Page 6 of Shifter For Hire (For Hire 2)

Lachelle’s blood ran cold. “What night was this?”

“Tuesday.”

“A-and why did you call it freaky? I mean every murder is, since it’s ugly violence, but…” Her mouth dried. She felt dizzy and wanted to run to the bathroom, but she had to hear everything. Then again, she wanted to tell Quantita to get out of her cubicle so she could look up what happened for herself.

There weren’t two restaurants that opened late on the street Quantita mentioned. Also, the night of the murder was the same night Lachelle followed Skip over that way and ran into the big guy.

Okay, calm down. First of all, you’ve talked to Skip since then, so he’s at least alive.

Her mind started to dredge up the idea that it wasn’t Skip who texted her and that someone had stolen his phone after they killed him. Then common sense followed to remind her that she spoke to him on the phone. The panic eased a bit.

“It’s freaky because the guy was naked, and they found this piece of a wing beside his body.”

“A wing? So what? A bird died? Maybe a rat or some animal ate the rest and left part of the wing. What kind of weird ridiculous mess are they putting on the news right now?”

Quantita smirked. “The structure of the piece they found could be from a creature as big as a man.”

“Now I know they’re crazy. If we had pterodactyls flying around the city, someone would have noticed.”

Quantita shrugged. “Yeah, they said they weren’t sure what kind of bird yet, but they’re looking into it. Just freaky. Gives me the chills. I won’t be going down that way to get my fried chicken for a long time. You can count on that.”

“I hear you.”

After Quantita left, Lachelle texted Skip.

“I need to talk to you for longer than a minute.”

He didn’t respond after an hour of her waiting while taking calls.

“It’s about a murder and Commonwealth Avenue,” she typed.

“I’ll call you tonight.”

Tears flooded her eyes. She tried to tell herself she didn’t know why, but the truth stared her in the face. It wouldn’t be denied. Why would he respond that he would call only after she mentioned the murder?

Skip knew her better than to think she was worried about one murder that wasn’t even on her side of town. She wasn’t the type to cower in fear because of the big dangerous world. Heck, she had already passed the written examination for becoming a police officer and waited for the date to take the physical portion. Soon she would kiss this call center job goodbye.

So what was going on with Skip?

She worked through the rest of the day, not sure if she passed on useful or accurate information to callers or not. At the end of the day, she jetted out of the office and rushed home. Only after she arrived did she realize she had nothing to eat in the apartment.

With her appetite gone, she dropped onto the living room couch to wait for Skip’s call. Hour after hour slipped by. Her phone remained silent. She checked that no calls had come in or texts. Nothing. She double-checked the ring tone was flicked on.

No calls.

Chapter 3

Gerard knew the direction the wind came from. Better yet, he sensed when it would change. Not only did he keep several miles between himself and the leader of his people, he shifted his position constantly, making sure he wasn’t detected.

Holding the position where he crouched for too long, the muscles in his back ached. He stretched them out, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. All the while he kept his eyes on Declan.

Gerard clenched his jaw and stood. He paced along the cliff’s edge, unsettling some of the dirt and rocks. He barely registered something scraping against his skin. All his attention was on Declan as he clutched his son close to his chest and kissed the baby’s face. Nearby was Declan’s mate, a human.

Gerard shook his head in disbelief. What a fool, to take a human. Then again, he was aware that a shifter knew his or her mate upon sight. No one would choose to take someone who wasn’t his or her mate. It would be foolish, dumping hardship on their head.

Well, it didn’t matter to Gerard. He had nothing to do with Declan or any of the shifters. He kept his distance from all of them and lived his own life.

And if I’ve decided to keep my distance, why do I watch them?

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