Page 58 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Talk about distracted.Hashtag put that down to his libido. It had been months since he’d gotten any, with no one—maleorfemale—catching either his eye or the attention of his cock.

Eve had his undivided attention from the minute she walked into the room, and Hashtag’s boner was showing no signs it planned on subsiding anytime soon.

True to his word, Crank remained silent the whole time, his attention focused on the proceedings.

“Anything you want to ask?”

Hashtag flushed when he caught Saul’s amused stare.Busted. “You’re doing fine,” he mumbled.

Saul chuckled. To Hashtag’s surprise, he closed the file in front of him and leaned forward, hands clasped on the table, his gaze fixed on Eve.

“Okay. On paper you look good—except you already know that, don’t you? You make all the right noises too.”

She raised her eyebrows at that but said nothing.

“Now let’s talk about what’snotin here.” He tapped the folder with his forefinger.

Eve blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I can see you started your military career in 2005, aged eighteen. It’s also obvious you were on track to make rank. But then there’s a gap, from 2015 to the present to be exact. Now while it doesn’t go against you, I can think of a number of reasons why that might be. Except… you list yourself as single, you have no dependents….” Saul folded his arms. “You weren’t working for the US military, were you? And youdefinitelyweren’t working with the Fridans. I checked.”

Hashtag froze.She’s a Geran?Obviously her appearance had fouled up his senses, because he really hadn’t seenthatcoming.Damn.

“No, I wasn’t. I served with the Geran military until a few months ago.” Eve looked Saul in the eye, her gaze unflinching. “And Iwasgoing to tell you, by the way. I wouldn’t hide something like that.”

He nodded. “Now tell me the whole story.” Saul spoke in a low, even voice, and Hashtag admired his capacity to keep cool.

Eve relaxed a little. “My parents are Gerans, as is my brother. He also serves in their military. He was the one who persuaded me to enlist.”

Saul huffed. “I bet that went down well.” Hashtag gave him a puzzled glance, and Saul shook his head. “I’ve met a few womenover the years who served in the Geran military. Let’s just say the potential for rising through the ranks is pretty nonexistent.”

Eve snorted. “You can say that again. When he first suggested it, my brother made out that it was exactly like the human military. It didn’t matter if you were male or female—allranks were on the table.” She shrugged. “He was my brother. He wouldn’t lie to me, would he? So I applied.”

Saul stroked his finger along his bearded jaw. “What happened? Because I’m guessing your brother lied his ass off.”

“He lied like a cheap rug.” She gave another snort. “It wasn’t so much a glass ceiling as a concrete one. My superiors seemed less concerned about my military prowess andmoreconcerned about what they could gain if they had me join their breeding program.”

“What are you?” Hashtag blurted. His nose itched, and he rubbed it.

“I’m a gorilla.”

He let out a snort. “Well, I don’t have to ask why they wanted to do that, do I?”

“So they reneged on their side of the deal,” Saul continued. He frowned. “But you still stayed put for six years.”

Eve stared at him in silence before letting out a sigh. “You’re right. Because I believed what they told me. I was helping—in my own small way—to prepare for what was to come.”

“And what was that?” Hashtag sniffed, and Saul passed him a box of tissues.

“It was common knowledge. We were increasing our numbers, ready for the day when shifters would take their rightful place.”

Hashtag guffawed. “That would be with your foot on the necks of all humans, right? And youknowwe’re both human, don’t you? I’m sure those excellent shifter senses of yours told you that the second you walked into the room.”

Eve fell silent again, except for several sniffs.

“You got allergies too, huh? They suck.” Hashtag pushed the box of tissues toward her. “I think your need is greater.”

“Let’s get back to the interview, shall we?” Saul focused his attention on her. “You’re here, so something clearly changed your mind.”

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