by E A Price
The lion smiled easily. “You too, Gerry.” His eyes flickered over to Lucie, and he winked. She smiled softly in return.
The Director swept out of the room and Cutter snorted. Gerry, huh? He didn’t know many underlings who could get away with that. Gunner did it on occasion but only when he was really pissed off. Who did this damn lion think he was swanking in there calling the Director by his first name and eye-fucking Lucie? He could see that the two of them were not going to get on.
Diaz clapped a hand on his shoulder but quickly removed it when Cutter flashed his fangs. “Alright, settle down. Your interview, let’s say three o’clock in my office?”
“Whatever,” he muttered eyeing Clayton’s body unhappily.
“I’d say let’s wait until you’re in a better mood, but we need the case to be solved sometime this decade.”
Diaz chuckled at his own joke but actually paled and quieted when it became clear the motor boat-like rumbling was emanating from Cutter.
He allowed his eyes to sweep over the room one last time before stomping out; the crime scene techs scattered out of his way. He stopped at his car, breathing deeply, trying to clear the scent of his dead mentor out of his nose.
Poor Clayton. The old bird could be a mean bastard, but he deserved more than this. Cutter should have been a better friend. Neither of them did Christmas or birthday cards, so their only communication boiled down to a couple of near-silent phone calls a year. They weren’t big on talking, and if the mention of feelings had ever entered one of their conversations, Clayton had shot it down right away and called him a pussy.
Yep, Clayton was just like an older version of him, which is why they got on so well. Problems with rage, difficulty in maintaining relationships with women, gruff personality that didn’t play well with others… His heart clenched and his wolf was stonily silent. Is this what the future held for him, too? Murdered in a dingy motel room and discovered by the maid? He doubted Clayton even had any next of kin. He’d fallen out with the few family members he had, and he certainly didn’t have a mate or offspring. Cutter was probably the closest thing he had to family. God that was depressing.
He couldn’t believe he was dead. He couldn’t believe he had been in town and hadn’t mentioned it. Cutter had a bad feeling that the reason why he hadn’t, was that Clayton was doing something he shouldn’t have been. Or something no one else could know about. It wouldn’t have surprised him. Clayton was a good guy – deep, deep down – but he saw rules more as loose guidelines.
His wolf mewled as tingles went through his body. He felt a soothing presence approach him.
“I’m really sorry about your friend,” murmured Lucie.
She placed a hand on his arm, and he closed his eyes, reveling in the pleasurable sensations shooting through his body.
“Thank you,” he mumbled.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
She removed her hand, and he almost snarled at the loss. His wolf grumbled as the heavenly vibes she elicited disappeared to be replaced by dull emptiness. An inordinate amount of anger swept through him for allowing her to do that to him. Anger that he unfortunately decided to direct at her.
Cutter turned on her with flashing amber eyes. “What are you doing here?” he barked.
Lucie looked at him with patient, compassionate eyes. “I just drove the doctor here; he’s new in town. He didn't know the way.”
“The doctor? That lion?” he sneered. “The one that wants to fuck you.”
She blanched ever so slightly at the harshness of his tone, but his words didn’t seem to bother her. “I can’t say whether Rick wants that…”
“Rick, is it?” he jeered. “Fucking cat.”
“But, it wouldn’t matter if he did. You know how I feel about you. I don’t want anyone but you.”
The sincerity and love in her beautiful face almost destroyed him. Those were the words he wanted to hear, and he hated himself for it. He hated himself because he’d been telling Lucie to leave him alone for a year, but as soon as he needed some warmth and love he treated her like shit and expected her to declare how she felt. She did, too. His wolf howled mournfully. He was furious at himself. Furious that he wasn’t good enough for her and furious that he didn’t treat her the way she deserved.
Rashly, he cupped her cheek and leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “You don’t deserve… fuck.”
He let go of her and fumbled for the door of his car, ignoring the shock on her face. That was probably the most intimate gesture he had ever made toward her. He got in the car and drove away as fast as he could.
His wolf pawed at him to turn around, to go back to her. It had been a slip of the tongue. He’d said sorry when what he actually meant to say was, I love you.
Cutter shook his head. No, he couldn’t say those words to her. He was just messed up because of Clayton. That was all there was to it. He wasn’t in a position to be her mate and offer her the life she wanted. No matter how much he wanted her to be his, for his own selfish reasons, he wouldn’t tether her to him for the rest of her life.
He was determined to be unselfish about this. No matter how much his wolf railed against him, he still believed that this was for the best. Yes, definitely. He was ninety percent sure of it. Well, maybe eighty percent.
For now, he had bigger concerns. Maybe he could figure out just what Clayton was up to that ended with his murder. Yes, that should take his mind off the curvy, little hedgehog. At least for a few days.
*
Cutter stared at the screen of his computer. He was trying to read a report from the Hale, the chief crime scene tech, but he couldn’t focus on the words. Something about finding a toothpick that had trace DNA on it.
After leaving Clayton’s crime scene, he dropped in on Hale and harangued him over not processing all the evidence he collected for the hedgehog’s murder. Hale tried to argue, in his usual obnoxious way, but Cutter’s fury knew no bounds, and before long he had the crocodile shifter completely browbeaten and prepared to do whatever he was told.
Not that Cutter thought he’d actually find something, but it had felt good to vent at someone who kind of deserved it. Avery and Wayne were still out interviewing people, so hopefully they might uncover something of use.
As much as he wanted to run out and try to solve Clayton’s murder, he had to remember that he had other obligations. Their other victims deserved the same respect as Clayton. Although, he would dearly love to get his paws on Clayton’s crime scene.
“Ahem.”
Cutter narrowed his eyes but didn’t take them off the screen in front of him. There was no mistaking who that pissy sounding ‘ahem’ had come from.
“What?” he hissed trying not to sneeze at the artificial lily of the valley perfume.
Primrose clucked her tongue. “I solved the toucan case,” she announced smugly.
Okay, that got his attention. His wolf huffed by Cutter turned his attention to her. “So, what happened?”
The hyena shifter gave him a superior smile. “According to the crime scene technicians, the blood wasn’t all fresh, meaning that some of it had been drawn from her body before the day she was supposedly killed.”
Cutter was right; she had been planning to fake her own death.
“So I surmised that it must have been her cousin, the nurse, who had drawn the blood from her, and I got him to lead us to her.”
He folded his arms. “How’d you do that?”
“I told him the truth, that we suspected she was still alive, and he ran to her. We tailed him and found her. They’ve both been arrested for wasting our time; I expect they’ll get some community service. Their family is livid.” Her eyes gleamed at that; apparently she enjoyed this kind of thing.
“Did they say why they did it?”
Primrose waved her hand dismissively. “They were in love and wanted to marry but she said her father would kill her if she didn’t marry who she was told. T
he usual soap opera exaggerations.”
His wolf snarled at her lack of concern. “Did you think there might be something to that?”
She rolled her eyes. “If she wants to make a complaint against her father for making threats against her, she can. Otherwise, this isn’t any of our business.”
Cutter groaned inwardly. And people called him a stone cold bastard. “The Director…”
“Already knows that I’ve solved the case. I made sure to tell him in person.”
Yeah, he bet she did. She was nothing if not thorough in trying to crawl up the promotional ladder. He thought about yelling at her, telling her to make sure the toucan was safe, and that she shouldn’t go over his head to the Director, but what was the point? He honestly didn’t care about who got the plaudits for solving the case. He’d never done the job so he could get a slap on the back and a hearty well done. He’d speak to the Director himself about the toucan’s safety. Or maybe just send him an e-mail; no need to piss him off in person.
“Good work, where’s Dale?”
She seemed a little put out by his reaction – like she was expecting an argument from him and was disappointed when it didn’t happen. But that feeling passed quickly.
“I have no idea,” she said snippily. “I heard Clayton Reeves was murdered.”
He jutted his chin defensively as his wolf prowled. “Yes.”
It might have been his imagination, but she looked a little worried. “Do they know why yet?”
“I wouldn’t know; the case is being handled by Diaz. Did you know him when you worked in Ursa?”
Primrose scoffed. “Everyone knew Clayton Reeves. The guy was an asshole.”
“Who’s now dead,” he spat through gritted teeth.
“Doesn’t change the fact that he was an asshole. There was some speculation that he was here investigating something.”
She gave him a searching look as he stared at her blankly.
“News to me if he was.”
“I have to finish up my report,” Primrose muttered.
She turned on her heel and stalked over to her desk. She furiously bashed at her keyboard. Jeez, what did the computer ever do to her?
Speculation? He’d considered the same thing, which would explain why Clayton came into town without telling him. But, he was curious as to who else thought that too, and whether it was something that would have actually led to Clayton’s murder.
Clayton wasn’t someone who could let things go, and he didn’t do well with downtime. Getting drunk and playing with prostitutes could only take up so much of his time. Cutter wondered if Clayton had held onto his unsolved case files from the past thirty years and had been trying to solve them during his retirement. Admittedly, it was something that Cutter would do, too. Whenever he had been forced into taking vacation days, he spent them hassling witnesses from unsolved cases. And when asked, Clayton had been pretty darn cagey about just what he was getting up to in his free time.
But, he didn’t know what had caused him to come to Los Lobos. Unlike most agents, Clayton had spent his entire career in Ursa.
With a grunt, he realized that it was time for his interview with Diaz. Great, now he had to play nice with the jaguar asshole who delighted in leering at his hedgehog.
He wondered what the Director would do if he accidentally punched Diaz in the face.
*
“I’m sorry about your friend,” said Avery.
Cutter grunted as other agents murmured the same sentiment. “Thanks, I don’t want to talk about it.”
They were at the Red Moon Bar. They already raised a toast to Clayton, and now, Cutter was trying to forget all about his day.
He looked around the bar; he didn’t want to admit it, but he was disappointed that Lucie wasn’t there. She didn’t come to the bar as often as he did, but he had been kind of hoping to see her friendly face. He just didn’t realize how much he wanted to see her until that moment.
He also noted, with some trepidation, that the new doctor wasn’t there. He had a bad feeling about that.
Dale passed him another beer as soon as he finished his last one. “Drink up, the night is young.”
Cutter took a sip of his beer and, casually, tried to start a conversation. “Has anyone met the new doctor?”
Isis smirked. “You mean, Doctor Hotness? Sure have.”
“Not that hot,” grumbled Cutter.
Avery shook her head. “No, he is, he’s extremely hot.”
Cutter scowled at her; Avery was usually the voice of reason when compared the Isis, who was a man-eater.
“I heard he’s single, too,” offered Jessie.
His wolf growled. Terrific.
Wes gave them a reproving look. “Is that all men are to you women – pieces of meat?”
Isis snickered. “No, he’s a piece of meat – like prime rib. You guys,” she looked in turn between Cutter, Dale, Wes and Wayne, “you guys are more like hamburger patties.”
Wayne affected a wounded look. “I’ll have you know I’m more like beef jerky.”
Avery eyed him dubiously “What, chewy and leathery?”
“No, tough and I last a long time.”
He winked at the women, and they burst into fits of giggles. His wolf grumbled at their antics.
“What’s the doctor like? Why isn’t he here tonight?” asked Cutter trying to steer the conversation back to his original point.
Jessie shrugged. “He seems great, funny, charming…”
“Has a tight, tight ass,” offered Isis.
“But, he said he’s still settling in, and needs to unpack all his boxes after the move. He said he’d love to come out with us another night. And Cecile already asked him to be on the softball team.”
Cutter slapped down his beer. “But she hasn’t even seen him play!”
Isis snorted. “Doesn’t matter, you should have seen the way Cecile was simpering all over him when Lucie was giving him a tour of the building. I swear I thought the swan shifter was going to faint like a southern belle.”
His wolf stirred at the mention of Lucie. He figured she was only giving him a tour because she was being nice, and they were going to be working together. She was too nice for her own good.
He tried to sound nonchalant. “So, he’s at home, right? Not, anywhere else?”
Not out on a date with a hedgehog shifter? Lucie had said specifically that she was only interested in him, but what if the lion shifter tricked her into a date. She was so sweet and innocent; he could have bamboozled her into having dinner with him. Lord, they could be eating pasta in a romantic, Italian restaurant at that very moment!
Dale gave him a sideways look. “What do you care? You don’t want the doctor for yourself, do you?”
“Of course, not,” he muttered. “I’m just curious; he seems kind of familiar.”
“A few years ago, he worked at the Ursa SEA. But, still, you seem really interested in him.”
Cutter rolled his eyes, told Dale to fuck off and sucked on his beer. His wolf was a little mollified. He guessed that if Lucie had gone on a date with the lion, Jessie would know. She had her tiny finger on the pulse of all the gossip in the building.
As the evening wore on, people drifted away to talk to other friends and hook up with new friends until Cutter was left drinking with Dale.
“Shame about Clayton,” observed Dale dispassionately.
There had been no love lost between Dale and Clayton. In fact, the older eagle shifter had been suspended a couple of times for punching Dale.
“Yeah,” murmured Cutter.
“You should do something to take your mind off it.”
Cutter nodded. He’d been thinking about doing just that. He was thinking about leaving, shifting and going for a run. Letting his wolf free might be just what he needed. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and intended to leave altogether when he got back.
When he did return to the table, it was to find that another beer had been lined up for
him, Dale was grinning inanely and they had been joined by twin peacock shifters.
He sat down and glared at the twin girls – and yes, they were little more than girls. He considered asking them for ID to make sure they were allowed to be in the bar. They both flipped their black hair over the shoulders in unison and stared at him disinterestedly.
“Cutter, this is Taryn and Sharon.”
He nodded in their direction and leaned over to Dale. “What the fuck are you doing?” he whispered, furiously.
Dale chuckled. “No need to thank me. You’re tense; you need to get laid. These girls are horny. Pretty copacetic, right?”
“When did you learn such a big word?” he taunted as his wolf yapped miserably.
There was no way he was going home with one of those girls, so Dale would just have to entertain them both. In fact, he’d probably enjoy that.
“I’m not interested, okay?”
Dale frowned. “Just have your drink and enjoy their company. If you’re not interested after you’ve finished then all you have to do is leave, and I’ll take care of them.”
All his instincts said no – his wolf howled at him to get up and get the hell out of there – but Cutter gave in. What could one beer hurt?
“Fine.”
Dale grinned and started chatting to the girls. They were in college, majoring in English Literature and played lacrosse, but they didn’t let that get in the way of their true passion of partying.
Cutter grabbed his beer. Fuck, he’d need alcohol just to listen to these vacuous girls. He’d rather listen to Lucie explain the difference between knitting and crocheting. Damn, he could have listened to her talk about that all day long.
He took a long swig and frowned at the slightly bitter taste. The twins were gushing about how they won a wet t-shirt contest on their last spring break. Cutter gulped down his drink; he didn’t care about the taste, he just needed alcohol – stat. This was going to be a very boring conversation.
*
He watched as Cutter lurched and shambled to the open door of the cab. The peacock shifter trying to shepherd him into the vehicle swore and slapped at him. The intoxicated wolf shifter laughed uproariously at a joke no one else seemed to get.
