“Erin…”
But there was nothing more to say. Like she’d told Jude, they’d ended in Lillian.
His hand fisted and he turned away from her. “I want to know everything you’ve got on this bastard.”
Jude’s claws were gone. For now. “Then I guess you’d better get ready for a little visit to Night Watch.”
Jude took the human to the agency. Introduced him to a few of the hunters. Left him with Dee for a while so that she could brief him, one human to another.
And the fury inside him built.
Erin had been hurt. The human ass**le had hurt her. He’d looked at her like she was…like she was some kind of freak.
Erin.
Jude growled.
That was the prick Erin had been dating? An ass who didn’t recognize how great she was?
Idiot.
The cop’s hands were shaking when he finished his briefing with Dee. Yeah, she usually had that effect on men.
“Heard enough?” Jude asked from his slouch against the wall.
A jerky nod.
“Good, then it’s time to get your ass back on the road and head home to old Lillian.” He straightened, then remembered the way the guy hadn’t even been able to touch Erin after he’d learned the truth. “But first”—his fingers clenched around the prick’s shirtfront, and he yanked him inside the nearest office.
“Jude! What the hell?”
“Beat it, Gomez.” Gomez Montiago, charmer extraordinaire.
“This is my office, I’m not just gonna—”
Jude slanted him a hard look.
The charmer jumped up from his chair. “I had to go talk with Pak anyway.”
The door slammed behind him.
Jude turned his focus back to the cop. “I ought to kick your ass.”
The human got some spunk then, because his jaw clenched and he gritted, “You can try, but I’m not as weak as you may think.”
“No?” Yeah, he was. “Are you as stupid as I think you are?”
Ben blinked and a furrow appeared between his eyes. “What? ”
“She’s not less because she’s a shifter. She’s not some kind of freak or abomination or monster. ” The tiger roared inside.
“She’s still the same woman you knew. Still smart, still sexy, still Erin.” He shook his head now, the rage burning his tongue and leaving an acrid taste in his mouth. “But after you knew the truth, you couldn’t even look at her the same way anymore.”
Humans. They could piss him off so easily.
Dee and Tony were the only ones who’d ever been different. Dee because well, she’d been introduced to the paranormal world at a very early age.
And Tony…he’d come across Jude mid-shift once. The guy hadn’t run or screamed. He’d just stayed and watched, gun drawn because he wasn’t totally stupid. When the shift was done, that gun hadn’t wavered. “That you, man? You still f**king understand me?”
Jude had managed a nod.
The gun hadn’t disappeared, not right away, but he’d helped Jude ambush two killers who’d been hiding in a slum.
When a guy had seen you at your worst and he didn’t flinch, but instead stepped up to the plate and helped get the job done—yeah, you could respect a guy like that.
“I didn’t know what she was.”
It would be so easy to rip his head off. “What she is. She’s a woman. Strong and beautiful. The same as she’s always been.”
“It’s a lot to deal with, all right? My head is spinning, I’ve got a body to deal with—”
“And you didn’t have to treat Erin like she’s something less. ” Would Erin get too pissed if he clawed the guy a bit? What she didn’t know…
“I-I care about her,” the cop mumbled and his eyes fell.
What? Care, not cared. A snarl from the tiger that was echoed by the man as he said, “You didn’t act like you do.”
“Because I saw the way she looked at you!” Ben’s fists rose up between them and he shoved against Jude’s chest.
Jude didn’t move. “Run that by me again.” Maybe he wouldn’t use his claws on the guy. Not yet.
“I always knew Erin had secrets.” Another shove with those fists. Hmmm…the guy was stronger than he looked.
Jude still didn’t move.
“I tried as hard as I could to get close to her, but she always kept me locked out.” His eyes narrowed. “She doesn’t keep you out, does she?”
A smile curved his lips. “The woman tried.” A wolf. Who would have thought—
“But you got close to her. I saw it, when she looked at you, I saw it.” Another shove. Okay, more of a two-fisted punch this time.
Jude went with it and let his body slide back.
“You’re sleeping with her.” Bitten off. “Don’t bother lying, I could see that, too. When you looked at her, it was all over your face.”
“And Erin thinks I’m not territorial,” he murmured.
The cop’s eyes were slits. “She cared enough to protect me, but not to confide in me, not like she’s done with you.”
Bitterness there.
Jude realized if the situation were reversed—damn lucky it wasn’t—he’d be bitter, too.
A hell of a lot more than bitter.
A muscle flexed along Ben’s jaw. “She left me behind. Do you think she’ll do the same to you?”
Not if he had anything to say about the matter. He was playing for keeps.
“You gonna be able to handle things if she walks on you?”
Jude stared at him.
“Guess we’ll see,” the cop said and Jude thought about punching him. Ben straightened his shirtfront. “I’m not leaving the area just yet. I’ll be around if Erin should need me.”
“Out of your league,” Jude told him again, meaning the words as a warning. He’d hate for the cop to get killed. Explaining his death to Erin would be a bitch.
“Yeah, well, maybe it’s time I got into a new league.” He shouldered past him and headed for the door.
Jude watched him, brows low. Easy prey, but…
Ben glanced back. “If you let that bastard hurt her, I’ll come after you, tiger.” A pause. “She’s not mine anymore, but—”
He broke off and shook his head, but Jude understood.
But she’s still Erin.
“Now you’re getting it,” he said softly.
The human let out a growl of his own and jerked open the door.