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that? Do what we did? I mean, when we just met?”
    He tucked her head against his shoulder. “Do you know how difficult it can be for a shifter to have a relationship with a human? There’s always the expectation of fear or worse, revulsion. To be welcomed as you have done with me is very rare. But Linnea ?” He tilted her face up to him. “This is more than that. More than just a spectacular tumble in the sheets. I hope you know it.”
    She ducked her head. “I-I felt it, too, but I was afraid…”
    “That you were reading something into it that wasn’t there?”
    She nodded wordlessly.
    “It’s there, honey. Trust me. And tomorrow, when we talk about finding what happened to your sister? We’ll talk about this, too.”

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    They drank coffee watching the sun come up. Cale had been right. They hadn’t done much sleeping. And it had taken them much longer to shower together than if they’d done it separately. But they both agreed it was worth it. And rather than suffering from exhaustion, they were invigorated with an energy that seemed to burst from them. They teased each other with long, slow kisses before they finally acknowledged it was time to get to business.
    Linnea followed Cale to The Sentinels offices where Brian was waiting for them. He took scant minutes to transfer the contacts from her cell to a burn phone. They kept several of those prepaid cell phones around the office so each person on the team would always have one phone for regular contacts and one to make calls that would, in effect, be untraceable. Cale would use the burn phone as he attempted to retrace Cathy Porter’s steps on the day she disappeared.
    “Be careful today,” he told Linnea as he walked her out to her car.
    “I’m fine.” She smiled at him, his blood racing just from the effect of that expression alone. “No one’s after me.”
    “We won’t take any chances, okay?” He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small satin pouch, handing it to her. “I got this out of the safe while Brian was transferring your contacts.”
    She stared at it curiously. “What is it?”
    “Open it,” he urged.
    She lifted the tiny flap, reached in and pulled out…
    “A whistle?” The tiny gold charm dangled from her fingers on a delicate gold chain. “It’s beautiful, Cale , but what’s it for? Wait a minute. Regan wears one just like this.”
    “Luke and Sierra were the first to mate and expand our little group. When she and Luke met, she was being hounded by some crooks that wanted to steal her land. After Luke kicked their ass and got them out of her life, we decided that since she couldn’t shift she should have something that would let us know in the future if she were ever in any kind of trouble. Then we got one for Regan. Now I want you to have it.”
    Linnea looked at it, puzzled. “But what help is a charm?”
    “This isn’t just a charm, it’s a real whistle. The pitch can only be heard by shifters. You get in trouble, you blow this and we’re there before you can blink. Turn around.”
    Turning obediently, Linnea lifted her hair. His fingers stroked the nape of her neck, a sensuous caress before fastening the chain around her neck. When it was in place, nestled in the hollow between her breasts, she turned back to look at him.
    “Thank you.” She lifted on tiptoe to brush her lips against his. “Thank you for wanting this for me.”
    The kiss was just a soft caress but Cale immediately wrapped his arms around her and turned the kiss into something hungry and devouring. He had to force himself to release her and take a step back. It took every bit of personal discipline he could muster to get both his breathing and his body under control.
    “Don’t expend too much energy at work today,” he told her. “You’ll need it tonight.”
    She blew a kiss at him, grinned and got into her car. Cale stood watching her until she disappeared into the stream of traffic, then