September 25, 2018
Cross Breed
This was a very bad idea. She knew it was a bad idea, but she was still here, and she was still doing it. She stopped at the door of the suite she had been directed to, slid the security card into place, then pushed open the door and stepped inside. The smell of cigar smoke reached her senses the moment Cassie entered the room at the Navajo Suites where she’d been told to meet the Breed she now owed one hell of a debt to. The scent of the tobacco, rather than acrid and distasteful, was a bit mellow, soothing. Rather like those she’d known other Breeds to indulge in. That was at least something familiar, something not so disconcerting as the decision she’d made to come here. God, she didn’t even know his name. All she knew was the number she’d been left six years ago and the message that accompanied it. You were beautiful in the moonlight, little halfling. If you need me, call. But there will always be a price to pay, the note had read.
And she had made the call often over the years, though she was never certain why she could trust him so easily. The price had begun small, but with each call made it had grown steadily. Still, she had enjoyed the game. Until now. But hadn’t she known it would eventually come to this? What woman agreed to sleep with a man whose name she didn’t even know? Whose face she’d never seen? A crazy woman, that was who. Or a very desperate one. She closed the door behind her softly, set the lock and stared to the opened balcony doors where the shadow of a large, powerful Breed stood. The tip of a slim cigar brightened as he inhaled, then dimmed, clenched between strong white teeth as they flashed in a brief smile. A Coyote’s smile.
“Didn’t expect you to keep your word,” he said, his voice quiet, deep, as he lifted one hand to remove the cylinder of pressed tobacco. A second later it was tossed over the balcony railing, its fiery point of light disappearing as it fell to earth.
“You did as I asked.” She shrugged. “My sister’s safe.”
God, if only she had known sooner that her twin, Kenzi had been taken. She was supposed to be safe. And she’d learned too late, sensed the danger her sister was in after she was taken rather than before. The gift she had been cursed with as a child had all but deserted her now, in her twenties. When she most needed it. When it could actually help her rather than tear her apart. And this time it had almost come too late to ensure their safety. She was safe now, though. Cassie had heard the report that Kenzi was in Breed hands. The moment it had been announced Kenzi had been found, Cassie had slipped from the Bureau of Breed Affairs apartments to meet her savior as he’d directed her.
“Didn’t mean you’d show up,” he pointed out laconically. “It’s not as though I could sue for breach of agreement.”
He was right, so why had she shown up? She could have ignored their bargain once Kenzi was safe. But he’d never, in all these years, broken his word to her. No matter how dangerous her requests, no matter how difficult, he’d always come through for her. As he said, he couldn’t sue her. There would have been nothing he could have done if she had chosen to ignore the deal she had made with him. It was just that somehow, it had seemed rather wrong to do so.
“I don’t break my word,” she finally answered him. “You should know that by now.” A mocking chuckle filled the room.
“Know what I think?” he said then, turning to face her as he slid the balcony door closed. The blinds closed automatically behind him.
“Does it matter?” She was certain she didn’t want to know what he thought.
“Oh, I think it matters,” he answered, his voice low. “I think it matters very much.”
“Are we here to talk or finish the bargain?” No, she didn’t want to know what he thought; she wanted to get this the hell over with and get back to the Bureau offices, where she was safe.
Available Titles
Keep in Touch
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