"And Marcia wanted you to father her child."
He nodded. "I told her I would not waste my seed on someone like her."
"You said that, knowing how unstable she was?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. "She wanted the truth, she got it.
She's hated me ever since."
"Did she try the other fertile men?"
"Yes. And got much the same response."
"So why fixate her hate on you?"
"Because I was her first rejection, and up until that moment, I'd been pleasant to her. She probably believed I liked her."
"So this—" She indicated the chains and his spread eagle position. "Was a way of taking advantage of you? To try and force conception?"
He nodded. "She drugged me and took your form. I couldn't help reacting."
She frowned. "How did she even know about us?"
"She was at the bar when we met." He hesitated. "You remember seeing a striking blonde holding court in the corner?"
She nodded. That was where she'd forced an introduction with Harrison. No wonder she'd caught that brief scent of death—she'd been standing mere feet away from the murderer!
"That was one of her forms. She said she also wore her true form."
Which was the dark-haired woman she'd seen in the corner booth. "I saw her talking to the last victim that night, but made the connection far too late." She hesitated. "How did she catch you?"
"She came to my hotel as you."
"How? I never touched her."
"It only has to be the lightest of touches. You probably wouldn't have even noticed."
"But you knew I was drugged."
"Yeah, but I also know that the drug can effect every shifter breed differently. I thought you'd overcome the effects and had come to give me hell." He shrugged ruefully. "As you said, when a naked woman steps into the room, the little head takes control and common sense flies out the window."
The sound of footsteps began to rattle across the concrete in the other rooms. She smiled and dropped another gentle kiss on his lips. "When this is all over, remind me to kiss the rest of your bruises better."
"When this is all over, you're going to finish what you started here," he said, dropping his gaze to his fading erection.
"Gladly," she said. "But first, let's go catch that mad hermaphrodite."
Eryn accepted the coat Jack handed her with a grunt of thanks. The night air had gone from merely bitter to freezing, and even though she already wore one coat, it just wasn't enough. Especially now that Grey's warmth no longer pressed into her back.
Her gaze roamed across the night, searching for some sign of Grey. He'd left a few minutes ago to get into position, and had disappeared into the shadows as easily as a vampire.
Obviously, there was a lot more to face shifters than anyone knew. But he'd promised to be close, promised that under no circumstances would Marcia get near enough to hurt her. She trusted that promise.
She just didn't trust Marcia.
The woman was demented, and demented minds did not think the way normal folk did.
Jack glanced at his watch. "It's time for you to get going."
She blew out a breath and nodded. The only reason Jack and his crew weren't storming the place was because everyone knew their foe might not be who they were expecting him to be. There were six people currently in the diner. Marcia could be any one of them. She might not even be wearing Grey's form—might not change until he—she—
knew for certain Eryn was going to turn up. And since Marcia was a trained operative, then she'd probably see a police charge long before they got near the building.
She buttoned up the second coat and shoved her hands into the pockets. "You'll come the minute I give the word?"
She knew he would, but she just wanted to hear him confirm it yet again, if only to calm the rising tide of nerves.
"Darlin', I'll come for you anytime you want me to."
She laughed, as he'd no doubt intended, and swatted him lightly on the arm. "One of these days, you're going to meet a woman ready, willing and able to take you up on your outrageous suggestions, and then you'll be in deep shit."
"Ah, but what woman is going to put up with her man getting his jollies spying on other women?" He shook his head in mock sorrow. "I love my work, and I'm not going to leave it, so love and me ain't ever going to be companions."
"Just wait. It'll happen." Her gaze went to the diner again.
"Okay, I'm off."
"Just be careful."
She nodded, hunched her shoulders a little, and then stepped out into the wind. It whipped around her, blowing her hair ten different directions as she trudged towards the diner.
"Evening Eryn," Dan greeted as she blew in through the doorway. "You're a little early today, aren't you?"
She struggled to shut the door, then blew her hair out of her face as she turned around. The scent of death was evident, but the ceiling fans were slowly spinning, moving the air, moving the scent. She couldn't pinpoint where that smell was coming from.
"Or awfully late, as the case may be," she said, undoing one coat as she looked over the other patrons. None of them looked familiar. None of them smelled familiar.
As they'd suspected, Marcia had come here wearing someone else's form.
"You want a coffee?" Dan asked.
"And a burger."
She made her way past the tables, taking in the scents as she did so. None of the patrons sitting there smelled of death.
Frowning, she slid into a booth next to the window, wishing there was something she could do other than simply play the helpless bait.
She crossed her arms, staring at the other customers, wondering which one of them was the fake. Marcia was here, she was sure of it, so where the hell was she? Or rather, who the hell was she?
And for that matter, where the hell was Grey? He'd promised to stay close, but there was no shiver of recognition coming from any of the people here.
So where was he, if not inside the diner?
Dan brought over her coffee and burger, and the rich smell made her stomach rumble. It was a reminder that she hadn't eaten in a long while.
"You sound pretty hungry, Missy. You want me to start cooking another?"
"My stomach can handle one," she said with a grin. "Two before I go to bed might give me nightmares."
He nodded, and she dug into her burger, relishing it even as she kept her eyes and ears open.
Three of the patrons chattered between themselves, their topic the movie they'd just seen. Two others read newspapers, and none of them looked like villains. But then, why would they? Even if Marcia was one of them, she'd been at this game long enough to look "normal."
Once she'd finished the burger, she picked up her coffee and leaned back. If not for the fact that she'd caught the whiff of evil when she'd first walked in, she might have thought this a waste of time, that Marcia had decided against coming here.
But why would she do that, when she thought she had Grey at her mercy and wanted to complete her revenge against him?
It didn't make sense. So where was she? What the hell was she waiting for?
Eryn yawned hugely. God, she was so tired—which was damn surprising after she'd slept all day. But then, she thought with a grin, if you factored in her exertions with Grey, maybe it wasn't so surprising. Either way, she definitely needed stronger coffee to keep her awake. She glanced toward the kitchen and realized Dan was watching her. Had been watching her for some time.
A chill ran through her, seeming to sap her strength in an instant.
Oh God…