Linked (7 page)

For a brief moment, the woman
seemed confused. He had thought she would have expected him, or at the very
least known of him. This was a disappointment. It would be too easy. Through
the years of his confinement, he had expected a battle with an opponent worthy
to fight. Killing this woman would be all too easy.

Even though he found himself
dissatisfied, he did take pleasure in seeing the look of sheer fear and panic
on her face. It had been too long since he had felt the thrill and pleasure of
causing fear in a human.

What he loved more than her
panicked expression was the anxiety and confusion when the man beside her began
to shift before her eyes. Well, well, he thought. So, she had not known that
the one that blocked her from his senses was a shifter. Interesting.

He wondered if the woman even
knew of shapeshifters. He shrugged the thought aside. Whether she did or not
was of no consequence to him.

She knew now. When he came for
her, he would cause that look of fear on her face again, hundred-fold, and he would
taste her blood.

Her fear, and now knowledge of
him, would only make the kill that much more satisfying.

CHAPTER FIVE

Instinctively, Lana took a step
back. She’d been terrified to discover a wolf at her door—literally.

It snarled at her and took one
menacing step forward.

Terror paled in comparison to the
confusion she felt when Cole had changed into a tiger before her eyes.

Lana locked eyes with him for an
instant and noticed his eyes stayed the same vibrant green as before. She would
have recognized him even if she hadn’t witnessed the change.

“What are you?” she demanded,
though it came out as only a whisper. Could he respond, even if he wanted to?

Cole, in his tiger form, leapt
off the porch and landed in front of the wolf, growling.

With all the jolting changes that
had happened in the last few weeks, confusion had been a constant companion and
his transformation had done nothing to relieve that. Every time she turned
around to find an answer, it seemed there were only more questions to be found.

Lana wanted to scream or run, she
wasn’t sure which. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for something to use
as a weapon. On the ground, a few short feet from where the tiger and wolf
circled each other, lay a thick stick.

Did she dare move? She had to.

Slowly, she crept down the
stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible, and bent down to retrieve her
makeshift weapon.

As she started to straighten, the
wolf spotted her. It stopped circling, bared yellowed teeth, and saliva dripped
from its mouth.

Her breath froze in her lungs
when the creature turned and ran toward her. She lifted the stick, prepared to
fight. Before she had the chance, the tiger jumped in front of her just as the
wolf leapt and knocked it to the side.

Lana took a step back and fell,
scraping her arm against the porch railing.

She spotted the place where Cole
had knocked the wolf, but it was gone. Still in tiger form, Cole paced back and
forth over the spot where the wolf had landed.

Wincing, Lana rose from the
ground and glanced around. Where did the wolf go?

She opened her mouth to ask the
question aloud, but stopped. Cole’s appearance started to alter. The change
back to human form, she discovered, occurred much more quickly.

“It disappeared,” he told her.

“But….”

“It’ll be ok—” he broke off as he
peered down and the saw scratches on her arm. “What happened?”

She ignored them and his question
to ask one of her own. “What are you?” Fury made her voice rise. Idly, she
thought she should be afraid, but she wasn’t. Pissed off, yes. And angry that
he hadn’t told her the truth. Furious because he’d asked for her trust
repeatedly, and yet he hadn’t shown her the same consideration.

Had she been wrong to trust him
so soon and with so little reason? No. She read people, and she did it well. If
he’d had bad intentions, she would have noticed something. Wouldn’t she have?

“I’m a shapeshifter, just like
the wolf.”

“Oh, is that all? A
shapeshifter?” Lana shook her head and started to walk away.

He quickly maneuvered himself to
stand in front of her, blocking her path. “Don’t.” He tried to grab her and she
dodged out of the way, jerking her arm back. “Don’t touch me. Not yet.”

His arms dropped to his sides,
and a pained look came into his eyes. Why he looked hurt, she didn’t have the
slightest idea. He was a shapeshifter. He was the one who’d lied. He didn’t
have any right to be sad—she did. Or, as she chose, infuriated.

“I expected you’d react this way.
I wanted to tell you,” he started, but broke off at her knowing glare. “Okay,
fine, I didn’t. But this is exactly the reason why. You’re looking at me as
though I’ve grown another he—” He stopped, realizing his choice of words wasn’t
the best under the current circumstances.

“Head? Yeah, but you did do just
that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I suppose I did. Look Lana,
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, damn it.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” she yelled,
jabbing her finger into his hard chest, as if it would cause any harm. “You
don’t get to play the wounded hero here, Cole. You lied. You meant to. And you
had absolutely no intentions of telling me the truth.”

She watched the play of emotion
on his face and felt it at the same time. She knew he wanted to lie to her.

“No,” he admitted, making her
give him an ‘I-told-you-so’ look. “I didn’t. And I have good reason.”

“Oh? What would that be? Please,
explain it to me, Cole. I couldn’t possibly understand that you might be afraid
I’d fear you or reject you. Oh, wait,” she said sarcastically. “That’s right, I
do understand, don’t I? Yet I still trusted you enough to tell you about me,
and I had less of a reason to!”

Okay, she had been a little
scared when he’d turned into a tiger. But it wasn’t so much a fear of him as a
fear of the situation. Wasn’t a woman entitled to be a little surprised when
someone turned into a tiger before their eyes?

Maybe that particular emotion
wasn’t justified, but it was there. She didn’t like it, either, but she
couldn’t change the facts. Regardless, it was only fair to expect the same in
return.

Lana looked at him closely and
saw the turmoil in his eyes. She felt his regret and his frustration. No way
would she forgive him just yet.

“Lana….” he said, his tone quiet
as he took a step forward. He stopped when she put her hand up.

“Just…give me a few minutes,
Cole. I need to think about this.”

Lana sat down on the porch swing.
She could have gone inside, but the weather was warm, and she needed the air.

He probably thought she was
afraid of what he was. But that wasn’t the case at all, not really.

She, of all people, could
understand what secrets did to others. With her mom’s own secrecy and now this
new development, she felt very betrayed.

§§§

Cole began to worry. She hadn’t
said a word to him in over five minutes. Hell, she had hardly moved a muscle in
that time.

He didn’t know what thoughts ran
through her mind—though he had a pretty good idea.

Hopefully she didn’t think he was
in league with whoever was behind her mother’s death and the break-ins.

A freak. That’s probably what she
thought of him now. And who would blame her? He wasn’t ashamed of what he was.
He accepted it for what it was, mostly due to having a strong family who had
made it seem almost normal.

He had a gift. If it hadn’t been
for that, he wouldn’t have become nearly as good at what he did. He still would
have made a good private detective, but this gave him an added edge.

Was she going to trust him after
this? He thought it unlikely that she would be okay with his being a
shapeshifter. Even if she was okay with it, he had lied to her. No, he
corrected himself. He hadn’t lied, really—he just hadn’t volunteered the truth
about what he was. Well, he’d just have to gain back her trust. He was patient
and determined, especially with a shapeshifter after her for some unknown
reason. Just because it hadn’t attacked either of them didn’t mean they should
let their guards down. If anything, it gave them another reason to make sure
they were more careful.

He cast a glance to where Lana
sat. The sun reflected off her hair, varying its color from rich reds to
highlights of gold. The gentle curls spiraled down her back and rested on her
slender shoulders. God, she was beautiful.

“Lana? I know you’re mad at me,
but I think we should go.” With the other wolf pulling its vanishing act, he
didn’t feel like sticking around any longer than necessary.

“Fine. You can drop me off at my
house,” she said without looking at him.

“Can we talk on the drive back?”

She stood then and turned to look
at him, her eyes flaring with temper. He knew she was pissed at him. He’d
settle for that. He could handle anger better than seeing the look of panic and
fear in her eyes.

“Please?”

“Fine,” she said stiffly, putting
a hand on her hip. If it had been under different circumstances, he might have
found her stance amusing and completely female.

“Look,” he began once seated back
in the car. “You have every reason to be angry with me.” He saw she was about
to interrupt—with an agreement, he guessed—and headed it off. “Let me finish,
will you?” She nodded. “I’ve been a shapeshifter for as long as I can remember.
It’s become like breathing, and, while it’s not a great excuse, it’s also been
that way about keeping it secret.

“I know it probably changes
things for you, and that you probably see me in a different light now, but that
can’t be helped.” He glanced over at her to see if he could guess her thoughts,
but she sat, head tilted to the side, staring out of the window, and what
little he could see of her face was unreadable. He wanted to sigh, but instead
continued. “If you can tolerate what I am, at least temporarily, I’d like to
finish what we’ve started regarding your mom and the break-ins. Even if you
don’t want me around afterwards. I want to find out what’s going on.” She
wanted honesty, so he’d give it to her. “I’ll investigate it on my own, behind
your back if I have to, but I’d rather not go that route. Whether you like it
or not, I’m in this to the finish, Lana. I hope you realize that.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he
saw her head turn in his direction and shifted his gaze to meet hers. Her
shoulders relaxed a little, and he wondered if that meant she was less angry or
willing to cooperate with him.

“Cole, honestly, I don’t know
what to—”

“Don’t say anything. Just
listen,” he interrupted, speaking quickly now. “We don’t know who’s after you.
You’re in more danger now, and you know it.” He had to make her realize she
still needed him around for protection, if nothing else. “Agree, Lana—because
ultimately, you know you have no choice. I’m the best protection you have.”

“Will you stop interrupting me
now?” she demanded. His gaze met hers for only an instant, but he saw the
warning. “You’re not the one with semi-psychic abilities now, are you?” When he
shook his head, she said, “Then stop trying to read my mind.”

She paused for so long that he
began to think he had pushed his luck too far. “You think I’m afraid of you
now, is that it?” she asked in a mild tone.

“Yes.” It was the logical
assumption under the circumstances.

“You really are an idiot,” she
snapped. “I’m not afraid of you, Cole. Now the wolf? The wolf scared me. You
just pissed me off.”

Seeing a man turn into a tiger
wasn’t an everyday occurrence, despite the current topic of conversation.

He felt a shimmer of hope. “But,”
she continued, causing his shimmer to evaporate, “I don’t know how I can trust
you, when you can’t trust me in return. This isn’t and can’t be a one-way
process. This is my life on the line, Cole, as you’re constantly pointing out
to me. How can I believe in you if you aren’t up front with me?”

“You’re really not afraid of me?”
he asked.

“No, why should I be? Are you
afraid of me?”

“Of course not. Why would I be
afraid of you?”

“I’m not exactly Normal Nancy
myself, you know. People don’t like psychics, or whatever I am.”

He stared at her in awe. How
could she face the things she’d seen recently and be so brave? She’d had
someone break into her house, chase her down, and she’d come face-to-face with
two shapeshifters.

“Well?” she said impatiently.

“Well what?”

“I’m still waiting on a reason to
be afraid of you.”

The question was so ridiculous,
but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why or a response.

He pulled into a parking space in
front of her apartment a few minutes later and got out of the car. As she
walked to his side of the car, he grabbed her and swung her around, bringing
her body against the driver’s door. In the next instant, his mouth covered
hers. He needed this, needed to feel her body against his.

He felt the instant her anger
turn into urgency and deepened the kiss. A soft moan escaped her lips, and he
pressed his body closer to hers.

Frantic, his mouth demanded a
response from hers. He felt her hands go around his back, and he groaned
against her mouth, his tongue plunging deep and his hands gripping her hips
hard.

He lifted his head and, pleased,
found he wasn’t the only one breathing raggedly.

She opened her eyes and stared
into his, and he realized they had lost their icy edge. The crisis, it seemed,
had passed—at least for now.

“You’re making a nasty habit of
that,” she whispered, then nipped his lip lightly.