Free Juneau Heat by Tressie Lockwood Page B

refused to back away. Somehow she didn’t think he would
hurt her, or he already would have.
    “Don’t do
this.” She stood on tiptoe to reach up to his hand holding Joe in its iron
grip. No amount of prodding could open his fingers. “Birk, make him stop! He’s
killing him.”
    “What do I
care if another human dies, Shiya? He’s one of you, isn’t he? A Keith?”
    “No, he’s
not. He works for my dad, but he’s not related.”
    Shiya
didn’t know where Joe got the second weapon. The smaller knife, no longer than
the palm of a woman’s hand, swiped over Kotori’s arm, cutting deep. Kotori drew
back as blood gushed from the wound. He dropped Joe on the floor, who gasped
and choked trying to drag in air to fill his lungs.
    “Seems this
man wants to die,” Kotori spat and started toward Joe. Shiya darted into his
path and held out her arms.
    “He’s my
protector. It’s his job to look out for me. Just, please, get your arm taken
care of. If you two go like I asked you to, no one else has to get hurt.”
    “I’m her
fiancé,” Joe said in a raspy tone.
    Both
shifters froze. Shiya rolled her eyes. Seriously,
Joe? Jealousy now, when Kotori almost snapped your neck?
    “Be quiet,”
she demanded. “If you hadn’t jumped the gun in the first place, none of this
would have happened.”
    She
expected Birk to accuse her of not only sleeping with the enemy like a two-bit
whore, but also not respecting the commitment he thought she had to Joe. He
said nothing. Rather, he strolled to the door, still standing open, and left. Kotori
grabbed a towel for his arm and followed his friend, shutting the door behind
him. Shiya took in the destroyed state of the lock and recalled the way the
door wobbled now on its hinges. How the heck would she explain it to the
manager? She closed her eyes and sank to the floor. A raging headache pulsed
behind her eyes. The last twenty-four hours had gone from amazing to a
nightmare, and it had all started to go wrong when she elected to veer off the
path set before her.
    “Shiya,”
Joe called out behind her.
    She twisted
around to look at him and took in the ugly purple bruises beginning to form on
his neck. She wondered about Kotori’s injury and hoped no major arteries had
been cut. Would the hospital be able to help him? Or would Birk treat him in
secret?
    “Shiya!”
    “What!”
    “I will
have to report this to Kasen and your dad.”
    She swore.
Like she would ever marry this bastard in a million years. If he loved her, he
would cover it all and say something went wrong, not that she screwed up. Well,
she didn’t need his help. She could explain it to her dad. Not about the sex,
but about misjudging Birk and Kotori. That everyone would know she wasn’t cut
out for the field was fine. She never wanted to do it again, and her experience
with Birk and Kotori could remain an insane memory—one that would fade over
time into something unreal.

Chapter Six
     
    Shiya stood
over her baggage, staring as if it would pack itself. She had decided to leave,
to go back to San Diego and tell her dad she’d washed out. He’d be disappointed,
but the situation couldn’t be helped. Her cell phone rang, and she picked it up
to check the display. The muscles in her stomach tightened as she punched the
connect button.
    “Hey,
Kasen.”
    “Do you
know where Marine Way and Franklin is?”
    She thought
about it and remembered that was near the Red Dog Saloon, close to where the
Juneau Public Library was located. She’d walked all along that area with Birk
and Kotori. “Yes, I know.”
    “Be there
in forty-five minutes.” He hung up, and she frowned. Who the hell did he think
he was? She didn’t answer to Kasen. Well, not directly. Her dad had given her
special permission to handle this job, and he did not say Kasen would be her
leader.
    Shiya
examined her outfit, jeans and layered tops that she could remove if the weather
turned a bit warmer. She decided she didn’t need to change,