Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) (7 page)

Elizabeth picked up the torn bits of a huge
T-shirt and held the strips up before her eyes. Ronan's bear body
had ripped its way right out of the shirt. The strength the torn
fabric represented made her shiver. She stared at the strips for a
time then, for some reason, she rubbed them against her cheek.

A large hand took them away from her. "Throw
those out. I trashed that shirt. And I owe you for the other
one."

Elizabeth flushed and tossed the pieces of
T-shirt into the wastebasket. "No, no. It's on me. You saved my
life and my store. Least I can do. Oh, and, you said you were
buying a birthday present last night. For who?"

"Rebecca. Got anything for a horny she-bear
who doesn't want to be reminded she's coming up on her hundredth
birthday?"

Elizabeth hid her astonishment at the
hundredth
part. "I'll find her something cute. Also on me.
You all have been so nice to me."

Ronan nodded, as though it was no big deal,
and turned away to answer his cell phone. He continued to make
calls after that, she noticed as she kept cleaning.

By the time shoppers had started migrating to
the area, and Elizabeth reached to turn on her neon "OPEN"
sign--custom-made, with a girl with long legs sitting on the curved
end of the
N
--Ronan was off the phone and all was ready.

"The trackers are coming," he said. "Probably
they're already here."

"Tell one of them to bring me my phone. If
Liam wants it, he can have it, but I need the numbers stored
inside."

Ronan rumbled a laugh. "He's done playing.
He's sending it."

The cell phone was returned to her via a
tall, broad-shouldered Shifter with a shaved head, deep brown eyes,
and body art all over him. He gave her a predatory smile as he
handed over the phone.

"I'm Spike," he said. "Nice to meet you."

Spike
. The "hot" guy Mabel said had
tatts all over him. He was certainly well inked, his muscle shirt
showing art that interlocked and wove up and down his arms like
living paintings. His own skin showed only in his face and hands.
Like all Shifters, he was tightly muscled and had that edge of
animal about him. Elizabeth wondered what he turned into.

Ronan shoved the phone from Spike's side of
the counter to Elizabeth's. "You're on perimeter," Ronan growled at
him.

Spike shot Ronan a glance, and his evil smile
widened. "You're the boss." He walked out of the store without
saying good-bye, the small bells on the door tinkling.

"Felines," Ronan said. He might as well have
said,
Shitheads
.

"Liam's a Feline," Elizabeth said, tucking
her phone into her pocket. "Right?"

"The whole Morrissey clan are Felines. That's
why Liam is so full of himself. Like a cat with cream."

"And Spike's a Feline like him?"

"Different clan. Spike's wildcat is bred from
jaguars, but the Morrisseys have more lion in them. Spike came up
here from Mexico, the Morrisseys from Ireland."

"What do you mean by
more
lion
?
Aren't they all were-lions or were-jaguars or whatever?"

Ronan shook his head. "We're all Fae-beasts,
technically. Feline and Lupine clans tend to lean more toward one
cat or wolf type than others, but none of them breed true. Only
bears do."

"Of course."

"Bear Shifters were the last ones created.
With us, the Fae finally got it right."

"You're saying Bears are the best," Elizabeth
said, straight-faced.

"Damn straight."

"And the most modest, obviously."

"Damn straight." He looked so serious when he
was full of shit.

"And you're a Kodiak bear, right?" Elizabeth
went on. "And Rebecca is too?"

"She's from my clan--a long way removed, but
still my clan. It means I can't mate with her, which is fine with
me. She's a neat-nik. Drives me frigging insane."

"Then why do you live with her?"

"Not a lot of choice. The humans put me in
with Rebecca when I was brought to this Shiftertown. There aren't
enough houses to go around, so any family connection means you
share. You share even if there's not a family connection, but at
least they don't force different species into the same house if
they don't want to be there. That would be a blood bath."

No customers had entered the store yet, so
Elizabeth allowed herself to lean on her elbows on the counter and
keep asking questions.

"And the other three? Mabel said you're
basically running a foster home for bears."

"I guess you can put it like that. Cherie
came first. She'd been kept in a pen for about ten years, a pen
only about five feet square. Some humans up north had caught her as
a cub and kept her as a pet. Someone found out, realized what she
was, and called the police. The Shifter Division took her, but
didn't know what to do with her. I heard about her through Ursines
in Wisconsin--their Shiftertown didn't have room for her, so they
were asking around. I told Dylan--Liam's dad--about her, and Dylan
said we'd bring her down. Poor kid. It took her a long time to
adjust to living like a normal Shifter. She still hasn't adjusted,
in some ways."

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said, stunned. Her own
childhood had been rough, but nothing like that. "Scott and Olaf
have similar stories?"

"Scott came to us because the Shiftertown he
was in couldn't handle him. There weren't any other Bears there,
only Lupines and Felines. It's hard enough for species to get
along, and he went a little crazy being the only Ursine there. So I
offered to take him. Scott's not bad, just a pain in the ass. He'll
be fine once he finishes his Transition."

"No parents?"

"Father died right before he was born, and
his mother died of bringing him in. He's been alone since."

"And Olaf?" Elizabeth bit her lip.

"Saw his mom and dad shot and killed in front
of him, but thank the Goddess, he doesn't clearly remember it.
Hunters, somewhere up in the Arctic, near Russia. They said they
didn't realize the bears were Shifter. Sure. Olaf is cute, so they
didn't kill him, but they did try to make a pet of him, like
Cherie. Except Olaf nearly killed one of them, so the Russian
Shifter Division got him and locked him up for a long time. Again,
I got word and said I'd take him. That was a year ago."

Ronan related the tragic tales without
changing expression, as though these things were commonplace, which
made them all the worse.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said again. "That's so
wrong."

"At least I have a good Shiftertown leader
who lets me help. Some leaders can be real shitheads. I just hope I
can help the kids out."

"You already have," Elizabeth said. "I grew
up in foster homes, Ronan. I see your house, and it's like
paradise. Cherie, Scott, and Olaf are happy there. They can be
normal. That doesn't always happen."

Ronan nodded without conceit. "It's funny,
when I lived in the wild, I was by myself most of the time. I
preferred it. I had miles to roam, didn't have to see anyone if I
didn't want to. I never thought I'd be holed up in a house with a
prickly she-bear and three cubs, trying to be a substitute dad. But
what the hell?"

"From what I can see, you're doing an amazing
job."

Ronan pushed himself up from where he'd been
leaning on the counter. "Stop flattering me, woman. You're making
me blush."

"Fine. But if you're going to hang out here,
I have a crate of new stuff that needs to be shelved." She sent him
a sweet look. "Since Mabel's not here, you're recruited."

*** *** ***

Pablo Marquez looked across his desk at his
little brother Julio, who lounged on the old sofa by the soda
machine. Julio's face was bruised and cut from his wrestling match
with the bear, and the back of his head still sported bandages.

Pablo had heard that the Bear Shifter had
been let go, somehow convincing the judge he'd only been trying to
take the gun away from Julio. The problem was, Pablo believed him.
If the Shifter had wanted Julio dead, Julio wouldn't be sitting
here with only a few shallow cuts as souvenirs.

Julio had been quiet and angry since Pablo
had paid his bail and brought him home. He'd had to call in a favor
to get Julio out of the hospital and to a bail hearing so
quickly.

Now he had a problem. Pablo ran a body shop,
a great way to do legitimate business and keep the other businesses
under the radar. He was new here in Austin and wanted to keep under
the radar from many people for a while. Tough to do that when his
little brother decided to go out and do something dumb-ass like try
to rob a little novelty shop.

"I want her in the ground," Julio was saying.
"That bitch and her trained Shifter."

"You're going to leave her alone," Pablo said
sharply. "What the hell did you go in there for? You were going to
get, what, maybe two grand, tops?"

Julio shrugged. "I'd get what I'd get."

"What you got was a trial for armed robbery."
Pablo balled his hands until the skin pulled against his knuckles.
He'd promised their mother he'd look after Julio, even though the
kid was a big screw-up. Pablo was fifteen years older than Julio,
and he swore that Julio was part of the reason their mother had
died of the heart attack.

Pablo had learned on that cruel day that all
his money and all his success couldn't keep him from losing the one
person in the world he loved. Now he was stuck taking care of Julio
and trying to make the best of it.

He continued. "First of all, you didn't scout
the place. There was a
Shifter
in there, a big one. The guy
had to be seven feet tall, and you never noticed him?
Dios
mio,
what do you use for brains?"

"I scouted plenty. I watched that bitch every
night for two weeks. I know where she lives and what kind of truck
she drives, and what she does after work--which is nothing--she has
a boring life. Shooting her would be doing her a favor. I did
everything I was supposed to, Pablo."

"Yeah, well, that Shifter didn't just grow in
there. You are telling me you never saw him walk in?"

"No. I bet he was there in her back room
before I got there. I bet she was fucking him. I bet she gets off
fucking Shifters in her office."

Pablo held on to his patience with effort.
Julio liked the
F
-word and enjoyed opportunities to use
it.

"So what if she does?" Pablo asked. "The
point is, he was there, and you didn't know it. It would have been
justified if he'd killed you."

Julio looked offended. "What are you
saying?"

"I'm saying you screwed up. You decided to
pull a smalltime job and then you messed it up by being careless.
You're an idiot."

"I want that bitch to pay!"

"And she will. But my way. I'm trying not to
draw attention to myself, and you are very definitely drawing
attention. Killing her obviously will only make it worse, so don't
even think about trying it."

Julio looked pensive. "What do you mean,
killing her
obviously
?"

"A drive-by, an execution, even a car
accident--anything suspicious will point back to you, and then I'll
be up to my ass in cops. I don't want to be up to my ass in cops.
Understand?" Pablo stopped at Julio's guilty expression. "Why? What
have you done now?"

Julio's voice was so quiet Pablo had to
strain to hear him. "I sent Menendez and his brother to wait for
her and follow her home."

Pablo rose, fists on his desk. "You know,
Julio, if anyone else in my crew acted like you, I'd lose them. You
get away with this shit because you're my brother, and I promised
Mamita I'd take care of you. Get on your phone and call them
back."

"What the fuck? Damn it, Pablo, if you
override my order, I'll never have any cred."

"
Cred
. You watch too many movies. Get
them back here,
now
. I can still bust your ass, and I'll do
it."

Julio said a few dark things, but he took out
his cell phone.

Pablo sat back down and started making calls
of his own. He needed to do something about the woman with the
store, because she was a witness against Julio, and Pablo couldn't
afford to have his brother going to prison right now. He'd put the
bitch in her place, but he'd do it more subtly than Julio ever
could. As for the Shifter--well, Pablo knew how to take care of
Shifters. The Shifter would be the least of their problems.

He ignored his sulky little brother, gathered
the reins of his power, and went to work.

* * * * *

Chapter Seven

Spike came back in to report around three.
Ronan talked to him alone in the office, Elizabeth busy out front.
She had expressed concern that people would stay away when they
found out there'd been an attempted robbery at her store, but
apparently, curiosity was a greater motivator than fear.

"Saw a car with two guys," Spike said. "They
went by a couple of times, slowing down to watch the shop. Fourth
time they went by, one of the guys was on the phone, then all the
sudden, they take off. Haven't seen them since."

"Did they see you?" Ronan asked.

"No one sees me if I don't want them to."

"Anything else?" Ronan asked.

"No, just those guys. I'll keep an eye out
for them."

"Thanks."

Spike shrugged. "Hey, it's my job." He went
out the back door to the alley, his movements spare and quiet.

Ronan watched from the office doorway as
Elizabeth went about her business. She was a natural at selling, he
decided. He watched her greet her customers, talking to them in a
friendly way without getting too personal. This was a novelty
store, which meant she sold everything from T-shirts with funny
logos to plastic handcuffs. Nothing distasteful, just fun stuff
that people mostly bought as gifts for friends. The customers
tended to be upbeat, laughing with each other over the zany thing
they'd give whoever for a birthday, retirement, anniversary, bridal
shower, bachelor party.