FavoriteObsession by Nancy Corrigan Page B

though.
Typical would never be a word applied to her.
    “Why?”
    She waved at her bare legs. Thankfully, she’d worn shorts
tonight. Having to see his sister in her underwear would’ve scarred him for
life.
    “Bleeding,” she sassed. “Since you won’t let me go to the
hospital, I figured I’d take care of myself.”
    “I explained to you why. It’s too risky with all the
shifters living around here. It’ll draw the attention of the wrong people.”
    “Shifter Affairs, I remember, and you don’t want Mira
punished.” She leaned her head against the back of the couch, her gaze locked
onto the ceiling tiles. “You know, it’s hard to believe there are so many
people in the government who know about shifters, yet there haven’t been leaks
to the general public.”
    He glanced over at Megan’s picture on his desk. Behind the
photo, he kept a pic of Molly. It bothered him, keeping her image hidden, but he
couldn’t exactly display a photo of a lion cub. For them, he’d followed the
shifter’s rules, including the one that left his sister bleeding on his couch
when she should have been in the hospital.
    He picked up the frame and pulled out Molly’s picture. Shifters
always bred multiples, identical twins being the norm. From the couple of
photos Lena had shown him, Molly and Megan fit the standard. Both beautiful, in
human or cub form.
    “I thought the same thing.” He held the glossy print out to
her. “This is the reason the government has worked so hard to keep the shifters’
existence secret.”
    She frowned. After a moment, her face blanched. Wide eyes
focused on him. “Is that…”
    “Megan’s twin, Molly.” He slid it back into place. “They
were kidnapped as infants, sold to a research facility for experimentation and
god only knows what else. Megan either refuses to talk about it or has blocked
it out. And Molly…well, Molly has embraced her cat, a fate she might never
recover from.”
    Zoe’s shocked gasp stirred his anger back to life. He
focused on his niece’s face until the familiar determination returned. He’d
protect them and never let any sick fucks get their hands on them again.
    He met Zoe’s horrified expression. “My opinion is that greed
has kept those people who know about them from telling the world. Shifters are
citizens who are protected by the government. Once it becomes known they exist,
the…the humans who make money off of them will lose their profit margin.”
    Zoe blinked back tears. “In our high-tech society, it’s only
a matter of time before the world finds out. Somebody is going to snap a pic on
their smartphone and it’ll be over the web in minutes.”
    He carefully replaced the frame and faced his sister. “I
know. All we can do is stick together, protect our own and hope for the best.”
    Zoe smirked. “You talk as if you’re a shifter too.”
    He shrugged. “Honorary member.”
    “Okay, no hospitals but I really need to take care of these
cuts.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Take care of them how?”
    “Just give me my damn bag.” He glared at her and she huffed.
“I’m going give myself some home stitches.”
    He repeated her words in his head and cursed some more. “No
way. You are not freaking sewing yourself up.”
    “Well, these aren’t going to heal themselves, you know. They’re
too deep. Besides it’s not the first time I’ve had to do some first aid on
myself. No insurance and all.” She stood and took several shuffling steps.
    He blocked her path with his body and glared at her.
    She returned his stare. “Get out of my way.”
    He opened his mouth but snapped it closed without lecturing
her. Someone was in the bar. Head tilted to the side, he listened for whatever
clued him in. There. He heard the click of motorcycle boots.
    Kade.
    “Hey, we’re back here.”
    The door banged against the wall. Zoe’s expression went from
annoyed to curious. He peered over his shoulder when Kade didn’t enter. The
shifter stood in the