Jenner let her go with a hiss, to look down at the red mark on his finger, then back at her. She lifted her brows at him before exiting, her purse on her shoulder.
“I want to search that.”
“Get a warrant,” she said. “You’ve got no probable cause to search my purse.” Kyra stalked out, and he let her go. Kyra made her way to the front of the club where the other dancers were gathered.
Going to a table away from the others, Kyra opened her purse and removed the card Claudia had stuck in her G-string tonight. She’d fought every urge to say yes to a date with her because part of her sensed a danger in it.
The other half of her only saw a possible ally that she might come to trust later down the line. Kyra knew realistically she wasn’t going to help Ava break this case on her own.
So, while she wasn’t looking for anything more than a fling, Kyra accepted that, other than Sam and Mallory, Claudia might be just the person she needed to be in bed with figuratively, to get her case cleared.
Claudia was the mayor, she had to have an interest in what seemed to be happening in her town right under her nose.
Kyra typed in Claudia’s number and left a message when it went to voicemail.
“Are you okay?” Mallory came to join her, her gaze filled with interest. “Sam said Claude stepped out of line.”
She looked up at Mallory seeing past the concern to curiosity. “She didn’t really.”
Mallory sat down across from her. “Cordelia didn’t say who warned her about the drugs, but I’m guessing that was you. Who brought those drugs into our club?”
Kyra shrugged one shoulder, torn between holding her tongue and sharing vital intel. She didn’t know Mallory or Sam well enough to trust they’d keep her secret to themselves.
But Claude—well she didn’t know that sexy butch either. On the other hand, every one of her animal cells wanted to do more than dance for her.
“I don’t know where you got that idea,” Kyra replied. “Who Cordelia talks to isn’t really my concern.”
“I don’t want to play hardball with you, Velvet, because I know you helped us out of a tight spot. I’m just curious why you’d bother. You have no stake in this town or the club.”
She held Mallory’s gaze before looking away. “Which is the reason why I’m not sure why you think I’d help you.”
“Cordelia told me about you breaking into Bradley’s office.”
“Right,” she said, and her phone vibrated. She’d given Cordelia help as a cover for her own covert activities.
“Do you need a ride home? Jordan said she noticed you weren’t driving tonight.”
“No.” She held up her phone. “I think this might be my ride.”
“Okay.” Mallory continued to study her. “We will be talking again, Velvet. Count on it.” Mallory gave her a nod, her blue-gray gaze blazing with determination. Then she drifted over to where Sam leaned against a wall.
“Hello?” Kyra answered tearing her gaze from them to fix on another dancer who was talking to a bouncer.
“Changed your mind?” Claudia asked in a husky tone that made Kyra go warm all over.
“Sort of,” she murmured. “Can you pick me up? The cops are here, and they’ve closed us down for the night.”
“I’ll meet you out front.”
“See you then,” Kyra said. She was still staying in town and considered this the safest place for her right now since she was being hunted.
When this job was over, she’d have to secure a new face before fading quietly back into the background of life. The organization she worked for lived on the edges of civilization doing jobs too risky for normal people to trust to the police.
They’d all been where their clients were at one time or another and understood the pitfalls of going too far and living on the edge. Humans were social by nature for the most part and very few could take the isolation the witness protection—self-imposed or legal—pushed people into.
That was a half-life that no one should be forced to live. Their clients didn’t want to disappear, they wanted justice.
****
Claudia put her phone in her pocket and got back on her bike. She turned around and headed back to the club, wondering what had made the little dancer change her mind.
Sam?
Mallory?
Were they trying to force her to choose them with Black Velvet as bait?
Were Sam and Mallory mixed up with the cartel or just about to become statistics of lawlessness?
She should just go home, but she was too curious to tuck tail and run.
Claudia pulled into the lot, cut the engine, and put down the kickstand. She climbed off and laid her helmet on the seat before striding toward the building.
“Mayor, you should be careful about spending your money in a place like this,” a female cop said coolly.
“I’m a big girl,” Claudia retorted. She started toward the door and the woman stepped in front of her. “What is it, officer?”
“Place is closed for the night, ma’am,” she said.
“Thanks, Officer Janko,” she said and stepped around her. The woman was quick, moving to block her entrance, and Claudia growled at her. The officer’s eyes dropped, her wolf’s dominance no match for the snow coyote’s.
The door swung open at the cop’s back, and Claudia looked over her head, taking in the leggy beauty in the short dress striding out. The black of her hair caught the light and the scent of her carried on the light cool wind.
Claudia moved around the officer who lifted her head. The coyote snarled low at her, and the wolf slunk away, going to join one of the other cops standing around looking useless.
And Claudia went to meet the woman who was stealing a little more control of her animal every time they met. That made Black Velvet dangerous in more ways than one.
Chapter Six
Kyra drank in the handsome woman coming to meet her, and her coyote lifted its head as her heart beat faster. Claudia’s black hair was combed neatly into place despite the helmet she must have worn, and the hints of silver-gray glittered in the light. Her winter frost eyes were filled with curiosity as they held hers.
The casual pants were obviously expensive as was the silk shirt tucked into them. Over the ensemble, was a leather jacket that gave Claudia the air of a very confident woman.
“Hello, Mayor,” Kyra murmured. “Thanks for being so tolerant.”
“Tolerant?” she asked with a hint of humor in her stare. “I issued an invitation and you accepted.”
She smiled. “I guess the right opportunity presented itself,” Kyra replied. “Shall we? I could use that drink.”
“Where to?”
“My place,” she said, and then gave Claudia the address.
“I have an extra helmet, and you might need my jacket.”
“Thanks. How sweet of you. Can you store my purse?”
“With pleasure.” Claudia took the purse after removing her jacket.
Kyra put the jacket on, the warmth of it soaked into her and the scent of soap and cedarwood with a hint of cherry captivated her senses. The scent was so Claudia.
Claudia put the helmet on her and got on the bike. “Climb on.”
Kyra climbed on behind her and wrapped her arms around Claudia’s waist. Claudia let the kickstand up and started the bike before pulling out of the lot.
The cool air was barely a bite as they sped through the night. Claudia’s body was solid against hers and the heat they both gave off was like a flame. Kyra tightened her arms and leaned in a little closer and picked up a hint of ice to mingle with the cedar and cherry.
The scent was indicative of the snow coyote that made her animal nuzzle the back of Claudia’s neck. It had been a long time since she’d been this close to a snow coyote.
A dangerous animal whose prowess was largely underestimated due to its size. They had compact bodies with heavy fur that was nearly white in winter, but silver-gray with dark gray ear tufts in warmer
climes.
The snow coyote was a vicious foe with a chilling bite that could kill. Some of them had the ability to crush bones and were even more dangerous than hyenas because unlike that animal, the snow coyote fought equally well alone as in a pack.
Claudia pulled into the driveway of the house Kyra was renting. She liked the privacy of a house because it had a porch for her to lounge on in back, not that she had much of a chance to.
As she cut the engine, Kyra slid her hands down Claudia’s side to rest on her own thighs while she waited for her to let down the kickstand. Kyra climbed off then and was removing her helmet as Claudia slipped to her feet.
“That was fun,” Kyra said, handing the helmet over.
Claudia took it and stored both in the bike’s storage compartment. “That’s one of the things I like about it,” she commented.
“What’s the other?” Kyra asked with a flirty smile.
“It’s a chick magnet,” she said in a teasing tone and Kyra chuckled.
“Yeah. Who can resist a hot chick on a bike? With all that power between her legs, it’s so obvious she knows how to take control.”
“Is that what you like, Velvet?” she murmured. “A woman who knows how to take control?”
Kyra shrugged one shoulder. “Come inside for that drink,” she invited. “I think I have some gin and vodka.”
“Either floats my boat, but I’d rather not tonight.” She was on Kyra’s heels as she made her way to the porch.
“Iced tea?” The house wine of the South, her mama used to say. There was always some in the fridge.
“That sounds good,” Claudia replied.
Kyra unlocked the door and stepped inside to the soft glow cast by the automatic lights in the entry. She removed Claudia’s jacket as they stood there.
“Thanks.”
“Keep it for next time,” Claudia invited. “I have a feeling tonight was just your first ride on the back of my bike.”
Kyra stared up at her, lips curving into a smile. “Could be. I like the way you handle your machine.”
Claudia chuckled. “And I like the way you handle yours.” Her gaze slid over Kyra’s body making it clear what she had reference to.
Kyra grinned. “Are you hungry? I could use a light bite myself. Dancing makes me work up an appetite.”
“Me, too.”
Kyra laughed. “You’re playing with me, Mayor,” she said as she turned and moved down the corridor to the kitchen. She draped the leather jacket over a chair at the table for four.
“Isn’t that the name of the game, Kyra?” she asked.
Kyra didn’t stop in her stride to the sink. She glanced over her shoulder. “Seems as though, Claudia.” She turned on the water and washed up.
As she dried her hands, Kyra felt Claudia come up behind her. Her hands glided up Kyra’s arms where they gripped lightly as Claudia leaned in to graze the side of her neck with sharp teeth.
Kyra’s eyes slid closed of their own volition as tendrils of heat slithered through her. Her animal sighed, savoring the contact.
Claudia’s fingers tightened slightly. “Why’d you call me, baby?” Claudia murmured in her ear, warm breath a caress against Kyra’s skin. “Did Mallory or Sam put you up to this?”
“Up to what?” She turned, and Claudia stared down into her eyes, her own hardening.
“I don’t mind a good sex game, but I’m not into being played for the fool. So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Claudia ordered, crossing her arms over her chest.
Her breasts were small, and she was almost straight up and down, with a telltale bulge in her pants that said she liked to wear a strap-on.
“I’m not sure just what you mean,” Kyra said and tried to move around Claudia, but Claudia grabbed her arm and put her back against the counter to bracket her in with hands on either side of her.
“What’s going on at that club?” Claudia demanded. “I heard Jenner was doing a drug sweep. Why?”
“Because he’s an ass?” Kyra asked with lifted brows, a hint of humor in her tone.
“I don’t like hitting a lady, sweetheart, but I’m going to bitch slap you if you keep fucking with me. Now, tell me why you called me back when you made it clear you didn’t date patrons.” Claudia’s tone was implacable, and her eyes glittered with promise.
“Maybe—”
Claudia growled at her, and Kyra glared.
“Tone it down, rabid animal,” Kyra muttered.
“If you think that was rabid, just wait and see what happens when you ignore me,” Claudia warned.
“Sam didn’t ask me to call you,” Kyra told her, not afraid of the animal staring at her with winter-frigid eyes. She was both turned on and angry. “And I don’t know what’s going on in the club.”
“One more lie, and I’ll take you over my knee and paddle your ass like a schoolgirl sent to the principal’s office,” Claudia threatened in an impassive tone.
“Why do you care if Jenner has a hard-on for them?” Kyra demanded.
Claudia moved in a little closer, pressing their lower bodies together. “Just humor me.”
Kyra suppressed a shiver from the contact. Every cell in her body was suddenly alive and alert. She could almost feel the air on her face, and the animal inside her raised its head in fascination.
Kyra wrestled her libido down and brought her mind back to the conversation at hand with effort. Her gaze lingering on Claudia’s lips, and she wondered if she was a good kisser.
Focus, she ordered. This was part of why she couldn’t even have a fling with Claudia, the woman could derail her train of thought just looking at her.
“All I know is someone planted the drugs at Coyote Closet,” Kyra confessed. “I heard about it at the bar the other night.”
Claudia’s brows knit in a frown and concern filled her gaze. “Are you sure? Did you tell them?”
“Not exactly,” Kyra answered. “I’m not sure getting involved with that is the best idea.”
“Who did you hear it from? The guy I saw you with last night?”
“No,” she said. That guy had sold her some information on the apartment she’d gone to and who owned it.
“Kyra, sweetie, don’t be cryptic here,” Claudia said as if she were talking to a child. “Sam and Mallory have enough on their plates without a drug charge.”
“I know that. So, do you want that drink or not?”
“I want to know what else he told you,” Claudia said firmly. “Who’s setting them up and why?”
“No one told me anything,” Kyra snapped. “If we’re done flirting, you should go. I’m suddenly very tired.”
Claudia backed away from her after a moment. “Fine, but this conversation isn’t over.”
Kyra sighed. “It is unless you plan to use arts of seduction to get me to talk,” she replied. “I invited you back here to make out, not talk about things I know nothing about. So, goodnight.”
Claudia’s lips tugged up and amusement danced in her winter-frost eyes. “Oh, I think I can arrange that,” she murmured. “How about dinner tomorrow?”
“That’s probably not the best idea,” Kyra replied.
“Oh?” Claudia’s voice held a hint of interest. “You like playing hard to get, I see. I have a feeling the club will still be closed and if it’s not, then I’ll see you there.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t brave that,” Kyra told her. “For your reputation and all.”
“Let me worry about that, sexy dancer,” Claudia purred as she leaned toward her. “You just keep on thinking of ways to turn me on with the swish of your hips.”
“In your dreams,” Kyra retorted breathlessly. “Those dances aren’t personal, they’re a living. Goodnight, Mayor.” She headed for the door, deciding she wouldn’t dance for Claudia the next time she came in, if she was crazy enough to come back.
Chapter Seven
When Claudia got back to her den, Dylan accosted her in the parking garage, tension in her face.
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“I know, Dylan,” she said in irritation. “I’ve gone over it and I approve.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “Evan was out on a run with a few of the teens, and they spotted some jackals. He’s still out there now pulling a shift. I put an extra team on the eastern perimeter, but we also got a visitor on the water.”
“More jackals?”
“Coyotes.”
“Sam and Mallory?” she asked with a frown, already whipping out her phone.
“I don’t think so,” Dylan told her. “Sam was out here last three weeks ago, but she was leading a small team of three.”
“What was she doing?”
“Just walking, and she talked to a few of the sentries. Just small talk. Because she comes out here at least once a month, I didn’t think much of it, so I didn’t mention it. Now, with those strangers coming around I’m not sure what’s up.”
Claudia input Sam’s number. “With the Coalition wanting me to side against them, there’s no telling and the drugs—”
“What drugs?”
“At their club. Sam, what are you up to? Why’d you send your sentries to check out my border tonight?”
“I didn’t,” Sam replied coldly. “Whenever I want to check out your territory, I come myself.”
“And I’ve tolerated your little visits because you’re civil, but I won’t put up with any attempts to intimidate me. Keep your people out of my territory. Any unauthorized visits will be seen as an act of aggression from now on.”
“I’ll call before I come down,” she retorted. “But I didn’t okay any trips there and neither did Mal. We’re busy with our shit right now.”
“Which is running drugs and sending Black Velvet to work her voodoo on me so I’ll ally with you?”
“As I recall, you’re the one who’s all rabid over her,” Sam said, amusement in her tone. “And I don’t know her, so I damn well didn’t ask her to seduce you. If you took her to bed that’s on you.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Claudia snarled.
“That’s up to you, and we’re not involved with drugs,” Sam said acidly. “We did find some in the club tonight, but they were planted and no doubt by someone who’s working for Jen.”
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