Dark & Dangerous: A Collection of Paranormal Treats

by Julie Kenner

  “It shows. If I noticed, someone else might. Maybe you should put the gun in your purse.”

  Cursing, she glared at him. “I knew I should have worn a longer jacket.”

  He shrugged. He had his own gun in a shoulder holster, but his leather coat hid it.

  He waited while she transferred her weapon to her purse. They didn’t speak again as they crossed the parking lot. He’d never known he could find the tap-tap of heels so sexy.

  Though it was early, the sidewalks were crowded. Amanda took his arm. He felt a jolt, all the way through his leather jacket.

  “We’re together,” she told him. “For cover. Keep that in mind.”

  He set his jaw against the images that danced through his mind at her words. “Right.”

  The first place they entered had a cover of ten bucks a person. Amanda stood back and let him pay it.

  Once inside, the pulsing music drowned any attempts at conversation. Not a good place to question suspects. Yet Amanda didn’t seem to notice—or mind. This was her territory, her jurisdiction. For now, he’d let her take the lead.

  He ordered them both a beer, making his way through the crowd to the table she’d chosen. He barely had set the glasses down when she grabbed his hand, pulling him on to the dance floor. Once there, she began to move to the pulse of the music. Despite the fast tempo, her movements were exotic and sensual.

  Her mouth moved and he realized she was speaking to him. “What?”

  She leaned closer, talking directly into his ear. “Dance. You’re drawing attention to us.”

  He cursed and began to move. Entranced by her, he hadn’t even realized he’d been standing stock-still on the dance floor.

  The sea of gyrating bodies threatened to swallow them up. If Amanda’s actions had purpose other than tempting the hell out of him, he couldn’t tell.

  The song ended and Nick breathed a sigh of relief. The jeans clung to him like a second skin and he’d noticed several other women checking him out. He didn’t like the new and unfamiliar feeling of being on display.

  “Nick!” Amanda laughed up at him. She leaned forward, her breasts pressing against his chest. Of their own accord, his hands came up to circle her small waist.

  “Play along.” Speaking into his ear as though whispering suggestively, her breath tickled him, causing his body to tighten in reaction to her closeness. Instantly he was hard. Knowing the jeans would hide nothing, he tightened his hold on her.

  Her eyes widened as she felt his arousal.

  “Sorry. I am playing along,” he growled back. “Though later I expect you to tell me what the hell you’re doing.”

  Another song started, a slow ballad this time. Narrowing her eyes, Amanda began to sway against him. Each movement of her slender hips seemed to stroke his erection.

  “Damn it.” He gritted his teeth. He hadn’t reacted like this to a woman since he’d been younger. “Outside.” Without waiting to hear her response, he began to move through the crowd, one arm clamped tight around her and keeping her in front of him, her pert little rear nestled against his now raging arousal.

  The combination of lust and woman scent roused the beast in him; that part of him that remained wolf even when he was human, even when he led what appeared to be an utterly normal life. Sometimes he counted himself lucky shifters were in complete control of when and where to change.

  Once outside, the night air felt blessedly cool. He pulled her around a corner, into a semidark doorway.

  “Nick—”

  “Shhh.” He spun her around, fighting the urge to change, fighting his arousal, conscious only of the need to kiss her, touch her, explore his exploding attraction to her.

  She opened her mouth to protest and he dipped his head and claimed her lips with his.

  Mine. The word echoed in his mind as he kissed her. Never mind that she wasn’t a shifter, Nick wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a female—human or shifter.

  The roar of urgent desire had him deepening the kiss, tasting her. Hell hounds, she gave back as good as she got. Her arms wound up around his neck. Her tongue danced with his, teasing, retreating, maddening him.

  He heard himself growl. Wolf-growl.

  She made an answering sound low in her throat. It took him a moment to realize it was a protest.

  He let her go.

  She reared back, pushing him away. Glaring at him, chest heaving, she looked like an avenging angel.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she snarled, still panting. Part of him liked that she was so rattled.

  Though he didn’t have his composure back either, he was a better actor. He managed a bland look. “Kissing you.”

  She took a step back. “Tomorrow I’ll talk to Gordy, er, Lieutenant Gordon about reassigning you. I don’t want you to touch me ever again.”

  Nick could scent her emotions better than he saw them. She was lying, for her level of arousal was equal to his.

  But she was right. This was the last thing he needed, to lose his head in the middle of a major investigation that also happened to be personal. Not just to him, but to the entire Pack. More than one shifter had been killed—all of the victims had been members of various Packs across the country. Because he was FBI, Nick had been chosen to investigate on behalf of them all.

  “I apologize.” He meant it. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Yeah, right. I’m barely hanging on here by the skin of my teeth.” She crossed her arms. “When the task force found out victim four was Jason, they said it was too personal and tried to boot me off. Now I have to constantly prove to them it’s not.”

  “Detective Riley—”

  “I’m not finished.” Taking a deep breath appeared to give her a shot of strength. “What about you, Federal Agent Templeton? It seems to me investigating your own cousin’s death is mighty personal as well. I’m thinking maybe you had to work as hard as I to get the powers that be to allow you this assignment.”

  Her words hit uncomfortably close to home. “Yeah. So?”

  “Could it be that someone, somewhere, might need an excuse to yank you off the case? Any reason, especially a mistake as monumental as pawing a female coworker against her will, would do, wouldn’t it?”

  “Against her will? You kissed me back.”

  He was right and she knew it. Nick saw the realization settle in her furious eyes.

  “Maybe I did, but what you did was still uncalled for.”

  “I lost control.” Truth, he’d stick to the truth. He admired her honesty. The least he could do was give her the same. “Again, I apologize. Please let me make it up to you, Detective Riley.”

  Though she stared hard at him, she didn’t run. He supposed he should feel lucky for that.

  If he’d made her afraid of him, he knew damn well it would be because she sensed the beast in him, the wild animal pacing, brought to life by the force of his desire for her.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ABOUT TO LEAVE Nick to find his own way back to the hotel, Amanda spotted a familiar face heading her way and froze. Damn. Just her luck to run into Jason’s best friend Chris while pretending to be out on a date with Jason’s cousin. Chris, short for Christine, would think Amanda hadn’t spent any time grieving for Jason. She sure as hell couldn’t tell Chris that Nick was FBI and they were working the case.

  Resigned, Amanda heaved a sigh. The job came first. Always had. “Chris.” She plastered a welcoming smile on her face, hoping she didn’t look as ruffled as she felt.

  “Hey, Amanda.” Wide smile faltering, Chris’s gaze slid past her to Nick, no doubt wondering why they were standing so close together, disheveled, in a darkened alley. “What’s up?”

  Cut right to the chase, that was Chris. Amanda suppressed the urge to sigh again. “Chris, I’d like you to meet Jason’s cousin, Nick Templeton. Nick, this is Christine Chartwell, Jason’s best friend. And mine, too,” she added, tacking the last on as an afterthought.

  Expression watchful, Nick s
hook the other woman’s hand. “Jason’s best friend was a—?”

  “A woman?” Christine smiled pleasantly. “Yes. We went to college together. And you’re Jason’s cousin?” She looked Nick up and down. “You’re the FBI guy Jason talked about. He looked up to you. Jason liked you. A lot.”

  Nick glanced at his watch, then at Amanda before looking back to Chris. “Do you have a few minutes to answer a couple of questions?”

  “Nick, what’re you doing?” Amanda glared. Damned if she was going to let him grill Jason’s best friend like she was still a suspect. “We’ve already questioned Chris.”

  “Closure.” Nick seemed to trip over the word, as if it was unfamiliar. “Maybe talking to Jason’s best friend will give me closure.”

  “Closure, my ass.”

  Chris touched her arm. “Amanda, that’s all right.” She gave Nick a serious look. “I totally understand. Anything I can tell you about Jason will help, right?”

  “Yeah.” Nick nodded. Damn his hide. Still, Amanda stood and played nice while Nick asked his questions. Did the man think her unit’s investigation had been so shoddy that they hadn’t pulled in every single person even remotely related to the victims and questioned them?

  Finally Nick wound down. They were still standing in the alleyway.

  “I’m finished.” Nick smiled at Amanda, causing her insides to somersault. “Are you ready to move on?”

  “Yes. Chris, can I catch you later?”

  Chris didn’t bother to hide her relief. “Sure. I’ll give you a call. I’m meeting someone here anyway.” She turned and went into the bar they’d just exited, leaving Amanda alone with Nick.

  Amanda waited until she was certain Chris wouldn’t be back before rounding on Nick. “What the hell was that all about?”

  “Questioning a suspect.” He shrugged. “I know you’ve probably already been all over her, but humor me. I might find something you missed.”

  “It’s possible.” But her tone let him know she didn’t think it was, not really. “She’s not a suspect anymore.”

  Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Until this case is solved, Detective, everyone is a suspect. I would think you of all people could understand that.”

  The air went out of her in a rush. He was right. As a cop, she couldn’t afford to think of Chris as her friend.

  “Believe it or not, I think I can help you,” he said.

  “Me?” She kept her voice as bland as his.

  “Not you personally, but the task force. I’m talking about finding the serial killer. That’s what’s important here, isn’t it?”

  Grudgingly she had to admit he was right. Again. But still…“Yeah, but we need to settle things between us.”

  “This is your jurisdiction. I’m a guest, here on your sufferance. The locals always hate the feds horning in. But we have no choice. Like you, we just want to catch the bad guys. Give me a break.”

  Bam, bam, bam. He’d hit every point square on the head. Every point but one.

  “There are personal matters we need to settle.”

  His brown eyes turned hard. Unfriendly. “I already said I was sorry for kissing you. It won’t happen again. Believe me.”

  The vehemence of his last two words offended her. She pushed that thought away. He still hadn’t addressed the werewolf issue, but she wasn’t entirely sure there was a werewolf issue. For all she knew, Jason could have been an anomaly.

  And pigs could fly. Right.

  Still, if he wasn’t and she came out and accused Nick…the man would think she was nuts. Certifiable. Hell, she’d think she was crazy, too, if she hadn’t seen Jason turn into a wolf with her own two eyes. She’d thought she’d seen it all, the worst that humanity could become—until she’d stared down a huge muzzle with razor-sharp teeth and saw Jason in that ferocious, lupine face.

  Nick led the way to the next club. Without asking. And, without arguing, she followed him.

  The noise level in this one wasn’t nearly as loud as the last. Thank God.

  They took a small table near the bar. He ordered drinks while Amanda scanned the crowd, looking for someone, anyone, who might look the least bit familiar.

  No such luck.

  Nick looked totally relaxed, sipping his beer, just a guy out on the town with his date. She hated that he might be better at undercover work than she. Taking a deep breath, Amanda struggled to match his nonchalance. “It’s been too long since I did this.”

  “What do you mean?” His expression reflected polite curiosity, nothing more.

  She took a big gulp of her own beer, reminding herself why she never drank draft. Headache city. “Surely you know Jason and I broke up about a month before he was killed.”

  He didn’t bother to lie. “Yes. Mind telling me why?”

  Though he’d asked like he might consider even her a suspect, Amanda ignored her resentment. She hadn’t spoken to anyone about her reasons for dumping Jason, and the guilt was eating her alive. If they’d still been together, would Jason still be alive? They’d spent their nights together at her apartment, on the couch in front of the television. Not cruising singles bars or roaming the Dallas-Fort Worth streets. But she’d heard after they’d broken up, Jason had tackled that life with a vengeance.

  With difficulty, she forced herself back to the question at hand. How to answer depended on how much of the truth she wanted Nick to know. She refused to lie.

  “He changed.” She watched him closely for a reaction to the stock phrase. “I couldn’t handle it, so I asked for time apart. Jason didn’t take it well.”

  If she thought Nick would ask for specifics as to how Jason had changed, she was wrong. What worried her was her fear he’d know exactly what she meant without her saying your cousin turned into a werewolf. Or, she chided herself, was she letting her overactive imagination run away with her again. Maybe he’d simply taken her words at face value.

  “I understand,” he said.

  They finished their drinks without any more talk. Amanda didn’t mind. That made it easier to search the growing crowd without distraction.

  In the third club they hit pay dirt. Amanda recognized three of Jason’s buddies playing pool. With Nick looming behind her like a broad-shouldered shadow, she said hello. They looked from her to Nick and back again. None of them seemed overjoyed.

  “We’ve already been over everything with the cops,” said a stocky blonde with six earrings in his left ear.

  “Yeah,” another one chimed in. “What’sa matter, can’t you read the report?”

  Amanda kept her smile pleasant. “This is kinda off the record. Jason was my boyfriend. I want to catch his killer.”

  Again, one by one their glances slid over her to Nick.

  “Jason said you broke up with him.”

  The third man, who’d appeared to be lining up his next shot, lifted his pool cue. “We don’t know anything. Leave us alone.”

  Nick touched her arm. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Though her jaw ached with the effort to keep her mouth shut, Amanda spun on her heel and followed him.

  Once they were outside, she shook her head. “I don’t know what that was all about.”

  “They’re hiding something.”

  “Oh yeah?” She lifted a brow, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “How could you tell?”

  He ignored her. “The one in the back especially. I need to talk to him. Alone.”

  “Templeton, if he won’t talk to me, what makes you think he’ll open up for you?”

  “Because,” he looked calmly past her at the exit to the bar, “he’s signaling me right now. Wait here.”

  Without another word Nick pushed past her, disappearing inside with the other man.

  Alone on the sidewalk, Amanda felt like cursing but contented herself with kicking the toe of her shoe at the ground. While she felt a bit better, all she succeeded in gaining was a scuff mark on her best pair of black heels.

  Someone elbowed her—she was blocking the sidewa
lk. With a sigh, she moved over to wait next to the wall, careful to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

  After a few minutes that seemed an eternity, Nick returned. Looking, if possible, even more grim.

  “Well,” she demanded. “What did he want?”

  “Not here.” Taking her arm, he steered her down the street, weaving through the crowded sidewalk with the ease of long practice.

  Before she realized where they were heading, they’d reached the parking lot.

  “What—?”

  He shot her a warning look. “In the car.”

  More and more curious, Amanda located her car keys and pushed the unlock button. She got in and Nick climbed in beside her.

  “Where to?”

  Not looking at her, he drummed his fingers on the dash. “Anywhere but here.”

  Starting the engine, Amanda put the gearshift in Reverse. “Nick, what did the guy say?”

  “His name is Chet. He told me Jason had joined some secret club.”

  “Club? That’s the first I’ve heard of anything like this. What kind of club?”

  “I don’t know. Either Chet didn’t know or he wouldn’t say. But apparently Jason had been trying to take him to a meeting for months.”

  “Months?” While she hated that she seemed only capable of repeating Nick’s last word, she needed to wrap her mind around what she was hearing. She’d been with Jason until a month ago, and he’d never said one word about any secret club.

  Unless…“Was this a guy club? Did they play poker together or something?” God, she hoped it was something like that. Something minor, not serious. Not dangerous.

  “No.”

  Her stomach sank. She put the car in Drive and pulled slowly forward. “None of the other victims belonged to any kind of clubs.”

  “That you know of. And you’re assuming Jason’s murder is related. Maybe it’s not.”

  “Of course it’s related. You saw the file. The M.O.’s the same.” This time she couldn’t hide her exasperation. “You know the drill—they’re shot with a damn silver bullet, dismembered and then they’re decapitated.”

  “Yeah.” Nick went utterly still. “Did you find out where the shooter got the silver bullets?”