Blood for Her

by Serenity Snow

  “If—”

  “Listen to yourself,” she snapped. “You just told me they killed a police chief in front of a crowd. Imagine what they’ll do to my girlfriend or me. No. I know nothing, and I’m not getting involved.”

  “What did you talk about with Baker Saturday while you were closed up in her office with Blade, the badass who killed an FBI agent.”

  Few people knew about that. Slate did because she’d been excluded. No one else outside of the complex could have known who’d gone into the office, not even the secretary, because she hadn’t even been at her desk.

  “I paid her for her services and thanked her when she offered to put us up for the night. Then, I left.”

  “Why’d you flee from your hotel? Why go to Baker?”

  “She’s a friend and the cops were trying to fuck with me. Now, get out.”

  “You’re going to make me bring you up on charges,” he said. “You’re interfering with a federal investigation.”

  “First the cops, now you. You can’t solve your case, so you try to force me to do your jobs for you. Get out.”

  “You’ll regret this,” he said and stormed out.

  She rolled her eyes, allowing the current to dance on her fingers for a moment before calling her lawyer. She had a feeling the local PD would be getting an anonymous call that she’d been in possession of the weapon that had been used to kill Paul what’s-his-name was killed. If they did, Slate would have to answer to her.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chloe yawned and glanced at the clock that evening. They’d checked in at another hotel while the carpet was being replaced and the walls were being repainted. But they’d cleaned things up on Sunday.

  The police had left a mess as they’d torn through everything they owned during their search last Saturday.

  Cattail glanced at her and then picked up her phone. She studied the screen.

  “Hey, Chloe. Darice was arrested this afternoon. She called Sabrina. Bri said she went down to give a statement about what happened at the magazine last week.”

  “What?” she exclaimed.

  “Slate talked. She was the only other person who knew what went on in that parking lot, but she can’t contradict what Sabrina said. Plus, that guy was shooting at you. She had a right to shoot back.”

  “What’s going to happen to her?”

  “I don’t know yet. Bri said they wanted to know about the gun that killed the guy shooting at you.”

  “She used Slate’s,” Chloe said with a frown.

  “Good. They’ll never find it,” Cattail said. “So, their story will hold up.”

  “Are they keeping her?”

  “She’s being released, and Bri was waiting for her,” Cattail said. “With evidence on file of the stalker, this is a clear case of stand your ground or self-defense.”

  “Why would Slate do this? Betray you guys?”

  “I don’t know what’s going on exactly, but I do know the feds are pissed over some agents being killed. They blame us.”

  Chloe nodded, and then leaned her head back against the back of the couch. “Darice could go to jail because of you.”

  “No, she won’t,” Cattail told her and the certainty in her eyes consoled her, though she wrapped her arms around herself.

  Chloe ached to have Darice’s arms around her instead of her own. She stifled a sob of fear and got to her feet and went to her own room.

  “Darice,” she murmured as she leaned against the door. “Baby. What kind of mess have you gotten us into?”

  She pushed away from the door. Could she still marry Darice knowing there could be other days like this in the future?

  Darice had told her she might have to do some work for Mojo, and at the time Chloe hadn’t thought it was that big a deal.

  Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  “But you are sure you love her.”

  She raked her fingers through her hair. She didn’t want to live without Darice, so they’d just have to get through this.

  ****

  “I talked to Ace before I came to get you,” Sabrina told her. “Slate’s been eliminated along with two other operatives. Jo found out they were all FBI agents. None of them had gotten anything compromising, but Slate was close enough to be a threat.”

  “I don’t want details,” Darice said quietly. She hated being deprived of the kill, but she knew why it had been necessary to be done while she was in jail.

  “It’s just a good thing we handled everything by the book,” Sabrina said.

  “Your quick thinking is what I’m glad for,” Darice said.

  Sabrina laughed. “That was all you. If you’d left the scene after you killed the guy, they’d be all over you for lying and covering it up. Anyway, the camera footage substantiated our stories. I’m just glad you were in that blind spot the camera didn’t cover.”

  “I didn’t even know you had surveillance in the parking lot.”

  “I got them after Chloe was being stalked the first time. I figured I couldn’t be too safe. Those detectives just didn’t communicate with the beat cops who came out I guess.” Sabrina chuckled.

  “Well, this is over, and the feds can’t say I told anybody anything since the cops came up as soon as they left. Plus, they tapped my freaking phone.”

  “Yeah. They sort of hung themselves on this one,” Sabrina said. “I don’t know any more than you do, and I don’t want to know either.”

  They let the subject drop and rode the rest of the way in silence. Sabrina didn’t come in with her, and Darice thanked her for the ride before going inside and up to her room.

  “Hey.” Cattail gave her a smile. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. The A.D.A. knew all about the incident from the beat cops who’d come to the magazine the day the idiot tried to kill you. Funny that those cops don’t talk,” Darice said. “She had my statement on file. I’m almost certain this is the end of it.”

  “Well, the chief of detectives is resigning,” Cattail said with a smile. “I heard the mayor isn’t giving him much of a choice, after getting a copy of that tape.”

  “You found it.”

  “Blade tore his house apart while he was on shift yesterday,” Cattail told her with a shrug. “And the mayor got a copy along with the sheriff. Whether they’ll prosecute is another matter.”

  “What about the client?” Darice asked.

  “She got a copy too. Ace thinks the city will settle since any good lawyer can make a case that the police chief killed her to cover that night up,” Cattail said. “It would be easier if we found Elton, who by the way is related to Marie. Go figure.”

  “He might be coming out of the woodwork to collect on her estate,” Darice commented.

  “Maybe. Then, we can find out what he knows or make sure his inheritance ends up in the victim’s family’s hands.” She laughed and so did Darice.

  Chloe entered the room in a short nightgown. “You’re home. Is it over?”

  “I think so,” Darice said. “The A.D.A. said she didn’t see any reason to bring charges.”

  “What about the FBI?” Chloe asked.

  “They can’t force me to cooperate in their case, especially when I don’t know anything,” Darice said. She crossed the room and took Chloe in her arms. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  Once they were in the bedroom, Chloe stepped away from her, and Darice drew in a breath preparing for the breakup.

  “You said you’d tell me if there was something I needed to know,” Chloe said. “Is there something?”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I know you’re capable of killing because I saw it. Did you kill Marie?”

  Darice nodded. “I wanted it over.”

  Chloe nodded, too. “And what about the police chief? I heard you and Cattail just now.”

  “It was a job,” Darice told her.

  Chloe sighed. “You’re going to work for them aren’t you?”

  “If they ask.”

/>   “This might not go away that easily, but I won’t leave you,” she said. “Just tell me so I’ll know what to expect. Now, go change. You smell like jail.”

  ****

  Chloe waited patiently as Darice showered and changed. She knew in her heart, jail wasn’t the place for the woman who owned her heart. Darice had killed to save her and for that she was grateful.

  She didn’t care what the police or anyone else said, Darice was an angel to her.

  “Whatcha thinking about?” Darice asked surprising her.

  Chloe turned to meet her fiancée’s gaze. Her lips curved into a smile. “I was thinking how much I love you, my prince,” she teased. “You saved me from my dreary existence and now you’re stuck with me.”

  Darice came to the bed and sat down next to her. “Are you sure you can live with this?”

  Chloe stroked Darice’s cheek. “I love you, Darice McMasters. Now and forever.” She kissed her, and Darice moaned as she urged Chloe back onto the bed.

  “I love you, too, Coe.”

  “Why don’t we elope and have a big wedding later like we planned. That way, if anything happens, I won’t be able to testify against you.”

  “Don’t worry so much, nothing will happen except I’ll fall deeper in love with you between now and May.”

  Chloe smiled softly and kissed the side of Darice’s neck. She was going to make it happen soon no matter what Darice said.

  The End

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  BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER

  GETTING NAWTY WITH THE COYOTE

  Serenity Snow

  Copyright © 2018

  Chapter One

  The elevator was nearly empty tonight as Isa Mann rode it to the ground floor. Eyes focused on the door, which in her mind, was suddenly the wooden wall of a large barn. She turned her head and it was like panning from the wall to the middle of the room where the woman she’d just met stood.

  The blood sprayed with each gnash of sharp canines, and the woman’s eyes gleamed with horror as she struggled to get free. She lay on her back in a ripped dress, legs spread wide, as he drove into her. Her face, bruised, scarred, and swollen was contorted in pain.

  Then she did get free, and the three men laughed and jeered as she ran for the door on legs spattered with blood and marred by scratches and bites. But hard on her heels was the man who’d been waiting for his turn.

  Isa’s heart beat sluggishly as she closed her eyes to escape the last moments of a girl’s life that still haunted her dreams. But there they were inside her mind in vivid detail. Her hands shook, her skin turned cold, flesh pimpling.

  The bell dinged and she gasped, the sound catapulting her back to reality. The car emptied out, and Isa punched the disc as silent tears slid down her cheeks to burn her skin.

  She’d been a coward. She’d gone there to prove what she’d found was a lie, but all she’d found was truth in shades of red, black, and blue.

  She pressed her fingers to her lips and bit back a sob as the car jerked and continued its downward glide.

  Isa swallowed convulsively as she quickly wiped at the tears feeling as dirty now as she had every morning for the last two weeks when she woke. None of the men had scented her in the barn that night thanks to the fact she’d bathed with a man’s soap and donned a shirt belonging to one of the men from the party.

  The elevator stopped, the bell signaling she’d reached the first floor. Isa climbed off and strode out into the evening. She’d just come off a twelve-hour shift at the small hospital in Mystic where she worked.

  As she hurried over the smooth pavement through the deserted lot, she glanced around, the tattoo of her rubber-soled shoes heavy on the concrete. Isa knew someone was watching her and had been since she’d returned from Hartsland.

  She’d witnessed three murders and one of them had been someone she’d known well. The others had been strangers, but every detail of that night was burned into her mind, leaving her trapped in a cage she’d never escape from until she did something.

  But what?

  You didn’t betray pack.

  Her phone’s loud ring made her jump, nerves already frayed.

  Isa stopped to open her shoulder bag and dig the phone out. “Hello?” she asked tentatively.

  “We really need to talk, Isa. You’ve been avoiding me since you returned from Hartsland.”

  The voice in her ear was dark and dangerous and that of a man she’d once thought could do no wrong. He’d been the epitome of strength and goodness whose reputation should never be marred, but her whole view of him had shattered with a single picture.

  “I don’t really think we have anything to say to each other, Jerry,” she murmured, hand shaking on the sleek device. “Anyway, I have plans tonight.”

  “With her? I know what you do with her,” he said.

  Isa closed her eyes briefly as the words scraped over her roughly. “It’s none of your business,” Isa said coldly.

  “Do you think your mother would be proud of you when she learns you’ve been sneaking off to that club and playing whore for one of those women? Your family will be disgusted by you.”

  Isa knew that—that’s why she’d tried so hard not to be a lesbian, not to give in to temptation.

  “Somehow, I think that would be overshadowed by the monster that you really are,” she said softly. “Stop calling me, or I’ll go to the police. I’m sure there are laws against stalking.”

  The silence told her she’d gone too far, but Isa already knew her days were numbered if she didn’t find someone to trust with the information she had soon.

  “You’ll be sorry, Isa.”

  “I already am,” she replied, her voice quavering, and she ended the call. She was sorrier for allowing those two girls to die while doing nothing more than filming their deaths as she watched, legs cramped and frozen in icy fear.

  She was done keeping his secrets as of tonight. She had a friend who wasn’t without power, though she might not be able to help. She would be able to give her advice on how to proceed and maybe she’d be able to protect her.

  ****

  In the stand of trees across the street from the hospital, he watched out of sight as she climbed into her car. He knew where she’d go. Isa was terrified and alone. Her best friend was still out of town, providing no one else for her to turn to.

  He looked down at his phone to type in a message. He’d planned this down to the last detail once he’d realized she might know, not just suspect. Isa would derail his plans if she went to that woman at the club, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.

  His phone rang, and he accepted the call immediately. “Yes?”

  “Are you sure?” The voice on the other end of the line asked.

  “There’s no other choice,” Jerry said coldly. It’s time for us to make our move. Do you have the material?”

  “Yes, and it will be handed off to him with instructions on where and how to place it, but it won’t get her out of the way for long,” Bradley said quietly. “Even if it does, that still leaves us with a threat.”

  “Sydney won’t be able to take over the pack—she’s no longer part of it,” Jerry said coldly.

  “No, but there are at least two other women who can take over, and there’s nothing to say that Summerfield won’t just combine both packs to keep us from getting the lands. This could slice us if it backfires.”

  “That’s why they call it Russian Roulette. Are you in or out?” Jerry demanded at the slight hint of reticence in his companion’s tone. There could be no fear or hesitation on either of their parts if they were going to drive those women out of town.

  He still had plans for their land. Just because light h
ad been shone on part of his life three weeks ago, didn’t mean he had to give this up. Plus, he just wanted to be free of those damned coyotes.

  “I’m in.”

  “Then, let’s get this party started.”

  End of sample chapter

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