Shifter Overdrive

by Scarlett Grove

  “Didn’t expect to have a shifter death come to our neck of the woods,” Hurly said. “We haven’t had any hate groups turning up here as far as I know.”

  “It’s spreading,” Chance said.

  “Do you regret coming out already?” Hurly asked him.

  “Not really. No one’s going to mess with me,” Chance said confidently. He took a deep breath and expanded his chest, reminding the smaller deputy of his strength and size. Hurly just laughed and smacked Chance’s back affectionately.

  “I’m glad you came out. It helps let people know where the sheriff’s department stands on these issues. The last thing we need are hate crimes in our area. We have a nice quiet beat, and I aim to keep it that way.”

  Chapter 3

  Summer dripped a few drops of the testing solution into her water sample and set the bottle down on the counter next to the TV in her hotel room. Scowling, she stepped back and sat down on the scratchy hotel quilt. It would take fifteen minutes to get results, even with her lab-quality tools.

  She’d expected to do her tests in the field and would have if that game warden hadn’t interrupted her. Summer crossed her legs and frowned at his memory. Chance Baker was everything she disliked in a man. Big, burly, Neanderthal, alpha male country boy types made her cringe.

  She liked sensitive artists or fellow scientists as a rule. She’d even dated a few guys from the protest group she was part of, but like with most men, it just hadn’t worked out.

  Summer was a strong, independent woman with a stubborn, sassy streak that the men she dated just couldn’t deal with.

  Chance Baker was so big and brawny, with cords of roped muscles running up his arms and bulging through his uniform shirt, he looked like he could take just about anything Summer could throw at him. The image of those arms wrapped around her waist, his big hands running over her curves, made her tingle all over.

  She bit her lip as she squirmed, her panties dampening at his memory. Damn it! This was not the reason she’d come to the mountains. She needed to find evidence to prove to the authorities that the copper mine was polluting the water. Without her, the water, the people, and the forest were in danger. She had to focus.

  Summer stood and lifted the bottle of water, checking it against the test strip colors. Dark brown. The arsenic was at dangerously high levels. One sip of this water could kill a man instantly. She’d expected to find evidence of arsenic in the water, but not this much. Anger surged in her belly as she gripped the glass bottle.

  A knock rapped at the door, and she jumped. Setting the bottle on the counter, she strode over to the door and swung it open, expecting to find room service. Instead she found him…

  “Ma’am,” he said, tipping his black cowboy hat.

  “What?” she barked.

  He drew back like she’d bit him. Then he frowned and stepped forward, blocking out the sun with his massive body.

  “I need to ask you a few questions about Balor Von’s death. The investigation has been elevated to homicide as there are clear signs of poisoning.”

  “No shit,” she said, stepping out of the way and slapping her hand against her curvy thigh.

  He came into the room, the doorway almost too small for him to pass through comfortably. Standing in her little hotel room, he seemed to suck up all the light and air in the space.

  “Summer Madison, I’d appreciate you checking your tone. You’re lucky you aren’t being arrested under suspicion.”

  “That would really help your investigation, I’m sure,” she said sarcastically. “Since I’m the one who told you he’d been murdered. Look at this test bottle of water from the river. Five hundred thousand parts per million arsenic molecules. Do you have any idea how high that is?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well, it’s extremely high. Any living thing that came in contact with that much arsenic would die instantly.”

  “The pool near where Balor died is a popular fishing spot for shifters around here,” Chance said, his tone softening.

  “That’s exactly where I took the sample,” she said, setting it back on the table. “The copper mine must be letting every ounce of wastewater runoff into the river at those rates.”

  “What makes you so sure it’s runoff from the copper mine?” Chance asked.

  Summer scowled. How could he be so blind? Of course it was the copper mine. This had been exactly the evidence she’d been looking for.

  “Copper mines use arsenic in their smelting process. Arsenic poisoning from wastewater runoff is a common historical problem in Montana. I thought everyone knew that.”

  “Nope,” he said, taking his hat off.

  Summer sighed. This guy was not the brightest bulb in the bunch. That didn’t keep her body from exploding with need just looking at him. What’s wrong with me? She had to get her hormones under control. Being attracted to a back country hick was not going to help her bring down the corporate mining system.

  “Anyway, copper mines have contaminated whole areas because of their lazy wastewater management practices.”

  “But you did say ‘historical,’ meaning a long time ago.”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t change anything.”

  “We’ll look into the copper mine. Since you’re an expert, the sheriff wants you to consult on this case. We looked into your background and agreed that you aren’t a suspect.”

  “You did a background check on me?” she asked, irritated. She didn’t want him to know about her past. The idea of Chance looking into her personal life made her face burn. She bristled, wondering why she cared what he knew about her.

  “You’re an antiestablishment, hippie protestor. You’ve come out in highly vocal support of shifters. There’s no reason to believe you are a suspect in a poisoning murder.”

  “I’m not a hippie. I’m simply informed.”

  Chance reached out and picked up one of her dyed, red dreadlocks. When his fingertips brushed the exposed flesh on her shoulder, her entire body came alive as an electric shock ran up and down her spine.

  “What do you call these?”

  “My hairstyle has nothing to do with it.”

  “I bet you’re a vegetarian,” he said, smirking.

  “Vegan.”

  The half-smile turned into a full-blown grin. She hadn’t seen Chance smile since they’d met, and it lit up the room, illuminating the dark corners. She gasped and bit her lip, not wanting him to see how he affected her.

  “My eating habits don’t have anything to do with it, either. Geeze, you know people are as ignorant about vegans as they are about shifters?”

  “Hey,” he said, stepping back with a chuckle. “I like vegetables. I’ve been growing my own ever since I got back from Iraq.”

  Summer crossed her arms over her full breasts, not expecting that from the big man. Gardening, huh? Maybe he wasn’t as bad as she thought.

  “You should taste my huckleberries. Best in the state.”

  “Huckleberries?”

  Chance frowned and rubbed the back of his neck as if he was embarrassed. “Um. Yes. Some of the local ladies like to make jam from it. Bertha McLaren wins at the county fair every year. You can buy her homemade jam at her shop in town.”

  “I’ll have to check that out,” she said, eyeing him. Is that flirting? She couldn’t tell.

  “Well, ma’am. I’d like you to come down to the station so I can get your formal statement, and you can meet the sheriff. He wants to speak with you before we begin working on the case.”

  “So I’ll be working with you?” she asked, a thrill sparking in her belly.

  Chapter 4

  The more time Chance spent with his mate, the more he liked her. Even the way she got angry about silly little things excited him. He could tell the woman was a handful, in more ways than one. Her luscious curves certainly were. He imagined gripping those full hips and plump breasts as she rode in the passenger seat of his truck.

  He glanced over and watched her breasts b
ounce as they bumped down the rocky road toward where they’d found Balor’s body. He sucked his lip into his mouth and held back a moan of pleasure. He had to get his hands on this woman somehow, but he was pretty sure she didn’t like him.

  Chance was a guy who liked a challenge, and Summer Madison certainly was that. He was determined to figure her out and find what made her tick. She’d been interested in his gardening. He hadn’t expected to start trying to get close to her so soon. They had work to do on the case, and it probably wasn’t the best idea to get distracted by Summer’s luscious curves until it was solved.

  He pulled off the road into a turn-about and cut the engine. Summer looked around with a determined expression on her pretty face, her dark, full lips puckered and her brow furrowed. He could see the honey-colored curve of her breasts under the tank top she wore. His bear rumbled inside his mind. Mate! Mate! Summer gripped her testing kit and jumped out of the truck, marching up the hill before he even had the door open.

  He hurried to catch up with her, watching her full behind sway as she charged up the hill. Goddamn, that woman is sexy. He shook his head, and his bear roared. He’d never dated a woman like Summer in his life. Go figure his mate would be as determined and strong-willed as he was.

  He caught up with her and reached out to take her testing kit, which seemed pretty heavy. It dug into her shoulder, making it look red and sore. She pulled it away from him with a shocked expression on her face.

  “It looks heavy.”

  “Fine, here. It is heavy.” She pulled it off her shoulder and thrust it into his arms. He smiled at her offering to let him help, but she just charged off. A moment later, she turned back to him and stopped. “Thanks,” she said softly, her barriers coming down. She was even prettier when she softened a bit, the sight of gratitude and humility in her eyes made Chance’s heart melt. This might be easier than he’d thought.

  They made their way into the clearing where they’d found Balor’s body.

  “This is where he died. Do you want to take samples here?”

  “Yes,” Summer said, opening the kit. She pulled out her equipment and started taking samples from the trees and soil. Chance sniffed the air, opening his bear senses to take in the scents around the scene. He couldn’t make out anything but the scent of the people he already knew had been there. Most likely, Balor had been alone in the forest when he’d died.

  She set up her test tubes in a stand on the forest floor and dropped testing solution into the samples she’d taken. “This will take a few minutes,” she explained.

  “So what made you want to become a scientist?” Chance asked, watching her kneeling on the forest floor. She was bent over the test tubes, her ass in the air. He wondered if she knew how unbelievably hot she looked like that. Chance could barely keep himself from gripping her hips and taking her right then and there. She smelled of strawberry lemonade and the forest after it rained. The scent of her almost undid him. Grrr…

  She looked back at him and blinked at his question. Standing, she brushed off her knees and sighed. “I always wanted to understand how things work. I’ve been fascinated with scientific principles and the natural world since I was a child. It was only natural for me to become an environmental biologist. I want to protect nature. As a scientist, I have the tools to do it.”

  “That’s very noble,” he said, tipping his head toward her.

  “Thanks.” She looked away and inspected her vials again. Looking back at him she said, “So why did you become a game warden?”

  “I wanted to protect nature, too. As a game warden, I oversee hunting and fishing in my district. I protect wildlife from criminal hunters. Without licensing and oversight, hunters would shoot everything until there was nothing left. Like the buffalo or the California grizzly.”

  “I never thought of it that way,” she said, glancing back at her test tubes. “Look,” she said. “There’s no arsenic in any of these samples. That’s strange. I would expect some to have contaminated the forest around the pool.”

  “Let’s go check the water,” he said.

  She got another syringe and they moved through the forest to the edge of the fishing pool. A few fish had washed up dead on the side of the river and a crow lay feet up beside them. Summer cringed and knelt to get her sample. “They were clearly poisoned by the water,” she said, pulling a sample into the syringe.

  She dropped it into a testing vial and mixed it with testing solution before they headed back to where her kit sat. She labeled the vial and put it in the holder next to the rest of the samples.

  “You mentioned that you fought in Iraq,” she said, not looking up from her work.

  “Two tours. Special Forces. After the war, I came home and took up gardening.”

  She giggled a little and continued her work.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “A Special Forces military guy becomes a gardener. It’s cute.” She stood and faced him, her face bright with mirth.

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Never mind. What are you growing this year?” she asked, crossing her arms and popping out her hip as she gazed up at him.

  His heart fluttered as her arms pressed her full breasts together and upward. His bear pranced around inside his head, roaring to claim her on the forest floor. Chance gulped.

  “Tomatoes, zucchinis, lettuces, eggplant. I’m going to harvest my garlic soon, and the pumpkins are ripening. I’ll have a nice batch by Halloween. And of course my huckleberry patch is unrivaled.”

  “How do you grow wild huckleberries? I didn’t realize that was a thing.”

  “Sure it is. I started with a few wild bushes. I took cuttings and now I have a whole patch. They give me all the sweetest fruit because I give them what they need.”

  “I see,” Summer said, flushing.

  Chance could smell the heavy scent of arousal wafting off his little, curvy mate. He was going to have to do something soon because keeping his distance would make him lose his mind.

  His bear was not a patient animal.

  Summer turned away and picked up the water she’d just tested. Frowning, she looked up at him. “I don’t understand. There's barely any arsenic in the water today. It’s basically at safe levels. How is that possible?”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?” he asked, confused.

  “We need to go up to the copper mine and look around. At the levels I got yesterday, they’d have to be dumping tons of arsenic waste into the water every day, but maybe they only do it on certain days of the week.”

  “I’m still not convinced it’s the mine,” Chance said.

  “What other explanation is there?” Summer asked haughtily.

  “That’s what I intend to find out.”

  Chapter 5

  Summer packed her samples into her test kit, flustered at how Chance affected her. Getting unbelievably turned on while conducting a scientific investigation was unprofessional. She had to get herself under control. Chance wasn’t even her type.

  That’s what she kept telling herself anyway.

  Nevertheless, every time she looked at him or got a whiff of his musky cologne she practically swooned. The whole thing about taking up gardening after coming back from Iraq–– that just did it. She was lost in a haze of sexual attraction she couldn’t understand.

  She handed Chance the testing kit as they walked together down the hill. Neither of them spoke, only stealing shy glances at each other as they trudged through the underbrush. When they made it to his truck, Chance opened the door for her and offered her his hand. She looked at him like he’d lost his mind.

  Finally, she took his hand. His skin felt warm against hers, and that spark of desire flooded through her as he helped her climb the high steps into the raised truck.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  She didn’t really need help climbing into the truck. It was like two steps. But the fact that he had offered, and the feeling of his hand on hers, made her start to reconsider her original
assumptions about him.

  He was a gentleman for sure. That trait had its place and was incredibly attractive from an ex-military guy as big as the broad side of a barn. Summer never expected to be turned on by that kind of thing. But there was a small place inside her that always felt vulnerable in the world. Usually, she shoved that part of herself down as far as she could. Chance seemed to uncover that vulnerable spot and hold it in his strong hands, making her feel protected and safe.

  Back on the highway, they turned into the parking lot of the mine and found a space near the front office. Summer set her expression, ready for a fight as she got out of the truck. She’d have to stay focused, stay tough. These mining corporations were as slippery as they came. They’d hide any wrongdoing behind wall after wall of bureaucracy. She hoped Chance had the willpower to stick around to do the digging.

  She took a deep breath as Chance pulled open the door and held it for her to walk inside. At the front desk, a skinny, blonde receptionist fluttered her eyelashes and smiled broadly as soon as she saw Chance approaching.

  “Chance Baker, didn’t expect to see you around here today. What brings you out to the Black Butte Copper Mine? And who’s your friend?” she said, frowning at Summer.

  “We’re here on official business. A shifter was found poisoned to death downriver from here. We need to investigate the mine for any possible environmental issues.”

  “We just had our environmental oversight inspection not two weeks ago,” the girl said irritably.

  “High levels of arsenic were found in a pool downriver from here,” Summer said. “How do you explain that?”

  Chance frowned and waved his hand. “We just need to look around and ask a few questions,” he said. “We can come back later with a warrant if we need to.”

  The girl sighed and pushed away from her desk. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary. I’ll inform Mr. Leland that you’re here.” She stood and walked through a doorway, closing it behind her. Summer put her hands on her hips and glared at Chance.