Read Online Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound #2.5) by Jennifer Ashley - Free Book Online Page B

streets. He pulled up in front of a
bar near the open field that led to Shiftertown. The bar was a
squat, dark building with no windows and a small parking lot
already filled with people. No, not people . . . Shifters.
    There were plenty of humans in the mix too,
Elizabeth saw as they dismounted and walked to the bar. Shifter
groupies, mostly, she saw--humans of both sexes who liked to hang
out with Shifters, some wearing fake Collars. More than one woman
looked at Ronan with appreciation and calculation, which irritated
Elizabeth for some reason.
    The bar inside was crowded, with tunes
playing on a jukebox and Shifter waitresses hurrying back and forth
to serve beers and take away empties. The bartender was human,
Elizabeth saw. Maybe Shifters weren't allowed to actually dispense
the drinks. Liam Morrissey didn't own this bar, she knew--a human
did. Shifters couldn't own property, but Liam could work for the
human owner and manage the place.
    A number of Shifters greeted Ronan by name or
slapped hands with him as he went by. Interestingly, many greeted
Elizabeth by name, including the six-foot blonde called Glory who
was a regular at Elizabeth's store, but they were deferential,
looking to Ronan first.
    Ronan led Elizabeth through the crowd,
staying close by her side. Some of the groupies looked at her with
envy, some with resentment.
    Kim Fraser came forward to meet her. She
opened her arms to Elizabeth and gave her a hug with a squeeze.
"I'm glad you came. Let's go into the office."
    Elizabeth threw a glance to Ronan, who shook
his head. "What's up?" Ronan rumbled.
    "Nothing terrible. Liam just wants a
word."
    Elizabeth stopped. "I want to call Mabel. We
like to check in with each other."
    "Mabel's here." Kim pointed across the bar to
where Mabel sat in a booth with the lanky Connor Morrissey, Scott,
and a dark-haired Shifter woman who was obviously pregnant. The
dark-haired woman gave Kim a nod, said something to Mabel, and
pointed. Mabel looked around and sent Elizabeth a cheerful
wave.
    "Andrea will take care of her," Kim said.
"Mabel was getting antsy, cooped up at Ronan's, so Liam said it was
all right if she came. Don't worry. She's in good hands."
    Elizabeth was going to have to have a talk
with Mabel. Mabel was of legal age, so that wasn't a problem, but
she looked way too cozy laughing and talking with the Shifters.
Mabel was very accepting of people as they were, something
Elizabeth had always admired about her, but then, Mabel wasn't the
greatest judge of character, either.
    Or maybe Elizabeth was being too protective.
She'd always gone back and forth about Mabel, torn between wanting
to shield her from the evils of the world and fearing to stifle her
with too much restriction.
    Kim guided Elizabeth to a door marked
"Private," and Ronan came so close behind her that Elizabeth felt
his body heat.
    On the other side of the door she found Liam
Morrissey inside a cluttered office. Liam sat behind a desk, his
long legs propped on the desk's top, and he held a baby on his
lap.
    Elizabeth wasn't sure which was more
incongruous--the child held up by Liam's big hands or the man
standing on the other side of the room with a huge sword strapped
to his back, the hilt slanting above his head.
    "He's underage," Elizabeth said, looking at
the baby.
    " She ," Liam said. "Katriona Sinead
Niamh Morrissey. Sinead for her auntie, Niamh for her grandmum, and
Katriona because we like it. Born three months ago."
    "And you'd think she was queen of the gods,"
Ronan said. "The attention she gets." Ronan went around Elizabeth
to the baby and gently poked her stomach.
    "Shifter?" Elizabeth asked.
    Kim reached for the child. At the same time
her hands closed around Katriona's waist, Liam leaned up to Kim and
kissed her on the lips. It was a warm, loving kiss, the look in
Liam's eyes heart-melting.
    Elizabeth's thoughts flashed back to Ronan
licking the corner of her mouth earlier this morning. His lips had
been smooth and warm, soothing. And