Shifter's Claim (The Shadow Shifters) by A. C. Arthur Read Free Book Online

joked with both of them about their sense of style among other things, hence the reason he was now calling them cornballs.
    “Whatever, even your pimp suit isn’t hiding the fact that the human female struck a chord somewhere in that superficial soul of yours,” Cole said, standing up and brushing imaginary lint from the jeans that were a staple of his wardrobe.
    Bas decided to ignore those words because, yeah, there was a stitch of truth to them. Instead he simply nodded to Rome saying, “I’ll be in touch.”

 
    Chapter 5
    “You’re being followed.”
    Priya screamed, turning around with her Mace already in hand. The small container that hooked to her key chain came in handy just as her self-defense instructor had told her it would. Her arm was raised, finger on the nozzle, ready to fire when the man standing behind her gave her a lopsided grin instead of a knock on the head.
    “Lolo, what the hell are you doing here?” she asked with an exasperated sigh. Lowering her arm she refrained from spraying him in the face but still scowled with agitation.
    “I came by your place to give you the information you requested but you were running out the door when I pulled up,” he began, looking over her shoulder every few seconds as he continued. “The minute you got into your car a black truck with tinted windows pulled up beside me, blocking me in so I couldn’t get out. You took off and that truck took off behind you. So I followed the truck.”
    Priya shook her head. Lolo, short for Lowman Sheradon, stood at five feet eleven inches. He had chocolate-brown hair that he kept in shaggy disarray on top and tapered on the sides. His eyes matched his hair color, the deep dimple in his chin giving him an adorably cute look instead of boyishly handsome as he liked to claim.
    “What are you doing following people? You’re not a cop,” she reminded him and tried to turn around, to head back toward the location that she was already late getting to.
    “No, not a cop, but a concerned friend,” he said, pulling her by the elbow to stop her movement.
    “Not now, Lolo, I have someplace to be,” she told him.
    “That truck stayed parked at the corner of your mom’s house the entire time you were inside, Priya,” he told her earnestly.
    Priya didn’t try to pull away, but folded her arms over her chest at his words. “How did you know that was my mother’s house?”
    It was Lolo’s turn to sigh and he did so with a genuinely apologetic look. “I know it’s your mother’s address because I’ve seen you go there before and I looked at all the names on the mailboxes. There’s only one Drake listed.”
    She gave a nervous little chuckle, shaking her head. “So you’re actually the one who’s following me, not some stranger in a black truck.” It was an attempt to take Lolo’s words lightly when she knew he was telling the truth. She knew because whoever was following her had probably been doing so since that very first e-mail and just last night they’d taken the following to another level and had broken into her apartment, most likely while she was in bed asleep. All that, coupled with what had happened at her mother’s house earlier, only proved she had to do what they said and she had to do it fast.
    “No, I don’t follow you around,” Lolo stated but looked away instead of holding eye contact, which Priya instantly knew meant he was lying. He huffed. “Look, I’m just saying that someone is following you and those pictures you sent me, they have some pretty powerful people in them. So I’m a little worried that you may be getting yourself into some trouble here.”
    She shook her head again, refusing to let the concern in his voice deter her. “Who was in the pictures?” she asked somberly.
    “Reynolds, Delgado, President Reed, and a few businessmen from the private sector. Major Randall Guthrie was also in the background of one of the pictures watching as the president and Reynolds talked. He