Enjoy an excerpt from HUNTER OF SHADOWS

     Preoccupied by her dark intentions, Nica moved swiftly through the Quarter. Even at the well after midnight hour, the streets still held pockets of activity: college kids scoring illegal party favors, businessmen bartering for favors found in shadowy doorways, boisterous tourists busy barhopping, and local workers hurrying home to ease their tired feet. Neon and loud music beckoned along Chartres, but she passed those open doors without glancing in.
     She’d make a quick stop to restock supplies before getting down to business.
     With a quick swipe of her pass key, Nica waited for the green light and welcoming click so she could leave the sticky nighttime atmosphere for a blast of air conditioning inside the historic building remade into individual condos. Several others slipped in behind her, laughing drunkenly. She paid them no mind, heading down the hall, across the inviting courtyard and into the other part of the building where she pushed for the elevator. She stepped in when the door opened and pressed for four, moving over as another figure ducked inside. As the doors closed, she expressed a quiet sigh.
     “Tough night?”
     There was no way to mistake his voice, that low, rumbling baritone with just a slight drag of the South beneath its cool educated clip.
     Nica made a quick side step but he was quick too, snaking his arm about her waist to tug her in close against him. He pressed the emergency stop button so the car shuddered to a halt between the third and fourth floor.
     “Don’t get excited,” he cautioned. “I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
     She laughed at that. “You should be worrying about your own safety, Mr. Hero. As you can see, I’m fine.” She twisted and gave him a push. His arm opened so she could hop away. Her back pressing to the reflective wall of the elevator, Nica assessed him warily.
     In the small space, he appeared intimidatingly large. He towered over her, even though she was tall for a female, and she found herself rather breathless at that slight sense of disadvantage. Not many males could gain one over her. He was big without being bulky, handsome without prettiness. And again, that forbidden interest niggled its way back to the forefront. Her posture relaxed and her features eased. Both things should have given her warning.
     “Those two who got away might come looking for evens for their friends,” he told her.
     She sniffed. “Those two you let get away are looking for the deepest hole they can find, but that won’t save them.”
     “Pretty ballsy of you to say so considering I’m an officer of law.”
     “Here to arrest me?”
     “No. That wouldn’t be in either of our best interests.”
     “So which part of you is stalking me? The cop or the Shifter?”
     “Actually, I wanted to return something to you.”
     Her vision blurred as it fixed upon the object he lifted. She hesitated just an instant before taking it from his grasp, then clutched the scarred leather protectively to her chest, where her heartbeat faltered and emotions swelled dangerously out of control. She couldn’t meet his gaze.
     “You didn’t have it with you when you came into the club,” she stammered faintly.
     “I checked it at the door.”
     Carefully, she felt for the lock that held the zipper closed. Still intact. Relief shook through her, making her words shudder as she whispered, “Thank you.”
     It was then that she noticed his scent. Clean, steely, and cool. She breathed him in slowly, savoring the sensation for a moment longer than she should have. Powerful but not overwhelming, subtle without softness. She liked that. She gestured toward the Stop button.
     “Do you mind? I want to get these shoes off.”
     She liked that he didn’t make that immediate parallel between shoes and the rest of her clothing by dropping his stare to her breasts and hips, even though there wasn’t much to either of them. Instead, he just nodded and let her put the car in motion.
     “So,” she began as her confidence returned with a good deal of swagger, “are you a Good Samaritan or just stupid for walking into the middle of things that didn’t concern you?”
     He chuckled at her conclusion. “That’s the thanks I get?”
     “I already thanked you once,” she reminded him, her gaze touching on his mouth before returning to his eyes. Grey eyes, without the slightest warming of blue beneath a thick surround of short, dark lashes. Intense eyes that could cut like lasers through surface crust to the meat inside. That made her cautious, but in his case, she found she liked playing with even a cool flame.
     “Yes, you did,” was all he said as the doors opened on four.
     He followed her the few steps it took to get to her door then waited while she inserted her key and got the green light to go in.
     “Maybe I should check things out for you,” he offered. Again, the chivalrous male.
     She laughed and placed a hand upon his chest, over the breast pocket of his shirt. Beneath it was firm, hard muscle. “If anyone is waiting in there for me, they’ll soon regret that foolishness.”
     A lift of one eyebrow. “Intriguing females have been known to make even clever men foolish.”
     Another chuckle, this time with a husky warmth to it. “I doubt that happens often in your case.”
     “Only when I’m distracted.”
     “Are you distracted by me?” Her fingertips traced over impressive pectoral terrain before giving his tie a playful flip.
     “By your purpose here in New Orleans.”
     There was no change in his tone, but Nica felt his focus move from flirtatiously personal to professional high ground. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She didn’t want to consider him a threat. Then she’d have to deal with him in a manner not quite as enjoyable as this meeting had been so far.
     “I’m working as a waitress at Cheveux de Chien.”
     He wasn’t buying it. “And you can afford a posh place like this on tips?”
     “I’m very frugal with my money.”
     “And with your facts.”
     “Is this going to be an interrogation, or would you like to come inside so it can develop into something more pleasant?” Her body language altered ever so slightly. She leaned toward him with a hint of invitation, her lips parting, her gaze warming suggestively.
     In response, his posture changed as well, straightening to put a cautious distance between them. It took Nica a moment to realize he was refusing her offer. She laughed to cover her surprise . . . and disappointment. Honorable males were so difficult. Especially when they were smart.
     “Why did you coax those men into the alley to kill them?”
     She blinked in pretended surprise. “Why would you think that? Those men attacked me. You saw that for yourself. Who knows what might have happened if you hadn’t come along when you did.”
     “I suspect LaRouche’s men would have had four bodies to contend with. I not sure what you are, but innocent isn’t one of them.”
     “What I am,” she told him, “is an independent and none of your concern.” Her words were brusque and to the razor sharp point. “I’ll make sure we don’t get in each other’s way so you won’t be inconvenienced further, on the job or off.”
He smiled then, a slow spread of appreciation displaying even white teeth and more charm that she felt comfortable with. “I wouldn’t call meeting you an inconvenience.” He gave a nod of good night. “Make sure you lock your door. The Quarter can be a dangerous place. All sorts of predators.”
     Nica watched him return to the elevator, trying to decide if she was relieved or dejected. When the door opened, she called,  “What’s your name?”
     He grinned at her. “Hero.” He stepped into the elevator and out of sight.