by Jana Leigh
Lex’s phone rang and brought Jewel out of her lustful haze. She blinked and looked away from Lex, who continued to watch her while he spoke to someone on the phone. He grinned at her and she flipped him off and turned her back to him. Until he walked up and put his head on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.
“Hey, Jewel, Dinky is here waiting for you,” Lex said, kissing her ear. “I gave her special instructions for tonight.”
“Oh, okay, and what were those special instructions?” Jewel answered, turning around in his arms and laughing at him. Vander gave her the thumbs up, then shook his head, and ignored them as best he could. Jewel knew Vander accepted her men when he did that, which made her feel so much better.
“Well,” Lex said and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. “I told Dinky that you have to find a sexy dress because you were making your first appearance with your mates. We are demanding like that.”
“Hmmm, I told you this morning that I hated dressing up though.” Jewel frowned.
“”It is the undressing that matters, I have a fantasy all in my head of unwrapping this luscious body slowly and then bending you over the couch with only your high heels on and fucking you senseless,” Lex growled and nipped at her lips teasingly.
“Really?” Jewel lowered her eyes as she imagined what he said, oh, that would be hot. Lex ran his hands down her body and cupped her ass as she grinned.
“Save it for later, big guy; apparently, I have some shopping to do,” Jewel said and pulled out of her mate’s arms as he moaned in protest.
Lex texted the message to Dinky, then closed his phone and said to Jewel, “I will walk you out.”
“Why?” Jewel asked.
“Because I can,” Lex whispered to her and then inhaled her scent.
Jewel laughed then said good-bye to Benny and Vander.
***
Dinky and Jewel arrived at a beautiful building that had great window art in it. “What kind of place is this, Dinky? I thought we were going clothes shopping?”
“This wonderful new designer is here, burst onto the scene about a year ago,” Dinky said and winked at Jewel. “She has a small following, just needs to find a celebrity to wear something to get her name out there. I thought maybe you could find a dress, and tonight, when they ask who you are wearing, you would tell them Dinky Lemay.”
Jewel looked at Dinky shocked. “Dinky, you make clothes, too?”
“Yeah, it is a dream of mine, but like I said, you have to know people to get your name in the fashion world. Ret said this would be a start. He helped me fund this place. This is one of his buildings that he stores stuff at, so he leases me one floor of open space so I can make my clothes. He thought you would look wonderful in some of my eveningwear. Do you mind trying some on?” the older woman said and Jewel rolled her eyes.
“Do you have a design that will hide my Glock? I don’t like going anywhere without it. Especially since we have a killer on the loose and he has a hard-on for Ret.” Jewel laughed sarcastically. “I hate to tell you but I am not really a clothes whore or anything like some women are. Jeans and hoodies are my favorite clothes, so wearing a dress is a big step up.”
Dinky’s smiled and clapped her hands. “I have just the dress for you.”
Damn, Jewel had a sweet spot for the underdog. She would wear something of Dinky’s, even if it looked like crap on her. That’s how she was.
An hour later, Jewel had tried on several dresses, but the one Dinky picked out in the first place was her favorite. It was a formal, full-length gown slit up the center with a Velcro strap on the inside of the dress to strap the gun to her leg. It was green, which she would not usually have chosen for herself, however, the pale sparkly dress looked good on her.
“Well, if it was my choice then I would say the green dress. It shows off your eyes and it looks great with your boobs. It really looks great on you, Jewel.” Dinky laughed when Jewel looked down at her chest and turned sideways to check out her boobs in the mirror. Huh, they did look good, Jewel agreed. The green one was the best.
As they walked down the street, agreeing they needed to find shoes and accessories, neither of the women could feel the distasteful gaze that watched them as they walked.
“Soon,” the Redeemer muttered and then stepped back into the shadows as he followed his next victim.
***
Lex couldn’t take his eyes off her. He knew he was a goner. Nobody would ever compare to her. Her beauty was breathtaking. It was as if a light shined all around her. Benny was right, she glimmered like a beautiful jewel.
Jewel rolled her eyes when she caught Lex staring at her. He had hunger in his eyes. She could tell she was going to be in trouble tonight because Lex in a suit just about made her come in her panties, add Ret to the mixture, and she was panting.
“Jewel, to say you look gorgeous doesn’t even describe the vision you make.” Lex walked toward Jewel, staring at her with passion-filled eyes.
“Shit, good pickup line,” Jewel whispered and bit her tongue when she realized she said it aloud.
The men laughed and Lex held out his arm for her to take. Ret was meeting them at the ball, and she was more than ready to hurry this along. The quicker they got there the quicker they could get back here to test Lex’s fantasy out.
As she took his arm, she whispered, “Like the shoes?”
Lex paused and looked down, “Oh, hell, yeah!”
Chapter Fourteen
They were so stupid, how could they walk right by him and not know the danger they were in. So-called police detective and captain, right, like he should be worried about them.
The Redeemer was almost ready, first they had to find her present, and then it would be their move. If his target did what he wanted, she would come to him. He made this last clue so obvious, even she should be able to figure it out. Although, she hadn’t after all this time, even with the clues he gave her before.
He wondered if she could feel him? Stepping back into the shadows when the female turned and frowned, he chuckled, just wait until she was with him. Thinking about what he was going to do with her made him hard, damn, he didn’t need to walk into the ball with a tent in his pants.
He watched as the trio made their way around the room. He stayed on the fringes, waiting and watching for the perfect moment to leave his prize. It was for Jewel, his prize. Smiling and nodding to people who were trying to draw his attention, they were people who thought they knew him. However, the disguise he was using covered him rather well.
The trio moved into the large room, smiling and talking to people, it was time for them to remember how they got together, hell, his brother should thank him for introducing him to the whore he would mate. He waited and watched for the perfect moment. When they got up to dance, he saw his opening. Everyone left the table and slowly he walked to the table and slipped his present for Jewel on the table. He had been subtle in the past, but this time he knew exactly what would get their attention.
He walked to the doorway and waited, he wanted to see her face when she found he was everywhere. There was nowhere she could hide from him. He couldn’t wait until she figured it out, then she would be terrified knowing how close he was to her all this time without her even realizing it.
His followers were monitoring as well. There was one, maybe two in the room, dedicated, so unlike her. These people he knew would follow him no matter what. They believed in the cause, each of them knowing the personal pain that whores did to a family. It was easy for him to find them, even easier for them to commit to him. All of them shifters, all of them ready to avenge themselves.
Jewel turned to the table and waved a hand in front of her face like she was hot. Her men followed behind. Damn, she had them all fooled. When she reached the table, it was clear the moment she saw his gift; however, she did not have the reaction he wanted. Where was the horror, the crying? The bitch turned her steely eyes and swept the room, looking for him. How dare she?
Maybe the time had come to stop playing these games and make Jewel see he would not stand for her foolishness anymore. It was time to have her confess her sins to him.
Chapter Fifteen
Jewel’s head was spinning; she usually hated all of this frou-frou stuff, the gowns, the heels, the china, blah blah blah. However, being with her two men made her happy. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time. The more she got to know them, the more she knew she would fall in love with them completely. She was a little worried about having such strong feelings for these two men.
She laughed and smiled as they guided her through the room, introducing her to members of the pack quietly. All of them were welcoming. They also pointed out people she should avoid, and when she heard the reasons, it made her laugh.
“And that one over there, don’t get into a conversation with him about Lactose intolerant shit or you will never get away. He will tell you about his problem with dairy, it is kinda gross. And that woman has cats, stay away or your wolf will be pissed,” Lex whispered in her ear.
Then they danced, swinging her around the floor in her sparkly green dress that she never thought she would be comfortable in. However, she was surprised at how comfortable she felt with her Glock strapped to her inner thigh, if push came to shove, she could pull it out fast.
Their table was on the edge of the floor at the head of the room. She sat, laughed with Vander and Benny, who both danced with her before she began to wonder if her feet were going to be deformed because of the high heels. Her feet were killing her.
“Break,” Jewel said to Ret and laughed when he frowned at her. “My feet are killing me.”
“Ahh, well next time you must wear more comfortable shoes, I love having you in my arms dancing,” Ret teased and then led her to the edge of the floor where Lex was waiting.
“I have to sit,” Jewel moaned and longed to kick off the shoes and wiggle her scrunched toes.
“Here, Benny and Vander are off to the bar, put your feet up,” Ret said and then tensed when he heard both of his mates suck in a breath.
“Mother Fucker,” Jewel said and reached between her legs and looked around the room. Lex pulled his phone out and called the precinct. It took Ret a minute to figure out what happened.
“Holy Shit,” he muttered and stared incredulously at the table, on Jewel’s plate there was a baggie. When he walked around the table, he became pissed when he realized in the bag was an ear with the earrings still attached.
“Now,” Lex barked into the phone and Ret turned around, they had to get these people out of here.
“I will make an announcement that we are moving to a different dining room, let me talk to the coordinator,” Ret said and walked to where the man stood.
Lex wrapped an arm around her tense waist, pulled her to him, and whispered in her ear, “Do you see anyone?”
“Nope, Vander, Benny and us, were the only ones I saw at the table,” she said briskly.
“There were three hundred people here at one time or another, it could have been any of them, or the wait staff,” Lex said, scanning the crowd also. He picked out Enforcers from his pack and signaled them to come over.
“This room needs locked down,” she demanded and continued to scan the crowd, he was here, she could feel him staring at her. The goosebumps on her arms were proof of that. “He is still here, watching, waiting.”
Lex swore under his breath and whispered to his men quietly. They moved and began to smile and gather the humans, shuffling them out of the room.
She closed her eyes and lifted her head; she could scent him, that strange scent that plagued her thoughts. It was familiar, because it was close to Ret’s scent, but there was something else—something she was missing. Pausing, she allowed her mind to open and focus.
She thought about the cases that Vander and she worked, the way she saw the scenes, the perps. They flashed in her head, and then she focused on the crimes scenes, what she needed to see, what was hiding from her. However, Ret’s face flashed before her eyes, she shook her head in confusion. He was not the killer, why was she thinking about him? Sighing, Jewel opened her eyes, the room had been mostly clear and Vander and Benny were walking toward her with a grim expression.
“Just got a call from the NYC Detectives, they are searching all of the active and non-active construction sites, the body has to be there somewhere if he stayed to his M.O.,” Vander said sourly and looked at the baggie on her plate and grimaced. “This is a new level of psycho.”
“Yeah, well, like the others, the earrings were mine also, send someone over to the cabin. I am pretty sure that is where they were. Benny bought them for my graduation,” Jewel gritted out, then turned, and frowned at Lex and Ret who were whispering in the corner.
By the time the lab techs came and left, and the security tapes were acquired, she was pissed off. All she wanted was to go and take these fucking shoes off and find something solid to eat, none of this bird food they served tonight. She was about to go on a stress eating tour, the likes these men had never seen.
“Ready?” Lex asked and she nodded brusquely.
They rode back to the hotel in silence, each of them thinking about what this latest little present implied. None of their victims had their ears cut off, so this meant a new victim, somewhere there was a victim. They needed to find her and bring her home.
When they entered her suite, she turned, ready to tell the guys good night, but both took off their jackets and shut the door behind them.
“Uh, sorry, guys, I am not going to be very good company tonight,” Jewel said.
“Neither are we, so let’s just say we are all even,” Lex said and sat down on her couch and put an arm over his eyes.
“Whatever, I am going to get comfortable, crawl into bed, and try to get a few hours of shuteye, before we get called,” Jewel said and walked into the bedroom and began stripping.
Ret looked at his best friend and shook his head. So having two brooding cops at one time could be interesting. Lex tended to be quiet when he couldn’t figure out a case. Now he knew Jewel was like that, too.
“Sweetheart, let us take care of you,” Ret said quietly and stood in the doorway, watching her. She was standing in a lacy half bra and silky matching underwear. Damn, she was sexy, her smooth stomach and firm ass, he wanted to take a bite out of it right now.
“”I don’t need anyone to take care of me, and I will thank you to remember that. I need to decompress.” Jewel frowned over her shoulder.
“I think I can help with that, but first can we ask you a question?” Ret said and felt his friend come up behind him. Good to know, the sight of a sexy mate would snap him out of his thoughts.
“What?” Jewel said tiredly.
“We were going to do this romantic and stuff. But we were going to ask if you would mate with us tonight,” Ret said slowly and looked at his partner.
Jewel looked at them, “Finding a body part on your dinner plate was kinda a mood killer, don’t you think?”
“I just think maybe if we are mated you would be safer. The Enforcers will recognize you formally as their Alpha female and the rest of the pack will, too. It would be added protection, this guy is coming for you. I know you will never allow us to have you guarded twenty-four seven,” Lex said smoothly.
“You are damn right!” Jewel said, pacing in front of the bed. “Do you know how hard I have worked to make sure the men in this field respect me? Twice as hard as anyone, I am not going to sit by and wait while the big, strong men go and find the mean, awful killer.”
Lex sighed and shook his head, “Not what I was saying. Listen; think about it, you would have every wolf in the state watching in case something happened. We want you safe.”
“And I want to believe Santa Claus is fucking real, but we don’t always get what we want,” Jewel stormed and Ret rocked back on his heels.
“Whether you want to believe this or not, you are going to be the next Alpha female of the NYC
Pack. There are certain things you will have to accept,” Ret said.
“Oh really, well since I have not accepted the position yet, I guess I can still back out,” Jewel said and knew she was going to pay for that, her wolf pushed against her and growled. Even if she didn’t say it aloud, her wolf already accepted them as mates, it was not a jump to know the woman had, too.
Ret growled and stepped forward. “I have been patient because I know you had a job to do, I respected that, I also know about your past mate, I get it. However, we are your true mates and you fucking well know it. If you have any question about it, let me clarify this for you. Yes, you have a job; will I stop you from doing it? No. I know if I did, we would battle like Lex and his father did. In the shifter world, we have to be flexible, blending into society. I support that, but you are going to be the Alpha female, you will have certain responsibilities. One of them being you HAVE TO BE ALIVE TO FULFILL THEM,” Ret said, yelling the last sentence to her. She turned with a look of surprise on her face. It was the first time he had gone all-Alpha on her and damn, but her girly parts really liked it.
It was as if someone flipped a switch on inside of her. It was crazy. Fighting with him was a lost cause, her wolf wanted to obey, but the woman was not ready to give up yet.
“I have been a cop for a long time. I think I can handle myself. So, things are going to go like this. Maybe I will allow you to mark me, and maybe I will be the Alpha female when I finish this case and put this mother fucker behind bars,” she snarled and Lex smiled, then stepped to one side while Ret moved to the other, they were stalking her. “What are you doing?”
“I know exactly what you are doing, you don’t pull an Alpha’s tail and get away with it. I hate to tell you, but you are not in charge here. We are a team,” Lex said and stepped closer.
