Wolf Born by Ann Gimpel

bear. I really like his bond animal. Hopefully, the investigator will grow enough to be worthy of the partnership.”
    “Brilliant.” Johannes clapped his hands together. “A trained spook. Have we offered him work?”
    “Not yet. He needs to stop cursing me first. We’ve got him locked up. We won’t let him out until we’re certain he won’t betray us.”
    “When will that be?” Johannes asked.
    “It shouldn’t take long. He understands he has to learn to control his newfound abilities. Once he does, he’ll come to appreciate them. There are advantages to being a shifter—lots of them. He’s a smart man; he’ll come around.”
    Max drained his juice. “What’s our next move?”
    “We’re in the process of infiltrating the investigator’s records and destroying them. By the time another person gets around to recreating them—if that even happens—your term should be close to up.”
    “I love it.” Max stuffed a bite of omelet into his mouth. “Sow confusion. Make them afraid. The next fellow might not be so quick to raise his hand and volunteer if he thinks he might end up either dead or compromised.”
    “I’m not sure about dead or compromised.” Ryan pursed his lips. “The best case scenario would be if we can send the investigator—Connor Bastion—back to his desk. He’d be a real asset in an undercover capacity.”
    “Sounds like a plan.” Max nodded approvingly and continued working on his breakfast.
    “There’s more,” Ryan said. “The phony security guard who tried to kill you was a friend of Bastion’s. O’Hare was in the military, but they discharged him for mental instability. We’re not totally positive, but we think the assassination attempt was him acting on his own. Connor seemed as shocked and upset about it as we were.”
    Max started to breathe a bit easier. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. “Hook him up to the full body lie detector.”
    “Devon’s already on it. In the meantime,” Ryan’s sharp gaze skewered both of them, “be damned careful. Max, watch your back. And, Johannes—”
    “Yeah?”
    “Do not leave Max to even go to the john.”
    “Fine. I’ll piss in the wastebasket.”
    “That won’t be necessary.” Max stifled an eye roll. “My office suite includes a bathroom.”
    “If there’s nothing else,” Ryan nodded curtly, “I want to sit in on Devon’s session with Connor. Sometimes those electronic readouts are a bitch to interpret.”
    “Go ahead. We’ll be in touch.”
    Max watched the screen gray out and then glanced at the time. “We need to leave.”
    “Car’s out front. I alerted the security men they’d be shadowing two of us to your office.”

Chapter 5
    Max scrolled through documents that needed his e-signature. He’d been working for the better part of three hours, ever since eight, when his early meeting about the pathetic condition of California’s highways had ended. Scarcely a day went by when they weren’t sued by a citizen who’d been injured because of gaping potholes or missing road signs.
    Most meetings were empty rhetoric. Frequently, the only thing accomplished was determining a date for the next get-together. This morning’s conference hadn’t been any different. Several legislators had issued press releases regarding their intent to fix the problem, by God. They’d taken up most of the hour reading them to the group. Max’s ears still rang from a boatload of sincere-sounding drivel, with fists pounding the polished oak table for emphasis.
    Johannes stifled a yawn from where he sat sprawled in a corner. “How do you stand this? It’s incredibly boring.”
    “You’re supposed to be alert. Vigilant. Maybe you should stand near the door like a real guard.” Max lowered his voice to a whisper; Johannes’ feline hearing would pick it up. “You know why I took this job. I never meant for it to be permanent. Politics disgust me. It’s basically one side cutting deals with the other in a