Mind Sweeper (28 page)

Once back in the room, I stripped and jumped in the shower. I needed to wash away my doubts and the strawberry juice from earlier. Ten minutes later, I walked into the room to find Dalton waiting on the couch.

“You beat a hasty retreat.”

“I thought you two might have some private things to discuss.”

He stood. “Not really.”

“Are you sorry you aren’t with her anymore?” Blunt question, but I couldn’t erase the doubt threatening to take over.

He reached for the ties on my robe. He hadn’t even touched me yet, but heat shot from my stomach through the rest of my body.

“The only thing I’m sorry about is I didn’t get here in time to wash your back.”

* * *

I woke up and stared at the bright red numbers on the clock. Three a.m. I turned over and Dalton was gone. Sitting up, I glanced around the room. He wasn’t there. I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. The door was open and the bathroom was empty. Where the hell was he?

I picked up my phone and tried his number. The call didn’t connect, though. What was going on? I reached for my clothes and then stopped. Where exactly was I going to go at three in the morning in Chicago to look for him? He was a grown man. He would come back.

I got back into bed and lay there wide awake. Should I confront him when he got back? Did I really want to know what was going on? Maybe he just went for a walk. Hell, who was I kidding? He could have decided to take Lauren up on her offer. They could get married and have perfect babies and live happily ever after. I sighed. It was official, I had reached pathetic stage.

I took a deep breath, going through the case notes in my head to distract me. The dig was the key. Hopefully Misha would have more information in the morning. The clock now said three thirty. Closing my eyes, I tried counting sheep, but I couldn’t relax. It didn’t help that my irritation level had spiked. At three forty-five, the hotel door opened. I lay still for a moment.
Decision time.

I didn’t move, trying to regulate my breathing as he undressed. A few seconds later, he slid back into the bed and wrapped his arm over my shoulder slowly. Up until then, I had been telling myself I was not going to make a scene. I had no right. But when he laid his head on the pillow and I caught the smell of flowery perfume, anger surged through me like a tidal wave.

“You might want to shower the perfume off next time.”

He tensed.

“Although there won’t be a next time with me.” I pushed his arm off my shoulder and sat up, flipping on the bedside lamp.

He blinked at the light. “It’s not what you think.”

“Really?”

“I wasn’t with Lauren.”

My stomach twisted. “Then you were what? Picking up strange women in the bar downstairs?”

He opened his mouth and then shut it again.
Smart man.

I got out of bed and pulled on my jeans. “You know what? I have no hold over you. We aren’t in a monogamous relationship. Hell, I don’t even know if you could call what we have a relationship. But I have enough self-respect to not tolerate a man leaving, meeting another woman, and then crawling back into bed with me for a snuggle.”

I snatched the rest of my clothes and my phone and stalked into the bathroom, closing the door. Plopping down on the toilet seat, I rested my head in my hands. Why was I so shocked? This was typical. I couldn’t count on humans, they let me down every time. He wasn’t any different, no matter how much I wanted him to be.

I dressed and then changed my flight once my hands stopped shaking. Thank God Misha had gotten me the stupid smart phone. I stepped out of the bathroom. Dalton was dressed and sitting in a chair.

“Don’t leave, Kyle.”

“That’s the best you’ve got? What was this whole thing for you? Sleep with the freak show?”

Dalton surged from his seat. “No. That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

“I don’t know anything right now. Tell me who you were with tonight.”

“I wasn’t with anyone.”

Picking up my bag, I opened the hotel door. “I’m going to catch an earlier flight home. Stay. Go to the law offices. Do what and who you need to. I don’t care.”

He reached for me, but I backed away. “It’s not safe for you to be alone.”

I shook my head. “Alone is the only way I am safe.”

I walked out the door.

Chapter 29

The cab driver pulled up in front of my apartment building, and I almost choked when he told me the fare. When my plane had landed, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to call Jean Luc or Misha, so it was my own damn fault. Once inside my apartment, I took a quick shower and then changed into boxers and a tank before falling into bed. Needless to say, I was a bit tired.

I tossed and turned, unable to shut my brain off as thoughts of Dalton invaded my cerebellum and wouldn’t let me sleep. Why had I let my guard down with him? Finally I settled down and was drifting to sleep when a noise came from the vicinity of my living room. I lay still, holding my breath. Maybe I had imagined it. But after a couple of seconds, I realized the squeak was my living room window opening.

I reached behind my headboard and eased Stanley out quietly, flipping off the safety. Sliding out of bed, I walked silently out of my bedroom. Breathing shallowly, I paused in the hall, listening. Nothing. I held my automatic in a two-handed grip to steady my shaking hands while I peeked around the corner, catching movement near the window.

“Don’t move,” I hissed.

“Don’t shoot me!” he hollered back.

Okay, I almost shot him. The guy was crouched on the floor. When he stood up, he was tall and lanky, with the freakiest yellow eyes. He was also stark naked.

I continued to point my gun at him, amazed my arms were holding steady. I was proud of my composure until I tried to talk and my voice cracked. “What are you doing here?”

“Wait, Kyle, let me explain.”

My hands tensed. “How do you know my name?”

“I was given a profile on you when I was assigned to watch you.”

The answer threw me. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Matthew Johnson.”

“And why are you watching me, exactly?”

“I was contacted several months ago. There was a concern that you were in danger,” he answered.

“Not possible, I would have noticed you before now.”

He shook his head. “You wouldn’t have known what to look for.”

“Why in the hell are you naked?”

“I just shifted, I can’t exactly wear clothes when I’m in my cat form.”

Cat form? I stared at his familiar yellow eyes for a moment longer and my stomach sank.
Jesus.

“Booger?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

The room started to spin, and I focused on a picture on the wall to maintain my balance. This was way too much. All these months, and I’d had a shifter living in my house. I had been feeding and taking care of him. I snorted to myself. The one thing in my life I thought didn’t have an ulterior motive just morphed into a frickin’ male with an agenda.
Perfect.

Adrenaline fueled my anger and I seriously considered going postal. “You son of a bitch.” I glared at him. “You’ve been living here with me! What about my right to privacy?”

“Don’t worry, Kyle. I didn’t see any of your naughty parts. You might want to stop singing those show tunes in the shower, though.”

My mouth fell open, but I recovered quickly. “Do you think you should be making jokes right now? I have a clear shot at all of
your
naughty parts.”

He gulped and backed up.

“I want to know who sent you.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

I scowled and pointed the gun lower.

He held up his hands. “I swear! I don’t know. I was given the assignment through a third party.”

“Explain.”

“I was given a file on you with instructions to watch over you and report if anything mysterious happened.”

“How do you report in?”

“I have a prepaid phone I use to call an answering machine and leave my reports.”

“And you didn’t think this setup was weird?”

“They wanted me to protect you, not kill you, so I didn’t see the harm in it.”

“Well, I won’t be needing your services any longer. Tell that to your boss.”

Surprisingly, he shook his head. “No can do.”

“What?”

“You’re in trouble. In the last few days, there have been a lot of vamps scoping out this place.”

I didn’t have to ask who they were working for. “Well, you’re not staying here.”

“No problem, but I’ll be around if you need me.”

I motioned with my gun toward the door.

“Ahhh, I have some clothes stashed in your trunk. Can I put them on before you throw me out?”

I nodded and he pulled out a pair of jeans, T-shirt and tennis shoes, putting them on quickly. He opened the door and smiled. “See you later, Kyle.”

I closed the door and threw the bolt lock in place, then slammed the window shut and latched it. Flipping the safety on, I set the gun down on the coffee table, not wanting it too far away from me at the moment. I sat down on the couch and ran my fingers through my hair, yanking at the tangles. Who would have sent him to watch me? It wouldn’t have been Jean Luc. He was worried about me, but Booger had been here for months. Griffin? Matthew was a shifter, so it made sense he would work for him, but I had just met Griffin. Why would he be watching out for me?

There was only one way to find out. I called Griffin’s office and his assistant answered. After I identified myself, she explained Griffin was tied up all day. The clan was burying Byron. I thanked her and went to my bedroom to dress in funeral attire. I had never been to a shifter funeral, so I wasn’t sure if black was appropriate, but I put on a black suit and shoes, erring for once on the side of caution.

The funeral was held at a small hall on the west side. The parking lot overflowed, and by the time I found a space the service had already begun. It was standing room only, so I stayed in the vestibule, scanning the crowd. I was shocked to see Jean Luc and Misha standing to the side. They were doing the same thing I was, watching the crowd. Maybe they were hoping to see someone who stuck out like a sore thumb—the killer maybe?

I looked toward the front of the hall. Griffin sat facing the crowd. He stared directly at me. I nodded slightly and then resumed scanning faces.

When the service ended, I stood over to the side and watched everyone file out toward the parking lot. Griffin held the elbow of a female shifter who was probably Byron’s mother. He escorted her past me and continued to the black SUV waiting at the entrance, helping her into the vehicle. He then shut the door and tapped on the car lightly, signaling for the driver to go. After they pulled away, he walked over to me.

“Thank you for coming.”

“The service was nice.”

“We’re having another ceremony for just the pack tonight. Did you see anyone suspicious in the crowd?”

He was freakishly observant. “No, unfortunately, I didn’t.” I paused, not sure how to proceed.

“Is there something else you needed?”

“I just found out a shifter has been hired to guard me, and I was wondering if you know anything about it.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “No, I do not. Who is it?”

“Matthew Johnson.”

“I know Matthew. He’s very good at what he does.”

“And what does he do, exactly?”

“Matthew is one of the rare shifters who can almost completely mask his scent. Which means he can be in a room full of supernaturals in his shifted form and they would not know what he is. And you say he has been watching you?”

I cleared my throat. “Actually, he has been living with me in his cat form for several months.”

Griffin grabbed my arm and practically growled. “If he has done anything inappropriate to you…”

“No, it’s not that. He actually was a perfect gentleman, uh…cat. Whatever. I’m trying to figure out who hired him.”

“I can speak to him if you’d like.”

“He says he doesn’t know who hired him, but if you can find out anything more for me, I’d appreciate it.”

“Of course. Are you okay otherwise?”

“Why do you ask?”

He stared intently at me for a moment, like he was trying to read my mind. “I can smell the lieutenant strongly on you now. I can tell your relationship with him has progressed, but I also smell the sharp tang of pain or anger as well.”

I shrugged away from his hand on my arm. “I’m fine.”

“I will let you go, then. Your team is waiting for you.”

I glanced over my shoulder. Jean Luc and Misha stood across the parking lot staring at me. “Thanks for your help.”

“If you need anything, Kyle, please know you can contact me at any time.” He handed me his business card, then turned and walked toward his black Audi.

I turned and walked toward an irritated vampire and a pissed-off demon.