“How should I know? I don’t see that part. When they go, they just go. I’ve heard about a light, and sometimes they talk to someone I can’t see. I’m not supposed to see it, and I don’t want to see it.”
“Why not?”
He looked down at his hard nipples and frowned, probably thinking about his favorite Pac-Man shirt. “What I’d really like to know is who sent me the blueprints to this place at the last minute. It couldn’t have been the headless horseman. He was too busy with you at the time.”
“Why hasn’t Viktor come down from the lobby?”
“Christian busted the steel shutters, so Viktor’s guarding the entrance until the Regulators show up. See?” Wyatt switched on a camera in the main room. Viktor’s wolf was sitting very still, facing front. “I hope Niko finds Viktor’s clothes before everyone shows up. Otherwise that’ll be an awkward introduction when he shifts back.”
Chatter drew my attention to the hall. Two formidable men swaggered toward Christian. One had a shaved head, broad shoulders, and piercing blue eyes. The other was a tall Chitah with reddish-blond hair. Both had what looked like gold wedding bands on their fingers, which wasn’t something you saw in the Breed world.
“Everything under control?” Blue Eyes asked.
Christian stood with his hands clasped. “Aye.”
The two men looked at us and then at Pablo’s corpse.
“Who are they?” I asked quietly.
Wyatt unhooked a cable from the two computers. “That’s HALO. They were our emergency backup. You can always tell by the rings they wear.”
“Since when are we asking other organizations for help?”
“Viktor doesn’t make it a habit, but we all have an understanding in case there’s an emergency on a high-profile case. We’re not exactly competing for the same jobs, so they’re not our enemies. I think a raid against a group of hostile women qualifies as an emergency.”
“Not all of them were women.”
“According to the files, the majority are. What went on down there before we showed up?”
I inched toward the door. “Mage against Shifter, but they wanted the Mage to win. Women against men.”
While Wyatt rambled on about reverse sexism, I stood in the doorway, trying to eavesdrop on what the men were discussing. Given the history of women in the Breed world, an underground racket like this wasn’t a real surprise. It made me wonder if, in another life, I might have willingly taken a job like this. I would be doing what I loved for money. Wasn’t that what I was doing now?
Christian stayed quiet, his arms folded and posture rigid. The Chitah did most of the talking, and I caught a few things here and there about the raid. The tough guy rubbed the tribal tattoo on his bicep, and I felt like I’d seen him before. The Breed world was a small one, and I occasionally ran into the same people in different bars and clubs. After another minute, the Chitah threw Audrey over his shoulder and headed toward the main elevator. The blue-eyed man clapped Christian’s shoulder before joining his companion.
I strolled into the hall and watched them disappear past the far door.
Christian turned and gazed at me earnestly. “It looks like someone’s getting a bonus. Good work.”
“I didn’t do this alone.”
“Take credit where it’s due.” He cupped the back of my neck and rested the pads of his thumbs by my ears.
When he leaned in, I tilted back. “I’m not kissing you with another woman’s blood on your lips.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “You’re complaining about a few drops on my lips when you’re drenched in blood?”
“That’s different. I didn’t suck on this person.”
Christian tossed back his head and laughed. When he regained his composure, he wiped a tear from his eye with the heel of his hand. “I would have passed my condolences to the unlucky lad.”
I rested my head against his chest and slipped my fingertips inside the tear in his shirt.Thank Godthis job was over. Hopefully I’d never have to see another sex club again. At least we’d freed the captive Shifters. That satisfied me more than capturing Audrey and all her little cohorts.
“The Shifters downstairs are victims,” I said. “Make sure nobody hurts them.”
“Aye, but our work isn’t done.”
I tilted back. “What do you mean?”
