To Catch a Snake: Book Three - Supernatural Bounty Hunter Romance Novellas by E A Price Page B

coming?”
    “Definitely,” agreed Mia, flushing with pleasure at the bear. “How about you, Ling?”
    Her eyes were drawn to Marcus’ door. Maybe he would come too. Then she deflated remembering what she had to do that night. “I can’t, I have a date.”
    “What?” cried Carly. “Why haven’t I heard about this before now?”
    Ling squirmed. “It’s not a real date; my mother set it up for me.”
    Carly started giggling before it descended into bellows of laughter. She’d met some of the men Fang had tried to set her daughter up with over the years; they had not been pretty … “Good luck with that.”
    “I guess I should get going.”
    “Yes, we don’t want to make you late for your date.”
    Ling froze at the soft yet firm voice behind her. Damnit, now Marcus knew she was going on a date. She opened her mouth to explain, but Marcus didn’t stop. He marched out of the office.
    “You coming for a drink, Marcus?” offered Logan.
    “No,” said Marcus shortly before slamming the front door.
    “Good night to you too,” called Carly after him before muttering, “moody snake.”
    “I guess I should get going,” mumbled Ling, reluctantly. The combined factors of going on a blind date set up by her mother and Marcus knowing she was going on a date, made her look like she was being led to the gallows. She was not a happy panda.
    *
    Marcus reread Norman, the camel shifter’s file. Or rather he pretended to read it; he already knew it inside out. In reality, he was trying to ignore his raging beast and stop thinking about Ling.
    His snake hissed. She had lied to him! She said she was single, and now she was going on a date. He ought to hunt her down, and throw her over his shoulder, and march her right back to his bedroom and…
    Marcus closed his eyes and breathed. She didn’t lie to him. She was single. She was just going on a date, and, thankfully, she didn’t sound overly pleased about it.
    Who knows, maybe the date would be so bad that she would come running into his arms… yeah, he could get on board with that.
    Marcus read the paragraph about Norman’s arrest over and over. He had to stop thinking of her. He wasn’t in the market for a relationship, and he doubted she would be happy with something casual. No, he doubted he would be happy with something casual. The idea of her dating another man at the same time as him was intolerable. No one was allowed to touch her but him!
    He threw the file to back seat of his BMW and scrubbed a hand over his face. He was just going around in circles over her. He really needed to do something to take his mind off her, and he had the perfect plan.
    His snake momentarily forgot about the panda and rumbled excitedly as he spotted Norman slinking down the alley of a sushi restaurant. Marcus’ lips twitched as he suppressed a smile. A nice little chase - that would make him feel better. And hey, if the camel resisted, punching him would be a pleasant bonus.
    Marcus slid out of his car and slipped his jacket on. He stealthily walked down the alley. He saw the camel duck through a door, and Marcus followed.
    Luckily, Detective Leeman had mentioned that Norman had received a number of parking tickets, and had been picked up for loitering outside this restaurant. Marcus figured the camel dealt pot to people who worked there.
    The Detective had actually called to warn Marcus that Meyerson, the python shifter had broken the conditions of his parole, and his parole officer couldn’t find him. Meyerson had apparently left his mother’s house, and she hadn’t seen him in a couple of days. Marcus hadn’t really given it much thought. His thoughts were filled with Ling, with a tiny part given to catching the camel shifter. The python didn’t rate very highly on his worry list.
    He walked down the corridor and came out into the kitchen of the restaurant. A couple of the cooks looked at him, wonderingly, but soon got back to work after a glacial smile from Marcus. He