by E A Price
Avery swept into the room, and he looked at her guiltily. She frowned. “What are you doing?”
Daydreaming. Fuck, he needed to get it together. “Nothing, there’s nothing here.”
The lioness sighed and stretched. “I agree. I listened to his answer machine; there were a ton of messages on there from friends and colleagues wanting to know what was going on.” She gave Gunner a sad smile. “Popular guy.”
“Maybe Jessie will find something in his background check.”
“Yeah, maybe. Wayne called; so far he talked to four people, and they all say the same thing – nice guy, can’t think a reason anyone would want to hurt him.”
His family said the same thing. He had no problems with work, no financial issues, and no nasty breakups. His mother reluctantly admitted that he was a ‘ladies’ man,’ but he never treated women badly and was on speaking terms with his exes.
“What should we do?” asked Avery.
“Bag everything up and ship it back to the office; maybe Erin can get a vision from this.”
*
“Hey.”
Erin let out a small yelp and jumped out of her seat.
Gunner chuckled. “At least you weren’t holding coffee this time.”
“Hey,” she breathed and sank back into her chair.
“You’re still here,” he said wonderingly.
Erin shrugged and smiled impishly. “Yeah, some control-freak bear ordered me not to leave the building.”
Gunner arched an eyebrow. “Really?”
She nodded solemnly and bit her lip. “Yep, he was all mean and serious when he said it too.”
He let out a long breath. “Wow, he sounds like a… like a… real swell guy to me. A keeper, some might say.”
The amused expression on her face died, and she started pinching the skin on her hand. Fuck! What did he say wrong? Hell, human women were strange creatures.
Erin cleared her throat. “How did it go with the family?”
Gunner sighed. “It was pretty brutal. We couldn’t really get much out of them; they broke down when they realized he wasn’t coming home.”
“Poor people,” she murmured sympathetically.
“Yeah, as far as we can tell he went out for a drink one night and then just disappeared.”
And as far as his family were concerned he was the most perfect son and brother on earth. The harder, more cynical part of Gunner was considering nominating him for sainthood.
“You find anything?” he asked.
“No, not yet,” she admitted sadly. “I can see the woman I’m looking for as clear as day, so I’m sure that I’ll find her eventually.”
If she has a record, Gunner silently added. More than likely, Erin was just on a wild goose chase.
Although, if it kept her safe…
Erin inhaled sharply and looked at him brightly, before hesitating.
“Ask away,” he chuckled. She had the cutest little quirks.
“I’ve tried touching all the belongings we found with the body, but nothing else came up, maybe I could, ummm, actually touch his body…”
“Really?”
Gunner didn’t bother to hide his displeasure. His bear sure didn’t like the sound of it either, and made no bones about letting the man know.
“It’s worth a shot,” she said, prickling defensively.
“Let’s uh, let’s think about it again in the morning.” His bear chuffed in relief; a morgue was no place for his female, and hanging around the creepy medical examiner was not something he wanted to subject her to. “I had crime scene techs bag up some of his possessions from his apartment for you, maybe you could try touching them.”
“Mmmm, maybe.”
Her whole body looked tight, and her countenance was laced with frustration. He wanted to ease her somehow. He didn’t want her to push herself into trying to get a vision, and make herself sick.
Gunner flicked his eyes around the empty office, making sure they were alone, and ignored the flicker of irritation on her face. He pulled her up to her feet and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing her tight muscles. She groaned happily. Aha, his little human liked getting back rubs; perhaps a full body massage was on the cards. He could just imagine his oiled hands skimming over her delectable curves…
His fingers became more forceful, and she moaned that moan. His moan. Surely, it belonged to him. It was that sweet little moan she always made when he filled her, when he took his pleasure in her perfect, soft body.
He stooped down. “Where’s that toy cat?” he whispered huskily.
“Hmmmm,” she cooed, “why? What do you wanna do to it?”
He threw back his head, laughing as he twisted her round, so her back was to him, and his hands moved up and down her frame.
“Nothing, babe, just wondering.”
“Avery told me you don’t like us to have things on our desks, so he’s in hiding from you.”
“He?” growled Gunner, as his bear took offense.
His hands stilled as Erin started hooting with laughter and gasping for breath.
“It’s not that funny,” he grouched.
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Waldo?” she spluttered in between giggles as he resumed the massage.
“I don’t like the idea of any male cat holding your affection.”
“Well, this one’s four inches long, and not much of a talker. He’s really no competition.”
Gunner wished he could say the same for the other male cats in the building. On the way back from their victim’s house, Avery disclosed that she’d heard a number of males in the building had made bets on who would get into Erin’s panties first. The current frontrunners were Diaz and Wes. Fucking cats. His odds were apparently lower than Cutter, the Director and the female ostrich who worked in tactical. How little they knew…
“I’ve had him since I was four; I got him in a kid’s meal. It’s no big deal, really. It was before I got my visions; my mom was pregnant with my oldest brother and my dad didn’t have to travel for his job yet. My dad used to hide the cat all over the house and then I’d find him. That’s why I called him Waldo. It was the last time that we… that I… it was just a time that we were really happy.”
His bear ached for her. He leaned down and kissed a freckle on the back of her neck. “I want to make you happy.”
Erin slipped round in his arms to face him. She bit her lip. “You already do.”
She looked at him with big, guileless eyes, and he trembled inside. He and his animal were a big tangle of want, need, love, and fear. He’d never met a woman who could potentially hurt him as badly as Erin could, and it was a little daunting. Just the thought of her leaving him, of being with another man, of not loving him was devastating. However, he did make her happy…
His pleasure at her words was cut short. Gunner looked up and scowled. “Fuck, Isis,” he snarled.
“What?!” exclaimed Erin in alarm.
“I can scent her; she’s coming closer.”
Erin sighed in relief. “Thank god for that, I thought you were calling me Isis.”
Gunner frowned at her. “Why would you think that?”
She didn’t answer, just shrugged a shoulder and smiled.
Hmmm.
“Look, I’m done for the day; I’ll drive you home.”
“Well, I was thinking about looking through some more pictures…”
“Please? I haven’t seen you all day.”
His bear sneered at him. Yes, he sounded whiny and needy, and he never would behave this way with any other female, but Gunner couldn’t give a crap. It would be seriously damaging to his Alpha male pride, but he wasn’t above getting down on his knees and begging her to spend more time with him. Although, while he was down there, he could think of something much more fun to do…
“Okay,” she said with a suffering sigh, although she barely contained the look of delight on her face. “I just need to go to the bathroom, five minutes; I’ll meet you by th
e elevator.”
She grabbed her bag, and he swatted her ass as she walked past him. Erin let out a shocked little ‘oh,’ but he did notice she put an extra little wriggle into her walk.
Gunner made his way to the elevator, trying to avoid Isis altogether. No such luck.
He groaned inwardly, as Isis’ overpoweringly flowery perfume assaulted his senses. His bear growled and turned his back. The animal had always been against getting involved with the tigress, and now his feelings were clear. I told you so, and you’re on your own with this one. Pussy bear.
“Hey, Gunner,” she called sweetly. “Fancy meeting you here.”
He gave her a baffled look. “Where we work?”
Isis definitely had an overinflated sense of how sexy she was. Her attempts at flirting were irritating.
She cocked her head at the elevator. “Going down?” she cooed.
Ugh. He jutted his jaw. “I’m waiting for someone.”
Her lips twitched before curling upwards. “Erin?”
Gunner stared at her coolly, and it was obvious she knew his answer.
“How’s Erin working out? I know how opposed you were to having her here.”
His bear harrumphed at that, even thought it was true. But that was before he met her. “Good,” he rumbled.
Isis’ eyes widened in exaggerated disbelief. She looked like she’d never heard anything more astonishing in her life. It was right up there with learning that a Smurf had been declared supreme ruler of the world.
“Really? No more problems?”
Gunner folded his arms and clung to the remnants of his fraying temper. He had given up his previous resolve to get Erin benched. He didn’t want to hurt her in any way. And he seriously didn’t want anyone else trying to do the same.
“Whatever you’re doing, stop,” he said in a low, menacing voice.
“Moi?” She placed her hand on her chest and graced him with such fake wide-eyed innocence that he was tempted to howl with laughter. His bear just wanted to howl.
“Erin’s a valuable member of my team. She’s doing good – better than good – she’s doing great.”
Isis licked her lips. “Are you so sure about that?”
“Cut the crap, Isis,” he barked and was pleased that she flinched at his harsh tone. “If you have something to say – say it.”
He hated women who played games and was thankful Erin wasn’t like that. She might be a little hard to read, but she usually said what she thought. Usually she blurted it out, and then turned a bashful shade of beetroot red. Adorable.
“Would you be surprised to learn that Erin left her gun in the coffee shop today?”
Gunner felt a chill run through him, and even his bear stopped snarling to pay attention. “What?”
Isis pulled a gun out of her purse and handed it to him. He looked at her searchingly, and she nodded.
“Yep, clumsy, little Erin spilled her hot chocolate all over her purse, got all the contents out and then managed to leave her gun on the floor of the coffee shop. Luckily, I was there to diffuse the situation when the manager found it. But I think it would be a career ender, don’t you?”
Fuck. This was bad. Losing your gun and leaving it in a public place was really, really bad. She’d be suspended for that, and most likely fired or reassigned to the worst SEA outpost they had. Most likely northern Alaska where the only thing to do was concentrate on not losing your toes to frostbite.
His bear pushed forward, unsheathing his claws, and roared at Gunner to do something. Something vicious to the tigress seemed like a good option. “What do you plan on doing?” he bit out.
“That depends; if you can get her to ask for a transfer and then request that I join your team - nothing.”
Unbelievable. She pursed her lips in displeasure and growled lightly as he let out a hollow chuckle.
“You’re blackmailing me?”
“Just think of it as motivation,” she rationalized patronizingly. “I can see you like her; I’ll bet she’s the little sister you never had.”
Gunner almost choked at that. The feelings he had for her, and the things he had done to her, could hardly be described as familial.
“So, if you like her, get her to do this. This whole thing is not worth ending her career over. I mean, it’s not a very promising one, but I’m pretty sure that she doesn’t want to get fired over this.”
He watched her through narrowed eyes as the elevator arrived, and she hopped in; his limbs quivered as his bear fought to be let free.
She pressed the button for the lobby. “Let me know what you decide.”
Isis blew him a kiss and gave him a finger wave as the doors closed.
“Gunner?”
Crap. He pushed her gun into the waistband of his jeans, pulling his shirt down to cover it, and slapped on his most innocent smile.
“Ready to go, babe?”
Erin frowned. “Was that Isis?”
“Yes, c’mon,” he said impatiently.
“What’s happening? Are we going to the bar?”
“No, we need to do something that I’ve wanted to do since the moment I first saw your apartment.”
“Oh?” she breathed. “That sounds exciting.”
*
“What?” barked Tom ‘the hammer’ Murphy into the receiver.
“Feeling better?” asked a familiarly arrogant voice.
Tom sneered. “What do you want? You got your money.”
“And you got your brand-spanking new, illegally obtained heart, so you might want to check your attitude. You got a fair deal.”
“Fair?!” spluttered Tom.
“More than fair, unless you prefer breathing hooked up to a machine. Because, if you like, that can be arranged.”
Tom gritted his teeth at the cold, callous tone being leveled at him. “What do you want?” he hissed.
“The body of the shifter who generously donated his heart to you has been found. The SEA is investigating.”
He felt a swell of contempt. “So? Why the fuck should I care?”
“So, I’ll go ahead and assume that you don’t want the SEA scratching at your door anyway, but do you really want them to confiscate that nice, new heart? After all, it is evidence of a crime. So, keep your mouth shut and lay low. Most people already think you’re dead, so, for your health, keep it that way. Got it? Good.”
Tom stared in disbelief at the phone as the fucker hung up on him. Again. He hung up on him again? Who the fuck did this guy think he was? The asshole had no respect. Jumped-up, little pipsqueak. Tom was putting shits like him in their place before he was even born!
No, this was too much.
Tom rubbed his chest thoughtfully. He had his new heart, and he was healthier than ever. He had what he wanted and now, this guy needed to be taught a lesson.
Chapter Thirteen
Erin sighed as the warm water cascaded down her aching limbs. No way would she admit it out loud, but she was feeling just a teensy bit sore and tired after spending the last few nights with Gunner. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten so much exercise! But if other exercise were half so enjoyable, she’d be trying out for the Olympics by now!
It wasn’t quite what she imagined Gunner had in mind, but last night he had changed all the locks on her door and windows. She was tighter than Fort Knox now.
Her landlord objected and started making sounds about the security deposit, but the creepy skunk shifter – yes, a skunk shifter, she’d never have guessed - was soon quelled by a look from Gunner. He could scare bark off a tree.
It was actually kind of baffling. She could see that, in theory, he was kind of scary, but, to her, he was just one big teddy bear. Hmmm, she wondered what his actual polar bear was like. She had yet to meet the creature. She wondered if he would let her pet him.
After the locks were changed, they had fun on the couch while eating Chinese takeaway – she really must learn how to cook, all this fast food was not doing her waistband any fa
vors. And then, they soon moved to the bedroom. He’d spent the whole night with her – again.
It was wonderful, but it kind of niggled at her that she didn’t know where it was going. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want people to know at work, and okay, yeah, after the first worry of rejection, she whole-heartedly agreed with that. She didn’t want to be known as the office slut! Well, actually, the nympho in her was a little titillated by the idea, but no, she didn’t want that. Surely that role was already taken by Isis, she thought viciously.
Erin squawked, instinctively covering herself as the shower curtain was thrown back with gusto.
Gunner, in all his acres of nude glory, grinned at her in a predatory manner – all teeth and lusty eyes. She almost swooned at his deliciously naked body. It really wasn’t fair that he was so naturally gorgeous.
He raked his eyes up and down her form. “No need to cover up, I’ve seen it all before.”
“But not in the harsh light of day,” she mumbled holding a sponge over her sex.
Gunner clucked his tongue. “Oh, babe, you’ve no idea how beautiful you are, do you?”
Erin gave a half-embarrassed shake of her head. That was not a question she got asked often, or ever, even.
“Good.”
She blinked at him as he stepped into her small shower, crowding her. “What?”
“Good, I don’t want you to know how beautiful you are. Once you realize, who knows how long it is before you’re skipping off into the sunset with some asshole wolf shifter or worse, a damn cat shifter. Horny bastards.”
Erin thought of the surly Cutter and the slimy Diaz and shuddered. “Not likely.”
“Hmmm, well just in case, I better not pay you too many compliments.”
“I don’t think there’s any danger of that,” she murmured, ignoring the heat seeping from his solid body into hers. Moisture was starting to pool between her legs and, yep, the nympho in her had officially woken up and decided she wanted a repeat of the previous night. Erin scolded her for being greedy. Surely she’d had enough last night!
