by RJ Blain
Starting my day talking to reporters and giving them more than a curt ‘no comment’ hadn’t helped my mood at all. Putting Idette and her pack of criminals in the limelight protected me as much as it did Andrea.
In good conscience, I couldn’t hide. If I did, others might fall victim to those Idette had freed from prison. Douglass Roberts was the worst of them, but the others were still criminals, rapists, and murderers, the type of people who belonged in prison.
I had the feeling none of them would make it back to prison. I still didn’t understand everything about the Inquisition and its function in the secretive society of Fenerec and witches, but I learned a little more each day.
It would take me a long time to accept the brutality of pack justice, but I appreciated I could continue my work. I could keep hunting criminals.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“I was just wondering how much things would change,” I confessed.
“A lot.” Alice flashed me a smile.
I appreciated that about Alice. When it came to the important things, she was up front, direct, and honest. “I figured.”
“Give it a few weeks, do your paperwork, and get used to everything. We’ve all gone through it. Ramirez kept me at my desk for two months before she let me go on my first patrol. You’ll get through it faster. With Andrea around, I think you’ll settle in quick.”
“You’re assuming Andrea will be around.”
I should have accepted Andrea’s offer to move in with her from the start instead of holing up in a long-term hotel.
“Anyone who thinks she’ll stay away for more than a couple of days is going to get an unpleasant surprise. By tomorrow, the woman’ll be jumping out of her skin, and so will you. By Friday, she’ll be on the warpath, and I will wisely stay out of her way. By Friday, you’re going to be insufferable.”
Sipping my coffee, I returned to gazing at the crowd and checking out the people across the street. I spotted Andrea leaning against the window of a high-end clothing boutique. With a shameless smirk, she waved at me.
“Pretty woman, walking down the street,” I muttered.
“She showed up, didn’t she?”
Andrea wore a skirt that ended halfway up her thighs, and I wasn’t the only man openly staring at her legs. “She showed up all right. I need to take that woman home with me, Alice.”
“You saw her yesterday. Yesterday. Less than twenty-four hours ago, Sean.”
“And?”
Alice glared at me, pulled her phone out of her purse, and dialed a number. “The fucking bitch is across the street, babe.”
“Hey,” I protested, scowling at the cop. “That’s rude.”
“Honest,” she retorted, hanging up. “I have no idea what she’s wearing, but your expression tells me you like it far too much for your own good.”
Instead of Alice’s husband crossing Hollywood Boulevard, Ramirez made the hike and linked arms with Andrea. If I hadn’t known better, the pair looked like old friends in a chance meeting, complete with Ramirez squealing her excitement—excitement I was positive was feigned.
My mouth hung open. “She squealed, Alice.”
“Ramirez? She does that sometimes.”
“She squealed.”
“Convincing, isn’t it? Hey, this could work really well. No one is going to question your sexual prowess if someone takes pictures of you leaving with us three. We’re some of the best looking women in Cali, you know.”
I was saved from having to respond by Ramirez dragging Andrea across the street to join us.
“You mind?” Ramirez asked. Without waiting for an answer, she sat next to Alice, leaving the seat closest to me open for Andrea. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Fancy,” I echoed, staring at the police chief in disbelief. “Who are you? What have you done with Ramirez?”
Andrea laughed and slid onto the chair beside me, careful to tug her skirt down so she wasn’t showing too much leg. If I leaned just right, I got a beautiful view of the defense attorney’s thighs.
“She’s my evil twin,” Ramirez stated. “Sean, maybe you should stop staring at Andrea’s legs. You look like you’re about to drag her into an alley and eat her alive.”
My prey laughed. “I’m okay with that.”
“Of course you are. You two are making this impossible, I hope you know.”
“Ramirez, it’s winter. Give it up. You may as well move him into her place and keep them together. Our targets aren’t stupid, and with the amount of publicity we’ve been feeding the reporters, someone would have spotted them by now, especially considering how popular Sean is with the media.” Alice held her hands up in a helpless gesture of surrender. “Plan B has a far better chance of working. I don’t know why we didn’t go straight to Plan B. Plan A was a terrible plan to begin with and relied on Mr. Scott being a reasonable man, which he is emphatically not when it comes to a certain lady who has caught his fancy.” Alice paused, coughed, and leaned over to stare at Andrea. “What are you wearing? I feel like I should be writing you up for solicitation.”
Instead of taking offense, my mate smirked.
“Shut up, Alice,” Ramirez grumbled.
“Shutting up now.” Alice straightened, and in a false whisper, she asked, “Where did you get that outfit? I need two.”
Andrea grinned.
It took every bit of my will to tear my gaze away from Andrea and focus on anything other than how badly I wanted to take her somewhere private. “Plan B?”
Ramirez leveled a glare at me.
I held my hands up and blurted, “Please don’t shoot me.”
“Fine. Pitch them, Alice.”
Rubbing her hands together, Alice grinned at me. “I love this plan. It involves moving on with our lives, keeping constant watch, and waiting for the psycho bitch and her rogue pack to show up. In the meantime, you move into Andrea’s—”
“Sold,” Andrea declared, slapping her hand down on the table.
“You could have let me finish.” With a pout, Alice slumped in her chair. “Not fair, Morgan.”
“I have all the information I need,” the defense attorney replied, lifting her chin.
I had all the information I needed, too, and I stole another glimpse of my mate’s legs. “She has a point, Alice.”
“But you didn’t wait for the best part—the part that will likely have the psycho bitch showing her face sooner rather than later.”
I tore my gaze away from Andrea and scowled at Alice, not liking her gleeful tone of voice. “Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to say?”
“You’re as intelligent and wise as you are handsome, that’s why.”
“I’m taken and I’m not interested in a threesome or a foursome.”
“As I said, you’re as intelligent and wise as you are handsome. Pity. My husband probably wouldn’t have agreed anyway.”
Maybe I wasn’t experienced with being a Fenerec, but my wolf’s displeasure at even the thought of sharing Andrea made me confident Alice’s mate and husband would have nothing to do with the idea of sharing her. “Just get to the point, Alice.”
“Fine. We all want families; we’re wired that way. When word spreads you’re building a new family without her, the psycho bitch will show up. Add a kid into the equation, and she’ll either give up on you and pick a new male, or she’ll come calling to try to win you back.”
I froze. “A kid?”
“I’d say not yours, not yet at least, but I get the feeling Andrea’s going to be rather persistent in that department. No, it was my idea to add stability to your life by bringing in a foster.” Alice straightened, glancing at Ramirez before returning her attention to me. “Your real estate agent mentioned you were looking for a place good for kids, which gave me the idea. You’re amazing with kids, especially the troubled ones, and frankly speaking, that girl you brought in could use you. She’s not settling well, and I don’t think the pair she’s with is really cap
able of handling someone so damaged.”
I flinched at the memory of the girl’s attempt to kill herself and the things I had learned at her uncle’s house. “You mean Kimberly.”
“Yes. She needs an attorney. Frankly, a case like hers is exactly the sort of work you need to be doing. That’s Plan B. You and Andrea get a new house—or take over Andrea’s place. Once you’re settled, you two go on a drive, visit the girl, and offer to take over her foster care. Claim her case at the same time. The girl watches the news like it’s her religion, so she’s already heard about you. It’ll make her feel wanted and special, and it gives you common ground. The couple she’s with is convinced she’s a suicide risk, the girl is refusing therapy, and she has all the hallmarks of causing trouble. I think you two will have a far better chance of handling her—and if necessary, we can lean a little on Sir Spots. It’ll solve a lot of problems at the same time.”
Sometimes people surprised me, and while I liked Alice, I had never thought of her as someone to come up with such a plan. It was risky in many ways, but it was the sort of plan that could pay off well, not for me, but for Kimberly.
Then again, it was the exact sort of plan I expected from a compassionate cop who served the people, especially victims.
“You’d probably make a pretty good cop,” I conceded, wondering how I had missed that facet of Alice’s personality.
Of all the things I expected, such a serious—and sly—proposal wasn’t it.
“You’d probably make a good attorney if you ever decided to get off your lazy ass,” she sniped back. Lowering her voice to a hiss, she added, “Therapy mutt.”
“Children,” Ramirez warned.
Andrea rammed her elbow into my ribs before I had a chance to reply to Alice’s jab. “I’m interested, but getting approval won’t be easy.”
I didn’t expect Andrea’s agreement to the plan. “You’re interested?” I straightened, stared at Andrea, and held my breath. My spirit beasts waited with me, their eagerness intensifying with every passing moment.
Ramirez surprised me by waving her hand dismissively. “Approval’s easy. We’ve already taken over the girl’s case in the system, so routing her here is a form away. Alice is right; it’s the exact sort of case you thrive on, Sean. Will we get enough evidence to move the case forward? I don’t know. If we do, however, you’re the best man I know to handle it. Best of all, if Idette comes calling, there’s nothing more dangerous than a mated pair defending a puppy. Working together, you two should be fine, although we’ll be keeping a close watch.”
Andrea sighed, and I could smell my mate’s relief. “I like this plan a lot better. I’ve been worried about the girl ever since Sean brought her in.”
“Of course you have been,” Ramirez soothed. “What worries Sean worries you. I had him figured as a family man from the first time I saw him try a case. You’ve been waiting a long time for a family, too. However much it pains me to admit it, we can’t afford to put your lives on hold while we try to lure the fugitives out. All this bullshit of an idea has done is make you both miserable.”
I nodded my agreement. Andrea leaned in my direction, and I caught her staring at my coffee. Hiding my smile, I slid it within her reach. “It’s terrible. I like shit coffee, you know.”
“Shit coffee is better than no coffee,” Andrea replied, accepting my offering and taking a sip. “Sean, my place is way too small for a kid of any age, so we’re going to have to buy a house.”
My wolf and cheetah’s excitement bled into me. “I might know a guy who can help us with that.”
“I thought you might. Let’s go to my place and have a long talk about it.”
Alice stood, grabbed Ramirez by her collar, and dragged her away. “We’ll talk to you later. A lot later. Tomorrow, even. Have a nice night talking,” she called over her shoulder.
Rising from her seat, Andrea smoothed her skirt and watched me through half-lidded eyes. She held out her hand. “Come home with me, Mr. Scott.”
I stood and took hold of her hand, lacing our fingers together. “I was afraid you’d never ask.”
Titles by RJ Blain
From the Witch & Wolf World..
Series: Witch & Wolf
Inquisitor
Winter Wolf
Blood Diamond
Silver Bullet (2016)
Series: Nature of the Beast
Pack Justice
Dual Nature (TBD)
Series: Balancing the Scales
Karma (Coming Soon)
License to Kill (TBD)
Standalones
Beneath a Blood Moon
Shadowed Flame (Coming Soon: May 2016)
Tales of the Winter Wolf
(Short Story/Novella Collections)
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
Omnibus - Volumes One-Five
Requiem for the Rift King (Epic Fantasy)
Storm Without End
Storm Surge
The Tides of War (2017)
The Fall of Erelith (Fantasy)
The Eye of God
Royal Slaves (2017)
