But then, Shawn was used to that.Too often in his life had the authorities been late for the party.There had been the time when the police had arrived ten minutes too late to save his sister from being raped, and then there had been the other time when the family home had burned to dust, the fire engine pulling in when it had been too late to do any damn thing.
The many tragedies that had befallen his family were one of the major reasons he'd enlisted.The need to help people whose lives had been destroyed, to help patch their now-destroyed world back together again, had been at the forefront of his mind when he'd been a new recruit.
A creaking sound barely made itself known to him, but his senses, so accustomed to hearing minutiae when the shit hit the fan, were on Red Alert.The noise came from the gates which were slowly opening, and he watched as two patrol cars and a first responder for the fire department pulled in.
The cops were not Pride.Neither was he, but by a strange twist of fate, technically he was.But hewasaware the Pride had cops on payroll.Not in a way that would enable them to manipulate laws in their favor, but simply to deal with crimes committed by the big cats who also walked on two legs.
Because he didn't see Santiago or Erickson, two Pride members, Shawn knew he'd have to watch his words and be careful what he revealed.Especially as a quick glance to Pride House told him he’d be dealing with this by himself.
Shouldering the burden was something he was used to so he wasn't offended by the disappearance of the three men in charge of the Pride.If anything, he realized it was a compliment.It meant that even after such a short period of time, he was being integrated into the strange dynamic.
Shawn had worked with supernatural creatures in the past.His last unit and his last duties had been as the NCO of the CUBS.
The unit was made up of eighty percent Supernaturals, with the remaining twenty percent of human staff who kept them corralled.And he knew corralled sounded kind of mean, but hell, once the blood lust was on his men, they were like goddamn rampaging bulls.
The ones here today weren’t, however.
They’d been swift to react to the danger, had acted with a haste that had surprised him when it came down to stopping the fire, but they were definitely used to being led.
Shawn, who’d figured it would be hard to find a place here, had found his niche in the vacuum that came from knowing El’s mates had been the target of this attack.
He didn’t know if Trip and Ryan were okay, hadn’t had a chance to seek them out, he just hoped for El’s sake they were fine.
That girl… she’d had enough tragedy in her life.
And he could say that and mean it.
His childhood had been rich with love if not money.El’s had been the exact opposite.He’d watched her grow, had watched and learned and seen that money meant shit.And when wealth was used to create power plays that fucked over a nineteen-year old girl?Well, screw that shit.
“Are you the owner of this property?”
The patrol unit’s question had him narrowing his eyes.“I am one of the owners, yes.”He wasn’t, hell, he didn’t have a damn thing to do with this place, but Ryan was the leader here.Shawn was, by proxy, on the same level as Ryan thanks to his connection with El.
That had to give him some position in the ranks, surely?
Before the unit could ask him anything else, he bit off, “Twenty minutes ago, a loud explosion went off, decimating the vehicle carrying the bomb and damaging the others.”
“We’ve contained the fire as you can see, but haven’t managed to do little more than save those who survived.Bodies are still in the burnt out cars.”
The stench of burnt flesh lay heavy in the air.He couldn’t even begin to imagine how strong it was for the Shifters in the vicinity.
The thought had his throat clutching in sympathy.
The cop’s face softened.“I’m sorry, sir.”
They weren’t his people.Not yet, anyway.Still, he found his throat clogging.
Everywhere he went, there was destruction.Sometimes it got too hard to handle.
One of the reasons he’d left his post was because it was just too damn much to stand.As part of the CUBS, he’d been involved in heavy duty missions that had scarred him in ways he couldn’t handle thinking about now.
Heading into personal security after he’d gotten out had been a haven.
He cleared his throat to shrug off the tears that had no place in being there.“We’re dealing with several threats to personal security at the moment.”The cop’s eyes sharpened, and Shawn decided to change tacks because that sharpening triggered a memory.“I’m not the owner of the property but I’m one of the guards of the owner.He and his wife… she’s recently endured a kidnapping attempt.Erickson and Santiago are the detectives who were working on the case.”
“A kidnapping attempt?”The cop wafted a hand at the explosion.“This is a big leap.”
Shawn turned away from the cop who’s sandy blond hair and baby blues belied the hard shell underneath.He might have looked like a beach bum, but the man’s eyes told Sean he was new to the job but he wouldn’t be in uniform for long.
