Second Nature (18 page)

Now everything had changed. He couldn't compete with a dead man. In his father's faulty memory, he would never measure up.

Resentment slowly strangled his love for his brother, as the poacher's snare had strangled Cyrus. Humans had killed Cyrus not once, but twice. Fiery hatred raged through Cedric. Humans poisoned everything, even his feelings for his brother. He would do everything he could to make sure that humans didn't destroy his family, his pack, his whole species more than they already had.

When the phone rang, he left his father behind to ramble on about Cyrus and how he would have mastered the situation.

*  *  *

"I heard you got the notebook," Jennings said as soon as Griffin had said hello. "So your plan went well."

Well?
A snarl tickled the back of her throat. Nothing about the plan had gone well. "It was a disaster. Jorie Price got hurt." The scene replayed itself in her mind, as it had a hundred times before.

"The Maki said it was just a scratch." Jennings didn't sound concerned about it at all. He wouldn't lose any sleep over the pain they had caused Jorie. To him, it was just collateral damage.

Jorie's wound was barely more than a scratch. Still, it could have easily been so much worse. "He lost control," Griffin said, her voice raspy. Losing control while on a mission, accidentally killing a human, was a fear she had lived with for quite some time. "Next time that happens, we might not be so lucky. He might kill an innocent human or reveal our existence. He's a loose cannon. I want the Maki pulled from active duty."

"That's my decision, not yours." Jennings's voice was calm but held a warning edge. "You just focus on your assignment. Do you have a name for me? Someone who might have given her the information about us?"

Griffin bared her teeth in a silent snarl. She didn't like to admit it, but she still didn't know more about where Jorie's inside information was coming from than she had when she'd arrived in Michigan. Her clever plan hadn't achieved anything but getting Jorie hurt. "It's not that easy. The notebook and all the notes she has lying around the house show nothing suspicious. Leigh didn't find anything on her computer either, and a local Wrasa who is a cop dumped her cell phone for me. Not even a hint of contact with any Wrasa. I'm beginning to think that maybe there is no traitor, no inside source."

"Her information has to come from somewhere," Jennings said. "You have to work harder to find the leak. Bring me some information I can work with."

Nice suggestion, but how am I supposed to do that?
Angry words crawled up her throat, and she swallowed them back down. Because she was a cat-shifter, he didn't expect the same level of obedience from her that he would expect from a Syak, but he was still her commanding officer. He wouldn't tolerate disrespect. "Jorie Price isn't making it easy," she said through clenched teeth.

"Did you expect her to do that? Did you expect her to burn her manuscript and give up the name of her informant without you having to lift a paw?" Jennings asked sharply.

Griffin counted to ten, first in English, then in the old language. It was a human technique that was supposed to calm her, but it wasn't helping much. "No, of course not."

"After all the trouble we went to, we're still not even one step closer to finding out if and how she knows about our existence," Jennings said.

His frank words made her anger grow. Griffin had to admit that he was right, and it added to her frustration.

"Maybe I should take over the investigation," Jennings said.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Was he insinuating that he was a better investigator than she was? That he would find out more from Jorie than she did? She bit back a sarcastic laugh.
Oh, good luck with that. Jorie wouldn't react well to his wolf-in-a-china-shop approach. To get close to her, you need a cat's patience and sensitivity.

"I already have Jorie's trust," she said. "You can't just replace me." She hadn't wanted the assignment in the beginning. If it had been her choice, she would still be in Arkansas, strolling through her forest at night, instead of spying on an unsuspecting writer who lived in her fathers' territory. But the assignment had been handed to her anyway. Now it was her mission and her responsibility. Her possessive instincts didn't like the intrusion. Once she had taken control of a mission, it was hers, no matter how dangerous, frustrating, or difficult it might be. She didn't trust anyone else not to make a mess of things.

"All right — for now," Jennings said. "But I expect to have more from you on your next update. Hunt down every lead."

Griffin had never liked direct orders, especially not when they pointed out obvious things that she had planned on doing anyway. The stiff rank structure of the Saru wasn't her favorite concept either.
You chose this job, so now deal with it.
She hung up the phone and stretched out on the bed.

Okay. Calm down and think.
Her fingers trailed up and down the outer seam of her pant leg.
I need to immerse myself into Jorie's life, find out more about who she socializes with, and get my paws on that notebook in the bedroom.
How could she manage all that without Jorie becoming suspicious?
Think. This is the same situation like this morning when you were brainstorming story ideas with Jorie. If you were a writer, how would you get character A to meet character B again?

*  *  *

The sound of the doorbell shattered the silence.

Jorie jerked in surprise, almost toppling over her soda. At the very last moment, she caught the can and prevented it from spilling all over her keyboard. Irritated at the interruption, she padded to the door and glanced through the peephole.

A stranger was standing on her veranda. Tawny hair fell out from under his baseball cap that had the logo of a security firm on it.

That was fast.
She had called the security company only an hour ago.

When she opened the door, he took off his cap and flashed her a friendly smile. "Ms. Price? I'm Sid Eldridge from Eldridge Security."

Another Sid. Jorie took it as a good sign, let him in, and closed the door behind him. Before she could explain what she wanted him to do, the doorbell rang again.

"You didn't call the competition too, did you?" Sid Eldridge asked with another sparkling smile.

They both knew there was no competition. Eldridge Security was the only security firm in the area.

Jorie frowned. She led a solitary life, and with two visitors, she felt crowded. "One moment, please," she said to Sid and went to look through the peephole again.

All she could see was red fur.

Then she realized that it was Will, his one front paw settled over Griffin's shoulder while she held him safely with one of her big hands. Her other hand was smoothing imaginary wrinkles from her clothes while she waited. The nervous gesture was so incongruous with her intimidating size that Jorie had to smile. Sometimes Griffin reminded her of an overgrown cat.

Two pairs of amber eyes swung her way when she opened the door.

"Hello," she said, looking awkwardly at her unexpected visitor.

"I know it's presumptuous of me to just show up on your doorstep unannounced, but I forgot to have you sign this, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity." Griffin pulled a book out from under her jacket and pressed it into Jorie's hands.

One glance down showed her the cover of her vampire novel. Jorie bit her lip. No one had ever requested an autograph from her. It was a strange feeling. "I'll sign it for you."

"I also brought you a book about tigers." Griffin, still lingering in the doorway, handed her another book.

"Oh. Thank you." Jorie gave herself a mental slap. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure." Griffin was already moving.

"Let me take him," Jorie said, reaching for Will, who hooked his claws into Griffin's shirt so that she couldn't pluck him off his new favorite buddy. His instant affection for Griffin continued to amaze Jorie. In a way, it was soothing. If even shy Will trusted Griffin, maybe she could trust her too.

Griffin rubbed her cheek against Will's. "He's fine." She carried the cat inside — then stopped abruptly when she saw Sid.

What's going on?
Jorie looked back and forth between Sid and Griffin. They were staring at each other like two predators checking each other out.

Will, feeling the sudden tension, struggled to be put down.

Never taking her eyes off Sid, Griffin crouched down and set him safely on three paws.

"Do you two know each other?" Jorie asked.

Neither looked at her. They were still staring at each other. "Your name is Eldridge?" Griffin asked, pointing at the logo on his cap. "Are you Tommy or Sid?"

She knows him? Knows his family?

Sid squinted his eyes. "I'm Sid. Do I know you?"

Hard to imagine that anyone who had ever met Griffin would forget her. Her size alone left a lasting impression.

"It's been fifteen years, and back then, I was a lot..." Griffin's gaze slid down her own body, and her lips curled into a wicked grin. "There was a little less of me back then."

Sid's eyes widened. "Kylin?"

"Oh, please!" Griffin sneered playfully. "Do I look like a politician?"

The tension in the room dissipated when Sid chuckled. "So you're Griffin?"

"In person. Hello, cousin."

Now it was Jorie's turn to stare.
He's her cousin? What are the chances?
She shook her head.
Jesus, these small towns are full of surprises. Anyone is related to everyone else.
Hard to believe that these two were cousins, though. Griffin towered over the slender Sid, and his hair was blond, without the reddish highlights that glinted in Griffin's hair. The only family resemblance that Jorie noticed was the easy, lithe way he moved as he stepped up to Griffin and pulled her into a hug.

Griffin's big body tensed, then relaxed when her cousin gave her a few gentle pats on the back. Finally, she pushed him away. "Enough already. I assume you're here to do your job."

Sid inspected the living room. His gaze slid over walls and windows.

The image of a predator checking out possible hiding places for prey and enemies flashed through Jorie's mind. Then she called herself to order.
His name might be Sid, but he's not a character from your book.

"You said on the phone that you work from home, so you probably don't want all the noise and trouble that having a hard-wire system installed would mean," Sid said. "The house is small enough for a wireless system. I could place contacts at every door and window, and if you want, I can install motion sensors and glass break detectors."

"I have cats," Jorie said.

"That's not a problem." Sid smiled reassuringly. "I have pet-friendly motion detectors. They won't go off if a cat walks in front of the sensor."

That sounded reasonable. Jorie nodded.

"I can even give you a discount if you're a friend of Griffin's," Sid said.

Friend.
Jorie's lips silently formed the word. It was an unfamiliar word and an unfamiliar concept. "No," she said. "I'll pay for everything. You own a business, and it's not fair for you to lose money just because I know your cousin."

"Aw, ma'am," he said. "You don't want her to beat me up again, do you?" He glanced at Griffin and shuddered in mock fear.

"Don't listen to him." Griffin gave him a glare. "I never beat him up. Not even when he deserved it."

Their interaction was interesting to watch for Jorie, who had grown up without siblings or cousins. "Come on," she said. "Let's get to work before one of you gets hurt."

*  *  *

As if on automatic pilot, Griffin followed Jorie into the living room. The surprising reunion with her cousin had blindsided her, and while she liked a good mystery, she hated being ambushed like this.
That's what you get for being so out of touch with your family,
a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kylin's told her.

She shoved back the thought and forced her attention back to the investigation at hand. Jorie's laptop was sitting on the coffee table. Griffin caught a glimpse of the screen before Jorie closed the lid and put the laptop away. She also noticed that the bandage from the day before had been replaced with a smaller adhesive dressing.
Good. The cut is healing well.
Purple bruises were still peeking out from under Jorie's sweatshirt, though, and reminded her how fragile humans were compared to Wrasa strength. Many of her colleagues would snarl at her in disgust for caring about the minor injuries, but to Griffin, human pain didn't smell all that different from Wrasa pain. She had hurt humans before but never felt good about it.

They watched Sid work for a few minutes until Jorie apparently decided that he knew what he was doing and was trustworthy enough to be left alone in the living room; then she led Griffin over to the kitchen.

The smell of cat food hung in the air.

Griffin's nose wrinkled in distaste.

A cat that, to the human eye, was probably a calico with white, black, and red patches was gobbling down her food in front of the kitchen counter.

The humans managed to completely destroy your sense of taste, little sister.
It was beyond her how the cat could enjoy the processed goo that smelled of the metal can it came in. Watching the cat, she realized it was the same feline that had hissed at her when she had tried to break into the house. "Ah, the elusive Emily, I presume?"

"Yes, that's Emmy." Jorie leaned against the counter and watched the cat with a smile. "She finally came in late last night." The scent of Jorie's relief filled Griffin's nose, a much more pleasant scent than the cat food. "I was really starting to worry, but here she is, starved and making a mess of my kitchen because apparently, the food tastes better right off the floor instead of from her food bowl."

"It has nothing to do with the taste of the food," Griffin said, secretly amused at the human tendency to ascribe human motivations to animal behavior. "Imagine having to eat out of a bowl that constantly touches your whiskers and sends impulses to your brain, telling you you're about to get stuck in a tunnel that is too small for you."