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took her away from this dude. “I didn’t mean to pry. Just curious. I don’t know how it worked back west, but out here, the shifters tend to stick together, like one big family.”
    “My wife and I prefer our privacy.”
    Gee, what a surprise, but like it or not, Jack and Jill would end up getting swallowed into the community, because it was what they did. His mama was all about being neighborly, whether a person liked it or not.
    “Well, I’m done here. I’ll email you the quote tonight after I get a chance to type it up. I can start as soon as you want.”
    “I’m getting other contractors in as well. For comparison, of course.”
    For a replacement you mean. Imagine that, Jack didn’t trust him. Good thing he couldn’t read Chris’s mind and see the things he planned to do to his wife. Jack would really have a problem then.
    The client saw him to the door, without a glimpse of the beautiful Jill. But Chris would return soon enough, even if he had to pay out of his own pocket to make sure he won the job.
    When worried about getting a contract, there was one sure fire way to beat the rest. Make it so freakn’ cheap, they couldn’t pass it up. Or sabotage the competition. Chris wouldn’t leave anything to chance, not with his future at stake.
     
    *
     
    Sheng did not look happy when he stalked into the kitchen.
    “Was his quote that horrible?” Jiao asked as she dropped the chicken into the pan. It sizzled in the melted butter.
    “No idea. He’s going to email it to me later.”
    “If it’s not the price, then why do you look like you swallowed a lemon?”
    “There’s something about him I don’t like.”
    “You don’t like anyone,” she retorted flipping the chicken she precooked for the casserole so it could brown on the other side.
    “I’m just being careful. I won’t do anything to jeopardize us.”
    “And how is a handyman going to manage that? Or do you think everyone works for Kaleb?” The man who’d held them captive from a young age. Their parents too, until they died. For a long time she and Sheng believed he ran the world, and he did in a sense, the compound in the mountains its own world outside reality.
    “I am not paranoid. Just cautious.”
    “No, you’re paranoid. Not quite tin hat crazy, but close. But I love you anyway.” She grasped Sheng’s hand. “Seriously though, isn’t it time we stopped living like frightened animals? It’s been six years Sheng. Surely Kaleb has stopped looking.”
    He sighed heavily. “I wish I could believe that.”
    “We have to put down our guard eventually. Why not here? I like it. It’s nice. We finally have our own house. A yard. I met some of the neighbors. One even invited me over for coffee.”
    “This place is still too new. Unknown. Let’s give it a while. Make sure it’s safe. Then, maybe, just maybe,” he repeated sternly, probably to counteract the smile crossing her lips, “we’ll think about dropping the charade.”
    “Yay!” Jiao hugged her brother, the only family she had left. She loved him, but at twenty two, their fake marriage was really starting to grate. Especially since she’d met a wolf who made her want a fake divorce.
    “Don’t thank me so quick. I said we needed to wait still. So don’t get your hopes up yet.”
    His admonishment didn’t stop Jiao from grinning the rest of the afternoon, doing hand sprints down the hall to appease her caged kitty, and singing to herself in the shower the following morning after a night spent dreaming of chocolate brown eyes and a sexy smile.
    Imagine a life where she could go back to using her real name instead of her newest one of Jill Smith. A life where she could date, maybe kiss a man and plan for a future. True freedom instead of a hidden existence where no one could know the truth.
    Only one thing marred her reverie. While she suspected Chris was her mate, he thought her married to her brother. If she told him they weren’t, Sheng would kill her. If she