by E A Price
Cutter blinked and looked round. While distracted, he had completely bypassed his own floor and walked all the way down to the basement with Diaz. Or rather, down to the medical bay.
Diaz opened the door, and the smell of bleach hit them, but it was soon drowned out by something much sweeter, and much more alluring. The mouthwatering scent of blueberries and cream not so much hit him as wafted through his body alighting every inch of him, and he knew then that he was in trouble.
He heard the soft patter of footsteps as the dangerous presence moved in their direction. While his wolf wanted to bask in the intoxicating scent, Cutter knew he had to get out of there before… oh crap.
“Cutter!” exclaimed a melodic voice.
He tensed and raised his stormy eyes to meet to baby blues of Lucie. The reason why he couldn’t get his physical done.
No, he wasn’t scared of the actual physical – he was a fine specimen, even if he did say so himself – more like he was scared of what lurked in the medical bay. Something more terrifying than he’d ever encountered in all the years combined at the SEA.
Lucie the nurse. Lucie the hedgehog shifter. Lucie the five-foot-three bundle of sweetness and tenacity that had been hounding him into going on a date with her for the past year.
If he went into that medical bay for a physical, she’d have him by the balls – literally – and then how was he supposed to say no to her none-too-subtle come-ons?
She had latched onto him the first day she started working there, and would not take no for an answer. She was determined that they should be together and he… wasn’t.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like her. What wasn’t there to like? She was a nice person. His wolf howled in objection. Okay, she was more than nice – she was wonderful. And like wasn’t a strong enough word; he wanted her, desired her, needed her with a fierceness that would terrify her if she knew. She was… staring at him expectantly with a small smile curling those bee-stung pink lips. Lips that would look beautiful stretched around his… oh crap.
“I’m here for my physical,” declared Diaz, effectively slicing through the rising sexual tension.
Cutter could have kissed him in thanks. The cat did it for his own selfish reasons, but it had given him a reprieve at least.
Her smile faltered a little, but she soon slapped it back into place. “Are you here for your physical?” she asked Cutter, hopefully.
“No,” he grunted. “I’m busy.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn’t give her chance to say anything. Rudely, he spun on his heel and mounted the stairs two at a time, ignoring the disappointment that streaked over her features and the sneering chuckles of Diaz.
His wolf snarled, growled, and roared at him to stop, but he couldn’t. He needed to get away from her. She wanted to be with him, but he didn’t want to be with her. If he weren't careful, she could persuade him otherwise, so it was better for him just to stay away.
He didn’t stop running up the stairs until he made it to his floor, pushed past several other agents who shouted at him to look where he was going, and was sitting, brooding at his desk.
It wasn’t that he didn’t find her attractive. Fuck no. His wolf agreed with him vociferously. Her curvy little self featured in more of his erotic fantasies than he cared to admit. It was her peachy ass that did it, no, her breasts. Her bountiful breasts that always strained against whatever top that happened to be striving to keep them under control. The pink shirt she was wearing today was particularly fetching.
Fuck.
Cutter scrubbed a hand down his face. He needed to stop thinking about her. Walking around the SEA offices with an erection that could pound nails was just inviting trouble.
He needed to concentrate on work. He pulled a couple of files open on his desk and tried to read through them again. They currently had two open cases that the Director wanted them to close and quickly.
The first was the murder of a hedgehog shifter. He’d been living on the streets, and a care worker who visited him regularly reported him missing from his usual spot. They found him – or at least his remains – about a mile away in a dumpster. He’d been ripped apart by some kind of wild animal, or most likely a shifter, given that they didn’t have any lingering scents. Whoever it was had covered his tracks well enough to dispose of the body in a public dumpster. Due to the lack of physical evidence and the fact that it seemed to be entirely random, they weren’t getting very far with that.
The second case was of a toucan shifter who had been murdered on her wedding day. Even before she was murdered, it wasn’t shaping up to be the happiest day of her life. The wedding had been arranged by her parents, and there were a lot of people opposed to the marriage, and a lot of fighting and backstabbing going on. They were having trouble narrowing down their suspects and picking out a solid motive amongst all the arguments. Plus, they didn’t actually have a body – just blood, lots and lots of blood.
Cutter huffed and closed the files. He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair. What would Gunner do? He probably wouldn’t run away and hide from a hedgehog shifter. His wolf sneered at him. No, probably not, admitted Cutter. He just didn’t know what to do about her.
Lucie was determined that they should be together, but Cutter wasn’t. As much as he wanted her, she wasn’t right for him, she was too sweet and innocent, she deserved a mate who would treat her like a princess, not one who was liable to wake up from a nightmare and try to strangle her. Cutter battled his own demons, and it wasn’t a battle he wanted to share with her. She deserved more than that.
The problem was that she didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. He’d tried being nice and, lord knows, that hadn’t been easy. The badgering he got from his wolf and the guilt he felt every time he saw disappointment in her eyes was threatening to drive him insane. But, she just wouldn’t give up. The only option he had left was to be nasty.
If he were vicious and treated her badly – if he gave her a taste of what he was really capable of – she would soon back off. It’s just that the thought of doing anything like that was less than palatable. He wanted her to move on and find someone else to bestow her attentions on, but did he really want her to hate him? He could live with his wolf hating him – the beast had made it abundantly clear how he felt about the matter ever since Lucie first waltzed into their lives and started terrorizing him into going on a date with her. But, could he really stand it if Lucie did despise him?
Cutter sighed and closed his eyes. Life wasn’t fucking fair.
He opened an eye as he felt and scented the approach of his lion shifter teammate, Avery. She plopped a coffee on his desk, uncaring as it slopped over the side of the cup.
“Nice to see you’re getting a bit of shut eye while we’re working our butts off,” she snapped.
Cutter groaned. Avery was usually even tempered, but he could guess at what was irritating her.
Their team usually comprised of him, Gunner, Avery, Wayne, a gator shifter, and Jessie, a squirrel shifter who was their tech advisor, or computer geek, which she was happy to be known by. The sixth member of their team used to be a bear shifter called Zane, but he was unceremoniously fired. His replacement was Erin, and after she left, they were assigned a hyena shifter called Primrose. And prim she was.
Cutter had known her, briefly, when they both worked in Ursa, but he’d never had much contact with her or been hit with the full force of her personality. Technically, they couldn’t find anything wrong with her behavior. She was a rising star at the SEA. She had all the rules memorized; she was quick witted and diligent and very keen to point out other people’s mistakes. Yep, she was the perfect agent, and no one else on the team could stand her. The snide comments about their professionalism, the constant questioning of their methods and her arrogant nature all amassed to one very dislikeable agent. It was hard to get along with someone who was convinced that she was never wrong and thought everyone else beneath her. Their b
osses at the SEA thought she was great. Just wait until she was gunning for one of their jobs.
In particular, as the only other female field agent, Primrose seemed to go out of her way to antagonize Avery. And given that Avery was usually quite calm and collected, just how much Primrose bothered her was saying something.
Cutter ignored her angry crack about sleeping. “Where’s her ladyship?” he asked warily.
They’d taken to calling Primrose that. It was nothing compared to some of the things she called them.
“Out trying to solve our cases single-handedly – apparently our bumbling just hampers her crime fighting abilities. Anyone would think she was bloody Batman!”
Avery flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and took a few angry slurps of her own coffee.
Cutter blew out a breath in relief. “It’s not all bad news then.”
If Primrose was out trying to bring down bad guys on her own like some nutty vigilante, it meant she wasn’t there. If she wasn’t there, it meant that she wasn’t lurking anywhere, spying on them and trying to catch them doing something wrong. Wayne dipped out of the office for a few minutes to have one cigarette, and she felt it necessary to run to the Director and tell him that the gator shifter was shirking his duties. Thankfully, the Director wasn’t going to crack the whip over something like that, although he had nearly hit the roof when Primrose informed him that Jessie had been looking at an online dating site during office hours. The snake shifter was fuming, and Jessie had almost been in tears over it. Another reason they hated the hyena shifter. Jessie worked harder than anyone and didn’t deserve that.
“Wayne’s still trying to get a hold of our hedgehog shifter’s next of kin and Dale’s…” She rolled her eyes. “I have no idea what Dale’s up to.”
Dale was a temporary replacement. Like Cutter, he was a wolf shifter and had been at the academy at the same time as Gunner and Cutter. They’d been good friends at the time, but working with your friends wasn’t always such a good idea. Gunner and Cutter got along, mainly because, although Gunner was his boss, Cutter would still defer to him and do as he was told even if he didn’t agree with what he had to do. He had a teeny tiny problem with authority figures, but he respected Gunner. Dale, on the other hand, had no respect for anyone and wasn’t afraid to make that fact known.
He was passed from branch to branch, inciting fury and outrage wherever he went. Nobody dare try and get rid of him as his father was on the Council of Supernaturals. Firing Dale would be akin to career suicide. Even Primrose was smart enough not to make a complaint about him, and anyone could see that his actions infuriated the hell out of her. It would be funny if it weren’t for the fact that they were essentially forced to do Dale’s job for him and cover up his blunders.
Now, it was Los Lobos turn to house the Agency’s most unmanageable agent. The Director figured that Cutter would be the best option to control Dale. He figured wrong. Whatever warm and fuzzy feelings Dale might have had toward his old friend didn’t extend to doing as he was told.
Cutter blamed himself. There was a time, back before he came to Los Lobos when he was practically out of control. He’d spent a long time undercover back in Ursa, and the experience had left him a little worse for wear. It resulted in heavy drinking, heavy womanizing – after his wife left him - and dodging work responsibilities. At that time, he and Dale had virtually been inseparable. Cutter looked back on those days with a shudder. He almost lost everything that was important to him. Luckily, Cutter had a mom who refused to take any crap from him and Gunner to yell at him to pull himself together. He got his life back on track, managed to salvage his relationships and started afresh in Los Lobos. Cutter had tried to do the same for Dale, but the wayward wolf really wasn’t interested. Dale had a free pass to act like an irresponsible ass, and he was prepared to take full advantage of it for as long as he could.
The problem was that Dale didn’t seem to think that Cutter had changed, while Cutter was adamant that he was a new man. Dale refused to take anything Cutter said seriously. Thankfully, he only had to put up with it for a few more weeks.
“Have you spoken to Dale yet?” demanded Avery, savagely as her eyes flashed yellow.
“I’ve tried,” began Cutter in resignation.
His wolf grumbled. He’d like nothing more for the other wolf to fall in line, but he doubted it was ever going to happen.
Avery, for her part, took against Dale within thirty seconds of meeting him. Greeting her with a ‘s’up, babe?’ and a slap to her ass was never going to end well. The slap she gave him could be heard on the next floor.
“Maybe you should report him to the Director,” grouched Avery.
“Can’t see what good it would do.”
If he did, the Director, being the goody-two-shoes that he was, would feel the need to do something about Dale’s behavior. Dale would act like an idiot, and the Director would try to fire him. Then boom goes the Director’s career. It wasn’t worth it for the sake of a few more weeks.
“I guess not,” lamented Avery.
Cutter looked through the files again, just for the sake of something to do, and the hope that some kind of divine inspiration might strike. Fat chance.
“You checked in with Jessie today?”
Avery nodded. “Yeah, she’s hit a brick wall in both cases. For the hedgehog, he had like zero online presence, and there were no cameras in the area, so she really can’t help with that. As for our toucan bride, nothing came up with financials or phone records, and she’s still going through e-mails and her online social profiles – our victim was very prolific in that department.”
“Funny,” he remarked, stonily. “My gut says there’s something seriously off about the whole murder of that bride.”
She cracked a genuine smile, something that seemed to be in short supply at that moment. “That your spider sense again, TBB?”
His eyes narrowed at the name he’d been assigned, TBB – temporary bad bossman. It was in honor of Gunner whom they generally referred to as BBB – big bad bossman.
“Sure, call it whatever you want. But it bothers me that there isn’t a body and that the bride was acting strange right up until she supposedly died.”
Avery nodded in agreement. “So our official theory is she faked her death?”
Cutter sipped his own coffee and moaned at the bitter taste. He was probably the only agent in the building who actually enjoyed the god-awful break room coffee. It had been percolating since, what felt like, the dawn of time.
“Yep, and it really is just a theory. If she managed to disappear, she had help, but I don’t know who.”
“You want to take another crack at some of her friends?”
Cutter grimaced. Interviewing them had been frustrating, to say the least. When they weren’t breaking down into tears, they were threatening to call on their exorbitantly expensive lawyers.
His wolf suddenly perked up as the scent of blueberries and cream invaded his senses. The animal was practically doing the Macarena while Cutter started panicking.
“Yes,” he snapped, startling Avery. “Let’s go, right now.”
“Now?”
He caught sight of a certain curvy little form out of the corner of his eye. Time was running out. “Yes, now, now, now!”
Cutter grabbed his jacket and made a dash for the exit, with a complaining Avery trailing behind him. Well, she could bitch and whine all she wanted, but there was no way that he was going to get trapped in the office by Lucie.
His beast yowled in dismay at his cowardice, but Cutter could give a crap. When he met Lucie, and she batted those big, round, baby blues at him for the very first time he made a vow that he was going to leave her alone. He didn’t want a mate, and she deserved better than him, and nothing that had happened in the last year had done anything to change his mind.
Nope, despite his wailing wolf, nothing was going to happen with Lucie. Definitely not. He was a hundred percent certain. One hundred perce
nt. That’s what he kept telling himself.
Chapter Two
Thirty minutes ago
Lucie sighed inwardly and smiled as Diaz threw her another pickup line. Something about it hurting when she fell to earth because she was an angel. She wasn’t really listening.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t flattered. No, wait - it was that. If she wanted corny attempts to get into her panties, she’d go to a nightclub. Now, she was at work, and she demanded professionalism. Okay, maybe that was a bit much. She was more than happy to stalk Cutter around the building and constantly barrage him with her flirtations. She could just do without them from Diaz. Okay, yes he was a handsome jaguar shifter, but he just paled in comparison to Cutter. All men paled in comparison to Cutter, she thought, sadly.
Her hedgehog snuffled at her, and she felt a little better. Automatically, she started testing Diaz’s blood pressure. She’d done this so many times that she could practically do it in her sleep. Which was lucky because her mind was definitely not on the job. No, her thoughts wandered aimlessly until they came to rest on the object of her affections. He still had the power to make her swoon and send her nether regions into an aroused frenzy.
When he came down to the basement, she hoped against hope that he’d been there to see her. No such luck. He had looked cute when he was all flustered, but she couldn’t get over the stab of disappointment when he fled from her. Never mind, there’d be plenty of more opportunities to corner him later. Plenty.
Diaz let out a squawk as the blood pressure cuff tightened around his arm to an insane degree. Lucie quickly shut it off and gave him a disarming smile, completely convincing him that she meant to do that. Well, if nothing else it stopped his cheesy chat-up lines.
He gave her a watchful look as she set up the treadmill for him. She told him to run for ten minutes while she monitored his heart. He started going but was careful to make sure that he kept her in his sights. Lord knows what he thought she was going to do to him.
