Unleashed by Shadows (By Moonlight Book 10) Read Online Free PDF Page A

nothing discount store about the tailoring of his shirts or in the stitching of his jeans and custom boots. He had money, had either come from it and lost it, or was running away from it. And he was whip-sharp when it came to catching on to anything to do with numbers or the quickest way to get something done. A natural leader, not a follower.
    Philo respected a man’s desire for privacy, having a secret or two to protect of his own. But if Mick Terry had been placed on his crew for any reason other than the sweat on his brow and bulge of his biceps, Tib would just as soon know why.
    “Hey, T-Ray!”  He waved over a huge longshoreman whose greasy coveralls contrasted with the red-lensed sunglasses and white Mohawk he sported. “What’s the 411 on Terry? You vouched for him to join the Patrol.”
    T-Ray Roux ruffled a hand through his stiff albino bristle and shrugged. “Doan know much about him. Good worker. Tipped a few after hours with him and Poe-Boy, but he doan say much ‘bout hisself. Got a right fine lookin’ lady, though.” A smirk. “Can’t say I’d be brave enough to poach off Max Savoie’s territory.”
    Tibideaux frowned. “Detective Hot Stuff?” Not very damned likely!
    “Oh, hell no. The stripper, the one with the red hair and killer Ta-Tas.”  He brought his hands up to make huge cups at chest level, bouncing them up and down for emphasis.
    “Manny Blu’s girl?”
    “Yeah, that’s her. She were all over him at the Sweat Shop last week. Left with her, the lucky bastard.”
    Philo mulled that over, feeling more, not less, suspicious. “T, I want you to get tight with him. Find out what you can without him getting wind of it.”
    T-Ray shuffled his feet uneasily. “You thinkin’ he’s up to no good?”
    “Doan know what he’s up to, and I doan like surprises. There’s a bonus in it for you.”
    “Well, awrighty then. Consider us best buds.”
    Philo wasn’t reassured. He stood out in the hazy morning, waiting for Terry to emerge from the trailer, following his jaunty strut to where his work waited for him. Tib’s supervisor and former best friend Jacques LaRoche had placed the outsider on his crew without sharing his paperwork. Why? Was Terry there to watch him, to see if he was cooking up trouble? He hoped not. He wanted to believe what he saw, what he’d heard when Terry approached him asking to join his paramilitary Patrol that policed the supernatural edges of the Quarter. To protect the place he now called home and those he was proud to call friends, was what he’d said.
    But if Mick Terry was associating with Detective Charlotte Caissie afterhours in her undercover guise, he could bet his sweet ass it wasn’t for hanky panky.
    And he wasn’t willing to put said ass on the line for anyone except himself. Not anymore.
    *
    Cale parked the borrowed bike in the alley behind Cheveux du Chien and slipped inside the Shifters Only club through the rear door. Chances of him being spotted by anyone on his work crew were slim since the fall out between Tibideux and its owner, their dock super Jacques LaRoche, but he was still cautious. He liked the bold and bawdy LaRoche and his family. Hanging around them made him feel closer to his own. That’s why he’d asked Nica to bring Kendra with her when she started her shift behind the bar as its new manager. He’d picked the location as neutral territory for what he had to do.
    Nica spotted him and waved him toward the club’s office. He ducked inside, conscious of his grimy appearance in comparison to the vision rising up from the leather couch.
    The naughty biker girl from the night before had disappeared, replaced by the delicately beautiful female he’d loved and longed for all his life. He took a moment, just breathing her in.
    “Hey, mama.” The rest of his intended greeting jammed up tightly. They eyed each other like awkward strangers after a one night stand. Because in many ways, that’s what they still were.
    “Hard work