Damn. The disappointment cut deeper than he’d have imagined.

Diego showered and dressed while Xavier flipped channels on the television. Diego left the back window open when he and Xavier headed out. It was unlikely a human being could scale the sheer wall that led to his bedroom, and Cassidy might want her clothes back.

Cassidy waited, crouching in the scrub of the empty lot, until she saw Diego’s T-Bird drive off. She knew he was unhappy with her running, but the mate bond sneaking up on her had terrified her, and she needed to retreat and think about it. Meeting his mother while the mate bond toyed with her was not something Cassidy was ready for.

She’d seen Diego looking out the window for her, confused and irritated, and she didn’t like how that made her feel. But she’d make it up to him. Cassidy would call him later, invite him back to Shiftertown, explain.

I’m trying to protect you, Diego. Just as I did when I took that blood pledge to keep the other Shifters off your back.

Eric hadn’t been happy about that, but he’d understood. Eric could be tough, but he had wells of compassion.

The back alley was quiet. Brody and Kyle were waiting farther back in the desert lot, impatient and wanting to get out of here. She sent them a low growl to cool it a minute while she flowed quietly to the top of the wall.

From there, it was an easy leap through the back window Diego had so thoughtfully left open for her. She’d need her clothes if she wanted to drive home.

Cassidy landed on the bedroom floor with a light thump. She started to shift into her human form when a sudden smell assaulted her nose.

Fae.

She froze for a split second, then she sank back into her wildcat. The Fae was moving around the living room. Cassidy slid noiselessly around the bedroom door, keeping to the shadows.

It was him all right, tall and slim, dark-haired, and stinking of Faerie. Reid.

He didn’t see Cassidy until she leapt.

Reid whirled, eyes full of fire. Cassidy’s Collar went off, biting pain deep into her, but she opened her mouth and went for his face.

She felt something bite into her side, and found herself spinning, dizzy and sick, the world blurring before her eyes until it snapped and went dark.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“She climbed out the window?” Juanita Escobar said from the stove. “I’ve heard of men doing that when the husband comes home, but not a girl with nothing to hide.”

Xavier had told their mother the whole story with a grin on his smart-ass face.

“Xavier probably scared her,” Diego said. He sipped coffee, which was wonderful. The only coffee he’d found that came close to Mamita’s was Jace’s. The fried potatoes, beans, and eggs she was whipping up for breakfast chilaquiles would be even better. “Cassidy’s shy,” he said.

Xavier’s eyes widened. “The woman who broke into your apartment and waited for you to come home to have sex with you is shy?”

“You should have brought her with you, Diego,” Mamita said sternly. “You should have called for her to come back.”

Xavier laughed. “Here, kitty, kitty.”

The trouble with being head of the family meant having no privacy whatsoever. “Leave it alone. Cassidy obviously didn’t want to make a big deal of it. Fine, we won’t make it a big deal.”

“How can you know what she does and doesn’t want to do?” Mamita asked. “She’s a Shifter, not a human. She probably reacted instinctively, like a cat who doesn’t know who’s approaching it. They hide first, and then they investigate.”

“Call her, Diego,” Xav said. “Tell her everything’s all right.”

“Or, I could give her some space,” Diego said irritably. The problem was, he kept thinking about Cassidy’s beautiful body, her kisses, and her throaty, sexy voice. He couldn’t stop thinking about her.

His mother started layering the egg mixture with crisped tortilla pieces, then cheese. “Sounds like she doesn’t want space; she wants reassurance. Call her, Diego, then go get her and bring her over here. I want to meet her.”

Diego held on to his patience. “I can’t guarantee she’ll want to meet you.”

Mamita gave him a pitying look. “Ask her. If a girl agrees to meet a man’s mother, then she’s serious. If she doesn’t, then it was a one-night stand, and you’re better off knowing right away so you won’t break your heart.”

“There’s no question of me breaking my heart.” The pang in it betrayed Diego’s lie.

His mother’s look turned sharp before she went back to the chilaquiles. “You let me be the judge of that. You’re thirty-two, Diego. It’s time you started seriously looking.”

“Mamita wants grandchildren,” Xavier said, his grin back.

“And don’t you laugh at your brother, Xavier Escobar. It’s time you started looking too. Enough with you two pretending to be bad boys. You don’t play the parts very well, and you need someone to look after you.”

“Oh, man,” Xavier said, shaking his head. “Now my own mother’s telling me I’m not macho.”

“You’re not,” Mamita said. “Neither of you has ever had a serious relationship. You’re both afraid to commit, and you’re both lonely. I’m your mother. I know.”

She had a point. But Diego refused today to be dragged into the perpetual why-don’t-you-find-a-nice-girl-and-settle-down argument.

He hadn’t found a nice girl and settled down because, first, there hadn’t been time for it, and now, his job had him jaded. Women either wanted something from him—leniency, protection—or they shied away from marriage to a cop. Being a law enforcement officer was dangerous, the hours and pay were crappy, and the divorce rate was high. He’d gotten around the problem by simply not thinking about it. Xavier, the same.

Diego pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call Cassidy and make sure she’s all right. Happy?”

He’d planned to do that anyway but not while his mother and brother watched him and listened to every word.

Diego turned away to seek some privacy, but before he could, his cell phone rang. He blinked in surprise at the readout before he flipped it open.

“Hello?”

“Diego. It’s Eric. We’ve lost Cassidy.”

Diego went still while something cold and painful clenched inside him. “Lost her? What the hell do you mean, lost her?”