his clothing, to pull him on top of her…

                He slowly pulled away and stared into her eyes with infinite tenderness, caressing her jaw with his thumb.  Then he turned away and reached for his drink. 

“Bottoms up,” he said, toasting her, so she picked up her drink and took a huge swig.

                He turned his attention back to her, grinning, and slung his muscular arm around her shoulders.

                “So, tell me all about yourself,” he said.

                She felt as if the room were spinning.
That kiss. Dear God, that kiss.

                She settled in against him to give herself a moment to stall.  She had her cover story memorized, of course. She always did. Her whole life story.  She’d never enjoyed lying to people, and found herself feeling even less inclined to lie to him in particular. Was it because of her strange feelings for him, or because she was just tired of it all? Perhaps a bit of both.

                “You first,” she said.

                “Oh, not much to tell.  I live in Playa Linda, California. I work in the computer field. That’s why I came here, actually. I decided to take a break from technology, try a change of pace.”

                “How’s that working out for you?” Keep the conversation directed away from herself. So far, so good.

                He shrugged, his eyes boring into hers.  “Well, not so well at first, but I have to say it’s getting a lot more interesting.”

                She breathed him in again.  His mere scent was intoxicating. She felt dizzy, swooning. 

                No. Wait. She genuinely felt woozy.

                The drinks.
He’d switched the drinks back. He’d double-double-crossed her.

               
As she sank into darkness, images of her sister swam through her mind.  And, oddly, the kids from the shanty town.

                Rhonwen,
she thought, as consciousness faded.
Rhonwen, Tana, I failed you all.

* * *

                She was stirring on the bed. She’d be awake any moment.  When she woke up, she’d find that he’d manacled her to the bed frame with copper handcuffs, and put a copper ankle bracelet on her for good measure. That would prevent her from shifting.

                He’d gone through her purse with painstaking thoroughness, checking for hidden compartments. He’d found the bottle of capsules, sniffed at them, identified the drugs in them by smell.  He’d checked out her ID; it was so well-designed that he couldn’t even spot the flaws in it. If he hadn’t run her fingerprints, he wouldn’t have known that there was no leopard shifter named Katherine Bowman from Los Angeles. 

                He’d found a few cleverly designed implements that she’d adapted; a comb, earrings, a couple of pens; she’d sharpened the tips on them and coated them with a knockout drug that he was able to scent but that would have escaped the attention of customs agents unless they had a reason to bring a shifter in for a scent-check.

                That was it. There was nothing in the purse to give away her real identity.

                He’d peeled the fake plastic fingerprints off her fingers but he hadn’t bothered to take any prints. He’d leave that up to the local police, who would turn her over to Interpol.   In California, his agency had power of arrest, but this was out of his jurisdiction.

                After he’d finished searching, he just stood there watching her breathe for a few minutes and imagining what it would be like if things were different. He dared to let himself daydream about waking up next to her like that, leaning in to kiss her again, tasting her…

                Then he shook himself. There was no point in putting this off any longer, even though he really, really wanted to. 

                He shook one of the capsules out of the bottle, dropped it into his hand and squeezed it.  It contained a stimulant that would wake her up immediately.  He waved it under her nose.  There was the briefest of pauses, then she let out a low moan.  Her eyes flew open in bewilderment and she gasped, convulsing, yanking against her manacles.

                “Hello,” he said, smiling at her, baring white teeth. “I found the antidote that you had hidden in your vitamin bottle. Also your fake ID. Are you ready to share your real name now?”

                She glared at him and yanked at her manacles again.  Her eyes fluttered shut, as if she were about to shift, then they flew open again.

                “That’s right. Copper,” he said coolly. “I’m smarter than I look.  Let’s you and me have a little chat.”

                “Are you some kind of pervert? You’re going to try to rape me? I’ll scream,” she threatened, eyes sparking with fury.

                “Am I a pervert?” He laughed at her. “Jury’s out on that one, but I’m not going to try to rape or molest you. And you’re not going to scream, because we both know you don’t want the police to come.”

                She fell silent and just glared at him.

                “So, Rhonwen, care to tell me what’s going on with you?”

                There was a brief flash of surprise in her eyes; yes, he’d managed to find out her real name. 

                He leaned against the wall, smiling regretfully. “I mean, I already know that you’re here to steal the Eye. I mean before that. You used to be so good at what you did, then this last year you got sloppy.”

                She scowled at him.

                He continued relentlessly. “And then there was that whole killing people thing. Bad for business, Rhonwen. Especially that family. An innocent family.  What was up with that?”

                At that there was a flash of genuine surprise. Did she think nobody knew about the murders?

                As he watched, there were several seconds when she was trying to pull herself together.  Her face went slack with surprise.  Her mouth opened and for a moment he thought she’d say something. There was confusion there. Fear. Dismay.

                Then she turned her face away from him and stared at the wall.

                He waited a long, long moment, then finally he turned away, feeling a dull, heavy throb of disappointment in his chest.

                He didn’t know what he’d expected. There was no explanation, no justification, for what she’d done. What could she possibly have said to make it right? Nothing.  That was why she hadn’t bothered trying to defend herself.

                He let out a long, slow breath. “I’m turning you in,” he said coolly. “Last chance to talk.”

                She remained stubbornly silent.

                He nodded, then picked up the room’s phone and dialed. “Hello, please connect me to the police station.”

                When he was connected, he told them who he was and who he worked for, told them Rhonwen’s name, and explained that in addition to being wanted by Interpol in connection with several murders, he’d seen her casing the museum and probably planning to steal the Eye.

* * *

                As he spoke, she lay there futilely tugging at her manacles, her mind racing.  What would happen to Nadette and Corran?

                She was supposed to meet with Nadette to get the replica, then make a check-in call to Corran.   When she didn’t show and didn’t call, they would cancel the heist.  She hoped they would, anyway.  How else would they get to the Eye of the Jaguar? Neither of them could climb worth a damn.

                The Eye of the Jaguar would be removed from the museum and transported to the palace in about an hour. The palace, because it was so huge, was surprisingly easy to break into. In a structure that size, it was nearly impossible to watch every single possible entry point.   And making it even easier, instead of modern security measures like laser beams and surveillance cameras, they relied on the curse of the Witch Doctor, which was supposed to strike dead any intruders with ill intent.  She already knew that wasn’t effective, because a number of smaller pieces from the palace had been stolen and sold on the black market over the past few years.  She wondered if the same person behind those thefts was now getting greedy and going after the biggest prize of all – not that it mattered at the moment.

                She’d already studied the plans for the palace and identified the wall she would need to scale and the window she’d enter.

                Corran had used his royal connections to snake his way into the palace that morning, one of a long line of dignitaries paying their respects to the King of Khaliji.  He was the bastard son of an English lord and a heroin-addicted hooker, and he’d grown up on the streets like everyone else in Henri’s group. When he was twenty-one, though, he’d decided that his royal connections would be helpful to his criminal activities, so he had actually come out of the shadows, hired himself a lawyer and demanded royal recognition.  He’d never been welcomed by his father’s family, but he had the title and he could affect a posh accent and schmooze his way in anywhere.  That was how observed the security systems and layout of the upper crust. Les Abandonnes would strike a year or two later, so there was never any suspicion that he’d been involved.

                He also was a brilliant engineer and hacker.

                The original plan had been that she would scale the walls of the palace and she’d be lying in wait on a rooftop near the room where the guards were bringing the crown. 

                Thanks to Corran, there would be a palace-wide power outage that evening at exactly the right moment, and she’d slide into the room in the pitch black, use knockout spray from her perfume bottle to render the guards unconscious, and grab the crown.  She’d leave the fake crown lying on the ground by the window.  It contained a man-made replica of the Eye of the Jaguar, but it had exactly the same chemical composition. Nadette was a jeweler. She’d made up the replica. No scientist would be able to tell the difference.

                The hope was that when the guards examined the crown, they would think that the thief had failed in their attempt to steal it, and their search would be less intensive. If they thought the crown had been stolen, they’d turn the island upside down, but if they thought the thief had been unsuccessful, they wouldn’t be searching people’s luggage for the crown when they left the island.

                She’d give the crown to Nadette, who’d melt it down and remove the Eye.  She’d be the one to smuggle it off the island.   

                Or, she would have been if she hadn’t been busted.

                She had no idea what would happen now. She felt that she had a fairly good chance of escape at some point, given her advanced climbing skills, but when she got out, not only would the Shadow Lord be looking to make her hide into a pretty leopard-skin rug, so would Nadette and Corran.

                Tyler hung up and they sat there in silence, waiting.  It wasn’t long.  Less than five minutes later there was a knock on the door.

                He cast a regretful glance at the door, then opened it.  Three jaguar shifter cops hurried in.  One of them had a police captain’s insignia on his uniform.

                The captain, who identified himself as Captain Hundri, thanked Tyler. “I will ask you to wait outside your room so that we can interrogate the prisoner in private,” he said.  She tensed.  She doubted this interrogation was going to be a friendly chat.

                Then, as Tyler turned to go, the captain said, “You didn’t inform your employers about this, did you?”

                Tyler raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. “Of course I did,” he said.   “Why? Is that a problem? We work with the law enforcement community all the time.”  

Gwenneth somehow had a feeling he was lying about telling his employers.

                There was a pause. “For our national pride and security, we prefer that such incidents are not publicized,” the captain said, frowning.  “How much did you tell them?”

                Tyler shrugged. “I tell my employers everything. And I can assure you that we don’t publicize this kind of information,” he said, then he left the room.

                The captain waited until the door slammed shut and Tyler’s footsteps had receded, then turned his attention to Gwenneth, flexing his fingers and flashing an evil grin. Ice cold fear washed through her veins. Something was wrong with this whole scenario.  She almost wanted to cry out for Tyler to come back, not to leave her alone with this man. This man had bad intentions.

                “Now, thief, where shall we start?” he said.

               “What’s your name?” he yelled, and struck the side of her face again, hard.  Her ears rang.  Her lip was already swelling, and she could taste her own blood. Panic clutched at her, but she pressed her lips together and stayed silent.

                “Who sent you?” He backhanded her with his fist this time. Red hot pain exploded in her head, and the room swam in dizzy circles.

                Panting for breath, she looked away.  Tears burned in her eyes, but she said nothing. 

                The jaguar glanced at his two men. “Step outside. I need to question her in private,” he said. “In fact go take a walk.”

                Her heart hammered in her chest. This couldn’t be good.

                The men exchanged looks with each other, and she could see their reluctance.  They’d grimaced every time he hit her.  They didn’t like what he was doing, but they couldn’t disobey the orders of a superior.

                They glanced at him, murmured their assent and walked out. 

                He waited a minute after they left, then leaned close to her. “Don’t want to talk, huh? That’s fine, I knew you wouldn’t. “

                Then his face rippled and his jaw elongated.  Black fur shot from his skin.  His fangs curved down and his eyes turned a monstrous yellow.

                He was shifting. Why was he shifting? If he shifted, he couldn’t talk. He couldn’t question her.

                He sank to all fours and crouched low.  He lunged, and swiped at her, and she flinched and closed her eyes, bracing for the brutal rake of claws. Instead he smacked the side of her head with his paw.  A cat toying with his prey.

                He was going to kill her, she realized, panic choking her.

                What the hell? She knew for a fact that Khaliji didn’t have the death penalty. Life in prison, yes, but no death penalty. And she hadn’t even been formally charged yet.

              He crouched over her, and a low growl rumbled up from his throat. Saliva dripped from his jaws, splashing on to her chest.

                Panicked, she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Help me! He’s going to kill me!” She knew it was hopeless. Even if any of the hotel’s guests heard her, they wouldn’t come to her aid, would they? And what could they even do? This was the island’s police – if he couldn’t kill her here, he’d just take her somewhere else and kill her.

                To her surprise, she heard footsteps thudding down the hall. The jaguar swung around with a snarl.

                There was a kick, and the door flew open.

                Tyler ran through the door.  He shifted into wolf form as he ran, and flew through the air, knocking the jaguar off the bed. They both tumbled to the floor with a crash, and there were snarls of fury.  She twisted and craned her neck to see what was happening.

                The jaguar swiped Tyler’s side, raking open his flank and drawing blood.  She cried out at the sight of it, feeling the ghost of his wounds as if they were her own. 

                Tyler twisted around, seized the jaguar’s throat, and ripped it wide open.

                Gwenneth swallowed a shriek of panic as Tyler quickly shifted back into human form. He was stark naked, the shreds of his clothing scattered on the floor around him.   He quickly pulled on a pair of pants and a T-shirt, stuck his feet into a pair of loafers, and fished a key out of his pocket.

                Then he used the key to uncuff Gwenneth from the bed.  She sat up, ears ringing, blood pouring from her lip.

                Dark stains splotched his T-shirt.  “You’re bleeding,” she said, her vision swimming.

                “Look who’s talking.” He grabbed a knapsack off the floor.

                “Why did you come back?” She stood up and swayed, and her stomach lurched. Her head was pounding and the ringing in her ears made it hard to hear.

                “Because I knew he was hinky.  No time to talk – we’ve got to get out of here, now,” he said. “When his buddies come back, every cop on the island is going to be hunting for us.”

                “Take the anklet off me,” she said. She was still trapped in human form.

                “Not right now, thanks.”

                He snatched a knapsack that was sitting on top of a chest of drawers. She stumbled over to the coffee table and grabbed her purse, then he got a firm grip on her arm and rushed her out the door and down the hallway, towards the rear staircase.

                “Take the damn anklet off! You might need me to shift and defend us!” she protested, then spat out a mouthful of blood as they hurried down the stairs.

                He snorted. “Nahh, I’ll take my chances.”

                He paused when they stepped outside, the bright sunlight of the day blasting them. “Give me a minute. I need to think where we can go. I could call Maji,” he muttered. “But I hate to get him involved in this. Whatever this is.”

                “I know where to go,” she said. He glanced at her suspiciously.

                “Look, as you already pointed out, I’m a criminal. That means I know people in low places. People who would hide us from the cops.”

                “Fine,” he bit out, but he didn’t look happy about it. 

                She’d memorized numerous escape routes on the island, as she did with every city, every town, every place she visited or lived in.  She quickly led him down alleyways, through narrow side streets, heading towards the shanty town. She didn’t bother to check to see if he was following her; she was too busy trying not to pass out.

* * *

                “Just for a day or two,” she said to Tana as they limped up to a corrugated tin shack.

                Tana watched her anxiously.

                “I’ll be fine,” she assured her.

                Tana looked at Tyler with suspicion. “Who is this man? Did he hurt you?” Her little fangs briefly descended and she let out a low, feline hiss.

                 “He didn’t hurt me,” she assured Tana. “It was the police who hurt both of us.”

                Tana nodded, satisfied. A beatdown from the police was something that she could empathize with.

                Tana’s little gang had gathered around, and Pern stepped forward, holding his hand out.

                “Pay the man,” she said to Tyler. “They’re giving us shelter, and taking a risk.”

                “So I’m the one who should pay him? I just saved your life,” he growled, but pulled out his wallet.

                “One thousand milukas,” the boy said.

                Gwenneth held up her hand. “No. Five hundred. And that’s very generous.”

                Pern shrugged. “Can’t blame a man for trying.”

                A man? This kid’s voice hadn’t changed yet.  She remembered Farruki saying that the day before, and grimaced. That man was the role model for these kids, and there was nothing she could do about it.

                Tyler peeled off the bills and slapped them into the boy’s hand. He turned and walked away.

                Tana frowned. “I do not think that Farruki saw you come here, but I can’t be sure. If he saw you, he might turn you in to the police,” she said, her voice low. “He does that sometimes, if they offer a high enough price. That is against the guild rules,” she added, in scandalized tones.

              “Be careful. Don’t get on his bad side.” Gwenneth leaned on Tyler so she wouldn’t fall over. He felt warm and strong and solid.

“If I see him come in, I will warn you with a sound like this.”  She put her hands on either side of her mouth and made a bird-calling sound.

                Gwenneth nodded. The simple motion made the world swim around her. “Wash your hands before you eat,” she added, her voice hoarse. 

                Tyler slid aside a sheet of tin that served as a door, and she followed him.  Now they were in a dimly lit, makeshift room with a floor made of sheets of plywood cardboard lying on dirt.

                “Five hundred milukas a night, huh?” He sank down to the floor, breathing hard.  “I was expecting something a little swankier for that price.” He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a key. “I’m taking the anklet off you for now, so you can shift and heal.  If you try to run, I swear to God I’ll take you down.”

                She let out a low growl of anger at that, but she extended her ankle and let him unsnap the anklet.  She was in no physical shape to try to run for it right now, and she was sure he knew that.

                Then she stripped off her clothes and shifted into leopard form, and he followed suit, shifting into wolf form.  His fur was matted and spiky with blood.  

                They both curled up on the floor and lay there for several hours, not moving, as their shifter powers worked their magic and healed their torn and battered flesh.   The aches in her body receded, her lip knit back together and her dizziness subsided.

                It was growing dark out.  The opportunity to steal the crown had passed.   She wasn’t dead or in prison – yet – but somewhere out there, a very, very angry Corran and Nadette would be hunting for her.  

                Tyler rippled and his hair sank back into his body and his snout sank into his face. His ears folded back into his skull and his tail vanished.  Gwenneth tensed, prepared to fight if he tried to put the anklet back on, but he reached out to stroke her fur and she relaxed.  He ran his fingers through her coat, caressing her, and just as a purr began rumbling up through her throat, she felt a sharp jab.

                And just like that she was human again. Stark naked and human. A harmless-looking mechanical pencil fell out of his hand and rolled across the dirt floor.

                Motherfucker.  That was the second time he’d gotten one over on her.

                She lunged for the door, and he was on top of her in a moment. Stark naked, pressing her down into the dirt.  The warmth, the hardness of him…she let out a shudder of desire and bit her lip to keep from whimpering.  His hot breath was in her ear, and his thick, hard cock pressed against her stomach as he pinned her wrists above her head.

                “Going somewhere?” he murmured, his voice a low, seductive rumble.

                “What did you do to me?” she demanded.

                “Don’t worry, it won’t last more than a day.  You’re not the only one who travels prepared. Just a little concoction that our lab scientists cooked up.” He grinned.  He rolled off her, and she lunged for the makeshift door. He grabbed her ankle, fingers closing firmly around it, and she heard a click.

                He’d snapped the copper anklet back on her.

                “Take that off!” She took a swing at him; he batted her arm away. 

                “Not until I get answers. And you can try to pick the lock all you want – it was designed by my employers, and they’re very good. So you’re stuck with me until I say otherwise – unless you want to stay in human form forever, that is.”

                She sat there in the dirt, breathing hard, then folded her arms sullenly across her chest.

              Finally she turned away from him, reached into her purse, and pulled out a t-shirt dress and underpants.  The dress that she’d worn to seduce Tyler was ruined, slashed by the jaguar cop and crusted with her own blood.

              Tyler pulled out a t shirt and a pair of shorts from his back pack.