My Feline Protector (Middlemarch Shifters Book 6) (3 page)

London cast a sideways glance at him and he caught her, flashing her a charming smile. His signature smile, she was learning. A panty-wetting grin for sure. She’d bet women chased this man. His friend too, although Gerard hadn’t paid attention to anyone except her while they’d been in the pub.

“The garage and petrol station,” he said. “Post office, local school, the new sports grounds. The fields and changing sheds were the last community project. The school hall. That’s where they hold the craft market, but on fine days, the stalls spill outside too.”

London pictured the town with these events in full swing. It was quiet now, the streets devoid of traffic.

“Here’s the café.” He led her past several parked cars, through a gate and up three steps to an old-fashioned veranda. A pot of roses in full bloom perfumed the air. Gerard opened the door and gestured her inside.

Warmth and the scent of coffee welcomed her. A man gave a shout, and Gerard grinned, guiding her in the direction of a couple around Gerard’s age.

“I thought we’d find you here,” Gerard said and did a man-hug with the handsome dark-haired man.

“Beautiful Lisa,” Gerard said, kissing the woman on the cheek.

“Behave. You know you’ll make Sam crabby if you keep up that behavior,” the woman said, after rolling her blue eyes skyward.

Gerard wrapped his arm around London’s waist. “This is London Allbright. She and her sister are running with me and Henry tomorrow. London, this is my friend Sam and his wife Lisa. Sam, Henry and I were in the army together.”

“Join us,” Lisa said with a warm smile.

London liked her right away. “Jenny and Henry headed off for a walk, but Gerard lured me here with the promise of chocolate brownies.”

“Smooth-talker,” Lisa teased.

“I wanted to spend more time with London,” Gerard confessed. “Brownies seemed a good bribe.”

“It worked,” London said.

He’d made her comfortable by bringing her here and introducing her to his friends. Royce had made her wary of men, hurt her with the way he’d made her small, then intensified her betrayal by taking off with Jenny. Because of Royce, their sisterly bond had frayed. Jenny’s lack of belief in her when she’d tried to warn her had snapped the familial ties, and they’d only recently attempted to mend the broken trust. Jenny’s accusations of jealousy still hurt, and anger at Royce for portraying her in this light and getting between her and her sister…

“Hey.” Gerard leaned closer, and she breathed in his spicy scent.
Wow, almost better than chocolate
. “Where did you go?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to zone out.”

“I’ll order,” Gerard said. “What sort of coffee would you like?”

“A hot chocolate? I’ll never sleep if I drink coffee now.”

“Can’t have that. I need you fighting fit for tomorrow.”

“No point,” Sam said with a wink at his wife. “Lisa and I have two fit teammates. We’ll beat everyone.”

London laughed along with Lisa at Gerard’s derisive snort.

“Let’s have a wager,” Gerard said. “The slowest times out of our two teams buys the others lunch after the race.”

“Done,” Sam said and the two men shook hands to formalize the bet.

Good grief. London stared at Gerard. She’d thought he’d said this race was for fun and her lack of athleticism didn’t matter. No pressure or anything.

Chapter Two

Middlemarch bed-and-breakfast

Despite her late night, London woke at seven. She stared around the unfamiliar room, her gaze alighting on the empty bed, twin to hers. Jenny truly hadn’t come home last night, and London wasn’t sure what to think. Henry seemed a decent man, but she’d thought Jenny might be wary and wouldn’t jump into bed with any man who attracted her attention. Henry was not the first this trip and—no!

London stood. Who was she to judge her sister? She hadn’t married Royce, hadn’t gone through the agony of a disastrous relationship.

She flung off her T-shirt and sauntered to the en suite to flip on the shower. Luxury after staying in hostels. Jenny had wanted to stay in flash hotels but London refused to let her sister pay her entire way. Presenting London with the air tickets had been extravagant enough.

In the breakfast room, she ate a bowl of cereal and made herself a bacon sandwich, deciding she’d need the energy. She was drinking a second cup of coffee when Jenny rushed into the room from the entrance hall.

“Sorry I’m so late. I meant to be here in time for breakfast but one thing led to another and…” She threw up her hands with a laugh, her cheeks pink and her eyes sparkling with pure happiness. “I’ve showered, but I need to change into gear for the race. What are you wearing? What you have on now? I thought I’d wear shorts rather than leggings.” She disappeared toward their room, only to bound back into the breakfast room. “I forgot to mention. Henry and Gerard are picking us up in half an hour. We have to enter and pay our fees then attend the official pre-talk where they go over the rules
yada, yada
.” She vanished again, leaving London grinning.

This was the Jenny of old, so she’d stuff her judgey self away. If anyone deserved happiness, it was Jenny.

London drank the last of her coffee and stood. No shorts for her. She’d already donned leggings, a T-shirt and her sports shoes. Although she had no idea what she’d let herself in for, she was as ready as she could be.

Jenny rushed into the room, her hair dragged into a stubby ponytail and that happy smile intact. “Henry texted me. They’re on their way.”

“You like him, huh?”

“Yes. A lot. I was thinking I might extend my stay here.”

“Oh, but I have to get back home or—”

“I know, sweetie. I know they said they’d keep a job for you, but is that job of yours worth it? There’s no reason you can’t get another. Competent secretaries and office assistants are in demand everywhere.” Her smile widened as if she’d received a brain wave. “I mean, you like it here in New Zealand, and you enjoyed it in Melbourne during our stopover. What’s stopping you from staying here and getting a job?”

“I don’t have a work visa for a start,” London said, reaching for practicalities. Jenny was the ideas person and didn’t always face realities.

“Pooh! A minor thing. Think about it, London. Please? I want to stay. I like it over here, and it’s not as if England has a hold on us now that Mummy and Daddy aren’t alive. Promise me, you’ll consider staying?”

Gerard appeared in the doorway. “Great. You’re ready to go. Did you sleep well?”

London nodded. “I’ll grab my purse. Won’t be long.”

“We’ll meet you outside.”

Jenny was waiting for her at the doorway, and they walked out together. “You’ll consider staying longer?”

London shot a glance at her sister. Her jaw stuck out a fraction, as it did when she’d set her mind on achieving a goal. “Sure. I’ll do that for you. Are you nervous? I am. What if I mess up the race? I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“You’ll be fine.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Henry is very strong. He’ll help us over the obstacles.”

Well. At least she’d got Jenny’s mind off staying in New Zealand—for the moment. She refused to change her entire life to suit her sister’s romantic leanings. Jenny had known Henry for one night, and London wasn’t about to trust infatuation and lust over smart decisions.

London slid into the rear seat of the SUV with Gerard.

“You feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?”

“If you mean fit and rested and ready to face zombies, I’ll need another cup of coffee. I only had time for two.”

Gerard laughed. “You need stronger stuff to deal with zombies. We should have hip flasks.”

London grinned in return, her smile slipping a fraction when he reached for her hand. He squeezed her fingers. “Don’t stress. Henry and I will help you as much as we can. We’d like to beat our friends, but it’s not a big deal if we don’t. I wanted to make sure you knew you should enjoy yourself. Did you bring your camera? We can leave our belongings in the vehicle during the race.”

She lifted her gaze from their joined hands to his face. “Will I have time to take photos?”

“We’ll make time before the race. Besides, Henry said he wanted to send some to his stepfather. He reckons he’ll never believe we have a zombie invasion without proof.”

“Stepfather?”

“Yeah, he’s living in Perth, Australia, but Henry keeps asking him to come to Middlemarch and join us in the security business. Henry’s mother remarried when he was five. His mother died when Henry was twelve and his stepfather brought him up. He’s cool. We both want him to shift to Middlemarch and work with us.”

London relaxed as Gerard chatted and held her hand. She liked him, his charm and easy-going nature. Sugar, she liked him enough that she was sitting quietly and not removing her hand from his grasp. The thought propelled her into motion and she pulled away from the physical contact.

“You keep touching me,” she blurted.

His brows rose and his sensual lips quirked.

She mentally prodded herself and wrenched her gaze from his mouth. What the devil was wrong with her? She was thinking about kissing him, undressing him in her mind.

“I like you,” he said, echoing her thoughts.

Damn man was a mind reader. She glanced out the window and recoiled when a zombie lurched toward their vehicle.

“Realistic, aren’t they?” Gerard’s voice sounded right next to her ear and his palm cupped her shoulder.

The man was touching her again. The contact slowed her speeding pulse, so she ignored him to gape at the group of sniggering zombies who’d witnessed her horrified start. They resembled the ones she’d seen on television. Pale faces with flesh hanging off…decomposing. Their hair hung in limp, greasy hanks and black and brown stains colored their mouths. Then, there was the blood.

London shuddered. “Now there’s a good incentive to run fast.”

Henry and Jenny stood beside Gerard, their bodies close and tucked into each other. His friend was a goner and Gerard couldn’t blame him. Jenny was beautiful and bubbly and perfect for his more taciturn friend. Her sister, London, behaved with more caution. Sometimes, when he looked at her, he caught a faint wounded expression as if she harbored bad memories and they kept blindsiding her. She hovered around her sister in a protective mode, even though she was the younger one.

Sam and Lisa arrived and waved hello.

“How come you didn’t team up with your friends?” London asked.

“They grew up here in Middlemarch and their friends asked if they wanted to be on their team before we moved to Middlemarch. Not that I’m worried. I think things have worked out for the best. We met you and Jenny.”

London wrinkled her nose. “You are a flirt.”

“Sometimes,” he said. “But I’m not flirting with you. I want to get to know you better.”

Her mouth fell open, and he tapped her chin.

“That’s not a line.”

“Jenny and I are leaving Middlemarch tomorrow.”

“That’s not what Jenny told Henry.”

“I…she…” London trailed off with a frown.

Sid Blackburn, one of the Feline council, climbed onto a dais at the front of the crowd of runners and zombies and raised his hands for quiet. The excited chatter muted, and Sid welcomed everyone to the race.

“Now, the rules,” Sid said. “Each member of your team has five red ribbons—one life for each kilometer of the race. Your goal is to get to the end of the race with as many ribbons as you can. The goal of the zombies is to deprive you of those ribbons and end your life. If you lose all your ribbons, you are dead and out of the race. Each of the ribbons you keep will contribute to your final score. The judges will combine your score with your time to determine your final placing. There are prizes for individuals and teams. Now, for the course,” Sid continued. “Each competitor is required to complete the obstacles during the race. Five obstacles in total. We’re keeping them a surprise.” Sid chuckled, the sound rusty and full of amusement at the complaints fired from the audience. He held up his hands, still laughing.

“What else?” someone called.

“There are observers at each obstacle and each zombie territory. They are eagle-eyed and beyond bribery and will not hesitate to disqualify those who try to take shortcuts. The last thing—because we’ve had so many entries we will start each four-person team at five-minute intervals. Questions?” Sid scanned the crowd. “Zombies, you have half an hour to get to your territories. We will start the competitors running at nine.”

“When is our starting time?” London asked, drawing near to him when a quartet of zombies brushed too close.

Amusement filled him, but he didn’t tease. Everyone had their phobias. “Ten twenty,” he said.

Henry whispered something in Jenny’s ear, and she giggled, standing on tiptoe to kiss him on the mouth.

“I’m nervous,” London confessed. “I need a restroom.”

“Come with me. I’ll show you where they’re located,” Gerard said. “Just let me tell Henry where we’re going.”

He had to tap Henry on the shoulder twice before his friend pulled back from kissing Jenny. “Meet you at the start line. Ten past ten,” he said, slicing minutes off their start time in case Henry got distracted. “Set the alarm on your watch. Don’t be late.”