Kim was breathing rapidly at their pace, her ridiculously high heels slowing her down. He wished she’d kick off her shoes and peel off her stockings and walk barefoot in the grass. He imagined her strolling along beside him, shoes in hand, a smile on her face.

Too soon they reached her car, a black two-door Mustang. The car chirped as she pushed the button to unlock it.

Liam pulled her into another hug. Kim resisted again, but he scooped her against him, letting his mouth rest on the curve of her neck. She was warm, her skin salty, her pulse beating under his lips.

“Good-bye then, Kim. You take care.”

He meant it. There was danger out there, and Brian’s troubles were only part of it.

Kim took the card from her pocket that she’d tried to hand him earlier. “You’ll call my office as soon as you have anything for me, right? Anything at all?”

Liam turned the card around in his fingers, savoring the feel of the raised letters of her name. “Of course, love.”

“Even if you don’t think it’s relevant?”

He didn’t bother to answer. Liam opened the car door for her, and Kim gave him a flustered look before tossing her briefcase inside.

Liam smoothed her hair from her face. He could stand all day looking at her, breathing in her scent, touching her sleek hair.

He let her go. He wasn’t allowed to have her, no matter that he was hot and hard for her. She was beautiful, but not for him.

Kim gave him a smile, one that heated his blood, and slid into her driver’s seat. She cranked the engine, let it roar to life, then reached over to switch the AC to high.

She rolled down the window, sending a trickle of cool air over his skin. “Thanks, Liam,” she said. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I’m just worried.”

“We all are, love.” He stood up, patted the roof of the car. “You go on, now.”

The window slid silently upward. Kim gave him one last nervous smile, then pulled the car onto the street. The taillights flashed red before she turned a corner, and then she was gone.

Liam might never see her again. The emptiness of that hit him.

No, that wouldn’t happen. She was under his protection now. He had her phone number and her address. He’d make sure she’d need to speak to him again, and he’d make sure she had to see him in person to do it.

When Liam reached home after picking up Sean from Sandra’s, their father Dylan was there. Three generations of males lived in the Morrisseys’ two-story bungalow—father, two sons, and Liam’s nephew, Connor.

Connor was twenty, tall and lanky, still a cub by Shifter standards. By human standards, he was old enough to go to college, and Connor had been attending a community college this year. Shifters weren’t allowed to apply to the prestigious UT Austin, but it had been voted to allow them some college-level education. No degrees. Wouldn’t want Shifters taking over professional jobs or learning enough to be a threat.

Connor’s classes were out for the summer, and he passed the time catching up on DVDs. Laws forbade Shifters access to TiVo or premium cable for some reason, so movie rental outlets near Shiftertown did big business. Connor was watching The Howling and laughing his ass off.

“You’ll have to go with him, Liam,” Dylan said as soon as Liam walked in, continuing the conversation he’d had with Liam on the phone.

Liam gave a grim nod as he got himself a Guinness from the refrigerator. Dylan had told him that Fergus’s trackers located a feral Shifter east of town, one that had slaughtered a Shifter woman and her cubs a few nights ago.

May hell rot all feral Shifters, Liam thought. He and Sean had found the bodies, a devastating sight that made his heart ache. As Guardian, it was Sean’s duty to dispatch the feral, but Liam was looking forward to exacting some justice of his own. Besides, no way he’d let his brother face the attacker alone. Not after what had happened to Kenny.

“I’ll go too,” Connor said. He’d come silently out of the living room and leaned against the breakfast bar in the kitchen. “If it’s a simple takedown.”

Dylan gave Connor a look of compassion. Dylan’s dark hair had gone gray at the temples in the last few years, finally making him look older than his sons. But a Shifter’s eyes, not his human shell, betrayed his age. Dylan’s eyes had seen much.

“No, Connor.”

“I’m not a cub anymore, and I need to learn to fight these bastards.”

Connor’s father, Kenny, had been ripped to shreds by a feral Shifter. Their family had avenged the death long ago, but Connor had been too young to participate. The need for personal vengeance burned in him. But not only did Connor look twenty, he was twenty in human years. His fighting ability would take another decade or so to hone.

Liam drew his lanky nephew into a hug. “Like you said, lad, it’s a simple takedown. We’ll get him and go out for pizza.” Liam kept his voice light, though he was buzzing with adrenaline. He was more than ready to get on with it.

Connor rolled his eyes as Liam released him. “You and Sean are so condescending it makes me sick. You have human scent all over you, Liam. What have you been up to?”

Sean grinned as he pulled a beer out of the refrigerator. “You should have seen him. He meets this human lady, and ten minutes later he’s massaging her feet. He wouldn’t leave her alone.”

Liam threw his bottle cap at him. Sean snatched the cap out of the air and threw it back.

“She needs protecting,” Liam said, catching the cap in turn and tossing it to the counter. “She’s busting her ass for Shifters, the little idiot.”