I could have easily made short work of the auburn-haired shifter, I was relieved when he headed for the club.
“Jen,” I whispered, stumbling to the sidewalk. “I have the intel, but I need to protect a civilian from Javier.”
My handler didn’t respond. Although I sensed her, our connection was muted, and her emotions were unclear.
I tried again. “Handler.”
No response.
Throughout the course of my miserable life, I’d passed through several handlers. Some treated me decently. Others abused the shit out of me. But every single one of them responded when I called for them. It was part of their programming.
Maybe I should’ve been more concerned about what was going on with Jen, but all I could think about was my dancer. Lee’s house wasn’t far from here.
Miguel might already be there.
Fuck it. If Jen and the other handlers were watching me, I'd give them some entertainment. Abandoning my drunk act, I ran across the street and ducked behind the liquor store. In the dank smelling darkness, I stripped off my clothes. Dropping my disguise, I did an all over body shake and expanded into my natural form. Then, I activated the unique cloaking properties of my skin that rendered me invisible and raced toward my mate’s home.
I covered the distance in less than a minute. When I was a street away from her house, I passed a black Mercedes speeding through the neighborhood.
Miguel.
My orders prevented me from approaching him, but what if he approached me? Grinning, I darted into the middle of the road. As the vehicle barreled toward me, I hummed one of the songs from my mate’s dance routine.
I confirmed Miguel’s identity and shifted my hand and arm. Then, milliseconds before the vehicle could smash into me, I drove my massive claw-tipped paw straight into the three-pointed-star Mercedes-Benz emblem on the front grille. The impact sent the vehicle somersaulting over my head.
It landed right-side up with a deafening crunch. Noxious odors of smoke and gasoline wafted from the wreckage as Miguel’s unconscious body slumped into the rapidly deflating airbag. The enforcer wasn’t picking up my mate or anyone else tonight.
As I shifted my uninjured paw back into a hand, a light from one of the houses across the street flicked on.
I should go. The threat to my mate had been dealt with, and my programming urged me to head to the army base to make my handler’s deadline. And yet, a much stronger need had me looking down the street.
I still have time to see Lee.
If my handler or any other soldiers had been monitoring me, they would have swooped in to apprehend me long before now.
A thrill shot through me. I’m truly off leash. As long as I followed the previously given order to be back at base by four, I could do whatever the fuck I wanted. And I wanted only one thing…
10
Lee
Someone pounded on my door hard enough to shake the wood frame.
The sound tore me from my terrifying memories.
“Come out, sugar. No hiding in your room when there’s free beer and single men to be had.”
The breath I was holding came out in a rush.
Cami.
Wiping away my tears, I quickly pushed the knife into its hiding place and covered it with the plank.
“One of those single men just poured his free beer all over me,” I shouted back at her.
“I hope you made him lick it off.”
“Yeah, no. Give me a second.” I hastily swapped the damp sweater for a black halter top and opened the door.
Cami stood in the hallway still wearing the teeny-tiny plaid skirt and white thigh-highs from her set at the club. She’d tied her white button-down shirt into a knot under her ample cleavage. It showcased her tanned abs and the dangly belly button ring that matched my own.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she swayed unsteadily, a vodka bottle dangling from between her fingers.
I laughed. “Couldn’t wait to start the party?”
“Don’t give me a hard time. My head is throbbing, and I feel like crap. Thank God the new girl drew the short straw. There was no way I could’ve danced back-to-back sets.” She took a healthy gulp from the bottle.
“What do you mean?”
“The evil-bitch-of-the-West didn’t bother gracing us with her presence. Max is livid.”
Goosebumps ran down my arms. “Jess didn’t show?”
“Nope. But the good news is, I think she finally crossed the line this time. Given the way Max flipped his lid, she can kiss her job goodbye.”
Oh, God. It wasn’t a prank.
The room spun. “I-I saw