Fever Claim (The Sigma Menace) (11 page)

Considerate prospective boyfriend it was. “Will you call me when you get home?”

Relief flashed across her face. He recited his number. She punched his digits into her phone, grabbed her keys, and headed to her car. He beat her there, holding the door open for her, feeling helpless otherwise. Wishing he could go in for a kiss, but knowing she wasn’t in the right place mentally for it, he waited while she climbed in.

When she didn’t say anything, just started the engine, he let the door fall shut. This wasn’t going at all like he planned.

Before rolling off, she surprised him by opening the window. “They’ll get you home right?”

There was no way in hell he was strolling up to any of the guys here and asking for a ride. The commander probably wouldn’t even look at him or acknowledge the request. Mercury and Bennett would double over in laughter. At least Bennett would. Mercury, a little clueless about the human emotion part of his nature, would give him that quizzical look Jace came to associate with him and then follow Bennett in peals of laughter. Mason was an asshole and barely tolerated by his own pack, the Guardians. No, he would get back to his loft above Pale Moonlight the old-fashioned way. It was a long haul, but he needed a four-legged run through the woods to think after a day like today.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’ll hang out here ’til I hear from you.” Could a mature alpha male get the warm fuzzies? She’d stopped to ask about him, she was worried. There was hope yet.

Cassie passed him a hesitant smile as she raised her window and drove off.

Jace watched her go, his heart at the pit of his stomach. Commander Fitzsimmons said he and Mercury had combed through the woods between the quarry and here. They saw no signs of Sigma, other than the trail the group of rookies left. He’d trust their senses that told them all were taken care of. The two survivors would be questioned heavily.

Jace headed back to the lodge. Commander Fitzsimmons was discussing surveillance and detection, and renovations with Mason. The other two Guardians were on clean-up duty.

“Mr. Miller,” came the commander’s stern voice, “if you’re planning to stay, grab a mop.”

“Dude, she left you?” Mercury was completely confused.

Jace only heard rumors of the shifter’s past and what he’d seen of the Guardian’s interactions only strengthened his belief in them. The male was almost completely inept around humans and that included shifters in human mode. The intricacies of emotion, especially the interplay between males and females were a complex knot Mercury had yet to undo. He avoided women, except when he was wound up and then Bennett ran the interactions, picking out the willing participants and then seeing them out when everything was finished. Mercury rarely came in for just a drink. Women were too drawn to him, his size and unique looks went a long way. Until he opened his mouth. His brutal honestly and oblivious directness earned him more than a few cheek slaps.

“Yeah, she needs some time.” Jace saw it still didn’t register with Mercury. In the other male’s mind, Cassie was Jace’s mate. Why wouldn’t she stay by his side?

Bennett slapped him on the back and handed him the mop. “Don’t worry, Jace. She didn’t run screaming at any point today. That’s something.” The sympathy emanating from Bennett made Jace want to turn wolf, grab his shit and go. Hell, he’d just leave his clothes and run naked from the edge of town to the club. But Bennett was right and if anyone knew the inner turmoil Jace was in, it was Bennett.

“Why break it gently, right? Just lay it all out there.” Jace said drily. Bennett chuckled, Mercury nodded matter-of-factly, the commander ignored him.

“You shoulda just told her that’s the way it was. Worked your magic on her,” Mason said arrogantly. “I mean if you gotta have a human mate, why not?”

A low growl strained to rumble out of Jace’s chest, but a perceived threat in the Guardian headquarters would not go over well. Jace hadn’t worked on his self-control for the last twelve years to lose his shit over this asshole, esteemed Guardian or not.

Bennett stiffened, ready to jump in if Jace turned on Mason. Mercury watched Jace for an answer, no doubt wondering why Jace wouldn’t use his gift if he had one. Why not save himself the long walk back to town and just tell Cassie how it was? Commander Fitzsimmons was looking over his shoulder, evaluating Jace’s reaction.

“Because,” Jace spoke evenly, “I will never falsely persuade my mate no matter what.”

Mason’s mouth curled up in a smug smirk. “Meanwhile, she’s got you by the short hairs. Enjoy your run.”

Asshole
. Jace continued mopping while Mason walked out.

“Soooo,” Bennett said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You hungry Jace? Blood and guts always gets my appetite going. We’ll break to eat before we fix the door.”

“Yeah, but which twin is cooking tonight?” Mercury asked. Malcolm and Harrison were the twin shifters; tall, dark, and deadly. They were always together—on their ops and with their women. “You don’t wanna stay if it’s Malcolm. He’s a shit cook.”

Jace’s mouth twitched up at Mercury’s bluntness. They must run this place like firefighters with twenty-four hour, round-the-clock shifts where
everyone rotates cooking and cleaning. 

“It’s Malcolm,” Commander Fitzsimmons informed them. “But he’s bringing home burgers from The Steak Shack. I told him to bring extra so you might as well stay.”

Chapter Seven

Cassie whipped into her parking spot at the mental health center. Running late, she grabbed her purse and practically bolted through the employee entrance at the back of the clinic. She never woke up late and was always on time. Since she was still building her patient base, her mornings weren’t often booked solid. Today, of course, she had a last minute booking in the first slot of the day. Normally, when she knew no patients were scheduled at the beginning of the day, she meandered in right at nine a.m. and spent the first hour reading ahead on upcoming cases for the day.

Today started shitty, and was looking to stay that way. Her alarm didn’t go off so she woke up to the admin assistant calling her to ask if it was okay to schedule a patient right away. He was a new patient, had requested her, and was there waiting. Patients equaled money. She shot out of bed and ran through the shower, grabbed a granola bar, and bolted out the door.

Now as she rushed down the hall to her office, she grimaced. She literally ran into someone during her run yesterday and had the road rash to prove it on her knee. And no wonder Cassie had been the one to hit the ground. The woman had been tall, well built, and absolutely stunning. Her bright green eyes shone with good humor as she helped Cassie up. Her dark, almost black, hair was as memorable as her athletic body, encased in bright performance gear. The sides of her hair were an inch long, if that, and the longer hair on top was done up in a fashionable faux hawk. She had apologized profusely to Cassie, claiming to have been checking out another jogger in the park. Scraped up, Cassie brushed it off, not wanting to call any more attention to herself than the fall had. The woman had introduced herself as Alex and ran alongside Cassie after she shook off the knee pain and resumed along her path. They chatted companionably and it was the highlight of Cassie’s week.

It had been a long, lonely week with more major blows to the ego and it was only Wednesday. When Cassie first got home after leaving Jace in her rearview mirror, she had wandered aimlessly around her condo, wanting to change her bedding, but changing her mind because she didn’t want to lose Jace’s scent and wash away the memories of their time together. Not that she had to worry, the whole condo was full of reminders of him: the entryway where they first came together, the stove where he’d made her breakfast, the table where they’d sat together. She couldn’t concentrate, didn’t yet want to face the new world Jace showed her and how she felt about it all. With Kaitlyn living and training with the Guardians, she had no one to sit on the couch with her to drink wine, eat ice cream, and add to the evidence that men suck.

Sunday, she had woken up determined to live her life as close to pre-Jace as she could. That afternoon, she called a good friend to see if an afternoon of shopping would drag her spirits out of the gutter. The memory of the conversation made her wince more than any knee scrape ever could.

She summoned false enthusiasm when her friend answered.

“Hey Emma! I was wondering if you wanted to meet me over in Freemont for a little retail therapy?”

Awkward silence.

“Oh, Cassie… Oh, I can’t make it, sorry …”

Then Cassie heard a man’s familiar voice on the other end call, “I’m throwing some coffee on, Em. What kind do you want?”

“Holy. Shit,” Cassie said, shocked.

“I’m sorry, Cassie. It just happened. I just came over to see if he was okay and—”

“Emma? What kind of java, baby?” Grant continued on the other end oblivious to either the phone call or who was on the other end, or both.

Emma went silent, probably to point to the phone mouthing Cassie’s name.

“So Emma, tell me. Was I not home when you went on your ‘my condolences tour?’ Or has this been going on for awhile?” Cassie asked angrily. She and Grant had double-dated with Emma and her beau-of-the-month several times. Cassie thought maybe Grant would get tired of awkwardly chatting with Emma’s new plus one every time, but he never complained. Now she knew why.

“No, of course not. It just happened,” Emma pleaded. 

“Just happened? Really? He’s been single less than two days. How’d you even find out?”

“Grant called Ryan yesterday, who told Jess, who called me. I just wanted to see if he was okay. I knew you’d be all right, Cassie,” Emma finished, lamely.

“Right, that’s it. I’d totally be fine.” Cassie took a deep breath, remembered exactly who she had went home with two nights ago and realized she was being a hypocrite. Except Jace was a complete stranger, not an old pal of Grant’s. “And you’re right. I am fine. Hope it works out for you two.” She cut the call off.

The rest of Sunday, Cassie went for a run, ate more Ben & Jerry’s, aimlessly wandered the mall, picked up some froyo to take home, and went to bed. The first part of the week was work, running, and more ice cream. Meeting Alex, aside from getting plastered on the running path, had been the highlight of her week.

Cassie maneuvered through the hallways to her office and was met by Amy from the front desk.

“Dr. Stockwell! Good, you’re here.” She spoke rapidly as Cassie unlocked her office and headed in. “Can I just bring him back for you since he’s been waiting a few minutes?”

Amy’s eyes sparkled and she was almost dancing in place.

“Sure, Amy.”

“He’s—he’s so— he’s just—” Her eyes glazed and she sighed. “I’ll go get him.” And she rushed off.

With only a few minutes to spare, she hung up her sweater and logged into her computer, hoping to bring up the patient’s file and read his name before he arrived. She was curious to find out who had flustered Amy so.

She heard them approach and Amy breathlessly told him he could head in and shut the door behind him. Cassie swiveled around, not wanting her back to a new patient. Her stomach dropped when she saw who walked in.

“Hey, Cassie,” Bennett said, after he shut the door. “I mean, Dr. Stockwell, now that I’m your patient.”

“What are you doing here? Is Jace okay?” she asked, growing alarmed.

“No, he’s fine. But just my two cents, Doc, don’t keep him waiting too long. We might have more time to wander this planet, but you can’t get back lost time and you never know when it runs out.” Solemn lines and his pensive expression indicated he’d been in such a lonely limbo. He took a seat in one of the plush chairs across from her. He wore jeans and a pullover today. How many knives did he have strapped under his sweater?

“Okay.” Still perplexed, Cassie asked, “So what
are
you doing here?”

“I’m here as a patient.” He ran a hand through his blond locks, which stayed arranged as if ready for a photo shoot. “You were right, you know. About how I’m barely holding it together. I don’t know how much longer I can hang on. I didn’t know who could help me before, but here you are. A shrink and you know about
us
.”

Cassie considered what he said. She’d only meant to throw him off that day in the interrogation room, to mess with him like he’d been trying to do to her. But her instincts had been spot on. A firm believer that most people could use professional guidance, she supposed that belief now extended to shifters.

“Here’s the deal, Bennett. What you say here,” she waved her hand between them, “completely confidential. I’ll treat you like a normal patient. The only difference will be my notes. I’ll leave out the whole ‘werewolf’ bit.”

“Do you have to take notes at all?”

“Yes, they help me remember what we talked about so I can outline the best way to help you. I’ll keep them as human appearing as possible.” They were supposed to remain confidential but nothing was safe these days. If they did get out, she didn’t want anyone to see the phrases “turns into a wolf” or “shapeshifts” and come after her with a straight jacket.