Body Thief Read Online Free Page B

was just as well, because Griffin was getting worked up about something he couldn’t change. Shifters were here, and short of blowing them into little bits, they were here to stay. Here to destroy human lives. Here to divide humanity into sides . . . Hell, Lyle was right. He had had enough. He pushed back from the bar. “I got an early morning tomorrow anyway.”
    “Hot date with your female captive?”
    “Hot” was one word to describe her. “Lethal” was another. “I’m giving her the night to cool off.”
    Lyle’s eyebrows rose. “You think that’ll help?”
    “No, I don’t,” he admitted.
    “Better bring your A game,” Lyle said, grinning from ear to ear.
    And a gun, Griffin thought.
    Lyle reached under the bar and handed Griffin a stack of letters. “Your mail. All bills. Sorry.”
    Of course . Bills that weren’t even his to begin with. He was still paying for a life that Parker had charged while living as Griffin. How do you prove to a creditor that a shapeshifter stole your DNA and ran up the bills? You don’t. Just another reason to drink.
    Griffin gave Lyle a wave good night and walked through the kitchen to the back of bar. He pushed open a heavy door and climbed the stairs to the small apartment Lyle sublet him.
    His cell phone rang, and he checked the incoming number before taking the call. “Hey, little brother, what’s up?”
    “I got you by one inch,” Tommy Mercer replied. “When are you gonna stop calling me ‘little’ ?”
    Griffin smiled. “When you can kick my ass on the basketball court.”
    “Bring it on, shorty.” Tommy laughed.
    “You just calling to check on me again?” Griffin asked, partly serious. Everyone in his family thought he had a drinking problem, and he swore that they were taking shifts calling him to make sure he wasn’t lying in a gutter somewhere.
    “Please,” Tommy said. “If anyone deserves to get loaded every night, you do.” Then he sighed. “Listen. I screwed up, and now Jen won’t talk to me.”
    Jennifer was the sweetest woman on the face of the Earth. How she’d managed to stay married to Griffin’s brother for a year was still a miracle in his mind. “Why are you calling me?”
    “ ’Cause you were married once, a lot longer than me. You know how to handle these things.”
    Griffin slowed his steps. “I’m not the best person to ask about married life.”
    “Well, you’re gonna have to do. Listen, I told Jen I’d watch the baby so she could go out Friday night for dinner or whatever with her friends. But then I found out it’s my turn to host the poker game. So I asked her if she could, you know, move her girls’ night out? And she freaked out on me. What did I do wrong? I mean, they can do it anytime.”
    Griffin shook his head. His brother was an idiot. He reached his apartment and unlocked the door. “Give her the night.”
    “What? No way. I got five buddies planning on this. There’s even a game on.”
    “You made a promise. Keep it.”
    Tommy swore. “This sucks. I never used to have to rearrange my life for anyone.”
    “And you didn’t have anyone who loved you as much as Jen does either or a baby with your name. Take your pick.” Griffin stepped inside. It was dark, and he left the lights off as he tossed the mail on the coffee table.
    It took a few seconds, but Tommy finally came around. “Okay, okay. I’m a jerk.”
    “Truer words were never spoken,” Griffin said and turned on the TV. He muted the sound.
    “Fuck you. You’re uninvited to the poker games.”
    Griffin grinned. Tommy lived in Arizona. “I’m working overtime this week anyway.”
    “See? That’s what I’m talking about,” his brother said. “You don’t have to clear your schedule with anyone. I bet you don’t miss being married at all.”
    Griffin stood in the middle of his empty apartment. The only sign of life came from the TV. The only sounds came from the city below and through the walls. No one made dinner for him. No one