More trust on Ellison's part. Pablo could have instructed her to give Ellison bad guidance so he'd trip the alarm instead. Bradley might then reward Pablo. The Shifters were gambling on Pablo being more afraid of them than of Bradley.

Ellison didn't say what they'd do after they got inside. Maria knew, though. They'd corner Bradley, find out where the cubs were, then kill him.

Ellison slid back into the truck. Maria looked at him in surprise, then let out a breath when he enfolded her in his arms. He didn't squeeze, he didn't kiss her; Ellison just held her, his embrace strong.

He'd never let her fall, the hug said. Never let her falter, never let anything hurt her. Maria had been drifting, rudderless, and now, Ellison was her anchor.

He kissed Maria's cheek then her lips, his warm. "G.o.ddess go with you," he said, his voice low. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He transferred his gaze to Pablo, and the loving look turned to ice. "You take care of her. If Maria's hurt in any way, or scared, or p.i.s.sed off . . . You won't live to regret it."

"I know how to do this," Pablo said, with no sign of anger. "Wipe out Bradley for me, and life will be good. That's worth sitting a couple of hours in a pickup with a nice young woman."

Ellison growled. With his arms still around Maria, feeling him rumble against her was like being held by a giant, purring cat.

Ellison kissed Maria one more time, took and pocketed Pablo's cell phone, and exited the truck. Tiger waited for him with his usual stoic patience, his a.s.sessing eyes taking in everything.

Broderick and Ronan walked up the street one way, and Tiger departed with Ellison the other.

Maria turned around to watch Ellison go. His backside in the tight jeans swayed in a fine way as he walked, sun gleaming on his hatless hair. He'd left the cowboy hat in the car, but his boots clicked on the asphalt.

Ellison didn't turn back, but Maria felt a tether between her and him, a line connecting them. She was with him, and he with her.

Pablo pulled a magazine out of his pocket, leaned back, stuck his elbow out the open window, and proceeded to read. Maria glanced over and saw that it was a home decorating magazine, open to a page on makeover ideas.

"Francesca's redoing the kitchen," Pablo said without embarra.s.sment. "She wants me to find ideas I like."

"I've never had a new kitchen," Maria said, before she thought about it.

"No?" Pablo shrugged. "Well, that's why I do what I do, sweetie. So I can live a little better than my parents did, which was in the gutter."

"You're a smart man. You could make a lot of money perfectly legally."

"Most of my business is legal. I even pay taxes on it. But I was stupid when I was younger, and did some time. Prison gave me the opportunity to think about how I wanted my life to go, but prison closes a lot of doors for you."

"So does being Shifter."

Pablo lowered his magazine. "Don't let them fool you. Those Shifters might wear Collars and be bound by rules, but I'm here to tell you, they do anything they want."

"So I've seen."

Maria turned around to look after Ellison again and found him gone. He and Tiger had vanished. Though open country rolled from behind the one street of houses, she saw no sign of anyone moving through the tall gra.s.ses.

Maria had promised herself she wouldn't worry, but that was a silly promise. Of course she'd worry. Ellison was walking into a well-defended fort, with nothing but his teeth and claws and Pablo's phone-though she felt a little better that he was with Tiger.

But if anything happened to any of the Shifters, she'd have to face Liam and Dylan and tell them. Explain why she hadn't helped, why Pablo hadn't.

They'd blame Pablo for not keeping them safe, and they might kill him. From the way Pablo's fingers shook the slightest bit when he turned the pages of the magazine, he knew it too.

"What can we do?" she asked him.

Pablo didn't look up. "Stay out of it."

"Sit here until we know whether they made it or not?" Maria let out her breath. "I should at least call Andrea or Rebecca and tell them what's going on."

"And risk your call being picked up by someone in Bradley's house? I imagine he keeps his ears open for any threat."

"Can someone do that? Listen in on a cell phone call?"

"Yep. A cell call is nothing but a signal going out through the air. If a signal's out there, you better bet someone has a gadget that can pick it up. My girlfriend can do it. I bet Bradley has a guy on his permanent staff who does nothing but scan phone calls. The guy's paranoid."

Maria's heart squeezed. "Then why do you think Ellison can get inside Bradley's house without a problem?"

"I don't. But I wasn't given a choice in helping, was I? Besides, if anyone can do it, it's four stealthy, stubborn, scary-a.s.s Shifters. I bet they get the job done with minimum casualties."

"I don't want any casualties."

"Not always possible. If you go after something dangerous, there's always a risk. The bigger the prize, the bigger the risk. You have to decide whether it's worth it."

Worth risking her life to stop men like Bradley stealing children, selling them to people with money who cared nothing for anyone but themselves? It was. After Ellison stopped Bradley, Maria would make it her life's mission to find all the Shifter cubs who had been taken and release them. A good goal, better than her dream of going to school. She could always go to school when the cubs were safe.

"Whoa." Pablo dropped his magazine, staring at something in the side-view mirror. "Start the truck. Get us out of here. But slowly. Don't attract attention."

"What? Why?" Maria looked back, her heart in her throat, even as she slid behind the wheel. "Oh . . ."

She saw it now too. A long black limousine, slowly sliding its way up the narrow, dirty street, heading for the unfinished houses. Some of the builders saw it too and glanced up, curious.

Maria started the truck. She put it in gear and drove cautiously forward, her palms sweating. She'd have to go to the end of the cul-de-sac and turn around, no other way out.

The limo crept forward, not speeding up, just driving as though the person inside was looking over the houses being rebuilt. Bradley probably owned them, or maybe this wasn't Bradley at all. In any case, with luck Ellison's dusty truck would look like it belonged to one of the workers, with its owner heading out to find some late lunch or maybe more supplies.

Pablo was fidgeting with impatience, but Maria drove slowly, casually. She made the turn at the cul-de-sac, the tires crackling on loose gravel on the asphalt, and rolled back the way she'd come.

Pablo kept his face bent to the magazine, though he watched from the corner of his eye. The limo came on at its same crawl.

As Maria reached the spot where she'd started, the limo glided smoothly forward, turned its long body, and blocked the road.

Maria slammed on the brakes. Pablo's magazine fell. "Gun it. Get around them."

Maria started to, but she made herself stop. If she hurtled the truck up through a yard and around the limo, they'd chase her, stop her, maybe shoot her and Pablo both. Besides, she had a better idea.

"No," Maria said.

"s.h.i.t, woman. That's Bradley."

"I guessed that. Wonder what he's doing here, and not holed up in his house?"

"I don't care. Aw, d.a.m.n it."

Four men exited the limo. They wore casual clothes, jeans and polo shirts, no business suits in sight. They looked like Texas businessmen out looking at their properties, except that three of the men surrounded the fourth as though they were his bodyguards. All four wore guns in holsters on their belts, no hiding them.

The fourth man was shorter and slimmer of build than the others, had a thick shock of salt-and-pepper hair, and wore wire-rimmed gla.s.ses. He looked innocuous, a Texas man with enough money and confidence that he felt no need to dress to impress, until he turned his head and looked at Maria.

The cold in his eyes made her gasp. At five paces away, the chill of him seeped over her, a man with no remorse, no conscience. He could tell his three bodyguards to open fire on the truck, killing her and Pablo without a word, even in front of the construction workers, and walk away without worry.

Pablo's hand went down his jeans to his ankle holster, but Maria put her hand on his arm. "Wait."

"I can get off at least two shots before they can."

"Wait."

Pablo started muttering in Spanish, asking Mary, the mother of G.o.d, to protect him from crazy b.i.t.c.hes who thought they were invincible because they ran with Shifters. Maria ignored him, opened the door of the truck, and hopped out. She spread her hands and kept them out to her sides so they'd see she had no weapons.

Even so, two of the bodyguards drew pistols, holding them close by their sides, but definitely training them on her.

"Mr. Bradley?" Maria asked, as though the guns didn't make her nervous. "I'm Maria. I was hoping I could speak with you."

Chapter Fourteen.

"Were you?" Bradley's voice was flat, uninflected. "I don't know you. I know Mr. Marquez there, but not you."

"You know about me. I work for the Shifters-well, they make me work for them. Your men have followed me when I'm out with their cubs. I know you took one of them today. I asked Mr. Marquez to bring me to your house so I could tell you I can get you more Shifter cubs if you want them. If you'll pay me, that is. They use me as a babysitter a lot, so I'm left alone with them all the time."

Bradley's gaze remained on Maria while she spoke, then he flicked it to the truck. "If that's true, why are you here and not at my front gate?"

"I was trying to talk Mr. Marquez into it." Maria smiled. "He's afraid of you, you see. He brought me this far, but refused to tell me where to go from here. When he saw you, he wanted us to run away, but I really want to talk to you. I need the money, and here's an opportunity."

Bradley a.s.sessed Maria without changing expression. Good thing he wasn't Shifter, because he'd scent the deception pouring off her. If she could keep him interested, while Ellison and the others got into his house, he'd have a nice surprise waiting when he went home.

"I'm willing to hear your suggestions," Bradley said. He gestured to the limo. "Ride with me, and be my guest."

Maria didn't need Pablo to tell her not to get into that car. "Can't we talk here?" Out in the open, with witnesses.

"No. There's nothing to be afraid of Ms . . ."

"Ortega." No sense in lying. He could check.

"Ms. Ortega. We'll talk, we'll have coffee, and you'll go. But only if Mr. Marquez comes with us."

"Of course," Maria said. "He's good at business. He's advising me."

"I see."

Bradley didn't move, but the two bodyguards who'd taken out their pistols went to the truck. One aimed his gun through the door Maria had left open, the other went around. Pablo slid out his side of the truck, and let the goon pat him down and take his weapon.

Pablo's face was a careful blank, but his eyes held molten fury. Bradley waited until Pablo was in the limo, then he ushered Maria ahead of him as he walked to the limo's open door. The bodyguard who'd taken Pablo's gun got into the pickup and started it with the keys Maria had left, waiting to follow.

Maria swallowed her misgivings, climbed inside the leather-seated limo, and sank down next to Pablo. She tried not to flinch when the door slammed shut, enclosing them in a cushy, cigar-scented, dark-windowed prison.

Bradley had four bodyguards surrounding his house today, Ellison noted after he and Tiger had sniffed around then met up with Broderick and Ronan. Four guards, four Shifters. Poor b.a.s.t.a.r.ds didn't stand a chance.

Ellison was about to give the order to take down the guards when he saw Bradley's limo leave from the semicircle of the drive and roll down the lane to the gate.

"d.a.m.n it."

The man hadn't seen them coming-couldn't have. The other guards remained in place, not on alert, not altering their pace. Bradley could be heading down to the nearest convenience store for beer and cigarettes for all Ellison knew.

The limousine turned in the direction of Austin, which meant in the direction of the housing development a couple miles away. No reason Bradley should enter the development, but just in case . . .

"Tiger, run back to Maria and tell her Bradley's out, and to be careful. We'll get inside and wait for him."

"What if he's gone all day?" Broderick asked.

Ronan answered. "Then we wait all day. We'll give him a little welcome-home party." He grinned, his eyes flashing the red of an enraged bear.

Tiger said nothing. He acknowledged Ellison's order by turning around and fading back into the gra.s.ses. In a second or two, Ellison could no longer see him.

He'd sent Tiger, because the man was faster than any Shifter he knew, and the guards would never spot him. Tiger would be there and back in five minutes, and not even breathe hard.

"Let's go," Ellison said.

"Now it's three against four," Broderick said. "Four with automatic weapons."

"Four against three Shifters with built-in weapons," Ronan said, never losing his feral smile. He brought up his hand and curled it like claws. "They won't know what hit them."

"We should wait for the crazy," Broderick said, jerking his chin the direction Tiger had disappeared.

"No, because I want this quiet, with limited bloodshed," Ellison countered. He'd save the bloodiness for Bradley. "We don't need every cop in the county bearing down on us when someone reports Shifters rampaging at the big house. I want to get Bradley first."

Broderick let out a breath. "I see your point. Fine. We'll hit them fast and hard, knock them out, take their weapons. If we're quiet enough, the fourth one won't realize what's happened until too late."

Ellison gave him a nod. "You got it. Ready?"

"More than ready," Ronan growled. "They'll see what happens when they try to take my cub."

"Try not to kill anyone," Ellison said.

"Me?" Ronan touched his chest, brown eyes going wide. "I'm a big teddy bear. With a Collar that keeps me tame. I wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I know." Ellison grinned at him. "I've seen you catch them in your house and release them outside. Just put these guys down, and we'll go from there."

Without further word, the three separated, slinking through the tall gra.s.ses toward the house. More bluebonnets, Ellison noted as they went. The Texas state flower, its lupine-like stalks thrusting up toward the sunlight, made the meadow almost shimmer blue. The blossoms weren't as thick here as they'd been on the banks of the pond, but they were still plentiful.