Catching a Coyote

by Serenity Snow

  “You can try.”

  “Fine. I’ll go over there when I’m done here if Mallory has the time to take me.”

  “If not, I’ll take you when I get off shift. We can grab some dinner after. If Mallory does take you, then why don’t I still take you out later?” he asked.

  “Rowel. I’m a lesbian.”

  He nodded and exhaled. “Okay. All the cute ones around here are.”

  “Not all of them. Nine’s sister really thinks you’re hot. You probably know Kelley.”

  “Kelley Ninetail?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She thinks I’m hot?” he asked, doubt in his eyes.

  She laughed and nodded. “Yeah. She’d love to go out with you. Nine’s always talking about how she swoons every time she sees you.”

  Rowel chuckled. “Hell, I thought she was gay. I gave up that ship as a lost cause a long time ago.”

  “You should ask permission to go aboard next time you see her,” she bantered, and he grinned.

  “I will, and can I give you a little advice?”

  “You already did.”

  “About Mallory,” he said.

  “She’s already made her position clear.”

  “Maybe you just heard what you wanted to hear,” he said and gave her a nod and headed to Mallory’s car.

  Getting involved with Mallory wasn’t a serious consideration. Sex, on the other hand, was still a viable option.

  Chapter Twelve

  A cop came out with Mallory on his heels, but she went to stand next to Cordelia.

  “He’s going around back,” she said. “They saw you on the camera, but it was a good try.”

  “You’ll be fine, Mallory,” Cordelia said and threw a look out to the street. “Rowel said the bouncer from the club was a cop and got the tapes pulled from inside the club.”

  “You should let him take you to file charges,” Mallory said.

  Cordelia looked up at her. “You’re afraid.”

  “I’ll survive in jail,” she said. “I don’t want to be there, but I’ll do okay.”

  “You could run.”

  “Coyotes don’t run, Cordelia,” she murmured. “We fight.”

  Cordelia leaned toward her. “Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?”

  “I probably won’t be able to do that,” Mallory said. “Jenner will make sure I don’t get bail, considering I was already locked up for this crime.”

  “If you aren’t locked up?”

  Mallory averted her gaze. “I meant what I said about relationships. I just don’t have the time.”

  “You’re still assuming I want more than sex.”

  Mallory looked back at her then and moved into her personal space. “So, if I just came over and had sex with you and then left, what would you say to me on my way out the door?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?” she asked, and her eyes went to rest on Cordelia’s mouth.

  “How good you were,” she said.

  Mallory lifted her brows. “You doubt my prowess?” she asked in a teasing tone.

  “Not at all.” Cordelia grabbed a handful of Mallory’s shirt and tugged her closer. Mallory came, eyes alight with amusement. “I’m pretty sure you’re rock ‘em sock ‘em, but in case you aren’t, I’ll just tell you not to come back.”

  Mallory laughed a soft intimate sound, her eyes darkening and shivers ran down Cordelia’s spine.

  “So if I don’t deliver, I don’t get a repeat performance.”

  “Why bother when you’ve made it clear you’ll think I’m trying to pull you into something you aren’t interested in?”

  “Are you?”

  “No. I’m only interested in one thing,” Cordelia replied. “You naked as a boss with benefits.”

  Mallory chuckled, and her eyes danced merrily, making her even more attractive. Cordelia’s cat purred and urged her closer as it took in Mallory’s scent.

  “I can live with that,” she said. “I just have one hard limit.”

  “What’s that?”

  “When I want you, I get you, even if it’s in my office on my desk,” Mallory said resting a hand on her waist. “No games. No bullshit. Just sex.”

  “That’s exactly how I like it. No strings.”

  Mallory lowered her head and nipped Cordelia’s bottom lip and kissed her hard.

  “Break it up, Romeo,” Jenner muttered.

  Mallory slowly released her, and Cordelia looked up at her, sensing the tension filling Mallory’s body.

  “Find anything?” Mallory demanded.

  “Nothing,” he retorted. “Rowel, what’s in the car?”

  Rowel walked over. “Car’s clean. Nothing but a purse. There was just woman’s stuff in that.”

  “I know you think you’re slick, Mallory,” Jenner said. “But I’m going to get you and your girlfriend, too.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Mallory muttered. “You might want to ask Candy and Ella though. I’m sure they know more than they’ve let on.”

  “I’ve already talked to them, and they both said they heard you threatening Isa so it’s only a matter of time.”

  “Whatever you say,” Mallory said.

  “And when I do get you, I’m going to prosecute you for tampering with evidence, and you, too.” He pointed to Cordelia.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Cordelia said.

  “Quiet, Cordi,” Mallory ordered, shifting her stance and putting Cordelia behind her. “Do your job, Jen, and stop letting your loyalty to a killer blind you to reality. Get in the car, Cordi.”

  “M—”

  “Now!” she cut in.

  Cordelia growled in her ear, but didn’t argue. She knew how delicate an alpha’s pride could really be. They thought they had rights even when they didn’t.

  Rowel opened the door for her. “This is a delicate situation for Mallory. Don’t allow Jenner or any of them to push you into doing anything to betray her,” he told her in low tones.

  Cordelia met his gaze. The serious stare told her he’d kill her himself if she did.

  “I have no intentions of it.” Cordelia got into the car, and he slammed the door after her.

  Cordelia sat there waiting, but Mallory didn’t join her until the police cars had pulled out.

  “I have something to do here,” Mallory said. “Take my car and go on home. I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay.” Cordelia climbed out, and Mallory looked down at her.

  “I’ll stay for dinner,” she said.

  Cordelia gave her a little smile. “Then I’ll cook.”

  After leaving, Cordelia drove to Mystic. She filed charges against Larue and told the detective she talked to about the bouncer from the club and the footage Rowel said was available.

  “Okay. I’ll take care of it, but I have to wonder why you’d report it now.”

  “She attacked me at my workplace night before last and last night she came to my apartment and put a gun to my head.”

  “Sounds like she’s escalating,” he said with a frown. “You need to be careful. She’s a cop, so she’s going to get bail. What do you do for a living?”

  “I’m a dancer.”

  He grimaced. “The D.A. might not prosecute based on that and the fact you didn’t report it right off. So, take precautions and get the police in Snowbury involved. Honestly, things like this never end well for the victim.”

  “They’ve already made it clear they won’t be doing anything until she actually hurts me,” Cordelia muttered.

  “It’s an unfortunate side effect of police work,” he told her heavily. “You can file a restraining order, though. Get a paper trail to show that this woman is harassing you.”

  “So when she kills me there’ll be a pattern of behavior? What the hell good will that do? I don’t have a family or friends to pursue a case,” she said bitterly.

  “Look, ma’am, I don’t advocate killing a cop, cause that’ll get you in a sling, but I do advocate being prepare
d. Take some defense classes so you can disable her until help arrives.”

  “Right,” she said. “Right.” Cordelia got to her feet. “Stiff upper lip and all that until the cops are scooping me up out of a ditch someplace.”

  “I know it’s tough, but don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

  “I won’t,” she said quietly. No. If she had to kill Larue, she damn sure wouldn’t regret it. And no one would ever find her body.

  ****

  “What’d you find?” Sam asked when Mallory stepped into her office holding the purse Cordelia had been carrying this morning.

  “I didn’t check,” she said and set the purse on Sam’s desk and opened it. Inside was a baggie with a shirt that looked like one of the dress shirts she wore to the club in the evenings. Mallory drew the bag all the way out and surveyed the contents through the plastic which included the hilt of a knife.

  “That was hidden in your toy chest,” Sam told her. “I didn’t take it out, but if I had to guess, I’d say that was the murder weapon.”

  “So, how do we get to them without incriminating me?” she asked angrily.

  “How’d you even know it was there?” Sam asked.

  “Cordelia overheard Ella talking to Cadillac that night.”

  “The reason she wasn’t on the floor was because she was letting him in,” Sam said grimly. “What was Jerry’s end game?”

  “We need to figure that out as well as who else is involved.”

  “Bradley more than likely,” Sam said. “I’ll get Syd to look into this discreetly.”

  “I already got Delaney on it. Mica said she trusted her. “Her judgement seems sound.”

  Sam smiled. “Delaney’s okay, and I’ll have Syd work with her. We’ve got to finish this before they actually get one of us thrown in jail or dead.”

  “Can you handle things tonight? I’m going to get out of here for a while.”

  Sam nodded. “Got it covered. Just watch your ass. Jen looked a little pissed. It was good thinking on your part to have Harcourt engage in a little misdirection. What’d she use on the camera?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think she’s got some psychic thing going on.” Mallory thought about the other day. The icy breeze had come out of nowhere.

  “Like Kamari and Cambrie?”

  “Like that,” Mallory murmured. “She seemed rather friendly with Kamari and Adalyn, so I’ll ask them to talk to her. I don’t think she’ll tell me.”

  “If you ask nicely, she might,” Sam replied.

  “Sam, she’s a cat.”

  “A shifter cat?” Sam asked curiously.

  “A mountain lion,” Mallory added.

  “At least she’s not powerless.”

  “No, but do you really think she has a chance against a wolf?”

  “Does she need to? Jen isn’t going to go after her,” Sam scoffed. “He’s only being a dick to her right now because she works for us.”

  Mallory sighed and ran her fingers over her hair and told her about Larue.

  “Don’t stress, it’s not a problem to worry about. If you’re right, and she has some psychic skill, she’s going to take care of Larue on her own. The issue is going to be whether to make the consequences our problem.”

  “I owe her. She’s the one who told me about the knife.”

  Sam shrugged. “Fine. We owe her. We’ll make the body vanish if it comes to that or alibi her.”

  Mallory nodded. “Thanks, but you don’t have to get involved. I was just telling you where I stood.”

  “Wherever you stand, I’m behind or beside you one hundred percent, Mal,” Sam told her.

  Mallory nodded, wondering why she’d ever questioned their relationship. “Same.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Bradley rubbed his hands together as he waited for his guest to enter his office. He was working late tonight since his mind was a little more relaxed.

  He could focus now that the need had been slaked for now.

  He glanced the pages that had just arrived and smiled. This was one of the feathers in his cap that even Sam wouldn’t be able to dispute. Once he had those other papers finished, he’d be in business all by himself.

  The door opened, and Ella stepped inside. The waitress from the strip club was an attractive one with dark brown hair and pretty brown eyes. One of his passions was brown eyes and tight little bodies just like hers.

  His dick got hard, but the animal ignored her.

  “Hi, Bradley,” she said giving him a warm smile. “I was hanging out at the station for a bit today.”

  “Did Jenner bring Blacklaw in?” he asked. He fought the happiness bubbling in his veins not wanting her to see just how much that little coup meant to him.

  “No.” She shook her head as she took one of the guest chairs opposite his desk. The light from the lamp fell over her, casting her face in a soft glow.

  “Why not?” he asked, reining in his anger.

  “According to one of the guys who went out with him, they didn’t find the knife or the shirt. They did find Mallory’s cuff links at Isa’s place, but that’s not enough to allow Jenner to bring her in.”

  Bradley drew in a slow breath and exhaled just as slowly. What the hell was going on?

  “Did you do what you were told?” he asked, keeping the fire of his growing anger from his voice despite the fact his hand clenched on his desk.

  “Yes. We did our parts, but somehow it was found and removed,” she told him. “Today by the looks of it. They think that dancer might have it. They saw her taking something out to the dumpster.”

  “Which one?” he demanded.

  “The one Larue’s screwing with,” she said with a shake of her head. “You have to talk to her, or she’s going to ruin everything stalking that girl.”

  Larue was a hunter like him. He had no interest in curtailing her games.

  “And Jenner’s sister might be a problem. She talked to Kamari today. Kamari gave her something.”

  “Something, like what?”

  “I’m not sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say it was some footage. Everything wasn’t lost. They still have those lies to spread about Jerry.”

  “Talk to her.”

  “I did, and she said Kamari thinks at least two more of Jerry’s serial killing club are still out there,” Ella told him. “She said the FBI was still checking things out.”

  Shit.

  “Anyone in town?”

  “Carleigh didn’t say,” Ella replied. “But I’m sure she’ll find out. She was talking to a few of the cops who’ve been working Isa’s case, too. She also said she talked to Mallory and thinks she might be hiding something.”

  “I’m sure she is,” Bradley said. “You keep your eyes open. Let me know the minute anything changes at the club. Those coyotes have something up their sleeves. Summerfield isn’t just sitting around waiting for the next move.”

  “I will. Cordelia is probably sleeping with Mallory, so she’ll be willing to talk once Mallory is done with her in a few days.”

  ****

  Cordelia turned off the stove just as the doorbell rang. She smiled and went to look out the peephole hoping it wasn’t Larue. She wasn’t even counting on her having been arrested. She was a cop. She’d claim she’d had a little too much to drink and get off with a slap on the wrist.

  After a look out, Cordelia pulled the door open with a smile to find Mallory standing there with a bottle of wine in hand. She grinned.

  “Come in, Mallory.”

  “You look inviting,” Mallory said, her gaze sliding over her in her short dress with hair put up. She’d added a hint of lip gloss to heighten the pink of her lips, but nothing more.

  Cordelia was certain the way to catch a woman’s eye wasn’t in the plumage of make-up, but in clothes and sheer feminine confidence.

  “Thanks. Looks like you changed.” She was wearing casual pants and a dress shirt, but no tie.

  “I wasn’t really dressed for work this morning,
” Mallory said with a hint of a smile.

  “Did you get the problem with the alcohol solved?”

  “Kamari might have, but it’ll cost us a little extra,” she said with a frown. “But we didn’t find any bugs.” She reached out to run the pads of her fingers down Cordelia’s cheek. “I’ve been thinking about touching you all day.”

  “Was it worth the wait?” she asked teasingly.

  “We’ll see,” Mallory said and glided her fingers down over the rise of Cordelia’s breast, skimming the nipple on their way to curl at her waist. Mallory jerked her close and her head came down, blocking out the light as her mouth took Cordelia’s.

  The kiss was slow, Mallory using her tongue to explore the recesses of her mouth with ease that quickly heated Cordelia’s blood. Her body came alive, the nipples hardening, her pussy growing moist.

  Mallory lifted her head and looked down at her. Cordelia’s lashes slowly fluttered up allowing her to gaze into dark-blue gray pools of lust. The animal was watching her with unbridled hunger that took her breath away.

  Releasing her, Mallory’s eyes slid over her. “Strip for me. Make me want you more.” Mallory leaned against the door.

  Cordelia gave her a ghost of a smile. “An audition?” she asked.

  “Just do it unless you want a spanking,” Mallory ordered and removed the leather belt cinching her waist.

  Cordelia cleared her throat, deciding to accept Mallory’s challenge. She didn’t need music for this—at least nothing more than the music in her soul. Seducing a woman was second nature to her because it had become a part of survival.

  Cordelia closed her eyes for a moment to get into the headspace. In her mind she heard the music of femininity. She opened her eyes, swishing her hips lightly. Mallory was watchful as she stood there.

  Lifting her arms, Cordelia turned and continued to move to the imaginary beat. Her mother had taught her early that there was an inherent power in being a woman that even another woman couldn’t resist.

  If done right, it was like creating a spider’s web, strong and beautiful and for a cat in heat, the scent she released when she was aroused made her that much more alluring.

  Cordelia ran her fingers over her nape before letting her hands come to rest on her hips. She turned, executing a deft belly roll before shaking her hips and sliding her hands up her thighs to cup her breasts. She squeezed the firm mounds and sighed softly before reaching behind her to release the zipper.