To some who know him, Jax -- under the name Jackson Martin -- is a reputable restorer of antiquarian books. To others, in various guises, he's a man who double-crosses thieves, relieving them of what wasn't theirs to begin with ... although he doesn't return the stolen goods to their original owners. That isn't his thing.<br><br>When he's hired by Donovan, a book collector, to restore a damaged atlas, Jax meets the young man who runs Donovan's side interest, a no-kill animal shelter. Noel is wary of Jackson for reasons he can't explain. It doesn't stop him from finding Jax interesting ... an interest Jax returns despite knowing it will go nowhere.<br><br>Then Keegan, Jax's mortal enemy, appears bent on killing him. Will Jax be able to stop him before that happens? And will what he and Noel learn about each other end their budding relationship before it can become something more?

A Man of Many Parts

He didn’t get a chance to find out. The air seemed to shimmer momentarily before a man appeared in the center of the room. He held a pistol in one hand, a lethal-looking knife in the other.


Noel knew instantly what he was, and that he was the one who was after Jackson. Despite his fear, he turned to Jackson, saying, “You lied to us.”


“I had no choice,” Jackson replied while moving away from Noel, his gaze locked on the man. “You could have chosen a better time, Keegan,” he said scathingly.


“Aww, did I interrupt something?” Keegan asked, grinning wickedly as he studied Noel. “Tell me, boy, does Jax know what you are? Do you know what he is?”


“What you are?” Jackson, or Jax as Keegan had called him, stared at Noel in shock.


Keegan laughed. “How delicious. The metamorph has found himself a cat to play with and he didn’t even know it. Too bad it ends here.”


“Your fight is with me, Keegan. Leave him out of it,” Jax growled.


Chapter 34