Primal Instincts

by Melissa Schroeder

  “I go where I want. I’m Alpha.”

  Caleb rolled his eyes. “Sure. And that means you will end up at Alex’s office before the end of the day.”

  “Get bent, Caleb,” he said as he opened the office door.

  “Just telling you the truth,” Caleb said.

  “You can get killed for doing that,” he said as he walked out the door.

  He started back to his office, and wondered if Alex had found anything out about the case. He glanced at his watch. It was close the end of the workday, so he really didn’t need to go back to the office. His need to be in her presence was a hum beneath his skin, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Even now, he felt sick from not being near her in the last few hours.

  With a sigh, he decided to just give in to the inevitable. It was better to go with it because fighting it could end badly for both of them.

  Chapter Seven

  Alex tacked the picture of the last girl up on the bulletin board and stood back to look at the lineup. She hadn’t wanted to come in to work, but she did better with visuals. Her room at the motel wasn’t big enough for something like this, but it also lacked the privacy she needed for this kind of work. Yes, she could control who came and went in the room. Still, she wasn’t there all the time. Her office might have a lot of people in and out of it, but there was always surveillance. People might not think twice about breaking into her room at the motel, but they would definitely steer clear of an office surrounded by deputies and staff.

  With a sigh, she shook her head. She needed to figure out somewhere to live, and soon. She had been truthful to Jake.

  Dammit. She needed to stop doing that. Sanderson was his name. Alex needed to keep him at a distance, keep her mind off him. When she used his first name in her thoughts, it was a bad sign.

  She pushed the mayor out of her mind. Stepping closer to the board, she studied the girls. They didn’t look much alike. Different body types, different hair and eye colors, which meant that if it were a serial killer, she would be forced to think outside the box. Different body types, different hair and eye colors, which meant that if it were a serial killer, she would be forced to think outside the box. A killer usually had a type. These women didn't seem to have anything in common except they had lived in Sanderson.

  They weren’t that much younger than Alex herself. Still, she felt decades older. It was the look in their eyes. They hadn’t seen the shit she had.

  Jesus, she did need to get her own place. She was hanging around the station coming up with soliloquies like she was some kind of character in a bad film noir movie.

  “So, anything?” Dillon asked from behind her. He didn’t surprise her, though. There was a cadence in his walk that she recognized. Plus, he was the only one who wore his particular brand of cologne.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What are you still doing here?”

  He shrugged. “You were supposed to be off all day, so I planned on working a little late.”

  The kid just might make a decent cop. He had the drive and the intelligence.

  “These girls were all killed in the last six months.”

  His eyes widened as he looked back at the board. “I know them.”

  She rolled her eyes and turned back around. “Of course you do. Everyone knows everyone in this town.”

  “No. I mean, we were in high school together. I even dated Emily for a few weeks.”

  There was a note in his voice that had her giving him a side-glance. “Yeah?”

  He nodded and looked at her with a smile. “My first second base.”

  She chuckled. “So, what did all of them have in common?”

  He stepped up beside her and settled on her desk. She did the same. “They’re different ages but you know that, and they hung out a lot. Their parents all know each other.”

  “Again…”

  “Yeah, yeah, but like…all the parents graduated together, that sort of thing. I think they were in business together or something.”

  “The parents?”

  He nodded. “I know they built some hotels north of here, up near Austin and maybe some in San Antonio.”

  “And that’s how the girls became friends?”

  “Probably. You know, parents hang out, cook outs...”

  He trailed off and he dropped his gaze from hers. Not everyone knew her background, but she was pretty sure Dillon did. Her childhood didn’t involve backyard get togethers.

  “Go on,” she said. “The girls?”

  “The girls. Anyway, two of them had already moved away by the time I got back, and none of their families live here anymore.”

  “From college?”

  He nodded. She watched him as he leaned in closer trying to get a better look at the girls and her notations on the board next to each image. Yes, he was going to be a good deputy.

  “So, why did Jake want you to look this over?”

  She shrugged. “He’s worried that there were so many former residents killed in a short amount of time.”

  “Ah, yeah, I can see that. Jake has a keen eye for patterns. Always has.”

  She filed that bit of information away for later. “Anything else you can tell me?”

  “They were all cheerleaders.”

  Of course. She looked at their smiling faces, those perfect teeth…

  “Weird to think they’re all dead.”

  She shook her head. “Not all of them were ruled murders.”

  He looked at her, but she kept staring at the board. “But you think they are.”

  “All of the investigating investigative officers think they are, but without a precise cause of death, there isn’t much more they could do.”

  “And Jake wanted you to look at this?”

  She nodded. They both stood for a few seconds side by side, looking at the board.

  “By the way, I heard you had dinner with my aunt and uncle last night.”

  “And your cousin.”

  “Hmm.”

  She looked at him, and was instantly worried about that little smile he was offering up to her. “What?”

  He didn’t say anything, just kept smiling at her.

  “Spill it.”

  “Nothing much. Just ran into Caleb.”

  “Who?”

  “You might know him as Dr. Sanderson.”

  She thought of the quiet man who looked so much like both Dillon and Jake.

  Dammit, no. She needed to start thinking of him as Mayor again.

  “And, what does that have to do with anything?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing much.”

  Before she could yell at him for being obtuse, there was a commotion out in the squad room.

  She sighed, recognizing the screeching voice. She wasn’t in the mood for Mildred Foster again. But apparently, Foster’s husband had been on another bender. Alex understood. She only saw Mildred once a week, and she made Alex want to take up drinking. Living with her ever day must be horrible.

  Alex walked to the door.

  “I will not take this insubordination. My husband has a glandular problem, and he isn’t drunk.”

  “Glandular?” Dillon whispered in her ear. “That’s a new one.”

  Mildred must have heard him, because she whipped her head around and fixed her gaze on both of them. In that split second, Alex saw something not quite civilized…wild. It shimmered in her pale blue eyes for a long moment before Mildred banked the anger. “Ah, Sheriff Littlefoot, what do you plan to do about this?”

  Damn, someone hated her. She must have been a real bitch in her last life. She should have just hidden in her office, but no, she had to walk to the door and see what was going on. Sometimes, Alex hated being so responsible about her job.

  “I’m off duty, but is there something we can help you with?”

  Truth be known, she would be happy to avoid the woman. If Alex was still in San Antonio Mildred would be handled by someone in uniform. As sheriff, she couldn’t do that
—no matter how much she wanted to.

  “Of course, I understand that women like you don’t understand that men are always the ones who should be in charge, but that’s because of what you like in your personal life.”

  It took all of Alex’s control not to smack the woman upside the head. Alex curled her fingers into her palm, then released a calming breath. Mildred might be a nuisance, but Alex needed to stay professional. Alex flexed her hands and let go of the fist, burying the anger. She approached Mildred, reminding herself not to hit the citizen. The town council frowned on that.

  “Well, since you’re apparently making a scene in my station, I think you can talk to me about it.”

  “I don’t have to stand for this.”

  “No, you can go back home and return to pick up your husband tomorrow morning. Like you always do.”

  For a moment, all the air seemed to go still in the office. Everyone who hadn’t left for the day was fixated on the scene.

  “Because your department routinely arrests my husband with no cause.”

  Alex could take the woman insinuating things about her, but she would be damned if she would let her say anything about the people who worked for her. Rage surged, and she barely kept herself in check. She fisted her hands to keep from grabbing Mildred, but at the moment, she was trying to remember why she shouldn’t rip the woman’s throat out.

  Alex ground her teeth together as rage vibrated in her soul. She was fisting her hands so tightly her nails were biting into the palms of her hands. It wasn’t worth it. This woman wasn’t worth it, but it was so hard not to go after her. She had slighted her officers, and that was just not something Alex could ignore. Especially when everyone in town knew her husband was a drunk. And a mean drunk at that. Enough was enough.

  “My officers always have cause. It starts and ends with the bottle of whiskey your husband apparently has for lunch. Then, he usually causes a scene.”

  Another long pause. Then, for the first time since Alex had taken command of the small department, Mildred lost her composure.

  A sound that Alex would only describe as a growl rumbled in the woman’s chest, as she lunged forward.

  Alex didn’t act at first. When she finally did, she barely deflected the attack. As it was, the two of them fell on the floor. Alex’s head hit the concrete hard as Mildred tried to wrap her hands around her neck.

  The older women might have had the upper hand because of surprise, but Alex’s training had her recovering quickly. With ease, she bucked the woman off, then grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her. She slammed Mildred down on the floor, placing her knee on her back.

  “We got her, Chief,” Jed said, as he approached with a pair of restraints. She waited until they had her hands restrained behind her before she finally stood.

  “Book her,” Alex ordered.

  “Book me?” Mildred yelled.

  “Yeah, assaulting an officer. I’m sure your husband will be happy to share a cell with you.”

  Jed led the woman away as she ranted and struggled to break free.

  “Shit, Chief, you’re bleeding.”

  She looked at Dillon. “What?”

  “Your lip.”

  “Oh.”

  She couldn’t think of anything else to say. How did that happen? She hit the back of her head on the floor.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Jake asked from behind her.

  She turned and wanted to groan. Of course, he showed up for this. She could always be the best sheriff in five counties, but he would have a front row seat for every embarrassing event. She blinked. The room was spinning as if she had been twirling.

  “Mildred Foster was arrested for assaulting Chief.”

  She opened her mouth to talk, but her stomach roiled, and bile rose to the top of her throat. She snapped it shut. It was bad enough he had seen this, but she wasn’t about to barf on her boss.

  “Alex, are you okay?”

  His voice sounded as if it was coming through a tin can. Why was he talking like that?

  “Yeah. I have a gun.”

  “I didn’t ask you about your gun.”

  “Good. Because I think…I might be getting ready to pass out.”

  Then she was falling forward as her world faded to black.

  Chapter Eight

  Jacob watched, horrified, as all the color drained from Alex’s face. He rushed forward, catching her just before she hit the ground. He slipped one arm beneath her knees and straightened. He jostled her until her head rested against his shoulder.

  “Get Caleb,” he told Dillon.

  Jake walked to her office, ignoring the interested looks he was getting from everyone. He didn’t give a damn what they thought. Right now, every protective instinct was on high alert. As gently as possible, he lay her down on the couch. Brushing away a few strands of her hair, Jake studied her. Her face was pale, dark circles marred the delicate skin beneath her eyes. Her lip was still bleeding.

  He brushed the backs of his knuckles against her cheek.

  “Come on, Alex, wake up.”

  No response.

  “Alex?”

  Silence.

  Panic set in as he started to search for her pulse. He found it easily, even though it was faint. Jacob released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

  “Stand down,” Caleb said as he rushed into her office.

  Jacob whipped around and growled at him, baring his teeth. She was his mate, his to protect. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it wasn’t rational to behave this way, but his beast didn’t give a fuck. He was clawing to get out, to protect…it didn’t matter that he, himself, had sent for Caleb.

  “I can assess the situation better if you move.” His tone had changed, softened. It was more than just trying to calm Jake down; it had more to do with submission to the Alpha.

  Jake forced himself to stand up and move out of the way. Caleb bent beside her and pulled out his stethoscope. Jacob walked around the room, looking for anything to concentrate on other than Alex. He knew his cousin had no designs on Alex, but his inner beast was scratching to get out and defend her. Just having Caleb touch her riled his wolf. It wasn’t reasonable, but as a male who had not claimed his mate, reason wasn’t something that would rule his thoughts.

  He studied the board that she had made and realized it was for the case he had given her. Her notes were hurried, but they told him she was finding something there. She was connecting the dots on a murder board.

  “Well, there you are,” Caleb said.

  Jacob turned around and rushed to her side, practically pushing Caleb out of the way. “Alex, are you alright?”

  Caleb pushed back a little and used his penlight to look at her eyes. “She’s fine. I say the best thing is to take her home. Do you have someone to watch over you?”

  She blinked, first at him and then at Caleb. “No.”

  “I can take her out to the ranch.”

  “Wait,” she said as she struggled to sit up. Then she closed her eyes. “Okay, that wasn’t good.”

  “I can tell it wasn’t,” Caleb said. “Feeling a little sick?”

  She swallowed and nodded.

  “You are exhibiting signs of concussion. I don’t want to leave you alone tonight.”

  “You’ll come out to the compound, and that is the end of it,” Jake said.

  Again, not rational, but she had been hurt—attacked—and all he cared about was keeping her safe. He knew it was a coping mechanism, but he needed to be the one to pamper and nurse her.

  She looked at him, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. She thought he was going to take her to his parents’ house, but that wasn’t going to happen. They would be a short distance away. He’d used the word compound on purpose. It would be easier to get her to his place and apologize later, so he didn’t say anything beyond that.

  “Okay.”

  Caleb stood next to his cousin as they watched Jacob and Alex drive away.

&nbs
p; “Do you think we should call Aunt Abigail?” Dillon asked.

  Caleb shook his head, barely paying attention to Dillon’s question. His mind was on Alex and her reaction to the altercation. It wasn’t normal for a human or a wolf. But, for a wolf who had not shifted, the need to release aggression might overwhelm the senses. There was a good chance that the flow of endorphins had been what knocked her out. He should text Jake to inform him he’d better have some red meat nearby when she woke up. She was going to need the influx of protein after she rested.

  “I think she would want to know the chief is on her way out.”

  Caleb glanced at Dillon. He had been so deep in his thoughts that he’d completely forgotten his cousin was there.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Aunt Abigail. I think she’d want to know Alex is on her way.”

  “She isn’t going to be staying with them.” Hell, he knew what Jake had planned. His cousin wanted Alex in his house, under his protection, and in his bed. It must have been building for months, and now that Jake realized who she was, he was going to be a pain in the ass about it. For all of them. When an Alpha was ready to claim his mate, there wasn’t much that would stand in his way. If Jake didn’t get her in his bed soon, his need to possess would take over any logical thinking.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Caleb shook his head. It was hard to remember that sometimes, Dillon was still innocent to the ways of claiming a mate. He was years away from having to worry about it.

  “Jake is taking her home. To his house.”

  “Why would he do that?” Dillon asked, looking down the road where Jake’s truck had disappeared.

  Caleb chuckled. “That’s what you do when you find your mate.”

  Dillon’s mouth opened and closed, twice. “Shit.”

  “You said a mouthful, cuz.”

  By the time Jake settled her in his bed, the sun was setting. He stood back and studied her. She looked right lying there. She was the first woman he had ever brought back to his bed.

  As he walked out to his living room, he studied the brilliant spikes of orange and red dancing over the horizon. He had always loved the house. From the moment he’d built it, he had known it would be his place for the rest of his life. But now, looking down the hall that led to his bedroom, a sense of peace filled his heart and his mind.