Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Amira Press www.amirapress.com Copyright © NOTICE: This eBook is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution to any person via email, floppy disk, network, print out, or any other means is a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines and/or imprisonment. This notice overrides the Adobe Reader permissions which are erroneous. This eBook cannot be legally lent or given to others. This eBook is displayed using 100% recycled electrons. Distributed by Fictionwise.com 2 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Shift Hunter Copyright © April 2007, A.J. Cove Cover art by Mariya Krusheva © April 2007 Amira Press Baltimore, MD 21216 www.amirapress.com ISBN: 978-1-934475-07-2 No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior written permission from Amira Press. 3 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Dedication To all fans of romantic shape-shifting stories and those who loved the first in this series. Thanks so much. 4 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER ONE "Maybe I should go in with you." Rat's words were confident enough, but the terror was plain in his eyes. Caelyn suppressed an impulse to laugh. The diminutive male Shift had no real backbone for this type of mission, and she allowed him to come this far only because he was a whiz at reprogramming G's gadgets. But that's as far as she was willing to go. Rat would be underfoot seconds after gaining entrance to the glass and steel monstrosity before her. Not to mention he would set off the scanners just by existing. She shook her head. "No, Rat. You can't come, and I'm sure that just breaks your heart." His smile was more of a grimace, and he settled down inside the Jeep, half-hidden behind a wall of weeping willows. Cae hopped over the welded door of the vehicle and headed toward the building. As she strode, she glanced around to be sure she was unobserved and then allowed her features to melt and reform into the plain-Jane looks of one of the clerks. No one at Gorman Industries would suspect she was not who she appeared to be. Confidence suffused her as the loose skirt she wore became snug and her long black hair snapped like a window shade until it was a cute bob of dull brown curls. She paused just inside the lobby entrance, eyeing the line of Shift scanners and the stern-faced guards who were taking their positions much too seriously. She moved forward to the 5 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove closest contraption and slid through. The alarm went off, a blare made to alert officials in the next state. She crouched, ready to fight off or dodge anyone who might be about to attack, but the guard was not looking at her. His attention was on the woman passing through the next scanner. A Shift. It was not obvious by her small human eyes and porous skin, but the scanners never lied. Cae watched as the guards pulled the woman to the side, demanding to know her identity and what she thought she was doing disguised inside a G-linked corporation. Cae clenched her hands into fists, eyeing each of the guards involved and promising herself they would pay as soon as she returned from her mission. Gorman's CEO was housed on the fifth floor, and she wasted no time getting there. The anger inside her boiled at seeing a fellow Shift treated like trash. She could not get to the man fast enough to take out her feelings on his sorry person. With the small, brown wren-like appearance, she slipped inside the man's office. The moment she clicked the door closed, her features changed again. This time, she was the sultry temptress. Where the clerk was petite and plump, this new persona was tall and thin, very close to her own appearance. She willed her breasts to fill out more and her rear to round before hiking the already short skirt higher. It took less than ten seconds for Gorman to sense her presence and glance up from his study of the papers littering his desk. His reaction to her appearance satisfied her, as she 6 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove expected it would. Human men were all the same—not one of them could keep his brain out of his pants. She crossed the room with a few steps and planted herself on the edge of his desk, resting one heel on the arm of his chair. His small eyes followed the movement, lighting at the sight of her bare leg. She swallowed away disgust at his wide forehead with its receding hairline. The pores there were huge as if he had gotten hair plugs recently. Human skin had always turned her off with its endless holes. Granted, she was half-human, but she had taken on almost all of her Shift mother's features. And poreless skin was perfection in her opinion. After allowing him to have his fill of looking her over, she leaned toward him. "Mr. Gorman, isn't it?" she asked, letting the warmth of her breath to brush his face, knowing the effect it would have. "Y-yes, I am. Who are you?" He reached out to touch her, and she tried not to smack his hand away. "That's not important, baby. What's important is that I'm here now for you." The man looked like Christmas had come early, and he was fast-forwarded to the nice list. Her eyes twitched at the thought. Shit! He backed away, terror rippling across his face. Secret's out. "You're a Shift. How did you get past the scanners? I'll call security." The babbling was annoying. She was herself instantly, "So much for well-laid plans of seduction. Here's what you're going to do, Gorman." She shoved a foot into his chest, pinning him in his chair. "You're 7 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove going to quit using your money to get G to pass tougher laws against Shifts. You're going to start helping us to regain what you and they have taken from us. Our rights and our freedom." "And why should I do that?" he sneered. She pressed harder, her toes biting into his air supply. His gasps had no effect on her conscious. "You'll do it, or I will personally bring down this glass box, with you in it." His eyes widened and glazed over. And then like a camera snapping a picture, she saw the guards running along the hall near the elevators in her mind. Somehow this piece of dirt had figured out a way to set off the silent alarm. She released him and glanced toward the door. They'd be on her soon. "Remember what I told you, Gorman. You have one week to turn things around." She held up a finger before his trembling face. "One week." * * * * "You didn't follow the plan, Cae," her superior said. "You were to seduce him into giving you the information we need." "I know what the plan was." Caelyn dropped the last of her clothes onto the floor in front of Bella, unashamed of her naked figure. "His skin—" "Don't start on that again. Everyone knows how much you hate human skin. It's absurd. They're not so much different from us. Besides, you're one of them. How can you be against your own kind?" With any other person, she would have extracted revenge for such an insult, but not on Bella. She needed the woman, 8 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove and she hated needing anyone. "I'm not one of them. I'm a Shift." "Partly," she insisted. "You're a half-breed." Cae turned away, moving to stash her clothes in the bin for a male to wash later. "Nobody ever lets me forget that, do they? I've proven my loyalty again and again, but it doesn't matter." Bella touched her shoulder. "Being a half-breed is not a big deal. There are more every day nowadays. Humans mixing with Shifts and making babies. It's become a fad." Cae shook herself free. "No it's not. It's a stigma for the child. Have sex with the other species but don't get them pregnant, or it's a one-way ticket to persecution. Humans don't accept you and neither do Shifts. You choose a side and spend the rest of your life defending that choice—to both groups." "I know you can take it. You're tough. Now suck it up." Cae narrowed silver eyes at her friend, annoyed at the callous dismissal of all she had to deal with. She did not want sympathy, exactly. Some concern would be nice but that was not Bella. It was always business. Cae had broken the cardinal rule again. Follow Bella's instructions to the letter or suffer the consequences. "So," she crossed her arms, "what happened?" "My eyes." The word that flew from the caramel lips was very unladylike. "It wasn't your eyes, Cae. It was your anger, your hatred. You have so much talent, so much ability, but your 9 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove feelings toward humans get in the way. I wonder if you were the best choice for this assignment." "What does that mean? I'm the best you have. The very best. I have—" Bella held up a hand. "No, spare me the rundown of how superior you are to us all. As good as you are, you have a problem with anger. And as soon as you get too angry, you lose control of your eyes. It's a waste, Cae. A real waste." "I fixed it." "You didn't fix anything," Bella roared, slamming her fist on the tabletop. "You threatened to blow up Gorman Industries, you nearly killed half a dozen guards, and you didn't get one shred of information we needed. Instead, you put your face on the news again as America's most wanted criminal. Congratulations, you're number one." Cae was silent. She knew Bella was right. She had blown the assignment. How many times had she begged for an assignment that did not require her to be the Amazon woman beating up all the little men. She liked who she was, even enjoyed being strong enough and talented enough to take down human men. But sometimes, she wanted to be feminine, a little more like the human women. She wanted to wear the silky lingerie, the fluffy slippers, and be alluring. Then her anger toward her people's treatment would surface, and she would find herself back in warrior mode. She had to protect their rights, at any cost, and that meant suppressing the urgings she blamed her human father for. She would have to become fully Shift. It would take more practice, but soon 10 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove she would not even remember these weak longings of her human DNA. * * * * "Mommie, you don't understand," Caelyn bellowed. She was so through with having this discussion with her mother every time she visited. It was the main reason why she came so seldom. Her mother sighed and paused in folding Cae's father's boxers. "Sweetie, I do understand. Trust me. I was in your position. I was a young woman once with barely two nickels to rub together because of the unfair treatment of Shifts." Cae scoffed. "Give me a break, Mommie. In your day, there were scanners in banks, maybe a few other exclusive companies. Now, they're everywhere. A Shift is supposed to give up her ability to be whoever she wants to be. Shifting is against the law. Not registering for their database is against the law. Everything we do is questioned. We're treated as second-class citizens. And if you happen to be like me—" "No one is like you, baby." "Mommie, please. I'm thirty-two." "Yet, you still call me Mommie." Her mother grinned and Cae turned away. Why her mother criticized her, she did not understand. She never criticized Kyle this way. Her parents bragged constantly about everything her brother did. It was another thing to keep her away. "Look, you don't know what it's like out there any more. You aren't touched with hardship, unable to get a 11 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove job because of your species. You've become lazy and spoiled by Daddy's money." Even as she said it, Cae knew she was crossing the line. She might view her mother as weak, having become more interested in domestic matters than political unrest, but she was still her mother. She was still a hot-blooded Shift. The pearl black eyes, almost twice the size of a human's, flared. Cae saw the image of her mother's hand coming up to smack her face an instant before it happened, but she did not duck away. She deserved it for such disrespect. "How dare you judge me, Caelyn Stevens? You don't know what I dealt with. You don't know how I had to dance for lecherous old men and fight off their advances to protect you. And you don't know the times I didn't have enough food, but I still had Uncle Coltech to provide for." "Mommie—" "No!" Her mother bunched a once-crisp shirt in her hands. "You stand there high and mighty, Cae, judging the world like you're the only one suffering. Like poor me, no one understands me. Well, I have news for you, my daughter, others are hurting too." "I know that. That's why I'm—" She continued as if Cae had not spoken. "Look at your father. He had to fly halfway around the world to help your brother. He's in some kind of trouble at his university because of his skin. Humans don't care about the differences between themselves any more. Now they've focused their hate on our brown skin." "Mommie, it's not the color that they hate." 12 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "Regardless, Cae, if you weren't busy threatening to blow up important men like Sam Gorman, then you'd know the troubles of your own family." Cae went still. How had her mother found out so quickly? Bella had debriefed her just hours ago. Word seemed to travel faster than she did on her motorcycle on the way over here. "How did you know about that, Mommie?" she asked, wondering if there was a leak in the rebel organization. Her mother returned to folding, her gaze dropping to the pile of laundry before her. The tightening of her lips told Cae she would not rat out the culprit. And 'rat' was the operative word. "Rat!" Cae said. "That sneak! Is he my partner or a spy, for goodness sake?" She marched over to her backpack and rifled through it until she found her tiny two-inch by two-inch cell phone. She strapped the device to her ear. A rapid blink of her eyes once was the only indication she allowed herself when the auto transponder dug into the flesh behind her ear. Seconds later, with only a mental thought, her phone dialed Rat. She tapped a booted heel on the walnut-colored ceramic tile of her mother's kitchen floor and waited. He would have some serious explaining to do, and if she did not like what he said, well ... she could replace him. There was more than one Shift male waiting to take Rat's place. Until now, she had been unable to achieve the famed "bonding" her mother taught her about long ago, but that did not mean she could not find another male to share her bed. It had 13 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove probably been a mistake anyway to mix business with pleasure. Soon Rat answered in a harassed tone. "Cae, you finally call!" Her eyebrows shot toward her hairline. "Excuse me?" she asked with a frown, her eyes focused on nothing in particular in front of her. "In Mommie's time, males were much more subservient and knew their place!" It took a moment for him to respond. God, this must be the day for her to offend everyone. She bit her lip, refusing to apologize. She would wait him out. Just as she suspected, not a moment passed before her supposed life assistant was all apologies. "I'm sorry, Cae. I was worried when you didn't answer your phone, and then Bella called and—" "What do you mean Bella called? I just spoke with her a few hours ago at the debriefing." "She wants you to come in. Says it's urgent. You didn't answer your phone and I thought—" "What's happening, Rat? Why would she want to see me again so soon? And my phone didn't ring. I think the stupid thing is on the fritz. It's hurting more than before, when I attach it." "I'll meet you at HQ and take a look at it. Meanwhile, Bella says to come immediately." His voice held the urgency she knew Bella had impressed upon him. Rat was terrified of their rebel leader. There was a vicious rumor going around that she had an insatiable appetite for males of all shapes and sizes. She did not allow 14 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove herself to bond with any of the ones she kept in her penthouse apartment but demanded they all be ready at any time to satisfy her needs. Cae was sure her own sexual desires rivaled her boss, but the difference was she ached for something more, something she hated for its human origins. Battles without and battles within, she thought with a sigh. Always she had to walk in disguise, twenty-four hours a day, unless she was in the presence of someone who accepted her as she was. It was against the law to walk into a public place in disguise, but if a Shift strode in as herself, she was destined for ridicule and prejudice. Cae had it worse, no matter what her mother claimed. She had to disguise herself. Her eyes always gave away the fact that she was a half- breed. As much as she loved her father, she resented that his eyes were the only part of his chromosomes to rear their head in her body makeup. Instead of the oversized, black shape-shifter eyes, she was stuck with oversized silver. If she didn't shift, she would still stick out in the crowd. "Cae, are you there?" Rat had been waiting for her reply. She nodded, though he could not see it. "Yes, I'm here. And I'll be there soon. Did you make the gaipee?" "Yes." He chuckled into the phone. "Always, you prefer the traditional Shift food though you grew up on the human stuff." "I'm a Shift," she told him. "What else would I eat?" She soon ended the connection before he could disrespect her again, forcing her to choose whether or not she wanted to replace him. Sometimes she wondered if the humans were right that mixing one species with the other was a bad idea. 15 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Shift men were getting out of hand. Rat joining the resistance might be an indication of the future. Who knew what civil strife they would have to deal with if the men decided to go the route of human women and demand rights of their own. She shook herself to dislodge the thought. It was too insane to fathom. Forty-five minutes later, she strode into the headquarters of the Shift rebellion for the second time that day. That was, after she had been given a hard time by the muscled Cessie, who guarded the secluded entrance. Cae gritted her teeth and bided her time. It would not be long before she could put that masculine Shift in her place, and that place was beneath her boot heel. Nothing would please her more than to go head-to- head with the main person who found it a daily pleasure to goad the others into riding Cae's back about her mixed blood. These thoughts—her unresolved argument with her mother and her indecision about replacing Rat—roiled through her unsettled mind until she reached the briefing room. The others were there ahead of her, and she stood in the doorway, assessing the mood. No one she had met in the hallway coming down to this hole beneath an abandoned subway station had given her a clue as to what the emergency was about. She did suspect it had something to do with herself. More than one of them had given her significant looks. Even jacking one of them up by his collar had given her no satisfaction. Cessie had put an end to that interrogation too. Cae was not in a position to rock the boat, being out of grace 16 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove with Bella right now. It was better to lie low. Unfortunately, her foul mood was not making lying low easy. "Cae, I'm glad you decided to join us," Bella called from the front of the room. "Grab a seat and I'll brief everyone." A few snickers followed her progress down the narrow aisle, the room set up somewhat like a tiny movie theater, with ten rows of five chairs each, half of which were covered with "out of order" signs. The dull brown carpet in the aisle was threadbare. She recalled the lavish office of the CEO of Gorman Industries and clenched her jaw tighter. He probably never held a meeting underground in a place that stank of piss and mildew. She found a seat near the front, squeezing past two younger Shifts who thought it was funny to transform their eyes to match hers and then make looks of horror at each other. She rolled her eyes and shoved past them before flopping down in the chair, hoping the creaking springs would not choose that moment to give way. "Now," Bella began. She nodded her head toward the back of the room. "This, ladies, is Anthony 'Tony' Maddox. He is better known as Shift Hunter." Amidst loud catcalls, something Cae was not beyond doing herself at the look of the man on the screen, she stared at his handsome face. The hard, uncompromising expression that tightened his lips and set his jaw did not lessen the impact of his sea-green eyes. Those eyes knew her, she admitted to herself. Although he was just a man in a slide, stepping out into the sunlight from a cigar store, he knew what she longed for. She was sure of it. 17 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Her abilities had never extended beyond knowing what was coming upon her or into her life. She did not read minds or any of those other spooky parlor tricks. But she had a feeling he knew more about her human side than she did, and that scared her. She continued to study him. Thick, silky curls as dark as midnight covered his head. Burgundy and black camouflage was his clothing, finished with standard issue army boots. The sheer breadth of his shoulders and the dwarfing of the two men standing next to him told her he was big—very big. Her jaw dropped slightly, and she let out the breath she had been holding. When the slide changed to a close up, the tingle of desire that had been growing inside her at the sight of him, was doused. Pores. Of course, a Shift could transform to give the appearance of having pores, but she was not holding out for that being the case here. This man was human. "Shift Hunter is notorious all over the world as being the person to hire should you have a special need," Bella continued. "I have a need," someone yelled out in a sultry voice, and the others laughed. "Settle down!" Bella commanded. No one dared disobey. "If you haven't gotten it yet, he's called Shift Hunter for a reason. He hunts Shifts. He has hunted literally hundreds and he has never failed to capture his prey. Ever." Silence reigned. 18 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "G has hired him, flying him in, all expenses paid, from Belgium, the site of his last job. And he has one person on his list." All eyes turned to Cae, and she froze. Bella could not be serious. The eyes ... this man was coming to America to hunt her down? Then she remembered Bella's words from earlier, Congratulations, you're the number one, most wanted person in America. Her stomach tightened. She tried to look nonchalant, to hide how it affected her to know that this person had been turned loose on her. Then she remembered her abilities. "Bella, please be serious," she laughed. "No man, no matter what he's called, has ever bested me. And certainly no human can match me. I don't know why you've called a special meeting for this loser, but it's unnecessary." She stood and made to leave. "Sit down, Cae." She sank back down into her seat, ignoring the titters. "You may not be worried, and more the fool you are for it. But I am." Bella shuffled through papers on her podium. "I checked into his background, not wanting to depend on hearsay. I have stacks upon stacks of evidence—pictures, film, you name it—about what this man has been involved in. He gets his woman. Every time." Cae tried again. "But they weren't me." "Yeah," someone called from the back, "didn't you hear, Bella? She's superwoman, the first Shift that can fly." She clenched her hands, recognizing Cessie's voice. The others laughed out loud, and the noise level jumped several 19 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove decibels as the women debated on who would win in the battle between Cae and the Hunter. She waited for Bella to command silence again when she realized the consensus was against her, but their leader remained silent. She glanced up at Bella, wondering if she too had little faith that Cae could stay ahead of this man or even defeat him. By her doubtful expression, Cae could see Bella did not hold out much hope. "Cae," Bella shouted, and the room quieted again. "I know you have fighting skills that the others of us cannot come close to. The fighting masters your father hired to train you have prepared you well." Did she detect a note of bitterness there? She could not help her background. When would she live it down? She had even used it herself against her mother earlier. Now she was being repaid for that meanness. "I know. We all know you are good. Better than all of us. Be quiet, Cessie! But this man has also been trained. Remember no matter how skilled you are, you are still a female, and many of the human men are physically stronger than we are." "But my abilities," she started. "You can't always depend on knowing what your opponent will do next, Cae. At any time, that special gift could desert you. It is not something from our society. It is not in your father's family. It's a fluke, and as quickly as it has come into your life, it can go." "I was born with it. I've always had it," she insisted. "Regardless, I'm sending you away. Tonight. Your plane takes off at midnight." 20 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Cae stood. "What? I have a life. I have obligations. My family—" "You barely visit your family. You saw your mother today and your father and brother are out of the country anyway. My mind is made up. You and two other Shifts, who will act as your guards, will leave in a few hours. Get your things in order. End of discussion." 21 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER TWO "Delivery for you, Monsieur Maddox." "Merci." Tony slid a few euros to the bellhop, took the DHL envelope with a brief nod, and shut the door. He had been expecting this package for the last few days. He had held out for as long as it took to force the American government to up their offer for his services. If they wanted the hellcat Caelyn Stevens, they would have to pay dearly for it. Not that he was not going to enjoy bringing down this particular Shift creature, but he had been planning on a much-needed vacation with a hot piece he had met in Naples a couple months ago. Only the right price could make him delay getting another taste of her. He settled again in the plush Edwardian-styled chair near the window overlooking the river and tore open the envelope. He knew of Caelyn Stevens like everyone else did with her face plastered all over the news on an almost daily basis. It would be interesting to get the full details of her activities. The last he had heard, she had threatened Gorman of Gorman Industries. That had been a stupid move on her part—no one pressed that guy. His money had changed the political leanings of entire nations. The stupid Shift was in over her head. The list of activities Caelyn had been involved in were as many as he had expected, though she did choose her targets well: the hit on Congressman Cord's home in Beltsville, the humiliation of quite a few members of the House of 22 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Representatives, and the bombing of a few lesser corporations known to back tighter Shift laws. Her group was a violent bunch. Peaceful demonstration was not in their vocabulary. Tony figured the government was taking a quieter tactic on resolving this issue of the Shift rebels because so few Shifts backed them. Should the government change its methods and attack outright, humans and Shifts were looking at a bloody battle. Shift women were known to be hotheaded, and their population had outgrown even the Caucasian race in the last twenty years. If it would not mean loss of human life, he would be the first to advise officials to do whatever was necessary to toss the ugly creatures off the planet. He sighed and flipped to the next sheet in the folder. It was a picture of Caelyn Stevens in her signature pose of defiance, one hand on her hip and peering over very dark sunglasses. Long and thin, nearly six feet tall. Her hair was a sheet of black silk, extending down to just past the middle of her back. Large silver eyes that seemed to take up most of her face, in spite of the long straight nose and full lips, glared at him. He turned to take a sip of his scotch before examining the photo as impassively as a hired gun would view it. He had no intention of killing her, though the anonymous man who hired him had been clear in his wish for just that. Tony was not a killer, and he would not start with Caelyn Stevens. He would capture her and turn her over to the authorities. Let them do what they wanted after that. He did not care. 23 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove He returned his attention to the picture. He had never seen her in anything other than the skintight, black leather jumpsuit she wore now, zipped up enough to reveal the swell of creamy chocolate breasts at least a double D. His shaft twitched and hardened. "Calm down," he growled at his crotch. "She's nothing more than an animal." He flung the papers away from him, stood, and paced about the room for a few moments. When that did not calm his sexual cravings, he lit a cheroot and took a long drag before retrieving Caelyn's picture from the floor. As he stared down at her, he had to admit there was something undeniably appealing about her. He did not regret all that he had done to track down and then capture his Shift prey. They more than deserved it, these women. All of them were self-centered, domineering man-haters. They practically enslaved their own men and then fought against the same treatment from the government. They were a species without remorse, and they would kill to get their way, so why should he give a damn about putting one more of them out America's misery? He should not and he would not. Caelyn Stevens would be put out of commission no matter what he had to do to get her where he wanted her. Before he could read further, a metallic clanging sounded in the air. He moved to answer the phone. "Maddox." "Hunter?" came the tinny voice. He frowned, hating the moniker. "This is Maddox." "She's on the move." 24 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove He did not need to ask who was on the move, nor ask who was speaking. Government officials loved to hide behind anonymity. It allowed them to bypass their conscious when ordering the death of an individual. That is until they had killed off their conscious. "Where and when?" was his clipped response. "Tonight at midnight. BWI. You won't be able to get a flight out in time to head her off, but we expect the intel very shortly on where she's heading. We'll text it to you." This time Tony grinned. They had no idea of his connections. He would meet Caelyn at BWI before she took off. Flipping back his cuff, he noted the time. Four hours was more than enough time to make it back home. It was time to contact Terrell. He broke the connection with the agent and dialed a familiar number. When the phone was picked up on the third ring, he infused his voice with as much of a casual tone as he could muster under the circumstances. "'Allo, Terrell. Comment ca va?" Terrell, not fooled, chuckled. "Ca va bien, mon ami." "Bien." Tony decided to stop delaying. After years of friendship, Terrell knew him well enough to know he wanted something, especially since he had pressed upon his friend not to disturb him for the next three weeks while he was lying up either on a beach or in a bed with Leslie. He squashed the thought of her luscious figure from his thoughts and concentrated on the business at hand. "Hey, I need a favor from you, Terrell. I've got to get to the U.S., fast." "Specifically?" 25 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "BWI Airport. I've got to meet a friend before midnight tonight," he admitted. "By that you mean you've been wrangled into another job before your vacation with your new honey, and you have another Shift to capture." Terrell chuckled again. "Am I reading you right?" "Smart aleck," Tony said. "Okay, you're right, and commercial transport will never get me there in time. I need your particular talents, my friend." He was prepared to hear the bragging creep into Terrell's voice and sighed. He would never hear the end of it when this thing was all over. In fact, he was sure Terrell would give him a nice rundown of all his attributes, should Tony have forgotten in the couple of weeks since they had spoken. "Ah, yes. Of course, you need the special abilities of the incredibly talented Terrell. And why wouldn't you? No plane can outrun him. No schedule can hold him in check." "The 'incredibly talented' Terrell," Tony interjected, "would not have the ability he has if he hadn't interfered with the natural course of things." Terrell laughed, not offended. "Hey, if I hadn't jacked with it, how would I be having the level of fun I'm having now? How would I have a girl in China tonight and another in Alaska in the morning? I am hot on every continent." Tony shook his head at the unadulterated arrogance. The man had no shame. Not that Tony had much himself. The two of them had agreed long ago to enjoy all the female companionship they desired, without the headaches that went with it. Every woman was informed of her place in the grand 26 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove scheme of things. She was for pleasure. He or Terrell would give as much as they got, but it ended there. No more. So far, that plan had not failed once. "Come to my hotel. I don't have all night to spar on the phone." He paused at a tapping on the balcony door. "Already here." The phone clicked to a dial tone. Tony returned the receiver to its cradle and crossed the room in two long strides to slide open the glass doors leading to the balcony. He was not surprised by the sight. Now with his mind more focused, he realized there had been that signature drop in Terrell's already deep baritone voice. It happened each time he made the change. His tone underwent a drastic alteration, becoming more gravelly with feral qualities. Tony tilted his head back at the fifteen-foot dragon leveled outside his room. He could never get over the rough scaly skin, the long fire-breathing snout, the reddened eyes, and the thirty-foot wingspan. It did not seem possible that Terrell could change into this mystic creature whenever he chose to. Even more, he could out fly any jet. It defied reason. Worse yet, Terrell had done this to himself, Tony thought as he gathered a few items and arranged for others to be flown home at a more civilized pace. He strapped on his backpack and fitted a covering over his mouth. He had flown enough with Terrell to know the show- off would be traveling at such breakneck speed that Tony would lose his breath. A memory of the time he had fainted and had nearly landed in the ocean flashed through his mind before he shook it off. Needless to say, he did not often take 27 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Dragon Air as opposed to a commercial jet. He climbed aboard and braced himself for the flight, before indicating his readiness with a thumb up. Terrell dropped straight down five stories and then arced upward toward the sky. Tony's stomach had him grumbling to pay his friend back with interest for that little stunt. And then he braced his forehead against the rough scales to endure until it was over. * * * * She is making this too easy, Tony thought as he leaned against a wall in the very busy BWI airport. He watched Cae across the room, standing over a Shift male who looked like he was crying. He felt the familiar turn of dislike in his belly. He did not need to read her lips—though he was—to know she was giving the guy his walking papers. It was the M.O. of the females, to work their life assistants like dogs and then to drop them the moment some fresh meat came along. He had no doubt she had two or three males waiting to take this poor sap's place. God, he hated Shifts. "Is that her?" Terrell whispered next to him. "Yeah, that's her. The one in all black." "Damn, that's hot," his friend crowed. "I could break me off a piece of that right now." Tony laughed. Of course, Terrell would think she was hot. His fascination with all things Shift was no secret. So what if she had those incredibly big, and probably, firm breasts? That if that rear filling those leather pants was just round enough 28 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove for him to grab onto as he drove himself inside.... This is business, he chided himself. She is just a Shift. He turned and strode to a water fountain. Bending to take a huge drink, he wondered what was wrong with him. He had never been attracted to a Shift. Yes, he had noticed their signature breasts and the ample rear on others. He did prefer women with dark hair as opposed to blonde, and he had demonstrated many times before, the color of a woman's skin did not matter to him. As easily as he had identified the perfections found in a Shift woman's body, it had never gone so far as to give him a hard-on. He must need that vacation more than he thought. It was better to end this. He turned to Terrell. "As simply as possible. I can handle it from here. Thanks." Terrell ignored his outstretched hand and took a step forward. "No way, I want to see what this Shift's got. She looks like she can give just as much as she gets." He turned back to Tony. "How much you want to bet she's your match?" His match? he grimaced. "Don't be disgusting, T. There's no way I'm getting involved with a Shift." A shout of laughter burst from his friend. "Stupid. I meant a match in fighting. You've got those cool kung fu moves or whatever you call them, but I bet she knows a thing or two. She could school you." He ignored that quip. No woman, certainly not a Shift woman, could match him, in combat or otherwise. He hated the nickname, but it did fit him. He had hunted his share and more of the unwanted aliens, and this one was no different 29 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove than the last one in Belgium or the one before in Naples. "If you'll get out of here, Terrell, I can get to work." "You're going to take on all three of them?" Terrell nodded toward the two guards standing next to Caelyn. "That big one looks really mean." The stern expression on the one on the left told him she was itching for a fight. The hate-filled looks she tossed his query did not bode well either. Possibly he could play up that feeling if for some reason he did not snag Caelyn tonight. He sighed. "Okay, we'll separate them, draw off the guards, and get Caelyn by herself. Then I'll take her down." "You mean you'll try." "Damn it, Terrell, would you get serious?" he growled. "Hmm, it's not like you to be so grumpy, Tony." Terrell eyed him and then the girl. "You haven't met her yet and she already has you riled? Wow, my friend, I better get you some action quick. You're starting to get brain damage from lack of sex." Tony grumbled again and started forward past Terrell. He was probably right, so the sooner he did this the better. Then he would fly to Naples—by plane!—and tend to his apparent urgent physical needs. 30 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER THREE Cae stood at attention, alert for any sign of an attack, every muscle in her body taut. Against her nature, she was running, getting out of the States. She wanted to stand against any enemy, at any time. Bella's command that she be on the next plane out of the country, rankled hard. Why can't he run? Why can't I hunt him? It was obvious that Bella did not think she could beat him. After all these years of fighting together for the cause, her strength and ability did not matter. Not even Bella believed in her. She was just another half-breed, tolerated but never accepted. Not fully. All this time she had clung to Bella's side, feeling she had finally met someone who accepted her for what she was. Even her parents, though they loved her, had not accepted her for herself. They wanted her to be like her mild-mannered younger brother. No thanks. She was not buying, even if it meant she had to fight alone. If anyone would cave, it would be— Her thoughts froze as a picture of two men slid across her mind's eye, blocking her vision somewhat like a hologram. One was an African American human, the other Caucasian. Both were coming up on her fast. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she knew she had only a moment before they would strike. Before she could swing around to face her predators, Cessie cursed and took off in the opposite direction. "What the f—?" 31 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Cae did not have a second to process the thought that one of her guards had just abandoned her and the other stood dumbfounded after an old woman, appearing to be at least seventy-five to eighty-years old, took off with Cae's handbag. She blinked in shock. She shoved Lai aside and leapt over the set of chairs blocking the aisle to pursue the old woman. The woman weaved through the crowd with the precision of a water moccasin cutting through a swamp. Cae was hard pressed to keep up without tapping into the Shift's ability for incredible bursts of speed. There was no doubt in her mind that this woman was a Shift, though she could not imagine how the woman had gotten through the tight airport security. Rat's disruptive device had worked only long enough for Lai and Cessie to get through the scanners. Then it had malfunctioned and all nearby electronics went haywire. Perhaps the woman had some type of security clearance. Flying was nearly impossible for Shifts. They had to rely mainly on road travel, and leaving the country for any reason was equivalent to having a liaison with an enemy country, virtually a declaration of being guilty of treason. Increasingly, laws were made to control Shifts by jealous or fearful humans. Thoughts of Rat broke her concentration, and she stopped to look around. Lai had not followed for some reason, despite the command to stay close by Cae. Neither of her guards favored her, and she would not be surprised if they had bolted on purpose to allow the Hunter to catch her. She had seen the men in her mind before turning around and was confident that one of them was the Hunter. Yet, she did not 32 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove see them when she turned. Her foresight had never let her down before. These men were trickier than she suspected. She caught no further sight of the old lady and was annoyed that all of their money for expenses and her falsified papers were inside the purse, not to mention she had been outrun by someone's grandmother. She sighed. It was better to meet up again with the others to decide what to do next. With any luck, Bella would call off the purposeless trip and she could return home. Maybe she would even consider taking Rat back. Maybe she had been too hasty to let him go tonight. If she tried harder, she could bond with him. It was possible. She slipped a hand inside her pocket and dug out her phone, grateful she had had the foresight to put it there rather than her purse. She hooked it onto her ear and almost fell to her knees when the transponder latched on with a deep slice inside her head. Tears welled in her eyes. She had been stupid not to let Rat work on it longer. The pain nearly blinded her but she struggled to focus and dial Cessie's cell. The connection was garbled. "Cessie?" The reply was static, a few broken words. "Cessie, I'm down by The Coffee House on Level D. Cessie?" The line went dead. "Damn it!" She hoped interference, not Cessie, that broke the connection. If she found out Cessie did it purposely, she would bury her fist in that Shift's face! Cessie had it coming. Not even Bella would hold Cae back when the time came. She reached up to dislodge the phone and cried out again. A jolt of blue light bounced across her vision, blinding her. 33 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove With restrained panic, she reached out ahead to brace herself, but her fingertips flailed in the air. Slowly her vision returned, and she tried again to disconnect the phone from her head. It did not budge. Instead, it sent fresh jolts around her skull and down her spine. Strength abandoned her legs and she fell to the floor, powerless to catch herself before her face smashed into the cold hard linoleum. * * * * She woke with a jolt, her hand automatically reaching for the scabbard she kept strapped to her hip concealed inside her pants. Her fingers closed around empty material, now remembering she had had to leave it at HQ because even her ability did not allow her to disguise metal. "Whoa there, hellcat," someone laughed. She turned toward the amused voice to find the same black man she had seen earlier in her vision. So they caught me after all. Damn. And I thought I was too good to be caught. So much for my abilities, but no matter, they will not hold me for long. Reaching up to check the tender area behind her left ear, she glanced around. They were in a small square room, devoid of furniture except for the single chair the man occupied and the narrow cot she had been lying on. She examined him with narrowed eyes. Calmly peeling an apple, he did not fool her with his apparent disinterest in her movements. His shoulders were slumped, his back curved as he hunched over his task, but his jaw was tight and his nostrils were flared. He was on alert. 34 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "Where am I?" she demanded, rubbing her ear. He ignored the question. "We had a hell of a time getting that thing off you. It was embedded pretty deep. Don't you know to have your equipment serviced regularly?" With these double-meaning words, he glanced up, a leer in his eyes. For a moment, Cae considered flirting with him to gain information but thought better of it. There was keen intelligence behind that casual look. Besides, she wanted to know where the Hunter was. He might be watching somewhere right now. She needed to know his intentions, fast. "Where am I? And where is the Hunter?" "Who, Tony?" The man stood and stretched. "He's around." She glanced around the room again, noting the tiny door in the corner this time. Was it locked? Of course, it was. That was a silly thought. She stood and moved toward the door. The man did not follow, though she tensed, expecting him to strike. He stayed where he was, and she wrenched open the door to step forward into the stone wall that was Anthony Maddox. She stumbled backward, losing her footing before he reached out to catch her. She longed to think his touch disgusted her, that the thrill of pleasure dancing along her nerve endings was a figment of her imagination, but it was way too real. The residual effects of the earpiece took the blame for when she shut her eyes at the pleasure of being pressed firmly against his muscled length. Before she could lose her mind and her principles, she shoved back away from him. He was the enemy. He was 35 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove human. G had paid him to capture her and from the report that Bella had given her, he had been told to bring her dead or alive. Taking a defensive stance, she glared at him. She would not be an easy kill. Damn! If only she had her knife, she would happily slice into his pretty face. "Don't ever touch me again, human!" His eyebrows shot upward and then he laughed in her face. "Oh, don't worry. I would not sully my hands." He rubbed them along his jeans, calling her attention to the tight fit. So, he had not been so impervious to her as he pretended. She shrugged off the knowledge. This was business, and she would settle it now. Without another thought or any plan of action, she flipped backward, landing on her hands while her boot-clad feet slammed upward into his chin. She landed on her feet again and pushed off the opposite wall to drive another kick into his groin. This time, before she could make impact, he caught her foot and twisted until she landed flat on her face on the cold floor. She wiped a spot of blood from her lip, happy to note he was doing the same from her earlier kick when she turned to look at him. "I know you think I'm just a creature, but we are people and we have feelings. We deserve fair treatment." He remained silent, watching her with hard eyes, the same eyes she felt saw inside her. He knew her. She had no idea what that meant, how he could know anything about her. Yet, it still felt true. She waited for him to say something, anything, and then her gaze shifted to the open door. If she could use her speed, 36 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove she could get past him and outrun him. There had been a time when, for days on end, she had practiced running. She had pushed herself faster and harder, nothing else had mattered to her but to be the best. No one had understood that. A movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention back to him. He had taken a step closer to her. She hunkered low, her knees bent, her feet braced. With adrenaline pumping, the muscles in her thighs tightened in anticipation of her run. "It's too bad you came in when you did. Your friend is so hot, I considered going for a ride on him." Both men exclaimed, the seated one choking on his fruit. She took off while their heads filled with mental pictures of her brassy words. She bolted past the Hunter, impacted with the scent of sandalwood before gaining a dim hallway with a door at the far end. In seconds, she gained the outside and screeched at the cold of the foot-deep snow enveloping her boots and calves. Where the hell was she? Instead of pondering on it, she plunged deeper, hopping across a small open area to a 4x4 parked near a rotted wooden gate. Behind her, snow crunched as the Hunter pursued. She pushed herself harder, the frigid air burning her throat and lungs as she gasped. When she was just two feet away from the car, her head snapped back and sparks exploded before her eyes at the pain in her scalp. One hand tangled in her hair while his other encircled her waist, and he hauled her off her feet. She grunted and kicked against his legs. His hand slipped from her hair to her shoulder and every muscle in her body 37 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove went limp. She was unable to fight back against him. Embarrassment spread through her being when she realized she was bent over and tucked much too firmly against his obvious erection. "You pervert!" He chuckled and turned back toward the building she saw now was a small abandoned factory. "And yet, I have the upper hand don't I, Cae?" "You don't know me. Only my friends call me Cae," she said, struggling against him. He tugged her closer, and she screeched. He laughed again. "Do you have friends, Cae? Hmm, seems to me your 'friends' abandoned you fairly quickly, as soon as trouble came." She gasped. So Cessie and Lai let me get caught. They risked Bella's anger ... they hate me that much? Tears filled her eyes, but she swallowed them, willing away the human weakness. She would get out of here on her own. She would put something sharp in this human's heart before she left. Hours later, Cae woke lying on the cot. The room was almost pitch black; the tiny window at the top of one wall allowed little moonlight in. She glanced around the room. The Hunter's friend was gone. She tested her leg and her arm strength and found it had returned. She figured Maddox had used some sort of pressure point move on her neck to make her go limp. It was a cheap trick, and she would pay him back the minute she figured a way out of this tiny room. 38 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "And I'll pay back Cessie and Lai, too," she whispered, checking the door. It was locked. She paced back and forth in front of the door, wondering what to do. Unbidden, an instant replay of the Hunter carrying her before him across the field of snow presented itself in her mind. Every step made her rear bump against him. Despite the embarrassment of being carried in such a humiliating way, it had sent rivers of greedy hunger washing over her skin. The chill in the air could not contrast the heat rising inside her at just the memory. She grunted and returned to the door. "So he's hot. Big deal. If I look at his skin, that desire will die a speedy death. Human men aren't attractive to me." Her voice echoed against the bare walls, mocking the lies she told herself. She sighed. He wanted her dead, or at least he wanted the money he would get for her. She needed to keep that in mind. Some snag in his plan must have delayed him turning her over to G. As soon as he could, she was sure he would get rid of her. She dug around in her pockets for her cell phone, only to remember that her captors had removed it by force from her head. Somehow she suspected it had been the kindness of the friend and not of the cold-blooded Hunter. He had not batted an eye when he flipped her onto the ground so that she bit into her lip again. And they call us barbarians. Just as she was about to give up, she heard a sound just outside the door. She backed away, put up her hands in defense, and bent her knees. She stepped forward and shifted her weight onto her back foot. If she put everything into her 39 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove kick and took him by surprise, maybe this time she could knock him out. His thick head was not easy to put down; her toes still hurt a little from the earlier impact. A soft jingle alerted her to the key releasing the lock and then the knob turned. She reared back and arched her right foot higher. The door opened, the face appeared, and Cae cracked the woman there across her face so hard, she flew backward through the air and slammed against the wall. At the instant she realized it was not the Hunter, she tried to pull back and only managed to crush her toes against the door jamb after already injuring her guard. The pop and excruciating pain had her doubled over on the floor, hacking up saliva since she had not eaten in nearly twenty-four hours. Lai lay unconscious in the hallway. Cessie was bending over her, declaring her dead. Cae could not stop her convulsing stomach. Suddenly Cae was agreeing with everyone around her. Her warrior skills were way off target, and if Lai were dead, she would probably face charges of treason soon. And to make matters worse, a light flicked on down the hallway, announcing that their activities had been noticed by the Hunter. 40 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER FOUR "What did you think you were doing wandering around out there? If she'd seen you.... "His mother's voice trailed off as she licked a tissue and cleaned some of the grime from his face. "Ma, if you could have seen her. She had muscles as big as a wrestler." He struggled to catch his breath in his excitement. "And she clobbered that guy good." "Tony." "Maaa, listen." He twisted away from her and jumped down from the table she had plopped him on. It was important that she had all the details. She might not get to see this lady in action like he had. She sighed, crossed her arms, and leaned against the table while watching him. He knew he had her attention now. She always did that sighing thing, like he was getting on her nerves. But he knew better, because her eyes would get all glassy and that one thin dimple would cave in the side of her cheek. That was when he knew she was thinking he was cute. He would have to take a couple steps back so she could not scoop him up and start kissing on him. That stuff was for babies and he was practically grown now that he was five- and-half. Better to distract her with the story. "So anyway, Ma. She came out of nowhere and started yelling at that guy. And she told him he wasn't in charge, she was. He was really scary and mean, picking on that lady and 41 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove everything. But she, the muscle lady, made him scared and— " "Good grief, Tony. Slow down. Take a breath." He tossed back his head, stuck out his chest, and sucked in a huge breath. "Anyway, Ma. She just knocked him out. Just like that. She punched him in the nose. Just like that." He stopped telling her when his mother got that terrified look on her face. It matched the woman's face from the hall. He turned to look behind him, thinking that maybe the evil man had snuck up while he was talking. But no, they were alone in his room. Well, his closet room. His area was not a room at all, but a secret alcove in the wall off his mother's room. He had only a tiny pallet on the dusty floor and a small red table in the corner where he liked to draw. His mother liked his pictures, so he spent many hours doing them. Not that there was much else to do since nobody could know about him. He looked up at his mother again. Her face was still curled in that look of horror. He searched his mind for something funny to say to make her laugh. He could kick himself now that he had wasted all that time roaming the halls. He could have been drawing something to make her happy. After what seemed like a year, she spoke, "Tony. Tony, listen to me." "Yes, Ma?" She knelt in front of him and wrapped him in a bear hug fit to crack his ribs. He heard the tears in her voice. "Tony. Promise me you won't go out again. Promise." 42 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "I promise," he whispered, hating to do it. "You don't understand. They're dangerous. They can't be trusted." He did not understand why there was all the secrecy, why they had to hide. "But Ma, they wouldn't dare hurt us. It's against the law." "Oh, Tony. You're so young and innocent," was all she said. * * * * Having long since trained himself to be a light sleeper, it took only the soft thud of snow crunching just outside the window to alert him that someone had scoped out their secluded location. He rolled over and landed on one knee at the side of the cot he had been occupying. In a fluid motion, he unhooked his gun from his holster and held it at his side as he crept toward the window. He peeked up over the sill in time to catch the fleeting outline of what he had no doubt was a Shift. So her friends have found us. No matter. He would take care of them soon enough. He had been peeved that his contact wanted to delay the exchange of his money for the alien. His excuse had been the heightened rebel activity in the area. Probably the word had gotten out as soon as he had nabbed her at the airport. The Shift rebels were not about to allow the exchange to go smoothly. He was not an idiot. To stay anywhere in town meant open season for the bounty hunters that dogged his steps, seeking to gain a reputation from stealing his prey, and he was not 43 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove about to let that happen. Having Terrell bring them to this secluded moutainous area had seemed to be the best bet while she was still unconscious and the guards were otherwise occupied. But somehow they had been tracked, and he would learn how soon enough. He lay again on his cot, dragged a thin blanket across his chest to conceal his weapon, and feigned sleep. As he suspected, the two women avoided waking him and instead swiped the keys tossed on a nearby table. When they had moved on down the hall, he lay considering what he would do with them since he had no wish to lug around three prisoners. Seconds later, the distinct sound of something connecting with flesh followed by shouts of horror and pain reached his ears. He had no choice. With all the noise these "rebels" were making, he could not continue to pretend he was sleeping. He stood, flicked on a light, and went to investigate the commotion. He almost roared with laughter seeing Cae lying on the floor, the one guard unconscious, and the other shrieking "You killed her" over and over. Instead, he took command. "Shut up. She's not dead. Get over there and remove her boot," he barked at the shrieking Shift. Despite her height and muscular build, she obeyed. He bent and slid fingers inside along the scalp of the Shift lying on the floor. "Name?" he barked. "Lai." He did not turn to see who had given him the information; he did not care. Soon he found the lump at the back of her 44 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove head and then checked her pulse. It was strong, and he knew she would be fine with rest but wondered what to do with her. After checking that nothing was broken and looking beneath her lids for a response, he hefted her over his shoulder. He cringed at the memory of her wide blank eyes. All these years, their eyes still creeped him out. They did not belong here. When he had settled Lai on the cot inside the tiny room, he moved to Cae. He had saved her for last, not just because her friend was more seriously hurt, but because he hated how his body reacted each time he was near to her. He had wanted to embarrass and punish her by bouncing her bottom against him, but he had not planned on getting hard and longing to grind himself inside her. It was a disgusting thought, or so he told himself. Still his stupid shaft did not agree. His gaze shifted to her now exposed ankle. Even that was sexy, he admitted. The knowledge made him snap. "Stop squeaking! It's not that serious." Her angry eyes flashed at him. "Who are you to say it's not that serious? It hurts like hell." He knew she was fighting against the pain. The tiny whimpers were all she allowed herself. Two of her toes were starting to swell and bruise. Even without an examination by a doctor, he knew they were broken. "Relax." He did not give her any warning at all before he reached out and touched several key points on her body. He leaned forward and caught her head as she fell backward limp. 45 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "What the hell did you do to me, you jerk?" she asked when she woke. Again he suppressed his laughter. It was obvious that she hated losing control. "I forced you to relax so I can bandage your foot." "Why be nice? You weren't earlier when you flipped me face down on the floor." "I'm not being nice." He crouched beside her after retrieving the kit from a shelf. "I have to get you to the trade off location. I already have one invalid on my hands. I don't need two." He jerked a thumb toward Lai. "You're all heart." This time he did laugh. "I wasn't the one who kicked my friend in the face." The color rose under her smooth brown skin. "You lied. You said they left me." He shrugged, preferring not to answer. This was war after all, or something nearing it. He had no obligation to pat up this insignificant alien. If he needed to lie to break her down, so be it. He would overcome her patent stubbornness and get her to the destination as soon as possible. Then there would be no more desiring her. It was just a fluke anyway. More crunching snow. He stopped his ministrations to her foot and crept toward the high window. A shadow passed and then another and another. "Shit!" He pivoted and hurried toward the door, while snatching his gun from the holster under his right arm. "Stay quiet if you want to live," he told them as he left the room. 46 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Before he could turn to lock them inside, Cae had hopped to the doorway, blocking it from closing. "What's happening?" "That's none of your concern. I'll handle it." Of course, she would not obey him without a fight. She continued to fight to keep the door from closing. Her comrade soon joined her. Resentment rose inside him, and he debated punching them both to get them out of his way. He was delaying too long. "Look, if my suspicions are correct, a group of bounty hunters called the Devil's Buckle have located us. They know about the bounty on your head," he said, nodding toward Caelyn. "And they will kill whoever stands between them and that money." She crossed her arms, a glint in her eyes. Shifts are hideous, he reminded himself. She laughed. "So what you're saying is they are willing to kill you to be the ones to turn me in." He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his gun. Maybe he should just kill her himself and get it over with. "Let me explain something to you, Shift," he spat. "The last one of your people that the Devil's Buckle captured was passed around from man to man on the team until every one of them was satisfied. And since there is no love loss between yourselves and the government, the incident was overlooked. The money was paid as agreed. Now, if you'd prefer to take your chances with them, I'll step aside. You've been more than enough trouble as it is." 47 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove As he spoke, he watched her eyes shift from silver to black and back again. He realized that she did it when she was angry or excited. It was clear from her expression that she was not excited. "You should have warned us they were coming, Cae," the other Shift piped up. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He saw the shame spread across her face, "I-I couldn't. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't anticipate anything." She turned from her friend back to him. "Otherwise, I would never have been captured in the first place. Now, Hunter, you can forget about locking us in. From what I saw outside, we're in the middle of nowhere, and you need us to help fight off these guys." "Not if I can reach my friend." But he accepted her statement. Now that he had laid out the truth of the gang surrounding them, he did not think they should venture outside. He left them where they were and walked to retrieve his cell phone. As he snapped off all the lights and tiptoed to peek out the windows, he dialed Terrell. The dial tone became three short beeps, indicating no signal. He tried twice more with the same results. "Damn!" It had been a foolish move to bring Cae to Vermont, but he had had to think fast for a hideout when he and Terrell got the news that Shifts were active in Maryland. His contact, spooked by the activity, wanted to wait a while for the fervor to die down before making the trade. With Caelyn Stevens, anything was possible. She commanded a lot of attention on both sides of the conflict. 48 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove That reminded him of something. He went back to the room to find the other one loading a gun—stupid of him not to have searched her—and Cae completing the wrapping of her foot. From the glint of metal at her hip, he surmised her friend had brought her a few weapons also. "How did you find us?" The other one looked up. "We're good trackers." "How?" he demanded. She sighed. "Cae's phone. All of our phones are rigged with tracking devices." Her black eyes raked over him. He saw the appreciation in that gaze and flinched. "We may not be getting regular reception out here, but the tracking works." So, they had tried their own phones. If he had kept his head out of his pants, he would have thought of confiscating those too. "What's your name?" Her smile was coquettish. "Cessie. You interested?" "No." He turned and went back toward the front of the building, ignoring the curse and the giggle behind him. To his right, the sound of glass smashing alerted him that someone was gaining entry. He flattened himself against the wall, readied his weapon, and reached for the doorknob that led to where he heard the noise. The room was almost pitch black, the moon having hidden behind clouds. Yet, he could still make out the figure of the man crouched beneath the window. He darted to the left and moved with stealth toward the intruder. The man's attention seemed to be swinging between the room and the window. Tony knew he was waiting for his eyes to adjust to 49 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove the dark. Used to such conditions, Tony did not need the delay. He struck swiftly and silently, bringing down the butt of his gun on the back of the man's head. The body slumped to the floor with minimal sound. "Good work." He tensed and turned. Cae had followed him. "Get back in that room," he commanded. He did not need her underfoot. "No, I need a weapon. I can help." "I don't need your help. I will handle this myself. Nothing will go wrong if you remain inside that room." She slid her hands to her hips. He braced himself for the sassy tongue of a Shift, knowing he did not want to hear it, did not have time to hear it. "Look, Mr. High-and-Mighty, you do need me, whether you like it or not. Shoot, whether I like it or not, you got me in this mess, and you can be damn sure, I'm getting myself out of it. I'm not sitting in some room while you play war games with my life and some dirty bounty hunters." "Are you finished?" "No, I—" A shot rang out from the inside of the small factory. She stopped, and they both turned toward the door. Tony barreled past Cae, every muscle in his body tensing. They were sitting ducks. Their best bet was to find a way out of this place and under cover of darkness was the best chance. The only drawback was the crunching of the snow. He moved along the hall to the room he had kept Cae in, his back against the wall. This time the tiny thumps behind him let him know Cae was close behind. She was hardheaded 50 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove and annoying. He was not looking forward to a hike out carrying an unconscious Shift while trying to keep two others from doing anything stupid. He peered around the half-open door and then ducked back. He moved again, trying to take in the layout of the room. Warm breath tickled the hair of his neck, while the unmistakable brush of a soft breast touched his back. His shaft jumped, and he gritted his teeth again. "Stop being scared. Just go on in there," she whispered. He lunged ahead to get away from her distracting form. Cessie was positioned next to the window that had a small panel missing, allowing cold air rushing in. "What happened?" She did not turn away from her post. "Nothing. I got one. "Stupid woman," he stomped over to her and yanked the gun from her fingers. "You're going to start a shootout. We can't hold out with just two guns." Cae announced, "I've got my my knife, too. That will be good for close combat." He tucked away Cessie's gun and moved back to the front room, the women shuffling behind him. "It's still pointless. They have at least ten men in their group. You got one, I got one. That still leaves eight, and believe me, they can call in reinforcements. We've got to move." "What? No. We're not going anywhere. It's better to wait for daylight and—" Cae began. He dropped his duffle bag he had been packing on the table and snatched her by the shoulders. "Look spoiled little rich girl, let's get something crystal clear right at the start. 51 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove You three are my prisoners. I am not locking you up only because this situation demands all of our attention right now. But don't forget, I am in charge. You will follow my instructions." "Or what?" "Or," he growled at her sass, "I will help your friends and turn you over to the bounty hunters. I am not so hard up for cash." They stared at one another. He was not about to give in to her, and from the looks of things, she was either too stubborn or too stupid to give in either. He was prepared to wait all night for her answer at that point. Cessie stepped between them, breaking the eye contact. "Okay, Hunter, you're in charge. What do you want us to do?" "First off, my name is Maddox, or you can call me Tony. You, get your friend bundled up and ready to go. Cae, you put your boots on, and you better keep up, because I'll be carrying your friend and can't carry you too." He went back to his packing and smothered a chuckle at her screech of annoyance. 52 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER FIVE Cae was fuming. Her head was all screwed up and that meant she could not shift, she could not tell what was going to happen, she could not even regulate her body temperature so the cold would not affect her so much. Yet, here they were, trudging along at a snail's pace as quiet as possible, stepping behind Tony so they would make as little noise as possible as they made their escape. She glanced around the area. From what she had seen earlier in the night, there was nothing but trees and snow around, but because the moon was hidden in clouds, the entire area was pitched in darkness. There was not even a dim reflection off the snow. Nothing, just black. She wondered how Tony was picking his way forward, and for the zillionth time, she wished he would realize that though the women were tall, their legs were not as long as his. For Pete's sake, he could narrow his gait just a little. Her toes were throbbing, and walking on her heel was throwing her balance off. Her fall a few minutes ago had earned her a sarcastic quip from His Royal Majesty, the Hunter. She could not wait until she found a Shift male to heal her toes. Then she would kick the Hunter's arrogant ass and leave him with his pants down. "Keep up!" he called in a whisper. She made a face in the general direction of the back of his head but struggled to increase her speed. If nothing else, she was not going to let the others think she could not pull her 53 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove own weight, and certainly not him. The minute she saw a way to free herself and her guards from him, she would take it. They had been moving for about forty-five minutes when a shout, echoing through the night, announced the discovery of their escape. The bounty hunters would be on them soon, having no wounded and no need to keep quiet. Tony halted them with a quiet command. "Hold. Stay here. I'm going to double back and attempt to slow them down. Wait for me to join you." Cae glared at his face, which came into focus with the moon's reappearance, "Why should we take orders from you? We already know what you have planned once you reach your contacts. I'm not waiting around to be recaptured." He grinned and slipped Lai to Cessie before stepping closer to Cae. "Thank you for informing me of your plans. However, since you have no idea of where you are or where you're going, I'm not too worried about losing you." His glance dropped to her booted foot. "And in case you had ideas, Shifts are in short supply in this area of the country. You won't find a male Shift to heal you and your friend for miles." She gasped. That was what she had been hoping for, to stumble across a male Shift who would use his healing ability on her foot and on Lai's head. The girl had still not awakened more than a few minutes at a time. Cae was worried she had given her a concussion. This cold weather could not be good for her since the girl was unable to regulate her body temperature in her condition. Cae kept silent. What was there to say? He had been right about her blurting out her plans, and the guffaw from Cessie 54 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove let her know the Shift agreed. Her only excuse was that the man distracted her. But nothing would stop her from making the attempt to escape anyway. She dropped her eyes to her foot to hide the determination she knew was shining there. His low chuckle grated on her nerves. "I'll be back shortly." With that, he turned and moved through the trees. With the wind whipping the snow about, she lost sight of him in the dim light. She lost no time in turning to Cessie. "Let's go." Cessie balked. "You heard him. We have no chance out here. There's no male Shift to heal you and Lai. We should wait." "We go." Cae bound past Cessie, no longer attempting to keep the sound to a minimum. The more space they put between the Hunter and themselves, the better. "I'm still in charge, and I say we move. Pick up Lai and come on." Cessie, hefting Lai onto her back, obeyed with much grumbling. For several minutes, Cae trudged on, shaking her head to clear it and swallowing against the bouts of nausea. She tried to instead focus on the path ahead of her and the quiet of the night, which was broken only by the call of an owl and the crack of distant gunfire. If the others killed the Hunter, it was only what he deserved. After all, he must be the most heinous of people to make his living off the plight of Shifts. She wondered if he had any children, if he had a wife. He was not without friends, considering the other man who had been with him. Come to think of it, she had not demanded an explanation about why Lai and Cessie had abandoned her. Rather than risk falling 55 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove down from exhaustion and pain if she stopped, she kept walking but called back to Cessie behind her "Cessie, why did you and Lai leave me back at the airport? You had your orders." An angry grunt was her only response. "Look, I know we don't like each other, but we have been put together. Like it or not, those are the facts." Still no response. She stopped and turned to confront Cessie but found that two men had joined them. One man held Lai's unconscious form in his arms, a look of lust in his eyes as he stared down at her. The other, with bloodshot eyes empty of compassion, held Cessie at knifepoint. His beefy arm, bare despite the cold, was wrapped around her midriff while the other pressed her shoulder back against him as he dug the tip of his knife into the soft flesh of her neck. Where was the Hunter? Cae watched him, calculating the odds of success should she decide to attack him. Her gaze shifted to Cessie's eyes, and she nearly laughed out loud at the Shift's anger and disgust at having been surprised by the men. "You," Cold Eyes spoke. "You're the one worth the most." How does he know who I am? He grinned as if reading her mind. Still the smile did not reach the eyes. "It's all over the network. Your description. The beautiful Shift with the silver eyes." So the Hunter had not been lying about this group having a lust for Shifts. Many who did not like their race thought their oversized eyes were ugly. The fact that there was little white at the sides of their irises had put many a human off, 56 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove while others were attracted to the exotic flavor. Their brown skin with no pores had also caused debate about its attractiveness. Cae did not care what these men felt, or about what any other human liked. Her concern right now was escape. She eased her fingers down into the side of her pants. Immediately the cold eyes shifted to her movement and lust shone in their depths. She flipped her hair back over her shoulder and tilted her head to one side, casting him a come- hither look. "You're trying to trick me," he whispered, unsteady. "Why don't you show me some of that smooth skin, preferably right there?" He nodded toward her breasts. Of course, he would want that, she grunted. Before he could focus again, her fingers closed on her knife inside her pants, and in one lightning movement that she had practiced thousands of times, she flung it with force across the short distance between them. It sunk into his right eye and into his brain, killing him. Before he hit the snow, Cessie was free and whirled to fell his partner. With as much speed as Cae had demonstrated a second before, she knelt to capture Lai before she too fell into the snow. Cae walked to retrieve her knife, turned on her good heel, and marched forward. "Let's move." * * * * Cae dropped into the first chair she stumbled into when she entered the bar. They had trudged for hours in the snow 57 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove with no life in sight when finally, over what seemed like the thousandth hill, a narrow road came into view and just a half- mile down it, a small patch of stores. All of the stores had been closed accept this bar, with its neon sign swinging in the night air, blinking off and on advertising Jay's Good Eats and Drink. Before Cessie could settle Lai across a padded booth chair, the owner bore down on them. Cae blinked at him, her head swaying forward and back. With stiff fingers she was sure would not be able to grip her weapon, she pressed a hand over her hip. "We don't serve your kind here," the scruffy man in lumberjack garb informed her. "So you can go right back out that door." She did not move. Not that she could. She slumped against her arm on the table and closed her eyes. "Bring us something to eat and drink—anything." "Did you hear what I said?" She did not need to see him to know he was turning red with indignation. She did not even need to look up to command Cessie to take care of it. Cessie would not be suffering the effects of the cold. The scrape of a boot on the tile floor, a snap of a bone, and the man howled. Cae sighed. Breaking the man's hand, or whatever Cessie had broken, was not what she had had in mind. She struggled to lift her weighted head. She tried to focus on the man, now in the relentless grip of Cessie's hold. "Are you, Jay?" He nodded dumbly, his face a mask of misery. 58 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "Cessie, let him go." A moment longer than necessary, she released him. "Now, as I said, we want something to eat and drink. Is there a male Shift around here anywhere?" He sneered. "Why would we have Shifts out here?" She ignored the question. "Why don't the cell phones work? We're not that far from civilization. Besides, I thought they worked by satellite or something." Again the sneer. "You can thank your people for that. Their attack on the main communications center last night knocked out all cell communications. We've barely got regular TV right now." He turned and headed toward the back with Cessie on his heels. "I suggest you clear out of here quick because my buddy Carl is on the way, and he just happens to be a sheriff." Cae rested again. "I'm so sure." They had made a huge error not taking along a male Shift on this trip. It had always been a precaution on her previous jobs. Maybe Bella had not figured on much happening if they could stay ahead of the Hunter and lie low. She had underestimated his intelligence—G's intelligence. They seemed to know everything about everything. So where was the Hunter now? She wondered if he had been killed by the other men. Something must have happened for him to allow the two to get by and catch up to her. Now, with their injuries, they were sitting ducks. She had to locate a male quick. Forcing her head up again from the table, she took in her surroundings. The bar was no different from any other she had seen. Bright red-covered booths lined the walls on two 59 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove sides of the room, with dark wooden tables and chairs arranged haphazardly in the middle. In one corner, a jukebox blared something she did not recognize and next to it, on the wall, was an old-fashioned telephone. It probably did not work, but it was worth a try. It had been foolish of the communications companies to merge and form a conglomerate of all communications throughout the world, all run by computers. It may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but one main computer going down meant everything else went with it. Almost everything. There were still the independents who hung on to the past. Still, she smiled; taking out communications was a huge deal. Bella had succeeded after countless failures, though it did rankle that the success had not included her. She would need to discuss it with Bella when she got back home. She lifted the cordless receiver and stared down at it for long moments, trying to remember how to use it. Nothing was coming to mind. "What number please?" a tinny voice asked as she held the receiver to her ear. An operator? "Yes, I need Rat ... um ... Norman Benson, 578863, please." "One moment." It was a risk contacting Rat. His phone could be tapped. The call could be traced. She had no idea what was happening back home. But right now, with her head and toes throbbing, the latter frost bitten, she could not think of anyone else's number. It was Rat or nobody. Probably the fact that she had dropped him in the airport was weighing 60 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove down on her conscious. Human weakness. She slumped against the wall and waited for control of her emotions. Not that Shifts did not have emotions or care for others. Of course they did, but she had always attributed weakness to her human side. It was not going to change now. Soon Rat's garbled voice came on the line. "Cae? Where are you? You know it's dangerous to call. Your contact meets you in a couple days to exchange status." Damn, didn't he miss me a little? she suppressed the thought. "Shut up, Rat. We're in trouble." "What?" "I need a male quick." She gave him their coordinates and their health status. "Where can we find one around here?" "Nowhere." His voice held regret. "That area has always had Shift-haters. They don't welcome our kind and run off anyone who dares buck against it." "Damn it!" Tears sprung to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She swiped at her eyes and running nose. "What about a human doctor?" "Well, you could try..." The line went dead. "Rat?" No answer. She shifted and swung to face the front door when the cowbell clanged someone's arrival. The corny hat, the gun at his side, and the unflattering uniform told her this must be the friend, Carl. The sheriff. Too bad she did not have a gun of her own. They could have had a real old- fashioned draw. Her hand at her hip again and praying her fingers were warmed enough to defend herself, she hung up the phone. 61 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove The man smiled, though the blue eyes never wavered from hers. "Well, isn't this a surprise?" "Isn't it though?" she quipped. "I don't want to have to kill you, sheriff, but I will." "Hmm." He stepped away from the door, calling to his friend without looking away. "Jay, you here?" "Yeah," came the answer. She expected he would make an appearance, but he did not. Cessie must be detaining him. Good. There would be no distractions. With her eyes, she searched his body, looking for the best place to strike. Although she had threatened, she had no intention of killing him. No one really wanted to be the one to start an all out war, and it would come to that if she killed a law enforcement officer. The dirty bounty hunter did not count. She almost chuckled at the thought. "So are we going to stand here all night?" he queried. She hoped not. Her toes could not take it and being bone weary was not helping matters. "Come on, Caelyn, you can't win here. It's obvious you're at the end of your rope." If there were no unfair Shift laws, no prejudice, would he be a friend? He seemed like a nice human. Human! She spat on the floor, dredging her hatred. How many times had she been bullied as a child, called names like Silver Cow? Her chest tightened. All because her father could afford to send her to private school, a school for humans. They had not wanted her there, not the students, not the faculty. She shrugged. "I suppose we have to do what we have to do, sheriff." She unsheathed her knife. He stiffened and reached for his own weapon. 62 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove The door jangled again. "Well, well, look what we got here." She rolled her eyes. Will this night never end? Will the freaking bounty hunters never stop multiplying or are they resurrecting? The man standing in the doorway looked suspiciously like the cold devil whose eye she had put her knife through hours ago. Both his protruding orbs were in good condition. Before she could question him, one of his comrades entered from the back holding Cessie in an iron grip, her brown face flaming and her eyes snapping. Two others were behind him, and if she was not mistaken, more were outside. They were trapped. The twin stepped toward the sheriff. "If you'll take a look at these papers of mine, officer, you'll see I've been hired to take Caelyn Stevens in." While the sheriff perused the papers, Twin glanced up at her. The cold eyes filled with lust as he allowed his gaze to drop to her breasts. She remembered the Hunter's warning. And she was in no condition to fight him off. The sheriff nodded. "She's all yours." 63 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER SIX Tony progressed through the trees, his eyes and ears alert to movement around him. He had not wanted to leave the women alone, especially having taken on the job of delivering Cae to his contact, but the necessity of slowing down his competition was more pressing. He paused behind an aging oak, tilted his head, and closed his eyes. As he concentrated on his surroundings, allowing sound to flow to and through him, he caught a faint rustle, like canvas cloth rubbing. On a chilled breeze, the crunch of snow and the thud of someone walking came to him. His ears had not failed him since he was a child. He had always been guided by them. Still in stealth mode, he flipped open a small pocket halfway down to his knee on his left leg. He had no plans for using his gun again. He needed to keep his location hidden from his enemy as long as possible. If necessary, his knife would do the trick just fine. Crouched low, he stepped forward, the swishing cloth coming closer. Suddenly the man hove into view, and Tony pivoted around a tree so that he faced the man from behind. A brief choke hold, a tap to the hollow on his shoulder, and the man dropped like a weighted sack. A few more of the bounty hunters followed their friend face down in the snow before Tony had doubled almost all the way back to the factory. It was then he noticed the reinforcements 64 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove they had called in, in Jeeps. Damn! Just how many of them work together? Cae's capture did offer a very high reward, enough to spread throughout the group, but still these guys were greedy. He had seen them fight over a few dollars. It was better to remove temptation from their grasp. He was not inhumane either. He had been truthful with Cae about their tendency to rape the Shifts, about their not feeling obligated to follow laws concerning them. He had no love for Shifts himself but that did not mean he would go to the extents that these men did. The thought alone disgusted him. His eyes roved the open area the men milled in. Four leaned against one Jeep, another two each sat inside three vehicles. Three more were strolling back from the wooded area opposite him. Are there more in the trees? He listened and detected nothing. He would have to chance it to slow them down, and then he had to hightail it back to the Shifts. Something told him that pigheaded Cae would not follow his order to stay put. A sensual awareness crept over him when he thought of her. He brutally shook it off. He was not attracted to a Shift. He stepped backward the way he came and shielded himself with a wide tree trunk, then began removing his clothing. * * * * Tony sat close beside his mother on the rough bench in her room. It was a rare occasion for her to allow him to visit for a while with her in her room. Usually she would sit with him in his space, while he drew pictures for her. Even in that tiny 65 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove space, she would pace back and forth, mumbling under her breath. As he always did, he questioned her. "Ma, why can't we go away? Why can't we get out of here? I want to see what it looks like outside. I want to touch grass and feel sun on my face." She stopped and turned to him, her eyes wide with their usual terror. "Tony, who told you about grass and the sun?" He could have bitten off his tongue. He had not meant to admit to her how much he knew about the outside world. He never admitted to seeing movies about it all either. She kept him hidden and locked away. She said it was for his own good, so the bad people did not get him, so she would not get him. But he craved freedom. He had explored the cave forever. He knew where the exit was. He had never been outside, but he wanted to. It was fresher, cleaner. Just the occasional breeze he felt when he was near that certain place let him know it was somewhere he wanted to go. And he visited that hall as often as he could sneak out. Maybe after all this time, he would have left here and never come back. But he couldn't leave his mother, and she would never go. They had her very afraid. He did not know what they would do if they found out about him. His mother would not say, but she was scared of everything now just like Zach. He wished he could figure out why and how he could change it. But even with all his spying, he had not learned the secrets yet. But he would. And when he did, he and his mother would run away and never come back. "I said, where did you learn about the outside, Tony?" 66 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove No such luck that she would forget about what he said if he kept quiet enough. She wanted to know right now. He peeked up at his mother. A vein pulsed in her forehead. Oh boy, angry. "I just overheard it, I guess, Ma." "Tony!" she snapped. "You tell me the truth right now." He sighed. It was no use pretending. He was good and caught. Zach was going to be mad. "I heard about if from Zach." He rushed on before she could blame his friend. "But he didn't mean to tell me, Ma, I swear. It was an accident." "Don't swear," she grumbled. "Zach is in big trouble, and so are you. I only let you get to know him because I figured you'd need someone to keep you company when I have to ... to work." Her face, if even possible, paled even more with guilt. Tony studied his mother. She looked like a Shift, but he knew she was human. She had raven black hair that extended down her back. Her eyes were wide like two pieces of coal with not much white showing around them. He saw her look of hatred at herself every time she looked in the mirror. Zach had also told him his mother was now permanently stuck like she was, in the form of a Shift, a broken one who could not be healed. He remembered what Zach had said that day last year. "It's a good thing she got stuck as she is now." He had demanded to know why Zach said that when she hated Shifts so much, but Zach would not tell. He knew how much he could get away with telling before he would get into serious trouble from Tony's mother. Now might be a really bad time. His stomach turned thinking of how angry she would be at Zach for telling him about the grass and the sun. 67 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove If she only knew about all the other stuff Zach had told him. Stuff like, they were on a small island and not far away there was a big house where the bad lady lived. He had said Tony should never go there if he ever went out. Now, if only he could get his friend to tell him more. Like why his mother was so afraid, and why they could not leave. There were too many unanswered questions. Somehow he had to find out the truth. * * * * Tony hunched over the wheel as he cut through the swirling snow. It would have to storm now, when he was rushing to catch up to wherever it was that Cae had gotten to. Her tracks and those of her friends were not hard to follow, and once he would come across the dead body she had left behind, he drove faster. It was obvious some of the bounty hunters had gone in the opposite direction of the factory. They had been much more prepared than he, having a lower frequency connection to each other once the communications went down. Terrell had warned him enough times not to depend on modern technology. Maybe now he would listen. When a small neon sign came into view over the next hill, he gunned the engine and slid to a neat stop in front of a bar and grill. The engine was barely cut before he leapt from the vehicle and slung the door wide. Stale chips and beer assaulted his nostrils, giving him an urge for a smoke, and his hands searched his pockets while his eyes searched the bar. 68 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove An officer cradled a beer on a nearby stool, so Tony approached him. "Evening," he nodded. "I'm Tony Maddox. I was wondering if you've seen this woman around here lately?" He reached into the breast pocket of his coat, but the man held up a hand. "Big silver eyes, terrible temper?" An amused expression met Tony's gaze. Tony dropped the picture back inside his pocket. "I see you've met her. She is my—" The hand came up again. "No need to explain, son. She left out of here not too much before you got here, in a snit too, with those other bounty hunters. Nothing I could do since they did have papers, but to be honest, I didn't like the look of them. They had a certain look in their eyes, if you know what I mean." Tony knew exactly what he meant. It might already be too late to stop what he knew was on the minds of the men. Then again, Cae was nobody's pushover. He had been impressed by her fighting skills. No other woman had ever landed a hit on him and definitely not a kick. It was certain she was giving them a real challenge, maybe one that would give him a chance to catch up. He turned to leave the bar, while plotting his next move, but was stopped by the officer again. "Hey, ah, fella?" Tony turned. "If you're wondering about the other girl, she's been taken to the hospital about ten miles down the road." 69 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove He stopped. The other...? Oh yeah, the injured one. He had forgotten. No, they had not wanted to drag her along. It was lost money, but better for them if they stayed ahead of him. He would never let them steal his job before this. But then again, he thought as he started the Jeep, they could be feeling confident maybe a little cocky at besting me. That would lead them to make a mistake. As he drove on into the night, on the seat beside him something popped, and then his cell rang. He latched it to his ear, the transponder meshing to his flesh. The memory of removing it from behind Cae's ear reminded him of how soft her skin had been, how silky her hair was. He had never touched a Shift before, as far as he could remember. Well, none except Zach. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he set his jaw. "Maddox." "Hey, man, glad I could finally reach you. How'd it go after I left?" "Not well. I need your help again." "So what else is new?" his friend laughed. "You can tell me when I get there. Location?" Tony gave him the coordinates, more confident that he would not only find the Shifts, but also in time to deliver dead bodies to his contact. Terrell had a nose like a bloodhound, or dragon hound, and he would pick up their scent in no time. It was fortunate that the communications had been repaired just when he needed them. 70 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER SEVEN "Stupid human!" Cae shouted into the darkness. It was his fault she was out here, exposed to the elements and freezing her butt off yet again. It was his fault that she had broken her toes. It was his fault that she did not have time to get her phone fixed before she was zapped into having no shifting abilities at all. How she hated him! His big green eyes and wide muscular chest meant nothing to her. "Stupid human," she grumbled again as she stumbled along a dangerous edge over a wide precipice. "I wouldn't be up in these stupid mountains either if it wasn't for him." She inched along the narrow ledge, praying she would not slip to her death. Breaking away from her captors had been hard enough. They had barely gotten on the road before pulling over to maul her and Cessie. She scowled at the memory and glanced down at her torn clothing. All the buttons on her blouse had been ripped away. The zipper on her jeans was off track and God only knew where her coat was. She should probably face the fact that she would die out here—alone. It was too bad too because she had always pictured herself dying in battle. She had thought of herself as a warrior, fighting for justice and freedom. She laughed, her voice a hollow echo in the still night. "Okay, Cae. You're getting pathetic. Pull yourself together, girl. You can do this." She continued inching along with no idea if where she was headed would lead anywhere safer. She wondered where 71 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Cessie was, if she had gotten away. Suddenly, as if in answer, her guard's voice rang out above and to the right of her. "Cae? Come back. They're gone." A pause. "I think I killed one of them." She thinks? Cae stilled, relieved she did not have to go any farther. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that she had only moved a few feet. The overhang above her shielded her from the road just beyond. No one could see her clinging to the ledge. She sighed in relief. She was beyond exhaustion. She may not suffer the six-hour limit on Shift transformations like pure-blood Shifts, but rest and recovery were still requirements, just like anyone else. And right now, her limit had come and gone several times over. Fighting the man attacking her had been near impossible. Leg muscles and arm muscles had taken a swift leave of absence. She opened her mouth to call out to Cessie, but nothing came out. Cold, thirst, and exhaustion had taken her voice. She swallowed a few times and prepared to try again. Then Cessie's voice came again, just above her. "She's not answering, but I can't think that she's gone far." What the—? Who was she taking to? Cae's mouth snapped closed, and she waited. The conversation above her continued with the response of a bored male voice. "You better hope that we find her, Ms. Stanton, or the deal's off. We get—" 72 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "I know. I know," Cessie interrupted. "I go free if I help you get Cae. Fine. Although I don't understand why G is here to get her anyway. You hired the Hunter, didn't you?" A sense of betrayal locked Cae's body in the position she was standing. She could not move forward or backward. The man answered. "You need to understand that we take care of all loose ends. And right now, Anthony Maddox is a loose end. This conflict with the Shifts is all but over. Now that we have your leader in custody, the final link will be Caelyn Stevens. After that, no Shift will dare stand against us. And we can go ahead with our plans." A pause. "Now, let's go. I think she's headed north." Cae listened as the echo of their steps faded. The tightness in her chest, she knew, was from more than her physical exertion from clinging to the side of a mountain. There was no love lost between she and Cessie, but never would she have considered that the woman would sell her out. It did not seem fathomable. And if what the G agent had said was true, now even Bella had been captured? Everything was crumbling before her. It was like the ground giving way beneath her feet. And then it really was giving way. Small pebbles of earth began dislodging from the ledge, then orange-sized rocks, then the ledge gave, and she was crashing down a steep incline. Dirt and grass ripped at her skin. A larger rock caught one leg as she fell, ripping it from its joint. The contents of her stomach and the saliva in her mouth mixed when her face slammed against the ground. And just before the pain had the chance to become unbearable, she lost consciousness. 73 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove * * * * Before she opened her eyes, Cae took inventory of her body, her surroundings. Water gurgled not far from her position. Heat, concentrated on her right side, overpowered the bitter cold on her left. Without thought, she regulated her body temperature to endure the cold. In the next instant, a snapshot of a man's hand moving toward her flashed in her mind. She cried out and rolled away, trying at the same time to disentangle herself from the blankets that trapped her. A deep male laughed cut through the early morning air. "I see you're back to normal." She blinked and focused on her nemesis—the Hunter. "What are you doing here?" She glanced around. "Where are we? Where's that damn Cessie?" He laughed again, and she scowled at him then stopped short. She had sensed him about to touch her. Her leg was not broken, as it had been when she fell on that rock. She wiggled her toes—not broken. There was no pain anywhere in her body. As comprehension dawned, she looked up at him. No human doctor could heal her, only a Shift male. She watched him search through his ever present duffle bag, wondering what he was looking for and where he had found a Shift to heal her. More importantly, why? He stood, and her gaze followed his long, hard body to its full length. He had removed his coat, hat, and gloves. His muscles rippled across his chest as he reached to toss another log on the fire. Cae was riveted to the sight, unable 74 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove and unwilling to look away. She swallowed a few times, hoping it would help her to remember that she was repulsed by him, by his human skin. "I need to know what's going on." How did one speak normally to them, without being condescending? She had always tossed out barbs against his kind. Now, she needed to charm him. How did she do that without ... well, losing herself? His smooth, tanned skin was not as nasty as she remembered. "I, um ... how did I get healed? Where is the Shift male? I should thank him." He approached her, a calm self-assurance emanating from every one of those pores. "Let's get things straight, shall we?" Still he smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. They remained blank, uninterested. So he doesn't find me attractive at all? She ignored her disappointment and focused on catching what information he was willing to give. He continued. "Our circumstances have changed somewhat. However, you are still my prisoner. For now. We cannot meet the contact I have just yet, so we are moving across country to a safe house I know of. You will obey my every command or I will rid myself of you permanently." She balked. "There's no need to be so cryptic. I already know that G turned their backs on you, that you're now the hunted. I know we're both running for our lives." She stood, shaking out of the covers. "I am not your prisoner. Now that I am healed, I can take care of myself. And I am not worried at all about being caught by those losers. I will stay one step ahead. No, several. We can go our separate ways." "No." 75 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove She stopped as she was turning to take her leave. She pivoted back to face him. "Excuse me?" "I said no." He crossed his arms. "I don't know yet how I will deal with this situation with the government, but I will. In the meantime, I am hanging on to you. Let me remind you that there are not only government agents after us but bounty hunters as well. Both parties pretty much want us dead. The agents want to keep us quiet, and the bounty hunters, well, you know what they want. Judging from the state of your body, despite your torn clothes, I'd say there was no satisfaction there. They'll be looking for another shot." She gasped and looked down at herself for the first time since waking. She was wearing a too-big sweatshirt and her jeans were pinned closed along the zipper. An embarrassed warmth suffused her body. He realized that though there had been an attempt, the bounty hunters had not succeeded in raping her. That meant Tony had seen her naked and examined her. Damn him! "How dare you touch me? You had no right to take my clothes off. The Shift you used didn't have to touch my skin to heal me and—" "The Shift? God! How the hell did they get it so wrong when they put in your report that you are highly intelligent? Someone definitely screwed up." She rolled her eyes and glowered. "You know what you can kiss." "Look around you, Cae." He gestured to their surroundings, the trees, the river, the snow, and the 76 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove mountains in every direction. "There's no one for miles. There is no other Shift around here." She stared at him, trying to comprehend and then her eyes widened. She choked on a sharp gasp. "You? You're?" He nodded. "But you can't be a Shift. You can't! You hunt Shifts. For years, you've been paid to pick us off one by one." Unbidden tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked them away. "You're not!" He strode over to her, stopping inches from her face. His warm breath caressed her lips as she tilted back her head to look up at him. His green eyes were still cold, yet filled with self-recrimination. "I am half-Shift, like you. A half-breed." He gave a bitter laugh. "I am the first male Shift who actually grew to be over five-foot-six. Interesting, hmm?" She could not speak. "And I hate Shifts with as much fire as you hate humans." The declaration startled her. How could one really hate a Shift? They only wanted to live in peace, not to be treated like animals. Was the world really too small for them? Did humans really fear what was different that much? He ... he was human ... the skin ... but she was healed. Even now she saw his hand coming up to caress her face before he made the movement. Sometimes, she wondered if she got the impressions before the person realized what they would do. Her face almost burned at his touch. She closed her eyes, struggling against the sensations coursing through her body. 77 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "You can't be," she said with her eyes still shut. "You've been transformed too long. You'll get Shift sickness. Or. I don't understand." "Shh," he shushed. She had not opened her eyes but sensed he was nearer. She felt his heat, his desire. "I don't suffer from Shift limitations, just as you don't. I cannot get Shift disease. As for my appearance, I took on more human traits than Shift. It was my preference, just as I'm sure yours was." He stepped closer and their bodies met. Desire was like liquid metal burning through her. Her nipples hardened against his chest, and she pressed closer, her lips parting in eager anticipation. Don't kiss him, Cae. Don't! Mm! His mouth closed over hers with urgent demand as his tongue began its sweet invasion. She arched against him when his hands came up to encircle her in a cocoon of pleasure. The light exploration became desperate hunger. His hands came around to shove her shirt upward and cup her breasts. While one hand continued to pluck at her nipples, the other wrapped tighter around her, and he lifted her off her feet. He carried her to the pallet she had occupied earlier and nestled her on it before arranging himself above her. Cae groaned beneath him, grinding her hips against his, and opened her legs. She wanted it now, human or no human. She could beat herself up about it later. Right now, she needed to get this man naked. Fast. She tore at his shirt, buttons flying. Her searching fingers reached for his pants, before she paused glancing around them. A foot-thick blanket of snow covered the ground 78 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove beneath the sleeping bag they laid on. "You can regulate your body temperature, right? I wouldn't want you to catch cold." His green eyes flashed, and he laughed. "I can. Now, you were doing?" She considered him a few moments longer. She wanted him. There was no doubt about that. His bare chest showed not an ounce of extra flesh. The taut muscles beneath her fingertips were harder than any Shift male she had encountered. Rat had never been that hard. When she revealed his long shaft, her breath caught in her throat. Rat was in no way that big either. His eyes darkened, and he clamped her hands around his stiff desire. She moaned aloud, her head dropping to one side, needing him. "Th-this doesn't change anything," she stuttered as he pushed her flat against the ground and removed her clothes. "I still hate you." His mouth closed over hers. "The feeling is mutual." His mouth explored hers with increasing urgency. Just as her nerve endings hummed with each of his forceful strokes between her legs, she gave voice to the lust, groaning and whining for more. "Harder," she demanded. "You couldn't take it." "Harder!" This was not the time for gentle lovemaking and tender touches. This was sex—unforgiving, demanding sex. Cae tangled her fingers in his hair and drove his head down, making their greedy kisses almost painful. Thundering impulses raced through her body with each wild thrust. She 79 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove lifted her hips in an attempt to meet him, needing it, wanting it to go on forever. "Oh my God," she screamed. "You're coming." "Not yet." She pulled his head down to her swollen nipples. She gasped for breath, struggling to stay afloat with the onslaught of sensation. Without warning, she was experiencing the feeling of her orgasm in her mind before she actually reached her peak. It was a hundred times stronger than she had ever felt before, almost real. And then it was. She screamed, clamping her legs around Tony's waist and pulling him as far inside her as her canal would allow. Her body rocked with his, and she whined as the waves washed over her again and again. "I need," she panted, "a round two." He grinned, eased out of her, and flipped her over to her stomach. "In that case, I call for a repositioning." The feeling of him readying himself behind her reminded Cae of the sweet torment of banging against him as he carried her limp frame back into the factory. Anticipation made her want to beg him for it, but she resisted. She was not so far gone as to do that. She glanced back over her shoulder at his expression. The hunger darkening his eyes matched her own. He would not hold out. He could not any more than she could. This desire they had for each other was strange. She had always had a strong sexual appetite. Her Shift males had found it difficult at times to keep up with her. The only one who had come close was Rat, and she did not want to just bond, her human 80 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove side longed for the kind of love her parents had for each other. But that had been impossible. Somehow, it had never took. Her mother had taught her long ago that female Shifts bonding with their males meant the male knew the female's emotions at all times, and the female became fully responsible for the male. It was something she longed for, yet was unable to achieve. Somehow, she thought as she glanced back at Tony, still readying himself, she could not imagine bonding with him. He would not submit to any woman. She grinned. Although with a tongue like his, having him as a sex slave would not be a bad thing at all. His gaze burned into her suddenly, "Get that thought out of your mind. I will not be your sex slave." She gasped and pulled away, touching her lips. "I didn't say that out loud." He frowned. "Of course, you did. How else would I know your thoughts? Now come here, I'm not finished with you." She considered resisting, but why? Tony's equipment was almost more than a girl could stand. Almost, but not quite. She pressed back against him, trembling as he filled her once again. "Tony," she breathed. "I know," he groaned. "I know." 81 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER EIGHT Tony hunched over the fire, stirring a can of soup and watching her sleep. He did not bother denying it. She was incredible, so beautiful. Her large silver eyes enticed him. Coupled with her slender, sexy form, they excited him and made him want her like he had never wanted any woman before. He cursed and set down the can, preparing another. Why did it have to be her? He had learned of bonding among Shifts, just as any other learned. He had not expected it to happen to him, had never desired it. Women were for one thing—pleasuring and being pleasured. It was when emotions got involved, other than sexually charged emotions, that things became complicated. And they certainly were complicated now. He studied her, curled within the sleeping back, both hands balled into fists. Even in slumber, she was defiant, ready for battle. She was not his type by any means. She was headstrong, belligerent, garish, and any number of uncomplimentary adjectives. He liked a woman who was soft and gentle, one that was content to let him guide her. While he did not think women were inferior to men—not precisely— he still preferred the feminine type. He did not like Cae, and he certainly did not love her. Still, though she did not realize it yet, their Shift sides had bonded. They were as one, unless one or the other bonded with another. He growled, annoyed at the circumstances. 82 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Even now, her dreams filled his mind. Fighting—always fighting, always trying to defend herself against the world. He was almost tempted to bond with another woman just to free his mind of Cae. He stood and walked over to shake her by the shoulder. "Cae wake up!" She moaned, brushing at his hand. He leaned down to her ear, "Wake up!" In seconds, her knife was pressed to his throat, the tip piercing his flesh, causing a trickle of blood to run down and stain his shirt. "You'd better be prepared to finish the job," he growled, his gun pressed into her belly. "Else you'll lose your life." She gave a false simper. "You wouldn't kill your wife." "To be rid of you?" She nodded. "Touché." She pulled back, wiped the weapon clean, and slipped it back in the hidden pocket inside her pants. The location sent a tingle of longing through him, and he read that she would felt the same at the reminder of their intimacy. He moved away. He was not ready just yet to give in again to what he deemed as his addiction to her body. "It's about time to go. I've made soup." She joined him at the fire, grumbling. "I don't like soup. I could use some ice cream or a snow cone." "It's the middle of winter." "Like that matters?" In spite of her stated dislike, he noticed she downed the soup in gulping mouthfuls. He 83 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove wrinkled his nose in distaste. She did not even eat like a woman. "I know what you're thinking." He glanced up. "So you can read my mind as well?" "No, I can read your expression. My manners disgust you." She shrugged. "But what do I care about what you think? You called me a spoiled little rich girl, but what do you know about hardship. I read your file, just as you read mine. You're rich in your own right, even without the government's pay for Shift hunting." "You'd be surprised." "Why don't you enlighten me." "No." He stood. "Let's go." He snuffed the fire with snow and gathered up the last of the few items he had brought along. He would head farther south and meet up with the river. He knew he could simply call Terrell for assistance, but he did not want her to know about his friend's ability or that he needed time to think and plan his next move. With the government's betrayal, he had to decide if it was still profitable to turn over Cae to them and if they would still be ready to kill him after the fact. He had always known this day would come, though he had seen it a number of times for many he knew. He was now the loose end. "Keep up! You're healed now," he commanded Cae, not looking back at her. In truth, he had to resist. The desire to stare at her was a command of his flesh. The impulse to touch her, to caress her, was strong. "Go to hell, Tony." 84 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove He clenched against what vibrated through him each time she said his name. He wondered if she felt it too and decided to test it out. "Cae, I have a question." He grinned. Reading her mind, her emotions, was as easy as walking. The ripple went through her. He tamped down the thought of trying it again. "I don't guarantee I'll answer." He thought of something to say. "Why did you choose the Shift side? You could as easily have leaned toward you human traits. I'm sure they would have dominated had you given them a chance." He heard her spit in disgust behind him. "Why would I do that? Humans are ugly. Their porous skin is nauseating. They're self-absorbed and care nothing about anyone but themselves. They're intolerant. They can't accept any other species—" She stopped speaking and then Tony felt her smash into his back like a freight train. Caught off guard, he lost his footing and went down to the ground, with her on top of him. At the same time, he heard the unmistakable whistle of a bullet flying past his head. "Shit!" He drew his weapon, yanked her to his side, and made to climb on top of her to protect her. She shoved free and crawled away from him toward a grove of thick foliage. Annoyed, he followed while glancing around. In his confusion, he did not know which way the attack had come from. "Stay here," he told her. "I'll have a look around." 85 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "Like hell I am." She crouched, searching the trees off to the right of their position. "I'm not staying here like a sitting duck. I'm going to get the son of a—" "Why the hell can't you obey?" "Why the hell should I?" Her fingers curled around her knife. "Now, if you're finished playing caveman, you can double around that way. The shot came from over there, and they're moving that way." She indicated the area around them. He thought of asking her how she knew but remembered that she had that sixth sense. She knew what was coming on her. It would be a good skill to have right about now, he thought. He watched her inch away, frustration rising inside. Why had he bothered to try to protect her in the first place? She meant nothing to him. She was a burden he did not need. Surely it was better just to let the bounty hunters or the government agents take her. He could leave the country to start his permanent vacation. He searched to the left and right of him and followed her. It was no use. If nothing else, he had to protect her from the bounty hunters, maybe see her safely to the government agents' custody. His cell rang, and he scrambled to stop it. It was Terrell. "Maddox," he whispered. His friend was his usual cocky self, bragging about another conquest, at first not interested in Tony's circumstances. "Look, Terrell, I can't talk right now. We're under fire." He frowned, having lost sight of Cae. "No, I'll take care of it. 86 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove There's no clearing anyway. You're liable to tear off a wing trying to land. All right, all right, Mr. Invincible. Gotta go." He hung up, calling softly to Cae. He searched his mind for her thoughts. Angry as usual. Confronting someone? He stood to his full height and barreled through the foliage, knowing it was against his training. A few minutes later, he stepped into four-foot-wide clearing to find Cae pointing her weapon at a government agent accompanied by Cessie. Tony stepped forward, "Well, since we're all pointing weapons, why don't I add to the excitement and point mine," he quipped. "This doesn't concern you any longer, Hunter. We'll take care of Ms. Stevens," the agent warned. "Now, see." Tony was not backing down. "That's where you're wrong. She's mine until I get my money. I will deliver her, as agreed upon, to my contact." Cae tossed him a look of hatred and then grinned saucily at her audience, "Oh, agent, surely you wouldn't want to break us up. We've fallen in love, you see. Why you could say we're practically husband and wife!" Tony gritted his teeth. He read her thoughts. Don't push me, Hunter! I'll betray you just as surely as I've been betrayed. He could deny it and hope they would see it as a desperate attempt by a Shift whose rebel organization was collapsing, but he did not want to take the chance. He longed to shoot back his own choice words into her mind but knew it was pointless to grump about. Stepping closer to her, he prepared to negotiate the other two walking 87 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove away and allowing him to complete his mission as he had done hundreds of times before. Then he sensed alarm in Cae, and before he could glance her way to see what the matter was, she leapt sideways toward him. She was not fast enough. His mind registered the sound of the shot, the screech of Cae realizing she was too late, and a millisecond later, the searing burn of a bullet entering his chest. In a tunnel of unreality, he glanced down at the crimson spreading over his shirt front and then up at the heated fury in Cae's large silver eyes. He sunk in slow motion to his knees, the trees, the sky, and the people around him blurred and ran in his vision like a dripping painting still wet from the artist's brush. Although he blinked, his world canvas began to darken from the edges inward, and he slammed hard against the snow, unconscious. * * * * Tony winced, mentally drawing back from the pain in his skull and the dull throb in his chest. He hesitated to open his eyes, knowing the light would hurt. "Open your eyes, 'fraidy cat," Cae's distinctive voice commanded. He took his time, though the urge to see her face and form was strong. When his vision cleared and her face was in focus, he could have laughed at the belligerent expression he was not surprised to see there. And then she kissed him, her tongue pressing inside his mouth. With the little strength he could grasp, he sucked at her sweet mouth, still hungry for her. Her hands slid inside 88 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove his pants. She must have unhooked them before he woke. The thought of her ravishing him while he lay unconscious was somehow a turn-on. "Did you rape me while I slept?" he laughed against her mouth. For moments she did not bother answering, simply continuing her invasion of his mouth. When she was somewhat satiated, she answered. "It would never be rape, and you know it. But no, I needed to take your shirt out of your pants before I could get it off you." She sat up, looking down at him, her fingers still curled around his erect shaft inside his pants. "Now if you're finished asking stupid questions, heal yourself so I can ride you." "Very blunt, aren't you?" He raised a brow. "I can't." "What do you mean?" "Do you think I'm immortal, can't be killed? I assure you, male Shifts are not invincible. Being only half-Shift, makes it worse." He sensed her roiling emotions as she slid her hand from his pants. "So what are you saying?" He coughed and sneezed, pain nearly sending him unconscious again. "I've lost too much blood. I can't heal myself. I need another male ... fast." "You ... you c-can't die." His voice softened. "Cae. It'll be okay." She jerked away and stood. "We're in the middle of nowhere. There'll be others coming soon to capture us ... or kill us. I can't carry you. So that's it. I finally bond, and now he's dying. That's my damn life, always." 89 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "Don't be melodramatic." He winced. "Where are the others? Did you kill them?" "I killed the agent," she said without emotion. "Cessie got away, but I'll get her later. That I promise myself. She took away..." "What?" He knew, but wanted her to say it. "Nothing." She shrugged. "So is there any special ritual you want me to do. I figure I can afford to be generous just this once." "Melodrama, Cae," he reminded her. "Get my cell phone." "There's no point. No one would get to you in time. That bandage is already soaked and—" "Do it! For once, just fucking do it, Cae!" he roared in pain, paying for the outburst and the jerk of his body when he yelled at her. He did not want to yell at her; he wanted to taste her lips again. He wanted to watch that round bottom go back and forth across his vision as she paced at his side. After he completed the urgent call to Terrell, he called her again to his side. He should explain what she would see, that she would not be frightened. He would have chuckled at the thought if he could have chuckled. There was not much, if anything, that she feared. She knelt down beside his pallet, heedless of the wet snow. Unable to control his own body temperature, he shivered, and she tucked him more firmly beneath the covers. He gazed up into her eyes, captivated. His vision blurred, and he blinked to clear it. "I—" 'Why do you hate Shifts?" She rushed the question. He felt her tamping down her confusion. 90 "It doesn't matter." Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove She kissed him, loosening his lips. "It was something from my past, someone dead and gone." She guided his hand to her face and rested her cheek in his palm. "Someone you loved. Who was it? Where is your family?" He coughed, knowing his lungs were beginning to fill with blood. Soon he would not be able to breathe at all. It was not like Terrell to take so long, knowing that it was a matter of life or death. He might actually die here, might never see her again. Maybe it was better to tell her. There was no one else around to share his last thoughts with. This was not how he expected to go. Or maybe it was. He had always expected that what he had done would come back on him in retribution. This was the day. "My mother was human. She was on a mission to expose a race of shape-shifters and their male servants years before the government ever admitted they were living among us." "What—," she gasped. "You wanted to hear it, now shut up and listen." She fell silent. "Her uncle's friend, a scientist—who happens to also be Terrell's grandfather—gave her a drug he created. He and my mother's uncle had worked on it together, experimenting on the body of a Shift they found." He saw her frown through the haze but continued. "She couldn't get anyone to listen to her, so she went undercover as a Shift. The drug could make her shape-shift or appear to shape-shift at will. But it lasted only a few hours. 91 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Unfortunately, it had a terrible side effect. When she'd been taking it for a few months, she found she could no longer switch back to her human form. She was trapped in the body of the creature she most hated." "And you were raised to think just like her," she interjected. "But why? Why do you hate us so much?" He closed his eyes and then forced them open again. God, she was beautiful. He almost mumbled it aloud, relieved she could not read his mind. "With reason. They were trafficking their own kind and humans. They had their hands in things you can only imagine. Drugs, weapons." "But years ago, my father—" "Tip of the iceberg. One location, one island. My island as a matter of fact." Her eyes widened, if possible. "What do you mean?" "I was born there, in a cave. No," he curled his fingers into a fist, "into a prison, underground." A tear streaked her face, and he longed for the strength to wipe it away. But the curvy warrior swabbed it away as quickly as it developed. He would have continued, but the unmistakable flapping of dragon wings sounded in his ears. He glanced at his mate, seeing the alarm on her face as she pulled his weapon from her waistband. "Don't be afraid, Cae. It's Terrell. He won't hurt you." He knew she would deny it, and he felt her suppress her feelings, all but anger and defiance. Now that he was not concentrated on telling her about his life, he lost the strength to stay alert. At the moment he heard her cry of alarm, he slipped again into dark oblivion. 92 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER NINE Cae crouched behind a dumpster outside the G building her intelligence told her was the place where Bella was being held. G guards were heavy in every area, surrounding the building. Probably swarming the inside too, she thought. Now that she was healed, she could again get past their scanners undetected, but with the chaotic state of the rebel forces and Rat's disappearance, she had no connections to get her inside unquestioned. She had no falsified papers, nor did any ideas come to mind. Granted, she was somewhat distracted thinking of Tony's condition the last she had seen him. She did not think he was dead, though she did not know for sure. Terrell had informed her that he would be in touch to give her an update—and she had resented his wink of knowing—but he had not contacted her since she had last seen him hours ago. At first, she had been terrified of the monstrous dragon bearing down on her, literally falling through the trees, snapping branches on the way down, and burning everything in his path ahead as he panted out fire, as though out of breath. She had screamed, horrified, more so when she saw that the great beast was injured. "What happened to you?" she asked when he identified himself and appeared to be resisting transforming to a human state. She was not sure at first if he could speak. 93 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "I—I got in a little scuffle," he rumbled in a thick scratchy voice. "Scuffle! What could hurt a dragon?" She glanced at Tony. "Never mind. Your friend needs you." That was when he had given her that wink, gathered Tony onto his back, strapping him into a harness and what looked like a muzzle, and they were off. It was only after they were out of sight, that Cae wondered what the hell she was supposed to do to get back to civilization. But she had finally made it back. And now it was time to break her friend and boss out of jail. She peeked out from the side of the dumpster to see if the coast was clear and then darted toward the door she had seen a guard disappear inside moments ago. It was locked. Glancing around her, she flipped open the thin leather pouch she had strapped to her hip and eased out a couple of choice tools. She did not expect they put an alarm on, because it was the middle of the day and the place was crawling with agents. She was betting they would not expect an attack of one in the middle of the afternoon. The lock clicked, and she turned the knob, her heart pounding. Not knowing what was on the other side of the door was both thrilling and frightening. She was not unaware of her own mortality, certainly not after what had happened to the great hunter. If she were truthful with herself, she would admit she missed him and was worried about him. Could he sense her feelings, know that she was thinking about him though they must be far apart? She did not even know what city or state he lived in, for that matter, whether 94 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove he lived in the United States at all. When she saw him next, she intended to ask him all these questions. "You've certainly taken an interest in a man you hate, Caelyn Stevens," she muttered as she stepped inside, blinking against the sudden darkness. "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," a voice whispered. She gasped and then something hard came down on her head from behind. * * * * Cae leaned down over Bella, dabbing at her swollen, bleeding lips and trying not to hurt her friend too much. "When I get my hands on the human who did this to you, Bella, he'll wish he was on another planet." Her leader laughed. "We'll soon be there ourselves." "What do you mean?" "Never mind." She sat up with effort. "Come on, Cae. We have to find a way out of here." Cae turned and searched the cell. There was nothing to see beyond the bars and bunk bed. A rusted toilet occupied one corner with a half-used, half-wet roll of toilet paper on the floor beside it. She cringed at the thought of having to use it. She would need to get out before the call of nature forced her to. She searched her pockets, annoyed to find all of her weapons and her lock picking tools had been confiscated. A cursory yank on the cell door yielded nothing. There was no getting out that way without a key. The brick making up one 95 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove wall on the right was in tact, not a crack in sight. The two other plaster walls were just as solid. Cae turned back to Bella, who still sat on the lower cot, bent as if fighting against the pain inflicted on her by people who thought they were somehow superior by reason of being human beings. She groused at the condition of her friend. "Bella, what's happening? What have you learned since being here?" Bella nodded, blinking swollen lids. "We were right. They're going ahead with it. The plan to get rid of us." "What?" Cae thought Bella might be delirious. Information on G's next big violation of their rights had always been their target. Now it seemed Bella was imagining something even more dire. "I know you don't believe me." She sneezed, blood shooting from her nose onto the cement floor. "I have a note right here." She searched through the pockets of her ragged blouse and pants before producing a wrinkled sheet of paper. Cae examined it and then froze. "This is ... this is a contract for the purchase of a ship. A space ship!" Bella nodded. "Yes. It was karma that I was able to get it, that I was being interrogated by a man who actually had the proof we'd been looking for, for so long." "I didn't know we were looking for that kind of proof." "You didn't need to know everything." Cae turned to face her. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm your right-hand woman, so to speak. Why wouldn't I be privy to that kind of intel? Who else would be better to know?" 96 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "Look, Cae. No offense, but you're a hothead. You rush into things without thinking. Your anger has blown missions more times than not. You can't always be trusted with delicate matters." Bella paused and then continued. "And frankly, at anytime you could turn to the other side, especially if it means saving yourself. Your father, after all, is very powerful. He's kept you relatively safe all this time. Why do you think you've been free to visit your family without being arrested?" Cae could not believe what she was hearing. Even Bella did not trust her to stick by the Shifts, after all she had been through, after she had virtually given up her life for the cause. She had been shot on more than one occasion. She had come close to killing several G agents and definitely had killed one. She had been loyal the entire time, and now she got this bull from her supposed friend? "I can't believe you're saying this, Bella. I thought you were my friend. I thought I mattered to you." She shook her head. "Boy, was I living in a vacuum." "A vacuum is almost right. Really, it was a cocoon." The gloves were off. The dislike was vivid in Bella's squinting eyes. "I sent Cessie with you to betray you at the right time, to get you caught so you'd be a burden for the G from now on. Who knew you'd get away?" Cae remembered something she had shoved inside a tear in her boot. She bent near the cell door and dug at the rubber sole to retrieve it. "Yeah, who knew? And you should know," she told Bella, "I fully plan on killing Cessie the moment I find her. She's a coward, and she may have..." 97 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove She decided not to reveal anymore to the woman who had betrayed her friendship. God, how could she not know it was a setup? The airport was too easy a place to be captured. The devices Rat had set up to fool the scanners—did they really malfunction or was that planned? She began questioning everything, every instance where things went wrong. What a fool she had been. Had she chosen the wrong side after all? Were Shifts really as evil as G claimed they were? Her vision blurred as she worked the lock. She ignored the tear that splashed down her cheek, landing on the tip of her boot. Giving in to self-pity would not get them out of here. She paused. Maybe she should just leave Bella here. She would not be able to travel far, and from what her former leader told her, Cae had no further obligation to her or the rebel forces. She had only herself to worry about. She could move faster without the injured Shift anyway, and could set out to find Tony. She shut her eyes, pausing in her attempt to unlock the cell door. Okay, she admitted it. She wanted nothing more of all this mess than to be with Tony. They could fight together or, if he still felt allegiance to humans, maybe she could convince him to leave the planet with her and the others. It was not such a bad thing. Why should they stay where they were not wanted. There must be other inhabitable planets out there. She frowned. "Just how big is this ship considering the fact that Shifts outnumber all other races now?" "Big enough," a voice outside the cell answered. 98 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Cae's heart leapt with excitement. It sounded like Tony. "Tony!" she breathed. "No." The man stepped out from the shadows of the hall beyond their prison. Cae stared, amazed. It was not her lover, but an older man with silver streaking his midnight black curls and gentle sea-green eyes. He moved to unlock the cell door, his large, work-roughened hands fumbling with the keys. As she stepped out into the hall, she allowed her eyes to travel his length. He wore a janitor's outfit, his name tag on the right breast pocket, with a tool belt fastened at his waist. Cae could not hold her curiosity much longer. "How is it that you look so much like Tony?" She did not doubt he would know who she was referring to. He shrugged and moved inside the cell to help Bella. Cae wanted to tell him to leave her but kept silent. When he returned to her side, he spoke again. "It's just a look I chose." She doubted it. He still had Tony's voice. Why would a Shift choose to look and sound like the Shift Hunter, only older? She thought back to what Tony had told her about his family. His mother was human. That she remembered him telling her. And since he was half-human, that meant his father was a Shift. So why hadn't he mentioned him? "You're Tony's father," she accused. "So I am." He led Bella along the hall, and Cae followed. "This isn't my true form, obviously. Anthony takes after his mother in looks. It seemed convenient to mimic them somewhat when I came here." 99 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove They continued down long, dimly lit hallways, not meeting anyone. Stairs at intervals, led them down to lower floors. She wondered where they were headed and why there was no one around but did not want to ask, lest he stop giving her Tony's family history. "I'm Zach," he continued. "For a long time, I didn't tell him I was his father. We made up some story about the man running off when he was a small child." Instantly she was angry. "How could you do that? Why would you lie?" "To protect him. My actions were always to protect my son." The gentle man was piqued at her obvious judgment of his past decision. "His mother didn't want Anthony to grow up disadvantaged because he was half-Shift. She—and I for that matter—knew what was eventually going to come. Tony was the first of his kind. He'd be shunned from both sides, hated, and resented. He would never live a normal life if the truth of what he was came out." Cae glanced at Bella, who was looking more haggard as they continued. She needed healing, and Cae was pretty sure she was taking in little of their conversation. "So instead you let him grow up hating Shifts, working for G to capture your own people and make them prisoners. Did he hate you too?" She saw the flash of pain in his eyes before he gained control again. "Yes, he did ... does. There was a time when we were friends, when he didn't know about our connection." His smile was sad. "He and I spent most days together when I was his mother's servant. I hid him from the others, to 100 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove protect him, but I didn't allow him to be ignorant of the ways of the world." She wondered. "But surely, he noticed he had abilities no other human had, that his mother didn't have. He saw what Shifts could do. Didn't he wonder?" The man shook his head, stopping in a very dark hallway. The power down here must have completely gone out. She wondered why, what was happening outside. "His abilities didn't develop until he was a pre-teen, about twelve. By that time, it was too late. His mother had been killed. I was forced to tell him the truth ... everything. I helped him escape and haven't seen my precious son since then, except on television." She gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry." He shrugged again. "I'm used to it. Now, you must go. This hall leads—" "You're not coming?" she interrupted. "No. I have things I must attend to here." He wrapped an arm about Bella, pulling her against his side and lifted his other hand to touch Cae's face. "So you're the one, huh?" She dropped her gaze to the floor and did not answer. "Yes, you're the one. You love my son. And you're beautiful, so I have no doubt that the two of you have mated." "Sir!" He chuckled. "Don't be embarrassed. I'm happy for him and you." 101 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove She wanted to tell him there was no future for them, that they were on opposite sides, but she dared to hope and did not want to voice her doubts. "Thank you." "Now, you must go immediately. Down this hall and to the right about thirty feet is a door. The combination to get out is 35-14-00-11. The alarm won't go off, but you must do it exactly right. No mistakes. Go down the tunnel about a quarter of a mile and then up the stairs. Make your way to the docks and meet a guy named Sherman. Here's the signal..." Cae's mind whirled with all the directions, wondering if she would make it, if she would even remember what he had told her if she did. She considered leaving Bella again. She did not deserve to get away. Besides, she may have heard more than Cae thought she did. If she betrayed Tony or his father, she would follow Cessie to her maker. She sighed, frustrated with the thoughts swirling in her mind. She had to make the call and she needed to do it right now. "She doesn't deserve to go with me." "Maybe not," he told her, "but are you willing to leave her behind, for conscious sake?" She growled. "She could betray me again ... or Tony. I can't put him at risk." He nodded. "Neither can I." He considered the situation a moment then spoke again. "You may not be aware of this, but things have escalated between the humans and Shifts. The humans think they've nipped it in the bud because they captured the leader of the rebels, but they've only stirred up the war they were trying to avoid. No one is around right now 102 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove because just after you were captured, Shift uprisings broke out in cities all around the country. Every available law enforcement officer has been called out to gain control of the situation. We're in a state of martial law. Even before this, there had been an increase in attacks on humans and reciprocation." She wondered if that was what happened to Terrell. Maybe they thought he was a beast the Shifts had conjured from the pits of hell to seek revenge. It was what she would have thought had Tony not warned her. "So when we go out there, we have no idea what condition the streets will be in?" she wondered aloud. "None." He smiled. "I don't want my son's heart broken, and I don't want anything happening to my new daughter." She blushed. They were only bonded, not married according to human law, but his words made her think of her own father, and she prayed he and her brother were safe in this time of turmoil. Most countries had already stated they would follow the United States leading in ridding themselves of Shifts. It was a matter of time before her family would also be in danger. And what of her mother! Damn it! She turned to Zach. "I'm taking her down to Sherman, but then I am going to find my mother to make sure she is safe. I don't know if my father and brother made it back here safely." She hugged him impulsively. "Be safe, Father." Sea-green eyes grew misty, and Cae looked away to spare him the embarrassment. "Wait," he called after her. "I will escort you there." 103 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove She shook her head. "You said you have to attend to something. It's better if we go alone." He shook his head, "No, I'll go. I have to be sure you're safe." "No, if there's one thing you should know about me, it would be that I'm stubborn and I'm strong. I take care of myself. Period. I don't need you to babysit me." He finally gave in after much argument and it was not until Cae was practically dragging Bella down the tunnel beneath the city streets that she remembered two things very crucial: Zach had the ability to heal Bella, yet he did not, and more important, male Shifts could not change their appearance! 104 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove CHAPTER TEN Tony glanced at his own reflection as he walked past a storefront on the abandoned street, not far from the state building he had just rescued his love. It had taken all his strength to resist taking her into his arms and ravishing her upon sight. He very nearly lost his disguise when she had hugged him. The softness of her full breasts against his check had almost been his undoing. He had not wanted to send her away, but it was necessary. And now his foolish love planned to go back into the city to get her mother. He grunted as he walked. They were running out of time. Soon the humans would gain control of the situation. The ship would be loaded and launched. He could not let that happen. It was only in the last few hours that he learned that there was no destination in mind, no habitable planet plotted, no long-term food supply. His people—damn it, they were his people—were to be launched into space in a move that was no less than genocide. Reaching inside his pocket, he retrieved his cell and hooked it onto his ear. Mentally dialing, he waited only a millisecond before it was answered. "Sherman, here." "Funny, Terrell." Tony did not have time for games now. "Listen, Cae's on her way. Make sure she gets on that boat. I want her as far away as possible from this city." "And what if she doesn't want to get on the boat?" 105 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove He sighed. "Do whatever's necessary, but don't hurt her." Terrell chuckled. "You love her." "What if I do?" "Nothing. She'll be on it." Tony disconnected and stopped in front of the high-rise apartment building, knowing his destination was the penthouse. He cleared the lobby in a few steps and took the elevator to the top floor. Just before the doors opened, he transformed, breasts expanding from his chest, his legs shortening, and his broad shoulders contracting. Long black hair extended down his back and his eyes widened and lightened. He stepped off the elevator into the apartment. "Mommy? Where are you? We've got to get out of here." A click sounded in the wall opposite and a panel opened before Tara Stevens jettisoned out with her arms stretched wide. "Oh, Cae, baby, I was so worried about you. Daddy said to hide, that he would find a way back with your brother. Oh God, I'm so glad you're okay." At first Cae stood stiff in her mother's arms and then embraced the weeping woman. Something deep inside remembered the love of a mother and welcomed it now. * * * * "Get your hands off me," Cae screeched. "I said I have to go get my mother and that's what I intend to do." Terrell was patient. "And I have my instructions to keep you here. Now, we can duke it out, or you can just be tied to your seat, but you are not getting off this boat." 106 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Tony chuckled, overhearing the conversation. She had no idea that he had made it back in time with her mother, that he was coming now to inform his hotheaded lover that Mrs. Stevens was ensconced below deck. He considered delaying a little longer, staying out of sight in order to hear a few more choice words she was tossing at Terrell, but then he caught her pain. Cae was afraid and hurting with fear that she had already lost her mother. He knew that torment and would not allow her to suffer it any longer than necessary. He moved along the deck until he rounded the curve and came into her sight. "Cae?" Terrell released her, and she bolted past him on unsteady legs, with the rocking of the boat over the choppy waves. "Tony! Please, I have to go back." He caught her in his arms and this time, he took what he had wanted on their last meeting. Her lips were soft and sweet, and he pushed his tongue between them, savoring her flavor. Wrapping her closer, he lifted her up against his stiff need. "Caelyn." Her desires matched his own and she clung to him, twirling her tongue with his. And then she struggled in his hold, before turning her mouth away. "Tony, please." "Don't worry," he whispered, stroking her hair and staring down into her silver eyes, 'I've taken care of it. She's here, your mother. And we've been in contact with your father and brother. They're safe, lying low with friends until we get this thing resolved." 107 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Disbelief clouded her beautiful eyes, and he released her. "Go and see. Below deck. But then come back to me immediately." She nodded and was gone. "So, my friend, what's happening now?" Terrell asked. Tony turned to look at the city fast fading into the twilight. He knew, having just left it, that patches appeared to be abandoned and then there were those—as he saw even from their distance of a few miles away—over which balls of fire rose into the air. Heavy fighting, loss of life, it had been coming for twenty years. Now it was upon them and could not be avoided. "It's begun. As soon as we can get these people safe, we have to do something for the others. Maybe somehow get to that ship and destroy it." "They will just build another. The hatred and prejudice continues." Terrell wandered over to the railing and leaned over, looking back toward the city. "There must be a more permanent solutions. Both sides need to talk." The time for talking was long past. Anger roiled inside him at the new scar visible on his friend's back through his torn shirt. Neither the Shift who had healed Tony, nor he had been able to heal Terrell. He was not a Shift. He was no longer fully human. But the makeup of the dragon included is own self- regeneration ability. Terrell would heal on his own, though slowly. Yet, the fact that a missile had been launched at him made Tony long to wrench someone limb from limb. 108 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Terrell turned, catching his expression. "Hey, man, chill. It's not that serious. I'll heal." He laughed. "I can see you want to kill something right now." "And why shouldn't I?" The grin widened. "Because you have a sweet honey right here on this boat, and I can't imagine why you aren't tapping that right now." Terrell gave a small dragon roar. "If you don't want it, I'll take it myself. Man, am I horny." Tony gave him a look of warning. "Touch her, and you're dead." He swung on his heel to search for Cae, hearing his friend's laughter behind him. Unable to contain the excitement he experienced now that he would have time again with Cae, he skipped down the stairs to the lower deck. He chuckled as he walked along the hall toward the observatory room. It had not been a full twenty-four hours since he had seen her last, and just a short while longer than that when he had planned to turn her over to the government. Never, he thought with a grin as he gripped the doorknob to the room. He was not giving up Cae. Now taming her would be another matter. He glanced down at the twitching in his pants, knowing that would be an enjoyable experience. He stepped inside the room, searching it as he moved farther inside. Cae sat curled on a couch near a picturesque window with a full view of the underwater world. Neither she nor her mother, who sat close beside her holding her daughter's hand, were paying any attention to the magnificent site. They were deep in conversation. 109 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove Tony cleared his throat and waited to be acknowledged. When Cae blushed, he was tempted to take a peek inside her head, but he resisted. Somehow he wanted her to choose to share her thoughts with him. He moved closer to them. "Mrs. Stevens, may I borrow Cae for a while?" The older woman smiled, patting her daughter's hand. "Of course, Tony. I know how it is. It's clear that you two have bonded. Finally, my baby has someone to love, who will love her." His eyes widened. "Um, I—" "Oh no. Don't bother to deny it. I may not have any extra sensory whatchamacallit, but a mother knows when her daughter is in love." Cae had not confirmed it; even now, he sensed her holding tight on the reigns of her emotions and thoughts. He knew she desired him. Did she really love him? "You could be wrong you, Mrs. Stevens. It could only be lust between us. Shifts have bonded without love. That's, after all, more of a human emotion, isn't it?" His gaze flew to Cae. He had felt her hurting. It was time they talked. Before her mother could respond, he reached out and pulled Cae to her feet, guiding her toward the door. "I will return her when I am able." In his prepared room, she yanked free from his hold on her elbow and crossed her arms, eyes blazing. "What do you want, Tony? I haven't had much time with my mother, and I wanted to catch up on some things. I don't have time for this, especially since I intend to go back to the city once I know 110 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove she's safe with my father and brother. Someone has to make sure the others are safe." "And you think you're that person?" He shook his head. "No. I'm leaving you with your mother. I will be arranging for the two of you to join your father and brother since I know the people who are keeping them safe. I trust them." She rolled her eyes and turned away. "If you think because we're bonded that I'm just going to lie down and let you run roughshod over me, you've got another thought coming. And I know it was you back at that jail. You're a liar and a jerk." "Cae." "Go to hell." She moved toward the door and grabbed the knob. "Now that we understand each other, I'm going back to speak with my mother." Who did she think she was fooling? His lover was on fire for him. The lust was nearly visible, and so strong. He moved up behind her, letting her feel his reaction to her. He was satisfied to hear her gasp. She arched her back and pushed her hot round bottom against him. He bent his knees, grabbed her hips, and ground against her. A groan of aching desire tore from his throat. Needing no further invitation, he reached in front of her, undid her pants, and shoved them and her panties downward. Finding her moist and ready, he tore open his own clothing and plunged deep inside her. "Ah, Cae!" He slammed a hand against the closed door, wrapped an arm around her narrow waist, and hoisted her 111 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove higher. He could not go any deeper yet he tried, stroking harder and deeper, losing control by the second. She whimpered his name and pressed her head back against his shoulder. He found her full lips and kissed and sucked at them, struggling to fulfill the unquenchable thirst for her. Still buried inside her, he lifted her from her feet and carried her to the bed. He lay her down, following close so their intimate connection remained unbroken. With rough, desperate hands, he removed the last of her clothing with his and then stroked deep and hard inside her from behind. She screamed and writhed, begging for more. The sheer ecstasy was driving him to his climax before he was ready, and he slowed his strokes. "No, don't slow down, Tony." "I have to, baby, or I'll come too soon." He heard tears in her voice. "But I need you so much." He shuddered, broken by her sweet femininity, "I know. And I need you." As soon as he could, he pulled back and turned her to face him. Then he filled her again, watching her large eyes darken with pleasure. "Cae." His gaze flicked down over her as his hands explored, caressing the tight buds of her beautiful breasts. Her skin was smooth and brown, creamy chocolate. He ran a fingertip down across the plane of her flat belly, stopping at the place he knew would send her over the top as he continued to stroke in and out of her. She squirmed beneath him, still screaming and begging that he not stop. Oh I won't, baby. Ever! 112 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove He drove in harder, faster. She loved that and began to grab at the sheets, at his hands on either side of her, at her hair. She could not keep still and he watched, just as eager for her to reach her peak. Nothing had been better than this moment, watching his perfect mate climax because he pleasured her. No woman had ever been this important to him. Cae, my love. The culmination was explosive, hot, and wild. He came with her and then watched in amazement as the waves pulsed over her body, her breasts quivering with each crest. Satisfaction like he had never known welled inside him. He stroked her with his fingers, his erection, his tongue until she reached that place again and again. Finally, he fell down beside her on the bed, curling his legs and arms around her and holding her close. "You know we can't be apart any more, don't you?" he whispered in her ear with tiny kisses. "Yes." She nuzzled closer, a sigh escaping her lips. "That means you'll have to come with me when I go back." "And if I try to stop you?" "You know you can't, Tony. Besides, you plan to go back yourself. Can you stand being apart from me anymore than I can you?" He conceded. "No. Bonds are not like this, are they? So ... cementing?" She laughed. "I don't think so. I've seen it happen enough. It's like getting married the human way. Maybe with our screwed up genes, we've sealed tighter than usual. It's like ... like..." 113 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove "Like we're one person." She nodded. "Why did you pretend to be your father? And why didn't you tell me you could shape-shift?" "He was the only one to come to mind at the time. I couldn't appear as myself or I know you would have held on to me. We would be making love instead of getting you somewhere safe." She seemed to be considering his words. "And did you lie about not seeing him for so long and the other things you said?" The rush of old pain flooded him and he pulled her closer to ward it off. "Yes, I told you the truth. I hated him because he and my mother lied to me about who I was. They lied about their relationship, brief though it was. A one-night stand, so to speak, in the middle of her investigation into the doings of Shifts. Funny enough, she learned not to hate all Shifts, especially since Zach saved her life on more than one occasion." "And where is he now?" He sighed. "Dead. He died the day he defended my mother against the Shifts. They killed her, having found out she wasn't who she said she was. And he lived long enough to get me to safety, finally above ground. I was twelve." She turned to face him, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry." He shrugged away the memory. "It was a long time ago. And to answer your other question, yes, I can shift." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You've heard. The first of my kind, 114 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove in more ways than one. For you see, my heart, I can shift to male or female." Her eyes widened. "But female Shifts can only change to different women." He laughed heartily. "Aren't I special? Jealous, baby?" "No," she giggled, "as long as you're mine. Hmm, interesting possibilities open up there. You are mine, aren't you?" "Yes, no other woman can come close." He lifted her chin to kiss her softly. "I love you so much, Cae. I can't imagine my life without you in it." "Don't ever imagine it. I love you, too. I won't be without you again." "So I guess I'm stuck, huh? We're going together to save our people?" She nodded. "Together. Always." THE END 115 Shift Hunter by A. J. Cove About the Author A.J. Cove opened books from the age of four and made up what she thought the story was about, though she couldn't read yet. From that time, she has been in love with books and reading. After a stint of with reading only Harlequin romances at the age of thirteen, she realized she wanted to be a writer. By eighteen, she wrote short stories, and in a fit of inspiration, typed out two full-length novels within a matter of weeks. Now that she's older, she's getting back out there. She enjoys writing most types of romance, including fantasy, science fiction, multi-racial and paranormal. You can visit with her at her website at www.ajcove.com. If you are connected to the Internet, take a moment to rate this eBook by going back to your bookshelf at www.fictionwise.com. 116