by Reina Torres
War and even then, they were still fighting for something more than ‘Separate but Equal’ and segregation during the middle of the twentieth century.” She looked at Devlin and gave him a smile before looking back at Jameson. “Shifters should be treated just like the rest of us. Anything less and we’re failing to protect the very rights you’re so worried about defending.”
Jameson’s hands were balled at his sides. “I don’t need a history lesson.”
“Consider it a civics lesson.”
Devlin could almost feel Paige’s claws digging into her father’s Chief of Staff. He wanted to warn her to back down, but he didn’t need to. Her father effectively ended the whole conversation.
“Jameson, I appreciate that you’re trying to look after my career, but what I’m trying to do is look after my constituents. We’re at a crossroads here. There’s no hiding from the situation we’ve found ourselves in and I don’t see why we’d want to.
“When we lost Paige’s mother and I decided to run for office, the whole reason we did it,” he took hold of Paige’s hand and pressed a kiss to the backs of her fingers, “was to help other people. Relegating shifters to any status other than official citizens with all the protections they deserve? If that happens, then I’m not doing my job. What does it matter if I’m re-elected then?”
Jameson looked like he was about to blow a vein or an artery, but he’d calmed down somewhat as the Lundins, or rather Mayor Lundin and Paige Kerr were talking about public policy. Now, the Chief of Staff was studiously schooling his features. “Okay. Fine. You want a meeting, sir, I’ll get you a meeting, but from there-”
“From there,” Mayor Lundin nodded with a solemn look around his eyes, “it’s all up to me.”
Paige took her father’s hand in hers. “Dad, it’ll be up to us.”
The Mayor brushed a kiss on Paige’s temple. “That’s my girl.”
Devlin felt a smile crawl over his lips as his Tiger extended his claws. “Mine.”
Chapter Seven
The meeting happened sooner than later. It seemed that the Sylvan City Council had been waiting near their phones since the event and the revelation that shifters were more than just characters in Victorian novels or a figment of fantasy. The debate had started the moment the council members walked through the door and re-started every time someone new arrived. The constant drone of the protestors outside and rather surprisingly the counter-shouts from supporters as well.
That, and the increased police presence around and on the property made for a very long and tiring day.
When she finished her last meeting with her father, Paige stepped into the hall and saw Devlin leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest and his ankles crossed. In a word, he looked, delicious.
His smile heated her skin and the liquid amber of his eyes made her breathless. “Keep looking at me like that, Mrs. Kerr, and I’m not going to be able to wait to get you home.”
Paige lifted her hand, wiped her palm off on her thigh, pulling and tugging at the soft flowy fabric of her skirt. She took step after step across the wide hallway, her eyes locked onto Devlin’s, watching as he slid up the wall, planting his feet solidly underneath his frame.
She drew in a long breath and smiled. “You smell good,” once the words were free of her lips, her steps faltered and she turned away with a blush. “You must think I’m-”
“Gorgeous? Amazing?” He took a step away from the wall and held out his hand. “Come here, wife.”
She didn’t know if it was the tone of his voice or maybe that look in his eyes that made her feel weak in the knees and able to leap tall buildings at the same time, but when she put her hand in his, she didn’t care. All she wanted was his warmth against her and his hardness inside of her.
Paige opened her mouth under his hungry kiss, but her tongue was the first to duel with the other, her hands reaching for his shirt buttons.
Devlin’s hands worked their way down over the lush curve of her backside and pulled her up against his body.
She moaned into his mouth as tingles spread over every inch of her skin. “Dev- Devlin?”
His lips worked their way to the sensitive flesh just under her ear. “Yes?”
He hissed the word against her skin and all of her breath rushed from her body as he rocked against her and her hands crawled over his shoulders to press against his back, bringing him closer to her.
“Let’s go to my room,” her gasp filled her ears, echoing off the hard wood of the wall she was facing. “I can’t wait to get home either.”
She felt something shift inside of him as if her words had flipped a switch. He stilled for the space of a heartbeat before he swept her up in his arms.
“Which room?”
Paige pushed at his shoulder. “I can walk, Dev.”
He tucked her in closer to his chest and pressed a hard, hungry kiss to her lips.
“Which room?”
She laughed, a pure burst of light that came from her heart. “Upstairs. Second room on the left.”
“Give me a minute.”
Paige wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. She wasn’t sure because she didn’t wear a watch, but it seemed like it was just a few seconds before they were behind a locked door tearing at each other’s clothing.
A knock sounded at the door and Devlin felt Paige tighten her embrace around his chest and press her curves against his back.
A second knock had him ready to rip out someone’s throat as Paige struggled awake beside him.
“Dev? What is it?”
She trailed her hand from his chest toward this stomach and lower, making him growl under his breath.
He paid his lovely wife back for her sleepy temptation, sliding his fingers down to the small of her back where she was sensitive to the point of almost being ticklish. It never failed to make her flush a pretty pink. “Someone’s knocking at the door, babe.”
Working her way up and onto her elbows, she gave him a grumpy little grimace. “Then tell them to come in.”
Devlin knew she couldn’t see well enough to notice his mischievous smile. “I could, but then I’d have to kill whoever it is for seeing my mate’s bare backside.” To prove his point, he caressed the rounded swell and smelled her re-awakened arousal in the air. “So how about you stay here and I’ll get rid of them.”
He pressed a kiss on the top of her head and slid out of bed. Taking one more look at Paige he crossed to the door, bending over to swipe up his pants from the carpet. He pulled them on just inside the door, managing to growl a command as he yanked his pants up and whisked up the zipper. “Who is it?”
“You can’t smell me coming up the hall, Officer Kerr?”
The slight hint of humor almost made Devlin smile as he yanked open the door. “Charlie. I was wondering where the overwhelming scent of donuts was coming from.”
“Oh, har har, rookie.”
From the corner of his eye he saw Paige scrambling to put something on. A quick shuffle to the closet and she had her robe in hand.
“Those rookie jokes are getting old, Charlie.”
“They’re not jokes if they’re true.” He heard a slight scratch in Charlie’s throat. “Is Paige dressed or should I come back later?”
“I’m fine!” Her voice was a little too loud, a little too rushed. “I’m um… yeah, go ahead and come in Uncle Charlie.”
Devlin took a step back to open the doorway and he watched Charlie walk in. Still dressed in his uniform, the older man walked one step after another, pacing himself with an old tortoise by the speed of his movements. He probably was a bit more worried with what Paige was wearing than Devlin was.
As her mate, Devlin didn’t want anyone to see her, but as her uncle, Charlie probably still saw her as a little girl. He knew without looking that his shirt and Paige’s dress were on the floor behind his own feet. Devlin could tell by the way Charlie looked studiously away from the pile of clothing that he knew exactly what it was.
“Sorry to bother you two, but,” Charlie cleared his throat, “I was just talking to your father, Paige, and he thought I should come and talk to Devlin right away.”
“Oh,” Paige’s face was so expressive that Devlin could see her worry plainly written on her features, “should I go outside? Let you two talk on your own?”
Devlin shook his head, but put his hand out toward Paige. “You don’t have to leave for me, Paige. If you’d like to leave-”
Paige looked at her uncle and he fought down the Tiger’s instinctual growl. The animal inside him prowled in the dark, his white hide flashing back and forth in Devlin’s mind. He reminded the beast that Charlie was family and not something to tear into with his fangs.
“Up to you, babe.” He gave her a smile even as his Tiger bared his fangs deep down. “I should have gotten you something to eat earlier-”
Paige’s stomach answered him, growling a call of its own in the room. Turning a pretty peach, his lovely mate covered her cheeks with her palms. “That’s certainly embarrassing,” she sighed, “I’ll take that cue and go see about a snack.” As she passed by, she leaned up to give Devlin a kiss and then touched her uncle’s arm. “Good to see you, Uncle Charlie.”
“Good to see that he’s taking good care of you, Paigey.”
She flushed an even deeper color and Charlie let out a long sigh.
“I guess I can’t call you that anymore. You’re all grown up and married to boot.” He tilted his head toward the door. “Go ahead and get your feed on, sweetie. We’ll be done chatting when you get back.”
Paige gave them both a look and then she left the room, retying her robe around her body.
When Devlin finally turned to look at Charlie, he saw the other man with a bittersweet look on his face.
“You’re a good man, Devlin. I knew that from the first,” he drew in a breath and then let it go, “but that young woman is the closest thing I have to a daughter and if you hurt her, I don’t care what people call you or what you are underneath your skin. I won’t let that stop me from exacting my revenge.”
Devlin didn’t argue. He didn’t want to.
“She’s my mate, Charlie. She has nothing to fear from me. My one driving need, now that I’ve found her, is to take care of her until my dying breath.”
He watched as Charlie considered his words, his eyes turning inward and his toes flexing in his shoe. “Alright then,” he blew out his breath, “we have another issue.”
Devlin struggled to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the words. “I would be surprised if we didn’t.” He gestured to a chair along the wall. “What’s going on?”
Charlie’s smile was a little too bright to be a harbinger of anything good. “Well, you know all the guys have seen the coverage.”
The police. His job. Likely his ex-job now. “So, who’s gunning for me?”
Smiling even more, Charlie gave him an appreciative nod. “Quite a few of them.” He laughed. “What you should be asking is how many are with you?” Charlie didn’t wait for Devlin to ask and for that he was grateful. “A few that I know of,” he stepped forward to explain, “I’ve been here quite a bit, but when I go back to the stationhouse, I hear things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Some guys run their mouths about you, and the few that I’m talking about, they’re not willing to gut you on sight.”
“Oh, that’s reassuring.” Devlin’s wry humor wasn’t lost on Charlie.
“Someone left a box of Frosted Flakes on your desk. Besides the cartoon guy on the logo, I’m not sure what that means, but at least you know there are some guys willing to stand up for you.”
Devlin nodded. “That’s something.”
“You may be a rookie in the SCPD, but you’ve been an officer for years and your record is stellar.”
“What?”
Charlie waved off Devlin’s denial. “The brass may not like you too much, your independent streak was enough to give your last captain an ulcer, but you’ve always been there for your fellow officers. The rank and file appreciates that you’ve had their back and some of them are willing to do the same and see how this shakes out.”
“Me too, Charlie. I’m not going to turn furry on them if I forget my lunch at home.”
Charlie tried to laugh.
“What? Too soon?”
Holding up his hand, palm flat toward the ground, he wiggled it back and forth. “Maybe, a little?”
The door opened and Paige stepped back inside with a couple of beers and a plate with sandwiches on it. “Sorry,” she held up the plate and showed it to Devlin, “they didn’t have any raw meat.” Winking, she crossed to the bed and set everything down. “Did you finish whatever it was you were talking about?”
Charlie shrugged even though she couldn’t see him. “Do you know when you’re coming back?”
Devlin looked away from Paige’s barely covered backside and met Charlie’s worried gaze. “I’d love to stay out for a while, but that’s not going to make anyone on the force happy. Even those men that are willing to give me that chance.
“Unless there’s something that the Mayor needs from me to keep me out, I should be back tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Charlie took a step toward the door at Paige’s shocked outburst. “Give me a call later and I’ll make sure to be there ahead of you. I might be able to soothe some of the ruffled feathers before you get there.”
Devlin smiled as he stepped forward to take Charlie’s hand. “Don’t know what kind of help you’ll be in that case,” Devlin didn’t stop his words, he didn’t want Charlie to worry, “tigers have fur, not feathers. And I bet you’re one of those officers who doesn’t mind ruffling up someone else’s feathers. I’ll be happy to chew them right off.”
“Well then,” Charlie reached for the edge of the door, “at least you’ve still got your crappy sense of humor if things go bad. You can go on the comedy circuit, Devlin.” He leaned back in for a moment. “I’ll see you later, Paige. You take care, okay?”
“You too, Uncle Charlie.”
Devlin waited until Charlie closed the door with a click before he moved to set the inside lock on Paige’s door. Satisfied at the metallic click he had echoing in his ears, Devlin reached for the button on his pants, twisting it clear, dropped his slacks on the hard-wood floor.
“I’m beginning to like this married stuff,” Paige’s voice held more than a hint of breathless quality. “The view, at the very least, is stellar.”
The next morning when Devlin walked into the Stationhouse, all of the conversation stopped.
He knew damn well they had a heads up that he was coming in. After all, the screaming from the two crowds outside were loud enough to wake the dead, but he’d ignored them both. There was no use in throwing a match into a vat of gasoline.
He expected Charlie to be the first to step up to him, but Officer Charlie Butler wasn’t in the reception area.
Devlin wasn’t afraid at all, but if he had to admit how he was feeling, he would have said he was a little disappointed.
Two men in suits started toward him from their place along the south wall, one of them reaching into their suitcoat, but they didn’t get a chance for first blood, as it were.
“Hey, Kerr, I had a feeling that you were one of those guys that wanted to make a name for himself, but when you go for it, man.”
Devlin didn’t need to look down to see the man’s badge on the edge of his human peripheral vision. Markham.
“You were wrong on the first count, Markham. I don’t care about a name for myself. I just-”
“Hey, just joking!” Markham’s laugh was just a little too loud to be a true laugh. “But seriously,” he held out his hand for Devlin to shake, “last week, when we caught that burglary call and I got myself in a bind, you had my back. You took down the guy who would have killed me, put a bullet in the back of my skull.” He took a moment and looked around the room, meeting the eyes of
anyone who was watching the scene unfolding in the center of the room, before returning to look Devlin square in the eye. “I’ve got your back, Devlin. Proud to have you on the force with me, with all of us.”
Devlin blew out the pent-up breath in his lungs, but managed to do it surreptitiously as he reached out his hand and shook Markham’s hand. “Thank you.”
The room erupted into a round of applause. Well, maybe not ‘erupted,’ but a decent rise of sound made its way into his ears. He could tell, just by looking at the room in general that some of those applauding were only doing a half-ass job of it.
And that show of support, didn’t stop the two dour men in suits from stepping up and all but shoving Markham out of the way.
The one that was a few inches shorter and more than a few inches rounder, stopped right in front of Devlin, forcing the other man to stand off to the side. “You’re really Kerr?”
Devlin fought off the cocky answers that immediately sprang to mind. He wasn’t just some rank and file officer any more… he was the son-in-law of the Mayor, and that meant that snarky comebacks were a thing of the past.
A smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Just a few days with Paige had tamed him in a way that he hadn’t anticipated. Even his tiger sat quietly inside of Devlin when he would normally be extending his claws and taking a metaphysical swipe at the men.
“I’m Officer Devlin Kerr.” He gave the men a look carefully schooled to be professional, respectful, but he had a feeling it was going to be hard to keep it firmly in place. “And you gentlemen?”
The narrower man fished a business card out of his pocket, but the other man moved him out of the way.
“You need to come with us.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
The two men waited for Devlin to move and were left waiting.
“You deaf, son?”
“Excuse me.”
Devlin turned his head to look at the other man and recognized his Watch Commander. Sergeant Rodriquez set his fists on his hips as he looked over both of the suits. “This man is about to start his shift and I don’t have any spare officers to hold your hands. If you men are lost and need a tour guide, I’m sure you can download something on your phones. Otherwise, you can leave him your cards and he’ll call you when he has a break.” The sergeant looked at the watch he had strapped to his wrist. “Shouldn’t be more than a few hours from now.”
