“Humans think anything involving Shifters is a pain in the ass.”

Kim shook her head. “I mean, it’s been a pain in the ass because of the way it’s been handled. The cops nearly had Brian signing a confession before I could get to the interrogation. At least I put a stop to that, but I couldn’t get bail for him, and I’ve been blocked by the prosecutors right and left every time I want to review the evidence. Talking to you is a long shot, but I’m getting desperate. So if you don’t want to see a Shifter go down for this crime, Mr. Morrissey, a little cooperation would be appreciated.”

The way he pinned her with his eyes, never blinking, made her want to fold in on herself. Or run. That was what prey did—ran. And then predators chased them, cornered them.

What did this man do when he cornered his prey? He wore the Collar; he could do nothing. Right?

Kim imagined herself against a wall, his hands on either side of her, his hard body hemming her in…Heat curled down her spine.

Liam took his feet down and leaned forward, arms on the desk. “I haven’t said I won’t help you, lass.” His gaze flicked to her blouse, whose buttons had slipped out of their top holes during her journey through Austin traffic and July heat. “Is Brian happy with you defending him? You like Shifters that much?”

Kim resisted reaching for the buttons. She could almost feel his fingers on them, undoing each one, and her heart beat faster.

“It’s nothing to do with who I like. I was assigned to him, but I happen to think Brian’s innocent. He shouldn’t go down for something he didn’t do.” Kim liked her anger, because it covered up how edgy this man made her. “Besides, Brian’s the only Shifter I’ve ever met, so I don’t know whether I like them, do I?”

Liam smiled again. His eyes returned to normal, and now he looked like any other gorgeous, hard-bodied, blue-eyed Irishman. “You, love, are—”

“Feisty. Yeah, I’ve heard that one. Also spitfire, little go-getter, and a host of other condescending terms. But let me tell you, Mr. Morrissey, I’m a damn good lawyer. Brian’s not guilty, and I’m going to save his ass.”

“I was going to say unusual. For a human.”

“Because I’m willing to believe he’s innocent?”

“Because you came here, to the outskirts of Shiftertown, to see me. Alone.”

The predator was back.

Why was it that when Brian looked at her like this, it didn’t worry her? Brian was in jail, angry, accused of heinous crimes. A killer, according to the police. But Brian’s stare didn’t send shivers down her spine like Liam Morrissey’s did.

“Any reason I shouldn’t have come alone?” she asked, keeping her voice light. “I’m trying to prove that Shifters in general, and my client in particular, can’t harm humans. I’d do a poor job of it if I was afraid to come and talk to his friends.”

Liam wanted to laugh at the little—spitfire—but he kept his stare cool. She had no idea what she was walking into; Fergus, the clan leader, expected Liam to make sure it stayed that way.

Damn it all, Liam wasn’t supposed to like her. He’d expected the usual human woman, sticks-up-their-asses, all of them, but there was something different about Kim Fraser. It wasn’t just that she was small and compact, while Shifter women were tall and willowy. He liked the way her dark blue eyes regarded him without fear, liked the riot of black curls that beckoned his fingers. She’d had the sense to leave her hair alone, not force it into some unnatural shape.

On the other hand, she tried to hide her sweetly curvaceous body under a stiff gray business suit, although her body had other ideas. Her br**sts wanted to burst out of the button-up blouse, and the stiletto heels only enhanced wickedly sexy legs.

No Shifter woman would dress as she did. Shifter women wore loose clothes they could quickly shed if they needed to change forms. Shorts and T-shirts were popular. So were gypsy skirts and sarongs in the summer.

Liam imagined this lady in a sarong. Her melon-firm br**sts would fill out the top, and the skirt would bare her smooth thighs.

She’d be even prettier in a bikini, lolling around some rich man’s pool, sipping a complicated drink. She was a lawyer—there was probably a boss in her firm who had already made her his. Or perhaps she was using said boss to climb the success ladder. Humans did that all the time. Either the bastard would break her heart, or she’d walk away happy with what she’d got out of it.

That’s why we stay the hell away from humans. Brian Smith had taken up with a human woman, and look where he was now.

So why did this female raise Liam’s protective instincts? Why did she make him want to move closer, inside the radius of her body heat? She wouldn’t like that; humans tried to stay a few feet apart from each other unless they couldn’t help it. Even lovers might do nothing more than hold hands in public.

Liam had no business thinking about passion and this woman in the same heartbeat. Fergus’s instructions had been to listen to Kim, sway her, then send her home. Not that Liam was in the habit of blindly obeying Fergus.

“So why do you want to help him, love?” he asked. “You’re only defending him because you drew the short straw, am I right?”

“I’m the junior in the firm, so it was handed to me, yes. But the prosecutor’s office and the police have done a shitty job with this case. Rights violations all over the place, but the courts won’t dismiss it, no matter how much I argue. Everyone wants a Shifter to go down, innocent or guilty.”