Chapter 3
The afternoon dragged for Liam. He spent most of it tying up the last of his duties at the nearly-empty base. He was cataloguing gear for transport and checking logs when his phone buzzed. The caller ID read, Goodwell.
He hit accept instantly. “Liam Kinkaid.”
“This is Lina Goodwell,” her clear voice answered.
“I’ve got some results I’d like to share.
I ran Mrs. Entwistle through our systems and found a few hits that weren’t in your file.
She’s using an alias tied to a lease in Queens.
Nothing flashy, but the timeline fits with her movements after she left New York the last time. ”
Liam straightened in his chair. “That’s a solid lead. Are you free to meet so we can discuss it further?”
“I can be. You mentioned meeting again tonight. Will that work?” she asked.
He glanced at the half-finished inventory on his desk. None of it mattered as much as this new mission, or the intriguing woman on the other end of the line. “I can make time. Can we talk during dinner?”
Silence. Just long enough for his lion to prick its ears and pay attention.
“Dinner?” she echoed, sounding wary.
He understood. For shifters, offering food wasn’t casual. It could be a significant signal, in certain situations. Him buying her breakfast this morning could be chalked up to friendliness among new colleagues, but if he kept feeding her, it could be taken for courtship.
He wasn’t really aiming to court the pretty lynx shifter, but something protective and almost nurturing roused in him on every interaction.
He had to somehow make it clear that sharing dinner wasn’t a primal need to provide for a potential mate.
In this case, it was about working together and utilizing the little time Liam had today efficiently.
That’s all it was. Surely.
“There’s a place I know. Family-owned. Shifter-run.
It’s safe for us to talk, and they’ll give us privacy.
I just really don’t have a lot of time to spare today, and we both have to eat.
” There. That should make it clear that what he was proposing was simply a shared meal, not the beginning of some sort of intimate relationship.
She paused before answering. He imagined her lynx bristling, weighing the offer, testing his intentions. Finally, she exhaled.
“All right. Text me the address,” she almost snapped.
“Will do. Seven o’clock work for you?” he asked.
“Yes.”
The line went dead, and he couldn’t help but smile. Was she merely being efficient or had he detected a bit of pique? The sassy lynx side of her intrigued him. He looked forward to seeing her again. Dangerous waters, but he had his head on straight now.
Work colleagues. That’s all they were, all they could be. His lion had other ideas, but Liam had spent years learning discipline. He could handle one beautiful lynx shifter.
Probably.
Lina was a good friend to have with all sorts of law enforcement connections, and he’d heard tall tales about her skills with a sniper rifle. Any weapon, really. She was among the best of the best with a firearm in her hands. Or so his friends in the Army unit had told him.
Liam laid his phone down, his mouth quirking. She hadn’t liked agreeing, but she’d agreed all the same. Maybe her lynx didn’t trust easily. Maybe it recognized something in his lion that complicated things. Either way, he wasn’t about to waste the chance to get to know her better.
Antonia’s on Main sat on a bustling corner not far from the water. Liam arrived a little early. Not that he was eager or anything. He kept telling himself that as he made his way into the bustling restaurant.
Inside, the scents of grilled meat, herbs, and fresh bread mingled, soothing his beast and reminding him of family gatherings back in Texas.
The food at this place was excellent, and the chef was a shifter.
Liam had been introduced to her by his newly-mated cousins, Rich and Billy, and he’d eaten here whenever he was on the island long enough to grab food.
Chef Antonia Hutchinson always welcomed fellow shifters and had special accommodations for them away from the front of house where the general public paid exorbitant prices to eat her fine food.
Having earned her first Michelin star at the tender age of twenty-two, Chef Tony could command high prices and long waiting lists for seats in her two establishments.
This was her Long Island location, which was larger and served more people than the flagship restaurant she’d started with in Manhattan.
She spent her time between the two locations, and everyone who worked for her was a shifter of one kind or another and kept to the same high standards she’d established.
The hostess greeted him with a big smile and ushered him toward the back room that was set aside for shifter guests. There, they could eat to their hearts’ content without raising eyebrows if they happened to demolish more food than the average human.
The room was also soundproofed so they could talk freely and also not overhear the chatter from the main room. Everything about the back room was tuned to heightened shifter senses, which made coming to this place a welcome respite from the noise of the regular world.
Liam sat and surveyed the others in the room.
There were a few shifter families with kids on the other side of the large room and three couples sharing intimate meals at tables for two along the far wall.
Liam had requested one of the booths that were round, with high-backed, padded seating that afforded the most privacy available in the room.
They’d been fashioned deliberately so that shifters could conduct business without everyone else hearing or seeing what they were up to, regardless of the fact that they all had heightened senses.
The setting was perfect for the discussion they needed to have about their mission.
He’d informed the hostess that Lina would be joining him, so all he had to do was wait.
He ordered some fresh guava juice to sip while he waited.
They made everything on-site and bought their produce from shifter sources of the highest quality, so just about anything he ordered was guaranteed to be the best he could get in the area.
Shifters weren’t big on alcohol, though he did have a beer every once in a while to fit in with his human comrades. Truthfully, he preferred the sweet flavor of the tropical fruit, which was a treat since it wasn’t readily available in most places in the area.
He’d almost finished his juice when he saw Lina enter with the hostess guiding her.
He stood, having learned manners from his mother that demanded a certain standard of behavior.
Lina smiled at him, and he felt it like a shot to the heart.
Her ash blonde hair flowed down her back a short way, bouncing in waves as her hazel eyes sparkled at him. She really was a beautiful woman.
But this wasn’t a date. It really wasn’t a date. He had to keep reminding himself of that little fact.
“Great choice of restaurant, by the way,” Lina said as she sat opposite him and scooted around in the circular booth until they were facing each other head on.
“I’ve been to Antonia’s in Manhattan a few times, but I’ve never been to this location.
” She looked around the room, taking in the other diners, probably making her own assessment of their fellow patrons.
“I come here whenever I’m on the island for any length of time. The food is fantastic, and this room was built just for our kind,” he added, in case she hadn’t realized that yet.
The smile on her face said she’d noticed, and he smiled back as he handed her the menu the hostess had left on the table earlier. He liked playing with this little cat. Probably too much. Dammit.
She wore a fitted jacket and dark jeans, hair tucked back neatly, but her lynx was alert in her green eyes as she took in their surroundings. The soundproofed walls, the other shifter families, the careful privacy of their booth. She catalogued it all with professional efficiency.
“I can see why you chose this place. We can actually talk here.”
“That was the idea.” He watched her shoulders relax incrementally as she settled into the shifter-safe space. “What did you find on Mrs. E?”
Lina pulled a slim folder from her bag and set it between them, but didn’t open it immediately. “Let’s order first. I have a feeling this conversation is going to take a while.”
The server approached. He was a young wolf shifter who seemed alert to their every need, including their need for privacy. They ordered quickly. Lamb for Liam, seared tuna for Lina, and a bottle of the restaurant’s signature sparkling water infused with fresh herbs.
Once they were alone again, Lina opened the folder. “Here’s what I found. Mrs. Entwistle has been using the alias Margaret Thornfield, among others. Ol’ Margaret has credit cards, utility bills, the works. She leased a small house in Bayshore six weeks ago. Paid six months up front in cash.”
Liam leaned forward, studying the address she’d written on a notepad. “Bayshore’s not far from here. Maybe twenty minutes in traffic. That big of a cash transaction is unusual these days.”
“That’s what I thought too. But here’s the interesting part.” She slid a printed satellite image across the table. “The property has waterfront access, multiple escape routes, and is just isolated enough for whatever she might be planning.”
“You think she’s there?” Liam asked, though something in Lina’s expression suggested it wouldn’t be that simple.
“That’s the million-dollar question. The utilities are active, but there’s been no movement on her credit cards or bank accounts tied to that alias since the lease was signed.
She’s either gone to ground completely, or.
..” Lina tapped her pen against the table.
“She’s using other resources. Other identities we haven’t found yet. ”
Liam studied the aerial photo. The house sat on a narrow lot, squeezed between similar modest homes, but the water access made it strategic. “We need eyes on the property.”
“My thoughts exactly. I’m thinking surveillance first to see if there’s any activity. If she’s there, we don’t want to spook her into running again.”
“How do you want to handle it? Official FBI surveillance protocols or something a bit more flexible?”
Lina smiled. “I was hoping you’d ask that. Official channels mean paperwork, approval chains, and probably days before we get authorization. By then, she could be gone.”
“And unofficial channels?”
“Mean we do a little reconnaissance ourselves. Tonight, if you’re game.” She met his gaze directly. “I know you’re finishing up your mission here, but this feels urgent. Something’s telling me we don’t have much time.”
Liam nodded slowly. His lion stirred with anticipation—not just at the prospect of hunting, but at the idea of working so closely with the beautiful lynx across from him. “What are your instincts telling you?”
“That she didn’t rent a house by the water just to lay low.
She’s planning something, and waterfront access on Long Island means she can move in directions we might not expect.
” Lina pulled out her phone and showed him a broader map.
“Look at this. From Bayshore, she has access to the Atlantic. With a half-decent boat, she could go anywhere up or down the coast, and she’s not too far from Sagaponack or the development where her former colleagues live. ”
“The Marsh Witches,” Liam said grimly. “You think she’s planning to go after them again?”
“I think she’s planning something that requires a broad escape route.
I’m hoping we’re going to find out a bit more of her plans tonight.
” She looked up as their server approached with their meals.
“That is, if you’re willing to do a little off-the-books surveillance with a federal agent who’s bending a few rules. ”
Liam grinned as the perfectly seared lamb was placed in front of him. “Agent Goodwell, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership.”
“Just don’t quote Casablanca at me when we’re crouched in the bushes at midnight,” she said dryly, but he caught the hint of an answering smile at the corners of her mouth.
“No promises,” he replied, and was rewarded with her first genuine laugh of the day. The sound made his lion practically purr with satisfaction.
As they began to eat, Lina spread out more photos and documents between them. “Here’s what I’m thinking for approach routes.”
The conversation shifted into operational planning, but underneath the professional discussion, Liam was acutely aware of how naturally they worked together. Her investigative mind and his tactical experience created a synergy that felt almost effortless.
Almost dangerously right.
He pushed the thought aside and focused on the mission. Mrs. E wouldn’t escape them a third time. Not on his watch, and definitely not with Lina Goodwell as his partner.