“I want to know every single thing you know about these two shifters. Everything you’ve noticed no matter how small.” He turned to Esperanze, his voice automatically softening. “And I need to know the info you memorized from that ID.”
“That was Gregorio,” Antoine said.
Esperanze nodded in agreement. “That’s what it said on his license.”
Names might not be much, but at least they were a start. Before joining with the Armstrong pack, Nikan had lived on his mother’s reservation. For decades, the elders of his Potawatomi tribe had come to him to settle disputes because of his shifter ability to scent lies. He’d also been called upon by local law enforcement for help in tracking lost kids or missing persons once paranormal beings had come out to the rest of the world. He might not like the idea of staying in DC, but he liked the thought of helping out an innocent.
* * *
Esperanze sat on the edge of the big bed in her and Nikan’s hotel room. Antoine sat at the small breakfast table, his head in his hands. He might have changed out of his bloody clothes and completely healed from the bruises and lacerations, but he still looked awful.
Seeing him so torn up broke her heart, especially since she understood his worry. The thought of losing a man she cared about—namely Nikan—shredded her insides. She’d put herself in Antoine’s shoes earlier as he’d told them why he was giving up his blood, and she couldn’t find any room in her heart for judgment. If someone took Nikan, she’d do anything to keep him safe.
The realization had slammed into her with startling force. She might want to deny how much she cared for him, but it was becoming impossible. Considering how he’d stepped up and was helping Antoine with no concern for his own safety made her feelings for him swell even more.
Antoine had cancelled his speaking engagements today and she wouldn’t be going to anything else either. Nothing mattered now except helping his friend.
She nearly jumped when the hotel room door opened, but her heart rate steadied when Nikan stepped inside. They’d been very careful after leaving Antoine’s hotel, but Nikan still wanted to make sure they hadn’t been followed.
“We’re clear.” He pulled out his cell phone as he spoke. She knew who he was calling before their Alpha even picked up.
“Hey, man. How’s the conference? You and Esperanze mated yet?” Thanks to her extrasensory abilities she could hear Connor’s questions clearly.
Hearing that question made her heart stutter and her breath catch. Nikan stared at her, his expression completely unreadable. She held her breath as she waited for him to answer.
“We’ve run into a big problem.” Nikan’s voice was rock steady.
Something that felt a lot like disappointment surged through her when Nikan didn’t even touch what Connor had asked. Intellectually, she knew it wasn’t the time or place to even care about his nonresponsiveness, but it stung in a way she didn’t completely understand. Mating with an alpha wasn’t something she’d ever planned on. Of course she’d never planned to fall for a warrior like Nikan either.
Silently, she waited as Nikan outlined to their Alpha everything that had just happened. Nikan also gave him all the information they had on the two shifters’ identities to pass on to Ryan, their resident computer genius/hacker at the ranch. Finally her Alpha spoke and her spirits plummeted. “I can’t spare the manpower right now. Not with everything going on at the ranch. Everyone’s still healing from Alicia and Carmen’s deaths and there are still members of the Antiparanormal League who want us dead. I only let you go because—”
Nikan cut him off, his dark gaze never wavering from hers. “I know why and I appreciate it.”
Fighting the urge to look away, Esperanze stood, ready to grab the phone and plead with her Alpha for more manpower, but Connor continued. “But I might know someone in the
“That was Gregorio,” Antoine said.
Esperanze nodded in agreement. “That’s what it said on his license.”
Names might not be much, but at least they were a start. Before joining with the Armstrong pack, Nikan had lived on his mother’s reservation. For decades, the elders of his Potawatomi tribe had come to him to settle disputes because of his shifter ability to scent lies. He’d also been called upon by local law enforcement for help in tracking lost kids or missing persons once paranormal beings had come out to the rest of the world. He might not like the idea of staying in DC, but he liked the thought of helping out an innocent.
* * *
Esperanze sat on the edge of the big bed in her and Nikan’s hotel room. Antoine sat at the small breakfast table, his head in his hands. He might have changed out of his bloody clothes and completely healed from the bruises and lacerations, but he still looked awful.
Seeing him so torn up broke her heart, especially since she understood his worry. The thought of losing a man she cared about—namely Nikan—shredded her insides. She’d put herself in Antoine’s shoes earlier as he’d told them why he was giving up his blood, and she couldn’t find any room in her heart for judgment. If someone took Nikan, she’d do anything to keep him safe.
The realization had slammed into her with startling force. She might want to deny how much she cared for him, but it was becoming impossible. Considering how he’d stepped up and was helping Antoine with no concern for his own safety made her feelings for him swell even more.
Antoine had cancelled his speaking engagements today and she wouldn’t be going to anything else either. Nothing mattered now except helping his friend.
She nearly jumped when the hotel room door opened, but her heart rate steadied when Nikan stepped inside. They’d been very careful after leaving Antoine’s hotel, but Nikan still wanted to make sure they hadn’t been followed.
“We’re clear.” He pulled out his cell phone as he spoke. She knew who he was calling before their Alpha even picked up.
“Hey, man. How’s the conference? You and Esperanze mated yet?” Thanks to her extrasensory abilities she could hear Connor’s questions clearly.
Hearing that question made her heart stutter and her breath catch. Nikan stared at her, his expression completely unreadable. She held her breath as she waited for him to answer.
“We’ve run into a big problem.” Nikan’s voice was rock steady.
Something that felt a lot like disappointment surged through her when Nikan didn’t even touch what Connor had asked. Intellectually, she knew it wasn’t the time or place to even care about his nonresponsiveness, but it stung in a way she didn’t completely understand. Mating with an alpha wasn’t something she’d ever planned on. Of course she’d never planned to fall for a warrior like Nikan either.
Silently, she waited as Nikan outlined to their Alpha everything that had just happened. Nikan also gave him all the information they had on the two shifters’ identities to pass on to Ryan, their resident computer genius/hacker at the ranch. Finally her Alpha spoke and her spirits plummeted. “I can’t spare the manpower right now. Not with everything going on at the ranch. Everyone’s still healing from Alicia and Carmen’s deaths and there are still members of the Antiparanormal League who want us dead. I only let you go because—”
Nikan cut him off, his dark gaze never wavering from hers. “I know why and I appreciate it.”
Fighting the urge to look away, Esperanze stood, ready to grab the phone and plead with her Alpha for more manpower, but Connor continued. “But I might know someone in the
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