AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She sucked in a shuddering breath before backing away from him. His lion whined like an angry kitten, but what was Wes supposed to do? He couldn’t force Eleanor to stay in his arms. She sniffed and then wiped the last trace of tears from her cheeks. “Sorry, I, uh, I got your shirt damp.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Eleanor, maybe you should consider taking the day off after your nine-thirty client. I can rearrange my schedule today. We can go for coffee or have lunch and -”
“Thank you, but no. I’m fine now,” Eleanor said.
“You’re not fine. You’re in shock.”
She shrugged before ducking around him and opening the driver’s door. “Get in, Wes. I might still get you to work on time if the traffic gods are feeling generous this morning.”
His lion grumbled and whined again. Wes couldn’t blame him. He hated the way Eleanor was distancing herself from him, but it was for the best. He couldn’t be the man she wanted him to be.
* * *
“Fuck me sideways!”
Wes stood and peered over the cubicle wall at Boone. The tiger shifter looked like he was about to lose his shit as he dropped his phone onto his desk and rubbed at the back of his neck.
“What’s wrong?” Wes said.
“You about to Hulk out on us?” Chase, the newest member of their security team and the youngest at only twenty-six, peered over the other cubicle wall. He wore a “Shadow Security” golf shirt, and his light brown hair stuck up at odd angles like he’d been running his hand through it while he worked.
“Spare me the comic book shit, kid,” Boone said. “I’ve got a fucking crisis on my hands.” He sniffed in Chase’s direction. “You smell funny.”
“No, I don’t smell at all,” Chase said.
Wes inhaled in his direction. It was true. Not only did Chase not have his usual scent, he had no scent, period.
“Why are you using the Scent B Gone spray?” Wes asked.
“Stupidest fucking name ever,” Boone muttered.
Wes grinned slightly. Boone wasn’t wrong. The spray worked well to neutralize a shifter’s scent but covering yourself with a spray called Scent B Gone felt a little juvenile.
“The Scent B Gone company sent us samples. It’s their new and improved version. You read what happened with their last version, yeah?”
Wes nodded. He’d seen it a few weeks ago, just happened to catch the tail end of the story on the news. “Yeah, the scent blockers in the formula wore off if you even sweated a little.”
“That’s right. They shouldn’t have messed with the original formula,” Chase said. “Anyway, Coop asked me to test it out, make sure the new formula works this time before we order a case. I’m going for a run in about half an hour. You wanna join me, Boone?”
“Does it look like I’m in the mood to watch you kick my ass in a run?” Boone said. He grimaced and swiped a hand across his face. “Fuck. Sorry, Chase.”
“What’s wrong?” Wes repeated.
“Maria just quit,” Boone said. His pupils turned to slits as he went inward and talked to his tiger.
“Shit,” Chase said, “that’s the second nurse in two days, right?”
“Third,” Wes said as Boone’s pupils rounded out. “The first one only lasted six hours.”
Boone’s grandmother had broken her hip last week. Although the tiger shifter was in her late eighties, she was probably the toughest shifter Wes had ever met. And while she loved Boone a great deal, she didn’t have the sweetest personality.
Boone stared at Wes. “What the fuck am I gonna do? She hasn’t even left the hospital yet, and that’s the third private nurse I’ve hired who’s quit, and they aren’t even fully responsible for her. She comes home from the hospital on Thursday, and I can’t stay at home with her while she heals. It’ll be at least a month, probably longer. She’s not healing as quickly as they’d like. I thought Maria could handle her. She’s a cougar shifter, and she did four tours when she was on active duty, but she just called me in hysterics. Nan wanted Maria to take her outside in her wheelchair, but the doctor said bed rest until tomorrow, so Maria refused. Nan got mad and told Maria to sleep with one eye open from now on because Nan would rip out her throat while she slept and let Alfie bathe in her blood.”
“Question,” Chase said. “Who’s Alfie?”
“Nan’s poodle,” Boone said.
Chase snorted laughter, and Boone glared at him. “Swear to fucking God, Chase. I’ll superglue your laptop to your desk.”
