Page 67 of Stray Cat

At least the guy was talking to her. He’d gone from silent menace to halfway human during Lindsay’s jabbering, lowering his guard.

“Ooh, I should try on some of these shirts.” Lindsay beamed as she lifted a pink and gray T-shirt from another box he’d heaved down. “But then, I’d have to take this one off.” She plucked at her loose sweatshirt, which had been easy to shuck for shifting. “Would you like to see that?”

The man started, but his guard went down even further. “I guess I wouldn’t mind.”

“While the boys shut us out, we should have some fun.” Lindsay danced down the aisle, deeper into shadow. “You stay right there.” She pointed a forefinger at him. “And I’ll put on a show.”

The man didn’t seem surprised by this offer, but if he lived in Las Vegas, he might think Lindsay was a dancer at one of the burlesque clubs, used to baring herself. Some Shifter women did work at the clubs, and the men too, as Shifters saw no shame in showing their bodies.If you’ve got it, flaunt it,they said.

Lindsay had no shame about her body either, and this man would have already seen it if he’d helped his fellow goons drag her and Xav to the van or into the warehouse. But the way he glued his gaze to her was creepy. If Lindsay could figure out another way to quickly get out of her clothes to shift, she’d take it.

The man leaned against a stack of boxes, relaxing, as Lindsay turned her back and shimmied off her sweatshirt, twirling it around before tossing it away. She had no bra or underwear on, because they hadn’t been nice enough to bring them along when they’d kidnapped her.

Next, she slipped off her pants, which left her completely bare-assed.

Lindsay didn’t give the guy time to have much of a show. She darted around the end of the shelves into darkness, laughing as though teasing him, daring him to follow.

Her heart beat wildly as she started the shift, but thankfully, it came a little faster tonight. The Shifter in her must know Lindsay needed to be in the form that gave her the most advantage.

“Hey,” came a shout behind her. “Where’d you go?”

She heard his footsteps around the corner, but by the time her guard reached the dark end of the aisle, Lindsay had sprung high on her lynx paws, noiselessly making it to the top of the shelves.

The man halted in bewilderment, but Lindsay didn’t stay to gloat. She sprinted across the tops of the shelves, putting her plans into motion.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

Diego’s rage rose as he and Cassidy searched Xav’s new home, finding scattered clothing, rifled drawers, and the shoes Xav liked to wear waiting by the bed for him to slip them on.

The wolf cubs scampered here, there, and everywhere, noses busily taking in scents, tails wagging hard.

Only Cassidy, Tiger, the cubs, and Leah had entered the house with Diego. The rest of the Shifters, with a contingent of DX men and Emma, waited down the street and around the corner. Diego had wanted to keep Tiger out of sight, but he’d weighed the possibility of the neighbors being spooked against Tiger’s unique tracking abilities and decided to risk it.

Leah uttered a cry as she snatched up Lindsay’s jacket from the living room rug. She buried her face in it, but she didn’t weep, as though trying to stay strong.

Tiger stood in the middle of the kitchen, eyes closed. This was his way of assessing a situation, Carly had once tried to explain, though Diego hadn’t really understood. Tiger could sense things, apparently, that other Shifters could not.

A super-Shifter, they called him. Tiger would sometimes don a cape to amuse the cubs, who adored him.

Matt and Kyle scrambled up Tiger’s motionless body without fear, perching on his shoulders while they waited for him to figure things out.

Tiger opened his eyes, which were yellow-gold and intense.

“There were four captors inside the house,” he announced. “They used tranquilizers, most likely in darts, to subdue Xavier and Lindsay. From the residue, the tranq was strong enough to put a human out for a few hours, but a Shifter for only half that long.” Tiger met Diego’s incredulous expression with a deadpan one. “I learned much about tranquilizers.”

From the scientists who’d experimented on him, Diego knew Tiger meant. They’d tested all kinds of drugs on him, gauging his reaction to them and building up his resistance.

“Interesting,” Diego said, tamping down his disquiet. “Why didn’t they give Lindsay a stronger dose?”

“Because they didn’t realize she’s Shifter,” Leah said, triumphant, as she emerged from the bedroom. She held out a Collar, one of the fakes Eric and Liam Morrissey had created. “She fooled them.Andshe got hold of a phone.” She radiated pride in her daughter.

“Lindsay’s not dim,” Cassidy agreed with enthusiasm.

Of course, who the captors were and why they’d taken both Xav and Lindsay remained a mystery. The most logical solution was that the gang they’d been tailing had decided to find out who’d been following them, and why. Jeff was being guarded, but he might have managed to report in to his leader—if Jeff still felt any loyalty to him—and tell them about DX Security.

Diego’s phone buzzed. His heart leapt in hope that it would be Xav responding, but the readout said it was Neal.

“What did you find?” Diego asked him.

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