Page 29 of Shifter For Hire (For Hire 2)

“Never mind. Talk to me. What makes you say what you said? Not Skip?”

“I heard it from Gerard.”

Janessa sipped the black coffee the waiter set before her. “Who’s that?”

“You don’t know him? I thought Declan would have mentioned him. He’s his brother. Gerard is Declan’s older brother.”

Tears flooded Janessa’s eyes. “You’re kidding! He’s alive? Declan’s brother is alive? Are you sure it’s him, Lachelle? Wait, you know him? You know what they a—”

Lachelle lowered her voice and smiled. “That they’re dragon shifters? Yes, I know. I’ve seen Gerard’s wings and his scales. He’s amazing.”

Her sister sat dumbfounded. “Declan thought they were all killed—his parents, his brother. He thought he was the only one left, and he lived alone for so long. I know he’ll want to see Gerard. Where is he? I need to call Declan.”

“Hang on.” Lachelle covered her hand when she brought her phone out of her purse. “Slow down, sis. The thing is, Gerard doesn’t want anything to do with his people.”

“Say what?”

“It’s a long story. Suffice it to say, I’ve convinced him to meet with Declan, but only Declan. He doesn’t want any of the others to know he’s alive.”

Her sister cast her a suspicious look. “I can’t get over you knowing Declan’s brother. How do you know him?”

Lachelle thought about the kiss they shared. Since it happened, she couldn’t get it off her mind, or him. Her body heated up from head to toe, and she found herself wanting to do it again—and again.

God, get a grip, girl.

“He’s a friend,” she said with as casual an air as she could muster. Janessa didn’t look all that convinced.

“And that’s all?”

“What else is there? I mean, look, I broke up with Skip after what you told me and what he admitted.”

Her sister gasped.

“But there’s nothing between me and Gerard. I don’t know him that well, and he’s not human. I still can’t wrap my head around it, but it’s real. And your little one is half dragon. That’s mind-blowing.”

“It took me awhile. Trust me.”

“You said people aren’t accepting you? Let me talk to them. I’ll set them straight.”

Janessa laughed. “You know you’re my little sister, right?”

“And what? I’ve got a gun.”

“Girl, stop.” Janessa laughed and then grew serious. “You haven’t seen them. You don’t know how they are. They’re literally…”

“Skip calls them monsters.”

Her sister frowned. “He doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about!”

“Whoa, calm down. I didn’t say it.”

“Does my angel look like a monster to you?”

Lachelle leaned forward. “Does he have wings?”

“We don’t know. He’s not showing any signs of being a shifter. We have a doctor in our group, and he delivered the baby. Lachelle, it was unbelievable. I hardly had any pain. The theory is that I had enzymes or whatever from the baby’s shifter blood that healed me as fast as I could be injured from giving birth.”

“Wow, sign me up.” She slapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head. “I didn’t mean that.”

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