Page 16 of Brother's Keeper

Felix stayed put until the clattering crash of breaking furniture came from inside the locked room.

Isha rattled the knob with no success as I closed the gap, sending a rocket of force ahead. It struck the door and flung it open, and I rushed past Isha into the bedroom.

Having visited Liv’s quarters twice in recent weeks, I had a good idea of the layout. I also had a good idea of how much havoc had been wrought. Bedposts were broken and a dresser had been overturned, leaving piles of leather and lace on the floor. The curtain rod hung askew off the window, and invading sunlight highlighted a bloody handprint on the far wall. No one occupied the bed, so I had to search harder for the cause of the disturbance.

Wedged in beside the standing armoire, Liv hugged her arms to her chest. Bright red slicked her bare body, stemming from an unseen wound. She looked my way as Isha and Felix piled in, ready to run but too terrified to move.

A dark form slunk to the floor, black and furry with a slinky tail that flicked side to side. The beast crouched on the other side of the bed, having cornered Liv like helpless prey.

Charging into the room, I threw out a shockwave that struck the big cat’s side. He skidded into the wall, hitting hard enough to shake a painting off its hook. It fell to the floor with a crack as the frame broke.

“That’s enough!” Isha shrieked. Barely words and more of an unearthly keening.

I’d heard the sound before and remembered to covermy ears as sound waves pulsed through the room. The noise resonated, and I doubled over, squeezing my eyes shut in a fight against the auditory assault.

It took only seconds to subside, and I peered out to find the others similarly staggered. Isha alone remained bolt upright, her nostrils flared and chest heaving.

The panther growled as it shook its large head. It stumbled through a turn toward us, then bared its fangs. I thought the beast was snarling until it began to change, and the animalistic sounds became decidedly human. Drawing up from four legs to two, the big cat stood, shedding its thick coat of hair for naked flesh and leaving only greasy, shoulder-length locks in the same inky black.

I should have figured it out before I saw his face. This wasn’t the first time I’d tangled with the smelly shapeshifter. One-eyed Jaxon Rhodes faced us, flashing his sharp teeth as he laughed.

“Take it easy, Madam.” He stuffed a finger in one ear and twisted it. “We were just messing around.”

“Liv, are you all right?” Isha’s voice behind me was eerily calm.

The other woman’s blonde head bobbled, but I didn’t buy it. Her face was pale beneath a heavy application of blush. She shifted uncomfortably, one arm barred across her surgically enhanced breasts and the other over her crotch.

I walked into the room, spotting a silk robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door and grabbing it. I tossed it to Liv without taking my eyes off Jax.

Ripley had warned me about this cretin crawling out from whatever rock he’d been hiding under for the pastcouple of months. I had a whole list of things to say to him but, with Felix looking on, the need to maintain my good cop cover kept me quiet.

Jax, on the other hand, was bound by no such obligation.

“Fitch Farrow,” he crowed, fixing his one eye on me. The other socket was sunken and vacant, redder and more swollen than I expected for a months-old injury. “I hear you’re working for the Capitol. Moving up in the world.” He bounced his brows. “Me, too. To think I was about to settle for just joining your little gang. Now I’m running it.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said, which might have been too much to confess considering the investigator a few feet away soaking all of this up like a sponge.

“Gentlemen.” Isha inserted herself in the conversation. “Perhaps you could take this chatter somewhere else?”

Jax stooped to gather his clothes from the floor. “Sure, sure. We should catch up. I’ve got big plans you might wanna know about.”

In my peripheral, Felix reached to the handcuff pouch on his belt.

Jax must have seen the movement, as well. “Go ahead.” He pulled his pants up over his bare ass and buttoned them.

“Take me in,” Jax said. “Throw the book at me. Won’t stick. Shit just slides off these days.” He paused while tugging his shirt over his head to pin me with a meaningful look. “You know all about that, don’t you, Fitch Farrow?”

My hands curled into fists. I’d worried about witnesses incriminating me but hadn’t considered this asshat ready to dime me out for spite.

I turned toward Felix. “Let’s go.”

The investigator remained in place while Isha went to check on Liv.

Felix pointed at Jax. “Did he say he’s running the Bloody Hex? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s delusional.” I huffed a breath, resisting the urge to grab the shapeshifter and drag him out the door. “And he’s an idiot. Not worth our time.”

The cuffs were in Felix’s hand now, glinting chrome. “We should take him in for questioning. See what he knows.”

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