“I don’t think he’s into that,” Claudia said. “Has to be someone else, which means if those coyotes weren’t yours, we need to meet. And just so you know, the girl told me she heard someone was running drugs through your place.”
“Interesting pillow talk,” Sam drawled. “You snow coyotes really don’t know what your mouths are for in bed.”
Claudia grunted. “I’ll see you at six. Your office.” She knew about the house that Sam ran her accounting business out of.
“I’ll let them know you’re coming,” Sam responded. “Out of curiosity, what made you think they were mine or Mallory’s coyotes?”
“We’re the only coyotes in town and they aren’t mine,” Claudia told her. “Which means we could have a problem.”
The silence made her wonder if Sam was thinking the same thing she was. They might have to form an alliance despite what was going on in the Coalition.
“So it seems. Tomorrow.”
Claudia ended the call and looked at Dylan. “We leave at five thirty,” she said. “I’ll take Delgado and leave you to hold down the fort.”
Dylan could handle things here if anything happened to her. Delgado was one of her trusted lieutenants, and Claudia would rather have him with her around Sam and Mallory to avoid too many dominant females in one room.
He was a beta and wouldn’t be as quick on any perceived act of aggression which is exactly what she needed right now.
“I’d feel better if you let me come with you. I’m sure Sam will have Syd there.”
“Delgado can deal, but I don’t think it will be necessary,” Claudia admitted with a frown. “A week ago, when Jenner was attacked, didn’t coyotes attack them?”
“Yeah. They weren’t Sam and Mallory’s from what I’ve heard. Besides, if they’d ordered an attack, they’d have been there, and Jenner wouldn’t be alive.”
Claudia nodded grimly in agreement. Sam wasn’t the kind of coyote who sent someone else to kill for her. So why was Jenner so hot to bring them down?
“I can’t imagine why Jenner’s on their asses,” Dylan murmured. “It’s like someone’s setting them up and that means wolves are ganging up on them for some reason.”
“That means we need answers before shit really hits the fan.”
****
“I’m a little nervous with you staying here alone.”
Lena sighed. “I’ll be fine,” she said. “Besides, I’ll have a guard with me from now on, and whoever was here didn’t take anything.”
She was still smarting over that attack. And the worst part was she hadn’t scented the intruder. Not so much as a ripple of a change in the scent until that brief moment and the window had been so small that it left her wondering if she’d imagined it.
“Are you sure?” Victor asked with a frown. “I still don’t understand how you missed it.”
“I don’t know,” Lena replied, irritated with him and herself. “But it won’t happen again. I’m guessing it was Russo.”
“Probably,” he muttered. “I had drinks with Carlo before I came in. He and his brother want Snowbury no matter what it takes. They like the easy access to the water for transporting down to the west coast.”
“And into Canada,” Lena added. “We can’t give up the properties, so we’ll have to get rid of them.”
“He didn’t give me any indication he be willing to compromise, so we’ll have to give the D.A. in Hartford a little more help in convicting Carlo and Marco. Then, Russo will be too busy back home to worry about this area.”
Lena smiled. “You’re right, and I have just the right information to pass along,” she said. “He’s been looking for answers to who killed his father and his father’s right hand. The man was like an uncle to Russo.”
“How is that going to help us?” Victor asked.
“Rumors are very useful tools.”
****
Kyra rolled over to the soft ring of her phone. She pushed out a sigh and groped for the little device in the dark. She snagged it and hit CONNECT.
“Hello?”
“Sorry to wake you,” the masculine voice rumbled in her ear. “But I have some news.”
“Wes. Couldn’t you have picked a less inconvenient time?”
“I’m up,” he said calmly.
“What is it?” she asked groggily as she shifted in the bed. Wes was her boss and the man who’d raised and trained her after her parents’ deaths.
“Russo’s brother met with Carpenter this evening. I’m pretty sure they talked about Russo vacating Snowbury. That land deal you told me about was mentioned. They both want that land for their resort.”
“Right.”
“Russo’s brother is planning an attack on the Shadows to show their disdain for tonight’s conversation.”
“What do you think they’ll do?” She was now wide awake as her thoughts went straight to the club. “They didn’t find drugs at the club.”
“But word is out the Shadows are using Coyote Closet as a stop to the ocean.”
“I’m not surprised,” Kyra murmured, thinking of the notes she’d found at Lena’s. Gaining control of Coyote Closet to turn it into a dance club was high on Lena’s list of things to do.
“Which one of the owners do you think is working with the jackals?” Wes asked.
“Neither, but I wouldn’t put it past one of the wolf security personnel or a dancer. None of Sam or Mallory’s people would betray them.”
“You better warn them,” he suggested. “Their club is going to get hit hard, if not tonight, then tomorrow while it’s full of patrons.”
“Great. I’ll have to break cover,” she said with a sigh. “I hadn’t wanted to do that, but Mallory already suspects something.”
“You’ll have to take the risk of confiding in Sam or Mallory. This thing might well get very ugly before we finish our case.”
“I know,” she said softly and rubbed her temple. Wes had gotten them entangled with Dillinger, an old friend of her family and his. She hadn’t been able to say no.
Kyra knew Wes wanted Dill’s killer as badly as she did. However, Ava was the reason he hadn’t called it quits.
“Just decide soon and remember the party line, K,” he said.
“I remember,” she replied evenly. She always remembered. Kyra didn’t even exist anyway, thanks to the FBI.
Chapter Eight
Claudia climbed from her bike in front of Sam’s place as Delgado pulled to the curb in his pick-up. She stored her helmet and waited for him to join her before heading up to the front porch where two guards lounged as if they were just hanging out in the cold.
“Ladies.” Claudia nodded to one and then the other while Delgado did the same.
“Claudia.” One of the guards motioned for her to go in. “Sam’s expecting you.”
She opened the door and stepped into the entry where another guard was posted. The woman led them from there to a sitting room not far away. Sam was there with Mallory, sipping coffee.
“Claude,” Sam said as she rose to shake hands with Claudia. “Delgado.”
Delgado nodded to her and to Mallory while Claudia and Mallory exchanged greetings.
“So, what’s up?” Sam asked, motioning them to the sofa.
“Help yourselves to coffee,” Mallory invited.
As Delgado poured a cup for himself, Claudia explained to Sam and Mallory what Dylan and Evan had told her about the coyotes sniffing around.
“Sounds like the same pack that attacked Jenner and his cousins,” Sam said grimly. “He thinks we hired them.”
“The jackals taking up residence in Stonington are a mixed pack of jackals and wolves according to our information,” Claudia admitted.
“We’re checking into a pack led by Bennett Holcombe,” Mallory added. “He used to be one half of a mercenary organization, but he’s on his own now.”
“Owns a hotel in Stonington,” Sam said. “He might be looking to expand, and he had ties to Bradley. Looks like he mig
ht be working with Russo to gain Mystic Snow lands.”
“With the drugs being run through your club—did Jenner find anything last night?”
“No, we were able to sniff them out and move them before he got there,” Sam answered. “Street value was just under ten thousand. A paltry sum.”
“Not more than they could afford to lose, maybe,” Delgado spoke up for the first time. “Evan didn’t get any names of anyone in particular, but the mercenary, Holcombe, is dead. Someone else has taken over his pack.”
“What about the business?” Sam asked.
“It’s still being operated, from all appearances,” Delgado told her. “Evan has someone working the angle.”
“I’ll have Delaney see if she can find anything,” Mallory said. “We don’t need anymore unknowns in the game.”
“As it is, sounds like someone wants you out of the picture so they can have your territory,” Claudia said. “Unless you’ve got an enemy who wants to take you down a peg or two.”
“A wolf or two,” Sam said. “But they don’t have the resources to pull something like this off, and I don’t think Jericho was condoning running dope.”
“You mentioned Black Velvet,” Mallory said. “Did she say where she got her info? She helped us out with Bradley and Isaiah by getting intel on them for us. She has to have a reason or an end game.”
“Any ideas?” Sam asked, giving her a pointed look. “Did she give anything away?”
“I saw her talking to a guy in a bar the other night. I didn’t get a name and I doubt she was going to tell me.”
“Get one,” Mallory ordered.
“She’s your girl, you get it out of her,” Claudia muttered. “What about her background?”
“Nothing unusual,” Mallory said. “She’s just your average Jane Doe with nothing noteworthy in her life. Stripper here and there. High school diploma.”
“Sounds too good to be true,” Delgado commented. “Too much of a nobody.”
“But she checks out from the top to the bottom,” Mallory replied.
“The question is how far are you willing to go with this, Claude,” Sam drawled. “The dancer is a small matter that can easily be taken care of, but the larger issue is the drugs, and the Coalition will be all over that.”
“I’ll bring it up,” Claudia said. “However, I don’t think anyone will make that an issue unless it applies to you two.”
“Which means you’re going to have to make a decision. Pike and Bradley’s packs will replace them with people who are just as against Mal and I as Pike and Bradley were. Isaiah’s replacement could be just as problematic. With Astor against us as well, we’ll be at another stalemate.”
“We need someone to investigate what’s going on independent of the Coalition’s ruling body,” Mallory said. “Otherwise we risk having drugs inundate our streets and the Coalition going after us as they run scared.”
“I agree that something has to be done,” Claudia said. “But I won’t agree to an alliance with you right now.” She didn’t think they were guilty, but they could be. No one could have gotten drugs in their club without help.
“Think it over,” Sam said. “Just don’t wait until the wolves are at your door.”
****
Kyra studied the contents of the envelope she’d taken from Astor’s place yesterday. She’d learned just this morning the place wasn’t exactly his, but it was rented under the name of Kelvin Smith, a lawyer.
However, Lena Carpenter was living there along with a male Kyra assumed was her brother since they shared the same last name. Carpenter was one face of the Shadow cartel according to Wes, and Lena the other.
Both were very nasty when thwarted, but they were philanthropists who did more than their share in aiding the poor. Lena ran some women’s shelter when she wasn’t moving drugs.
Kyra ran her fingertip over the face of one of the pictures she’d pulled from the packet. There was a note card attached to it, but she’d pushed it over for a closer look at the victim. Putting it aside, Kyra studied the other shots before taking up the sheaf of papers that had been inside.
One read through told her more than she wanted to know about why Lena and her brother had the information. They were interested in turning Coyote Closet into a dance club to run their drugs through. The very neatly drawn map included was of the land right next to it.
Sold was marked in the middle of the space, and the last sheet contained information of a different kind that had her frowning.
“Hey.”
She looked up to see Cordelia standing at the table across from her. Kyra casually swept the pictures into the envelope. “Hi, Cordelia.”
“Mind if I join you?” she asked with a question in her green eyes.
Kyra folded the sheet. “Not at all,” she replied and tucked the papers away before closing the brown envelope.
“You doing okay?” Cordelia asked and took a sip of the coffee she’d brought with her. The paper cup held some foamy concoction that smelled like vanilla.
“Good.” She smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“Just grabbing some coffee before work,” Cordelia answered. “What’s got you so intrigued? Thinking about moving on?”
“Not yet,” Kyra said with a shrug.
“Tell me what you know,” Cordelia insisted gently as she put her hand on Kyra’s. “Did you find out something when you broke into Bradley’s office?”
Kyra gave Cordelia a faint smile. “How did you end up here, Cordelia?” she asked. “In Snowbury.”
Cordelia averted her gaze. “I just needed a change.”
Kyra nodded. “And this town came up over someplace in, say, sunny Cali?”
Cordelia snorted. “I’d been there.”
“I guess so,” she said.
“I know you’re hiding from something, too, or if you’ve gotten into something that you can’t get out of, Sam and Mallory can help you. They can protect you.”
Kyra laughed darkly. “I don’t need protecting, Cordelia. I’m not a lost sheep or a damsel in distress.”
“Then, why are you here?” Cordelia pressed. “I can’t imagine you just put your neck on the line for them for no reason. So, who sent you and why?”
“I helped you because it helped me,” she murmured. “No other reason.” Kyra patted Cordelia’s hand. “I have to go. Is the club open tonight?”
“Business as usual,” Cordelia told her. “Who brought the drugs in? At least tell me that.”
“So Mallory can climb all over my back for more answers?” she quizzed. “She’ll use me until I run dry.”
“It won’t be like that,” Cordelia assured her. “They’re in desperate straits here. Mallory is being prosecuted for murder. The A.D.A. just reinstated the charges this morning, and she and Sam both are being investigated for killing Jenner’s cousin. Now there’s this drug thing.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Kyra said evenly. “I just don’t want to get involved.”
“I’m not asking you for a lifetime commitment, Velvet, just a name.”
Kyra sighed. A dancer and a bouncer were working against them. “I know at least one dancer who thinks Mallory and Sam need to be taken down a peg or two, and another who agrees. Look there.”
“Why are you being so cryptic?” Cordelia insisted.
“Someone wants to take over the club, a cartel,” Kyra told her and slid from the booth.
She needed to go over the rest of the items from her camera and put together a picture of what was going on to add to the one they already had. The sooner she solved this, the sooner she could get out of this town.
She wasn’t just dead in the eyes of the world, she was a killer, murderer of two federal agents and a cop. She’d only killed one agent, but she doubted the feds would believe he’d been crooked.
She could go to jail if those agents snooping around town got too close to her or if she exposed herself too much.
“Hey. I’m here for you,” Cordeli
a told her, getting to her feet, too. “You can trust me.”
Kyra gave her a smile, the animal inside her responding to the kindness in her eyes while the woman hardened her heart.
It wasn’t just her life she had to worry about. Most of her co-workers were criminals, on the run or presumed dead. She wouldn’t put them at risk by getting caught up in a friendship that could lead to trouble.
“Thanks,” she said and beat a hasty retreat.
Cordelia had the life she wanted—sometimes. However, Kyra didn’t begrudge her happiness or the love she’d found. She just wouldn’t allow their love to send her underground.
There was little solace in the darkness, which was why she would have to be careful with Claudia.
****
By the time Claudia left the brunch, the day already seemed way too long to her. She had that Coalition meeting that night and all she really wanted to do was skip it. The politics of two positions of power was weighing on her.
She headed to the restaurant on the pier for a late lunch having not eaten at the brunch, since she’d just been too busy with the meet and greet to pick up a fork. They’d expressed concerns over the issues shaking the shifter community—the humans had no idea about shifters, but the deaths left them concerned and eager for justice.
That meant Mallory and Sam were on the hot seat of the human justice system as well as the animal one. Claudia knew something would have to be done about Jenner and the wolves in human law enforcement before long.
And she was toying with firing them all. She’d replace Jenner with the human Montana Summer who seemed more than capable and less of a problem than Jenner.
She ordered and removed her tablet to go over a file she’d received this morning on some of the pack’s financial interests. Sam handled some investments for them. They had a small building and plumbing company that kept the security teams paid and the den from lacking.
“Hello, Mayor.”
She lifted her head fifteen minutes later to find Kyra sitting down across from her. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“I saw you and decided to come over and say hello,” Kyra told her.
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