Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(33)

Angus growled. “Keep the details to a minimum, I said.”

“Dimitri’s cool,” Ciaran told him. “Can you do it, Dimitri? Where should we meet up?”

“Put me on speaker,” Dimitri’s voice said.

Ciaran punched a key without having to search for the right one. Angus always marveled at how adept his cub was with technology.

Dimitri’s flowing tones filled the air. “Angus, what the h-hell are you doing?”

Dimitri, a red wolf, used to stammer quite badly, but since he’d mated with Jaycee, a beautiful leopard Shifter, his stammer had all but vanished. He had to be very agitated now for it to return.

“Running from Shifter Bureau,” Angus said. “Long story. I need to switch vehicles. We’re ahead, but before long, they’ll figure out what we’re driving and where we are.”

“Right.” Dimitri’s voice faded a moment, but Angus could tell he was talking to someone in the background. His voice came back. “There’s a diner in Lake Charles, near the bus station but off the beaten path. Wait for me there. They have great po’ boys.”

“Awesome.” Ciaran bounced on the seat. He’d taken to Cajun food as soon as he’d had the teeth to chew. Any kind of food, in truth. Ciaran could put it away.

Dimitri gave more specific directions to the diner, then said, “See ya, Ciaran. Keep your old man out of trouble.”

“Not easy, but I’ll try,” Ciaran said. “Bye, Dimitri. Give Jaycee a kiss for me.”

“Now, there’s something I can enjoy.” Dimitri laughed and then the laugh cut off as he hung up the phone.

“Mmm,” Tamsin stirred under Angus’s arm. “Po’ boys. I could eat a good sandwich.”

“We won’t be going into this diner,” Angus said abruptly. “We’re switching cars in the parking lot and getting the hell out of town.”

Tamsin rose from his side, stretched, and yawned. “Sure, whatever. Who was that? He sounded cute.”

“Dimitri Kashnikov,” Ciaran answered. “He’s a red wolf and lives in the secret compound in Texas with his mate, Jaycee. She’s gorgeous, and really fast, and a seriously good fighter. If they let her fight in the fight club, she’d beat everybody, I bet.”

Tamsin listened with interest. “What’s the fight club?”

“Not important—” Angus tried, but Ciaran couldn’t be stopped.

“It’s where Shifters fight each other for fun and profit. Every Shiftertown has one, or at least one nearby. It isn’t allowed, but Shiftertown leaders pretend they don’t know. The leaders never attend, so they’re not sure where it is, and we change up the location from time to time. That way, if the Shifter leaders are interrogated about it, they really have no idea where it is or how many Shifters go.”

Angus broke in. “Ciaran, we really need to have a talk about discretion.”

“It’s all right,” Tamsin said. “Ciaran understands all about need-to-know. And I need to know.” She leaned around the seat to him. “Why don’t they let Jaycee fight if she’s so good? Because she’ll beat everyone?”

Ciaran looked surprised Tamsin had to ask. “Because she’s female. Females don’t fight in the fight clubs. They might get hurt.”

“You think? So could males.”

“Yeah, but males can’t have cubs. What happens if a female is hurt so bad she can’t have cubs anymore? That would be terrible.”

Tamsin looked thoughtful. “I agree, it would be. But males also could be hurt so much they couldn’t have kids. What happens if his nuts are torn up? Or hit so hard they stop functioning?”

Angus had to halt this conversation. “For the Goddess’ sake—”

“There are some rules,” Ciaran went on without blinking. “No killing. No outside interference—no one can run into the ring and help you. And no targeting balls and penises, in human or animal form.”

Tamsin grinned. “You mean, no hitting below the belt.”

“No one’s wearing a belt,” Ciaran said, puzzled. “Everyone fights naked so they can shift.”

“I so have to go to one of these,” Tamsin said in delight. “Is there one close to where we’ll be?”

“They’re all over,” Ciaran said. “You just have to know where to look for them. And they’re not held every night. About once a week, or maybe once every two weeks so Shifters can rest in between.”

Tamsin turned her gaze to Angus. “Take us to a fight club, please, Angus? Why not? If they’re so secret I’ve never heard of them, I bet Shifter Bureau doesn’t know where they are either.”

Angus raised his voice to cut through their chatter. “No. I’m not taking a night off running from Haider to go to a fight club. Cubs aren’t allowed anyway.”

“Cubs might not be allowed,” Ciaran said. “My dad is one of the best fighters of the New Orleans fight club. I’ve seen him. He’s never been beat.”

Angus glared into the rearview mirror. “Are you telling me you go to fight club fights?”

Ciaran contrived to look innocent. “Only to watch you, Dad. Reg takes me.”

Angus hadn’t known that. Angus went to the fight club to take out his frustration about the losses in his life: his mate, his place in the hierarchy, the trust of other Shifters, his brother. Ciaran was supposed to have been home with his babysitter while Angus let out his aggressions—the babysitter being Angus’s trusted best friend, Reg.