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pleased with himself for keeping his voice
sounding neutral. It wasn t easy, though, Eros was
torturing him with that mouth of his.
We need you to come down to Mitchell s office
ASAP. We found something in your blood work
and need to talk to you about it.
Why? What s wrong with my blood work?
Rico asked, troubled.
Eros stopped kissing Rico and looked at him in
concern. Nobody ever liked to hear the words we
found something in your blood work, we need you to
come in so we can discuss it. That usually meant bad
things.
We ll tell you when you get here, Shane said,
then hung up.
He hung up! After dropping that kind of bomb
on Rico, Shane had the audacity to hang up on
him? He knew Shane wasn t the lovey dovey kind,
but come on! He could at least show some kind of
sympathy in a situation like this.
I have to go to Mitchell s. They found
something in my blood work, Rico told Eros.
I m coming with you, Eros insisted.
You don t need to do that.
Eros gave him a duh look. Did we or did we
not admit that we care about each other?
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Stephani Hecht
Well, yes.
So what makes you think I m going to let you
go alone when you may be hearing bad news?
Like it or not, you re stuck with me for good. Now
let s get going. Mitchell hates to be kept waiting.
Eros stood, then held his hands out. Rico took
them and let Eros pull him up to his feet. Walking
hand-in-hand, they went to Mitchell s office. As
soon as they entered, Mitchell acted shocked to see
Eros there as well. Shane, on the other hand,
looked as if he d been expecting it. Not that Rico
was surprised. Nothing got past the keen eye of
Shane. He d probably noticed the sparks flying
between Eros and Rico all the way back to the
time they first met at the infirmary.
Rico bowed his head respectfully. You wanted
to see me, Mitchell.
Yes, but I don t recall asking you to bring Eros
with you, Mitchell replied, with no real anger in
his voice.
Now it was Eros who bowed his head. My
apologies, Mitchell. I ve come to care for Rico a
great deal and wanted to be with him if the news
was bad.
That was most commendable of you. In this
case, the news is good and bad, so it may be a
good thing that you re here for him. Mitchell
gestured to a set of chairs. Have a seat, and I ll
tell you everything we found.
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Assassin Found
Oh, boy! This just kept getting better and better.
Rico knew he should have never answered that
damn phone. He could be back at his living
quarters, fucking Eros. Instead, he was stuck in
Mitchell s office, playing the whole good news, bad
news game.
Okay, we re sitting. Let me have it, Rico said.
Mitchell leaned forward on his desk.
Whenever we have a new feline shifter join our
ranks, we run their DNA through our data banks
to see if it matches up to any of the families with
children who were attacked the night of the Great
Raven Attack.
Rico shook his head. I could have told you not
to waste your time on that one. My parents sold
me off to my master when I was just an infant. So
they didn t want me, either way.
Mitchell shook his head. That s where you re
wrong. Either your master lied to you, or the
person who sold you to him did.
Rico s blood ran cold. What are you trying to
say?
You re on the Lost Shifter list. Only under a
different name.
Rico shook his head, still not willing to believe
it. I m not lost. I ve known where I ve been all my
life.
Right now really isn t the time to make jokes,
Shane advised.
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Stephani Hecht
Well, how in the hell did they expect him to
react? He had just found out that his whole life
had been a lie. Did they want backflips or
something? Because if so, they were SOL. At the
moment, the only thing that was keeping Rico
anchored was the feeling of Eros hand on his arm.
Otherwise, Rico would have lost it.
How are you so sure my parents didn t sell
me? They could have done it before the attack,
Rico demanded. Let s go find them and ask
them.
I wish we could, but they died in the attack,
Mitchell said. Besides, I knew your parents and
the love they had for you. They would rather have
died than be parted with you. In fact, they fought
to the death to protect you.
Then how did I end up in slavery? I thought
the Hawks took all the children to safety?
In the rush to find good homes for so many
kids, there were some cracks in the system. You
must have been given to some foster parents who
realized you were worth a lot more to them on the
slave market than as a child to raise, Shane said.
What is my real name? Rico asked.
Alfred, Mitchell answered.
Rico gave a shudder. Well, that s the one good
thing my master did for me, give me a new name.
I don t think anyone would be afraid of an
assassin by the name of Alfred.
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Assassin Found
There is one more thing you need to know,
Mitchell said.
Oh joy! Rico could hardly wait. He had a
feeling this was the bad news that was coming. He
was simply on pins and needles with excitement.
You have a brother. He s a year younger,
Mitchell told Rico.
Rico felt as if he d been smacked in the face. All
those years he d felt alone, and he d had a brother
out there. What were they going to tell him next?
That he had a long-lost cousin name T-Bone who
was in prison, but hey, don t worry he s really not
too bad. He s just misunderstood.
Where is he? Rico asked, anxious to meet his
brother. It would be nice to finally have some sort
of family for the first time in his life.
Mitchell sighed and ran a hand through his
hair. Which Rico already knew was not a good
sign. We haven t found him yet. He s still marked
on the list as lost.
Rico felt his excitement go crashing down like a
jet. Now he knew why this was the bad news.
What s his name?
Kit.
Kit? He gets a halfway decent name, and I m
stuck with Alfred? What? Did my parents have
some sort of vendetta against me or something?
Rico asked.
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Stephani Hecht
Alfred was a family name, Mitchell
explained.
One they should have lost a long time ago.
Seriously, the only time that name shows up is in
comic books.
There were a lot of good men in history who
had that name, Mitchell pointed out.
Well, they can keep it because I don t want it.
All I want to do is find my brother and stay a
Rico.
It s not that simple. We ve been looking for the
Lost Shifters for years. Most of them had their
names changed by their caregivers, so it hasn t
been an easy job. Plus, twenty years is a long time,
so they re scattered all over the world.
Shane let out a grunt. It doesn t help any that a
lot of them have gone into hiding since there are
human hunters out there now. All thanks to the
Ravens making it public that we exist. I swear we
should send out fake invites to a Ravens-only
party, and when they all show up, we should
nuke the place.
Mitchell shook his head. I don t think that
would work.
Why not? Everybody loves a good party. We d
even get them those funny pointy hats and
balloons, Shane argued.
Because not even the Ravens are dumb
enough to fall for that trap.
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Assassin Found
I think they just may be.
Do you honestly see Dulla or Chance believing
that scheme?
No, but then they re not regular Ravens.
Rico and Eros continued to watch the
argument, their heads going back and forth like
they were watching a tennis match. Rico had to
admit, he liked the sounds of Shane s plan, but he
agreed with Mitchell. There was no way in the
world that the Ravens would ever fall for it.
As they continued to argue, Rico tuned them
out and tried to digest everything Mitchell had
told him. Rico s parents hadn t sold him after all.
Quite the opposite, they had died trying to protect
him. That was a lot to take in after thinking all his
life that they hadn t wanted him. So much so, that
it made Rico s head spin.
Then there was the fact that he had a brother.
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