Shifters: A Samantha Reece Mystery Book 1 by Jaime Johnesee (libby ebook reader txt) 📕

I wanted my new colleagues to know what I was and I wanted to prove myself competent as an agent. I felt that if they didn't know about my jaguar and we became friends it might make them feel betrayed that I hadn't been honest with them from the beginning.

It helped me see who was a decent person and who was biased against supernaturals. Since the public at large didn't know about us it made my admission a little bizarre. However, all feds are read in on what supers exist, why, how, and what powers they held.

That first day was rough. Two women, who’d initially been very kind to me, publicly snubbed me once my switch in species was made public. It was good to know I hadn't needed to waste months befriending and hanging out with people who would wind up not giving a flying fuck about me once they learned I was a were.

I'd quickly learned that day who I could and couldn't trust not to care about my cat and allow me to do my job. It hurt a bit at first, but as time went on I realized I wouldn't have liked some of them much, anyway.

I do have to admit I was surprised at a few of them. Over time I've gotten some of them to come around. For many I had been the first shifter they'd ever met. Time spent getting to know me has given them a different outlook on weres and what we are really like.

Grace had her own stigma to deal with. Not many people knew she was a vamp, only four in fact. She had confided in me that very first day and asked me never to tell and so I hadn't. I knew my boss, Gerald Jackson, was one of the few. He and Grace were good friends and spent quite a bit of time together.

Gerry was a damned good boss and an honest, friendly, good guy. He was the sort who'd let you run with your gut if you proved to him you could handle it. Grace always seemed to be the same, so it was no wonder they were good friends. Sometimes, though, I wondered just how good of friends they actually were, if you know what I mean. I honestly would be chuffed if they did start dating.

Grace had been alone for a long time and Gerry's ex-wife had done a number on him. If you asked me it was about time they both start dating again. Not that I would ever say anything, because I'm really not that sort of person, honest. I try my hardest not to meddle in other people's affairs.

Either way, Grace and I understood each other and were able to be there for one another when needed. We didn't talk much outside of work, but I didn't talk to very many people period. I'm what you might call a bit of a loner. Always have been, even before the cat showed up. I think Grace is the same. We may not really talk, but I know if I called her at three in the morning needing help, she'd be there. She knows the same goes with me.

As for me, I do not take loyalty lightly. I never have, never will. I've seen enough real horror in life to know that someone you can trust and rely on is more important than anything in this world. Safety is a luxury most people take for granted.

When you learn at a very early age that the people you love the most can also be the ones who hurt you the most, you tend to be selective about those you allow in. You also tend to be extremely loyal to those few who are just as loyal to you.

Grace squeezed my hands. "Do you plan to speak to him again?"

"I want to say no, but there is so much I need to know from him. The least of which being my ability to sense danger."

"Do you want to know why he came back?"

"That, and why he picked me in the first place. I don't buy it was just because I looked sad when I went to get coffee." I took a glass off her desk and held it up as she poured ice water into it.

I took a quick swig hoping to cool my anger then set it on the table next to my chair.

"Sam, is it that you don't buy it or that you hope there is more to it? Are you hoping he can tell you why he did it?"

"Both, I guess. I need to know why, Grace."

"What if he doesn't even know why?"

"Then I suppose I will just have to be satisfied with that and move on."

"What if his why isn’t what you want to hear?"

I was surprised. "What do you mean, Grace?"

"What if he is nothing more than a sociopath?”

“He doesn’t strike me as a sociopath, maybe some narcissism, but I don’t think he’s entirely without feeling or empathy.”

“You’re trying to look for meaning where none may exist. Some people are just assholes who act without considering all the repercussions. Be honest with yourself about that." I started to speak and she held up a hand and stopped me. "Yes, I know you feel like you’ve been honest, but I can feel that you're hiding something from yourself."

"He bit me and left me for dead!" I slid back in the seat and crossed my arms, feeling angry and defensive.

"Except he didn't leave you for dead. You said it yourself when you told me how it happened. He bit you … once, gently, on the hand."

"Okay, so he didn’t leave me for dead, but considering he knew biting me would make me like him, that's pretty damned fucked up, Grace. He didn't give me a chance to say yes or no. He didn't even speak to me at all. He never even told me his name until today!"

I tend to talk