Urban reached out and she took his proffered hand; he gave it a squeeze. “I’m always up for giving you some care and loving.”
She ducked her head and gave him a small smile. His food arrived, and he had to turn his attention to eating. “So what would you like to do today?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Take over the world? I have to do my own independent investigation in the feline community. They won’t take kindly to having a werewolf with me. Dinner at my place?”
His heart squeezed, and he couldn’t stop the grin on his face. “Of course. Do you want me to bring anything?”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll get everything, no worries. Don’t be late; seven o’clock.”
Nadia pushed back her chair, placed some bills on the table, and rounded toward him. She dropped a tender kiss on his cheek. Urban refused to accept that; he needed his woman to know how much he cared about her. He reached up, pulled her head down to his, and took her lips in a branding kiss that burned him right down to his soul. Urban pulled away, breathless, his heart pounding against his chest as arousal threaded through his body.
Urban admired her plump, swollen, red lips and gave her a smack on the ass. “Now, off with you.”
For a second she didn’t move, just stared at him with wide brown eyes so dark and deep he could fall into them. Emotions swirled in their depths that he couldn’t read. The walls slid down, and he saw a bit of fear mixed with arousal and yearning. She took in a deep breath and stood up. With a snort, she left him.
* * * *
Poppy examined her list of members of the Gardening Club. The names were dwindling down. Last year, she’d had to get rid of Doreen and her husband. This year alone, she’d lost Zelda and Joey. Now she’d had to lose Stan and Caro. All she had left were Madeline, Janice, and their husbands. She needed to recruit more names, but who could she trust with this type of operation? None of the other alpha bitches wanted to do what it took to change the course of their lives. Despite her assurance that Michael would never leave her for a younger model, she wasn’t getting any younger, and times weren’t changing fast enough. There was also Michael’s attitude to consider.
The alpha males that were left weren’t exactly quality, and that was fine by her. It would mean that Michael would have less competition to take on Torger when the time came. After he’d won and taken his place as the Alpha of Packs, then the last stage of her plan would go into action. Finally, the women would rule the roost and the men would do what they said, well, what she said. The plan for making sure Michael wouldn’t be a problem had been made far in advance; all she’d have to do was give the word, and it would be enacted. For now, she had to figure out how to position Madeline and Janice into place; they were both married to alphas who had yet to really, truly assert their powers.
It didn’t help that things weren’t perfect. With Stan and Caro’s deaths, the police were sniffing around, and it would only be a matter of time before they figured out that both parties had been killed. If they put the pieces together and it led to her, she’d be long gone. The Summit had four more days left in it and so far it was peaceful, almost boringly so. She’d considered stirring up some trouble, but that wouldn’t do in the least. There was also Urban to consider. Michael would have to challenge him, and there was that odd feline-shifter to take into account. The woman hadn’t come back to pick up her order, and that was a relief. The women were still baking up replacements with the non-tainted flour mixture. It wasn’t easy with the men coming in and out of the main cabin’s kitchens trying to snag a bite to eat or a free sample without paying for it. They’d only managed to bake replacements for a third of her order.
Poppy looked up from her list to find her feline-shifter contact standing before her, a smile on his sensual lips. He placed a hand on the long table laden down with baked goods. “My cousin came by yesterday; she left here before she could take her order with her. She paid via the credit card of her boyfriend, Urban, Torger’s brother. Do you still have it? Hopefully.”
Shit, Poppy muttered in her mind. “Of course.” She placed a bright smile on her face and got the large box out of the mini fridge they kept near the table for such cases. “Here you go. Thank you for coming to get it. I wasn’t sure where to send it.”
He shrugged and accepted the box. “Thank you for keeping it. Hey, can I snag that bear claw? I’m starving.” He pointed to the pastry.
Poppy grinned. Those bear claws weren’t laced with Katnip. “Excellent choice; here you go.” She picked up the bear claw with a napkin, placed it in a bag, and handed it to him while accepting his money. If he could act like they were strangers, then so could she. Their fingers brushed; an electric shock danced up her arm and her nipples tightened. He showed no signs of being affected. She pushed down her reaction, made change, and gave it to him.
“Have a nice day,” she said as she watched him walk off to his dark red Corvette. She paid close attention to the way the denim cupped his perfectly molded ass like a second skin.
He gave her a wave over his shoulder, got into his car, and drove off.
“Who’s that?” Michael demanded from behind her.
“Customer.” Poppy didn’t turn around, nor did she flinch when Michael gripped her upper arm.
“Don’t need his kind ‘round here. Wrap up your stupid-ass bake sale. You need to get your ass in gear to start acting like my alpha bitch, understand?” He gave her arm a squeeze and then a shake.
Poppy bowed her head, anger simmering in her veins. “Yes, Michael.”
“Good girl.” He released his hold and walked off.
“Maybe I should get that plan rolling early,” she muttered to herself as she picked up her list once again. Poppy decided that Michael needed to go now; she could champion another person to challenge Torger or Urban. She may tell people that he loved her and would never truly hurt her, but she felt herself reach her limits on tolerance of his actions. Poppy had no idea if he truly loved her or just loved using her as his private punching bag. Nor could she ignore his flirtations with beta females. No, it was time for Michael to join Caro, Zelly, Stan, Joey, and all the others she’d killed.
* * * *
Michael walked along the riverbank. His wolf was silent, had been since he’d married Poppy. In fact, he hadn’t been able to talk to his animal at all over the last few years. Doctors had told him nothing was wrong with him and it was all in his head. He knew better: that bitch was poisoning him; at least those were his suspicions. Being around other alphas had only brought out his insecurity. They were shifting at will while all he could do was watch. No one knew about his predicament and they never would, not unless Poppy said something. He’d wanted to challenge Torger for the Alpha of Packs status, but instead he decided to get the hell out of Dodge. No, next time, in five years, he’d challenge Torger, but the way he was now, he’d get slaughtered and lose his pack status as alpha. He turned to go back to the campground. A sharp prick on his heel drew a whimper of pain. He paused to stand on one leg and pick up his other leg. Michael looked down at his wounded heel. Blood gushed from the site and stained his foot.
Hands gave his side a hard push. Michael wobbled to his side and into the water. Before he could react, his body froze. He ordered it to move but got nothing. Darkness filled his vision as he sank to the bottom. His pockets felt heavier than before. In desperation Michael tried to shift, but again his wolf refused to come when called. Not a blip of energy in his body. He was all alone and couldn’t swim. Claustrophobia took hold, panic filled his head, his heartbeat banged against his ribcage, and his lungs burned for air. Cold filled his body inside and out as sleep gripped him. His eyelids grew heavy. That bitch, Poppy did this. That was his last thought as he slipped under the water’s thrall and drowned.
Chapter Eight
Nadia stared at the bloated face of Michael, pack leader and Poppy’s husband. Preliminary medical opinion was that he drowned. Why, how, or if that was the cause of death was still up i
n the air, but so far he’d drowned. She didn’t believe it, not as far as she could throw Torger, and refused to get anywhere near him. He’d blame her somehow, and she didn’t want to get into a shouting match with him. She looked over at Urban, whose forehead was creased with question; his lips were thinned and his posture was stiff with tension. A glance around showed there weren’t any alphas around playing gawker, and Poppy was nowhere to be seen. Someone had said that she’d had to be led off and given a tranquilizer. In Nadia’s mind, that was bad idea. Poppy could be using it as a cover to avoid questions, and so far this wasn’t a murder investigation. Not officially, anyway.
She moved over to Urban. “Well?”
Urban shook his head and replied. “Nothing, not even his footprints, which says a shitload about how badly she wanted to cover this up.”
Nadia started but stopped herself. “So you think….” She let the words drift off.
Urban needed Torger in on this. “I’ll call her into the station for an official interview. There are too many bodies connected with her. Let’s see what our—”
“Sir, your brother’s on the phone.” A lieutenant handed Urban a phone. He moved off to possibly soothe his brother. Three bodies with no proof of foul play would undoubtedly stress out Torger and Draven. She examined the body from afar. What did Michael have to do with her Katnip case? Had his fight with Poppy been a cover? She really hoped Rex would find something in the baked goods he’d picked up. He hadn’t told her who he was using for lab work, but she’d gotten the impression that the person had been standing by to do a rush job. Rex had assured them that he would have something by tomorrow. Easier said than done. She considered calling Zerik to have him send someone to help but didn’t want to take over Rex’s investigation. Plus, Torger wouldn’t appreciate more outside interference.
Her phone vibrated in her jeans pocket. She answered after three rings. “Nadia.”
“So far, at least five of the items that have been tested have Katnip laced in them. Poppy gave me the box. Urban should use that to bring her in.” Rex hung up before she could respond.
She looked over at Urban. His lips had disappeared, and he’d become so red she was concerned for his heart rate. Nadia made her way over to him, careful not to touch the body. Nothing in the air or in her line of sight aroused suspicion. Her inner snow leopard didn’t really care. She wanted another round with Urban and to mark him someplace else on his body. Arousal swirled low in her belly. Heat pulsed in her veins, her clit pulsed, and her pussy flooded with moisture. Nadia knew they didn’t have time for this, yet she couldn’t stop the mating desire once it’d started. After, she told her cat, when it’s all over. The case was almost at an end; she could feel it in her gut. All they needed was the why. Then she could have some time with Urban.
Nadia placed a hand on Urban’s arm as he hung up and shoved his phone into his pocket. She started to move away from him, and he followed. Once they were far enough away for comfort, she told him what Rex had found. “Rex called. We need to talk to Poppy.”
He didn’t ask why and ordered one of the betas who guarded the scene to fetch Poppy. It didn’t take long for the widow to arrive; she was looking more like she had just had bad news than she was grieving. Poppy had makeup on and she’d changed her dress into something a bit more form-fitting, emphasizing her cleavage and her hips. Her eyes were red, but she held herself straight and pushed her chest out. She was wearing kitten-heeled shoes.
“You want to speak to me at the station? I’m ready to talk.” She led the way before either one of them could say anything.
Urban shrugged and guided Nadia to the car. The ride over was silent. Nadia wasn’t sure if she was sad that the case was over or that it hadn’t been too eventful. There was also the part where she would be leaving soon. She glanced over at Urban. His face was granite. Unreadable and distant, something she didn’t like.
* * * *
Urban pulled into the visitor’s spot at the DCPD and got out; he rushed around to let Nadia out, who’d actually waited for him. He grabbed her hand and guided her into the building. Warmth filled his chest while bile swirled in his stomach. The case had taken a turn that he should’ve seen coming, even if they didn’t have the why. What irritated him was that Poppy had done all this under his and Torger’s nose and right in front of the other alphas. At last count they had at least four remaining alphas, all up for re-elections. The ones that weren’t were here to enjoy the gathering and watch the political shit storm happen. It intrigued him, as it always did, how protective they were of their own packs but cared very little about the other packs, so long as it didn’t upset the natural order of things.
He was pretty sure that that was what Poppy was after for some reason. Thankfully the officers had managed to get Poppy to the DCPD without incident. Torger met them at the door of the interrogation room. “Tread carefully. The alphas will be watching.” He turned on his heel and left without commenting on Nadia’s presence.
Not like they’d care, Urban thought.
Nadia shrugged. “I’ll be bad cop, since you can’t get in trouble if the feline-shifter bitch asks the tough questions.”
Urban thought about it. It would help; the alphas couldn’t protest since he wasn’t the one going after one of their own, even if at this time they weren’t plotting a way to usurp Michael’s place, and the alpha bitches were all preening that they could elevate their status soon. Urban pushed aside all the politics to focus on the case and see what Poppy had to say. “Fine.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Nadia tilted her head toward the door.
Urban opened it for her and gestured for her to precede him. He took a moment to watch the sway of her hips and ass before following her into the room. His shoulder throbbed a bit, but it was his cock that jerked in appreciation. He couldn’t wait to get her home; he was sure she was already wet for him, he could smell it. If Poppy cooperated, they could get a confession and then he’d be inside of her within half an hour, if things went well and Torger didn’t want a lengthy explanation.
He pushed away his thoughts and focused on getting a confession or an explanation. Poppy was already seated, which was good. The officer in the room waved him over. “She refused to call a lawyer and waived her rights. Says she wants to get it off her chest. Boss man will be watching the interview,” he said before he left the room.
Urban could only shrug. That didn’t mean anything to him unless this was an official investigation, which it wasn’t. They had no proof of any wrongdoing yet. Torger would be watching the interview from his office due to the hidden cameras around the room. So he had to question her and see what happened. Urban settled down in the chair across from her.
“Mrs. Harper, this isn’t an official investigation. You don’t need to talk to us if you don’t want to.” He wanted to see if she would shut down.
Poppy waved away his words. “No, I need to. This is getting far too complicated and too much to handle. To start off with, we’ve been selling Katnip-laced baked goods to earn money to make a play to buy out the male alphas and put women in charge. It’s a small group of us. The others had no idea what we were doing; they invested the money.” Poppy paused to take a sip of water. “I can’t do this anymore. Killing Michael was the final straw. My investors won’t back me anymore, and besides that, there are enough alphas out of the way to cause a shift in power. Oh, I’ve been giving Michael antishift meds for years, in case you find it in his blood. It’s where his frustration and anger came from.”
Nadia snorted and said, “Sure it is, and that’s why he beats the shit out of you, because he can’t shift. That’s no excuse. And messing with those antishift meds could’ve killed both you and him; some affect the giver as well as the taker.” Disgust was written on her face. Urban knew she was having flashbacks to her childhood and father.
“I know, but still….” She paused to lick her lips. Poppy let out a sigh. “We wanted to change the testosterone that ruled our packs to mak
e them more modern. What I did and planned, I did alone. My investors didn’t know what I was doing. Here’s a list of all the people I’ve killed.” She pulled out a piece of paper from the pocket of her dress and slid it across the table at him.
Urban took it and read it over. His eyes widened as he looked over the names. “Jesus, all of them? But…we haven’t heard anything about them.” This was getting very complicated and was beyond Torger’s jurisdiction. He was going to have to make a lot of phone calls to smooth things over and convince people to let Poppy be sentenced in Draven’s Crossing.
He stood up, opened the door, and called in an officer, gave him the list, and ordered him to send it to Torger before he sat down and faced Poppy. “Why Katnip-laced baked goods?”
Poppy looked down. “We could sell them to feline-shifters and humans looking for a fix to make more money. Bake sales only go so far, and we needed to earn money quickly.”
Urban stared at her as his mind mulled over her reasoning.
Nadia beat him to the punch of asking why. “Why? You’re risking innocent lives to elevate your own. Some people have died. What changed for you to grow a conscience overnight? Killing your abusive, asshole of a husband didn’t sit well with you?” she demanded.
Poppy folded her arms over her chest. “I would’ve seen our plan through, but the people who wanted this change felt that we were going in the wrong direction with all this death. They threatened to turn me in to Torger for pack law punishment. I’m willing to cut a deal to name names so long as I only get exile and not death.”
The puzzle pieces fit together. If her co-conspirators had come forward and accused her, she wouldn’t haven’t had a say in her sentencing, but for her to offer herself up allowed her some leverage to make some of the rules.
“You said this wasn’t an official investigation. I can help you get to the source of the Katnip in several other pack-controlled areas, but I must not be ordered to death and I must be allowed to be exiled with all my belongings. Everything else can go to Michael’s pack members.” Poppy sat back, satisfaction on her face.
Poisonous Desires Page 13
