Simon’s jaw tightened, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking up at Alyssa. Her gaze was fixed on the phone, very carefully avoiding his. So rather than acknowledge any of the sudden tension that was thickening the air, he chose to deflect. “I don’t need dating advice from you,” he growled.
“It’s not dating advice!” Carl snapped. “It’s a warning. Find a girl or I’ll have to break quarantine to run you down. I don’t want to do that, but I will. You can’t go feral in a place like Detroit.”
No, he couldn’t. It would be too dangerous for everyone.
“Carl—” Simon began, but Alyssa cut him off.
“He’s got me,” she snapped. “And I’ll keep him human.”
Simon looked at her, seeing the determined jut to her chin. If anyone could keep him human, it would be her. And he couldn’t deny the wave of raw pleasure that came from her words. She was his, and that thought flushed him with testosterone-filled pride. But it also wasn’t true.
He was so strong a shifter, it was dangerous for him to have a human relationship. He could get too violent, too animal, or too damned focused. Regular humans could get hurt so easily. He didn’t want to risk Alyssa like that. Though God only knew if he could give her up. He already thought of her as his alpha female.
But Carl didn’t need to know that. And he wasn’t ready to explain things to Alyssa yet. He needed her too much right then to push her away. But he had to tell her soon. She had to understand what she was risking.
“Send me that serum information,” Simon said. “And a list of any shifter-friendly lawyers. And judges. And medical anything.” At this point, he’d take a shifter-aware orderly.
“There aren’t any,” Carl growled. “Because all the sane ones don’t live inside the city.”
Sadly, he knew that was true. And with that, he thumbed off the connection. “Okay,” he said as he avoided looking Alyssa in the eyes. “Play me all my messages, starting from the top.”
CHAPTER 17
Alyssa gave all the files to Detective Kennedy, but his response wasn’t encouraging. He was a gang cop. He had no legitimate reason to be talking to the CDC and didn’t know anyone in authority who was shifter-aware. Worse, every cop was helping to contain the unrest as people began to feel the effects of the quarantine. The gangs were being especially violent, but so were bankers and soccer moms. And worse, by afternoon the news confirmed that a third wave of outbreaks was sweeping through the area. It was like the entire city was on edge and rather than pulling together, people were throwing knives at each other. Or bullets.
At least they’d managed to get a good lawyer. That was Kennedy’s recommendation, too, and he turned out to be young, handsome, and sharp as tack. He was there when Alyssa gave her statement and he sat by Simon, too. Apparently, he’d been up all night as members of the Griz gave their statements and bartered their deals for turning state’s evidence. It was a messy business and Alyssa did her best to keep up, but mostly, it was a Law & Order episode with too many people involved for her to keep straight. Plus, she’d never really liked that show because it always ended on a “life sucks” note.
Simon spent the whole day in that neutral expression place where his mind was a steel trap. Nothing escaped his notice, and no emotions leaked through. Similar to yesterday, he was a Spock-like machine as he answered questions, directed his people whenever possible, and didn’t give her anything more than orders. Not a soft look, not a gentle caress, not even a whispered “thank you.”
Years ago, she would have been hurt by his attitude. Now she just accepted it. After all, she understood what it was like to focus solely on getting stuff done. No distractions, no interference, and none of those pesky emotions clogging up the flow.
Great, except she’d just declared her love this morning. She’d said out loud that she was his. And no, she hadn’t expected him to drop onto his knee and swear eternal devotion. They’d been on the phone. But she’d thought he’d give her some sort of reaction if only a kiss. Something to say, I’m yours, too.
It hadn’t happened. He’d asked for updates on the cleaning crew and had her run through his email out loud with him. And when she was busy driving to the police station, he had her pull up a Sesame Street program on her phone so he could learn his alphabet. Instead of a declaration of love, she heard “C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me.”
Don Juan, he was not.
And so they churned through the day. There were a thousand things to do at the Griz headquarters. And when Simon was closeted with Joey the accountant, Alyssa had to deal with a disaster at the laundry. People doing laundry were usually mellow. Especially ones who wandered down the street to get some pot. Not so today. A fistfight broke out over use of a dryer, and now Malik was nursing a broken nose and a bad attitude.
She’d sent him home, but that meant she had to cover his shift, which made Simon even more frustrated. He had to confess to Joey that he couldn’t read, and that meant one more person in on Simon’s biggest vulnerability. That made them both jumpy, but there was nothing she could do about it. The streets were heating up, grocery stores being the biggest battlegrounds. Everyone wanted food now. And gas. And a way to blow off steam after two more “monster” videos appeared on the Internet.
It was enough for her to beg Vic to stay in his apartment. Especially once the news hit that a guy with a too full beard was shot on the street because someone thought he was a monster. Scary times for everyone. So why was she obsessing like a teenage girl about whether her boyfriend loved her?
“Hey, are you sure Simon said the water was bad?”
Alyssa looked up from repairing a broken washing machine to see her brother coming in the laundromat front door. He was dressed in shorts and a tank and drinking from a refillable sports bottle.
“Yeah. Said we shouldn’t even shower in it.”
She looked closer at him. He’d been working out, probably running through the nearby park, and as she watched, he squeezed the last of his drink into his mouth.
“Really? Tastes fine to me.”
“Was that tap water?” she cried as she stood to face her brother.
“Yeah. Refilled at the drinking fountain.” Then he curled a lip at her. “Don’t get pissy. I needed to burn off some energy. I called Simon and since he didn’t need me, I thought I’d go for a run.” He sauntered around the busted washer and headed for the sink. Popping on the tap, he started refilling his bottle.
“You can’t drink that!” She grabbed for the bottle, but he elbowed her out of the way.
