Authors: A. E. Jones
Before I could examine it closely, steps echoed in the hall, so I closed the file and braced myself.
Griffin stopped in the doorway and smiled. “You look good behind my desk.”
I stared at him, counting in my head to keep it from exploding.
His smile turned to a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“What are you doing?” I grabbed the folder and shook it at him. “Why are you investigating Jason’s past?”
Griffin walked into the room and shut the door before responding. “It’s not what you think.”
“Then why don’t you enlighten me?”
“Jason is a latent.”
“Okay, you have to drop the shifter-speak and explain to me what latent means.”
“Jason is a shifter. From the smell of his blood, I would say he might be half-shifter.”
I stood and walked around the desk. “What? Is it even possible?”
“Yes. Shifters can mate and have children with humans.”
“But wouldn’t he know he was a shifter?”
“Not if he was raised away from the pack by humans. Shifters’ abilities are oftentimes brought on by being with the pack. We learn from each other, and our powers come into fruition through ceremonies or rites of passage. Jason wasn’t exposed to any of those experiences.”
“And you got all of this information from his blood?”
“The first night he was here, he’d been injured. I smelled something
other
in his blood then, I just wasn’t sure what it was.”
I had too many arguments running through my brain to accept what he was saying. “Jean Luc and Misha would have sensed he was a shifter.”
“Not necessarily; I barely picked it up myself. His scent is predominantly human.”
“So why keep it a secret?”
“I wanted to find out more about him first. Jason could be a plant.”
“Get real. We brought him into this. He has no idea he could be part shifter. He has human parents.”
“Not according to his background check. Apparently he was adopted as an infant by a couple in Wisconsin.”
“What about his biological parents?” I asked.
“His adoption records are sealed. We’re trying to dig up more information.”
“I don’t buy it. He doesn’t act like a shifter. Wouldn’t he feel his powers?”
“You mentioned to me earlier that he knows when someone is lying. He could be smelling them without even realizing it.”
“He was trained in the military to interrogate people.”
“Or it could be his natural tendencies were recognized and used by the military.”
I paced for a second, absorbing what Griffin had said. “Wouldn’t he have changed into his animal by now?”
“Some latents never change. In Jason’s case, living with humans might have kept his abilities from maturing.”
“So what happens if he spends more time with the pack?”
“His powers might grow, even mature, or it could be too late for him to develop any abilities.”
I gazed into space for a second. “Are you going to tell him?”
“If he can be trusted, yes. I was hoping to figure out his lineage first.”
“How can you do that?” I pushed.
“DNA.”
“But wouldn’t you need a sample from him?”
“Doctor Jensen collected a specimen from him when he stitched up his head.”
“Jesus, Griffin. What gives you the right?”
His jaw clenched. “If he is one of mine, I have every right. I need to protect him and my pack from harm.”
“What if he doesn’t want to be part of your pack?”
“It’s who he’s meant to be, Kyle. We’re his family.”
“We need to tell him,”
“Let’s wait until I can gather some more information about his background.”
“He has a right to know.”
“I agree. Give me a little more time, and we can tell him.”
I looked down at my fists. At some point in time I had clenched them. “I want to talk to Trina.”
Griffin must have seen something in my face that stopped him from asking why. He simply nodded and walked out of the room while I took calming breaths. A few minutes later, Trina came in, followed by Griffin. I had to be releasing a strong emotional scent since Trina walked over to me warily, as if trying not to startle me.
I sat down on the coffee table and smiled. “It’s okay, Trina. I just need to ask you a couple of questions.” She nodded and I continued. “When you first met Jason, you asked me what he was, and I told you he was human. Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“What did you think he was?”
“He smelled like a human but also like a shifter.”
“You can smell it on him?”
“Not the same way I smell others, but yes.”
I tried another tack. “The day you fell down the stairs, you said ‘I knew Jason would catch me’. How did you know?”
She shrugged. “He’s shifter.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
She hesitated for a second. “Because he doesn’t know he’s different, and I didn’t want to scare him.”
I looked up into Griffin’s face. “Fine, I’ll wait until we have more answers.”
Chapter 29
I hated waiting. But it was all I’d been doing for two days. Waiting for Bruce to hear from the poachers, waiting for Griffin to find out about Jason’s past. Finally, to avoid going bonkers from sitting around, I decided to take a field trip to visit Doyle.
I parked in front of the Wee Bit o’ Ireland Pawnshop and stepped in. I looked around the shop in shock. The shelves were looking a bit bare. “Sale” signs littered the walls. Doyle
never
had sales. Taped to the front of the counter was a large “Going out of Business” sign.
He stepped out of the back room, and I gaped at him. He had finally cut his comb-over off and looked like a new demon. “So you’re back in town.”
“Yep.” I gestured around the shop. “What’s going on?”
“We’re closing shop. Time to grow up.”
“What are you going to do instead?”
“I’m going to sell cars.”
I smiled. “Of course you are.”
“Coleen’s mother owns the Simpson dealerships.”
I gaped again at him. “Your mother-in-law is Martha Simpson?”
“Yes.”
“She’s richer than God. Why do you need to work?”
He huffed at me. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
I stifled a laugh. Wasn’t that the exact reason that had triggered my visit? “You are definitely a new demon.”
Doyle smiled. “What about you?”
My nerves tingled along my spine. “What about me?”
“How are things going?”
“I’m keeping busy.”
Doyle stepped around the counter. “Shifters keeping you hopping?”
I nodded. I wasn’t surprised he knew what I was working on.
“Just so you know, I still hear chatter periodically about the Key everyone was looking for last year.”
My nerves graduated from tingling to a full tango. “What kind of chatter?”
He picked up a radio with a crack down the middle and pitched it into a large garbage can next to the counter. “Just general speculation. Does it actually exist? And if it does, what happened to it?”
I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
He looked at me for a second. “Right. Well, I’m glad to see you back, McKinley.”
“Good to see you, too.” And I actually meant it. Who would have thought I would ever be happy to see Doyle?
He hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Are you doing better now that you’re back home?”
“Yes, running away wasn’t my smartest move.”
He shrugged. “You’re human, you’re going to make mistakes, but you learn from them.”
“Are you sure you shouldn’t be a shrink, Doyle?”
He grinned. “I’ll think about it.”
* * *
On my way back to the office, Doc called. She had information about the energy balls that had been used on the limo, so I detoured over to the facility. When I walked into the lab, she sat at a table in the corner working on her laptop. She looked up and smiled. Once again I was bowled over by her beauty.
“Woman, you should be declared illegal.”
She laughed. “I actually was hunted for several centuries. It’s frowned upon to suck life energy out of people.”
I almost made a flip remark, but the humor of her words didn’t reach her eyes. For a second they looked haunted.
“And what have you found out about the energy balls?”
“Misha was right. They were generated by Haltrap demons. Do you know much about them?”
“Not too much, I had a run-in with one in Nevada. Had to shoot him when he wouldn’t listen to me.”
“You’ll have to tell me that story some time.” She stood and walked over to another table to pour herself a cup of coffee. She held up the pot, and I shook my head before she set it down and continued. “Haltraps live in the Southwest since they hate cold and damp weather. The men in the clan are dominant. Haltraps are pretty powerful in the realm of demon. I would rate them a six or seven on a ten-point scale.”
“What are their main powers?”
“Energy balls, some telepathy, brute strength. They aren’t exactly the smartest demons on the block, so instead of running things, they’re usually demons-for-hire. They are highly materialistic.”
“Yeah, it sounds like the one I dealt with.”
“Don’t underestimate them, Kyle. They’re dangerous.”
“Why would they come to Ohio in February?”
“They would have to be highly motivated. Someone probably offered them a lot of money.”
I walked over to the table. “This case is getting more confusing by the minute. I don’t see poachers hiring demons to attack Griffin.”
“Maybe there are more players involved than we know,” Doc replied.
“Can you email your findings to Misha?”
“Already done.” She turned to me. “I could have sent this to you as well. You didn’t have to make a special trip.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I missed you.”
She grinned. “More like you’re stir crazy. You’re one of the least patient humans I know.”
“But you still love me.”
“Yes, but you’re high maintenance.”
My mouth dropped open. “I’m
not
high maintenance.”
Doc continued, “I don’t mean you want things. Emotionally you’re high-maintenance. How are things going with you and Griffin?”
I glared at her for a moment. “We’re at a standstill. What about you and Jason?”
“There is no me and Jason.”
“So you’re dating someone else?”
Doc crossed her arms. “No, I haven’t dated anyone in months.”
“Months? Won’t you implode if you don’t have sex?”
She laughed. “No, I won’t implode. I’m old enough now to go for longer periods without sex. Didn’t Misha explain this to you when he described the demon clans?”
“He didn’t spend too much time on Succubus demons. He said you are the only one he’s ever met.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Can you, in fact, kill someone when you have sex with them?”
“Why am I not surprised you jumped right to the hard questions?”
“Sorry…if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“No, I’m fine with it. Yes, Succubi can kill through sex by absorbing too much life force from our partner. But we don’t have to. Once we understand how to control our hunger, the sexual act becomes an exchange of energies for us. I take energy from the humans I date, but I also give them something in return.”
I swallowed. “So you don’t date supes?”
“I can’t exchange energies with other demons unless they’re part of my clan, and those are few and far between. And, as you know, vampires and demons do not mix well.”
“What about shifters?” I asked, and then held my breath.
Doc’s face tightened. “Shifters are too much of a temptation. Their energy is pure and can be highly addictive. The risk is too high that I might take too much.”
My chest tightened. I had to tell her about Jason. But was it right to tell her before I had even talked to him? I gritted my teeth. He deserved to know first. So my discussion with Sabrina would have to wait.
Damn.
Chapter 30
“It’s time to tell Jason,” I announced when I walked into Griffin’s office. He was sitting behind his desk reviewing some paperwork. Luckily he was alone.
He set his papers down. “Has something happened?”
“Not yet, but he needs to know. What else have you found out?”
“He does have shifter in his DNA makeup. Jensen is attempting to match it to our database, but it takes time.”
I sat down in his guest chair. “I hate waiting.”
“That is
very
apparent.”
“I feel like a rat keeping it from him. Plus, if he asks me point-blank if something is wrong, he’ll know I’m lying.”