makes sense.” She rolled onto her side and placed her hand between her cheek and the pillow. “The whole regulating-humans-knowing-about-them thing, I mean. It would be like telling someone the monsters they grew up fearing really do exist.”
Monsters . Warrick’s lips twisted into a humorless smile.
“They don’t scare you at all?” she asked skeptically.
“No,” he replied without emotion. “They don’t scare me.”
She made a soft harrumph. “No. Of course they don’t. You’re Warrick Donovan. How foolish of me to even ask. I doubt you’re afraid of anything.”
Warrick grunted at the cynicism in her comment. “Fear is a useless emotion that debilitates. So no, I try not to indulge in it.”
“Right, because being afraid is a choice?” She snorted. “I swear, Warrick, you’ve got some kind of superhero complex or something.”
“The last thing I’m trying to do is save the world, Sienna.”
“Just the shifters,” she finished on a sigh.
He turned his head to glance at her and found her brows drawn together, her gaze pensive. It was kind of nice, having a normal—well, as normal as circumstances allowed—conversation with her. It dropped a few years off their history, almost put him mentally back to a time when things were more easygoing and carefree.
Though that wasn’t quite true. Even on a good day, there’d been a dark current running through his life. An anger toward his father that continued to haunt him every damn time he woke up to a new day. But being with Sienna had always been a bit of a balm to his soul. She was like a bloody therapist with her expressive blue gaze and her ability to listen without judgment.
He watched her tongue dart over her lips and his attention slid down to the fullness of her mouth. The blood pounded faster in his veins and he drew in an unsteady breath.
God, he’d swear she did that shit on purpose. That sexy little lip-licking thing. Maybe it was a flirting technique she’d mastered on the boys back in college. It was seductive as hell—
“You said you regulate how many humans are allowed to know about shifter existence.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“How so?”
If you discover them we make sure you never remember it. Shit. How did he explain to Sienna the very thing that was under consideration for her future?
Sienna gave a nervous laugh. “That bad?”
He could lie, or hedge around the question, but this was Sienna and she wasn’t stupid. He probably shouldn’t have let that part slip, but now that he had she deserved to know. To understand what could happen to her.
“If a human discovers the existence of shifters,” he hesitated, clenched his jaw, then plunged on. “Their memories are wiped.”
Dead silence for a moment. Then Sienna let out a high-pitched laugh.
“Seriously, Warrick, I know you’ve always been a sci-fi fan, but come on . That kind of stuff isn’t possible.”
“Just like people who shift from human to wolf aren’t possible, right, Sienna?”
“But, I would’ve heard about something like that,” she argued, her tone uneasy now. “There’s no way the government would let you—”
Warrick gave a harsh laugh. “You don’t even want to know half the shit the government authorizes, Sienna.”
More silence and he chanced another glance at her. Her face was drawn taut and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
“They’re going to wipe my memory.” It wasn’t a question.
His gut clenched with regret and he wished like hell he had more control over her fate. But there was a hierarchy in the P.I.A. and in the big picture he was a pretty small fish.
“I can’t answer that,” he finally said honestly. “Nothing is certain.”
It was a tricky situation. Sienna hadn’t yet given them the information she was withholding, which was probably the only reason the specialist hadn’t been summoned to wipe her. Though Warrick was realistic enough to acknowledge that the minute she opened up there’d be
Monsters . Warrick’s lips twisted into a humorless smile.
“They don’t scare you at all?” she asked skeptically.
“No,” he replied without emotion. “They don’t scare me.”
She made a soft harrumph. “No. Of course they don’t. You’re Warrick Donovan. How foolish of me to even ask. I doubt you’re afraid of anything.”
Warrick grunted at the cynicism in her comment. “Fear is a useless emotion that debilitates. So no, I try not to indulge in it.”
“Right, because being afraid is a choice?” She snorted. “I swear, Warrick, you’ve got some kind of superhero complex or something.”
“The last thing I’m trying to do is save the world, Sienna.”
“Just the shifters,” she finished on a sigh.
He turned his head to glance at her and found her brows drawn together, her gaze pensive. It was kind of nice, having a normal—well, as normal as circumstances allowed—conversation with her. It dropped a few years off their history, almost put him mentally back to a time when things were more easygoing and carefree.
Though that wasn’t quite true. Even on a good day, there’d been a dark current running through his life. An anger toward his father that continued to haunt him every damn time he woke up to a new day. But being with Sienna had always been a bit of a balm to his soul. She was like a bloody therapist with her expressive blue gaze and her ability to listen without judgment.
He watched her tongue dart over her lips and his attention slid down to the fullness of her mouth. The blood pounded faster in his veins and he drew in an unsteady breath.
God, he’d swear she did that shit on purpose. That sexy little lip-licking thing. Maybe it was a flirting technique she’d mastered on the boys back in college. It was seductive as hell—
“You said you regulate how many humans are allowed to know about shifter existence.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“How so?”
If you discover them we make sure you never remember it. Shit. How did he explain to Sienna the very thing that was under consideration for her future?
Sienna gave a nervous laugh. “That bad?”
He could lie, or hedge around the question, but this was Sienna and she wasn’t stupid. He probably shouldn’t have let that part slip, but now that he had she deserved to know. To understand what could happen to her.
“If a human discovers the existence of shifters,” he hesitated, clenched his jaw, then plunged on. “Their memories are wiped.”
Dead silence for a moment. Then Sienna let out a high-pitched laugh.
“Seriously, Warrick, I know you’ve always been a sci-fi fan, but come on . That kind of stuff isn’t possible.”
“Just like people who shift from human to wolf aren’t possible, right, Sienna?”
“But, I would’ve heard about something like that,” she argued, her tone uneasy now. “There’s no way the government would let you—”
Warrick gave a harsh laugh. “You don’t even want to know half the shit the government authorizes, Sienna.”
More silence and he chanced another glance at her. Her face was drawn taut and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
“They’re going to wipe my memory.” It wasn’t a question.
His gut clenched with regret and he wished like hell he had more control over her fate. But there was a hierarchy in the P.I.A. and in the big picture he was a pretty small fish.
“I can’t answer that,” he finally said honestly. “Nothing is certain.”
It was a tricky situation. Sienna hadn’t yet given them the information she was withholding, which was probably the only reason the specialist hadn’t been summoned to wipe her. Though Warrick was realistic enough to acknowledge that the minute she opened up there’d be
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