Mission: Coyote (CIA Shifters #4)

Chapter One

Toby

Toby waited with bated breath for the box to be opened. He put his hand on Max’s shoulder and leaned in near his ear. “How are you feeling?”

Max looked back at him, wide-eyed. “Ask me in about thirty seconds.”

Mia, Max’s mate, seemed more excited than any one person had a right to be. She looked up at Max expectantly and when he nodded, she leaned down then undid the white bow on the box and flipped it open. A moment later a bunch of pink balloons drifted up into the sky. Mia promptly burst into tears.

“Oh, baby!” Max exclaimed, charging in and enveloping his mate in his arms. She sobbed helplessly into his shoulder.

“I don’t get it,” Toby said in an aside to his other teammates. “Isn’t she happy that she’s having a girl?”

Five confused faces stared back at him.

“Hell if I know,” Arlo muttered.

Clara rolled her eyes. “Of course she’s happy.”

Seb, her mate, looked as confused as everyone else. “So, why is she crying?”

Clara sighed. “She’s crying because she’s happy.”

Seb looked more confused than ever.

Females are weird, Toby’s coyote chimed in his mind.

Toby tried to ignore his inner animal and focus on his friends.

“It’s an emotional time,” Emily, Carter’s mate, said. “And when you’re pregnant, your hormones can affect your mood. It’s perfectly normal to be happy one minute then cry the next.”

When Seb and Carter got the same bewildered expression on their faces, Toby chuckled.

At least he didn’t have to worry about a female’s mood swings.

Unlike the three of his CIA teammates, he was happily un-mated.

And he hoped to keep it that way. Mates made life more complicated.

Every time they went on a mission, Carter, Seb, and Max couldn’t wait to get back home to their mates, but Toby and the others didn’t have any of those constraints.

They were free to come and go as they pleased and that was just the way that Toby liked his life.

“Did I hear you say you’d wouldn’t be joining us on the Mexican mission?” Arlo asked him as everyone rushed in to congratulate Max and Mia.

Toby nodded. “I’ve put in a request for vacation time. My mom and dad have asked for my help looking into something for them. It’s probably going to take me a few days, possibly longer.”

“Nothing serious, I hope?”

Toby shrugged. “They’ve had some trouble with someone who worked for them. He stole something of value, so they’ve asked for my help in tracking him down and retrieving it. I don’t expect it will take me too long to find him, but I’ve taken a week off, just in case.”

We’ll teach him a lesson for stealing from us! Toby’s coyote said indignantly. He ignored his coyote again and focused on his friend.

“Well, good luck. I hope you find the idiot.”

Toby sighed. “Yeah, you and me both.”

After the crowd around them had dispersed, Toby dutifully gave his congratulations to the happy couple then said his goodbyes and headed out to his car.

His packed bag was already sitting in the trunk along with his passport so that he could grab a flight at short notice if his teammates got into trouble in Mexico and needed his assistance.

The stolen artifact was important, but if it came down to a choice between locating it and saving the lives of his friends and teammates, well, there was really no choice at all.

A short while later, he was heading toward the I-35.

It had been a few months since Toby had last seen his parents despite living just a short drive away from them.

The hiatus hadn’t been intentional, but lately he and the guys had seemed to have been on one mission after another with little break in between.

With any luck, he’d be able to find the thief and recover the artifact quickly.

That would give him a few extra days to visit with his folks, enjoy some home cooking, and relax. It really had been too long.

The celebration’s warmth lingered with Toby as he merged onto the highway.

The Texas landscape rolled past in a blur of greens and browns.

His mind, however, was not on the scenery.

It wandered back to the party, and to the expressions of bewildered joy on his teammates’ faces, and to the soft, happy tears of Mia.

The familial bonds between them all were strong, almost tangible, even though weren’t actually related.

Toby’s teammates were hands down the best friends he had ever had.

They were like a second family to him. They were good people.

All of them. He counted himself lucky every day that he had them in his life.

The open road was a welcome monotony that allowed his thoughts to roam.

While his friends found comfort in their mates, and in the chaos of family life that seemed to ground them, Toby thrived in the solitude and unpredictability of his missions.

The idea of being tied down, and of having someone wait for him to return home, was suffocating.

The notion of mates, and of being so drawn to another that you have no say in the matter, was a concept Toby had seen unfold time and again both within his team, and amongst the coyote shifter families he’d grown up around.

In his team, Max, Seb, and Carter had found their other halves, so their lives were now inextricably linked with their mates’.

And yet, Toby found himself standing on the periphery, watching their happiness with a mix of admiration and something he couldn’t quite name.

Was it envy? No, he quickly dismissed the thought.

His freedom was what he valued most. The freedom to move, to choose, and to live without the fear of endangering another.

His job was dangerous, after all. The idea of potentially putting someone’s life at risk because of it, terrified him.

Find mate! I will protect her! His coyote vowed.

Toby rolled his eyes. But as the miles disappeared behind the relentless hum of his vehicle, a question began to gnaw at the edges of his mind.

What if his disdain for mate bonds was not a choice, but a defense mechanism?

A shield against the vulnerability that came with such a deep connection.

Toby shook his head, as if to physically dislodge the thought.

He had never been one to dwell on what-ifs.

His path had always been clear: serve, protect, and survive, and maybe have a little fun along the way.

Anything beyond that was a distraction, a liability he couldn’t afford.

Toby did wonder if his love of solitude had something to do with his coyote genes.

After all, coyotes, both wild and shifter alike didn’t live in large packs like wolves.

They usually lived in family groups and often kept their numbers small.

Toby was an only child and most of the other coyote shifters he knew were only children also.

Not having any siblings meant he got used to doing things on his own and had come to appreciate peace and quiet.

Why would he be in any kind of rush to share his life with someone, to have someone completely upend his routine?

He liked the way his life was right now.

The call from his parents had come as a surprise, and the news had concerned him.

The heirloom that was missing was a piece of history that had been in his family for generations.

Well, not missing, stolen, he corrected mentally.

And not by just anyone, but by a man who had worked for Toby’s parents and taken advantage of their kind and generous nature.

That was what came of letting strangers get close to you.

His parents’ home just north of Austin was a haven of sorts, a place where Toby could let down the guards he kept meticulously in place elsewhere. The thought of seeing his parents, of stepping back into the role of their son rather than a CIA officer, brought an unexpected sense of comfort.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky and he turned off the highway, Toby found himself bracing for what was to come, a thrill an anticipation running through him. There was nothing he enjoyed more than a good chase.

A short while later, the silhouette of his parents’ home appeared in front of him, causing his lips to tug up at the corners.

Two hundred acres surrounded the old farmhouse and as he drove up to the front yard, the door opened, and his mother came rushing outside as if she’d been sitting in front of the window all afternoon, waiting for his arrival. Toby put the car in park then got out.

“Hey, Mom,” he greeted her.

“My baby!” she cooed, jogging down the steps of the porch with the speed and agility of a woman half her age. “Let me look at you!”

Toby chuckled as she wrapped him in a tight bear hug. She might be nearly a full foot shorter than him, but her coyote genes meant that she was stronger than she looked.

After his mother released him from the embrace, Toby followed her into the house, listening to her chatter on amiably.

As soon as he entered the property, the familiar scents of home filled his senses.

The interior of the farmhouse was a comfortable mix of rustic and eclectic, much like his parents themselves.

As he stepped through the doorway to the large country-style kitchen, his father looked up from a book he was reading at the kitchen table, his face breaking into a warm smile.

“Toby, son!” his father exclaimed, standing to greet him.

He was a strong man but had a soft, gentle demeanor. His eyes twinkled with the same intelligence that had made him a renowned anthropologist.

“Hey, Dad,” Toby replied, clasping his father’s hand firmly. The handshake quickly turned into a brief, hearty hug.