Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) (8 page)

Elizabeth had a way of putting people at
their ease, helping them find exactly the right thing. Ronan saw,
though, that she maintained a distance. That made sense while she
sold things to perfect strangers, but he'd noticed it at the house
too. Elizabeth didn't let anyone get too close. She was friendly,
yes, but any personal question was deftly turned aside or
evaded.

Ronan had asked Sean to run her name in the
database. Sean had access to a vast network, built by Guardians
over the last two decades, which contained more information than
any non-Shifter could possibly imagine. Humans didn't know about
this network, which ran on a lot of technical know-how coupled with
a little bit of magic. Only Guardians knew how to access it, and
only Guardians were allowed to use it--Guardians being those
Shifters who stuck their swords into the bodies of dead or
near-dead Shifters to send their souls to the afterlife.

Sean had run Elizabeth's name but turned up
nothing. She had no police record, not even a minor traffic ticket,
and neither did Mabel. Elizabeth was thirty, according to her
driver's license, and had lived in Austin for about six years,
owning the store called SoCo Novelties for five. She'd bought the
business as a whole from the previous owner who'd retired.

Ronan thought about how she'd skillfully
plucked Kim's card from his pocket, and wondered again. Elizabeth
Chapman had picked pockets before, and she fought like a street
kid. Juvenile records were sealed, sure, but not to the Guardians.
They could hack anything.

Sean had added the little detail that there
was no record of Elizabeth at all before her move to Austin. A
reference to an address in El Paso when she'd rented an apartment
upon her arrival in Austin, but that El Paso address turned out to
be bogus. She'd used her store as proof of residence or proof of
income for everything else, including the small house she'd
purchased a few years ago. She paid all her taxes, no
under-the-table dealings, and had a social security number, bank
accounts, and IRAs for herself and Mabel.

So who had Elizabeth Chapman been before
she'd become Elizabeth Chapman? And why had she needed to turn into
someone else?

The store did brisk business, but Elizabeth
closed down at eight when the crowd started to thin. People still
wandered the streets to seek restaurants or to walk down to the
bridge to watch the bats emerge, but all but the most dedicated
shoppers departed. Elizabeth turned off her sign and locked up.

"I'm making this deposit tonight," she said,
heading toward the office. "You've been here all day, Ronan. Don't
you have a job of your own?"

"Starts at nine," Ronan said. "I'll take you
to the bank on my way."

"You go. Spike can drive me. I don't want you
to be late because of me. You've already done so much."

Ronan stepped squarely in front of her.
"Spike drives like a maniac, and he's heading the same place I am.
You're stuck with me, sweetheart."

"What place?" Elizabeth caught up her lock
bag and turned out the lights. "Where do you work, anyway?"

"Shifter bar." He opened the back door for
her but walked outside first, as Shifters did, to check that the
way was safe. "I'm the bouncer. Come and say hi to everyone."

*** *** ***

Ronan took her on his motorcycle to the bank
around the corner and stood close guard--at the same time keeping
himself out of sight of bank cameras--while Elizabeth put the
deposits into the slot. After that, she was free.

As Ronan pulled out onto Congress and headed
for the bridge and downtown, Elizabeth again felt the heady joy of
simply riding with him. She wished they could go on through the
city and keep on riding, to the long, empty stretches of highway
Texas had so much of. Out there, in the darkness, they could find
freedom.

But Ronan had people to take care of, as did
she. Responsibility was a tether, but at least in Elizabeth's case,
it was a tether of love. She thought, as they sped toward the
illuminated dome of the capitol building and the Saturday night
craziness of Sixth Street, that the tether Ronan had found here had
become one of affection, even if it hadn't started that way.

Ronan drove through downtown and out again
into darkness and more derelict streets. He pulled up in front of a
bar near the open field that led to Shiftertown. The bar was a
squat, dark building with no windows and a small parking lot
already filled with people. No, not people . . . Shifters.

There were plenty of humans in the mix too,
Elizabeth saw as they dismounted and walked to the bar. Shifter
groupies, mostly, she saw--humans of both sexes who liked to hang
out with Shifters, some wearing fake Collars. More than one woman
looked at Ronan with appreciation and calculation, which irritated
Elizabeth for some reason.

The bar inside was crowded, with tunes
playing on a jukebox and Shifter waitresses hurrying back and forth
to serve beers and take away empties. The bartender was human,
Elizabeth saw. Maybe Shifters weren't allowed to actually dispense
the drinks. Liam Morrissey didn't own this bar, she knew--a human
did. Shifters couldn't own property, but Liam could work for the
human owner and manage the place.

A number of Shifters greeted Ronan by name or
slapped hands with him as he went by. Interestingly, many greeted
Elizabeth by name, including the six-foot blonde called Glory who
was a regular at Elizabeth's store, but they were deferential,
looking to Ronan first.

Ronan led Elizabeth through the crowd,
staying close by her side. Some of the groupies looked at her with
envy, some with resentment.

Kim Fraser came forward to meet her. She
opened her arms to Elizabeth and gave her a hug with a squeeze.
"I'm glad you came. Let's go into the office."

Elizabeth threw a glance to Ronan, who shook
his head. "What's up?" Ronan rumbled.

"Nothing terrible. Liam just wants a
word."

Elizabeth stopped. "I want to call Mabel. We
like to check in with each other."

"Mabel's here." Kim pointed across the bar to
where Mabel sat in a booth with the lanky Connor Morrissey, Scott,
and a dark-haired Shifter woman who was obviously pregnant. The
dark-haired woman gave Kim a nod, said something to Mabel, and
pointed. Mabel looked around and sent Elizabeth a cheerful
wave.

"Andrea will take care of her," Kim said.
"Mabel was getting antsy, cooped up at Ronan's, so Liam said it was
all right if she came. Don't worry. She's in good hands."

Elizabeth was going to have to have a talk
with Mabel. Mabel was of legal age, so that wasn't a problem, but
she looked way too cozy laughing and talking with the Shifters.
Mabel was very accepting of people as they were, something
Elizabeth had always admired about her, but then, Mabel wasn't the
greatest judge of character, either.

Or maybe Elizabeth was being too protective.
She'd always gone back and forth about Mabel, torn between wanting
to shield her from the evils of the world and fearing to stifle her
with too much restriction.

Kim guided Elizabeth to a door marked
"Private," and Ronan came so close behind her that Elizabeth felt
his body heat.

On the other side of the door she found Liam
Morrissey inside a cluttered office. Liam sat behind a desk, his
long legs propped on the desk's top, and he held a baby on his
lap.

Elizabeth wasn't sure which was more
incongruous--the child held up by Liam's big hands or the man
standing on the other side of the room with a huge sword strapped
to his back, the hilt slanting above his head.

"He's underage," Elizabeth said, looking at
the baby.

"
She
," Liam said. "Katriona Sinead
Niamh Morrissey. Sinead for her auntie, Niamh for her grandmum, and
Katriona because we like it. Born three months ago."

"And you'd think she was queen of the gods,"
Ronan said. "The attention she gets." Ronan went around Elizabeth
to the baby and gently poked her stomach.

"Shifter?" Elizabeth asked.

Kim reached for the child. At the same time
her hands closed around Katriona's waist, Liam leaned up to Kim and
kissed her on the lips. It was a warm, loving kiss, the look in
Liam's eyes heart-melting.

Elizabeth's thoughts flashed back to Ronan
licking the corner of her mouth earlier this morning. His lips had
been smooth and warm, soothing. And arousing.

She swallowed and made herself not look at
Ronan as Kim snuggled Katriona under her chin.

"I can't wait to see what her wildcat looks
like," Kim said. "We won't know for a few years. Shifter-human cubs
are born human and then shift when they're about three. Pure
Shifter cubs do it the opposite."

Kim bounced Katriona as she talked, Katriona
looking at everyone with round blue eyes, while trying to stuff her
entire fist into her mouth. Kim moved across the room to the
swordsman, who relaxed his grim stance to touch the baby's
nose.

Ronan was the only one not at ease. "What do
you want, Liam? Elizabeth's had a long day. I brought her here
because I thought she could relax a little and then go home."

"She will." Liam retained his nonchalant
pose, feet on the desk, hands now laced behind his head. He was
watchful, alert while pretending not to be.

Ronan took a step closer to Elizabeth, and
she felt the tight muscles of his arm brush her shoulder. "What do
you want, Liam?" he repeated, an edge to his voice.

"Just a chat. First, to tell Elizabeth that
we're grateful to her testimony that kept you out of jail." Liam
gave her a nod. "It was brave of you to stand up for him."

"It was brave of Ronan to rush a guy with a
pistol," Elizabeth said. "I couldn't let him take the fall for
that."

"But so many humans would." Liam's gaze held
no hostility, but at the same time, his blue eyes fixed on her,
catching her like a fly in a web so finely spun it was undetectable
until too late.

"You're unique, Ms. Chapman," Liam said. "So
unique that I can't find out anything about you. Not one single
scrap of information. Correction--
Sean
can't find out
anything about you, and Sean is a master at it." He glanced at the
swordsman across the room who said nothing.

Elizabeth's mouth went dry, and she felt
control of her life washing away like a branch caught in a flash
flood. She'd thought herself safe--she was supposed to be safe.
No
one will ever be able to crack this,
her friend
had told her, and she'd paid good money for him to make sure it
never happened.

"But you know all about me," she said,
forcing her voice to remain steady. "I own SoCo Novelties, I'm
Mabel's sister, and I don't mind Shifters coming into my store.
That's all there is to know."

Liam's voice remained soft, but he had no
need to shout to let her know he held the authority in this room.
"You see, Elizabeth, it's my job as Shiftertown leader to protect
my Shifters. You were great to help Ronan, and I'm happy that you
were. But Ronan's putting himself on the line to take care of you,
and that's a big risk to him. A risk to him is a risk to me and to
all the Shifters living in his house. Maybe your secrets are
innocent ones; maybe they represent no danger." Liam's feet came
down, and he rose, tall and intimidating, his charm gone. "But
maybe they do. So I need you to tell me the truth, Elizabeth
Chapman, before I let you out of here. Who exactly are you?"

* * * * *

Chapter Eight

Ronan scented the sharp spice of Elizabeth's
fear. He also scented her defiance, even before she spoke.

"That's really none of your business, Liam,"
she said clearly.

Liam's eyes widened, and despite Ronan's
disquiet, he wanted to laugh. The arrogant Feline had grown used to
people obeying him without question.
People
meaning everyone
but his wife, his brother, father, and nephew. All other Shifters
pretty much fell in line.

"When you're in Shiftertown, you're under my
jurisdiction," Liam said. "It is my business."

"We're not in Shiftertown right now."
Elizabeth took a step forward. She was afraid to, Ronan knew, but
she did it anyway. "My past has nothing to do with Shifters, and
it's nothing that can hurt Shifters."

"Will you let me be the judge of that?" Liam
asked.

"No. I said it's none of your business."

"Lass." Liam's voice gentled, which meant he
was falling back on the coaxing approach. "I have one of my very
best fighters guarding you. I want to know who he's guarding. I
can't chance endangering him. Neither can his family."

"I never said he had to guard me," Elizabeth
said. "If you don't want me endangering Shifters, then Mabel and I
are happy to leave Shiftertown."

She started to turn away. Ronan stopped her
by simply not moving. "You're not going anywhere until the threat
to you has been eliminated."

Elizabeth's eyes flickered at the word
eliminated
. "If Liam won't be happy until he hears all my
secrets, then I can't stay," she said. "He'll have to be
disappointed."

"Lass," Liam began, again in the coaxing
tone.

"Leave her alone, Liam," Ronan said. He
looked at Elizabeth and her blue eyes, not at Liam's. "She doesn't
want to tell you."

"Ronan, she's using a false name. Until six
years ago, she didn't exist."

"She exists now."

"Ronan . . ."

"I said,
leave
her alone,
Liam.
"

The room went quiet. Ronan expected Sean to
come charging across it to stand by his brother, his sword a silent
threat. He'd seen them do that, and Shifters wilt under the
double-alpha stare.

Sean didn't move or speak. Neither did Kim,
who usually was ready with some opinion. Even baby Katriona made no
noise.