Eric described the guarded buildings sitting empty in the desert behind the fences topped with barbed wire. Both Cassidy and Diego looked interested and agreed that the compound warranted a closer look.
“I can do some research for you,” Diego said. “Xav is good on computers. He can find the place on a satellite map, figure out who built it and what it’s for.”
“Could be some secret human government place,” Cassidy said. “You know, like Area Fifty-one. You were close to that. Maybe it’s some new weapon-testing site. Humans like to build weapons.”
“Possibly.”
Eric knew Cassidy was likely right—it would turn out to be a human facility built for whatever weird purpose the humans thought important at the moment. The compound would stay there until funding ran out and no one could remember what the weird purpose was. Then they’d abandon the buildings or tear them down and cart out the pieces, moving on to some other project equally as bizarre.
“I’d be interested to see what Xav can find out,” Eric said.
“Me too,” Cassidy said. “Now, who is Iona Duncan, and why was she so worried about you today?”
Eric jolted, and a small amount of beer spilled to his shirt. “Shit, Cass.”
Cassidy didn’t look sympathetic. “A woman calls Diego out of the blue and says you’re here alone, and you sound weak and hurt. Diego rushes home and finds you dealing with the aftereffects of your Collar. How did she know? Is she psychic or something?”
“No, I was talking to her on the phone when it happened.”
Cassidy just looked at him, and so did Diego. Eric glanced at the pan. “You’re going to burn that.”
Diego stirred the contents. “No, I won’t. Been making this since I was ten. Iona Duncan is the daughter of the woman who owns Duncan Construction, the company that’s building the new Shifter houses. That was easy to find out.”
“I’ve been talking to her about the plans,” Eric said. “I need to find out if I can trust her.”
His sister and brother-in-law both gave him an oh-sure look. Cassidy smiled as she took a sip of water. “You can tell us, Eric. Is she hot?”
Eric hesitated, but he knew he couldn’t lie to Cassidy. She’d smell a lie on him a mile away. “Black hair, blue eyes, body like a goddess.”
Diego’s face split with a grin. “Good for you.”
“Is she the woman I saw you with at Coolers last spring?” Cassidy asked.
Damn Cassidy’s terrific memory. When Eric had first spied Iona in the Shifter bar, he’d gotten her out of there before any of the other Shifters could scent what she was. Iona had been passing for human—still was—but Eric had sensed something different about her when he saw her, and scented her easily when he’d gotten close. Eric hadn’t thought anyone else had noticed him walk her out of the bar.
Cassidy, of course, had an eye on everything Eric did. Eric loved the connection he had to his sister, but the close bond could be inconvenient at times.
“Yes, that was her,” Eric said. “And, yes, I found out all about her and who she was. So, when we needed the new houses, I asked her to try to get the bid.”
“And you’ve kept quiet about her all this time,” Diego said.
Eric took another sip of beer, hearing the implied why? in Diego’s voice. “Stop being a detective, Diego. I’m Shiftertown leader. If I start a relationship with a woman, it’s talked about all over Shiftertown. Shifters debate whether she’s good for them, how alpha she is, and all that crap. I’m trying to keep it casual, to ease her in gradually.”
A half-truth. Eric would bring Iona in eventually, and when he revealed that she was half-Shifter, the shit was going to hit the fan. He needed to make sure Iona was completely safe first.
“Don’t mention this to anyone.” Eric fixed Cassidy and Diego, in turn, with his alpha stare.
Which they both completely ignored. “We don’t talk about your private life,” Diego said.
“Except to each other,” Cassidy said, her smile teasing. “And to bug you with questions about it.”
At least they were joking, thinking Eric had the hots for a human woman he’d met in a Shifter bar. He’d tell them soon.
Some part of Eric, though, wanted to keep Iona private. Shifters had sequestered their females in the old days—they had to, to keep other males from challenging for them or outright stealing them.
Times were changing, Shifters lived in relative safety now, and they were one big happy family. Right?
Cassidy became serious. “What are you going to do about the modifications to the houses?” she asked. “Can she keep it quiet?”
“I think so. But I’ll make sure before I tell her anything.”
“Modifications?” Diego asked. “You mean your secret hideaways?”
Diego, once he’d become Cassidy’s mate, had been taken downstairs to the hidden rooms all Shifter houses had. In them, Shifters could take refuge or hide the wealth they’d accumulated over the years, safe from humans or other Shifters.
Go to ground wasn’t just a saying among Shifters. No one outside each Shifter clan was allowed into the spaces—even different prides of the same clan could keep each other out if they chose.
No human knew of these things, and no human, except a mate of the pride or pack, could ever know.
Eric was relieved of having to explain more about Iona by the arrival of Jace. “Hey, Dad,” he said, breezing in. “Graham wants to talk to you.”
Eric didn’t hear him for a second, struck, as always, by how much Jace looked like Kirsten. He had her look, the shape of her face and nose, the quirk of the head she’d had. It hurt, but at the same time, Eric felt a wash of love.
Eric went to Jace and pulled him into an embrace, holding his son hard for a moment or two. Jace returned the embrace, then Eric let him go and ruffled his dark hair, still amazed that Jace, his unruly little cub, had grown into such a powerful man.
“What does he want now?” Eric asked.
“He wasn’t about to tell me,” Jace said. His eyes were green, like Eric’s. “I said I wasn’t his messenger service, but I thought you’d like to know.”
Nor could Eric run to Graham’s side the instant Graham wanted to talk. Graham wanted that—to make it look as though Eric had answered his summons.
Damn the wolf. Everything Graham did and said was calculated, the Lupine determined to take over. He’d do it subtly at first and then overtly.