Rayne

RAYNE

With the shifters’ weapons holstered, I felt this was as secure as it was going to get, so I stood and placed my Glock on the desk. I could tell they weren’t going to take no for an answer.

I broadened my stance and straightened my shoulders, trying to occupy as much space as possible. At five-foot-five, I was towered over by most people I encountered.

If they were human, it didn’t bother me so much. But when it came to their kind, it ticked me off.

I hated not being able to look them straight in the eye. As with humans, the bigger they were, the more intimidating they believed themselves to be, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

Most shifters strove to bring lesser beings under subjection, as they considered themselves the superior species, but there was no backing down for me.

Slowly and deliberately, I looked each one of them in the eye. I wasn’t daunted by their height. This was my place, and I wouldn’t cringe in fear of any human or shifter.

The Southerner grinned, his eyes roaming over my body, lingering on the good parts.

“Well, well, well… What’ve we got here? I must say, sweetheart, yer a sight for sore eyes. I feel bad I shot at ya. Well…almost.”

“Keep lookin’ at me that way and I will shoot ya,” I said, mocking his accent. “No ‘almost’ ’bout it. Now, I reckon we best get this show on the road, cuz I’m gettin’ bored. So start talkin’.”

My accent wasn’t half bad. It needed some work, but it was a good first try.

“Call me Cole, sweetheart. And if yer gettin’ bored, I can think of a few things we could do to pass the time.” Cole flashed a wicked smile before taking a step toward me.

My hand flew to my Glock. “One more step and I’ll put a bullet in your sweet spot. You got me, cupcake?”

He laughed at my threat as he took another step. My finger flexed around the trigger. The puma grabbed him by the shoulder, bringing him to a halt.

Cole tried to brush her off, but she held tight. He turned to scowl at her. The idiot should have thanked her. Whether he knew it or not, she had just saved his parts.

As they glared at one another, energy filled the air and tension welled up between them. I wasn’t certain, but it seemed like they were communicating via an invisible wavelength.

Such a connection meant they had to be a pack, which seemed odd, since they were different species.

But who was I to judge?

Time slowed until finally Cole jerked away from the female’s grasp. Whatever she had told him, he hadn’t liked it, but he stayed where he was.

Smart move. I eased my finger off the trigger and waited for their next move.

“Slater, we’ve heard about your reputation, that you’re the best at what you do. For that reason we need you to track down and capture a Reese Donovan.”

She walked up to my desk and dropped a folder on it. “Here’s a folder with photos and information about him.”

My eyes didn’t leave hers as I waited for her to continue.

“You’ll find him in Featherstone, Colorado, on his uncle’s property. Before you take Reese, we need you to do a reconnaissance of the territory.

“There’s an email address in the folder where you can send us pictures and the information you gather.

“We will let you know of the designated drop-off location.”

“Did he skip bail? ’Cause if he didn’t and this is for your own personal vendetta, then you’d better look elsewhere.” I slid the folder back toward her.

“We will generously pay you half a mil, should you complete the assignment.”

“So that’s a no,” I guessed. “Half a mil is a high price to pay for someone. What did you say the reason for his capture was?”

“I didn’t.”

I looked at them suspiciously. “Well, I can’t do it. The law and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, but even I have morals.”

“Don’t worry about morals, Slater. Just do as I’ve instructed, and you will walk away from this deal a whole lot richer. If you don’t, well…you might not walk out of this office.”

My eyes narrowed. “Is that a threat?”

“Yes. You believe you have a choice, Slater. You don’t. Either do this for us or your death will come sooner than expected,” she assured me.

“First off, that’s a choice,” I corrected her. “Second, I don’t like threats on my life. But…you’ve piqued my curiosity.”

I pulled the folder closer and opened it. The photo that stared up at me was of a shifter. My other half stirred, and I slowly glanced up to see if they had noticed.

I inhaled deeply, hoping my scent hadn’t changed in that split second.

I looked past the photo and continued to flip through the documents. After skimming the pages, I finally closed the folder and let my mind take it all in.

This was dangerous, extremely dangerous. Taking on this assignment meant risking more than just my life.

Reese Donovan. A daddy cat of the shifter world. One of the big boys.

Lions were considered untouchable.

You didn’t mess with one unless you had a death wish. And where there was one, there were always more. I was in way over my head on this one.

If this shifter so much as suspected I was up to no good, I would find myself swimming with the fishes.

The way I saw it, I had two options: I could refuse the job, and the shifters in front of me would try to kill me, and possibly succeed.

Or I could accept their proposition and run the high risk of Donovan killing me. No matter how I looked at it, I was 100 percent screwed.

“Map out the layout of the property and surrounding building structures. We want to know how many people live around the area and everything about their security.

“Keep us posted every day on your progress. If you don’t report in for whatever reason, we will assume you’ve been compromised.

“The deadline is the end of next week. So if I were you, I’d get started right away. As for your money, you’ll receive half now and the rest when you finish the job. Any questions?”

I looked at the other two. “Two, actually. What’s your name? And why me? Lassie and Marmaduke here seem more than capable of retrieving this Reese guy.”

I knew calling Bruce and Cole dogs would hit a nerve, and I got the reaction I set out for. Their feral growls filled the air, causing the hairs on my neck to stand on end.

If I was a normal human, I would have trembled at their display of dominance. Instead, I sat there unmoved.

Confusion flickered across their faces, and their eyes narrowed on me. They were unaccustomed to a human not being ruffled by their show of dominance, especially a female.

I realized my error in judgment and went about fixing my mistake. The image of the twisted mother crawling from the movie Mama jumped into my head and kick-started my fear hormone.

As my fear became evident in my scent, it appeased the shifters. Within seconds, satisfied smirks replaced their confused expressions.

Sick freaks. If they only knew.

“Be very careful, Slater. We may need your services, but you are also expendable. As for my name, it’s Kayla.” She pivoted and gestured to Cole to get the door.

The night’s frigid air rushed back in as he moved it. I stifled a groan.

Kayla reached into her coat and pulled out a black bag to throw my way. I caught it in midair and peered inside. It was filled with bundles of one-hundred-dollar bills.

“That’s your first installment. You’ll find a burner phone in there too. Keep us updated. And Slater? Don’t cross us. This is your only warning.” She strode to the door where Cole was standing.

A comeback was in my mouth, but I held it in as she made her exit into the white night. My eyes drifted to Cole, who was leaning against the door’s broken frame.

His gaze ravished me. “Catch ya next time, sweetheart. Till then I’ll be dreamin’ ’bout that body of yers writhin’ under me while a scream passes those pretty lips.”

“Not even in your wildest dreams, cupcake. But should we meet again, you’ll be screaming for a whole different reason,” I vowed, shooting him a dirty look.

“Ah, sweetheart, them smoky eyes of yers are turnin’ me on.” He smirked as he waited for a limping Bruce to join him.

My other half moved restlessly, growling to be let loose so she could teach this imbecile a lesson. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stay in control, but Cole took this as a positive sign.

His eyes darkened, and the smell of his arousal filled the office.

Bruce limped over to the door. “As much as I’d enjoy her screams, I’m ready to get out of this hellhole. If she doesn’t finish the job, you can have her then.”

“You should really let someone look at that leg of yours, buddy. You wouldn’t want it getting infected now, would you?” I taunted him, though I knew there was zero chance of that.

Bruce sneered and flipped me the bird.

“Not in a million years,” I retorted.

A horn blared outside, signaling Kayla was ready to go.

Bruce leveled one final glare my way before lumbering outside.

“Till next time, sweetheart,” Cole promised, and he tipped his hat and walked out.