She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll take you to Fenton’s Marsh. That’s where I saw the bodies, but by now, the alligators have them. You’re not goin’ to find anything to help you one way or the other.” Her words tumbled out in a rush, a concession.

“I work for Jake, Saria. If you knew enough to contact him, you know what we’re dealing with here.” He had to tiptoe around the subject, feel her out, see how much she really knew without scaring her off.

She suddenly raised her head and looked him directly in the eye. Her eyes gleamed gold in the night. His leopard lunged for her, desperate for her. He had to breathe away the change, all the while keng his gaze locked with hers. She was so close, so still. So very dangerous and she didn’t even know it.

“Are you one of them?” Her voice was almost a purr.

“A shifter?” He kept his voice gentle and stayed absolutely still. There was nothing more dangerous than a female leopard close to emerging, but not yet receptive. “Yes.” He waited a heartbeat. Two. “As are you.”

She frowned, shook her head and stepped back, away from him. He didn’t let go of her wrist, but instead moved with her.

“Didn’t you know? Surely your family talked to you about it? Isn’t the reason you hesitated going to the police because you realized whoever killed those men could be someone you know?”

“I’m not,” she denied. She looked confused. Even frightened. “I’m not a shifter.”

This was going to be far more complicated than he’d first imagined. She seemed to know little of shifters. He could see the genuine shock and denial when he told her she was a leopard. The idea was frightening to her. He was in uncharted territory. He could handle alpha males in their prime, but a woman on the verge of the Han Vol Dan was altogether a different matter.

“Come inside, Saria, and dry off. It’s late and we have to be up early,” he coaxed. “At least be comfortable while we talk. I’ve got a dry T-shirt and you can get under the covers while we talk. I’ll stay on the other side of the room if it makes you feel better.”

“You could give me back my rifle.”

“I think we’ll be better off with just the knife you’re carrying.”

She managed a small smile, shrugged, a small feminine lift of her shoulder that tightened his body to the breaking point, before she stepped inside his room. At once, her scent filled the air, the alluring fragrance of wild, rain, temptress, uniquely Saria. He drew her deep into his lungs, fighting to hold on to sanity. She didn’t quite trust him, but she had confidence, he had to give her that.