Page 11 of Stray Cat

He pinned a stare on Lindsay, and Lindsay stiffened. “Borrowme? What the fuck?”

Xav’s amusement vanished. “You touch her, and you’ll be a dead man before you know what hit you.”

Lindsay took a step forward. “What will hit you is four sets of cat claws in your face.”

“I don’t want to touch her,” AC said with an irritation that matched Graham’s. “I want her to do something for me. Nothing sexual,” he added rapidly.

Lindsay planted her hands on her hips. “You couldn’t justaskme? You had to grab Xav and drag him and half of Shiftertown out into the desert?”

AC turned to address her as though they were the only two in the circle of light. “You think if I approached you on the street or at your club, you’d talk to me? Or that all these Shifters would let me near you? They’re very protective of their women.”

And the ladies were very protective of their men, Lindsay wanted to snarl. Humans didn’t understand that it went both ways.

“I’ve been watching you,” AC went on in a way that made Lindsay shiver. “You and Xav go out a lot. I figured if he called you, or got his brother to bring you to me in exchange, then we could have a talk.”

Because AC believed Diego would value his brother’s life far above Lindsay’s. Which might be true—Lindsay wasn’t certain how Diego felt about her—but again, the statement proved that AC didn’t understand Shifters. The ones around him were now growling menacingly.

AC didn’t understand Diego either. “I’d never have made an exchange like that,” Diego said. “Why aren’t you in prison, AC? Want to head back?”

“I served my sentence. Done.” AC dusted off his palms. “I’m not on parole—I did the whole thing. You let me ask Lindsay this favor, and you’ll never see me again.”

Lindsay knew she should scoff and head back to the waiting SUVs, taking Xav with her, and ignore the man. But the curiosity that was her besetting sin held her back.

“Why me?” she asked. “Brody’s bigger. Than everyone,” she couldn’t help adding.

Brody nodded, un-offended. “Pretty much.”

“I don’t need big.” AC’s mouth tightened, as though he barely held on to his patience. “I need fast and cunning. Of all the Shifters I’ve seen around, that’s you.”

“Cunning?” Lindsay repeated. “I’m going to take that as meaning smarter than most.”

Xav was next to her again, his shoulder touching Lindsay’s. “I don’t care what kind of Shifter you’re looking for, you’re not getting one. Not Lindsay, not any of them.”

“Shit, you’re arrogant, Escobar,” AC snapped. “You and your brother both. This is between me and the lady cat. You and your extraction team can go away.”

“Not gonna happen,” Xav said. “We’re taking you andyourteam to the local police, or maybe the county sheriff—whosever jurisdiction we’re in—for kidnapping, assault, and stalking.”

“At least let him tell us what he wants me for,” Lindsay broke in. “I have to know.” She glared at Graham. “And I don’t want to hear any Lupines saying that curiosity killed the cat.”

A few rumbles told her that, yes, some had been about to express that opinion.

Diego’s men already surrounded AC, but Graham now got behind the man and hemmed him in. Graham was far more intimidating than Diego’s guards could ever be, and AC finally looked nervous.

“I need her to find someone for me,” he said.

“Find who?” Lindsay asked before anyone else could speak.

“My brother.”

The Shifters, including Lindsay, went quiet. Shifters could smell a lie, and the scent coming off AC indicated he spoke the truth.

If any request would get a Shifter’s attention, it was this one. Shifters were all about family.

Lindsay’s own household was small, consisting of her mom and dad—Leah and Martin—and herself, as Lindsay had been an only cub. Moving to the Las Vegas Shiftertown, however, had tied Lindsay to many others she considered family now—Cassidy and Diego, Eric and Iona, their collective cubs, Brody and his brother and mom, and now their mates. Even Graham and his unruly Lupines had become part of the fabric of her life.

Shifters took a threat to a person’s family seriously, even if that person was heinous.

Diego sent AC a conceding nod. “We’ll talk about this someplace else.”

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