Bodyguard

Elizabeth thought of Liam Morrissey's warm blue eyes and the pressure of his hands when he'd clasped hers. "Are you sure Liam likes me? You were arrested for helping me."

"If Liam didn't like you, you'd know. Trust me."

Yes, she believed that. He'd beamed a charming smile on one and all, but Elizabeth had sensed his controlled power, the dangerous thing beneath his surface.

Elizabeth went through the store, righting things, replacing the displays that had been knocked over. At least Marquez hadn't gotten into the safe. He'd been right that Elizabeth hadn't made her deposit--she'd planned to do it last night, and the safe held several thousand dollars. The police had kept Marquez's shoulder bag full of cash and given her a receipt for a hundred and seventy-eight dollars.

Elizabeth picked up the torn bits of a huge T-shirt and held the strips up before her eyes. Ronan's bear body had ripped its way right out of the shirt. The strength the torn fabric represented made her shiver. She stared at the strips for a time then, for some reason, she rubbed them against her cheek.

A large hand took them away from her. "Throw those out. I trashed that shirt. And I owe you for the other one."

Elizabeth flushed and tossed the pieces of T-shirt into the wastebasket. "No, no. It's on me. You saved my life and my store. Least I can do. Oh, and, you said you were buying a birthday present last night. For who?"

"Rebecca. Got anything for a horny she-bear who doesn't want to be reminded she's coming up on her hundredth birthday?"

Elizabeth hid her astonishment at the hundredth part. "I'll find her something cute. Also on me. You all have been so nice to me."

Ronan nodded, as though it was no big deal, and turned away to answer his cell phone. He continued to make calls after that, she noticed as she kept cleaning.

By the time shoppers had started migrating to the area, and Elizabeth reached to turn on her neon "OPEN" sign--custom-made, with a girl with long legs sitting on the curved end of the N--Ronan was off the phone and all was ready.

"The trackers are coming," he said. "Probably they're already here."

"Tell one of them to bring me my phone. If Liam wants it, he can have it, but I need the numbers stored inside."

Ronan rumbled a laugh. "He's done playing. He's sending it."

The cell phone was returned to her via a tall, broad-shouldered Shifter with a shaved head, deep brown eyes, and body art all over him. He gave her a predatory smile as he handed over the phone.

"I'm Spike," he said. "Nice to meet you."

Spike. The "hot" guy Mabel said had tatts all over him. He was certainly well inked, his muscle shirt showing art that interlocked and wove up and down his arms like living paintings. His own skin showed only in his face and hands. Like all Shifters, he was tightly muscled and had that edge of animal about him. Elizabeth wondered what he turned into.

Ronan shoved the phone from Spike's side of the counter to Elizabeth's. "You're on perimeter," Ronan growled at him.

Spike shot Ronan a glance, and his evil smile widened. "You're the boss." He walked out of the store without saying good-bye, the small bells on the door tinkling.

"Felines," Ronan said. He might as well have said, Shitheads.

"Liam's a Feline," Elizabeth said, tucking her phone into her pocket. "Right?"

"The whole Morrissey clan are Felines. That's why Liam is so full of himself. Like a cat with cream."

"And Spike's a Feline like him?"

"Different clan. Spike's wildcat is bred from jaguars, but the Morrisseys have more lion in them. Spike came up here from Mexico, the Morrisseys from Ireland."

"What do you mean by more lion? Aren't they all were-lions or were-jaguars or whatever?"

Ronan shook his head. "We're all Fae-beasts, technically. Feline and Lupine clans tend to lean more toward one cat or wolf type than others, but none of them breed true. Only bears do."

"Of course."

"Bear Shifters were the last ones created. With us, the Fae finally got it right."

"You're saying Bears are the best," Elizabeth said, straight-faced.

"Damn straight."

"And the most modest, obviously."

"Damn straight." He looked so serious when he was full of shit.

"And you're a Kodiak bear, right?" Elizabeth went on. "And Rebecca is too?"

"She's from my clan--a long way removed, but still my clan. It means I can't mate with her, which is fine with me. She's a neat-nik. Drives me frigging insane."

"Then why do you live with her?"

"Not a lot of choice. The humans put me in with Rebecca when I was brought to this Shiftertown. There aren't enough houses to go around, so any family connection means you share. You share even if there's not a family connection, but at least they don't force different species into the same house if they don't want to be there. That would be a blood bath."

No customers had entered the store yet, so Elizabeth allowed herself to lean on her elbows on the counter and keep asking questions.

"And the other three? Mabel said you're basically running a foster home for bears."

"I guess you can put it like that. Cherie came first. She'd been kept in a pen for about ten years, a pen only about five feet square. Some humans up north had caught her as a cub and kept her as a pet. Someone found out, realized what she was, and called the police. The Shifter Division took her, but didn't know what to do with her. I heard about her through Ursines in Wisconsin--their Shiftertown didn't have room for her, so they were asking around. I told Dylan--Liam's dad--about her, and Dylan said we'd bring her down. Poor kid. It took her a long time to adjust to living like a normal Shifter. She still hasn't adjusted, in some ways."