C J Barry [Body 02] Body Thief (epub)

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Some pretty high-tech cell she had here.She was beginning to think she should have run.Cam crossed her arms.“What do you want with me?”He hesitated for a moment before saying, “We need your help.There is a national security issue that requires your.skills.”She felt her mouth drop open.Unreal.Not only were humans full of crap, they were unbelievably arrogant.“You grabbed me, knocked me out, and locked me in here because you need my help?”He shrugged casually.“I said I was sorry.”It wouldn’t do to try to break the glass to kill him.She’d just hurt herself.“Apology accepted.No, I won’t help you.Now let me go.”He nodded a few times, absorbing her rejection with little expression.“There is the small matter of you cheating casinos.”She wouldn’t bite.“I’m lucky at craps, what can I say?”“We have you on tape over the past few months.At The Venetian, Golden Nugget, the Bellagio, Harrah’s, Tropicana, Fox-woods.” He paused, knowingly.“Should I continue?”She was stunned.That was impossible.They couldn’t have caught her at all those places.She hadn’t been Camille Solomon in all those places.She’d played those casinos in other human forms with different names.He couldn’t know she was the same person.He was lying; he had to be.“Prove it,” she said, calling his bluff.Without a word, Mercer walked over to the big screen and picked up a remote control.Seconds later, there she was at the Bellagio craps table, as a blond-haired woman.Then The Venetian as a brunette.Each casino and each security camera showed her standing at the tables.She shook her head.How?“That’s you,” he said walking back to her.“In every shot.”She eyed him, and dread filled her.He could see shapeshifters.She’d heard of them, feared them.They called them Scouts, the few humans who were capable of identifying Shifters while in human form.Of course, Shifters could do that, but humans who could were few and far between.Even fewer worked for XCEL.“I can get a second opinion if you’d like,” he added, looking far too smug.“It might take a few months though.”Bastard.“I want a lawyer.”He shook his head.“National security trumps lawyer.”Of course it did.“I’ll worry about national security as soon as your government recognizes Shifters as legal citizens with legal rights.No lawyer, no cooperation.”Emotion flashed in his eyes, and his expression turned harder.“And what have you done to earn that right?”She blinked.“Since when do sanctioned beings not have that right? Hell, all you have to do is be born here.What the hell kind of initiation fee is that?”He didn’t answer that, but it was clear by his expression that she’d struck some kind of nerve.She was getting a really bad feeling this would not go well for her.Then he turned and pointed the remote at the TV again.The image changed to another white room much like hers.An older man sat on a bed, resting his head in his hands, but she still recognized him.Shock turned to dismay, and then to fury.It took every ounce of self-control not to throw herself at the glass to get to Mercer.So much for dinner reservations in SOHO.Neither she nor her father was going to make it.Cam fought to keep her voice even.“Is he here? Is he okay?”Mercer replied, “Yes, and yes.”Thank God.“Why?” she asked, gritting her teeth.“He’s your accomplice.We found him in every security shot with you at the casinos.You worked as a team.You handled the dice, and he collected the winnings.That’s a solid three to five years of prison time for each of you.”She clenched her fists as she kept her eyes glued to the only person she cared about.Dewey Solomon didn’t have three to five years.He might not even have three to five months.It was time to throw in the towel and whatever pride she had left.“It was my fault, my idea.I forced him to go along with me.I threatened to hurt him if he didn’t.Lock me up forever, I don’t care.Just let him go.”Mercer seemed to take his time replying.“You work with us, with me, and we’ll clear all charges against both of you.”She turned to glare at him.That explained a lot.She’d been set up; she should have figured it out sooner.They were using her, blackmailing her, and she had no choice.Her father was sick.Maybe they knew that, maybe they didn’t.She couldn’t be sure.Either way, it didn’t matter.She needed to get her father out of here as soon as possible.It took a lot more effort to formulate a plan that didn’t include kicking someone’s ass, but she finally settled on cooperation.As much as she hated being used, she’d give them what they wanted.But she was going to make damn sure that she got something in return.Somewhere during the plotting, it occurred to her just how big this was.The time and effort they’d put in this whole capture wasn’t normal.They’d targeted her specially, and she knew why.She could do things other Shifters couldn’t.First off, she was female, which was highly prized.There were literally a handful of surviving female Shifters.She could hold myriad human forms, which was also unusual.Most Shifters could only handle one or two additional forms.And to top it all off, she’d shown them firsthand that she was capable of shifting in daylight, which she now regretted.All of those characteristics made her valuable to XCEL.She wasn’t afraid of much, but that scared her.“We’ll discuss the details of the operation first thing tomorrow morning,” he said.“Get some sleep.”Cam glared into his dark eyes with every bit of animosity she felt.He didn’t ask her if she was in.He knew she was trapped, and he was the trapper.Bastard.“Whatever happened to justice for all?”“If you’re looking for justice, you came to the wrong planet,” he replied calmly, and he shut off the lights, turning the glass to black.That could have gone better, Griffin admitted to himself.She was willful and intelligent, and the only reason she’d stayed in control was to save her accomplice.Which was good for Griffin, because otherwise, he’d have bigger problems.“You want a refill?” Lyle, the bartender, asked him over the Celtic music playing in the background.It was ten P.M., and the bar was sprinkled with an odd assortment of executives and lovers and diners tucked into the corners.It was Lyle’s place, and Griffin liked it.The walls were covered with everything Irish—flags, banners, signs, you name it.It wasn’t really an Irish pub any longer.Lyle just never bothered to redecorate when he bought it.“Sure,” Griffin told his friend, and Lyle reached for the scotch.He poured Griffin a double and put the bottle back on the shelf.Lyle was tall and rail thin, with a long face and short red hair.His eyes were a little too close together, and a scruff of a beard hugged his chin.He leaned both his boney elbows on the bar in front of Griffin.“Rough day?” Lyle asked.Griffin wanted to laugh.Every day was a rough day.The best parts were when he was in danger or otherwise occupied by his work.The worst parts were when he came home to a quiet, cold, dark apartment.Probably explained why he spent so much time here.“Got my Shifter,” he told Lyle, keeping his voice low.Lyle’s eyes widened.“No.” He checked to see if anyone was listening.“The female?”Griffin nodded, and Lyle blew out a long breath that smelled of cigarettes.“I gotta say, I haven’t ever seen a female Shifter.”“They look like the males, only smaller,” Griffin said.“And they smell better.”Lyle laughed, a familiar sound.Lyle laughed at everything, even when it wasn’t that funny.It made Lyle a good bartender, and one of Griffin’s few friends.The fact that Lyle could also see Shifters, and bore that curse along with Griffin, made them even closer.They were isolated in a way that most people couldn’t understand, because being able to see shapeshifters was not a good thing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Pokrewne