Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) (3 page)

"Of course," the judge said. "Ms.
Chapman?"

At that moment, Elizabeth's cell phone
pealed. She was surprised she could get a signal behind all the
steel doors, but the name that popped up on the screen was
Mabel's.

"Cell phones are supposed to be off," the
judge snapped.

"I have to take this. It's my little sister.
She's home alone, and she's worried."

The judge looked as though nothing had ever
harassed her more. "Outside."

The bailiff unlocked the door. Elizabeth
charged out, and Liam quietly followed her.

"Mabel? I can't talk right now, honey. I'm in
court."

Mabel's frantic voice cut over hers. "Lizzy,
there are men outside, trying to get in. A bunch of them, and they
have guns. I don't know what to do. I'm so scared!"

* * * * *

Chapter Three

"Call the police," Elizabeth yelled down the
phone, watery fear pouring through her. "Call them now."

"I tried. They don't answer."

"Then you hide. I'm in a courthouse. I'll
get--"

Elizabeth stifled a shriek as Liam Morrissey
snatched the phone out of her hand. "Mabel? This is Liam Morrissey.
Connor's uncle, that's right. You rest easy, now, lass. I'll take
care of this. Stay down, behind a bed, don't go near the windows.
My lads will be there before you can count to ten. All right?"

He clicked off the connection and dialed
another with ease of long practice. While Elizabeth stood there
with her mouth open, Liam said quietly into the phone, "Sean, get
Dad and Spike and go up to Thirty-Fifth Street near MoPac. Mabel
Chapman. She's got armed intruders. Go
now
."

Whoever was on the other end hung up, but
Liam kept hold of the phone. "Now, don't you worry. My brother will
take care of your sister. Let's go back and get Ronan sprung."

Elizabeth didn't move. "I can't. I have to go
home."

Liam put a warm hand on her shoulder. "You
going home would only put you in danger as well. My brother and my
trackers can help Mabel better than the police. No one stops my
trackers, lass. No one. Come on, now."

Liam had reassurance down to a science. In
spite of her gut-wrenching fear, Elizabeth let him lead her back
past the bailiff and once more into the courtroom.

"Oh, I see that you're still with us, Ms.
Chapman," the judge said. "How nice. Please approached and read the
words on the card."

Elizabeth promised to tell the truth and the
whole truth, so help her God, then went over her story, prompted by
questions from the prosecutor. It was like being in a play--she
might not know her lines, but the prosecutor wanted her to say
certain ones, judging from his cues. Ronan, back in the chair,
leaned forward, resting his big arms on his knees, watching her
closely.

Fear for Mabel gnawed at Elizabeth as she
answered the questions. Liam still had her cell phone. He glanced
at it from time to time, his face grim.

Elizabeth concluded shakily, "So I know that
if Ronan hadn't been there, Marquez would have killed me."

"But you don't actually know that," the
prosecutor said in his condescending way. "That's only what you
guess."

That did it. The gloves came off. "Look, I
grew up with kids like Marquez," Elizabeth said. "Any guilt or
conscience in him went away a long time ago. He only deals in
if
-then questions.
If
I can identify him,
then
he shoots me. In his mind, I was dead as soon as he walked in the
door. End of story."

The prosecutor shrugged apologetically at the
judge. "It's still only what she thinks."

At that point, Liam got up and went to the
door again. He held a murmured exchange with the bailiff, who did
not look happy, but the bailiff let him out.

"Defense counsel, any questions for the
witness?" the judge asked.

So far Kim had listened with a calm look on
her face, not objecting to anything the prosecutor had said.
Elizabeth had stood in front of judges before--sometimes as the
defendant--and a good defense counsel would have been all over the
prosecutor's overly leading questions.

"I have only one, Your Honor," Kim said. She
turned to Elizabeth, her face expressionless, professional. "Ms.
Chapman, tell me, at any time--before, during, or even after the
scuffle--did Ronan's Collar go off?"

Liam reentered the room. Behind the bailiff's
back, he gave Elizabeth a thumb's up, and Elizabeth somehow knew
that Mabel was all right. Her legs nearly buckled in relief. But
what had Liam done?

"Ms. Chapman?" Kim asked, waiting.

"Uh--go off? What does that mean?"

Kim said, "When a Shifter tries to attack
someone, the Collar around his neck shocks him. It's very
obvious--you'd see a white-blue arc running all the way around the
Collar, sparking like those plasma balls. The Collar causes a lot
of pain and stops the Shifter. They're programmed to suppress a
Shifter's instinct to kill."

Elizabeth replayed the awful scene in her
mind, remembering the swift silence with which Ronan had burst
through her office door. She closed her eyes and made herself
remember every detail. Ronan's huge face, the Collar clasping his
big neck, the power in his gigantic body as he knocked Marquez to
the ground.

She opened her eyes. "No. I didn't see
anything like that. The gun went off and hit Ronan, but his Collar
never sparked. I think Ronan was just trying to take the weapon
away from Marquez."

Kim turned back to the judge, looking as
professional as ever, but with a sparkle of triumph in her eyes.
"There's a whole ream of scientific data on Shifters as to why they
can't commit an act of violence while they wear Collars. If the
Collar didn't go off in Ms. Chapman's store, that means my client
had no malicious intent toward Marquez. My client saw the danger to
Ms. Chapman and stepped in to make sure she wasn't hurt, and in the
scuffle to keep the gun away from Marquez, Marquez was knocked
unconscious. If my client had any intent to hurt or kill, the
Collar would have had him in agony, even a big man like him." Kim
walked to the judge's bench, rose on tiptoe, and laid a thick
folder on it. "Here are a few of the many studies done on the
Collars. I can produce more if Your Honor needs them."

The judge looked irritated. She flipped the
file open, flipped it closed, gave Kim a dirty look, and sent a
nastier one to Ronan.

"I'm going to let your client go," she said.
"Not because you make a good point, Ms. Fraser. Partly it's because
Marquez has previous arrests for armed robbery, and Ms. Chapman's
story is plausible, but mostly because it's late and I want you all
out of my courtroom. But I'm going to tell you, Mr. Ronan, to
confine yourself to Shiftertown and not leave it for one month. I
don't want you anywhere near humans, understand? If you leave
Shiftertown, I will have your carcass hauled in front of me again,
and then you won't walk out of here so easily."

"Begging Your Honor's pardon." Liam Morrissey
shot her his charming grin. "Ronan's job lies outside Shiftertown,
just outside the gates, in fact. He works for me, and he supports
three kiddies with his salary. It would be a great hardship on his
family if he couldn't go to his job."

"Fine." The judge scowled, but even she
wasn't immune to Liam's smile. "He goes to work, then right back
home. Consider him under house arrest. I'm holding you responsible
for him." The judge pointed her gavel at Liam then banged it on the
bench. She got up, robes swirling, and stalked out through the door
behind the bench, which closed behind her with a bang.

Elizabeth was bursting to ask Liam what had
happened at her house, but she had to wait for the bailiff to
unlock Ronan from his shackles and then unlock the doors to let
them out. Both Ronan and Kim had to sign things after that, and
then they all had to walk out of the courthouse, back to the dark
streets outside.

"What about my sister?" Elizabeth nearly
shouted at Liam as soon as they cleared the front door.

Ronan put a large hand on Elizabeth's
shoulder, but it was comforting, not heavy. Kim walked close to her
other side.

"Mabel's fine, lass," Liam said. "My brother
and dad got there in time. They and my trackers scared the bad guys
away."

"What bad guys? Why were they trying to break
into my house?"

They started down the street to the nearly
deserted parking lot a half block away. Only two vehicles stood in
the lot: Elizabeth's small pickup and a sweet-looking Harley.

"I don't know," Liam said. "Sean only told me
that your sister was safe and that the trackers were sniffing
around, seeing what they can find out."

"Trackers--you said that before. What
trackers?"

"The trackers work for Liam," Ronan said.
"They're guards, finders, warriors. Some of them can be complete
assholes, but they're the best at what they do."

"Nothing will happen to Mabel with my
trackers looking out for her," Liam said. "I promise you that."

Elizabeth closed her eyes a brief moment in
relief. "Thank you, Mr. Morrissey."

"Yeah, thanks, Liam," Ronan said. "And you,
Kim. Especially you."

Ronan shouldered Liam out of the way and
snatched Kim into a big hug.
A
bear hug,
Elizabeth
thought, feeling a little hysterical. Kim hugged him in return, and
Liam stood by, not seeming to mind the large man holding on to his
wife.

Kim patted Ronan's back. "You're welcome, big
guy. Can I breathe now?"

Ronan released her and stepped back, then
damned if he didn't turn and enclose Liam in the same kind of hug.
Elizabeth watched, eyes widening, as Liam wrapped his arms around
the bigger man and held him close.

"You get used to it after a while," Kim said.
Her nose wrinkled with her smile. "Sort of."

Liam and Ronan broke apart. Liam reached for
his wife--no, his
mate
. Elizabeth was never going to get
used to these terms. Liam hugged Kim and kissed her firmly on the
mouth, and then he turned to Elizabeth and Ronan, one arm securely
around Kim.

"Take her home, Ronan."

Elizabeth blinked. "What? He can't. He was
put under house arrest ten minutes ago. That doesn't include
driving across town to my house."

Ronan stood very close to Elizabeth. She
could feel the heat from his body, remembered the feel of the
powerful bear rushing past her in his intense and deadly charge.
Ronan had saved her life, tonight. His Collar might not have gone
off, but no matter what Elizabeth had told the judge, the bear in
him had been ready to kill. Elizabeth had seen the need for murder
in men's eyes before, and Ronan had definitely had it.

"No room for me on Liam's Harley," Ronan
said. "I'll have to go with you."

Liam and Kim had already mounted the
motorcycle, Liam leaving the rest of the arrangements up to Ronan
and Elizabeth.

"All right, you have a point," Elizabeth
said. "But I'll take
you
back to Shiftertown and then drive
myself home."

"Whatever." Ronan held out his hand.
"Keys."

"What? No. It's not like I'm drunk."
Yet
.

"After the night you've had? Nope. I'm
driving you. "

Elizabeth felt sick and stretched, her head
ached, and her eyes felt hollow. She needed about a gallon of water
and then one of coffee, a long bath, a hot toddy, and a really good
night's sleep.
After
she made sure Mabel was safe.

"Fine." She dropped the keys into Ronan's
hand.

"Cool." He snapped his fingers around them.
"I've always wanted to drive one of these little pickups. Don't
tell anyone."

The Harley roared to life. Liam lifted his
hand and so did Kim, then Liam pulled out into the night. Kim,
helmeted, leaned into Liam's back, as though she loved him body and
soul. A human and a Shifter. What a crazy night.

Ronan opened the passenger door and got
Elizabeth inside. "I'm supposed to like muscle cars. Strongman,
macho cars." He shut her door and went around to the driver's side.
He barely fit behind the wheel and had to slide the seat all the
way back. "Monster trucks. Bad-ass motorcycles. Anything big and
chunky that makes a lot of noise. Nothing cute and girlie. So keep
this quiet. Deal?"

Now he was making her laugh. "Your secret is
safe with me."

Not that Ronan could ever be mistaken for
cute and girlie. He was huge but solid, like a pro wrestler, tall
but perfectly proportional. His face wasn't exactly handsome--too
hard for that, and he'd had his nose and right cheekbone broken at
some time in his past. But his face was striking. His eyes were
dark brown, almost black, but not cold. They were warm, very
warm.

Ronan started up the truck and peeled out of
the parking. Elizabeth held on as he raced around a corner and
pulled onto Seventh heading due east.

Elizabeth wanted to talk to Mabel, to
reassure her sister that she was on her way home. She reached for
her phone and found an empty place on her belt. "Oh, crap. Liam
still has my cell phone."

"Not surprised. Liam likes gadgets. He'll
give it back to you when he's done with it."

"Doesn't he have his own?"

"Sure, but Shifters don't get to have fancy
smart phones. Our phones call and hang up, that's it. I bet he's
texting every human he knows, or playing games, or taking pictures.
He's like a cub when he gets a new gadget in his hand. But I'll
make him give it back."

Ronan drove through the sparse traffic as he
spoke, flashed under the I-35, and sped on in entirely the opposite
direction from Elizabeth's house.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "I live
northwest of downtown."

"You're not going home," Ronan said, gripping
the wheel as he spun the truck around another corner.