“Alderman, huh? That’s going to hit the fan,” Isabeau muttered.
“Not only is he an alderman, but the city council elected him as the vice mayor.”
“I didn’t know there was one.”
Not surprising since she was originally from Wisconsin. “Most Chicagoans probably don’t know we have a vice mayor who would serve as interim mayor if there’s a vacancy for any reason.” Booker had been elected to the position by his peers after spending the last several years working on getting jobs for inner city kids, believing it was the only way to keep them from the gangs. Ethan had respected him for that, as well.
Giving the dead man an intent once over, Isabeau asked, “So what kind of an animal did this?” Stooping, she pointed to a chunk of fur near the body. “That looks like dog fur, but not pit bull or rottweiler. Maybe a wolf hybrid.” She reached out as if she was going to touch it, then came to her senses and pulled her hand back. “Or one of the coyotes roaming the city.”
“Coyotes attack rats, maybe pets, not people,” Ethan said.
Not even one of the coyote shapeshifters in Cezar Lazare’s menagerie. Lazare was CEO of The Company, a supernatural mob called the Kindred who ran Chicago’s secret underground. Unfortunately, Ethan was well acquainted with him. He might be the only cop still alive who was.
Just then, a vehicle with flashing lights pulled up, interrupting his thoughts, and the forensic team rolled out to join them. “Here are the people who can figure it out,” he said, “although the fur might just be from a couple of dogs playing in this area. I’m sure the autopsy will determine whatever killed the victim.”
“Could be a big cat.” Isabeau pulled out her cell phone and moved away, saying, “I’ll check Lakeside Zoo to see if they had any big animal escape.”
“Good idea. You do that.” Something to keep her suspicions from wandering too close to the truth.
What was he thinking? Hell, she would never believe what he could tell her! Several months ago, he wouldn’t have believed it, either.
Ethan stood and backed off, giving the forensic team a nod. He wasn’t the only one to recognize the alderman. The buzz went through the team, though they kept their voices low to keep the joggers and bikers who’d stopped to gawk from picking up the unofficial information.
While forensics got to work, Ethan’s mind raced. It looked to him like a tiger or lion could have killed the alderman. Coyotes weren’t the only predator-shifters working for Lazare. The mobster had plenty of big cats, including his own family. And Ethan doubted anyone else in the Chicago Police Department knew about the Kindred or the true nature of their casino. Well, not unless they’d been invited to The Ark’s lower deck which was cloaked to the unsuspecting by some kind of magic.
As much as he hated the idea, that was where he needed to go. To the casino boat docked at Northerly Island. Most of the former nature preserve was now turned into a thriving entertainment venue due to Cezar Lazare being able to influence local politicians into doing his bidding.
Ethan had been avoiding the place, avoiding shapeshifting Kindred, avoiding direct contact with Lazare’s daughter, Nuala, despite his vow to his late partner he would make sure she and the baby were all right. He was still reluctant to face her. Other than the fact she’d blamed him for Shade’s death—he couldn’t forget that accusation, couldn’t shake the guilt she was right—she was one of them. He would like to forget her kind existed, which warred with an unexpected and unseemly attraction to the woman.
So far, he’d checked on Nuala through Shade’s twin sister Skye, who had an ongoing relationship with Nuala’s half-brother Luc. That was who he needed to talk to about this new murder. Luc Lazare had helped nail the bastard who’d murdered Shade.
Not that anyone could ever know what happened.
Ethan’s nightmare was keeping that secret.
As far as the CPD and the human world was concerned, Detective Shade Cross’s murder would eventually and forever be considered a cold case.
All the while Ethan tried to concentrate, he kept getting distracted by thoughts of Nuala, of the baby she was carrying—Shade’s child, who would be both human and Kindred like Luc.
What the hell was he supposed to do with that?
Anxious to leave so that he could find Luc and get the man’s thoughts on this new but familiar murder, Ethan sucked in a breath and pulled out his cell phone. He took some photos of the scene and especially of the body, of the dead man’s face and ripped-out throat. Then he pulled out his casebook and made notes. He got everything he could from the initial forensic findings, everything the uniforms on duty here had gathered from the crowd on the other side of the crime scene tapes. Oddly enough, the alderman had both his wallet and cell phone on him, so he hadn’t been taken down by a thief.
What he did have in his pocket was a casino chip, the kind used on The Ark.
Suddenly Isabeau’s voice came from behind him, making Ethan start.
“Nope. No escapees from the zoo.”
Having managed to forget his new partner, he tried to cover. “I wasn’t much counting on that. Maybe we got another big cat wander in from the Dakotas.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Several years ago, a mountain lion was sighted coming through Minnesota and Wisconsin and then at a North Shore suburb on a road near the lake. It ended up a few miles from here. Authorities trapped it in an alley and shot it dead.”
Isabeau visibly shuddered. “Couldn’t they have used a tranquillizer dart instead of killing it?”
“Animal Control missed the cat. These were cops, and the cat was coming for one of them.” At least that incident had nothing to do with Lazare’s ring. When killed, a shifter regained human form. The mountain lion had simply been a mountain lion, nothing more.
Which made him wonder about their present victim.
“Might be good for you to stay here until the team is done,” he told Isabeau as he backed off.
“Where are you going?”
“To talk to a wildlife expert.” Wasn’t that the truth.
“I’ll come with you.”
“You’d be better served to stay here until they’re done and the body is taken away.”
“Why? What do you think I’ll get from it?”
“Experience. Talk to some of the spectators. See if you can find a witness to anything. You’re brand spanking new to the department. You’ve never been exposed to a homicide like this one before. You need to experience it all.”
And he couldn’t take her with him, not into the big cat’s den. Cezar Lazare would eat her alive. Maybe literally.
Isabeau was glaring at him again, but she didn’t argue. “Fine. I’ll stay.”
Ethan nodded and, giving the supervisor on scene a wave goodbye, headed for his vehicle. Even though he was already wondering how much information Luc might have or be willing to tell him, he didn’t miss Isabeau’s low-pitched whisper.
“You have no idea of what I’ve been exposed to, Detective Know-it-all.”
When he nearly missed a step, Ethan glanced back. Isabeau crouched over the dead man to get a closer look at his wounds. There was an intensity about her that threw him. Then, as if realizing she was being watched, she glanced up, eyes glinting like blue steel. Ethan blinked and saw the nervous rookie detective again. He thought about saying something, but what? He didn’t need to create any more tension between them. They had to work together, at least on this case. And that was going to be one complicated dance.
He went straight for his car and headed out.
Driving south on Lake Shore Drive for Northerly Island, he tried to focus on the possibilities he might have to deal with. Was the dead guy Kindred? Another shifter? Had the fur come from the victim himself? Were there more shifter fights going on after Skye Cross had Cezar’s promise that he would stop them? While trying to save her brother Shade’s soul, Skye had won the right to demand he do so.
Again, his thoughts drifted to Nuala, w
ho had tried to save Shade herself. Despite the fact that she was Kindred, she’d fallen in love with a human and would have done anything for him. He had to give her credit for that. He only hoped she would do right by their child when it was born, find a way to get the baby away from the corruption of her kind. Though it was an obligation he wanted no part of, he would see to it. He would make sure Shade’s child had options away from the Kindred clan. If the mother objected...
Well, hell, he didn’t know what he would do then.
Just because Nuala had a love for one human didn’t mean she would find it in her tainted Kindred heart to have so much as a liking for Ethan. And he certainly didn’t appreciate the fact she was part of the Lazare family.
And yet...
The woman was powerful in a way that disturbed him. He needed to keep his promise was all. But he had to admit Nuala Lazare would be difficult to ignore if he ran into her at The Ark.
~*~
If you enjoyed the excerpt, keep reading ANIMAL ATTRACTION…
About the Author
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Patricia Rosemoor has had 100 novels with publishers and more than seven million books in print. She’s fascinated with "dangerous love" – combining romance with danger, bringing a different mix of thrills and chills to her stories. Patricia has won a Golden Heart from Romance Writers of America and two Reviewers Choice and two Career Achievement Awards from RT Book Reviews, and in her other life, she taught Popular Fiction and Suspense-Thriller Writing, credit courses at Columbia College Chicago.
Find more about Patricia’s work at her Website or at her Facebook page and at her Twitter page. Sign up for her newsletter, Dangerous Love.
Photo credit: Firefly Nights Photography
Other digital novels by Patricia Rosemoor
Stealing Thunder (The McKenna Curse 1)
Freeing Grace (The McKenna Curse 2)
Resisting Siobhan (The McKenna Curse 3)
Defending Hailey (The McKenna Curse 4)
Guarding Cat (The McKenna Curse 5)
See Me in Your Dreams (The McKenna Legacy 1)
Tell Me No Lies (The McKenna Legacy 2)
Touch Me in the Dark (The McKenna Legacy 3)
Never Cry Wolf (The McKenna Legacy 4)
Mysterious Stranger (The McKenna Legacy 5)
Cowboy Protector (The McKenna Legacy 6)
Wolf Moon (The McKenna Legacy 7)
In Name Only? (The McKenna Legacy 8)
Rescuing the Virgin (The McKenna Legacy 9)
Fake ID Wife (Club Undercover Book 1)
VIP Protector (Club Undercover Book 2)
Velvet Ropes (Club Undercover Book 3)
On the List (Club Undercover Book 4)
Red Carpet Christmas (Club Undercover Book 5)
Sheer Pleasure (Chicago Heat 1)
Improper Conduct (Chicago Heat 2)
Hot Zone (Chicago Heat 3)
In Dreams (New Orleans Heat)
Andrei (Gypsy Magic 3)
Rico (Renegade Magic 3)
Zachary (New Orleans Magic 3)
Pushed to the Limit (Quid Pro Quo 1)
Squaring Accounts (Quid Pro Quo 2)
No Holds Barred (Quid Pro Quo 3)
Quid Pro Quo Boxed Set (above 3 books)
Drop Dead Gorgeous (Dangerous Male 1)
Lucky Devil (Dangerous Male 2)
Dangerous Male Duet (above 2 books)
Crimson Holiday (Crimson Duet Book 1)
Crimson Nightmare (Crimson Duet Book 2)
Crimson Duet (Crimson Holiday & Crimson Nightmare)
Ticket to Nowhere (Double Trouble Book 1)
Torch Job (Double Trouble Book 2)
Heart of a Lawman (Sons of Silver Springs Book 1)
The Lone Wolf’s Child (Sons of Silver Springs Book 2)
A Rancher’s Vow (Sons of Silver Springs Book 3)
The Silent Sea
Haunted
SKIN
Hot Corpse (Short Story)
Animal Instincts (Kindred Souls Book 1) Page 24
