by E A Price
He placed his hands on her face. “Erin, I can’t be gentle, my bear, he’s… he’s too close to the surface. He’s still angry about almost losing you. If we do this, it will be hard and fast. I won’t be able to hold back.”
“I trust you. I want you. I need you.” Erin pulled the t-shirt off her head and delighted in the hungry look on his face. “Mine,” she cooed.
Gunner let out a savage growl. His hands found her hips and within seconds he lifted her up and forced her down his length. She cried out in pleasured shock and dug her nails into his shoulders as he started thrusting in and out of her. She gasped each time he filled her and mewled each time he withdrew.
His eyes were wild, and his face was etched with fierce lust as he mercilessly gave her pleasure and took his pleasure in her body. With some alarm, she saw that dark, black claws pushed out of his fingertips. Was he changing into his bear?!
No, no he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t hurt her. No matter what, she was sure of that. With him was the one place that she was safe. In such a short time, he had become everything to her. Her life, her lover, her family. Yes, she loved him more than she thought possible, and he loved her, she was sure of it. She was his, and he was hers. Forever.
The thrill of knowing that sent her over the edge. She tumbled into her release and screamed his name as her body clenched around him. Seconds later, he ground her down on him and howled as he sought his own climax. Feeling him erupt inside her sent a second mini-orgasm shooting through her, and she collapsed over him, sprawling her tired, sweaty limbs over his body as the tremors of their lovemaking shivered through her.
“Mine,” he rumbled, wrapping his arms around her.
“Yes, yours.”
Chapter Twenty
Erin blushed as Gunner ushered her into the conference room. He bit back a chuckle at all the concerned, yet smiling faces staring at her. Yep, they were all proud yet worried about her after the adventure she had the previous day. To say he had been worried was an understatement. It was like saying space was big.
The Director came forwards and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. His bear sucked in a breath. Fucking snake should keep his hands to himself! There was the slightest possibility that he was still on edge about what happened, and liable to overreact. Roaring at Tony, the coffee shop barista, because they had run out of blueberry muffins, and Erin had wanted one, was probably a testament to that.
“How are you feeling?” asked the Director.
“She’s fine,” snapped Gunner. “We need to get on.”
He directed Erin to a chair and sat in the one next to her, of course, all while ignoring the coldly suspicious look his boss was throwing him. Well, the snake was being overly familiar – it was his own fault. He’d never shown so much interest in any of the other teammates before, except maybe for Jessie, but then she was one hardworking squirrel.
“Is Isis okay?” asked Erin, with genuine feeling.
Gunner beamed at her proudly. Just yesterday Isis had been trying to sabotage Erin’s career, and here was his little human all concerned and worried about the tigress. She was something else.
Avery snickered. “Sure, just pissed about being in hospital, although she’s getting her claws into that dishy doctor, so she’s not complaining too loudly.”
Erin frowned. “You went to see her?”
The lioness waved a hand. “Sure, we’ve been friends for years.”
“Oh, I just thought…”
“They’re typical female cats,” interjected Cutter, gleefully, “they’re always fighting and making up. They fight like a cat and a… well, another cat.”
“We’re not that bad,” grumbled Avery.
“Getting back to the task in hand,” said the Director, smoothly, “I take it we still don’t have any further information from our doctor?”
Wayne clicked a control, and the security camera image of Doctor Ross flicked up on the large screen at the end of the conference room. “No, Cutter pretty much destroyed every item of furniture he could find and screamed at the guy repeatedly, but nothing.”
The doctor was lying on the floor, presumably because Cutter had systematically destroyed all the other furniture that used to be in that room. He was huddled in the fetal position and muttering to himself. Jeez, the guy already looked broken.
Jessie chose that moment to burst into the room, making Erin jump. Gunner hid his grin. She was so easy to startle. He placed a hand on her thigh under the table and squeezed gently. His bear felt a twinge of satisfaction as she quivered, and a sliver of her arousal could be scented.
The squirrel shifter waved some pieces of paper around. “Hot off the presses… hey, how are you, Erin?”
Erin smiled. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Stroke of luck you being kidnapped by these guys, huh?”
Gunner's eyes were hooded as he regarded the squirrel peevishly. Oh, sure, let’s hope all our cases end with Erin being taken hostage – wouldn’t that be fabulous!
“Get to the point, Jessie,” he rasped.
“Right, I found out who our guy is, his fingerprints and DNA are in the system. He is actually a trained surgeon – apparently he was a damned good one – but there is a warrant out for his arrest for killing his ex-wife.”
“Jeez,” muttered Wayne.
“Yeah, it was pretty brutal murder too. Doctor Melvin Hague was arrested and disappeared while he was out on bail. Then, six months later Doctor Philip Ross suddenly turns up in Los Lobos and opens up a plastic surgery clinic.”
Jessie passed around pictures of the man Doctor Ross used to be. There were vague similarities, but honestly, no one would think they were same person if they didn’t already know.
“He must have had plastic surgery himself,” said Avery.
“Yeah, a lot,” agreed Cutter.
“It seems like he had a lot of money to open up the clinic,” Jessie informed them, “but according to the reports of his disappearance, he didn’t take anything with him.”
Gunner stared at the picture. “So he must have had help. Help to get a fake ID, help to get money to set up his practice, help to have his own procedures done.”
“Someone who he felt indebted to, maybe someone he’d be willing to risk helping…” suggested Erin.
“We can’t see a way that the good doctor, or whoever he is, picked his victims,” added Wayne, “maybe he isn’t the only doctor running the show. Maybe someone else actually found the victims.”
“I spoke to Isis,” said Avery “and she has literally never visited a doctor or given blood other than for her physical to join the SEA. According to her, the only place anyone could find out her blood type would be through her record with the SEA.”
Erin snapped her fingers. “The goon!”
Gunner arched an eyebrow. “The goon?”
“The one that, ah, that was talking to me in the room,” she hadn’t quite been able to admit to Gunner about Hank’s darker designs on her. “He said that his boss told him I was psychic, but he didn’t believe it. I don’t think they knew who I was when they took me, but someone must have recognized me, someone who knows about my abilities.”
“Are we really thinking that it’s someone within?” asked Avery uneasily.
“It could easily be someone who hacked our files,” said the Director.
Jessie bristled. “Hacked our files? Puh-lease.”
“Alright, let’s just take it easy for now,” said Gunner calmly. “Given that we have the doctor under arrest, it’s time we started going through his life to try and find out who his mystery partner is. Jessie, background, financials, find out who he was before he changed his name. Avery, Cutter and Wayne, I want his house, his clinic searched, I want you to go through all his friends, co-workers, girlfriends, boyfriends, whatever, find out what you can. He must have been in contact with this mystery guy so there must be some record somewhere. Erin, you’re with me.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Oh?”
The Director frowned. “Erin needs to write up her report about what happened yesterday.”
She nodded. “I will.”
“She will,” agreed Gunner, gruffly.
The Director ignored the glower Gunner was leveling at him. “And are you sure you’re up to interviewing after your ordeal?”
“I am.”
“She is,” hissed Gunner.
The Director rolled his eyes at them. “Okay.”
As everyone left, the Director held up a hand for Gunner to stay behind. He waited until Cutter had closed the door. “So things are working out okay with Erin?”
His bear prowled uneasily. He didn’t like any man talking about his mate, even if the words were innocuous. “Sure, good, great even.”
“Even though she’s human?”
“Even though.”
He already felt inordinately ashamed of himself for his uncharitable thoughts towards Erin; he didn’t need the damn snake to rub it in!
The Director stifled a smile. “So, your hissy fits were all for nothing, then?”
Gunner narrowed his eyes. Ah, the Director was just trying to rile him. Humph. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.”
*
Erin leaned against the wall, waiting for Gunner to finish with the Director.
“Thank you,” she squeaked as Cutter sauntered past her.
He froze, startled by her words.
“For saving me yesterday,” she clarified, thoroughly embarrassed.
Awkwardly, he mumbled that she was welcome. He made as if to move away, clearly uncomfortable with sharing any finer sentiments with her.
However, he stopped and looked at her curiously. “That guy who had hold of you yesterday…”
She tensed. “Yeah…”
“How did you know to stamp on his foot? He was a bear shifter; you shouldn’t have been able to hurt him.”
Erin laughed nervously. “Oh, that! The ghost of his mom told me he had a painful ingrown toenail.”
He stared at her in disbelief for a few moments before laughing and shaking his head. “I’m kind of sorry I asked.”
She shrugged. Welcome to her world.
Cutter winked at her. “Catch you later.”
“What did he want?” asked Gunner tetchily.
She actually managed to refrain from jumping a foot in the air as he startled her. “Nothing important, what did the Director want?”
“Nothing important, c’mon.”
The corridor was empty so he took her hand in his, and they walked together, hand in hand. She flushed happily. It felt so normal, such a ‘boyfriendy’ type thing to do. She almost wished they could just keep walking. But no, they had something to do.
“Why do you want me in this interview?”
He squeezed her hand. “I want you to see if you can get any visions from him, plus you do pretty up a room.”
Erin snorted. “You sweet-talker, you.”
*
Gunner pulled out a chair for her, and she gave him a shy smile before sitting. Huh, either they had brought in new furniture or he’d been moved to a new room.
The doctor, sitting opposite her, regarded them both warily. Erin placed both palms on the top of the table and considered him, dispassionately.
Gunner prowled around the room like a caged beast. It took all of Erin’s self-control not to ogle him like a teenager. Oh, he should be arrested for being so sexy. But, getting back to the man who actually had been arrested…
His face was guarded, and his eyes were big and frightened. Erin imagined she’d be pretty wary too if she’d been arrested for multiple murders and had spent the better part of a night being shouted at by Cutter. Admittedly, she would have broken down and confessed to everything the moment Cutter opened his mouth though.
Erin continued to look at him while Gunner huffed, grunted, snorted, growled and strode around the room, his long legs easily eating up the small space. The doctor tried to keep his eyes on both her and Gunner, but he seemed to be getting a little dizzy.
“Shouldn’t you be asking me questions?” asked the doctor, hesitantly.
“Why?” snapped Gunner. “Do you plan on answering them?”
“Ugh…”
The bear shifter sneered. “That’s what I thought.” He spoke softly to Erin, “Take your time.”
Erin spread out her fingers over the table, and the doctor studied her at first in amusement, but then worry as her face took on a blank look. Even Gunner stopped pacing to watch what was happening. She closed her eyes, and her body jerked as a vision flashed before her.
Her eyes snapped open, and she hugged her arms around herself. Gunner ran his hands through his hair as he tried to quell the scared look on his face. Somehow she doubted he’d ever become accustomed to her visions. They were kind of a hard sell in a relationship, although he definitely wasn’t limbering up for a run to any nearby hills.
Erin shook her head. The vision she had wasn’t useful – or at least it wasn’t useful to their case. She focused for another ten minutes trying to grasp at another vision, well aware of Gunner’s fidgeting unease. But she got nothing. Nada. Zip. Bupkis.
Gunner inclined his head to the door, and she silently agreed. The doctor watched them leave, even more alarmed than before. Well, if anything, maybe their strange actions would get him to say something.
As soon as they were out of the room, Erin apologized and started pinching the skin on her hand. “Sorry, nothing about the guy we’re looking for, but I saw him killing his wife - it was not pretty, maybe I can try again…”
He caught her hand and frowned over the pinkened skin before bringing it to his lips. “Babe, it’s okay. Why do you do that to your hand?”
Erin laughed; she hadn’t even realized she had been doing that. “It’s just a coping mechanism for when I’m anxious. I used to use rubber bands around my wrists, and I’d snap them whenever I felt overwhelmed. This hurts less.”
“If you feel overwhelmed then punch me in the shoulder – punching things is very cathartic.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Won’t that hurt?”
Gunner gave her a proudly condescending smile. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”
Oh, lord. “Not you, big head, I meant me. I could easily break some bones trying to hit your rock-hard muscles.”
“Hmmm, good point. Try punching Cutter, he’s much doughier than me.”
Erin ran her free hand over her belt buckle. “How about every time I feel anxious I kiss you instead?”
He placed a kiss on her palm. “Sounds like a plan. For now, I’m gonna talk to the New York SEA, and see what they want to do. I’m feeling generous, if they want him, they can have him.”
“I saw him put the murder weapon – an ax,” she shuddered, “in a building site. He dropped it into some drying concrete. I could describe the buildings, and maybe they can still find it.”
“I’ll let them know. You’re amazing, by the way.”
She flushed, but she felt joy at hearing that. Amazing was a word he kept using to describe her, and she loved it. It made such a change from weird, odd, crazy and nuts.
“You have to say that because you’re my boyfriend.”
“No, I have to say that because it’s true.”
Erin pouted. “Kiss ass.”
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You mock but I seemed to recall you really enjoyed that last night.”
“Not funny!” she scolded him playfully as her cheeks burned bright red.
“Look, I’m gonna go talk to New York; you stay out of trouble.”
“I’ll go and see if I can help Jessie.”
He nodded in approval before kissing her hand one more time and walking away. After eyeballing his butt for a few seconds – it really was spectacular – she shuffled from foot to foot.
Okay, she could go and see if Jessie needed any help, but, from experience, she knew that Jessie
would just get frustrated with how slow Erin was with a computer. When the squirrel got going, she had tunnel vision, and anyone else trying to interfere in her work was not a welcome distraction.
On the other hand, she could actually try to make herself useful and use one of the gifts that actually got her promoted to this team. While she wasn’t getting anything from the doctor, and their victim’s belongings had yielded nothing helpful, there was one last avenue she could mosey on down. Yep, it was time to feel up a dead body.
James Silver’s body was still in their morgue. She could go down and see if she got anything useful. She felt vaguely uneasy about her plan of action, as she knew that Gunner was opposed to it. But, whether he liked it or not, there were going to be times when she had to do things that he found unsavory. That’s just the way it was. She knew her abilities freaked him out, but he was strong enough to deal with it.
With determination, she strode over to the elevator and punched the down button. Of course, she’d tell him what she’d done after she did it. Telling him beforehand was just downright dumb!
Chapter Twenty-One
Erin tapped on the door to the morgue. “Hello…”
No answer. She pushed the door opened and shivered immediately. Darn, it was cold down there.
She was surprised no one was about. She recalled, from the tour Avery had given her that there was a medical examiner, and he had several assistants.
She crept through the room, feeling like an intruder. She was deliriously glad that all the cold, metal tables were empty. Yeah, she was depressingly familiar with dead bodies, but that didn’t mean that she blasé about seeing them.
Hmmm, now where would James Silver be?
“Hey.”
Erin squeaked and clutched at one of the tables. Images of the bodies that had lain there flickered before her eyes and with a yelp she snatched her hand back. She whirled to find an average looking man watching her detachedly.
“Hey, Erin right?”
Ah, of course, he was the medical examiner. She knew they’d met but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember his name. On the tour, Avery hadn’t been keen to spend much time down in the basement, or in his company. “Yeah, and you’re… ah…”
