Elizabeth's rage and fear had risen to a breaking point, and all she could do was turn her back on the Shifters, storm inside, and slam the door.

Chapter Ten

Ronan scented Elizabeth's terror as she went, and vowed that Marquez would pay for every bad dream, every shiver of fear, and every tear he'd caused her.

Sean joined his father, whose eyes remained the light blue of his wildcat's. "You scared him good, Dad," Sean said. "But maybe put him on his guard? We don't need a Shifter-human gang war."

"We won't have one." Dylan Morrissey scanned the alley, aware that others could be watching, and started for the back door to Elizabeth's store.

Ronan got ahead of him to walk inside first, but Elizabeth wasn't in her office. Ronan heard the water running in the bathroom, and he left the others to approach her.

He'd lived with females long enough to know that if he knocked first, she'd tell him to go away and leave her alone, and he had no intention of doing that. Elizabeth hadn't locked the door, however, and Ronan opened it to find a small bathroom decorated with rose trellis wallpaper and framed Victorian ads for soap and chocolates. The soft colors made the tiny room easy on the eyes and very feminine.

Elizabeth looked up at him through the reflection of the wooden framed mirror over the sink, her eyes red-rimmed, her face dripping.

"You okay?" Ronan asked.

A long time ago, he'd never had to worry about comforting crying females--crying anybody. But now he had to deal with Cherie with her PTSD, Rebecca's PMS, and the terror dreams of the boys. He'd learned how to pet and hold until the shakes went away, how to gentle his voice to the merest rumble.

"No, I'm not okay," Elizabeth said. "You can't threaten Marquez like that. He's right--he'll have the cops down on you, or he'll tell his boys with machine guns to wipe out all the Shifters. No one cares about Shifters."

"That's true," Ronan said, leaning against the door frame. "No one, except Shifters. What do you plan to do, then? Leave town like he suggested?"

"No!" Elizabeth grabbed a fluffy towel and buried her face in it. When she emerged, her tears were gone. "No, I'm not letting him drive me out. I'll call the cop who arrested Julio Marquez and tell her his brother is threatening me. Pablo Marquez will have a record--they can put a restraining order on him."

"A restraining order will do nothing," Dylan said from behind Ronan. "You need to let us take care of this."

Elizabeth threw down the towel and pushed past Ronan to face Dylan. "Let you take care of it? What does that mean?" She looked up at the tall Shifter, meeting that stern white-blue stare without flinching.

Sean cleared his throat. "Ms. Chapman, let me introduce my dad, Dylan Morrissey."

Elizabeth studied Dylan more closely, taking in the gray at his temples, his stern look that came with his years and experience. "Ah. I've heard about you."

Dylan blinked, his eyes snapping back to human blue. Elizabeth's I've heard about you spoke volumes. His mate, Glory, came into this store a lot, and Glory could be earthily frank. Dylan must be wondering what the hell kinds of things Glory had said.

"What I've heard is that you're used to having your every order obeyed," Elizabeth said, hands on hips. "But I'm not Shifter, and I don't care. I'm keeping this store open. I'm grateful for your help, but I do not want you confronting Marquez. He's dangerous, more dangerous than you are. I'll find a solution. I haven't survived this long by caving in to people like him."

Sean and the other Shifters tensed, watching as Elizabeth, a puny human, stared down one of the top alphas in Shiftertown. Liam was leader now, yes, but Dylan was still plenty dominant.

Ronan went warm with pride. His potential mate had moxie.

She didn't understand, though, that she and Dylan were talking about two different things. Elizabeth was thinking about her immediate future, keeping hold of the things for which she'd worked so hard. Dylan was considering the threat Marquez posed to Shifters in general, outside Marquez's problem with Elizabeth. The situation had moved beyond the attempted robbery and into wider realms.

Dylan moved his gaze from Elizabeth to Ronan. "She's your responsibility," he said.

"I know that," Ronan answered.

Dylan held Ronan with his gaze for a long moment, then he signaled to Sean and the other tracker--Nate--and the three of them departed. No good-byes, no saying where they were going. They simply went.

Elizabeth watched them go, hands still planted on her slim hips, then she swung to Spike and Ellison. "All right, then," she growled. "That wall isn't fixing itself. Let's get back to work."

*** *** ***

Pablo Marquez employed the best lookouts in the city, but for some reason they totally missed the Shifters that materialized in his office that evening. One minute Pablo was going over his spreadsheets for the body shop; the next, he had three Shifters around his desk.

Pablo didn't panic. He hadn't gotten this far in life by panicking. He smoothly brought his hand out from under the desk, wrist now wrapped in an ace bandage, an automatic weapon nestled against his palm. He held the gun loosely, not pointing it or threatening with it. Shifters were dangerous, yes, but they weren't immune to bullets.

The one with the terrifying eyes was there, but as he'd done in the alley, he remained silent. The guy with the sword, obviously the Shifter's son, stepped in front of the desk, putting himself directly in front of Pablo's gun. Ballsy of him. The third Shifter, the one with the military-cut black hair, watched the door with seeming negligence. He was chewing gum, a trick for indicating contempt and lack of fear.