Mischief in a Fur Coat Read Online Free PDF

water in the river below her and tried to focus her attention on the patterns of ripples. She tried to forget the harsh truth of reality. She was angry at herself for brazenly going into town as though she had nothing to lose. And she was angry at Drew for not being honest about how bad things were out there.
    “I never would have gone to the bar if you had just been honest with me about what was going on,” Hope said, her voice cracking with emotion.
    “I’m sorry,” Drew said, surprising Hope with how earnest his voice sounded. “I just wanted to protect you guys, somehow. I thought there was no point in telling you how bad things are out there, since there isn’t much you can do about it, anyway. I thought it would just make you all upset for no reason.”
    Hope tried to formulate a reply, but she wasn’t even sure what to say. And then, without warning, she started to cry. She had never been much of a weeper. With a twin brother like Calum, she’d had to learn early on to develop a thick skin. But everything that had happened today, and in the last few months, had finally caught up with her. It was too much.
    “I’m a good person!” she said between sniffles. “Most shifters are good people, but we’re being hunted like wild animals. And now there’s literally a price on our heads.
    “I know,” Drew said gently. Then he surprised Hope by reaching over and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. The sweetness of the gesture, especially coming from Drew, caught her off guard and brought on a fresh wave of tears. Hope tried to tell herself to stop crying like a silly baby, but she couldn’t stop. And she couldn’t keep a torrent of frustrated confessions from spilling out of her mouth.
    “I just feel so trapped here, you know? I had so much freedom in Chicago. I had a beautiful condo, and a career I loved. I used to make art, Drew. Art! I was a graphic designer and I spent my days on the computer making the most beautiful graphics you’ve ever seen. I was damn good at it. Now I sit here and twirl my thumbs, feeling useless and wondering whether I’m ever going to have a real life again. I know you probably think I’m just whining. I mean, you’ve been living out here forever and don’t care about technology. But technology was my life. Everything familiar to me has been ripped away.”
    “I’m sorry,” Drew said again. “I won’t pretend to understand exactly what you’re going through, but I know it’s been hard on you. And I know the secluded life I live isn’t for everyone. But you have to believe things are going to get better, eventually.”
    “Are they, though?” Hope said, wiping at her eyes as she finally started to regain control of her emotions. “We’re all just hiding. None of us are fighting. Nothing is going to change while we all just sit here and wait. Someone has to actually do something.”
    Drew reached up and took Hope’s face in his palms, forcing her to make eye contact with him. The strength and warmth of his hands sent an unexpected shock of desire through Hope’s body, and she silently told herself to get a grip.
    “Things will get better, Hope,” he said, his voice earnest. “I promise. Everyone is hiding now so that they’ll be safe, but we’ll all regroup. We’ll make a plan. We’ve dealt with threats to shifters before, and we’ll do it again.”
    Hope found herself trembling under the electricity of his touch and the intensity of his voice. His eyes blazed with a crazy rage that, for once today, Hope knew wasn’t directed at her. In her peripheral vision, she could see his tanned biceps bulging. For a moment, she wondered how he even still had a tan in the middle of a Michigan autumn. She slowly nodded her head, letting him know that she had heard him. That she understood him. His words had touched her, truly. He wasn’t born a shifter, but he stood ready to fight alongside them. She shouldn’t have given him such a hard time for his strict rules.