Memphis Heat 1 Stakeout Read Online Free PDF Page A

“It was fun, though. Until the cleaning guy wanted into the closet.”
    “Don’t remind me,” he groaned. “Next time, let’s try a bedroom. Mine.”
    She had her doubts, but they’d see. “So we know sex works. What else?”
    “You? Danger? When those guys were hitting on you in that convenience store last week it was all I could do not to shift and rip their throats out.”
    So he had a jealous streak, too. Belle hid her smile. “But you didn’t shift. You controlled it. Interesting. Any idea how?”
    He frowned. “Not exactly. I just… held my temper. Pretty much the same way you don’t cold cock some asshole who really deserves it.”
    Sounded like he knew more than he thought he did. If they were going to do this, they both needed to figure out exactly what they could and couldn’t do. “And when you did shift?”
    “The first time was when I went back to the crime scene, trying to figure out what the hell was happening to me. I smelled blood. My blood. His, too. I could tell them apart. I don’t know how -- and that was making me kinda crazy.” He looked away, like he was ashamed of himself. “All of a sudden, the smells just got to me. So bad I wanted to puke. And next thing you know, I was a wolf.”
    She pictured that FBI bra hanging off a wolf’s neck. No. Not a great look. “What happened to your clothes? You know, when you shifted?”
    “What? Hell, I don’t know.”
    “Well, think about it. Were you standing there with your furry little legs all wrapped up in cop clothes?”
    “No! Of course not. They… I had fur. I didn’t think about where my uniform went. I just ran. As far as I could go.”
    He was starting to look a tad impatient with the third degree, but Belle pressed on. “OK. So if they weren’t on you, or the ground… when you shifted back were you naked?”
    “No. I still had my uniform on. I was just three miles away and out of breath.”
    “Did you know where you were running? Can you think? Like a man?”
    “Yeah, of course. I’m still me. Just… furrier. And with a really acute sense of smell.”
    Now they were getting somewhere. “Maybe we’ll write our own handbook. What else do you remember?”
    “That’s about it. I wanted to get away, so I ran. When I was done running, I shifted back. And had a long walk home.”
    She sighed. “Damn it, Miller said they could teach us about this stuff. Some help he’s been. Has he told you anything?”
    “I haven’t asked.”
    She punched him. “Why the hell not? Wait. Don’t answer that. You’re a guy. Of course you didn’t ask.”
    “He’s FBI. They snatched us up from the paramedics right after the explosion without even asking, and then they tell us we’re being reassigned, again without asking. I was Army. I know how to take orders. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’m just not volunteering a damn thing to these assholes. If I don’t know everything I need to, they damned well don’t need to know what I don’t know.” He looked almost as confused as he was cute. “Or something like that.”
    “Guy logic totally baffles me. You should come with a roadmap, but I’d still get lost.” Belle shook her head again, trying not to laugh at him. “So we know you can shift when you have a reason -- like needing to get away from the place where you were shot. Your clothes sort of POOF, but when you shift back they shift with you. You can shift to protect me -- or choose not to. That’s a good start. My skin itches all over, and I’ve been having… something. Like hot flashes kinda. I’m pretty sure whatever’s going to happen already happened. Just not as dramatic as you ’cause I wasn’t bleeding to death, you know?”
    Now or never. Belle took a deep breath and looked deep into his eyes. “Chase me. I wanna run.” Run , she thought. Run .

Chapter 5
     
    Chase me . Jarod wasn’t about to admit he didn’t have a clue how. But when Belle shifted before him, turning into a beautiful silver-black