evidence do its work.â
âEvidence?â
âWell, yeah. Weâre not going to go the way of the pool boy. When I manage to lure the illustrious Mrs. Dailey into physical pleasures surpassing her wildest dreams, thereâll be a camera rolling. Weâre going to record this for posterity, then go to the press. Full exposure, full takedown. No more radio empire preaching to the masses to return to pure, decent ways. Even her husbandâs political campaign will be marred, thus opening the door for some liberal upstart to take his place and help get this area back into the corrupt rut it so desperately longs for.â
âGee, itâs all so neat.â
He eyed me. âYou doubt the planâs brilliance?â
âI donât know. I appreciate the ballsy factor here, but I think this is kind of out-there, even for you. I canât imagine Dana Daileyâll go down so easily.â
âLeave the going down to me.â
âYour egoâs out of control.â
He laughed and pulled me to him. His arms felt good around me. Familiar. Reassuring. âAdmit it. Thatâs why you love me.â
âYeah, youâre like the brother I never had. One that doesnât set my hair on fire.â
His eyes sparkled wickedly. âAnd once again, youâve jumped ahead of me. I want you to see me in action on thisânot to mention keep me company while Iâm in town. Youâve got to come visitâas Mitchâs sister.â
âWho?â
Bastien suddenly stood up and shape-shifted. The familiar features morphed, leaving no trace of the rakish incubus I knew. Six-two and broad-shouldered, he now had dark blond hair and sky blue eyes, his face only just losing its pretty boy aspect and giving way to the sizzling promise of an experienced, confident man in his early thirties. When he smiled, those perfect teeth lit up a room.
He winked at me. âMitch Hunter,â he explained in a suave, movie-star voice. No accent now.
âYou got an equally cheesy title to go with that? âMitch Hunter, MDâ or âMitch Hunter, Private Investigator?â Seems appropriate.â
âNah. Iâm a consultant, of course. Everyoneâs favorite nondescript yet well-paid white-collar job.â
âYou look like you need a golf club in one hand and a burger flipper in the other.â
âTease all you want, but Dana wonât be able to resist this. Nowââhe gestured for me to stand upââletâs see what you can do.â
âAre you joking?â
âDo I look like Iâm joking? If youâre going to come visit me, youâve got to put on some family resemblance.â
I rolled my eyes and stood up. After a momentâs study of his features, I shape-shifted my petite body into a taller, more athletic one with long blond hair.
He scrutinized me, then shook his head. âToo pretty.â
âWhat? This is perfect.â
âThat bodyâs unreal. No one looks that good. My God woman, that ass.â
âOh, come on. You donât think Special Agent Mitch Hunterâs sister isnât the type to spend two hours a day on a stair-climber?â
Bastien grunted. âYouâve got a point there. At least lose some of the hair. These suburban types go for boring and practical.â
âYeah, but Iâm not suburban. Iâm your hipper, more stylishââ
Someone knocked at my door. He glanced at me questioningly.
âOh! Itâs Seth.â
I changed back to my normal body, and Bastien did the same. I opened the door.
Seth Mortensen, best-selling author and professional introvert, stood outside my apartment. Clad in a Frogger T-shirt and corduroy jacket, he seemed to have forgotten to brush his hair again. It was messy and brown with a faint coppery cast, mirrored in the perpetual five oâclock shadow across his lower face. His lips turned up in a smile upon seeing me, and