Page 11 of Shifter For Hire (For Hire 2)

She played it cool, but her heart beat faster every time this man came too close. She felt like she was betraying Skip, but so long as she didn’t follow up on the attraction, no worries.

He frowned as if he searched for words. “I want to talk to you.”

“Go ahead, but it’s about the test—”

“Not here.”

“I’m not going out to dinner with you.”

“I don’t want to date you.”

“That’s great because I don’t want to date you either. I have a boyfriend, who I’m very serious about. We’re almost engaged.” God, why the heck was she saying all that? She almost sounded like she was throwing up a defense against him.

Gerard nodded. “Now that that’s clear, we can talk. Somewhere else. Not here.”

Curiosity stirred in her. What did he have to say? Regardless, she wanted to give him a hard time. “My schedule’s pretty full.”

“I—”

He jerked upright and looked over his shoulder. A sharp sniff of the air brought his eyebrows down low over his eyes and what was with that silver shimmering around his eyes—scales? He jerked her car door open, and something popped in the inner workings. If she had more than seconds to consider it, she’d conclude that he actually destroyed the lock with one tug.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she shouted.

He launched himself inside the car, driving her backward into the passenger seat. It was a good thing she hadn’t put her belt on or who knew the damage he would cause. He landed on top of her, pressing a hand over her ear and driving her head into his shoulder so the other ear was covered.

The scream that rose in her throat died. An explosion rocked the car. The windshield shattered. Fear and confusion made her curl her fingers into his shirtsleeves and hold on for dear life.

He must have spoken because she felt the vibration from his throat on top of her head. Her ears buzzed too much to hear, but if he hadn’t covered them, she was sure the impairment would have been much worse.

Struggling to get ahold of herself, she mumbled. “W-what happened?”

He leaned up to look into her eyes and then lowered his gaze as he scanned every inch of her body. “A bomb.”

Chapter 5

“A bomb…” Her voice died away. She couldn’t process what he was saying. Who would set off a bomb right there on police property? Why? She shoved his shoulder. “Get off me. Let me up so I can see if everyone is okay.”

He scanned the area outside the car before he climbed off her. She sat up and caught her breath. Smoke filled the air. Heat from a fire nearby warmed her face. She coughed and squinted her eyes. They dried more and more by the second.

Gerard left her to walk into the thick black smoke. Just as he was disappearing, she caught sight of the red stain spreading over his back. A shriek escaped her as she ran after him. “Wait, Gerard, your back.”

He seemed not to hear, but she caught up to him and tugged at his arm. His gaze zipped here and there as he took in the entire area surrounding the damage.

“Calm down,” she told him. “We can’t see a thing until this smoke clears. Meanwhile, you need to let me look at your back.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Have you seen all this blood?” She raised his shirt, and sure enough something had slashed his skin open. Her stomach roiled, but she steeled her nerves. “Take your shirt off. I’ll rip it up to make a bandage.”

“That’s not necessary. I will heal.”

“Save the macho attitude for when we haven’t almost been blown to smithereens.”

He looked down at her and sighed then removed his shirt. She grabbed it and tried to tear it into strips. Apparently, that kind of thing only worked in movies. Her hands weren’t strong enough. Gerard, with a tolerant air that ticked her off, took the shirt from her and ripped it apart like toilet paper. He handed it back and turned around again so his

back faced her.

She peeled off one of the strips of material and held it up to his back then stopped. Wait. Did she have brain damage from the blast? The gaping hole she’d seen a moment ago was gone. She scrubbed a hand over her eyes and blinked a few times.

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