Maiden and the Lion (Lions of Manhattan 2)

What are you?

She trudged back into the other side of the van to change into dry clothes.

Alex didn’t remember exactly how he had gained entrance into Cat’s office. The next thing he knew, an irritated female voice was snapping him out of his lucid dream.

“Alexandre Larousse! How many times must I tell you, I don’t like seeing your naked butt.”

Ah, shit. He had heard his sister-in-law’s voice. Catherine. Gabe’s mate. She grumbled unhappily and fetched a blanket from somewhere then hastily draped it over his naked body.

Alex found himself slumped against the wall, near the reception desk. A vicious headache pounded his head. He felt as if he had been run over by a Mack truck. Dull pain began to form in his chest. Alex instinctively groped it and found the wound had completely mended. The bullet had torn his flesh but it had made a clear exit.

Someone had saved him from the river. A woman.

Bea.

Beatrice. His new receptionist. The woman he had tried to protect.

He remembered the man in a trench coat. Bullets. Water. And Bea. She’d tried to wake him.

Had Bea saved him from drowning? Fuck. How the hell had she done that?

And what had she been doing by the Harlem River?

He sat straight and checked himself. He was dirty. Smelt like a mouldy and damp closet that hadn’t been cleaned for years. Not a single thread covered his body. He had lost his gun, clothes, shoes and wallet. A dry leaf was stuck to his knee. Alex smelt coffee. His stomach suddenly gave a nudge of hunger. “You got coffee?”

“Yeah. And doughnuts.” Cat crouched next to him. She looked fresh, with minimal makeup. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. Her conservative clothes made her look younger than she really was.

“Can I have some?”

“Sure. Just do something about your nude habit first. I know it’s natural for lions to prance around bare-assed in the wild. Just not in Jersey. We’ve seen enough weirdoes. Thank you.”

Alex got up and made himself decent with the ratty old blanket Cat had given him. Where did she get this stuff? He wondered if Cat used to have a dog. The blanket smelt like one. Or a cat. How nice. “Happy?”

“Very,” Cat replied blandly.

He sank on the chair in front of the receptionist desk. Cat got two mugs and divided the Venti Starbucks cappuccino between them. She pushed one mug in his direction. He drank it with delight as Cat opened a bag of doughnuts she’d got from De Sals, a bakery two blocks down from the agency’s office.

The coffee was good, but the doughnuts were excellent. He had already eaten two when he eyed Cat’s share. “Can I have that one?” he asked. The glazed doughnuts were practically melting in his mouth.

“What? You go get yourself some if you still want more.” Cat guarded her doughnuts.

“I would, but I’m naked and got no money.”

Cat rolled her eyes and gave him the one doughnut left.

Alex demolished it in three bites. God. It felt so good to have something in his stomach. Especially after shifting. And especially after being shot. Healing took a lot of energy. He drank the rest of the coffee in several large gulps, not caring that it was scalding his tongue.

His sister-in-law studied him. “Wanna tell me what happened to you? You busted the front door. I’m going to bill you for that.”

Alex turned around. The door she had mentioned was clinging on one sorry-looking hinge. He cringed. “Don’t remember doing that. I went to meet someone. Got shot. Fell into a river. Went lion.” He shrugged. “That’s about it.”

Cat’s eyebrow arched. “I want to ask if you’re okay…” Her gaze slid to the scar on his right shoulder. After what had happened in Africa a few months ago, nothing seemed to surprise her at this point. His work as a CSO for the firm had him skating around danger often. “I assume you’re okay. Was it top secret?” she asked.

Of course it was top secret. The blackmails. The threat. Bea. He wanted to sort out one thing at a time. The firm was worth billions. Some miscreants always looked for a way to profit from them. It was his responsibility to weed out those scumbags. His job. Ren’s job was to make the company more profitable. Gabe’s was to run the ship. Was. Gabe had talked about making him t

he CEO so he could spend more time with Cat to start a family. “For now, yes. Where’s Gabe?”

“He has a meeting with the lawyers. Company business. Did you get shot on behalf of company business, too?”