Body Master (9 page)

A hand clamped over her mouth, and she reacted with an elbow to the gut. She heard a pained
oomph
, but the hand held and her elbow hurt like hell.

“You can’t do it, can you? You can’t stay out of trouble.”

She froze at the voice rasping in her ear. Well, crap. He wasn’t kidding when he said he could pick her out in the city. How the hell was she supposed to spy on him if he always knew she was there?

Then Dempsey spun her around to face him and pinned her against the brick wall with a hand on each side of her. Even in the darkness, fire burned in his eyes. Anger simmered in his soul.

No surprise, he wasn’t happy to see her.

“I was just providing backup,” she said, lying through her teeth.

He chuckled low, sending a shiver down her spine. He was way too close for comfort, and she tried to slide away from him, but he wasn’t having any of it, boxing her against the wall tightly.

“Is that right? You think I need a bodyguard?” he said. “Or were you jealous?”

She gave a little laugh. “Jealous?
Please.
”

“I don’t need a bodyguard, and you aren’t jealous. What does that leave us with?”

Busted. She never got busted. If this got out, it would ruin her kick-ass agent reputation. “Fine, I was curious about your personal life. I didn’t realize you had a guy . . . friend.”

His eyebrows rose. “Guy friend?”

She should shut up, just drop it. But the suspense was killing her. Why else would he take the whole night off ? “You know, guy friend. Boyfriend.”

She sensed the change in him almost immediately. Or was it her? Well, one of them was changing because she was feeling way too warm for New York City in December.

“Boyfriend. As in lover?” he asked as he stroked the exposed skin on the side of her throat with his thumb. One thumb. It was distracting as hell. She started to sweat under her long coat.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” she said.

He grinned. Just grinned. And that damn thumb. Every stroke sent electricity down her spine. And unfortunately, it felt amazing.

“You think I’m gay,” he said, and this time he moved closer.

She swallowed. That damn thumb. And what could she say to make him stop?
Your thumb is driving me crazy?
“The suit in the bar?”

“Is a business associate,” he said smoothly. She could feel the warmth of his breath, the heat of his face inches from hers, and the weight of his eyes as they watched her every move. They were gray with a little silver around the edges.

Concentrate, Seneca, you’re supposed to be pissed here.
“
You
were the one who said it was personal.”

“If I had told you it was business, you’d have followed me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What kind of business?”

Dempsey leaned closer, and Seneca sucked in a breath as he whispered, “
My
business.”

And then all she could hear was their breathing. The city seemed to fade away as their eyes locked. Bursts of vapor curled in the cold air. He smelled like beer and the night.

“And I’m not gay,” he said softly.

Her body agreed wholeheartedly despite her best efforts. But he
was
a Shifter. Not to be trusted. She should move away, should do something besides fall prey to the heat.

“Why didn’t you invite me along?” she managed to say, although she heard her voice crack.

“Why didn’t you invite me to Riley’s funeral?” he said and pressed his thumb firmly into her skin. She inhaled sharply at the pressure.

“I didn’t think—”

He moved even closer, his face nearly touching hers.

“I didn’t think you’d want to go,” she finished.

“You were wrong.”

Suddenly, her vision changed and he began to disappear into a strange darkness. She heard herself gasp as his Shifter shadow rose up, enveloped her, blocking out all sound, smell, and sights. And then she felt something unfold in her mind, a flash of a scene that wasn’t hers, voices, sounds. She tried to block it out, but it was like it was inside her. Panic swamped her.

“Stop it,” she hissed, and struggled to free herself.

Reality crashed through as Dempsey abruptly let her go and stepped back, breaking the connection. Seneca’s heart was racing as she stumbled out of the doorway and out onto the sidewalk. The night sky shimmered above, and she inhaled cold air as she walked, trying to sort through a flood of questions. What was he doing to her? Or was it her? Did her abilities make her more vulnerable to Shifter thoughts? Oh God. She didn’t need or deserve that.

Dempsey cut in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. “What just happened?”

“Nothing,” she snapped.
Nothing I want to talk about with you. Or anyone.

“You’re shook up. Something happened.”

That was a mistake. All of it, whatever it was. She brushed her hair out of her face with a trembling hand. “I’m fine. Just leave me alone.” She tried to pass by him, but he stopped her by snagging her arm. She winced at the touch and shook free. She was not about to have another schizophrenic episode with him.

“Why did you really follow me here, Seneca?”

She wouldn’t meet his eyes, looking away to the safety of the city. “I didn’t trust you, although that shouldn’t surprise you.”

“It doesn’t.”

She looked at him then. His eyes flashed incandescent for a brief moment, and she remembered why she didn’t trust him.
You don’t belong here.

“I don’t give a damn what you and your Shifter friend do together. Whether or not you are gay. What you do in your spare time. You’re right. It’s none of my business.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What did you say?”

She sighed. “I said, you’re right—”

“No,” he interrupted. “Before that. How do you know he’s a Shifter? I didn’t tell you that.”

Seneca felt her stomach drop. Oh, damn. “Lucky guess.”

Dempsey studied her. “I don’t think so. You knew he was a Shifter. How?”

She blew out a breath. One stupid slip. Two days ago her world was normal. Well, at least as normal as it could be. How could everything fall apart so fast? Who in the great cosmos did she piss off?

Dempsey asked, “Can you
see
Shifters?”

Perfect. Just perfect. Well, Riley had known and MacGregor sort of knew. What was one more? “A little.”

Dempsey shook his head. “You either do or you don’t.”

“So I do,” she snapped. “So what?”

For a moment, he just stared at her. “That explains a lot.”

She frowned. “Like what?”

“Like why you’re the best agent XCEL has.”

“No, I’m just extremely good,” she said.

He asked, “Are there others like you?”

“In XCEL, are you kidding?”

“Anywhere,” he persisted.

“There is no one like me,” she said, through clenched teeth.

“I noticed,” Dempsey said. “Did Riley know this?”

“Yes. But no one else knows,” she said. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”

His eyes narrowed. “Of course. Wouldn’t want the whole world to ostracize you.”

It occurred to her that he’d been around humans too long. He knew exactly what would happen to her if the other XCEL agents found out.

“Are we done here?” she asked. “Because I’ve had all the excitement I can handle for one night.”

He stepped aside to last her pass.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, and escaped to her car at the end of the block.

Max pounded the heavy bag for all he was worth, nearly knocking Apollo off his feet. The sound echoed across the quiet boxing hall in the middle of the afternoon.

“Venting much?” Apollo asked as he held the bag in place.

“You have no idea,” Max answered and landed another brutal punch that jolted his entire body. He was covered with sweat and hadn’t even begun to shake the lingering remnants of last night.

“How’s your partner?” Apollo asked, and grimaced when Max nailed the bag again.

“Just great.”

“Well, she must be something because I haven’t seen you this worked up since, well, never.”

Max hit the bag hard, sending pain up his arm. Seneca was at the funeral that she hadn’t invited him to right now. She had told Riley about her Shifter sight, but she hadn’t planned to tell him. And she followed him because she didn’t trust
him
? Granted, his expectations of humans were pretty damn low, but she was supposed to be his partner. Apparently, it was in name only.

“Unless . . . You two hook up last night?” Apollo said with a grin.

Max eyed him. He really didn’t need the reminder of Seneca’s scent, Seneca’s skin, Seneca’s warmth ingrained in his brain and body any more than it was. “No, I haven’t slept with her. I seriously doubt she’d have me.”

“You never know until you try.”

Right. He unleashed a reckless volley on the bag, his arms burning. “And tell me how many women you would have slept with if you’d told them what you were?”

Apollo grinned. “More than you.”

Max grunted. “You can’t fool Seneca.” He jammed his glove into the bag, feeling the reverberation through his bones. “She can see Shifters.”

Apollo nearly lost his grip on the heavy bag. “You’re shittin’ me? She told you that?”

Eventually, and only after I caught her.
Which explained why she was such a good agent on paper. Couple that with the fact that she hated Shifters, and she was perfect for XCEL. He clenched his teeth and gave the bag a merciless uppercut. “She picked out Carl.”

“Hell,” Apollo said, his eyes widening. “Did she make the connection between him and the government?”

Pound, pound, pound.
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. She’s smart.”

“Among other things. This bag can’t take much more,” Apollo said with a laugh.

Apollo had a death wish today. Max dropped his gloves, feeling as drained as he was going to get. “I’ve got bigger things to deal with. We have a Skinman in town.”

Apollo let go of the heavy bag and shook out his arms. “I’m surprised it took this long for one to surface. Do you know where he set up shop?”

“Underground. He’s harvesting the homeless.”

“Now, there’s some good, healthy DNA for you,” Apollo said. “I’m assuming you think he’s the traitor slash murderer?”

Max held out one glove for Apollo to unlace. “I’ll let you know when I visit him.”

“You and what army? You know he’ll have protection.”

Skinmen were the only Shifters who could afford bodyguards. The rest were on their own. “Luckily, Seneca is all fired up to keep him from soiling the pristine human race. So not only will I have to take out him and all his friends; I’ll have to keep her alive.”

Apollo pulled off the glove he’d just unlaced. “Wow, keeping the hot babe safe. Sounds like you kinda like her.”

“I still have one glove on, bud,” Max said.

Apollo laughed. “If you need help, you know where to find me.”

Max unlaced the other one himself. “I thought you didn’t want to get involved?”

He shrugged. “Who else can I box against? These guys are all soft.”

Max shook his head. Apollo might act like the universe revolved around him, but Max knew better. Surviving genocide had a way of binding people together. He pulled off his other glove, slung his towel over his shoulders, and headed for the lockers. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

Apollo walked next to him. “You won’t call me.”

“I might.” Or not. Max had decided long ago that he’d die to avenge Ell’s murder, but he wouldn’t take anyone with him—not Apollo, not Carl. The Shifter race was doomed to die out anyway. He’d just beat the rush.

They stopped at their respective lockers to change out of their workout clothes.

Apollo asked, “Have you told Seneca about all this yet?”

Max pulled off his soaked shirt. “No, and I don’t plan to. It doesn’t involve her.”

“Except the part that this is her planet and these are her people and you both work for the same agency. Other than that, she’s out of the loop.”

“I can’t trust her with this information,” Max said. Especially since she wasn’t trusting him with any of hers. This was turning into a hell of a partnership.

Apollo shook his head. “I don’t know, man. This could get ugly.”

“Everything’s ugly. Or hadn’t you noticed?”

“You know what I mean.”

Yes, he knew what Apollo meant, which was exactly why Max was better off with nothing left to lose.

Apollo hiked his gym bag over his shoulder. “I’m serious. You need me, you call me. We had a deal. No matter how crazy I think you are.”

Max smiled and slammed the locker shut. The deal was made between Carl, Max, and Apollo when they escaped a burning ship. Day or night, they were there to cover for one another. He hated to be the one to break the pact, but he was going to.