“It’s not nuts,” he told her calmly. “I know it seems that way, but you’re not crazy. This stuff is real.”
“I still feel crazy, though.” She wrapped her arms around her body and looked at him, her expression lost. “I don’t know what to do. It was bad enough when I had a crazy stalker. Now you’re telling me I have crazy stalkers with supernatural powers, and that apparently there’s nowhere I can hide.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t make you safe,” Jackson said quickly. “They’ll be able to find you no matter where you go, yeah. But that means we need to make sure you’re protected.” He gestured to the room around them. “Here, for instance, is safe.”
“Here?” Her eyes shifted to take in his living room, as if looking for something that made this place different. Special. “Is it because you—you did some…spell?”
“Well, see, I would have,” He sat in his chair again. “After I moved in, I was all set to put up the strongest wards I could manage.” He gave her a smile. “Turns out, my upstairs neighbor is a witch. She placed wards years ago, and they’re more powerful than anything I could rustle up now.”
“Oh.” Her voice sounded strained. “So…your neighbor is a witch, my boss is a werewolf, you can make yourself invisible and you think I can turn into a cat.”
“Oh, I’m pretty damn sure you can tu—” His words cut off as her eyes grew impossibly wide. Nice going, Jackson. She’s going to snap if you don’t shut up. “Uh, listen. Why don’t you take a bath while I start dinner? A nice, long soak? How does that sound?”
“Okay,” she said faintly. “I—I could— That would be nice.”
“Okay,” he said, relieved. “It’s, uh, right through here.”
He led her down the short hallway to the bathroom, reaching to turn on the light before stepping back. “The building’s kind of old.” He gestured to the claw-footed tub. “But in a charming way. I think…” He opened the cabinet situated in an alcove and rummaged through it. “Susie had some— Yeah, here we go.” He pulled out a glass jar of bath salts and grinned. “My girlfriend left these. Well, you know, back when she was my girlfriend.”
She stared at him, and he mentally kicked himself. She’d been through enough without him running off at the mouth like a nervous kid on a first date. The bath salts had clumped together in a solid pink mass at the bottom of the jar, so he banged it against the cabinet door and shrugged. “Yeah. So.” He placed them on a low shelf by the tub and scratched the back of his head. “Towels are in the closet and it takes a minute for the hot water to get hot…”
She remained quiet long enough to make him fidget nervously before she offered him what looked like an honest smile. “Thank you, Jackson. I appreciate it.”
“Hey, don’t mention it.” He backed out the door. “How do you like Italian food?”
“Sounds wonderful.” She was already fiddling with the taps on the tub. “I—wait. I need to call Nick. She’ll be expecting me—”
“I’ll handle it. I have to make a couple of calls.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She smiled at him again as he pulled the door shut, and he could hear the water almost at once.
Jackson cursed softly as he tried to hold the phone against his ear and fumble through the refrigerator at the same time. “Come on, Alec…”
It took four rings for Alec’s familiar voice to answer. “Aren’t you supposed to be having your hot date?”
“Would that I was.” Jackson pulled a hunk of cheese from the crisper. “Turns out, I ran into a bit of trouble.”
“Oh yeah?” Jackson could hear the sudden tension in Alec’s casual question. “Found out what’s going on with your new friend, I take it?”
“Someone’s after her,” he confirmed. “Persistent too, whoever it is. Sent a spell caster and some muscle after us, probably a shapeshifter. They tracked her magically and attacked us out behind Nick’s bar. I’d appreciate it if you’d check in on her, make sure they didn’t cause her any problems after we split.”
“Shit.” He heard a rustle of paper in the background and Kat’s voice demanding to know what was going on. “Yeah, I’ll swing by, see if they left a trail I can follow. The girl okay?”
“Physically, she’s fine. She’s just trying to process the fact that she’s a shapeshifter and had no clue until half an hour ago.”
There was a long pause before Alec said hesitantly, “Cougar?” He sounded almost guilty.
“Yeah.” Jackson dragged a large wooden cutting board from the shelf. “Thanks for the heads-up, by the way.”
“Well, Jesus, Jackson. Last time I saw a cougar was about twenty-five, maybe almost thirty years ago. I thought I was imagining it, and it didn’t make sense to send you off on the wrong track.”
In the background, Kat’s voice came clearly again. “Jackson’s girlfriend’s a cougar?”
Jackson decided to ignore it for the time being, but his ears heated. “The goons working for Mackenzie’s stalker said she has something priceless, something he needs, and I’m guessing they’re not talking about the Hope diamond. Cougars are rare enough that this could be nothing more than—”
“A guy who’s damn determined to have little cougar babies,” Alec finished, his voice hard. “You and I both know there are shifters out there who’ll do just about anything to keep the bloodlines pure.”
“Yeah.” Jackson figured his partner knew that better than anyone. “I guess flowers and chocolates didn’t work, so he’s taken to stalking, which doesn’t seem likely to land him a mate, but…” He let the words trail off, not wanting to voice the obvious. “One of the guys called her by another name. Jessica Evans. See what Kat can pull up on that, would you?”
“Sure. It’ll give her something to do other than listen to my damn phone conversations. You need any extra protection over there, or are you hunkering down behind the wards for the night?”
“Starting some marinara sauce as we speak.”
Alec groaned. “Oh hell, Jackson. You’re making Italian food? Is this really the best time for seduction?”
Now his face was flaming. “It’s not seduction,” he insisted, lowering his voice. “It’s a job.”
“It’s Italian food,” Alec countered in an amused voice. “You always make Italian food when you want to impress a woman.”
“Or when it’s the easiest thing to pull together on short notice.” Jackson glanced back over his shoulder to make sure Mackenzie hadn’t walked in. “Oh, why am I explaining myself to you? Shut up and go check on Nick.”
“Sure thing, Casanova. Call me if anything comes up.”
Jackson grumbled as he ended the call and began chopping tomatoes. Calling Nick wouldn’t be necessary; Alec would tell Mackenzie’s boss exactly where she was. Hell, he’d probably mention the marinara too, and they’d both have a jolly laugh at his expense.
Which was absurd. Just because she happened to be the most beautiful woman he’d seen in a while—okay, ever—didn’t mean he had designs on her. She was a job. He’d protect her, keep her safe and find out why in hell some lunatic had chased her through five cities. He’d resolve the situation, she’d be free to go and Jackson could get on with his life.
Except that his chest felt tight when he thought about Mackenzie going home, wherever that happened to be.
Dammit.
He should have ordered Chinese food.
It took twenty minutes of soaking in the bathtub before Mackenzie came to the conclusion that perhaps—perhaps—she needed to consider the possibility she might not be crazy.
It wasn’t Jackson’s spontaneous case of invisibility that had decided her. It wasn’t even the altercation in the alley, though that had been showy in and of itself.
If she was going to be completely honest with herself, she’d have to admit she’d been wondering since the very first day. Since Marcus had knocked on her door knowing the one thing she hadn’t told anyone.