Southern Shifters: Fast & Furless (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Yvette Hines Page A

my scent and existence when I want to, but I can’t figure out a way to keep you out of my head.”
    “It will take practice for us both. Over the last day I’ve been thinking about other times we were together at the clinic and you commented on something I thought or if I said something based on what you were thinking but because I wasn’t used to anyone else’s voice in my head besides my own and Dean I didn’t recognize you were actually speaking. Or that a window was sorta open in the back of my mind that gave you access.”
    “I did the same thing.” She gingerly sipped her coffee and loved the aroma and the bitter taste of the dark brew. “Do you think Dean can hear my thoughts when you do? With your link and all?”
    Niki burst out laughing. “No. I called the doc and clarified it.”
    They sat in a comfortable, companionable silence and drank their coffees. Brita picked up on the sound of Dean tapping on a keyboard from above and even the soft snores of the new addition.
    Breaking the silence first, Niki asked, “What was it like for you? Being part of a secret group for the military?”
    “A political assassin.” She took a breath, digested her own words then actually thought about it. “Exciting. Mostly because I had nothing else to base life off.” Brita cupped her hands around the mug and absorbed the warmth. “However, with every mission, every kill, I shredded off a part of myself. I know these people were bad, evil to the core with the things they were doing around the world. But, I stopped being able to look myself in the mirror. I just existed. Feeling empty, a shell of a person.”
    She sighed heavily then continued, trying to tell about it without getting sucked into the emotions connected to it. It was still a raw place for her. “I started paying attention to my team mates and what they talked about when they would start a story with ‘back home’ or ‘my family just sent pictures of’. Too many ‘ah, I can’t wait to get out of this hellhole and get home’.” Brita ran her fingers through her hair, still hanging loose around her shoulders. The way Alek liked it, the way she’d become accustomed to wearing it now.
    “You started to miss being a part of a home you’d never even experienced.”
    “Yup. I did. That’s when I started figuring out what I wanted. Investigating how to get out. I finally found a loop hole and once I’d fulfilled my part of the agreement they had to do theirs. The government doesn’t like to give up, but in the US they will play fair when you lay it out in black and white, and a lot of I’s and T’s.”
    Niki reached across the table to take hold of her hand.
    Brita stared at their clasped hands—one a shade darker—but the same. “Earlier I was angry and said some pretty hurtful things.”
    “I hear your next line. If you wouldn’t let me apologize don’t you do it to me?”
    “Got it.” She smiled. “Is it just me, or are the sisters just a little off like the doctor?”
    “Yes. Oh, yes.” Niki squeezed her hand before pulling away. “I’m starting to believe we got the only sane genes. On another day with something a lot stronger than coffee and a hell of a lot more of it, I’ll tell you about Carmen.”
    Brita saw a few flashes in Niki’s mind of their sister, who seemed more than a little insane. Deceased. That was something she didn’t think she could handle right now. “Deal. I guess it is time for me to find Alek.”
    Niki picked up their mugs then went and placed them in the sink. “I know where he is. But, before you do that, you want to see your niece?”
    Her heart became fluid with warmth that spread throughout her body. “Yea. I do.”
    “Follow me. She’s sleeping but that’s one of the best times to hold her. Otherwise you’re chasing her.” Niki groaned, but her eyes were filled with wonder and love as she headed up the stairs.
    “I think Alek wants me to go back to his prowl with him. But, he’s going to