Prejean swiveled his head until he could see Alex. His eyes went wide, and he gulped. “I was told to bring her in, dead or alive.”
Every male in the room except for Barney growled at the Cheetah’s answer. Barney simply tilted his head and asked in a childish voice, “Why?”
Prejean rolled his eyes. “Because she’s rogue.”
Chloe felt faint. “Who…what?” She gulped, swaying. If she’d been declared rogue by the Senate, then…
“Oh fog.” She turned to Jim. “Go. Now.”
He glared at her, his hazel eyes dotted with dark honey brown. “No.”
She whimpered and turned her gaze to Ryan, who would surely understand. “Peas?”
He shook his head reluctantly. “You know he can’t. He’s your mate.”
Chloe spoke slowly, determined to get the words to come out right. “He’ll. Die.”
“Sweetie, they’ll go after him anyway just for being your mate. You know that.” Barney flipped the duct tape into the air and caught it. “So. When was Miss Chloe declared rogue, hmm? Because my orders were to watch her, not harm her.”
Prejean glared at Barney. “Seems like we got different orders.”
“Sure does.” Barney bopped the Cheetah lightly on the head. “Why did you attack Cyn?”
“She’s also wanted.”
Barney scowled. “She wasn’t a Bear when you almost killed her. She was human.”
“I wasn’t trying to kill her, just bring her in, as ordered. But the Wolf interfered.”
“Is Tabby on your list?” Alex’s voice had become gravelly, fangs sprouting in his mouth. The possibility that his mate and unborn child were being threatened was driving his Bear even closer to the surface.
“She is now.” Prejean smirked. “And so’s her kid.”
Alex roared, his back hunching as fur sprouted on his arms. If he changed now there would be no stopping him from killing the Cheetah.
“Down, sugar.” Tabby put her hand on Alex’s shoulder. Her Georgia drawl was thick with worry. “I need you to stay calm for the baby.”
Prejean sighed. “If you think I’m the only one watching and waiting, you’d be wrong. We will bring in the Senate-declared rogues as ordered.”
Ryan scowled. “I thought…” He glanced at Barney. “We can sense rogues, right?”
“Yes.” Barney snapped his fingers under the Cheetah’s nose. “So. Who in this room is rogue?”
“The Fox—”
Barney made a buzzing noise. “For the love of little green shifters, use the senses the spirits gave you, boy.” He leaned forward until he and the Cheetah were nose to nose. “Who. Is. The. Rogue?”
The Cheetah opened his mouth to respond, then slowly began to frown. “I…”
Barney began to hum the Jeopardy theme song.
“You’re an ass.”
Barney finished his little song. “Well?”
The Cheetah lowered his head. “There are no rogues in the room.”
“Ding ding ding! We have a winna! Give this kitty some nip!” Barney patted him on the head.
“Wait.” Chloe held up her hands, confused as hell. “Why would bey declare me vogue if I’m rot?”
The Cheetah stared at her in confusion, but the others, used to her speech by now, figured out what she really meant.
“That’s my question.” Ryan exchanged a glance with Barney. “There might be more than one reason this area has so many Hunters in it.”
“The Senate is up to something, but what?” Julian scowled, exchanging his own look with Cyn. “I mean, they have no reason to go after any of us.”
“That’s my question.” Barney sat back, playing idly with the tape again. “None of you have done anything that would warrant arrest, let alone a dead or alive order.” Barney stared at the Cheetah. “Who did your orders come from?”
Prejean went limp, his defiance completely swamped by confusion. “The usual source.”
“Who is the usual course?” Chloe needed to know if the whole Senate was after her or just one Senator with a grudge.
But again, who would have a strong enough grudge against a college student that he ordered a beating so severe Chloe was handicapped for life?
Jim pulled Chloe back against his chest. His warmth seeped into her, calming her. She hadn’t even realized how badly she was shaking until he took hold of her.
Barney and the Cheetah exchanged a glance. It was the Cheetah, surprisingly, who answered. “Vaughn Clark.”
“Is Vaughn Clark one of the Senators?” Jim tightened his hold.
“No, he’s the Hunter liaison. He gets the order and passes it on to us.” Barney began unwrapping the Cheetah’s wrists. “We need to find out who gave him those orders and why.”
“Agreed.” The Cheetah…no, Francois, sat up and rubbed his wrists. He shot Barney an absolutely evil grin. “And I know just the people to help us.”
Barney actually paled. “You don’t mean…”
“Yup.” And Francois laughed, the sound so wicked Chloe shivered in fear.
The big, bad Barney looked like he’d rather swallow tacks than deal with them. She just hoped Halle was ready for whoever it was that made the brash Hunter so afraid.
“All right. I want some answers from you.” Ryan, Chloe, Barney and Francois the Cat were busy in the living room, discussing whatever the hell they were planning. Jim had decided to take this opportunity to get some answers of his own, so he’d dragged Julian away from the rest of the group. “Tell me about this bond you and Chloe have.”
Julian sighed. “You might want to sit down for this.”
Jim settled at the small dinette set Chloe had squeezed into her postage-stamp kitchen and waited for Julian to sit across from him. Julian grabbed two bottles of juice from the fridge before sitting down, opening one and handing it to Jim. “Well?”
“Has anyone told you about Spirit Bears?”
Jim blinked. “I know they call you Super Bear, and that Bears can heal little things like headaches and paper cuts, but that’s about it. I also know you did something that helped Chloe, but you weren’t able to heal everything.”
Julian winced, cradling the juice between his palms. “Spirit Bears are the level sixty versions of normal Bears.”