CHAPTER FIVE
Tina couldn’t believe she’d just been kissing sexy Lance Fiori as if her life depended on it. Damn. He was a good kisser. And she might’ve learned a whole lot more about his lovemaking had the phone not brought them both to their senses. Saved by the bell. Or not. She wasn’t sure if she was upset by the interruption or relieved by it.
Lance was taking notes while still on the phone. It sounded like some sort of automotive crisis that only he could handle. She wasn’t thrilled by the idea that he had to leave—not after they’d just been kissing like there was no tomorrow—but she also understood that he had his own business, and he had to keep that going, not only for himself, but for all those he employed.
When he finally ended the call, she was already on her feet, her pocketbook in hand. She was planning to make a hasty exit, trying to keep what little dignity she still had intact, but he stopped her, putting one muscular arm around her waist.
“Where are you going?” he asked, his voice gentler than she’d ever heard it.
She couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “You’ve got work to do. I don’t want to get in your way.”
He turned her so that they were standing face to face, but she didn’t know where to look. Lance was completely outside her limited experience with men. He was something greater than any man she’d ever been with. He was Lance. Her high school crush. Possibly a freaking phoenix shifter. It was all just a little bit too much.
But Lance wasn’t letting her get away that easily. He lifted her head with one calloused finger under her chin. He didn’t force her, but he also would not be denied. She met his gaze, cringing a little inside at what might be going through his mind.
“Will you come back later this afternoon?” His question took her by complete surprise.
“Why?” The word escaped without her conscious control.
“A lot of reasons. First, I seem to like having you around.” His lopsided grin warmed her heart. “Second, I really want to talk to you more about this phoenix thing. And third…” He caressed her hair with one gentle hand as he looked deep into her eyes. “The call of the desert is less when you’re around. It was driving me crazy before you called and all while I was waiting for you to arrive, but now… Now, it’s much more manageable, for the first time in weeks. It’s been driving me a little crazy, if I’m honest, and I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten until now. You muted it. I mean, it’s still there, but it’s way less. You did that, Tina. I have no other explanation. If you hadn’t already told me you were a witch, I’d start thinking it now.”
His smile invited her to do the same. “All right,” she agreed quietly.
“Will you go to dinner with me? I’ll make reservations,” he offered.
“Reservations? Should I get dressed up?”
He liked the playful light in her eyes. “Yeah, why don’t we? Let’s do this up right. I haven’t been out to a nice place in too long, and I definitely owe you a special dinner for all the help you’ve been so far.”
“I’d like that,” she told him. He felt like he’d just won the lottery. “Now, I just have one more question before I go. Do you have a right-hand man? Some employee or partner in your business that you trust more than the others?”
“Yeah, I guess. Why?” he asked, surprised and a bit concerned by her question.
“Because I think we need to have a contact among your shifters. Somebody needs to know what you’re up against, just in case I’m not here and you have a crisis. You need allies, right now, Lance. Is there someone you trust enough that you’ll let him or her in on your secret?” Her gaze was serious, her words troubling.
“There’s Stone. He runs the mechanics. He’s a good man,” Lance told her, confident in his friend and employee, but would Stone think they were completely nuts? “Are you absolutely positive they’re shifters?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m positive,” she assured him. “And don’t worry. You don’t have to do this part on your own. I’m going to come back before closing time. Maybe you could set up a meeting with this Stone guy in your office for like an hour before quitting time? I’ll be glad to break the news and see if he’s willing to help. I can also probably tell if he’s on the level or not, which is something else we need to establish before we know exactly who you can trust.”
“On the level?” This was getting complicated.
“Lance, the kind of power you have inside you is very tempting to magic users with evil intent. If you survive your first shift, you’re not completely out of the woods. There may be people out there plotting against you. Like I said, you’re going to need allies. The people who’ve gathered around you have done so for a reason. My contacts seem to think they would be a good place to start in the search for those allies.”
“All right,” he caved, willing to trust Tina in this crazy business, where he probably wouldn’t trust anyone else so easily. “I’ll set up the meeting.”
“Then, I’ll be here around four in the afternoon. Does that work?” she asked, smiling up at him so beautifully he had to bend down and buss her on the lips.
*
At four o’clock, Lexi announced Tina’s arrival, and Stone showed up, a rag in his hands that he was using to clean the grease out from under his fingernails. His hands were clean, but he was a little fussy about removing all the traces of his labors before he headed home. Some of the guys teased him about it, but most followed his example. Lance privately thought he must have the cleanest garage in the history of garages, but maybe that was because shifters were more sensitive about things like odors and sounds.
Lance had been thinking about it all day. If a person could turn into an animal at will, wouldn’t they have more acute senses than regular folk? He thought that was what the legends said, so maybe there was some truth to it all. He wasn’t sure. Yet another question for Tina, or maybe for Stone…if he didn’t laugh his way out of Lance’s office first.
Lance hoped like hell that he wasn’t about to make a fool of himself. All he really had was Tina’s word for the fact that there were supposedly a bunch of shapeshifters all around him every day. What if she was wrong? What if he was losing his ever-loving mind? What if this was all a big mistake?
But then, he thought about the kisses he’d shared with Tina. Something that felt that right could never be a mistake.
He’d felt so good all day. Better than he’d felt in a long time. The call of the sun had been so much less. It had been a blessed relief not to have that itchy feeling in his mind, driving him to go out to the desert and…what? He still wasn’t sure about this phoenix stuff.
What was he going to do? Sprout wings and fly? Yeah, right. Lance still didn’t really believe that sort of thing was possible for him. Maybe werewolves were real. He was almost ready to accept that because there had been so many myths and legends throughout the ages about such things. There had to be some element of truth in there somewhere, right?
But people turning into birds? Flaming birds that fly into the sun? Fat chance.
Although… There were plenty of legends about the phoenix out there. He’d done a little web surfing at odd moments throughout the day and had read some of them. It was the stuff of fantasy. Mythology. Ancient lore that really didn’t seem to have a bearing on the world today.
He just didn’t know. It felt like maybe… Maybe there might be some truth to it, but he couldn’t be sure. Not yet, anyway.
Still, he was troubled enough by the rising and setting of the sun, that he was willing to explore the possibilities. He sort of dreaded the meeting to come, though. What if Tina was wrong about Stone and the guys in the shop? Lance didn’t want his employees thinking he was crazy.
“You wanted to see me, boss?” Stone took a chair in front of Lance’s desk, still working on his fingers with the clean rag.
“Yeah. Just hang on for a minute. I have another friend coming,” Lance told him, going to the doorway to meet Tina on the way in.
He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear. “Are you sure about this?”
When he stepped back, she nodded. “Quite sure,” and strode into the office to look at Stone, seated in one of the guest chairs. “Hello, Alpha.”
Stone sat up straight in his chair and narrowed his gaze on Tina. He didn’t look friendly. In fact, Lance didn’t like the way his employee was looking at Tina at all.
“Do I know you?” Stone said, sounding more than a bit unfriendly.
Lance stepped between them. “Tina is an old friend of mine. We went to high school together. Tina, this is Stone. Now, play nice,” Lance ordered them, only half joking.
Tina looked at the open door and waved her hand at it. Lance’s jaw dropped as the door slammed shut.
“I’m a witch. I serve the Light,” Tina said rather boldly. “And I want to help Lance. He’s in trouble, and he needs allies.”
Stone seemed to weigh her words before he answered. “What sort of trouble?”
“Do you know what he is?” Tina countered the question with another.
“Not really,” Stone admitted, looking uncomfortably at Lance then moving his gaze back to Tina.
“He doesn’t know for certain either, but I’ve been in touch with the priestess of the Redstone Clan and her mate. They think they recognize the signs,” Tina spoke more softly. “They think he’s a phoenix.”
Stone looked at Lance again, as if measuring him. He paused so long that Lance began to feel uncomfortable, but he refused to fidget.
“Well, hell. That would explain a lot of things,” Stone finally said.
Holy shit. Had Stone just admitted to believing in the crazy world of shapeshifters and magic? Son of a gun, but Lance believed he had.
“Like why you and your Pack members were drawn here? Why you feel compelled to watch out for him?” Tina asked quietly. “If we’re right, he’s nearing the crisis point. If he shifts, he’ll need something to come back for…or he won’t come back at all.”
“Sweet Mother of All,” Stone breathed.