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Bobby started to look down at the ground again, but I waved a hand in front of his face so close that he startled back froh his eyes And with that anger came the faintest warmth of his beast, like the hint of heat when you walk too close to an oven There’s no need to open the door to know it’ll burn you

My own inner beast rose toward his Oh, I knew the oven was on, but there was so inside it, and my own inner leopard wanted to find out if it was cookies or cake I had better control than that nor about Bobby had unsettled me

His eyes ith surprise “How can you be” he started to whisper, and then stopped hiht I was a wereleopard like hirounds for dismissal from most police forces or military The preternatural branch was the exception, but Bobby didn’t know that Just like he couldn’t have known that I carried ed for so ether had made me a medical miracle, so I was a carrier but didn’t have a full-blown case of any of the inner beasts I carried

I stared into his blue eyes in their mask of blood and said, “There’s more blood on you somewhere, isn’t there, Bobby?”

“Yes,” he whispered as he aze

“Show me, Bobby, please”

“I don’t want everyone to see,” he whispered, voice even lower

Newive us some privacy, Duke, Frankie?”

“Privacy, what the hell do you need privacy for? We brought Bobby in here jaybird naked We seen the show”

Bobby flinched at that and went back to looking at the floor What little animation had been in his face just drained away

“Humor us, Sheriff,” I said

“I won’t leave you in there alone with him unarmed, but we can turn our backs if that will help”

“If that’s the et, then we’ll take it,” I said

The sheriff turned his broad back first, thumbs in his duty belt He had to tell the deputy to turn around She seeling off of her

I leaned in close to Bobby and said, “They won’t see now, Bobby”