03 - You Only Live Nine Times (10 page)

Ms. Kitty growled furiously.  If her secret to helping people get their babies was just using other people’s eggs and sperm, then the whole clinic was a con.  Damnit! 
It was all a con!
  Sure they were helping people get pregnant, but they weren’t really helping them achieve their dream offspring, and they were substituting other people’s eggs and sperm.  They allowed their clients to believe they would be getting perfect, beautiful children because they knew they wouldn’t still be in business by the time their children were fully grown.  She bet there was a little magic in there somewhere, such as influencing the sex, but the end result was nowhere near what they were promising.

Kalinda was right. Amanda was a mediocre witch.

“Kalinda was right, you are a mediocre witch.” 
Hey, sometimes she just said what she thought.

Amanda looked like she had been slapped in the face and Isis was tempted to make that a reality.  Instead, she pulled out her badge.  “SEA, witch, you have a lot of explaining to do.”

*

Raf flexed his hand.  Man, Isis had a firm grip.  It was worth it, though.  No way did he want her roaming around potentially running into a guy like Bongo, the witch doctor.

He walked along the corridors as stealthily as possible.  He wasn’t too worried about being caught; he’d just say he was lost on his way to the bathroom.  He’d been in a few rooms, but they were nothing special, more psychedelic consultation rooms and then some that looked like birthing rooms.  He spotted the couple he had observed entering the clinic earlier, the rhino or hippo shifter and the human.  They grinned at him as they walked past, and he returned it with feeling.  They didn’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be wandering around.

Everything seemed pretty normal for a clinic.  It was fairly quiet, and hardly bustling with life, but that was hardly surprising.  The only thing he’d found so far that had a lock on it was a medicine cabinet in one of the birthing rooms, but that definitely wasn’t big enough to fit any dead bodies.

But then, there was the interesting metal door to consider
.

He approached it cautiously.  Searching somewhere without a warrant didn’t sit right with him.  But if he wasn’t doing it, he knew Isis would be, and there was no way he would have been able to stop her.  The tigress was impatient and impulsive, qualities that both exasperated and excited him.

He’d just take a look around, and if he saw anything that shouldn’t be there, he’d work doubly hard at getting a search warrant for this place.  Maybe he’d petition Judge Schneider.  She was a fifty-eight-year-old widow and definitely had a bit of a soft spot for Raf.  He realized that after she attended the Commissioner’s last Christmas party and spent the entire evening trying to cop a feel of his ass.  Well, if getting a warrant meant he had to submit to Schneider’s fondling, he’d do it – it was a small price to pay.

He waited for a few moments to see if he could hear anything through the door.  Nothing.  Well, he might as well get this over with.

He pushed his way into the room, ready to exclaim ‘hey, this isn’t the restroom’ if anyone happened to be there.  Thankfully, no one was.  It was like a mad scientist’s lab.  The only things missing were brains in jars and one of those machines that randomly created electricity.  He inspected the many jars and equipment, mindful of the time he was taking and that someone could easily walk in on him.  Some of the jars contained a few things that Raf suspected were obtained illegally –
freeze-dried monkey brain for one
– but he would need to check on that.

Raf sucked in a breath as he opened a huge chest freezer and was partially relieved and disappointed to find it empty.  If they had an involvement in digging up the bodies, he couldn’t see any evidence in this room.

Cutting his losses, and believing his absence might be noticeable, he made his way back to their consultation room.  So far this whole endeavor had been a disappointment, he only hoped that Isis might have made some progress.

As he swung back into the room, he froze at the sight of Isis kneeling on top of Amanda, who was screeching and flailing under the solid weight of a five-foot-ten tigress.

“Ah, Raffy, perfect timing, Amanda was just about to tell me everything.”

*

The rest of the day involved Amanda shrieking loudly about calling for her lawyer, searching for Bongo who was nowhere to be found and gently trying to find out just how many couples the clinic staff had been playing Russian roulette with their sperm and eggs.  They could find no evidence that the clinic had anything to do with the missing bodies, and Amanda actually seemed to be affronted that they think she might have.

There were going to be a lot of unhappy couples in Los Lobos.  Isis was glad that the clinic would not go on with their questionable practices, but she was uneasy about the potential damage this may cause to the many couples who had been ‘helped’ by the clinic, and their children.  Still, the truth would have come out eventually no matter what. 

Raf rubbed his neck.  “Call it a night?”

“Oh, yeah.”  The whole situation had been a total clusterfuck, and certainly hadn’t gotten them any closer to closing the actual case they were working on.

He gave her a smoldering look that just about set her on fire.  Or at least one part of her.  “You wanna get a drink or something?”

Or something
.  Ms. Kitty roared at the endless possibilities flitting through her mind.  “Well, I’m supposed to be going out with friends, but I can totally blow them off and tell them I got a better offer… unless you wanna join us?”

Raf’s lips quirked.  “They won’t mind a human horning in?”

“Oh, they put up with much worse than you,” she said truthfully while thinking of Cutter, the world’s surliest wolf shifter.  She still hadn’t figured out how he managed to trick a bubbly hedgehog shifter into mating with him.

“Okay, cool.”

“Awesome.”

Chapter Ten

Isis smiled at Raf as she led him into the Chinese restaurant.  She nodded at Mai, the hostess of The Bamboo Palace and a Pallas’s cat shifter.  Mai’s eyes widened with interest on seeing Raf and Isis’ upper lip curled in a warning sneer.  Mai flinched and suddenly found her hostess station incredibly interesting.  Ms. Kitty huffed.  Yeah pussy cat, mine. 
Grrr
.

She was a little apprehensive about introducing Raf to her friends.  She knew they wouldn’t do anything crazy like actually pounce on him, but… well, shifters were different to humans.  And what they might see as normal conversation – like zombie talk and sexual heats – it would be a foreign language to a human.  Or maybe she was just worried about what they might tell him about her.  Undoubtedly it was obvious that she was hardly a saint, but he didn’t want him to think badly of her.  Plus, a part of her didn’t want him to meet the perfect, blonde lioness, Avery and decide he liked her better.  Two female cats - they kind of had a teeny, tiny rivalry.  And while Isis could get over the superficial blow to her pride another man would cause if he chose Avery over her, she knew it wouldn’t be the same with Raf.

She’d sent Avery a text informing her that she was bringing Raf and that everyone better be on their best fucking behavior.  Avery sent back lots of emojis with various hearts and kisses, asking if he was cute.  Isis ignored her as her tiger growled in irritation. 
Damn lioness better keep her paws to herself
.

Isis took a long breath as they approached the table.  “Well, Raffy, deep breath and try not to make eye contact…”

*

“You’ve met Gunner.  The toothy guy is Wayne; floppy hair is Wes.  The grumpy one is Cutter and the far-too-good for him woman he’s attached to is Lucie.  This is our cutesy, little helper, Jessie.  And this old hag is Avery.  Everyone, meet Raf.”

Avery pursed her lips, and her eyes glittered but she didn’t say anything.  She was anything but haggish – quite the opposite, but he imagined this stemmed from a kind of rivalry.  He didn’t know why.  Avery was attractive enough in a blue eyed, blonde, cookie cutter mold, but she wasn’t a patch on the red headed temptress dominating his every thought.

“Nice to meet you all.”  He smiled at them all, and they murmured greetings in return.  Apart from Cutter they looked friendly enough.  The grouchy looking man grunted and curled his arm around the curvy Lucie a little more tightly.

“Where’s Erin?” asked Isis, looking around.

“Bathroom,” rumbled Gunner.

Isis raised her eyebrows in a comical fashion.  “And you let her go on her own?”

“Well, I, uh…”  The big guy’s face dropped, and he glanced nervously towards the bathroom.

“Mmmm hmmm,” intoned Avery.  “Bathrooms can be pretty dangerous – lots of hard surfaces.”

“Fuck, I didn’t think!”  Raf watched with some amusement as Gunner jumped up with a surprising amount of grace and pelted away.

Avery and Isis snickered.  Jessie frowned at them.  “You guys are evil.”

“It’s just too easy,” sniffed Isis.

Moments later, Gunner returned with a small brunette tucked under his arm.  He made a fuss about getting her seated and putting his arm around her.  She allowed it with a resigned look on her face.  Isis introduced her as Erin, and she gave him a warm smile.

A waiter came by to take their order and Gunner surprised him by ordering for everyone, and even more so by ordering about five times the amount of food he expected a group of their size to eat.

“Damn, that’s a lot of food,” he commented to Isis.

“Shifters eat a lot.  As soon as the food arrives, you better hurry up and get some, and watch your hands or you might lose a finger.”

Raf snickered until he realized she wasn’t joining in.  “You’re kidding?”

“Not at all.”  She gave him a patient smile and slipped her hand under the table to give his leg a firm squeeze.  Blood rushed to his groin and he had to quell the groan that wanted to escape.

He realized some of Isis’ friends were smirking at him.  Hadn’t Isis said something about being able to smell arousal?  Fuck, he must smell more potent than a whole bordello.  He cleared his throat, willing his erection to deflate, willing the heat to disappear from his cheeks.  He needed to change the subject.  “So all you guys are shifters?”

“I’m not, I’m human,” piped up Erin.

“Really?”  Isis told him all her friends worked for the SEA.  He really didn’t expect any members of the SEA to be human.  He had trouble imagining a human being able to take down a shifter.

“She’s a psychic,” Gunner told him proudly as he placed a kiss on her temple. 

“How’d you keep up with these guys?  If you don’t mind me asking.”

A smug expression spread over the big guy’s face.  “That’s not an issue anymore.”

“Well, at the moment I’m desk bound because I’m pregnant,” she admitted, as her cheeks turned pink in pleasure.

Raf ignored Isis’ eye roll.  “Congratulations.”

“But usually it’s not a big issue; I’m not as fast or strong as the shifters on my team, but I have other talents.”

“Yes, we have no problem with humans being on the teams,” said Isis.

“What?” exclaimed Avery, grinning madly.  “You constantly told me and everyone else that would listen that Erin would make a terrible agent when she was transferred here.”

Isis’ eyes narrowed.  “Well, I meant her specifically not humans in general.  And I meant running, and weapons wise – which I stand by.  No offense, Erin, but when you run you look like an uncoordinated giraffe and the idea of you pointing a gun at anyone is quite frankly horrifying.”

Gunner growled lowly, but Erin just giggled.  “Gee, why would I find
that
offensive?”

“When you’re not doing either of those things, I think you’re a great agent,” said Isis with a sniff before sticking her tongue out at Avery.

Erin placed her hand on her heart.  “Oh my god, mark the calendar everyone – Isis just gave me a compliment!  It was preceded by two insults, but still.”

“Christ, Isis compliments are rarer than leprechaun gold,” chuckled Wayne.

“Fuck you, all of you,” sassed Isis with mock sweetness.

Erin shrugged and snagged a prawn cracker.  “Back to your question, I just generally leave the foot chases to the shifters and I do my thing.”

“Rightly so, let Diaz get shot or trampled to death in your place,” grumbled Gunner.

“Diaz is my team leader,” explained Erin, while giving Gunner a censorious glare.  “Be nice, he’s a good guy.”

Cutter grunted in disgust, and Lucie and Erin gave each other knowing glances before shaking their heads.  Okay, apparently there was a problem with a guy named Diaz, but before he could find out what, Jessie suggested that he try and guess what kind of shifters they are.

“Ah, I’m not sure…”

“No, come on, it’ll be fun.”  Isis gave his thigh another squeeze, and he would have pretty much done anything she said at that moment. 
If she’d asked him to rob a bank he’d be out the door procuring a ski mask. 
“I mean, don’t you think Avery looks like an otter?”

Avery growled. 
Otter seemed very unlikely
.

“Ah, maybe it’s better I don’t guess.”

Wes slapped him on the back, and Raf tried not to squeak in pain. 
It would have been very unmanly
.  “No, c’mon, we won’t be offended.  Start with Avery.”

“Okay, ah, I guess… leopard?”  He had no idea.  Honestly, Isis seemed like a perfect tigress, but would he have been able to guess her species if she hadn’t told him? 
Probably not.

“Hmmm, warm,” murmured Avery.  Isis’ grip on his leg tightened, as did the smile on her face.  Could his tigress be jealous of her friend?

“Cheetah?”

“Because she looks like the dopey cartoon on the Cheetos packets, right?” snapped Isis, a little more forcefully than expected.  And honestly, she was almost cutting off circulation to his leg.  He placed his hand over hers, to try and ease her grip.  She quickly laced her fingers with his, and the unexpected affection in the action made his heart stutter.  Jealousy over someone playing with her new toy was one thing, but the move hinted at tenderness she hadn’t shown before that moment, and he regretted that they weren’t alone so that he might explore it further.

“No, but you’re in the right area,” teased Avery, batting her eyelashes at him – more for how much it pissed off Isis than anything.  Sure enough, the tigress was now almost crushing his hand.

“Lion,” he ground out, praying the bones in his hand didn’t break.

Avery’s face lit up as the others nodded in approval.  “Wow, yeah, spot on, how’d you know?”

“Ugh, lucky guess,” he admitted in relief as Isis relaxed again.

“I’ll bet it’s because of her big butt,” jeered Isis, “lionesses have big butts.”

Lucie bounced in her seat.  “Guess what I am next!  And FYI, my big butt won’t give you any clues!”

*

“I like your friends.”

“Yeah, they’re okay. 
Most
of them.”  That definitely didn’t include a certain blonde-haired feline who kept giving him bedroom eyes.  Ms. Kitty snarled. 
Slut
.  Okay, so maybe it was the kind of thing Isis would have done to men Avery had been interested in, but it wasn’t the same at all!  Couldn’t she see Raf was hers?  Okay, maybe she was still kind of denying the whole mate thing, but she was coming around to it.  She was even contemplating – gulp – actually dating him.  That was a big step for her, and the last thing she needed was a lioness poking her oversized butt into it.

“What was that about a guy called Diaz?”

Isis waved her hand dismissively as Raf drove her home.  “Oh, it’s nothing.  Just male shifters being male shifters.  Diaz hit on Lucie and Erin before they mated their big lugs, so the lugs don’t like him.”

“So because he hit on their future wives…”

“Mates,” corrected Isis.

“Future mates, they hate him?”

“Shifters are very territorial – particularly males.”  She was momentarily forgetting the death glares she had been throwing Avery all night, just for being pretty, single and there.  “They don’t care whether their mates’ past boyfriends are merely distant memories, they still hate them.  Erin’s afraid to tell Gunner about her past partners in case he gets it into his head to track them down and do something a bit unfriendly to them.”

Raf flicked her a dubious glance.  “Gunner seems so… so, in control.”

“He is, apart from when it comes to Erin.  Didn’t you notice the way he taste tested all her food for her?”  Yep, to Erin’s increasing irritation, Gunner hadn’t let her have one bite of anything he hadn’t checked out first.  Apparently, Gunner had watched a documentary about the dangers of undercooked food on the human body and was now paranoid about his mate and unborn baby.

“Yeah, that was pretty weird.”

“I’m telling you; you can’t reason with a male shifter when it comes to his mate.  Don’t try to figure it out – it’s irrational.  I mean, exes are no big deal, right?”

Raf shrugged.  “Course not, we’ve all got them.”

Isis almost bounced up and down in her seat on hearing him say that, while Ms. Kitty nudged her, asking ‘isn’t he wonderful?’.  “Exactly.  I know shifters are pretty open about nudity and sex, but I think that humans are more enlightened about relationships.  I mean, Erin doesn’t even mind that Gunner and I had sex.”

“You did?” asked Raf, quietly.

“Sure a bunch of times.”

“Unh hunh.”

Isis felt a sliver of worry creeping down her spine, and her tiger snarled in warning, but she plowed on regardless.  Hey, she was not ashamed of her past, anymore than Raf should be of his.  “It was ages ago before he even met Erin, and it was just sex.  I mean, it’s no big deal, right?”

“Yeah,” he agreed softly. 
Too softly
.  Ms. Kitty whined, worried that their budding relationship had shifted slightly.  No, she hadn’t done anything wrong – there was nothing to worry about.

Raf wordlessly pulled up outside her apartment building.  She cleared her throat.  “Okay, so, tomorrow, you want me to drive?”

“I, uh, I don’t know.”

“So you want to drive?”

“Maybe,” he muttered.

“Okay,” she breathed, trying to hang onto her temper – and failing miserably.  This passive aggressive bullcrap was not going to fly.  “I tell you what, why don’t you think about what you do want and don’t bother calling me until you find out!”

She jumped out his car and slammed the door, enjoying the way it rocked.  As she stomped up to her apartment, her tiger chuffed in disappointment, and Isis was only a little peeved that he hadn’t bothered to chase after her.
Well, maybe more than a little.

*

“No, no, no, no, no!  Not good!”

Igor frowned.  “Doctor?”

The doctor sighed and told him it wasn’t working.

“Oh.”  Igor managed to hide his delight at that fact.