Shepherd's Moon (17 page)

“I feel like we’ve gotten off to a bad start, Alex. Let’s just put this little event behind us and start over. You’re scaring my cat.” He took a step forward and reached out his hand. “Tristan Cormac. Pleased to meet you.”

“Alexandra Wilde,” I said. “And now that we have the formalities out of the way, how about you tell me what you want. And while you’re at it, I’d like to hear why you would have your oversized kitty save me one day, then try to kill me a day later?”

Tristan’s expression was one of steeled confidence, his eyes barely hinting at the wildness that I sensed lay deep within him.

“Truth be told, I’m asking myself that same question.” He cleared his throat. “I think you have piqued my curiosity… and the interest of an influential organization.” He crushed his cigarette under his heal. “Maybe we could retire to a more civilized area and discuss the benefits of such interest.”

As much as I didn’t want him on my property, he was already there. And after the earlier attack, sitting seemed like a good idea.

“How about you get rid of the Lion King first?”

“Well, he has a lousy sense of direction. What happens if he gets lost on the way home?”

I smiled. “Then I’m sure my team will help him locate the property line.”

With a small tilt of his head, he motioned for the werecat to leave. I watched the magic once again shift over the naked man and seconds later, a large cougar stood before me, snarling once before padding into the desert. Allowing his retreat, I focused on brushing the sand and gravel from my jeans. Hopefully the boys would help the stray cat off our property. At this point, I was still angry that these two had made it so far onto our land in the first place.

And speaking of my team, where the hell were they? Billy and Brock should have been out here before this conversation even started.

The cat out of my way, I opened my mind and finally felt the presence of my enforcers. Jace and Billy were nearby, hidden in the shadows and all but invisible to the naked eye. There was no sign of Brock, but I suspected he wasn’t far off.

Motioning Tristan to take the lead, I followed him to the dimly lit patio of the house. We walked in silence—the first time either of us had been silent. When we crossed the patio, I moved in front of the man before he could place his hand on the door.

“It’s a nice night, let’s just stay on the porch and enjoy the evening.”

“By all means,” he smiled. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

I took a seat and set the gun on the patio table within easy reach. “Oh, I believe you’ve single-handedly made the act of
intrusion
an art form.”

He chuckled and took a seat. “I just may learn to like you. At the very least, you’re good at what you do,” he paused.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t come all this way for a social visit. I came here for an audition.”

“I’m guessing I passed?” I said, my voice flat.

“With flying colors”

“So what do we do now, Mr. Cormac?”

A long lock of hair fell over his eyes, and I repressed a sudden, unexpected urge to push it behind his ear. Longhaired, dirty blonde and charming. If he hadn’t been trying to get me killed a few minutes ago, I might just find him irresistible. I crossed my arms, the fact that I found him so very intriguing and repelling at the same time was annoying.

“Now I ask if you’re interested in expanding your horizons.”

“Are you a recruiter?” I asked.

He studied me, his eyes thoughtful. “Darlin’, I am so much more than that.”

“Let me guess,” I dropped my voice to a secretive, sarcastic whisper. “You represent a private organization whose main goal it is to provide for the betterment of mankind.”

The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth. “Now, how could you possibly know that?”

“It was actually meant to be sarcastic.” I leaned back in my chair. “Alright—I’ll play along. What’s the name of this private organization?”

“It wouldn’t be private if I ran around telling everybody its name now, would it? Their name isn’t important, anyhow. What
is
important is your potential role in the group.”

Easing back in the chair, I gathered my thoughts. “Then let’s start with who bankrolled the recruiting session tonight?”

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” His smile confident, he licked his bottom lip. It was a casual gesture, but one that was not lost on me. “Much as I hate clichés, it actually holds true in this case.”

I held his gaze as I processed the information. Why would a Nephilim be involved with a private corporation? For that matter, why would he take orders from someone else? Nephilim didn’t seem the type of creatures to moonlight for corporations.

Then again, Nephilim, and all other manner of supernatural creatures who have eternity at their disposal, have a very long history of screwing around with humanity purely for its entertainment value. Tristan seemed just the type.

The sound of my cell phone ringing shook me from my reverie, and I held a finger up to Tristan as I took the call.

“Better late than never,” I said.

“Where do you want us?” Brock stated, his voice a throaty growl.

“Out of sight would be good,” I said dryly, glancing back at Tristan. “Close is better.”

“Billy’s talking to the cougar now,” Brock reported.

“Tell him to play nice.” A dark smile curved my lips. “For the moment, anyhow. And have someone bring out coffee for my guest and I, please?”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Brock stated in a clipped voice. He was obviously unhappy with my decision to talk to Tristan, and I can’t say I blamed him. At the moment, I wasn’t feeling all that confident in my decision either.

Hell, I didn’t even know for sure what we were dealing with. If it had been anything but a Nephilim that sat across from me, my overzealous enforcer would not have bothered to ask my opinion on the situation. But now neither of us knew exactly what was at risk.

I tapped the table, tipping my head towards Tristan. “Okay, let’s assume for a minute that I believe you. I’m not saying I do, because the idea of a privatized company sending a Nephilim and a werecat out here to recruit me seems… well,
laughable.
But let’s assume for a moment that I do believe you. What type of work did this group have in mind for me?” I followed his glance to the gun near my hand. “Besides shooting things, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he smiled. “You, Alex, would bring other advantages to our little family.”

“Advantages…” I repeated.

He motioned at the house. “You, your resources, your position on the Council. And your pack—you all have very specific skills that have not gone unnoticed.”

“I’m guessing you have your own set of skills.” I mumbled the words so softly, I wasn’t sure he heard.

But he did.

He chuckled, the sound echoing in the darkness. “They didn’t bring me on for my good looks and charming personality.”

“So, what do they want with me?”

He considered my question for a moment. “As I’m sure you know, any creatures above the law of nature generally consider themselves above the law of man. The group I work for has found the preternatural highly effective in combat, but more than a little difficult to manage.

God knows I find them hard enough to deal with, I thought. And then I realized I had just answered my own question.

“So, your group needs a preternatural pet-sitter.”

He shrugged. “Something like that.”

“Why me? There are plenty of other Shepherds available.”

“Sure, but you’re the only
female
Shepherd, and that makes you a lot more valuable.”

“More unusual, maybe.” I shrugged. “Certainly not more valuable.”

The soft sound of the door being pulled open behind us resulted in an awkward silence as Aida stepped out onto the porch holding a tray.

“Coffee?” Aida generally did her best to avoid anyone new, but managed a shy glance at Tristan.

“You have not got a single thing to be shy about,” he flashed her a disarming smile as she averted her eyes.

“Thank you, Aida,” I said softly, flashing her a quick smile of reassurance. Reaching for the cream, I gave the nearest cup a generous splash and added a spoonful of sugar.

Despite my better judgment, I relaxed a bit. His attempt to have me killed by a cougar, notwithstanding, there was just something about this guy that put me at ease.

“Here’s the problem, Tristan. And rest assured, it’s just one of many.
I don’t trust you.
I don’t know anything about you, and I don’t want to learn. Now, what you
have
succeeded in doing is piquing my curiosity, which is the only reason you’re sitting on my porch and drinking my coffee.”

He considered my statement, pulling the coffee closer to him, then motioning to the clear night sky. “Do you know what a shepherd moon is, Alex?”

It took a moment for me to process the change in topic, so I remained silent.

“A shepherd moon is a small moon that orbits big planets. It sits right on the edge of a planet’s gravitational pull, but is never pulled in. And just as it’s never pulled in, it never really escapes either. Its only goal is to stabilize the ring around a planet, confine it to an orbit.”

“And how does this affect me?” I asked, although the analogy struck a familiar cord as I recognized my role in the household I had managed for years.

“Creatures like you and I, well we’re sort of like shepherd moons.” He drew an imaginary circle in the air before him. “We stabilize things. People, animals, corporations—whatever needs stabilizing.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with your ego.” I rubbed a hand across my tired eyes. It had been a long day and I wasn’t in the mood for an astronomy lesson—metaphorical or otherwise. In fact, I wanted nothing more than to go to bed, but apparently even that little luxury would elude me this evening.

“While this is all just absolutely fascinating, do you mind getting to the point?”

I had to give him a little credit for remaining so calm when he was surrounded by my men and his only comrade was likely being questioned. That placed him at an obvious disadvantage. It would only be fair for him to level the playing field but so far, he hadn’t made a move. Instead, he seemed perfectly content to lean back in the chair and stretch his long, blue-jean-clad legs before him.

“Did you notice anything different about the man you apprehended tonight?”

“Seriously?” My voice sounded as disbelieving as I felt. Which part wasn’t unusual? A man flips out, kills his family, and I can’t read a single thought to get him under control.

Yeah, a little weird.

I silently assessed him as I sipped my coffee. “Why don’t you just cut the crap and tell me whatever it is you think I need to know?”

He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “You couldn’t read his thoughts. Because you can’t read anything that isn’t a natural occurrence in nature.”

“I can’t read humans and they’re natural enough.”

He lifted his eyes. “Well, that’s interesting…”

“What’s your point?”

He took a deep breath. “My point is that you had a run-in with something unnatural and we need to find out what it was.”

“
We
?” I laughed. “When did this become a team sport?”

“Look darlin’, there’s a corporation playing God. And God doesn’t appreciate all the meddling.”

“God presents a problem for me as a general rule.”

“Well, then—isn’t it lucky you have me at your disposal.” He grinned. “So, here’s what is going to happen: I’ll help you locate your rogue Handler, and you’ll help me find out what’s going on in the labs of a specific corporation by lending me one of your pets.” His soft southern drawl was almost hypnotizing. I couldn’t quite place the dialect and I still wasn’t sure if it was real or just a cover. A part of me said this was a man who was very good at making himself appear as something different than he was.

I motioned to the desert. “Use your cat. He seems to follow orders well enough.”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t a big call for lab-cougars these days.” His eyes held mine. “I understand you made a new friend the other day—I believe it was a little kitty named Daniel.”

Where the hell was he getting this information, anyway? Wasn’t any part of my life classified?

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t be turning any member of my pack over to you.”

He moistened the inside of his lower lip with his tongue, a movement that increased my interest. “You and I share a common goal. We both want certain troublesome creatures exterminated while preserving other, more productive creatures. Now, I can offer you the means to do this more successfully.”

“I’m already doing it successfully.” I smiled.

“You’re just playing cops and robbers, right now, sweetheart. For all intents and purposes, local crime fighting is just a hobby for you and your little pack.” Placing his feet on the ground, he leaned forward. “What used to be a minor problem is evolving into a major issue. You were at the scene today. Can you think of any other reason why you were unable to read that creature’s thoughts tonight? Besides the reason I already gave you?”