Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) (22 page)

Kim told herself she had nothing to be afraid
of.
They're
tamed. Collared. They can't hurt you.

"You the lawyer?" a man washing glasses asked
her. He was human, not Shifter. No strange, slitted pupils, no
Collar to control his aggression, no air of menace. When Kim
nodded, he gestured with his cloth to a door at the end of the bar.
"Knock him dead, sweetheart."

"I'll try to keep him alive." Kim pivoted and
stalked away, feeling his gaze on her back.

She knocked on the door marked "Private," and
a man on the other side growled, "Come."

I
just need to talk to him. Then
I'm done, on my way home.
A trickle of moisture rolled between
Kim's shoulder blades as she made herself open the door and walk
inside.

A man leaned back in a chair behind a messy
desk, a sheaf of papers in his hands. His booted feet were propped
on the desk, his long legs a feast of blue jeans over muscle. He
was a Shifter all right--thin black and silver Collar against his
throat, hard, honed body, midnight-black hair, definite air of
menace. When Kim entered, he stood, setting the papers aside.

Damn
. He rose to a height of well over
six feet and gazed at Kim with eyes blue like the morning sky. His
body wasn't only honed, it was hot--big chest, wide shoulders,
tight abs, firm biceps against a form-fitting black T-shirt.

"Kim Fraser?"

"That's me."

With old-fashioned courtesy, he placed a
chair in front of the desk and motioned her to it. Kim felt the
heat of his hand near the small of her back as she seated herself,
smelled the scent of soap and male musk.

"You're Mr. Morrissey?"

The Shifter sat back down, returned his
motorcycle boots to the top of the desk, and laced his hands behind
his head. "Call me Liam."

The lilt in his voice was unmistakable. Kim
put that with his black hair, impossibly blue eyes, and exotic
name. "You're Irish."

He smiled a smile that could melt a woman at
ten paces. "And who else would be running a pub?"

"But you don't own it."

Kim could have bitten out her tongue as soon
as she said it. Of course he didn't own it. He was a Shifter.

His voice went frosty, the crinkles at the
corners of his eyes smoothing out. "You're Brian Smith's lawyer,
are you? I'm afraid I can't help you much. I don't know Brian well,
and I don't know anything about what happened the night his
girlfriend was murdered. It's a long time ago, now."

Disappointment bit her, but Kim had learned
not to let discouragement stop her when she needed to get a job
done. "Brian called you the 'go-to' guy. As in, when Shifters are
in trouble, Liam Morrissey helps them out."

Liam shrugged, muscles moving the bar's logo
on his T-shirt. "True. But Brian never came to me. He got into his
troubles all by himself."

"I know that. I'm trying to get him
out
of trouble."

Liam's eyes narrowed, pupils flicking to
slits as he retreated to the predator within him. Shifters liked to
do that when assessing a situation, Brian had told her. Guess who
was the prey?

Brian had done the predator-prey thing with
Kim at first. He'd stopped when he began to trust her, but Kim
didn't think she'd ever get used to it. Brian was her first Shifter
client, the first Shifter, in fact, she'd ever seen outside a
television news story. Twenty years Shifters had been acknowledged
to exist, but Kim had never met one.

It was well known that they lived in their
enclave on the east side of Austin, near the old airport, but she'd
never come over to check them out. Some human women did, strolling
the streets just outside Shiftertown, hoping for glimpses--and
more--of the Shifter men who were reputed to be strong, gorgeous,
and well endowed. Kim had once heard two women in a restaurant
murmuring about their encounter with a Shifter male the night
before. The phrase "Oh, my God," had been used repeatedly. Kim was
as curious about them as anyone else, but she'd never summoned the
courage to go near Shiftertown herself.

Then suddenly she was assigned the case of
the Shifter accused of murdering his human girlfriend ten months
ago. This was the first time in twenty years Shifters had caused
trouble, the first time one had been put on trial. The public,
outraged by the killing, wanted Shifters punished, pointed fingers
at those who'd claimed the Shifters were tamed.

However, after Kim had met Brian, she'd
determined that she wouldn't do a token defense. She believed his
innocence, and she wanted to win. There wasn't much case law on
Shifters because there'd never been any trials, at least none on
record. This was to be a well-publicized trial, Kim's opportunity
to make a mark, to set precedent.

Liam's eyes stayed on her, pupils still
slitted. "You're a brave one, aren't you? To defend a Shifter?"

"Brave, that's me." Kim crossed her legs,
pretending to relax. They picked up on your nervousness, people
said.
They
know when you're scared, and they use your
fear.
"I don't mind telling you, this case had been a pain in
the ass from the get-go."

"Humans think anything involving Shifters is
a pain in the ass."

Kim shook her head. "I mean, it's been a pain
in the ass because of the way it's been handled. The cops nearly
had Brian signing a confession before I could get to the
interrogation. At least I put a stop to that, but I couldn't get
bail for him, I've been blocked by the prosecutors right and left
every time I want review the evidence. Talking to you is a long
shot, but I'm getting desperate. So if you don't want to see a
Shifter go down for this crime, Mr. Morrissey, a little cooperation
would be appreciated."

The way he pinned her with his eyes, never
blinking, made her want to fold in on herself. Or run. That's what
prey did--ran. And then predators chased them, cornered them.

What did this man do when he cornered his
prey? He wore the Collar; he could do nothing. Right?

Kim imagined herself against a wall, his
hands on either side of her, his hard body hemming her in . . .
Heat curled down her spine.

Liam took his feet down and leaned forward,
arms on the desk. "I haven't said I won't help you, lass." His gaze
flicked to her blouse, whose buttons had slipped out of their top
holes during her journey through Austin traffic and July heat. "Is
Brian happy with you defending him? You like Shifters that
much?"

Kim resisted reaching for the buttons. She
could almost feel his fingers on them, undoing each one, and her
heart beat faster.

"It's nothing to do with who I like. I was
assigned to him, but I happen to think Brian's innocent. He
shouldn't go down for something he didn't do." Kim liked her anger,
because it covered up how edgy this man made her. "Besides, Brian's
the only Shifter I've ever met, so I don't know whether I like
them, do I?"

Liam smiled again. His eyes returned to
normal, and now he looked like any other gorgeous, hard-bodied,
blue-eyed Irishman. "You, love, are--"

"Feisty. Yeah, I've heard that one. Also
spitfire, little go-getter, and a host of other condescending
terms. But let me tell you, Mr. Morrissey, I'm a damn good lawyer.
Brian's not guilty, and I'm going to save his ass."

"I was going to say
unusual
. For a
human."

"Because I'm willing to believe he's
innocent?"

"Because you came here, to the outskirts of
Shiftertown, to see me. Alone."

The predator was back.

Why was it that when Brian looked at her like
this, it didn't worry her? Brian was in jail, angry, accused of
heinous crimes. A killer, according to the police. But Brian's
stare didn't send shivers down her spine like Liam Morrissey's
did.

"Any reason I shouldn't have come alone?" she
asked, keeping her voice light. "I'm trying to prove that Shifters
in general, and my client in particular, can't harm humans. I'd do
a poor job of it if I was afraid to come and talk to his
friends."

Liam wanted to laugh at the little . .
.spitfire, but he kept his stare cool. She had no idea what she was
walking into; Fergus, the clan leader, expected Liam to make sure
it stayed that way.

Damn it all, Liam wasn't supposed to
like
her. He'd expected the usual human woman,
sticks-up-their-asses, all of them, but there was something
different about Kim Fraser. It wasn't just that she was small and
compact, where Shifter women were tall and willowy. He liked how
her dark blue eyes regarded him without fear, liked the riot of
black of curls that beckoned his fingers. She'd had the sense to
leave her hair alone, not force it into some unnatural shape.

On the other hand, she tried to hide her
sweetly curvaceous body under a stiff gray business suit, although
her body had other ideas. Her breasts wanted to burst out of the
button-up blouse, and the stiletto heels only enhanced wickedly
sexy legs.

No Shifter woman would dress like she did.
Shifter women wore loose clothes they could quickly shed if they
needed to change forms. Shorts and T-shirts were popular. So were
gypsy skirts and sarongs in the summer.

Liam imagined this lady in a sarong. Her
melon-firm breasts would fill out the top, and the skirt would bare
her smooth thighs.

She'd be even prettier in a bikini, lolling
around some rich man's pool, sipping a complicated drink. She was a
lawyer--there was probably a boss in her firm who had already made
her his. Or perhaps she was using said boss to climb the success
ladder. Humans did that all the time. Either the bastard would
break her heart, or she'd walk away happy with what she'd got out
of it.

That's
why we stay the hell away
from humans.
Brian Smith had taken up with a human woman, and
look where he was now.

So why did this female raise Liam's
protective instincts? Why did she make him want to move closer,
inside the radius of her body heat? She wouldn't like that; humans
tried to stay a few feet apart from each other unless they couldn't
help it. Even lovers might do nothing more than hold hands in
public.

Liam had no business thinking about passion
and this woman in the same heartbeat. Fergus's instructions had
been to listen to Kim, sway her, then send her home. Not that Liam
was in the habit of blindly obeying Fergus.

"So why do you want to help him, love?" he
asked. "You're only defending him because you drew the short straw,
am I right?"

"I'm the junior in the firm, so it was handed
to me, yes. But the prosecutor's office and the police have done a
shitty job with this case. Rights violations all over the place.
But the courts won't dismiss it, no matter how much I argue.
Everyone wants a Shifter to go down, innocent or guilty."

"And why do you believe Brian didn't do
it?"

"Why do you think?" Kim tapped her throat.
"Because of these."

Liam resisted touching the strand of black
and silver metal fused to his own neck, a small Celtic knot at the
base of his throat. The Collars contained a tiny programmed chip
enhanced by powerful Fae magic to keep Shifters in check, though
the humans didn't want to acknowledge the magic part. The Collar
shot an electric charge into a Shifter when his violent tendencies
rose to the surface. If the Shifter persisted, the next dose was
one of debilitating pain. A Shifter couldn't attack anyone if he
was rolling around on the ground, writhing in agony.

Liam wasn't sure entirely how the Collars
worked; he only knew that each became bonded to its wearer's skin
and adapted to their animal form when they shifted. All Shifters
living in human communities were required to wear the Collar, which
were unremovable once put on. Refusing the Collar meant execution.
If the Shifter tried to escape, he or she was hunted down and
killed.

"You know Brian couldn't have committed a
violent crime," Kim was saying. "His Collar would have stopped
him."

"Let me guess. Your police claim the Collar
malfunctioned?"

"Yep. When I suggest having it tested, I'm
greeted with all kinds of reasons it can't be. The Collar can't be
removed, and anyway it would be too dangerous to have Brian
Collarless if he could be. Also too dangerous to provoke him to
violence and see if the Collar stops him. Brian's been calm since
he was brought in. Like he's given up." She looked glum. "I hate to
see someone give up like that."

"You like the underdog?"

She smiled at him with red lips. "You could
say that, Mr. Morrissey. Me and the underdog go back a long
way."

Liam liked her mouth. He liked imagining it
on his body, on certain parts of his anatomy in particular. He had
no business thinking that, but the thoughts triggered a physical
reaction below the belt.

Weird. He'd never even considered having sex
with a human before. He didn't find human women attractive; Liam
preferred to be in his big cat form for sex. He found sex that way
much more satisfying. With Kim, he'd have to remain human.

His gaze strayed to her unbuttoned collar. Of
course, it might not be so bad to be human with her . . .

What
the hell am I thinking?
Liam's instructions had been clear, and Liam agreeing to them had
been the only way Fergus had allowed Kim to come to Shiftertown at
all. Fergus wasn't keen on a human woman having charge of Brian's
case, not that they had any choice. Fergus had been pissed about
Brian's arrest from the beginning and thought the Shifters should
back off and stay out of it. Almost like he believed Brian was
guilty.

But Fergus lived down on the other side of
San Antonio, and what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Liam's
father trusted Liam to handle this his own way, and Liam would.

"So what do you expect from me, love?" he
asked Kim. "Want to test
my
Collar?"