Chapter Four
He could tell by the expression on Ana's face that she had no intention of letting him leave her behind. Given what they had gone through, it surprised him–but he was also pleased with her tenacity. She was a brave woman, there was no doubt about that, and even though he hadn't known her for long, he could tell that she was strong-willed and wouldn't give up what she wanted easily.
"Just rest," he said, getting to his feet. He had managed to procure a pair of pants since his shredded when he shifted, but they were a little small and uncomfortable. Better than being naked, though. "I'm going to check the perimeter."
He saw Ana glancing around, taking in their surroundings for the first time. Her eyes widened when she saw the cave they were in. It was one of Joseph's favorite haunts, for when city life became too constricting and he needed to be with his Bear.
We shouldn't leave her, his Bear snarled.
I'm just stepping outside.
We shouldn't leave her.
Joseph ignored his Bear, quickly leaving the cave. He needed some space from her to let himself feel what he ought to be feeling at the moment–fury. His worry for her was over, now that she was awake. All that was left in his body was hatred, a desire to kill all of those beasts that put his–not his–Ana in danger.
His Bear snorted. Our mate.
I don't want a mate.
There was anger at himself, too, though. Yes, Ana was important to him, but his first duty as a detective had been towards the senator. Seth Fischer was going to change the country and Joseph had abandoned him–as well as whatever future the shifters had–for Ana. There was no reason to. He barely knew her. And yet he had shirked his duty.
Because she is our mate.
He felt the instincts rising to go back to her, to mate her. Just being near her, smelling her, seeing her lush curves and determined gaze, had him hardening to a point where it was almost impossible to resist. He knew she would gladly take him. He could tell by the way she looked at him, the scent of arousal that hit his nose when her eyes met his. He'd never experienced anything that powerful before, although apparently, it wasn't usual. Shifters were well-tuned to the scents of their mates, so much that often a male would know when his mate was pregnant before she knew.
She is not my mate.
Then go in there and make her our mate. His Bear growled with frustration, beating its paws against his chest. We belong with her, can't you tell that?
Joseph ground his teeth. She is not our mate. I don't want a mate. Besides, she is in police custody, until this case is over it's forbidden to sleep with her.
His Bear made an angry, sarcastic noise.
Besides, it's different for non-shifters. They need time to decide who they want to be with for their whole lives. And even if they didn't, this is the second time in two days she nearly died. She isn't thinking clearly. And neither am I. Buck is dead. Or have you forgotten?
His heart clenched. Joseph didn't make friends easily, especially outside of the shifter clans. Buck had given him unconditional friendship. To even consider sleeping with Ana only hours after Buck died would be as good as spitting on his grave.
Thankfully, his Bear didn't argue anymore. Joseph scanned the trees, alert for danger. He hadn't been outside very long when he heard Ana staggering out to join him. He resisted the urge to turn and scoop her into his arms and take her back inside. He did, however, put a frown on his face and crossed his arms.
"You're going to injure your leg even worse if you don't go back inside."
"We don't have time to sit around. I've wasted enough time already." Ana shook her head, leaning against the cave wall for support. "We need to get back to the city so we can find Seth. Clearly, the assassin wasn't working alone and if we get to the office, I can give you the documents I collected on anti-shifter groups that have been threatening us."
The senator. Joseph sighed. There was really only one reason he could think of why the intruders would take him alive, and it wasn't pretty. In the old days, shifters were often tortured into shifting and then killed; they were then skinned and their hides hung up as warning to others. While there wasn't any one particular group that was saying they should recreate that sort of thing, the fact was that Fischer had been taken to send a message of shifters. The only way it would end was with the senator dead and his corpse made a spectacle of.
"Well?" Ana flinched every time she took a step, but she started to hobble into the forest. "Are you coming or not?"
Mate her. His Bear's voice was louder than ever before and Joseph felt it clawing at him, trying to emerge.
He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. The Beast never learned, it seemed. But he did go to her and pick her up. She felt so right in his arms. She yelped, her eyes widening. Then narrowing when he turned back into cave.
"Hey! We can't just leave Seth in the hands of those killers!"
"Miss Medina, I hate to tell you this, but he's probably already dead."
Ana stilled. She turned her face away, shaking her head hard. "No. I heard them, they wanted him alive. Why would they want him alive just to kill him later?"
"To make a spectacle of it."
His heart clenched as a silver tear ran down her cheek. Her big beautiful lips–her devil-red lipstick had been wiped away, but they were just as pretty without it–trembled. She shook her head again. He hated seeing her so sad but didn't know what to do.
His Bear, thankfully, kept its suggestions to itself.
Joseph settled her back down on the cave floor, in the nest of blankets he had made for her earlier. His hand moved to smooth her silky honey-dyed hair from her face before he stopped himself and instead clenched his hand at his side. What was wrong with him? He needed to remain calm and professional, not go all gooey.
"We have a bigger problem, Ana." There was no harm in calling her by her first name, especially when he was trying to keep her calm. And that was all he was doing.
Yeah… sure it is.
Joseph ground his teeth. It would be a miracle if he had any teeth left at the end of this.
Ana narrowed her eyes at him, folding her arms across her chest. The shifter fought not to notice how it plumped her breasts, turning the hint of cleavage at her neckline to an all-out feast for the eyes. He wondered what her skin would taste like…
Quickly he got to his feet and stalked away, furious at himself. Why couldn't he control his instincts?
"What is it?" Ana snapped, clearly taking offense to his reaction.
"The safe house was attacked, which means that somebody tipped them off to your location. There was a cop inside who turned against us." And killed Buck. Joseph swallowed hard. "But I knew him. He was not the kind of guy who had the guts to turn against his fellow cops without backup from within. That means there has to be at least one person, probably a superior, who is also part of the anti-shifter group. I have no idea who that might be. But if he's in a high enough position, he can easily blame you and me for that attack."
Ana's jaw dropped. "What? How? We had nothing—"
"We fled the scene. And some of the gunmen saw me shift. They'd love to blame this on another shifter. We can't go back, not until I find out more. We can't risk getting arrested."
He expected Ana to be angry or afraid, but after a moment where a dozen emotions flitted over her face, she straightened. Her hand lightly tracing the bandage on her thigh, she nodded. She looked utterly calm, her gaze steady. This was a woman who could stay cool under pressure and Joseph once again had to resist the urge to kiss her.
"So what do we do now? We can't just hang out here, as lovely as it is here. If Seth is dead, I can't let his legacy die with him. Shifters deserve the full protection of the law and the right to be able to be treated with the respect that everyone else—" she cut herself off, chewing on her lower lip. "I'm preaching to the choir, aren't I?"
Joseph returned to her side. "It's refreshing to meet somebody this passionate about shifter rights," he admitted. "Someone who is willing to make the effort and do the work. Even my own parents prefer not to talk about it. They have a 'if we don't bother them, they won't bother us' philosophy. It didn't stop my mother from having her medical license revoked when one of her patients found out she could shift into a vampire bat. They accused her of drinking their blood, which is ridiculous. My mother is a strict vegan."
Ana's eyes widened. "What about your father?"
"Bear, like me." He shook his head. Talking about his parents right now wasn't the best thing to do. It made him miss home, when he needed to focus on the situation at hand. How will I tell them Buck is dead? "I need to get you to a safe place where you can keep a low profile while I continue to investigate. There are safe houses, but they're the first places a dirty cop would look."
"I know of a place."
Ana began chewing her lip again. It made Joseph want to lay her down and kiss every part of her body. He focused on her eyes instead. She looked hesitant like she wasn't sure it was the best idea.
"Well?" he prompted.
"Well… you're going to have to pretend to be my boyfriend."