Read Online The Mercenary and the Shifters (The Turning Stone Chronicles) by C.D. Hersh - Free Book Online Page A

in Gaelic Mike thought was an expletive, but she lowered the gun. He got LJ’s bag and his weapon-filled duffel from the car. The redhead didn’t seem friendly, and he wasn’t taking chances.
    Inside, under the caring touch of Alexi, LJ had another meltdown. A plump, rosy-cheeked woman came in and hustled the two boys upstairs before LJ’s weeping set Hugh Jr. howling. Mike tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. He’d delivered his parcel, but until he knew they were safe, he couldn’t leave.
    “You two alone?” he asked the redhead.
    She pinned him with a glare sharp enough to chisel stone. “What’s it to ye?”
    “I promised to deliver LJ and Hugh Jr. to safety. If you and Alexi are the only ones here, it doesn’t seem safe to me.”
    “There’s Donaline.”
    “Who?”
    “The nanny.”
    A nanny made him think they were really safe. “Four women and two children? Where are the men?”
    “Out. But they’ll be home soon.” She eyed him, her left hand stroking the guns she’d thrust in the front of her waistband. “Then there’s my babies.”
    Her voice, low and threatening, gave him pause. Maybe he’d underestimated her.
    “Just the same, I think I’ll wait for Rhys and Eli to return.”
    “They won’t be back for a couple of days,” Alexi said as she guided LJ to the table. “But you’re welcome to stay. We have plenty of room.”
    The nanny, the redhead had identified as Donaline, came in and set a teakettle on the stove. “The wee laddies are napping. The newest one ’twas sae tired a single verse o’ “Danny Boy” shut his eyes.”
    Mike’s gaze cut from one woman to the other. An overweight, aging nanny, a weeping widow, two thirty-something women, and two small children. The only one who seemed capable of taking care of herself was the redhead boring a hole in him with her emerald eyes.
    He sighed. “Guess you’ll have a house guest.”
    “Ye don’t have to sound so thrilled,” the redhead said.
    “Mary Kate,” Alexi reprimanded. “Mr. Corritore, if you have somewhere else you need to be, please don’t feel you need to stay.”
    “I did leave a job in Cleveland,” he said. “Another woman in danger.” Another favor for Hugh. A paying job.
    “Then by all means, you should go. I’m a former cop. Mary Kate can split a hair on a wart hog with her throwing knife, and Donaline has the strength of a bear. We’ll be fine until Rhys and Eli return. But before you go, please have some tea and tell us in detail what happened.”
    He glanced at LJ’s blotchy, red face. She had more information than he did, and he wasn’t about to make her relive Hugh’s death. She needed time and space to heal. “I’ve told you everything I know.”
    “I’m more interested in how he found us and who he might be leading here,” Mary Kate said with a scowl.
    “Hugh gave me the coordinates for the property. GPS can find most anything if you know where you’re going. The better question might be why Hugh had the coordinates to a shape shifter hideout. And, there wasn’t a single car on the road behind me.” Mike spat out the words defensively. He wanted Mary Kate to trust him. Although he certainly didn’t trust her.
    Alexi’s eyebrows winged toward her hairline. “You know who we are?”
    “What you are,” Mike said. “At least what Hugh said you are.”
    Donaline slapped her hands on her generous hips. “It dinna sound like ye approve.” The words growled from her.
    “I prefer my world black and white. Shape shifters aren’t. Besides, they’re responsible for the death of my friend Hugh. Enough said.”
    “We’re not like the ones who hurt Hugh,” Alexi said softly. “We’re in a battle with them. Don’t judge what you don’t know, Mr. Corritore.”
    Mary Kate shot him another fierce glare. So fierce he had to resist the urge to squirm under her Amazon scowl. She was one tough woman. He admired hard-assed women.
    He stood and lifted his duffel onto his