Memphis Heat 1 Stakeout Read Free

was still a man. What the hell was in that warehouse that was worth risking their lives over?

Chapter 3
     
    When the afterglow faded, Belle sighed and sat up, pulling on her jeans and fastening them with shaky fingers. She finally met his gaze. “So this is what you’ve been hiding?”
    “Yeah.” He shrugged. “I just… I didn’t know how to tell you.”
    “You still haven’t. Told me, that is. Though I think I know. The fur kinda gave it away, but what I’m thinking sounds insane, even to me.” She smiled at that. “If I hadn’t seen you shift… What exactly are you, and how did this happen?”
    “That night. When I was shot. He came at me. His face turned all… long. And furry. With wicked teeth. Just his face. And he bit me. I think what I am is pretty obvious.”
    He looked so normal, now. But she knew what she’d seen. “OK, someone has to say it. You were bitten by a werewolf. And I can see how that might not be the last thing you wanted to see on your way out. Teeth coming at you, I mean. You still had the presence of mind to blow his head off. That’s something at least.”
    “Had to. He said…” Jarod swallowed hard. “He said, ‘The bitch is mine.’ I knew I was dead. Nobody survives a wound like that. I couldn’t let him take you out, too. I also realized right then just how dangerous it was for anyone to know how much… to know I cared for you. Having any kind of relationship like that is just asking for trouble. If the brass finds out, they’ll transfer one of us. I’m beginning to think I agree with the policy now that I’ve experienced the result firsthand. I never should have chased him into that alley. I could have gotten you killed.”
    “But you didn’t. No one’s ever blown a guy’s head off for me before. I appreciate that, but I can take care of myself. You of all people should know that.” She stopped fidgeting with her jeans. “Wait. Is that why you’re alive? Because you’re a werewolf?”
    He shrugged. “Modern medicine to the rescue?”
    She wasn’t letting go that easy. “You’d have died, wouldn’t you? If he hadn’t bit you. They tried to tell me in the ER that it was just a flesh wound. Looked a lot worse than it was. Bullshit. I saw you go down. We’ve both seen enough shootings to know what’s bad and what’s not. I didn’t believe that crap then, and I don’t believe it now. Maybe it was a kind of miracle.”
    “I’d say more of a curse. I passed out after his head blew all apart, but I woke up in the ambulance. I heard the EMTs talking. They told the ER doc they didn’t understand how I was still alive. They’d done all they could, but I was bleeding out. They were holding the pieces of my chest together with as much pressure as they could, and then the bleeding just… stopped.”
    “Well, you’re alive. I like that part. So. Other than that, you can shift into -- whatever that furry man thing’s called. Obviously you don’t need a full moon. And you heal really fast. What else?”
    “I’ve never shifted like that before. Usually I’m a wolf.” He grinned. “A big, badass wolf. No moon necessary. I just need to be pissed. Or, apparently, horny. Now you know as much as I do.”
    “That’s it?” She’d expected… more. She wasn’t sure what, but surely in three months he’d learned something.
    “Well, hunting saves on the grocery bill.” His grin widened. “I prefer my meat raw.”
    Hunting? “Hunting what ?”
    “Working my way up the food chain. Tried squirrels, but they’re really fast. Did better with rabbits. Managed a couple of deer. And I’ve been learning to fight. Kinda had to. Lot of wild dogs around. Most of ’em don’t care to share their territory.”
    Belle blinked at him, knowing her disbelief flooded her face. “You’ve been getting into pissing contests with packs of wild dogs? What are you, five? You’ve got some of the most amazing genetics in humankind’s history at your disposal, and the