Free Hope and Vengeance (Saa Thalarr, book 1): Saa Thalarr, book 1 by Connie Suttle

stiff—she expected an attack. I have no idea why, but I felt that the next few minutes might determine my fate in some way.
    "Anna, we don't want to hurt you," Joey began before I could find words to speak.
    "I know that." Her shoulders drooped.
    Joey, what are you doing? I hissed mentally.
    The right thing , he snapped back. "Anna, all we need is something—some kind of reassurance that you won't let our secret out," Joey began.
    I watched her as she turned toward us, almost in slow motion. The breath caught in my throat as she actually turned—into the white horse that saved me two nights earlier.
    Joey gaped before whistling and breathing the word shapeshifter . If there were any guarantee that we might be safe with her, it would be because she held an equally important secret. This was something I could take to Xavier, and stave off any desire he might have to convince Wlodek that her death was required.
    There wasn't any way I could deliver her death—not of my own will, anyway. Joey, I knew, felt the same. Before I could stop myself, I closed the distance between us and brushed Anna's ears. Her animal snorted softly as she jerked away from me.
    "We're not gonna hurt you," Joey soothed, holding out a hand.
    "How do I know that?" Anna was back. She turned abruptly away from both of us and stalked toward the glass windows overlooking the gulf. "Roy Cheek went to Shreveport earlier today. Here." She handed a folder to me.
    "What's this?" I took the folder and opened it. Inside lay a single photograph—of Roy Cheek. He stood next to a late model luxury car and looked ready to climb inside. Beside him was another man I didn't recognize. On the opposite side of the car, with the door also open, stood Kirby Lee Gordon.
    "What the bloody hell?" I muttered.
    "Lion figures she and Cheek have been, well," Anna shrugged. She was still tense, that was easy enough to see, and still frightened.
    "Do you think she and Cheek may have planned her husband's disappearance?" I asked, keeping the conversation on safer ground and hoping to calm Anna at the same time. "Perhaps Cheek intended to leave the state with her? Kirby Lee told us she planned to return to Georgia."
    "That would explain her vehicle purchase—if they planned this from the beginning and he helped her buy the car," Joey took the photograph from me and studied it. "But who's the other guy?"
    "Somebody I thought was dead," Anna sighed. "And I don't think he's human, now."
    "What does that mean?" Joey asked.
    "It means I have to go to Shreveport. You're welcome to come along if you want."
    * * *
    I had no idea she'd chartered a private jet to Shreveport. Her bags were already packed and waiting. Joey and I held a thirty-second mental conversation before deciding to travel with her. We only needed to drop by the safe house, throw clothes in a bag and head to the airport.
    "Who is this?" I asked, tapping the photograph. Joey offered to drive us to the airport in my SUV—we'd decided to park it at the airport and leave Anna's hybrid in the safe house garage. I felt strangely unfettered, leaving town with Anna and Joey while realizing I hadn't had the urge to contact Xavier even once. I'd waited patiently for Anna to tell me who the strange man in the photograph was, but she'd withheld the information—until now.
    "It's Manuelo," she sighed. "Rita's cousin. I don't know how to tell her this." She'd leaned forward, poking her head between the two front seats so we could talk.
    "What's wrong with him?" Joey asked. "You said before that he might not be human, but I have no idea what that means."
    "I'll explain it better if we catch up with him," Anna breathed and leaned back in her seat. "If he really isn't human anymore, we'll have to kill him."
    * * *
    "Sweetheart?" Anna had fallen asleep in the seat beside me half an hour before we landed.
    "Huh?" She blinked sleepily at me.
    "Ready to get off this flying tin and chase Roy Cheek?" I offered a lazy grin. I think I'd smiled