Sure enough, the doorbell rang. Shooting daggers at Ben, Jackie rose to her feet. “I hate your nose.”
When she left the room, Ben turned to Zan with a conspiratorial wink and waggled a cell phone that had been sitting on the countertop, hidden from Jackie and Zan by Ben’s body. “I love technology.”
Chapter Five
Jackie opened the door to three men. Two shifters who appeared to be in their early twenties, their barely contained youthful energy vibrating along their lean, muscular bodies, and Dean, who looked shell-shocked. She didn’t know if Dean’s expression was due to the reunion with his brother, the news of his impending fatherhood, or if the hand gestures that abruptly ceased two seconds after she yanked open the door were responsible. Having caught the last few words of the militarized sign language, Jackie knew that, despite their youthful appearance and “at-ease” stance, the newcomers were alert and ready to cause chaos if the situation was deemed a credible threat.
They had to be here for Zan, either as backup or retrieval. She was guessing the later.
“Here for the invalid or the free food?” Jackie crossed her arms over her chest.
Dean pressed a thumb and forefinger to his brow, as if trying to ease a tension headache. He casually waved his other hand and made introductions. “Doctor Jacklyn Chavez, this is Scott Boeing and Joe Feider. They’re...friends of Zan’s.”
“Free food?” The two questioned with such boyish enthusiasm that Jackie narrowed her eyes, assessing. Smart, strong, and deadly. Just a little lax in their training, and a little young in their demeanor. Though that could be part of their ploy. It might have worked if they’d been less intent on each other and more aware of the unknown behind the door.
The hand signals had given them away. Maybe they felt secure in their positions, or too confident about their abilities. Either way, it was a mistake that needed to be corrected. But as it wasn’t her place to do so she kept her mouth shut, because other than that giveaway, Jackie would have taken the two at face value, just concerned friends of Zan’s. Their camouflage was almost perfect and she had to give a silent kudos to the man who recruited and trained them. A man she knew all too well. Hadn’t he trained her as well? Only in Jackie’s case, the training had started when she was a child because of pure interest and then as self-defense. Not for military expeditions.
Dean raised an expectant brow at her hesitation. “May we come in?”
With a start, Jackie peeled her eyes away from the younger shifters and focused on Dean. “They’re your responsibility.” Which basically meant, if they cause a problem, Dean better deal with it or Jackie would have Dean’s hide, regardless if he was her Alpha or not.
“They always are.” His resigned tone had Jackie re-evaluating Dean. Though he looked tired and his tone hinted at exhaustion, she caught the glimmer of heat in his eyes. His innate power resonated in a parody of a distracted shifter.
Dean wasn’t sure about these two men, especially on the heels of silver bullets and long-lost brothers, and because of it, her Alpha was throwing them off the track of his real power. He couldn’t show weakness; that would be a dead giveaway. But distracted, exhausted? Perfectly acceptable under the circumstances. Until he knew their motives and picked their brains clean, Dean would remain extremely vigilant. And unlike the younger pair shifting awkwardly behind him, Dean’s camouflage was perfect.
With a spurt of pride Jackie squared her shoulders, pasted on a brilliant smile and stood back to let the men in her home. She also gave up a silent prayer that the testosterone overload wouldn’t turn her small space into a pissing contest.
She also prayed she would have food left over after five grown shifter men filled their bellies.
Since the living room opened into the kitchen Zan wasn’t difficult to spot. He rose from the table, a wide grin on his face as his friends made a bee-line to his side. Following behind Dean, Jackie noticed his muscles eased at the sight, which in turn made her relax. But only slightly. Having several male shifters in her home with no one needing immediate medical attention was a bit unnerving. Entertaining was not her forte and she had no idea what to do next.
Surprisingly, it was Zan that solved her dilemma. He padded around his friends and grabbed her hand, dragging her around Dean. “This is Dr. Jackie Chavez.”
Jackie did her best to ignore the heat of Zan’s body and the way her skin warmed in reaction to his nearness. Instead she tried to tug her hand free. “Dean already introduced us.”
Zan squeezed tighter. “Maybe so, but I’m sure he didn’t know to tell them that you’re my—”