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translating Chloe s real meaning.  Why would we want to do that? We haven t had a
chance to, um, question him yet.
Julian blew Cyn a kiss.  I love you.
Her answering grin was smug.  I know.
 I cussed meant Babe might want to freshen him.
Chloe was still shaking, her words broken and slurred, but at least she was speaking
again.
Jim kissed Chloe s forehead.  Breathe, baby. He can t hurt you anymore. She sighed
and leaned into him, but didn t answer. He didn t know if it was because she no longer
could, or if she was trying to do as he asked, but he didn t care either way. He was here
now, and he d take care of her.  All right. I think we need to call Ryan, Gabe and whoever
that other annoying asshole is whose name I ve forgotten.
Cyn, Julian and Chloe all laughed.  Barney, Cyn and Julian echoed each other.
 I ll call him. Cyn gently took hold of Chloe, pulling her free of Jim s embrace.
Jim fully expected both he and his Wolf would be pissed by that, but Cyn s quiet nod
reassured them both. The five-inch claws, and the evil look she shot the Cheetah, also
helped. Cyn would protect Chloe as well as he would. The fact that Cyn was female
seemed to be more than enough to keep his Wolf calm. Cyn was no threat to their newly
formed bond.
 All right, Julian. Spill. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the Bear, well
aware Cyn had pulled his mate away for more than the obvious reasons.  What the fuck
is going on?
 There was more to the attack on Chloe than we let you know. Julian didn t look the
least bit apologetic.  Things we couldn t tell you because you had no idea shifters
existed.
 You ll tell me now. Jim couldn t protect Chloe otherwise.
Julian nodded.  Did you know that Tabby was attacked by a rogue Wolf named Gary?
Jim shook his head. He hadn t heard anything about this.  When did this happen?
 Months ago, right before the attack on Chloe. We thought that he d been the one to
hurt her, but we were wrong. He was, however, sent here to watch her.
 Why? Jim found he couldn t keep his eyes off his mate.
 We don t know. He refused to tell us, even from shifter jail. Gabe was trying to track
down who he worked for, who his Alpha might be, but got sidetracked when first Cyn
then Glory were also attacked.
Jim took a deep breath and tried to still the urge to pace. Chloe did not need to know
how upset he was.  What did Gabe find out?
 Hunters in other parts of the country have found bodies with similar wounds, all of
them fatal. Worse, all of the victims were half-breeds like Chloe.
 Someone wants to preserve bloodlines? To Jim that sounded both elitist and futile.
Even he, so new he still squeaked when he walked, knew fate chose your mate, not
desire.  That s fucking stupid.
 We re not sure why half-breeds are being targeted, but from what Alex told me they
might even be going after kids and making it look like accidents.
Meaning Alex and Tabby s child would be targeted, as would any kids Chloe and Jim
had.  What do you need me to do?
 Finish mating Chloe, then find Gabe and Barney. Maybe they have more information
than I do. Julian shrugged.  I m not a Hunter, so I m not caught up in the loop.
 Hunter? Jim finally turned his attention away from Chloe. Something about the way
Julian said that word had him thinking it meant more than guys sitting in a deer blind
waiting for a buck to wander by.
 Think of Hunters as the Feds of the shifter world. Their main purpose is to ensure that
rogues are taken out before they do damage to humans or other shifters. Ryan, Gabe and
Barney are all Hunters.
 How do you become a Hunter? Because he could totally see himself in a shifter blind
waiting to shoot whoever was after his mate.
 You re born one, not made, sort of like I was born pretty. Julian flipped his long hair
back over his shoulder and batted his lashes at Jim.
 Uh-huh. Somehow Jim didn t think it worked quite that way, but until he d spoken to
the Hunters he wouldn t know for sure.  So they re definitely going to want to have a little
chat with Spot.
 Especially since he was the one who attacked Cyn. Julian s expression, usually so
easygoing, turned briefly fierce.  Unfortunately, I can t rip his arms off until they question
him.
The human half of Jim was horrified that Julian sounded so serious. They were talking
about torturing and killing a sentient being, a person who probably had family and friends
back wherever he came from.
His Wolf half wanted to call dibs on the guy s hindquarters.
 Do you think he had anything to do with the attack on Chloe? Jim stared down at the
Cheetah and tried not to picture him folded into a pretzel.
 There was no scent of shifter near where Chloe was found, but it s possible I missed it
when I was healing her.
 I owe you for that. Jim scowled.  No one saw the attack?
Julian shook his head.  There was an anonymous call made to 9-1-1. By the time I got
on the scene the paramedics were already there, working on her.
Jim s mind was whirling with possibilities.  Is there any chance at all that she wasn t
attacked there? That she was assaulted somewhere else, then dumped there?
Julian s eyes went wide.  Mother fucker. He pulled out his cell phone and began to
dial.  You re a smart man, Doc Woods.
 Would the Hunters keep that kind of information from you, though?
 If Gabe thought he was protecting us? Fuck yes. Julian held up his hand.  Gabe?
We ve got a problem.
Jim s attention was drawn inevitably toward Chloe. The knowledge that she was a
target of something larger than a random bashing, that she was still in danger from her
attackers, filled him with rage. His fangs descended and fur began to sprout on his arms.
He was going to shift, and nothing Jim could do would stop it.
 Sit. Stay. Good woof-woof. Julian patted his shoulder, and Jim s Wolf once more
calmed under the Bear s touch. His fangs receded and the fur disappeared.
 Whoa. He was beginning to understand why so many people called Julian Super
Bear.
 Stick around. For my next trick I m going to make a Cheetah eat its own anus.
Jim had no doubt Julian would do just that.
Chapter Eight
Chloe glanced at Jim, surprised to find him so calm and cool. She could have sworn
she d heard his Wolf growling so deeply she d been certain he was about to change.
Either that or take her down and claim her like a wild man.
Instead, he was chatting with Julian as if nothing at all was wrong.
 He s close, but Super Bear got his ass to calm down. Cyn put her phone away.
 Barney s on his way.
 So is Ryan. Chloe had called her brother the moment she and Cyn were apart from
Jim and Julian. It wasn t that she doubted that the three of them could keep watch over
one Cheetah. It was more her brother deserved to be there when they questioned him.  I
wish I blew why this was happening to we. Chloe rubbed her arms, chilled to the bone. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]