Under Her Skin by Margo Bond Collins

encompassing both Kade and me. “Talk.”
    “Maybe we should let the kids go play or something,” I ventured, uncomfortable making suggestions, but equally unwilling to let the children hear about the child-murders—particularly Preston, who almost certainly still carried trauma from his kidnapping.
    Rita nodded and jerked her chin at the two younger Bryants, who reluctantly stood. When they moved toward the back of the house, Rita stopped them. “Oh, no. You can still hear every word from back there. Go outside. I’ll tell you if you need to know any of this.”
    They might have been powerful shifters, but the children still slumped off with typical protests.
    All the adults remained silent until the front door shut behind Kirstie and Preston.
    I let Kade do most of the talking, too worried about saying something that would set the Bryants off to do much but nod as the mongoose shifter gave a quick explanation of the potential connection between a series of shifter-victims, the hospital, and the CAP-C.
    The mention of my employer caused the two adult Bryants to turn steely eyes on me.
    “You ever think maybe she’s doing it?” Johnny asked Kade, nodding toward me.
    Kade replied without looking in my direction. “I’m certain she’s not. Lindi has alibis for at least two of the times of death. She was with clients. I’m confident the detective in charge of the case will clear her of all the others, as well.”
    I had been examining the room, quietly trying to superimpose the image I had developed of Vazquez’s kidnapping of Preston onto this real space, when Kade’s comment pulled my attention back around to him. I hadn’t realized that I had ever been under consideration.
    It made sense, of course, that Kade would look into my background and any alibis once he made the connection between the CAP-C and the shifter-children’s deaths.
    Didn’t mean I had to like it.
    “So why are y’all here?” Rita asked as her husband settled back into the chair.
    That y’all made me feel better than anything that had happened since I arrived on the Bryants’ doorstep, indicating as it did Rita’s lumping together of me and Kade.
    Kade continued his explanation. “Lindi and I have been going through our files together to search for potential victims with connections to both the hospital and the CAP-C. This morning, we found Preston’s files. We’re concerned that Kirstie might be in danger.”
    This time, the low, inhuman growl that filled the room came from Rita, not Johnny. Her green eyes glowed, the light reflecting off the cat’s pupil in her otherwise human face.
    “The clowder protects its kits,” Johnny said, his tones guttural.
    “As do all the other shifter clans.” Kade leaned forward to emphasize the words, despite his mild tone. “We simply want to add to that protection.”
    “How?” The single word hissed out around sharpened teeth that flashed when Rita spoke.
    “Our best bet is to catch whoever is doing this.” I spoke for the first time since Kade had taken over. “Can you think of anything that might help us with that?”
    Johnny snarled, and the temperature of the room rose. Kade placed one hand on my arm. “We understand you might not be able to come up with anything right now,” the mongoose shifter said. “We’ll leave your den now. If you think of anything that might help us, you can call me. Will that work?”
    Johnny nodded and Kade rose, pulling me with him.
    “Thanks,” Kade said as we moved toward the door. “We appreciate anything you can tell us.”
    We shut the door behind us, and I glanced around the yard. I could hear the Bryant children’s voices rising in play from behind the trailer. The two guardian cats were still in place, perfectly motionless except for their heads turning to track me as I moved toward my car.
    “I’m sorry,” I began, but Kade cut me off.
    “We can discuss it back in your office,” he said curtly.
    I wasn’t looking forward to that