Aiden chuckled. "He'll probably be upset with Ari, too, for scaring you."
Rathais brightened. "Oh yeah. This was his fault too."
"So, everyone is at fault except me, who actually fired the gun."
"Yup," Kincaid said.
She turned to her boss. "I'll turn in my badge when we get back."
"Like hell you will," Rathais fussed.
Aiden cleared his throat. "Actually, that may not be such a bad idea. Ari will want her by his side in Éire Danu."
She watched as a stream of emotions crossed Rathais' face. "Son of a bitch! I'm losing my replacement!"
"I don't mind resigning for shooting an innocent, but I'll be damned if I turn in my badge to keep a man happy." Brie crossed her arms over her chest. The men just eyed one another. "Not happening," she repeated. If these men thought she'd just suddenly become Suzy Homemaker, they had another thing coming.
*****
Ari felt the Doc poke around his wound.
"Not just a lion, are ya?" Brie's father asked.
He huffed loudly.
"Didn't think so. I’m Doctor Chris Wilson, Brie’s father. I’ve helped quite a few shifters over the years. Brie is gonna have a fit."
He just purred at the sound of her name. His mate was more beautiful than anything he could have imagined. Her skin reminded him of milk chocolate, and he intended to lick every inch of her to find out if she tasted as sweet.
"Like my Brie, huh?"
He just continued to purr.
"She did shoot you."
He huffed again, and her father laughed. "She yours?"
He tried to move his head, but felt a gentle hand on his muzzle. "Don't move just yet, just purr if she's your mate."
He purred loudly.
"I thought that might be the case. Never seen my baby girl go all to pieces like that before, figured something else had to be going on." He stepped back. "We can go about this two ways. One, I sedate you, extract the bullet, and wait for you to come around. Or I dig it out, numbing the surrounding tissue."
He huffed twice.
"Suit yourself."
Ari grit his teeth as Brie's father quickly pulled the bullet from his back. The second it was gone, he shifted back to human. Brie's father nodded while looking him up and down. "Damn fine body you got there."
Was his mate's father hitting on him?
"Got anything I can wear?" he asked.
Her father placed a stack of worn scrubs on the bed. "Help yourself." He gave him a devilish grin. "Want me to tell them I neutered you?"
Ari grinned back. "I'll even wear a cone of shame to sell it."
"I knew we'd get along. Now shift back."