Chapter 3 #2
“I know. But I think you’re too cautious, Fiona. You suspect everyone. I know your job has a lot to do with that, though not all of it. I wish you’d try and see more good in people,” her brother replied.
The way he said it made me wonder what, besides her job, made her that way.
“Shall we update you on what we did today while you were at work?” Gunnar asked.
“Please do,” she responded.
Quickly, Gunnar and I ran through the areas we found needed improvement and what we purchased to beef them up.
We made sure to emphasize from the start that there was funding available for the costs that Sentinels had access to.
Her remark earlier about overtime hadn’t been overlooked.
Gal was a teenager. Old Galen, by human standards, looked to be in his thirties, and they undoubtedly called him something other than granddad around humans.
He had to be at least a few hundred years old.
He was capable of working, though I wasn’t sure if he did.
When we were through, she sat there, not saying a word for a few seconds, then she sighed.
“Okay, so where do we go from here? You bought those items. We need to get someone to install the security system, and we should be fine, is what you’re saying.”
“We’ll put in the new locks, and the rods are already in every window.
As for the indoor and outdoor cameras, spotlights, and the alarm system, we’ll install those.
While we do so, we’ll be spending time running down leads to see if we can substantiate the rumors you’ve heard.
Find out if others have gotten letters. If you know any other families we should talk to, please let us know.
“And while we do this, one of us will be with your brother and Galen. You’ll be taken to work and picked up by one of us, Fiona.
No going anywhere alone. If you go out in the field, you can’t ever wander away from your work group.
It would be better to remain within sight of an officer at all times,” I emphasized.
“That’ll make Officer Sanchez happy.” Gal chuckled.
The moment his remark registered, and I saw his sister scowl at him and shake her head, my body stiffened. Inside, Rogue’s purring changed to a snarl. It was all I could do to hold it in. He clawed at my insides to be let loose.
Let me out. I’ll hunt this man who dares to think he has a claim on our mate, Rogue snarled.
You can’t hunt someone for no reason, I argued, though I agreed with him. It wouldn’t do for him to know that.
Why not? She’s ours. We are entitled to protect what is ours. As our mate, future mother of our cubs, it is more than reason enough.
Our internal dialogue ended when Gunnar added one more piece.
“I think that’s enough for tonight. You need to eat and get some rest. Keir is staying tonight, Galen.
I’ll be here in the morning. Fiona, if you have to go into work, here are our numbers.
Keir can text me what time you need me to pick you up.
I’ll take you to work while Keir stays here.
Then, when I return, he can go back to the hotel and get some sleep.
I can work on things during the day while he rests and you work. ”
“Wait a minute. Stay? Why are you staying?” she asked me.
“Because until we can say that the letter is a hoax, we’re not leaving your family alone.
I’ll be in and out of the house, but no worries, I’m quiet.
I’ll need to patrol the perimeter and then be inside, as well.
Galen, thank you for the key. As for her texting you, Gunnar, no need.
I’m here. I’ll take her to work, then you can spell me.
It makes no sense for you to come get her when I’m here,” I explained.
The twinkle in my friend’s eye told me he knew exactly why I said that.
He wasn’t fooled. As we were speaking, Galen got up and went to the fridge.
He pulled out containers of the potatoes, corn, and chicken we’d had for dinner.
He was preparing a plate, no doubt for Fiona.
I wanted to be the one to do it, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Daideo, don’t do that. I can do it, but honestly, I just want to sleep.” She yawned.
“I know you do, and once you eat, you can. You work too much. They’re using you again.”
“I know. Wally said the same thing. He’s not happy with them and told me to say no.”
Wally? Who the hell was Wally? Exactly how many men did she have wanting to take care of her?
Her family said she had no mate or boyfriend, but it sure sounded as if there were candidates.
None of them had better get too close, or I wouldn’t be able to guarantee their safety.
There was nothing more dangerous than a shifter defending his mate or cubs.
And if nothing else, today had shown me it was possible to fall under a woman’s spell in less than a day, and to act like a lovesick, jealous fool.
I had a feeling I would keep doing that.
Hopefully, Fiona would be in the same boat.
Though if she were, I didn’t see signs of it.
There were times when I thought I caught the smell of her arousal, but it was so faint and then gone, I assumed it was wishful thinking.
No matter. I’d give her a few days to get used to me.
And when she was, I’d begin to press my suit with her.
In the meantime, I’d see how much I could learn about her and help her to know about Rogue and me.
I was dying to find out her likes, dislikes, dreams, desires, and what kind of leopard she was, to name a few.
What she would look like in her leopard form.
Speaking of Rogue, tomorrow I’d question the Katz men about where they went to allow their leopards out to play.
It wasn’t good for a shifter to keep their animals locked away for too long.
If you did that, they became unruly. And there had been cases where animals had become feral.
The shifters and their animal had to be euthanized.
We’d been called in to do that a few times. It was tragic.
Gunnar wished the Katzes goodnight and shook hands. I walked him to the front door, then outside.
“Buddy, I wish you luck with her. She’ll be a tough one to crack. Give her a bit of time before you go in like a gangbuster. She’s a strong, independent, and mistrustful woman. Don’t blow this if you think she might be the one for you,” Gunnar warned me in a whisper at the door of the SUV.
“There’s no thinking about it. I’m ninety percent sure she is. And believe me, I don’t want to fuck it up. Drive safely. Let me know when you get to the hotel.”
“Sure thing. Okay, I’ve got to go. Watch yourself,” he warned.
I stood there as he started the SUV, then backed up.
A brief wave and then he was off. There were several hotels within three or four miles.
He’d gone and rented a room for us after I came back from getting supplies, before I went to pick up Fiona.
He already had a room key for both of us.
I was too hyped up to be sleepy. That would come later, but I was used to long hours.
It wouldn’t be the first time I went over twenty-four hours without sleep.
I took a few deep, cleansing breaths before I walked back inside and locked the door.
I had a feeling it would be a long night.
?
I was right. It had been a long night. I went outside several times and walked around the house, standing still for long stretches, listening to the sounds around me.
I began to catalog the normal nighttime sounds in this area.
By doing this, anyone approaching the house would disturb the natural alarms. Insects and animals would go silent. It would be a signal for us.
When I was inside, I paced quietly as Fiona’s rich scent filled my lungs.
Her essence made me hot, and I didn’t mean my temperature rose, though it felt like it did inside me.
I was horny. I began to fantasize that she asked me to her bed.
And when I unwrapped her fully, it was incredible.
The faceless woman of my fantasy yesterday now had a face and a body to match.
Fiona was petite—I estimated her to be five feet two or three, compared to my six feet two–and next to me, fragile-looking, but I knew she had a backbone of steel from the way she stood up to me at her work and afterward.
When she took out her gun and ordered her brother to safety behind her, I’d been pissed she was protecting him and intrigued that she saw fit to do it.
Her build was somewhat slender, yet she had subtle curves. Her breasts were more than adequate for her frame, and I’d get a nice handful. Her hips were gentle swells, with more than decent peaks and valleys.
Fiona’s skin was fair, with a dusting of tiny golden freckles across her nose and along her cheekbones.
They added to her beauty, reminding me of faint sprinkles of cinnamon on cream.
Along with her incredible skin, her mouth was shaped like a bow, and her elegant brows emphasized her already captivating greenish-blue eyes and small, elfin nose.
When she came out of her bedroom after changing last night, her hair was down.
All that thick honey-blond hair with golden highlights hung in a ponytail that hit at her waist. I wanted to touch it and bury my face in it.
Images of what I could do with it wrapped around my fists hit me.
I was thankful I was seated then. Rogue was equally enthralled with my mate and was impatient to meet her leopard.
He wanted to know her name and mark her as his, the way he was urging me to mark Fiona.
For non-shifters, I didn’t doubt that if they knew of us, they would find it weird the way we thought of our animals as a part of us, yet separate. And the fact that they communicated with us and vice versa would no doubt be even odder. They were both individuals and part of us.