Wild Cat (Shifters Unbound #3)(25)
Author: Jennifer Ashley

Jace certainly looked amiable now. But all the Shifters did, even Shane, until they were pissed off.

“It was hell,” Cassidy said. “But that’s over.” She blew out her breath. “Jace is ready to mate, but…” She opened her hands. “Not that many female Shifters to go around. It’s a real blow when we lose one. Not as many females die bringing in cubs as they used to, but it still happens.” She looked at Torey, her expression sad. “But you understand what Torey’s going through, don’t you? You lost your dad.”

Diego remembered the utter shock of it, the jolt of the violence that had taken his father’s life. Diego had been eight, Xavier six. They’d been stunned and grieving, but Diego hadn’t understood until he was older what his mother must have gone through. Mamita was a strong woman—she didn’t take shit from anyone—but she must have been devastated. How she’d held it together, held them together, Diego still didn’t know.

“You lost your mate,” he said to Cassidy. “Eric’s died too, right?”

“Kirsten. Yes, bringing in Jace.” She let out her breath. “That was tough.”

“But Eric’s still here. And you are. And so is my mom. You didn’t take the way out that Torey’s dad did.”

“I had Eric,” Cassidy said, as though it were that simple. “Eric had me, and he had to take care of Jace. And I bet your mom made it because she had you and your brother.”

“That’s true. I think I stayed alive when those meth-heads shot me and Jobe because I want to get them. And I will.”

“Exactly.” Cassidy drew another breath, as though she’d say something more along that line, then she let the breath out again. “I suppose we make choices for our own reasons. I feel bad about Torey’s dad though. I should have been paying more attention.”

“You can’t see every sign,” Diego said. Law enforcement had its share of suicides, and it wasn’t always obvious until later that the person had been in that much despair.

“I’m Eric’s second. It’s my job to see them.”

Diego’s brows rose. “Your job?”

“It’s what a second does. Noses into other people’s lives to make sure everything’s all right. So Eric doesn’t have to take time away from liaising with humans and keeping three different species of Shifters from killing each other. I take care of the secondary problems. Like making sure Torey’s new mom has time to cope.”

Diego glanced at the house next to the Wardens’. “You seem to get along with your neighbors, the grizzlies.”

“That’s because Nell keeps Shane and Brody in line. All the bears, actually.”

Diego remembered what Shane had said about Nell conceding leadership to Eric and Cassidy. “Why would she step out of the way for you and Eric? Bears are bigger than wildcats.”

Cassidy shot him a sly look that seared his blood. “Because wildcats are fast. Nell won’t try to take over. None of us would survive a fight like that, and we all know it. So we do what we do, and we don’t worry about it.”

They both watched Torey romp while Diego strove to calm down his body. “What else does a second do? You and Eric working together last night—that was amazing.”

Cassidy shrugged. “Experience. I help Eric fight when necessary, but mostly I listen to people. I help the older ones, especially those who got stuck in this Shiftertown alone, apart from their clans. I take them shopping or do it for them, or just take them out to be a friend.”

Diego felt a twinge of remorse. “And now that I’ve confined you to Shiftertown?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll work around it. Once I got over my hangover this morning, I realized that I need to cool it and not risk getting arrested again. It wouldn’t just be me going to jail—the human police would come down on Eric, and there’s too many Shifters dependent on us to risk us being thrown out of here.”

“And the ritual you needed to do outside Shiftertown got done.”

Cassidy smiled. “That too.” She glanced past him. “Looks like your brother is ready to go.”

Diego saw Xavier looking through the stand of mesquite trees at them. Xavier waved when he saw Diego spot him, and Diego lifted his hand in answer. Xavier, his perceptive little brother, nodded once and went back into the house to wait for him.

Diego stood up, and Cassidy got up with him. Torey snarled and bounced as he attacked and shredded a weed.

Diego had promised himself that he’d hold himself back from Cassidy, but he’d forgotten how Shifters said good-bye.

Cassidy came against him, her arms going around his neck. Diego leaned down to her, unable to resist, as she held him tight and pressed her cheek against his. “Blessings of the Goddess go with you,” she said in his ear. “Are you coming back to check on me tomorrow?”

Diego pulled away enough to look at her, but he kept his arms around her supple waist. His hands rested on her bare back, her skin oh, so soft.

“My captain made me promise I’d come and see you every day.”

Cassidy’s smile widened. “That’s good. I’ll make sure Jace has a fresh pot of coffee ready for whenever you arrive.”

“Mighty hospitable of you, ma’am.”

Cassidy pulled him close again, let her lips linger on his cheek. “See you, Diego.”

It was all Diego could do to let her go, turn away, and walk across the yard. It was hard to walk with his pants having grown way too tight in the front.

He glanced behind him once and saw Cassidy lean down and Torey run and leap into her arms. She caught up the baby tiger, cuddling him and talking to him. Diego’s heart squeezed, and he found it hard to breathe. He turned away again and pulled his coat closed over his pants so Xavier wouldn’t make fun of him.

“You want to cut her probation short?” Captain Max asked Diego incredulously the next day. “Why?”

“She shops for shut-ins,” Diego said.

Captain Max dropped into his chair, giving Diego his famous stop-the-bullshit look. “She can have a friend do that for her. It’s only another week and a half.”

“I didn’t realize how many people Cassidy Warden actually took care of,” Diego said. “I called her nephew this morning and asked him point-blank. She looks after all the elderly in Shiftertown. All the widows and orphans too.”

“Widows and orphans. Dear God. Stop twanging the heartstrings, Escobar.”