Free Close Protection by Mina Carter Page B

number. To her surprise, it was answered within three rings.
    “Good evening. This is the PPA. How can I help you?”
    “Oh, thank God. I didn’t know if you’d still be open,” she gabbled in relief. “Help me, yes please. I have a pixie problem…”
    * * *
    How do I look Zane, darling? Good enough to eat?
    Zane Holder’s jaw worked as he strode down the street, hands jammed in his pockets, the thick coat proof against the chill of the night. Winter had set in with a vengeance just before Christmas, and according to the weather reports it didn’t look like it planned to ease its grip much before March. Now he was slogging through it instead of the swanky soiree he was supposed to be at.
    He didn’t care. He’d run buck-naked through the snow rather than go back to guarding Charlene ‘I’m so fucking irresistible’ Morris. The tall supermodel might have been the universal epitome of beauty, but her personality and attitude left a lot to be desired. She was, bluntly put, a spoilt brat. One who had cottoned onto Zane as soon as he’d been assigned to her close protection team, deciding that the best way to keep her youth and beauty—her two obsessions—was to get him to bite her and turn her into the same sort of creature he was.
    Because Zane was a werewolf, an alpha werewolf. Admittedly one without a pack, but still, the power of the wolf ran through his veins unchecked, his feral nature evident for anyone who knew what they were looking for. Which made him a very good bodyguard but a bad babysitter, particularly for a spoilt human child barely out of her teens. Especially when said human child decided to try her fledging sensuality on him and, when it didn’t work, pouted and threw a tantrum. Told him that she owned him and he had to do exactly what she wanted. Up to and including biting and fucking her. Not necessarily in that order.
    “Get me off this case,” he’d warned his boss, Eloise. “Because if she touches my cock one more time…” Just the memory made him shudder. “I won’t be responsible for my actions. I swear by the moon, I’ll rip her fucking throat out. I’m a bodyguard, not a fucking gigolo.”
    “Whoa, calm down, big boy.”
    As usual, Eloise’s soothing voice had brought him back to his senses. She had that effect on all the paranormals who worked for her. Given that she was human, Zane had never figured out how she did it. Mind you, a lot of the good behaviour could have been the fact that Eloise was all loved up with Cal and Gran, two bad-ass Gargoyles who could have given the Kray brothers a run for their money in the scary-as-fuck stakes.
    “Just finish out the shift for me and I’ll put Stone and Claus on the case instead, okay?”
    He’d grunted at that. Both men were top level operatives with the agency, like him. Stone was another wolf, whereas Claus was some kind of elf, a winter one or something. Zane didn’t know, didn’t much care. Both men were hard as fuck, and ones Zane would always pick to watch his back in any kind of situation. The fact that both were loved up to the eyeballs was only going to help them dealing with Spoilt Bitch Morris. He grinned. He’d really like to be a fly on the wall for that sulk.
    “Sounds good. Thanks.”
    “Don’t worry about it. Err, there is one thing though. I’ll need you to take on Stone’s job instead. Let me give you the details…”
    She had, and Zane had duly noted them. Protection work. A gang of heavies headed up by a pixie of all things was hassling a bar owner downtown, and the woman had called the agency for help. Zane grinned and clenched his fists.
    Being honest, he’d have taken on the job whatever it was, anything to get out of the Morris job, but the chance of pounding on some pixies made him a happy little clam indeed. Vicious bastards, the lot of them. They’d once gotten hold of Zane’s younger cousin just after the lad had gone through conversion. Damn near crippled him. The pack had avenged the