Free Business Pleasures (Pleasures of the Heart) by Lia Davis

of jealous rage. Or at least that’s what Christa believed happened. Her niece and nephew, fraternal twins Brenna and Bryce, had been only eight at the time and thankfully not at home to witness how their mother died.
    However, Christa had been the one to ID the body.
    From that day forward, Christa had fought for Shield to protect humans from the shifter races.
    Up until a few months ago, Shield hadn’t attacked innocents or started wars between the shifters, but then Vance had stepped in as the new leader of Shield. He’d changed the way the others thought, more like manipulated them into believing his load of bullshit. She wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but the others just bowed down to him and believed every lie out of his mouth.
    How could they be so blind to his cause?
    Then again, the other soldiers couldn’t detect a shifter like she could. Sure, they all had training to know what to look for. Eye color was the biggie. Most shifters had an unusual coloring, and when they were challenged or provoked, their eyes seemed to glow. Plus the pupils were reflective like the animal that lived within.
    Christa had lived with two shifters for the last seven years. She’d been there when Brenna and Bryce shifted for the first time. She’d also helped them control their wolves, thanks to the information her sister had shared with her when she was alive.
    “My sources tell me that the rise in shifter attacks points to a hybrid Pack of wolves and leopards called Ashwood Falls,” Vance said then tapped on the table to get her attention.
    She met his gaze and held it until he looked away, but not before she caught the flashing shift of color in his irises. Satisfied she wasn’t being paranoid about what he was, she asked, “How trustworthy is this source? Why haven’t we heard about attacks from our police contacts? It should be all over the Internet.”
    Vance set his jaw and turned away from them to study the map on the wall. “The shifters are very good at hiding these things from humans. You, of all people, should know that, Christa.”
    Fucking ass …
    What she really wanted to say was, “Like you, asshole,” but she refrained and squashed her temper down before it got her in trouble. Again. “How sure are you?” she asked in a slightly softer tone.
    See? She could be calm and cool.
    He peered at her over his shoulder and smiled one of those smiles that held no humor or amusement. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were protecting the shifters.”
    She narrowed her eyes and wished she had the gift of pyrokinesis so she could light his ass on fire. Okay so maybe that was a little extreme, but she didn’t trust or like him. The darkness he held around him put her on edge every time he was near. “I wouldn’t want to go in and destroy the wrong den when there could be a bigger threat out there. I just like to be sure.”
    The truth was Vance had taken all the control of research and strategy from her when he took over the unit. That annoyed the hell out of her, and it also left her feeling as though she was going into an OP blind.
    She swore he let out a low growl before he called the meeting to an end. Gathering her notebook and pen, she moved toward the door, only to stop when Vance stepped in her path. She fisted her free hand by her side and silently counted backward from ten. One corner of Vance’s lips lifted. She wanted so badly to punch that smirk right off his face.
    Or just shoot him.
    If there was a rogue, it was him for sure.
    “What’s the rush?”
    She stared into his dark brown eyes and squared her shoulders. “I skipped lunch.”
    He moved to the side, and she stepped forward. He gripped her biceps and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “Tell the brats to stay safe.”
    She jerked out of his grip and stormed down the hall to the lobby of Shield HQ, away from the bastard shifter-acting-human. Only then did she allow her heart to pound uncontrollably and let fear consume her.
    Pulling