Tailing Her by Celia Kyle Page A

reporter. He wasn’t holding a microphone or a tape recorder. No, he was holding a gun. Black and compact, it blended in with everything the others waved around and she didn’t spy it until it was almost too late.
    She immediately dropped her cell phone and stumbled back a step, fingers flashing to claws without thought and her fangs descended in an instant. Right about that moment, she realized Marcus may have been right. Fangs and claws might not be a good defense against a speeding bullet.
    The bright flash that came with the pulling of the trigger and release of a round was immediately followed by the loud boom of the gun firing. It echoed off the marble walls, and the reporters—the real reporters—ducked. Jennifer tensed to do the same, but she shouldn’t have bothered. Because at that moment a large body plowed into her. The stranger took her to the ground, his weight forcing her against the floor, and they both grunted with the impact. Another echoing pop reached her, which was immediately followed by another grunt from the person atop her.
    The person atop her…
    Snarls and roars bounced around the hallway and those were followed by shouts from courthouse security. It was obvious the gunman was either captured or being pursued by others.
    Which left her with the person atop her. Jennifer breathed deeply, and the scent of the dry plains struck her—the aroma particular to a specific species. So, not a human or warlock. Definitely not a vamp—he scented very much alive—nor a werewolf. (None of that wet dog smell.) No, she’d been tackled by a lion. Not just any lion, but one particular lion. Her mate.
    Her mate who was… a coppery tang filled her nose… bleeding?
    The thundering, threatening, deadly sound that flew from her mouth threw a blanket of silence over the area. Not a soul moved, she wasn’t sure if anyone even breathed, and no one uttered a peep. Well, no one but her mate.
    He chuckled, gifting her with more of his scent, and that aroma soothed her raging lioness just as much as it angered her. Yes, someone shot at her. She was prosecuting the case against the head of the human half of the Colletti mob—Niccolo Colletti. That made it almost expected. But no one— no one —was gonna shoot her mate.
    “Baby—” his voice really was sexy, and she would love to hear him talk a bit more, but the unmistakable squeak of a shoe on the floor alerted her that someone approached.
    Unacceptable.
    She threw her mate to the side, shoving him to the ground as her shift slammed through her. Her curvy human body went from professional lawyer to deadly lion in an instant. Her clothes were shredded as her size grew and transformed into a homicidal beast. If anyone dared approach her wounded mate, they’d have to go through her. And now, riding the adrenaline high of near death and rage, she almost wanted someone to try.
    Jennifer spied the person who approached and immediately recognized him as one of the clerks who worked in the building. Not just a clerk, but also a fellow lion. He held up one hand, palm out as he tried to placate her while the other gripped a large first aid kit. Damn, how’d he get the case so quickly? Thank God for shifter speed.
    “Ms. Palmer,” his voice trembled slightly and her lioness was both pleased and slightly disgusted with herself. Pleased because they were obviously strong enough to scare another of her kind. Not just another, but also a male. The disgust was because she’d been trying so hard to make a place for herself in the city pride and this had set her progress back.
    This time his voice was raised above the panicked yell of some of the humans. Apparently knowing about shifters and knowing about them were two different concepts to people. “Ms. Palmer, I just want to check on Brett.”
    Brett. That was her mate’s name. Her mate who’d been shot and was currently bleeding all over the floor. Yes, he should be taken care of.
    “Dammit, Nash, it’s not like