Claiming a Beta Coyote

by Serenity Snow

  “I know,” Ava said. “I want you to agree to when I bring his killer to trial.”

  “Russo ordered the murder, but Detective Norris was the one who pulled the trigger, and Felicia was there, too.”

  “I’m glad you told me,” she said. “Felicia’s been pretty nosy, trying to find out what I know or if I’ve been in touch with the investigator Dillinger had working on this.”

  “I’m sure.” Kyra snorted.

  “I found something last night,” Ava replied. “I need you to check it out.”

  “What is it?”

  “Carlo might be running drugs through this town for his dad, and he’s hooking up with the leader of a jackal-wolf pack, a mercenary, I think.”

  “Bennet Holcombe,” Kyra said. “I’ll see if I can connect them.”

  “Holcombe was on the list, but so were a couple of other names.” She picked up her phone from her lap and woke it before rattling off a few names. “They want to set up some kind of business there, a resort or something to use to run their drugs and money through.”

  “That resort project is on the table,” Kyra said. “I’ll find out if Russo is a player in it or not.”

  “Don’t endanger yourself checking them out. Just from the Google search, I can see that this guy Lewis might not be the right person.”

  “I’ll check it out,” Kyra assured her. She did know a Lewis and was well aware that he’d had ties to a killer. She also knew Astor, another name on the list thanks to the help she’d given Snow Fur recently.

  “And I have a picture of a girl who’s involved with the move. I can’t put a name to the face, but there wasn’t one. The information only said the girl was in this up to her eyeballs.”

  Kyra pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at it when it signaled an incoming notification. She opened the file and glanced at the picture and her jaw dropped.

  Chapter Two

  Russo sipped his coffee as he sat at the round table situated next to a wall in his breakfast room. Light filtered in through the bamboo shades, casting shadows into the corners. He glanced up from the half-eaten meal to meet the cool stare of his right-hand man.

  Joey Lauria had been with him since before Russo had taken over the reins from his father. Their relationship had only grown stronger in those years, and he trusted Joey implicitly.

  “Has any new information come in?” he asked. The librarian, a friend of Timmons’ wife, hadn’t given them anything on the investigator. She’d taken whatever she’d known to her grave, and she’d died with a smug look on her face.

  That left him with an uneasiness in his chest that wouldn’t go away until this Banks was found.

  “I’ve found six people by that name, and I have someone digging into each one’s life, but there is no evidence of a private eye named Banks. There was one in the New Orleans area of Louisiana.”

  “Was?” Russo asked, that feeling of acid indigestion creeping up on him.

  “He was a Marine Vet, but he’s dead. He and his wife and son, Killian Banks Jr. were killed in a house fire.”

  “When?” He frowned. An ex-Marine sounded like the kind of guy you put on a case involving a cartel, especially if he’d been part of some kind of special team.

  “Thirteen years ago,” Joey told him. “Banks testified against a gun runner when he witnessed a murder. The entire family was wiped out.”

  Russo sat back in his chair, pursing his lips. “Dillinger wasn’t that dumb,” he murmured. “He wouldn’t have been working with a man whose name he didn’t know. Get in touch with his wife.”

  “She’s vanished, but I’ll see if Norris or Felicia can locate her.”

  “Keep digging into this Banks mystery. He might have had an illegitimate son who bore his name.”

  “I’ve thought of that,” Joey replied.

  “And find the girl I saw that night,” he growled. Joey’s brother had died from the injuries she’d inflicted on him.

  “Norris didn’t recognize her, but she signed in as Serena Crawler.”

  Russo frowned. He didn’t like unknowns, especially ones out of his personal control. “He has no ideas?”

  “No. He’s pulled the cameras and run her face through facial recognition software and nothing pops,” Joey replied with a grim look. “Put that with the fact Dillinger had a dead man on his payroll and this is a problem.”

  Russo had to agree. That was just too strange. This girl had to be working with the private eye Dillinger had hired.

  “I’m checking out Timmons,” Joey said quietly. “The girl could have been an old lover or a fellow agent.”

  Russo nodded his agreement. Timmons had been a smart bartender who’d grown suspicious one night after an after-hours drug deal at the club. Russo hadn’t been aware of just how much Timmons had learned or had shared with his wife even after he found out they were undercover agents.

  His son had acted in haste, he had to admit. Russo had warned him to find out exactly what Timmons had seen and who he’d talked to before killing him and the three others who’d been at the club with him that night.

  Russo met Joey’s gaze again. “Stay on both things,” he ordered. “That girl heard or saw something. I want her taken out of play.” Before he ended up behind bars.

  He picked up his cell phone to put in a call to his half-brother. They were working on a deal down in Snowbury, and he wanted to make sure things were on point in both cases.

  “Hello?” His brother’s voice filled his ear.

  “How are things?” Russo asked. “Specifically, the shipment?”

  “Everything is on track,” he said. “The land deal could be problematic, though.”

  “In what way?” Russo asked tightly. Time and money had been invested in a project that would give him a new, though smaller port of operations. A club or resort style hotel would allow him to clean some of his money without problems with the government.

  “I’ve taken care of Holcombe, but the shares of the land not already in coyote possession belong to them now,” his brother told him.

  Holcombe had been a gun runner he’d worked with on occasion. The man had been part owner of a mercenary organization who owned a hotel and wanted to expand his small pack’s lands right into Snowbury. However, Russo had seen the signs of the man becoming a threat.

  So, he’d ordered his death and the takeover of his pack. His son was now in control of it.

  “And there’s Shadow. They’re making a bid to take over a club there. They also have a vested interest in the land.”

  Russo grimaced. “Arrange a meeting,” he said. “Find out exactly what their intentions are.”

  “They’ve already begun running product through the town and the club will give them a legit front for their new product. They want to take over if they can’t work with the coyotes who own it.”

  “Chances of that?” Russo asked with a frown.

  “Nil,” his brother replied. “These are the same coyotes we need to get rid of. They aren’t budging on the land, but if Shadow is working with another smaller operation down here, too, the two could be a major force if they manage to bring any of the packs here onto their side.”

  He’d be willing to let things go and move on, but his father had thought the area would be perfect. That had been years ago, and Russo had been too busy stabilizing the business after his father’s sudden death to make that move.

  Now, he was ready. He was also ready to make the killer pay.

  “Have you found any traces of my father’s killer?”

  “I’m still looking, but the man who might know something is out of town right now. I expect him back in a day or two.”

  “Get back to me after the meeting with Shadow,” Russo replied.

  The two leaders weren’t likely to just move on. The brother and sister team were a nasty duo when pressed, and he wasn’t sure his brother and son could handle them.

  “Find out everything on their partner,” Russo ordered. “I might be abl
e to give them an incentive to back out and Shadow to move on.”

  He’d take them out of play if he had to. Russo intended to own that town as his father had meant to.

  ****

  When Kyra rolled out of bed, it was close to eleven. She took a quick shower and brushed her teeth before dressing and heading out. She had a car parked in a storage locker in Stonington, but she wouldn’t be using it today.

  A cab would suffice to get her where she was going. So, she called one and waited for it in the coffee shop down the street from the hotel. She took the vehicle to within a block of the old brownstone she was going to and walked the rest of the way.

  Kyra hung around outside for ten minutes before a man with two small children exited, and she grabbed the door as she smiled at one of the children. He returned her smile and grabbed one of the boys as he tried to escape.

  Stepping into the building, Kyra glanced around the lobby searching for cameras. Finding only one, she dipped her head and headed for a set of double doors behind which was the staircase. She took it up to the sixth floor and strode out into the corridor.

  An arguing couple walked past, and she kept her head down as she strolled to her destination.

  The apartment was supposed to be empty—that’s why she’d come at this time of day. She knew the owner was in Mystic playing the role of unassuming businessman.

  Kyra pulled her lock pick tools from her purse and used them to unlock the door before stepping inside. The scent of lavender greeted her along with the rich aroma of coffee.

  No one was supposed to be here, but she supposed the guy could have a lover and this could be their little love nest. Either way she was here now. There was no reason to just leave.

  “Don’t worry about me,” a feminine voice urged sweetly. “I’ll be okay on my own, honey. I have a few meetings to take anyway.”

  Kyra shut the door softly behind her and eased into the room. She closed her eyes and tracked the voice.

  “My brother wants to meet with you in the morning. He’s growing a little nervous… I told him there was nothing to worry about.” She was silent for a moment. “I have someone in that club who knows exactly what she’s doing. Blacklaw and Summerfield won’t see this coming.”

  Even if they didn’t see whatever was planned coming, Kyra didn’t expect either of them to take this lying down.

  “Blacklaw will be back behind bars, and Summerfield will join her. Once we’ve set them up, we’ll own that club and the land. We’ll be able to start building and make this town our own.”

  What are they planning?

  “The drugs will arrive around seven. She’ll get them in place and the call will go out shortly after that. Is that soon enough?”

  Kyra slipped into the room just down the hall from the one the woman was in. There was a desk along with a bed. Kyra walked over to find a folder open and pages scattered over it. She pulled out her phone as she examined the pages.

  “What about the mayor? Mayer could become a problem down the line if we try to move on the land without proper authorization. She strikes me as a hard-ass. She won’t just back the rest of the Councilors from what I’ve seen of her.”

  That was good.

  “Those damned alpha coyote bitches are really starting to get on my nerves. I think we should set Blacklaw up for killing Mayer, and Summerfield for murdering Jenner. That should make all our problems in that area go away.”

  Whoa.

  Kyra snapped a few pictures and turned the page.

  “It is a viable plan. Don’t discount it. My brother is all for it, but he says we might have a problem with Russo. He wants the Mystic Snow lands, too, and obviously for the same reason.”

  That damned resort was a real bone of contention.

  Kyra snapped several more pictures not paying much attention to what she was seeing as she listened to the conversation.

  “Isaiah and Bradley didn’t live up to expectation. Will we have the same problem with Lewis?”

  She found a second folder and opened it. Inside were several small brown envelopes marked information for distribution. She took one and put it in her purse.

  “And what about the Coalition? You need to bring at least half of them over to our side. With them, we’ll have the means to oust Russo if he doesn’t walk away.”

  They were talking war on someone else’s territory. These shits were shameless.

  “I know,” she said. “You can’t do anything about Russo taking out Holcombe and taking over his pack, but that only means he’ll have a stake here, not in Snowbury.”

  She knocked a folder onto the floor and grimaced as most of the contents spilled. Kyra picked it up as the woman droned on. She neatly put the items back and stopped short as she found a single picture.

  In it, a coyote was taking down a larger jackal. She started to look for something that told her what it was because she’d seen it before when the woman’s voice came into focus.

  “I’ll have that pretty little hotel Russo now owns destroyed if necessary and that will divert their attention for a while. I know Carlo is itching to set up base there.”

  She closed the folder and snapped a few pictures from another one.

  “Honey, hold on. I think someone’s in here.”

  Shit.

  Kyra doubted the woman smelled her. Her scent was difficult to pick up thanks to her genetics, so, the woman’s animal must have sensed something wasn’t quite right.

  Kyra turned the page back to where it was as the music of silence filled the air.

  She allowed her animal to take over fully, go into complete hunting mode. Her mind was quiet, blocking out all concern. The woman’s scent, a heavy perfume, drifted to her from the open door.

  Kyra moved to the wall and flattened herself against it to wait. The woman’s breathing grew audible as she stood outside the room.

  “I don’t see anyone,” she said, but there was suspicion in her tone that kept Kyra’s coyote on edge. “And I’m not picking up any scent either.”

  The woman stepped into the room, and Kyra allowed her face to fill with light, blinding the woman. She hit her before her eyes could adjust. The woman grunted and staggered back before collapsing.

  “Lena? Baby?”

  Kyra rolled the voice coming through the phone’s speaker around in her head. She knew it as surely as she knew her own name, but she didn’t make a sound. She took one last look at the woman’s face, committing it to memory.

  Kyra was at the front door when she heard the woman calling out. She eased it closed and hurried to the stairwell. Inside, Kyra drew on the heat, let it mingle with her body chemistry to blur her features making her appear invisible. Then, she hurried down the stairs.

  She strode past a security guard making rounds and out the front door without being noticed. Kyra allowed the light to fade making her visible again. However, she stayed close to the building. Even though the woman hadn’t seen her, she didn’t want to take any chances in her getting any images to use as a trace.

  After all, if the woman was worth her salt, any figure on the street so close to the building was suspect.

  Back at the coffee shop, Kyra ordered coffee and got a table. She removed her phone to take a look at the pages she’d photographed. She searched for any information on the drugs Lena had mentioned planting and found it.

  Closing the file, Kyra made a call.

  “We’ve got a bigger problem than we thought.”

  Chapter Three

  Claudia rubbed her temple as Lewis Crane droned on like a teenage girl who’d been excluded from a party. She wanted to punch him in the mouth to shut him up, but that would probably be bad form and get his wolf up.

  “The police are already looking into this,” she said as patiently as she could manage when he finally wound down.

  “The police are doing their best to get justice, but what are you doing to make sure the murders of two of the community’s most prominent members are being held accounta
ble? There’s proof that lies were what touched off this mess.”

  Said proof had merely vanished which was why Jenner was on the verge of being fired by her as Snowbury’s police chief. The very thought of outsiders coming into this town and poking around their business was asking for trouble.

  “Lies?” She’d heard the charges and read the stories in the paper. Claudia had also seen the footage that Jenner and the A.D.A claimed had been doctored.

  “And you need to get the paper to stop printing those slanderous tales. It’s irresponsible.”

  “I have no sway over the press, Lewis,” Claudia retorted. “They’re free to print whatever they want, so get off my ass.”

  He growled at her, and she cocked her head, holding his gaze.

  “How could you even say that?” he snapped. “You knew both Bradley and Jerry. Getting justice for them should be your main priority.”

  “I know a serial killer or serial killers could have been living among us, playing among us, and three FBI agents were killed. I know the Bureau is in my backyard crawling up my ass, so sing me another song.”

  Although she wasn’t a cop, the FBI was on her case as much as the police chief looking for answers that Jenner couldn’t give or was determined not to provide. His sister’s death and two of his cousins in a recent attack had him determined to ignore the evidence presented by Kamari, a former FBI agent and member of one of the packs Jenner felt was responsible for his family’s tragedies.

  “Summerfield and Blacklaw are behind the attempts on the D.A. and the police chief,” he snapped. “Surely you realize that something has to be done. Your support here would be appreciated.”

  “I don’t know what happened that night, that’s why I’m not rushing to action in any direction, and I’m allowing the police to do their job without my interference. Now, get out of my office,” she muttered. “You’ve given me a big enough headache for one evening.”

  Lewis sneered at her and got to his feet. “You better do something if you expect to get reelected next term, Claudia, let alone remain on the Coalition.”

  The Coalition’s job was to police the shifters in the area and she was a member of the mostly wolf organization.