Walker grinned as Ronan released his hand. “Done.”
Ronan opened the front door, pulling the screen door closed behind him as he started in, shutting Walker out. “There’s no extra bedrooms in the house, so you’ll have to sleep in the Den.” He pointed through the gloom at the dark bulk of the garage. “Stash your stuff in there and then come in for supper. My Elizabeth is getting to be a truly awesome cook.”
***
Since Walker had been so helpful during all the trouble with Tiger, Ronan had welcomed him in Shiftertown. Rebecca watched from her end of the table as Ronan and Elizabeth spoke easily with Walker as supper progressed.
Rebecca was hungry—she shoveled pieces of chicken and mac and cheese into her mouth as though she’d never get enough. She wanted to pick up the bowl of steaming vegetables and dump them down her throat, and she didn’t even like veg. Bears needed a lot of food to keep them going on a good day, and tonight, Rebecca’s adrenaline was high, her body still trying to throw off effects of the tranq.
But it was embarrassing. Walker was eating a lot—most men she knew did—but he didn’t look as though ready to devour everything in sight. He managed to stay clean and neat as he went through what Elizabeth had dumped onto his plate, and then carefully spooned on seconds. Rebecca wanted to burp, but the sound would ring down the table. Not really the impression she wanted to give.
Though Walker had come often to Shiftertown in the past several months, he hadn’t been to this house since the day he’d been brought here, unconscious and trussed up with duct tape, and left on the living room floor.
Rebecca had been assigned to watch over him. That had been fine, until he’d woken up, fought his way out of most of the tape, and tackled her trying to get away.
Wrestling Walker had been . . . interesting. He’d been holding back, she’d sensed, and she’d felt the steel strength of him as they’d scrabbled on the floor.
Walker had ended up half throwing Rebecca across the room. Then, instead of running away, he’d turned back, as though concerned he’d hurt her. Rebecca had been forced to go bear and tackle him.
Walker had never spoken of it. He didn’t talk about it now, instead discussing Shifter happenings with Ronan.
The man had no business being so attractive. He was human, for crying out loud. But what a human. He’d traded his fatigues for civvies—jeans and a black T-shirt—clothes that clung to his body. Rebecca couldn’t stop her gaze running over his wide shoulders, tight chest and abs under the T-shirt, and his strong arms, tanned and streaked with golden hair.
Rebecca didn’t go for humans, right? Not for mating anyway. Rebecca was stronger than many human males, and she needed a Shifter who could take her.
She should go prowling tonight to relieve her itch—maybe that would help her cease thinking about rolling around the floor with Walker not ten feet from where they sat now.
But she couldn’t go out and ease her frenzy, not with Walker here as her keeper. He’d hear her sneaking out and follow her.
Well, if he got an eyeful, so what? Would serve him right.
Rebecca stabbed her fork into her macaroni. Nah, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
Besides, she didn’t want to be with anyone else just now. There were great Shifters out there, but they didn’t have Walker’s square face brushed with blond whiskers, strong hands callused from years of serving in the military, a dark, rumbling voice that warmed her and made her skin prickle at the same time . . .
“So, Walker,” Cherie was asking with her usual candor. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Walker set down his fork, while Rebecca froze, her macaroni untouched. Walker wiped his mouth, then his fingers, every movement drawing her attention.
“Not right now,” Walker answered without self-consciousness. “Why?”
“Oh, just curious.” Cherie looked innocent, which didn’t fool Rebecca.
Rebecca—and everyone else at the table—knew Cherie didn’t ask on her own behalf. She wouldn’t be interested in mating until she was through her Transition, which she wouldn’t hit for another six or so years. Rebecca knew damn well why Cherie wanted to know.
“He’s too old for you,” Scott said to Cherie, playing along. He’d eaten more than anyone else, and his face had become a dark shade of red. “Too human for you.”
“Yeah, well, I saw you looking at a human woman at Elizabeth’s store yesterday,” Cherie said, reaching for another chicken leg. “Looking, drooling, undressing her with your eyes.”
Scott’s flush deepened. “I don’t drool. Anyway, how the hell do you know? You never stop talking long enough to notice what I do.”
Cherie shrugged and nibbled daintily at her chicken.
Scott growled, a worrying sound. His hormones were flying around with his Transition, and Cherie wouldn’t understand what that was like for some time yet. She only knew she could get her foster brother riled pretty fast these days.
Elizabeth rose hastily. “Can’t forget dessert.”
She ran out before Rebecca could offer to help and came back in with a simple and favorite after-dinner treat. Elizabeth had come to know her bear family well.
Walker leaned forward curiously as Elizabeth set a large bowl in the middle of the table, filled to the brim with plump, fresh blackberries.
“Yum!” Cherie’s hands shot forward, her short feud with Scott forgotten.
In many Shifter houses, the dominant male got the food first, then he portioned it out to the others. In this house, however, Ronan had decreed, the cubs came first. Rebecca liked him for it.
Recently Scott had decided that all the adult females needed to be fed first, because it was important to keep them strong. He peeled the bowl from Cherie’s grasp and shoved it at Rebecca.
Rebecca decided to humor him, forestalling Cherie’s irritated growl with a look. Rebecca scooped berries out with a big spoon into the small bowls Elizabeth had provided. She gave one to Elizabeth and one to Cherie, then shoveled some out for Olaf and herself before sliding the bowl back to the middle of the table.
Scott gazed hungrily at the berries, ready to dive in, but he swallowed and passed the bowl to Walker, the guest.
Walker politely took a spoonful. Refusing offered food in a Shifter home was a grave offense.
Olaf dug into his berries with his fingers, his hands quickly becoming dark pink. Cherie, with the exuberance of youth, did the same.
“Bears love berries,” Cherie said to Walker. “Thanks, Elizabeth. You went to a lot of trouble.”
Elizabeth bounced Coby in her lap. “I didn’t pick them myself. I bought them at Central Market. My whole job was washing them and putting them into a bowl. It’s easy to make bears happy.” She winked at Walker.
“I like blackberries,” Olaf said around a mouthful. “But I wish we could have more fish.”
“Yeah,” Cherie said, smiling dreamily. “A big fat salmon.”
Scott rolled his eyes. “Grizzlies.”
“I’m not a grizzly,” Olaf said, offended. “I’m a polar bear.”
“You’re a sweetie bear,” Rebecca said. “And now a sticky one.” She lifted her napkin, dipped it in her glass of water, and started wiping Olaf’s mouth.
She caught Walker watching her with a guarded expression. In fact, mostly what he’d done since he’d sat down at the table was watch.
Scott finished off his bowl then dug into the serving bowl for the sad, smashed blackberries at the bottom. He ate those, licked his fingers, stretched, and let out a low growl.
His face was still flushed, his dark brown eyes shining. “I gotta go for a run.” He shoved back his chair and climbed to his feet. “I’ll help you clean up when I get back.”
Scott was out the door before anyone could protest. Ronan rose, looking worried. “Becks, keep an eye on him. I would, but I have to get to work.”
Rebecca was already going for her jogging shoes, which she kept beside the door. They were the ones she’d wor
n out to the airport last night—Ronan or someone must have fetched them home for her.
“Wait.” Walker was next to her, his bulk between Rebecca and the front door, his scent like the night. “You can’t go out there, remember?”
Rebecca put on a shoe while standing, hopping to keep her balance. “Scott could be running off anywhere. You want to keep Shifters out of trouble? You’ll let me go after him.”
Walker’s face was hard—she had difficulty reading him, but she saw indecision in his eyes. “Then I’m coming with you,” he said, as Rebecca jammed on her other shoe. “He can’t go to the old airport.”
“Then we’ll have to take him somewhere else.”
Walker nodded. “I have an idea. I’ll find him.”
He was out the door as fast as Scott had moved. Rebecca snatched up her borrowed sweat jacket, pulled it on against the cool night air, and ran out after Walker.
Chapter Four
Scott had made it to the end of the street by the time Walker, in his truck, Rebecca again in the passenger seat, caught up to him. Scott had already shifted, and now Walker drove after a huge black bear running down the road at top speed.
Shifters out in their yards or on porches simply watched Scott go by. Cubs lifted their heads from playing to stare at him, but no one tried to stop him. Walker had seen this happen before—everyone in Shiftertown knew better than to get in Scott’s way when he was trying to work off his Transition crazies.
Walker accelerated and pulled the pickup next to the galloping bear. “Scott!” Rebecca yelled through the window she’d opened. “Get in the back! We’ll take you where you can run.”
Scott turned, his eyes red as he snarled at her. He charged the truck.
Walker slammed on the brakes, throwing his arm around Rebecca and yanking her down. Scott hit the open window and spun off it, still snarling.
“You okay?” Walker asked as Rebecca fought her way upright.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Rebecca glared with brown eyes that held both anger and concern. “What did you do that for?”
Walker returned his hands to the wheel, trying not to think about the feel of her soft body landing across his lap. “Because he was coming right at you.”
Rebecca scowled, pushing her hair from her face. “He wasn’t going to hurt me.”
“How the hell can you know that?” Walker didn’t keep the anger out of his voice. Scott was not in control when the Transition took over—why else would they bother with the chain in the wall?
Rebecca shook her head and didn’t answer.
The truck listed as a large weight climbed into the back. Walker glanced into the rearview to see Scott shift back to human and wrap himself in the bundle of clothes Rebecca had left for him.
“He’s good,” Rebecca said. “Let’s go.”
Walker put his foot on the gas, and they left Shiftertown.
He drove out of Austin, heading east and south, way out past new development to emptier lands. Rebecca didn’t speak, seeming uninterested in where they were going.
Walker took a series of dirt roads and ended up at the cement-floored arena that was the new place Shifters held their fight clubs. It was dark and deserted tonight; fight clubs followed a regular schedule. No one would come out here tonight.
Scott was out of the truck as soon as it slowed, throwing off the clothes. Naked, he ran into the darkness, and soon Walker heard bear growls.
He started to get out, but Rebecca shook her head. “He needs to run. He’ll be back when he’s ready.”
Walker thought about the darkness, his tranq rifle tucked into the seat behind him, and what he’d learned about Shifters. He eased back into his seat and closed the door. He wasn’t here to hinder Scott, and he’d seen Scott in Transition frenzy before. He ran, he felt better, he calmed down, and everyone went home.
Rebecca remained on her side of the truck, watching Walker with narrowed eyes. “How do you know about this place?”
Walker gestured with his rough fingers. A white scar ran across the backs of them, left over from getting caught in a blast in the mountains of Afghanistan, where he’d been sent as part of a small A-team. “Dylan brought me out here.”
“Dylan did?”
Dylan Morrissey, the former leader of Shiftertown and a force to be reckoned with, trusted no one. Walker watched Rebecca wrap her brain around the fact that Dylan had showed Walker the ultrasecret location of the ultrasecret fight club.
Dylan, however, had met with Walker often since Walker had taken over as liaison for Shifter Bureau. Dylan knew an asset when he saw one.
It had been Dylan’s idea that Walker take up the task of looking for the missing human woman, Nancy Greene. The police hadn’t done jack on the case since they’d figured out that Nancy was, in fact, a Shifter groupie. She’d become low priority then, but not to Dylan. A few phone calls and some conversations between Walker and his government contacts had gotten the case reassigned to Shifter Bureau, and now to Walker.
“Do you think if anyone else had brought me out here besides Dylan, that Shifter would still be walking around?” Walker asked.
Rebecca folded her arms and hunkered down in the seat, resting her knees against the dashboard. “Good point.”
Heavy silence fell. Walker kept his hands on the wheel and searched the darkness, but he saw no sign of Scott.
Rebecca caught his concern and shook her head. “If I chase him, he’ll go into fighting frenzy. Scott’s not as tough as me, but he might forget who I am and try to hurt me. And then I’d have to take him down, and I might hurt him. He just needs to work off steam.”
Walker listened, assessed. Made sense. “It’s your call.” He exhaled and made himself peel his hands from the steering wheel. “I need to bring you up to speed on the case.”
She looked at him. “Joanne’s sister has been missing for months—why are you only starting to look for her now?”
“Officially looking for her,” Walker said. “Personally I started the investigation when Dylan told me about it this summer.”
“Oh.” She sounded a little less grudging.
“I got the case, since Shifters are involved,” Walker said.
“And I keep telling you, Shifters are not involved.”
“Maybe that’s true, but they got pointed at, and no one will rest easy until it’s proved beyond all doubt that Shifters didn’t take her. That’s where you come in.”
Rebecca lifted her hands. “All right, all right. You’re stuck with me—I get it. I want to find this woman too. For her sake and Joanne’s, not just to clear Shifters. Joanne dragged us into this, but she was scared. I don’t blame her anymore.” She straightened up in the seat, looking more interested. “So, what have you found out?”
Walker shrugged. “That no one knows anything. I interviewed Nancy’s family and friends, coworkers, people at the coffeehouse she used to go to . . . Several times. I’ve gone over what she did on the last day anyone saw her, but she seems to have vanished. I’m not an investigator—I’m a soldier. I’m just doing what feels logical.”
“I’m not an investigator either,” Rebecca said. “But show me what you have, and we’ll talk to Broderick. He’s a pain in the ass, but for some reason, he’s taken Joanne under his wing. He probably knows more about Nancy than anyone.”
“I stashed my files in the Den. We can look them over and talk to Broderick tomorrow.”
“He won’t trust you,” Rebecca warned. “Or me. We’re not Lupines. Then again, he doesn’t trust most Lupines either. He’s hard to handle.”
“I’m sure you can handle anyone, Becks.”
He’d meant to make her laugh, but her voice went sharp. “Don’t call me that.”
Walker studied her. She was a woman of softness and curves, dark mystery around a core of steel. “I thought everyone called you that.”
“They do. I mean, my family does.” Rebecca moved restlessly, a woman not made to sit still. “It just sounds weird, coming from you.?
??
Walker didn’t bother answering, and silence fell again. He didn’t know what next to say to her. He never did.
Hell, he didn’t have a lot of experience with women, period, outside of bed. He’d had plenty of sexual encounters—no trouble finding volunteers—but relationships eluded him.
Getting sent all over the world into the most dangerous situations imaginable didn’t make him want to form lasting ties. He had no intention of leaving a wife and kiddies bereft if something happened to him. And while many women had been attracted to Walker’s dangerous side, they didn’t necessarily want to settle down and pick out curtains with him.
Walker had learned to keep things casual, enjoy sex as a celebration, and remain alone. He’d made that choice a long time ago.
Then he’d met Rebecca. She was a tall, sexy-as-hell Shifter woman who turned into a bear—not your usual girl next door.
Though he’d fantasized about going to bed with her from the first day he’d met her, he’d never made the move to do it. Not because she could turn into a Kodiak and take him out with one paw if she wanted, but because she was different.
Rebecca was the first woman Walker had wanted to stick around with, to have conversations with—beyond this awkward one tonight—to be friends with. He’d once been close friends with a female lieutenant in his unit—it had never been sexual with her, but he’d been able to open up about things that he couldn’t with his male friends. She’d married and left the army years ago, and he missed that kind of companionship.
A man talked to a woman about different things than he did with men—not that Walker talked much to other men either. Being commander of a tiny unit at Shifter Bureau South meant he didn’t have many peers at the office. Walker had to leave work to find companionship.
But it was tough to make lasting friendships with civilians when in the military, because the next thing you knew, you were yanked out of whatever town you were stationed in and transferred to another, in another state or maybe another country. You learned more about packing boxes than making friends.