The Last Warrior (Shifters Unbound #13) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,67
I’m not Shifter,” Rhianne pointed out.
“I know that. You know that. But I don’t think Shifter Bureau is gonna buy it. You change into an animal—ergo, you’re a Shifter.”
Rhianne watched the cautiously approaching men in bewilderment. “What do they want?”
Ben shrugged. “To lock you away, interrogate you, try to figure you out. At least these days, they don’t immediately dissect you and see what you’re made of.”
Rhianne gaped at him. “They do that?”
“Used to,” Ben answered hurriedly. “Like I said. These are civilized times. I think you’d better put your clothes on, though, while you have the chance. Once they reach us they might just try to chain you up and take you away without giving you the dignity of getting dressed.”
Rhianne listened in disbelief. “I thought hoch alfar were bad.”
“Yeah, Shifter Bureau could give the hoch alfar lessons about being sons of bitches.”
Rhianne stooped to gather up her clothes and quickly slipped them on.
The Shifter Bureau agents positioned themselves one on each compass point around Rhianne and Ben, tranq rifles at the ready.
“Name?” one of them said.
The agent looked at Ben, not Rhianne. He obviously assumed Ben was human, which to him meant superior to a Shifter, the only one of the pair worth addressing.
“Ben Gardner.” That was the name Ben was using, anyway. “Why don’t you call Danielson, your Shifter liaison?”
“He’s the Texas liaison,” the man, who apparently was the Bureau officer in charge, said. “This is Louisiana.”
“Yeah, but he can vouch. This is Rhianne. Just ask him.”
Ben was taking a gamble here. Walker Danielson possibly knew nothing at all about Rhianne’s shifting ability. But Jaycee, who was loyalty itself to Kendrick, might have examined her conscience and decided to confide what happened with Rhianne to him. Kendrick wasn’t in Dylan’s pocket, but he could have mentioned it to trusted people, like Walker, who was mated with a Shifter and a military liaison to Shifter Bureau.
Even if Walker didn’t yet know about Rhianne, he’d probably received an alert about an unknown eagle Shifter in New Orleans, and he’d know, via Dylan, that Ben was hosting Rhianne at the haunted house. Dylan worked closely with Walker and wired him in on most of his schemes.
Walker was also smart and could think on his feet. He trusted Ben … more or less. Ben had to risk it.
“Just call him,” he told the Bureau man.
Rhianne folded her arms and gave the four closing in on them an imperious stare worthy of her mother. “What do you want?”
“We need you to come with us, ma’am,” the leader said.
“Come with you where? And why? Who are you?”
The lofty commands of a Tuil Erdannan made the four men hesitate, but only for a moment. They were used to dealing with arrogant Shifters.
“We’re just going to talk to you, ma’am,” the leader said. He likely thought he sounded reasonable. “I’m asking you to please come with us without argument. We’d hate to have to tranq you, but we will. My men are very good shots.”
“I see.” Rhianne continued to regard them with a haughty stare. “Very well. I assume my advocate may accompany me.”
The leader switched his gaze to Ben, surprised at the reference. Ben looked exactly like what he was—an ex-con who’d just been rolling around in the dirt.
“Sure,” the leader said. His sneer told them what kind of “advocate” he considered Ben to be.
Idiot. These guys had no idea who they were messing with.
The Bureau men loaded Ben and Rhianne into a luxurious SUV with plush seats, cool air conditioning, and a rack for bottles of water. Not that the Bureau guys offered any water to their captives. At least they didn’t bring out the cages, Ben thought.
“Are you Shifter?” one of the men in the back asked Ben.
Before Ben could answer, the leader turned around from the front passenger seat. “I know about him. Ben Gardner. He’s a friend to Shifters, but he’s not a Shifter himself. Which means, no, we can’t trust him.”
Ben contrived a hurt expression. “Gee, and here I’ve been trying to be good for so long.”
“Yeah, well,” the leader answered. “It’s what happens when you hang out with Shifters.”
“What is wrong with Shifters?” Rhianne asked. “They seem to be quite civilized.”
The men stared at her as though she’d gone completely mad.
“Civilized,” the guy in the back said. “Shifters kill people with teeth and claws, and they hump anyone they can find. How is that civilized?”
Rhianne’s gaze didn’t soften. “You are very rude.”