Dangerous (6 page)

He flopped onto the couch and tucked his arms behind his head. “Is human. She’s alive, even though I thought her dead until I got here and Xio told me otherwise.”

Liv pulled her pad out. “Interesting.”
Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Xan flew off the couch and snatched her notes, leaping over her ottoman and running for the kitchen. She bolted after him, her heart pounding. “Give me my notes back.”

“No.” He read the first page. “Patient is agitated and lacks focus?” He looked at her. “I don’t lack focus. I am one of the most focused people you will ever meet.”

“Xan…please.” Liv jumped at him, and he dodged behind her kitchen island.

“Oh, what’s this?” He turned the page. “Patient refuses to discuss childhood, could have possible issues with abandonment? Mommy issues?” He lifted his chin. “I don’t have mommy issues.” He growled low in his throat.

“I know. I crossed it off. I have to explore everything, Please, hand me my notebook.”

“Why? So you can continue to explore my
mommy
issues? Make fun of me?”

“Xan—Xander, I’m not making fun of you. I have to dig to solve the problem. They are just notes to help me, help you.”

“My parents didn’t abandon Xio and me. They were taken from us.”

Oh, she’d found a hot button. The only way to heal would be to get him to open up. Stopping wasn’t an option, no matter how painful or raw the wounds. “And when you left your sister.” She slapped her palms down on the granite surface between them and stared at him. “How did it make you feel?” Time to get control back of the situation, and if she had to give him a virtual slap in the face to get him to talk, so be it.

“What about it?” He eyed her handwriting, not looking her in the face.
Come on, Xan, come out and fight, no retreat.

“Did you harbor guilt for leaving her behind, like your parents did to you?”

Xan tossed the notebook to her. It hit the counter and slid across the smooth surface, stopping right in front of her. “Yeah. Is that what you want to hear? I did. I do. I shouldn’t have left her behind to deal with Magnum. You have no idea what a bastard he was, and I left her here at his mercy. I’m done for now. I need air.” Xan strode by her and out the door, slamming it after him.

“Fine. Go piss on the tree again.” God, he infuriated her sometimes. But at least he’d opened up.
Score
. Liv smiled. “One dragon down, Mr. Davis.” She refused to concede the field until she helped him to slay every last one of them.

Liv flipped a page and stared at a picture she’d started to sketch of Xan, lying on the couch. He’d almost seen it. She tore it off, crumpled it, and tossed the evidence of her growing interest in the kitchen trash. She’d learned her lesson about getting involved with people she treated, so why couldn’t she keep this professional and stop thinking of him in other ways? What the hell was wrong with her?
Get a grip. He’s your patient.

Even more curious, why couldn’t she get over the feeling every time he went out there, he marked his territory?

***

Liv popped a fry in her mouth. Waiting for her sister’s inevitable I-told-you-so. A minute ticked by, and Kayla didn’t utter a peep. Nothing about the cash she’d just loaned her to pay her first month’s bills, or the lack of patients she’d had in Los Lobos. If she didn’t get more clients soon, she’d fail. She didn’t consider giving up an option, not now when she had a Wolf who desperately needed her.

“What? You’ve got nothing to say?”

“Nope.” Her sister took a sip of her soda, down to ice and nothing, the slurping sound filled the restaurant.

“You must have an opinion.
Jumbo
is occupying a lot of space here. Come on, out with it.”

“Nope.”

“But you think I made a mistake coming here.”

She shrugged.

“I mean, I know this is not the most profitable location, but I have the skills to help the shifters here.”

“Yup.”

“You know, your disassociation is driving me nuts.”

“Imagine that, a crazy psychologist.” Kayla picked up her cell phone, slid her finger across the screen, then read. Totally ignoring her question.

“Bite me.” Liv threw a fry at her. “You know what I mean. At least talk to me. You’re all I got here. Put the damn phone down. I’m trying to have a conversation with you. It’s why I asked you out to lunch.”

“I thought we went out because you wanted to, you know, actually hang out with your sister and do something other than talk about your work.” Kayla dropped her cell into her purse. “Fine, you’re going to get my opinion, but don’t say you didn’t ask for it. No whining or bitching. You made a mistake by opening a shop in Los Lobos.”

“A patient is a patient, regardless of where I hang my shingle.”

“Bullshit. You don’t have the same sense as we do. I’m a coyote; you’re human. You can’t smell when a client is going to lose it and turn on you. It’s not safe. That’s why humans don’t belong with shifters, and especially why you shouldn’t be treating them. Go to Hot Springs. Set up a shop there. They don’t want unmated humans here. They don’t trust them. Why did you choose to come here anyway?”

“You know why.”

“Your ability to shift is not going to come back because you’re around Wolves, and Hot Springs isn’t too far away. It’s not like you’re living on pack lands anyway, and I’m not living in a foreign country or on another planet.”

“What about you? You don’t exactly fit in either. I still don’t get this whole wolf-coyote thing you two have going on.”

She lifted her shoulders again. “It works. That’s all I know. You know opposites attract. But you’re human, or at least if you’re coyote, the animal is too latent for me to even scent her. Go treat humans who need you. You don’t belong here, and you’re going to find out the hard way if you keep clinging to the dream it will change. Your stalker is long gone. You’re safe now, but not here.”

“I shifted once as a child.” She fiddled with the wrapper to her straw, twisting and knotting it.

“And it’s never happened again, has it? You’re more human than coyote and it’s time you realize nothing will change.”

“Whatever. Can you change the subject?” Liv sighed and dropped the paper. She didn’t want to give up. Tears filled her eyes, and she looked away before her sister caught it.

“What do you think of Xander Davis?”

“You know I can’t talk about him.” She stared out the window at the people milling around outside. Hot Springs had a decent sized population. She’d do well here. But that wasn’t what the heart wanted. It wanted….

“Seriously?” Kayla smacked her in the arm. “I’m talking to you.”

“His case is none of your business.” She looked at her sister, irritation drying her tears.

“None of my business? He’s living in your cottage. I’ve heard all kinds of shit I don’t like. Tell me it’s not true.”

“Yes. Well…I really can’t discuss him.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Won’t.”

“Fine, then you sit back and listen to what I have to say. This whole situation feels like déjà vu. Everyone says he’s lost it. There’s no bringing him back. You need to cut your losses while you’re ahead and turn him loose for the pack to deal with. Trying to fix broken men is what got you into trouble in the first place. Do you really need another crazed stalker?”

“The pack is dealing with it. Your Alpha asked me to fix him.”

“What part of he’s broken and there’s nothing you can do to change him, do you not understand? The man is dangerous and, frankly, I don’t like him living under your roof so far away from help. What’s to stop him from murdering you in your sleep? I know Terrance sure gave it the old college try, and he didn’t even live with you.”

“Xander isn’t Terrance. I really can’t discuss his case, Kayla. Stop.”

“He could be a serial killer.” She threw a fry back, hitting Liv in the forehead between the eyes. “You’re the expert—got the hoity-toity degree. You ought to know this.”

“He’s not a killer. He doesn’t fit the profile of a sociopath or psychopath. Look, I’ve already said more than I should. Stop.”

“You don’t know that he isn’t. How can you possibly diagnose him after a few days? He’s messed up for a reason. You have no idea why he’s the way he is, what happened to make him violent. Word is, he worked for some secret government organization. They recruit a certain personality, and they’re not the kind who frolic with fuzzy kittens and fluffy bunnies.”

“I’m done with this conversation. Just drop it and quit mining for information you’re not going to get.”

“He’ll kill you. I know Wolves, and what I know about them, this guy is no pussycat. He doesn’t need a knife to do you in. He’ll chew you up and spit you out, making Terrance look like a teddy bear. They’ll find you in pieces. You know what happens when a Wolf goes rogue.”

Liv let the comment on the knife sink in. Had Ryker’s Bowie been a message for her instead of Xan? “He’s not a rogue.”

“And you declared Terrance a harmless soldier, suffering from PTSD. He’s human and not half as bad as a Wolf out of control. Xan’s twin couldn’t snap him out of it, and you think you can? Seriously?”

“Enough.” Liv slid her fingers over the hidden scar under her blouse, just to the left of her heart. If Terrance had buried his KA-BAR an inch over, she’d be dead. As it was, she spent two weeks in a medically induced coma and ten times as long in rehabilitation. She still had issues with her lung and always would, unless she could find her coyote again.

“I thought so.” Kayla stared at where she rubbed her scar. “Don’t forget where you got that. You might not survive the second time.” The bell to the diner rang and Kayla looked toward the door. “Gotta go. Gaetan is here.” She pointed her finger at her. “Think about what I said.”

Liv tossed her napkin on her plate, her appetite suddenly gone. She bit her lip and stared at the table, gathering her strength before looking her sister in the eyes. “I need to get back home, too.”

“Wait a minute. You’ve got a sappy look on your face.” Kayla frowned. “You’re sweet on this guy.”

She swallowed.
Attracted yes. Sweet. No. What red-blooded woman wouldn’t find him eye candy?
“No. I just believe he’s someone worth saving, and I’m going to prove it.” Liv looked over to where Kayla’s mate stood. He always kept his distance, as though he didn’t like her. His eyes flashed a funny blue for a second, and she blinked.
Play of light?

Liv rose, and Kayla reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Please be careful. You have no idea what one of these Wolves can do. They’re not coyote, and won’t back down. They go for the throat first and ask questions later.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you? What do you really know about this Xan Davis?” She let her go and walked over to her mate, giving him a peck on the cheek. She waved good-bye, and he slipped his arm around her shoulders. They strolled out together like newlyweds who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

***

Obviously I don’t know much.
Liv stared at the disaster that only an hour before, could be called one of the tidiest houses in the Black Hills.
What the hell happened?
Had someone scheduled a demolition she was unaware of? “Mr. Davis?”

A growl came from behind her upended couch.

Liv’s heart stuttered, and her mouth lost all moisture, rivaling the Sahara Desert for arid environments.
Relax.
“Are you okay?”
He’s not Terrance.

A body hurled over her sofa, hitting her square in the chest like a linebacker. Liv didn’t have time to scream, much less draw the breath for it before he knocked the air right out of her.
Thud
. She hit the floor on her back, with a very heavy, very crazy man on top of her. “Stay down.”

“Wha…?” Her scarred lung burned, and she could only manage several small pants before he clamped his hand over her mouth. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest, and the world whirled before snapping back into focus as the adrenaline began to pump into her veins.

“They’ll hear you,” he whispered and removed his palm.

“Who?” Her stomach knotted and rolled as blackness settled over her vision. Liv pushed the dark curtain away, desperate not to pass out.
Breathe slow. Focus.

“Stay here. I’ll lure them away.” He rolled off and crouched, peeking around the side of the couch.

“Uh, Xan? There’s nobody there.”
Reason with him. Calm him. Don’t feed his fear.
Hard to do when her heart pounded like a frightened rabbit’s, and Xander Davis looked like he could devour her.

He whipped around to glare, raising a finger to his lips.

“This is ridiculous….” And then she heard it, a giggling coming from her bedroom. For a second, she held her breath and listened, almost believing someone had broken in. Her shoulders tightened, her muscles locked, and she gasped like a beached fish.
Pant, pant, pant.
Her airway constricted, strangling her. Liv reached up and clutched at her throat. “No,” she whispered.
Someone’s in the house.

“Thank you for tuning in to our Hyena special,
There’s a Killer Among Us
. Next week on
Wild, Wild, Wildlife
, we’ll take you to North America and introduce you to another pack predator, the timber wolf.”

The television. The freaking television.
A hysterical laugh escaped her lips, akin to the giggling from the television. Lucky she didn’t piss herself over it.

Xan stared, curling his lip, his eyes on fire, a not-so-sane expression on his face, as though any second he’d snap as her sister predicted. “It’s not funny.” Low, a gravelly sound of danger rolled from his lips. Every hair on her nape raised in response.

Liv swallowed and drew in a deep breath, clearing her mind, studying the man before her who could chew her up and spit her out as Drew warned her. He hadn’t attacked but defended her, or thought he had. Not the actions of a cold-blooded killer. “I’m sorry. Listen for a second.”

He cocked his head and did as she asked. Confusion creased his face, his brow furrowed, his eyes widened slightly. Seconds later, his shoulders relaxed and the energy that threatened moments before to explode drained away. “I’m an ass.”