Lizzie Lynn Lee by Night of the Lions

returning my calls.” Judith took a cup and sipped it demurely. Pinky up. “I was worried.”
    “Thank you. I’ve been busy.” Being kidnapped by a pervert. Fucking the hottest guy in New York. Swell. “I discovered Gabriel’s secret.”
    “Oh?” Somehow, Judith didn’t seem enthusiastic.
    “Gabriel and his brothers aren’t human. Maybe half-human, but not entirely. They’re shapeshifters. Lion shifters.”
    Judith maintained a perfectly blank face. “Do you have any proof of this?”
    “Saw them change with my own two eyes.”
    “Solid proof. Photographic evidence.”
    “I can obtain that later. Remember Oliver Duval? Your old friend from Cape Town? He’s also a lion shifter. The bastard tried to sexually assault me by giving me Rohypnol.”
    “Goodness.” Judith grew wide-eyed. “Are you all right?”
    “Duval didn’t remember you, or the hunting trip you took with your brother in Africa fourteen years ago.”
    “Of course he wouldn’t remember. He was one of the suspects.”
    “Gabriel Larousse also didn’t recall the trip. Or knowing you. He did know Oliver in the past, but they weren’t close friends, as you have suggested. Oliver was a pride rogue and they hated each other.”
    “He lied.”
    “I began to wonder who’s lying in this case, Judith? In fact, your name isn’t even Judith Rossi. You’re Sophie-Marie Veron. You hate Gabriel Larousse for some reason and he won’t tell me why.”
    The woman who’d hired Cat stiffened. She stood up abruptly. Her agility surprised Cat. The weak, crippled woman Judith had pretended to be vanished, replaced by a very pissed off bitch.
    “I hired you for Larousse’s dirt,” she spat. “His embarrassing photos. His dirty secrets.”
    “You’re a paying client. I would have done it without you lying to me.”
    “And you slept with him!” Judith snarled viciously. “I can smell him on you.”
    Cat was taken aback. Jesus. How could she possibly know that? Unless…
    Judith seized her collar and yanked her up. Her strength was frightening. Behind the veil, Cat saw her eyes yellow and the pupils retract like a feline’s.
    “Fuck. You’re a shifter too,” Cat choked.
    With an inhuman growl, Judith hurled her across the room. Cat’s back hit the curio cabinet, sending glass and dozens of expensive, dainty crystal knick-knacks shattering to pieces. She heaved. Her lungs felt as if they had collapsed for a second. A freak wave of pain burnt her spine.
    Cat pulled herself into a crawl. She inhaled much-needed air. Jesus Christ. Her client wasn’t just a liar, she was dangerous as hell. The image of Gabe saying, “I told you so,” flashed in her mind.
    She heard cracking noises. Bones shifting. Fabric tearing. Judith shifted into a very ugly lioness. Her clothes tattered underneath her paws. She looked like an animal that had suffered a serious case of mange. Pink, fleshy bald patches covered two-thirds of her body. Frizzy, tufted hair sprouted up on her ears. Her body was so thin, her skin was moulded to her ribs.
    Cat didn’t know whether she should feel fear or pity. Judith looked like a big cat that no one would touch without gloves and a very long stick.
    Judith let out a menacing growl. She pounced in Cat’s direction and swiped her front paw.
    The world faded.

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    “What do you mean, you’ve lost her?”
    Gabe jumped from his seat, yelling at the phone. On the other end, Alex explained in rapid fire how Catherine had sneaked from under their noses and left the apartment through the fire escape. His brother apologised, said he felt like a fool. Danielson was pissed off at himself for not doing his job properly. The good news was that Alex had a lead as to where Cat might have gone. He’d overheard the messages on her answering machine before she’d deleted them. She’d probably gone to see her client. Alex had pulled some strings with the head of the phone company executive. He had Judith Rossi’s address.