“What are you going to do?” Shane asked him.
“Tie up these guys, then find my brother and Cass.”
Shane stepped in front of him. “You can’t go up against Shifters alone, Diego. The alpha will have trackers, they’ll smell you coming, and they’ll be ready.”
Diego dragged his satellite phone out of the wreckage, relieved when he found the thing undamaged. He also found Cassidy’s earpiece on the ground where it had fallen when she’d shifted. He handed the earpiece to Shane.
“Good to know. Help me with these guys and then call Marlo.”
Together they pulled the drug runners away from the wreckage, and Diego handcuffed them. Shane walked away to get Marlo on the sat phone.
One biker swam to consciousness. “Are the Shifters dead?” he asked. “Are they gone?”
“Not yet,” Diego said. “But they have my girlfriend and my brother, thanks to you trying to leave us behind.”
The man lowered his head, pretending incomprehension. Asshole.
After Shane hung up, Diego and Shane marched the dealers back to the cantina where Cassidy had found them. Whatever patrons had been in there had vacated.
The bartender, who owned the place, protested. Diego answered him in Spanish. “If you want an end to your Shifter troubles, you’ll help me,” he said. “I’m going to get rid of them and your drug dealer problem.”
He and Shane set the two bikers on chairs and shackled them together.
“The Shifters came two years ago,” the bartender said as they worked. “Our own fault. The drug runners had taken over, fighting each other in our streets, ruining our lives. We put out the word that we needed help. The Shifters came down out of the hills, holed up in the factory that had never been finished, and took over. They got rid of the drug runners, all right.”
“Then you had a Shifter problem instead.” Diego checked both men’s bonds and approached the bar. “What did the Shifters do?”
The bartender looked sad. “We have to give them anything they want. Food, clothing—our daughters. Some of them wanted to kill our sons, but the alpha, he said no. Said it would attract too much attention.”
This was exactly what Reid had meant, Diego realized. They can look human, and they try to act human, but if you don’t treat them like the dangerous animals they are, you’ll pay for it. Humans had rounded up Shifters and slapped Collars on them, because they’d feared that something exactly like this might happen.
But these Shifters were different. Ferals, Cassidy and Shane had called them. Diego wasn’t sure what that meant, but he couldn’t imagine Eric or Nell or Lindsay doing things like this.
“What’s this alpha’s name?” Diego asked. “And what kind of Shifter is he?”
“He’s a bear. Calls himself Miguel. He said he chose the name of one of the humans’ archangels. Thought it was funny.”
“Sounds like a smart-ass. Where is this factory?”
“Five miles west of here. There’s only one road that goes there. Hard to miss.”
“You’re being very open about it.”
The bartender shrugged. “What have I got to lose? The dealers used my place as a base, and then the Shifters laid siege to them here. They killed my brother and took my daughter.”
“Did you all try to fight back?”
“Sure. The dealers left a pile of weapons. But the Shifters were too fast, too strong. We held out for a while, then…” He shrugged, a man defeated. “If you’re thinking of fighting them, you won’t last long. Get out while you can—just some friendly advice. Go back to America where you can be rich and safe.”
Diego had never considered himself rich, and he knew just how “safe” the streets of his city were. Everything was relative, he supposed.
Diego walked outside in the night to make another phone call, but he couldn’t get through to Eric. Shifters were allowed to have cell phones, but they had old models without much power. Or maybe Diego’s sat phone wouldn’t connect with them for some reason.
Shane came out after him. He wore a pair of jeans that looked too small—a gift from the bartender. “You should get out of here, Diego, and let me take care of this. Have Marlo fly you back home.”
“And leave Cassidy and my brother? No way in hell.”
“I understand how you feel, Diego, but these are ferals. You have no idea what you’re f**king with. One, you might be able to handle. A group of them, you can’t.”
“What does feral mean exactly—they didn’t take Collars?”
“More than that. Even a Collared Shifter can go feral, but it’s rare. The Collar usually stops the violence. Feral means a Shifter living by his animal instincts, suppressing the human ones. It usually starts with giving up bathing.”
“Yeah, I smelled them.”
Shane rubbed his lip. “But these are different from other ferals I’ve seen. Most of them run off on their own and eventually die. This is a group of ferals, different species living together. That’s weird. We hated each other in the wild, couldn’t get along. We barely get along now.”
“Whatever they are, I’m not leaving. Cassidy went with them to protect Xavier. I’m not abandoning either of them.”
Shane regarded Diego quietly for a moment, then nodded. “I see that. I’m glad.”
Diego assessed the dark street. Aside from the few lights in the cantina behind him, the town was unnaturally silent and dark. He imagined it had been lively at one time, with the townspeople emerging from their houses at night, enjoying the cool evenings before having to face the heat of the day once more.
He slung the shotgun on its strap over his shoulder and loaded his pistol with a fresh magazine. The Shifters would know he was coming—Shane was right about that.
But like hell he’d let these Shifters do to Xavier and Cassidy what the drug runners had done to Jobe. Same situation, different place.
“What now?” Shane asked.
“We go find them.”
Shane looked surprised. “You’re not going to wait for Eric?”
“I can’t reach Eric. I’ll have Marlo start trying to get him, but we need to scout, find Cassidy and Xavier’s exact positions, and figure out a way to extract them.”
“I get that. But, like I said, we can’t sneak up on them. This Miguel will have trackers everywhere, and these Shifters are going to be more animal than human.”
“Tie up these guys, then find my brother and Cass.”
Shane stepped in front of him. “You can’t go up against Shifters alone, Diego. The alpha will have trackers, they’ll smell you coming, and they’ll be ready.”
Diego dragged his satellite phone out of the wreckage, relieved when he found the thing undamaged. He also found Cassidy’s earpiece on the ground where it had fallen when she’d shifted. He handed the earpiece to Shane.
“Good to know. Help me with these guys and then call Marlo.”
Together they pulled the drug runners away from the wreckage, and Diego handcuffed them. Shane walked away to get Marlo on the sat phone.
One biker swam to consciousness. “Are the Shifters dead?” he asked. “Are they gone?”
“Not yet,” Diego said. “But they have my girlfriend and my brother, thanks to you trying to leave us behind.”
The man lowered his head, pretending incomprehension. Asshole.
After Shane hung up, Diego and Shane marched the dealers back to the cantina where Cassidy had found them. Whatever patrons had been in there had vacated.
The bartender, who owned the place, protested. Diego answered him in Spanish. “If you want an end to your Shifter troubles, you’ll help me,” he said. “I’m going to get rid of them and your drug dealer problem.”
He and Shane set the two bikers on chairs and shackled them together.
“The Shifters came two years ago,” the bartender said as they worked. “Our own fault. The drug runners had taken over, fighting each other in our streets, ruining our lives. We put out the word that we needed help. The Shifters came down out of the hills, holed up in the factory that had never been finished, and took over. They got rid of the drug runners, all right.”
“Then you had a Shifter problem instead.” Diego checked both men’s bonds and approached the bar. “What did the Shifters do?”
The bartender looked sad. “We have to give them anything they want. Food, clothing—our daughters. Some of them wanted to kill our sons, but the alpha, he said no. Said it would attract too much attention.”
This was exactly what Reid had meant, Diego realized. They can look human, and they try to act human, but if you don’t treat them like the dangerous animals they are, you’ll pay for it. Humans had rounded up Shifters and slapped Collars on them, because they’d feared that something exactly like this might happen.
But these Shifters were different. Ferals, Cassidy and Shane had called them. Diego wasn’t sure what that meant, but he couldn’t imagine Eric or Nell or Lindsay doing things like this.
“What’s this alpha’s name?” Diego asked. “And what kind of Shifter is he?”
“He’s a bear. Calls himself Miguel. He said he chose the name of one of the humans’ archangels. Thought it was funny.”
“Sounds like a smart-ass. Where is this factory?”
“Five miles west of here. There’s only one road that goes there. Hard to miss.”
“You’re being very open about it.”
The bartender shrugged. “What have I got to lose? The dealers used my place as a base, and then the Shifters laid siege to them here. They killed my brother and took my daughter.”
“Did you all try to fight back?”
“Sure. The dealers left a pile of weapons. But the Shifters were too fast, too strong. We held out for a while, then…” He shrugged, a man defeated. “If you’re thinking of fighting them, you won’t last long. Get out while you can—just some friendly advice. Go back to America where you can be rich and safe.”
Diego had never considered himself rich, and he knew just how “safe” the streets of his city were. Everything was relative, he supposed.
Diego walked outside in the night to make another phone call, but he couldn’t get through to Eric. Shifters were allowed to have cell phones, but they had old models without much power. Or maybe Diego’s sat phone wouldn’t connect with them for some reason.
Shane came out after him. He wore a pair of jeans that looked too small—a gift from the bartender. “You should get out of here, Diego, and let me take care of this. Have Marlo fly you back home.”
“And leave Cassidy and my brother? No way in hell.”
“I understand how you feel, Diego, but these are ferals. You have no idea what you’re f**king with. One, you might be able to handle. A group of them, you can’t.”
“What does feral mean exactly—they didn’t take Collars?”
“More than that. Even a Collared Shifter can go feral, but it’s rare. The Collar usually stops the violence. Feral means a Shifter living by his animal instincts, suppressing the human ones. It usually starts with giving up bathing.”
“Yeah, I smelled them.”
Shane rubbed his lip. “But these are different from other ferals I’ve seen. Most of them run off on their own and eventually die. This is a group of ferals, different species living together. That’s weird. We hated each other in the wild, couldn’t get along. We barely get along now.”
“Whatever they are, I’m not leaving. Cassidy went with them to protect Xavier. I’m not abandoning either of them.”
Shane regarded Diego quietly for a moment, then nodded. “I see that. I’m glad.”
Diego assessed the dark street. Aside from the few lights in the cantina behind him, the town was unnaturally silent and dark. He imagined it had been lively at one time, with the townspeople emerging from their houses at night, enjoying the cool evenings before having to face the heat of the day once more.
He slung the shotgun on its strap over his shoulder and loaded his pistol with a fresh magazine. The Shifters would know he was coming—Shane was right about that.
But like hell he’d let these Shifters do to Xavier and Cassidy what the drug runners had done to Jobe. Same situation, different place.
“What now?” Shane asked.
“We go find them.”
Shane looked surprised. “You’re not going to wait for Eric?”
“I can’t reach Eric. I’ll have Marlo start trying to get him, but we need to scout, find Cassidy and Xavier’s exact positions, and figure out a way to extract them.”
“I get that. But, like I said, we can’t sneak up on them. This Miguel will have trackers everywhere, and these Shifters are going to be more animal than human.”
