Primal Bonds (Shifters Unbound #2)(18)
Author: Jennifer Ashley

“I’ve been down in San Antonio for a while, cleaning up clan business,” Dylan said. There were knowing nods around the table, indicating that everyone but Andrea and Annie’s friend knew what he was talking about. “Ely Barry, one of our clan, and his family were at a café in Alamo Heights. He was having lunch—a double cheeseburger, he made sure to mention. A car drives up, two young men get out, unload their weapons, jump back in, and roar away. Most of the Shifters hit the deck, but Ely had to be a hero and pull a cub out of the way. Cub was fine; Ely took four shots to the stomach.”

Andrea was aware of the glances in her direction. Ely had been dying, and Andrea and her Fae magic had ensured that he’d live to eat another double cheeseburger.

“Good for Ely,” Ronan said.

“Don’t worry, he’s milking it for all it’s worth.”

The Shifters laughed, happy that tragedy had been dodged.

“The point, my friends,” Liam said when the laughter trailed off, “is that we have someone targeting Shifter establishments—that is to say, human establishments that have a large Shifter clientele. Is their goal to punish the human owners or to frighten Shifters away from said establishments?”

“Does it matter?” Kim asked. She moved her hand to her abdomen. “They’re shooting and maiming people. Killing them but for luck and Andrea.”

Sean rested his arm across the back of Andrea’s chair. “And Andrea can’t be everywhere.”

“The question is what are we going to do about it?” Kim continued. She had been a courtroom lawyer, and though she was seated, in a loose dress with her Shifter mate at her side, her voice was still crisp and lawyerlike. “Stay home and lock the doors? Or figure out who is doing this and put a stop to it?”

“That’s my girl.” Liam grinned at the others. “Didn’t I pick out a fighter?”

“We’ll just have to convince the police this is serious,” Kim went on.

“Good luck with that,” Ronan muttered.

“I know people,” Kim said.

Annie’s human boyfriend, Silas, spoke up for the first time. “So do I. I can put a word in with my police contacts if you want.”

Andrea leaned in to Sean. “Who is he?”

“Friend of mine,” Kim answered for him. “He’s a journalist.”

“A reporter?” Andrea stared in disbelief. “You let a reporter in here?”

“Silas likes Shifters.”

Andrea met Silas’s gaze—briefly; he had to look away.

Andrea’s experience with reporters had been all bad. One had once come out to the Colorado Shiftertown to nose around, and the next thing they knew, the reporter had hinted that the Shifter males, because of a lack of females, kidnapped human women and made slaves of them. This told to the reporters by a human Shifter groupie who’d been dumped by her Shifter boyfriend. Humans had been so outraged, they’d wanted Shifters rounded up and shot, and Shifters had to scramble around to prove that wasn’t true. That had been ten years ago, but the worry of it still hung like a pall.

“Silas is fine,” Sean said, with a glance at Silas that told the tall man he’d better be fine.

“I don’t mind you trying,” Liam said. “Not that I have much hope for your chances, but it can’t hurt. In the meantime, the bar is open for business. I’ve convinced the owner to hire a second bouncer to help out Ronan.”

“The café in San Antonio is now barred to Shifters,” Dylan said. “I couldn’t convince them not to do that. But I can’t really blame them. They’re scared.”

“I’ll keep the bar owner as calm as I can,” Liam said. “If we can find the perpetrators, so much the better.”

“I disagree.”

Sean’s voice was so quiet that Andrea almost missed it. But at his words, the bar went silent.

“Sean?” Liam looked over at him, eyes still. “What do you want to say?”

All gazes turned to Sean, sitting strong and quiet beside Andrea with an air of power that matched Liam’s.

“It’s fine for us to find these gobshites and stop them,” Sean said. “And by all means, we will. But you’re saying you’d risk lives—the lives of Andrea, Kim, the life of your unborn cub—to prove that you’re not afraid of humans? I’m thinking that’s not wise, Liam. We shut the bar and find the bastards, while we keep our families safe.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

The room got very quiet. Andrea saw Kim start to speak but one look at Liam made her close her mouth again. Dylan’s hands tightened on the chair he leaned on, but even he kept his lips firmly together.

Liam’s tone was light when he answered. “So, should we show the humans that we scramble into our holes the minute they make a threat?”

“No.” Sean said it emphatically. “We find them and make the bastards pay. But we also shouldn’t encourage Shifters, especially the cubs and the mates, to be in a position to take more bullets.”

Liam and Sean studied each other across the table, neither giving way to the other. Liam’s eyes flicked to Shifter white, cat pupils slitted, before they snapped back to human. “I never meant that we should dance in front of human guns in our altogether, Sean.”

“I know.” Sean’s words were flat. Simple.

Liam couldn’t be seen looking away first. He was leader, the alpha of this entire community. Sean had to drop his gaze before Liam did or risk his gesture being taken by the others as a challenge. If Sean challenged, especially in public, he and Liam would have to fight. And watching them now, Andrea understood that the fight would be close. Too close to call.

Sean knew this too. He held Liam’s gaze a little while longer before he gave his brother a faint nod and looked away. Liam blew out a breath.

“I think we’re done here,” Liam said. “Business as usual, but extra security, extra caution.”

It was a dismissal. The Shifters drifted away from the pulled-together tables; Silas went with Annie. The others were talking together, Ellison laughing about something with Glory.

Sean rose and silently left the bar. Andrea followed him out.

She easily caught up to him at the field that was the shortcut to Shiftertown. Sean wasn’t walking fast but contemplating the world with a slow stride. Andrea knew he heard her, even though he didn’t look at her. He’d scent her, feel her warmth at his side.