“I told you, I wasn’t a whore.”
“I never said you were.”
“That’s exactly what you said. Now, get out,” she ordered. “The deal is off.”
“We’ll see,” Claudia told her. “Before Sam is done with you, you’ll be begging me to help you.”
“I doubt that, asshole,” she snarled. “You’ll all be lucky if I don’t just walk away and leave you to drown in this cesspool of a town.”
Claudia gave her a long hard look as she backed away, wiping blood from her mouth. “We’ll talk in the morning, girlfriend.”
Kyra let out a low growl and grabbed a bottle from her dresser and hurled it at Claudia’s head. It just barely missed, smashing into the door frame.
“You make the coffee,” Claudia called.
Kyra followed in her wake, seething with anger. She snarled, the coyote breaking free.
The front door opened and closed, and Kyra hastened to lock it.
What had she been thinking, thinking she could get involved with an alpha snow coyote?
The woman was nothing easy.
Chapter Fourteen
Claudia headed for the truck, angry with herself for pushing too hard and upset with Kyra for holding back.
What was the woman thinking?
Contentious little … damn her.
She reached the truck and tossed the keys at Delgado. “Is he out there?”
“Yep.” He climbed into the truck, and she strolled down the block to her bike. Once there she put on the helmet and climbed on. Claudia cranked the engine and let up the kickstand before taking off slowly. She passed the wooded area where the coyote should be.
Claudia glanced over, sharp eyes spotting a hint of white in the thicket before she stepped on the gas. Claudia headed to the den where she took a quick shower before calling Evan and Dylan to her quarters.
The knock on the door had her calling “come in” as she took a sip of her drink. She grimaced from the burn to her tongue and the coyote grinned at the memory of the injury. She didn’t like weak women, and something told her little Miss Secretive was anything but.
However, she’d never force her sexually, no matter how badly she wanted Kyra.
Kyra was a bit of a contradiction with her fears of being seen as a whore yet her obvious ease with her body. Someone had hurt her just enough to make Kyra cautious.
“How’d the meeting go, sis?”
She rolled her eyes at the sound of her brother’s voice. “Good evening to you, too, Cameron,” she said. “What do you want?”
Her older brother came into view, His brown hair was tousled, and his blue eyes gleamed with mischief. “How’s your dancer?”
“That’s not why you’re here.”
“I heard there was a fire at the club,” he said. “I expected you to be wrapped around your girl, playing the big strong alpha.”
She made a face as she thought back to the confrontation then took a sip of the gin and grimaced as it burned her tongue.
“Where’d you hear that?” Claudia asked calmly. She needed all the information she could get with Sam and Mallory caught on video in a drug buy, real or not.
“Around,” he said coming to lean next to her. “Word is it was set because of drugs. Two cartels going at each other. Do you think they’re in that game?”
“I don’t know what’s going on, and the only person with any idea is playing hard to get.”
“What?” he asked in a teasing tone. “Your killer charm not working on this one?” He nudged her side. “Maybe your dancer is just afraid of ending up dead.”
“Cameron—”
“And she’s got you hot under the dog tags, too,” he said with a grin. “She must be the real McCoy.”
“Why are you here again?” she demanded in irritation.
Cameron laughed. “Damn, my little sis is hot for a stripper. First Sam and Mallory, now you. Those girls must really bring it on stage and between the sheets.”
She growled a warning at him. The very idea of anyone thinking of Kyra in that way other than her pissed her coyote off.
He sobered. “I already said why I was here. Well?”
“I’m not going to say this but once,” she said in a growly tone. “Don’t talk about Kyra that way again in my presence.”
He frowned. “I was talking about the meeting, sis,” he said. “You’ve really got it bad for this one, huh? Why not put your cards on the table? She might want to stay even with the club being gone.”
Claudia ran a hand through her hair in irritation. “Sam renounced her seat, and she’s probably going to lose her land. Someone has some kind of proof Cambrie doesn’t own it.”
“Jenner has a hand in this, doesn’t he?” Cameron demanded. “I know he hated to see Jericho taken down, but the man was no god. He was a downright dog.”
Her brother had been saying that for years now, as had some other men in her pack. Claudia had a feeling that had nothing to do with how Jericho had treated her when she’d taken over the Mist pack.
He’d made it clear just how much he despised female alphas.
She was about to speak when a rap cut her off. “Come in,” she called in a growly tone.
Dylan and Evan strolled in, both nodding to Cameron.
“How’d the meeting go?” Dylan asked. “What can we expect from the Coalition?”
Claudia gave them a rundown of what had occurred. “If that wasn’t bad enough, Coyote Closet was firebombed while it was full of patrons.”
“What?” Dylan exclaimed. “You’re kidding right?”
“No,” she said grimly. “The problem is, that was probably just the beginning.”
“More than likely,” Evan muttered. “I heard the Russo organization attacked the club to make a statement.”
“What kind of statement and to who?’ Dylan demanded.
“The Shadow cartel,” Evan answered. “Russo wants them out and the Shadow cartel was setting Sam and Mallory up to take a fall for drugs.”
Claudia shook her head. “This is fucked up.”
“Yeah,” Cameron muttered. “They’ve come in and in one fell swoop they’re starting to take our town apart, wage their war on our turf.”
“We can’t allow that to happen,” Dylan murmured, her gaze crackling with fury.
“We might not have a say,” Claudia answered. “Jenner and his buddies are determined to buy into the scenario the cartel is setting up.”
“Then we have to ally with Sam and Mallory and keep this from happening,” Cameron insisted. “From what you said, sounds like it’s only a matter of time before they come after you, too.”
“We’ll see what happens,” Claudia said. “I called you two here because I want to know if you have anything.”
“Shadow is living in Stonington, but trying to get property in town. They’re going to petition to be part of the Coalition. Jackals and wolves with a few hyenas.”
“I bet they’ll get it,” Cameron commented.
“The Shadow’s female alpha, Lena, has been whispering in Jenner’s ear,” Evan told them. “They’re making plans to develop the land next to Coyote Closet, but they’ll need to buy Sam and Mal’s land to make their plan happen.”
“So, Russo is back to try to finish what his brother or father started?” Cameron asked. “Who’s more dangerous, him or Lena?”
“It’s hard to say yet,” Evan said. “But right now, with Lena trying to win Jenner over and Russo going after the Coalition, they’re running neck and neck.”
“Astor has to be in his pocket already or Lena’s,” Claudia said. “He’s pushing too hard to get rid of Sam and Mal.”
“But taking them down won’t be easy with so many packs already against Sam and Mallory,” Dylan replied. “Damn the game.”
****
“How many lives lost?” Wes asked.
“I’m not sure,” Kyra told him quietly as she sat on the bed in her bedroom. Her mind kept going back to that fight with Claud
ia. The last thing she’d wanted to do was fight. She’d been so glad to see her and then everything had gone to hell.
She’d replayed their conversation in her mind trying to figure out where it had gone wrong. She wasn’t always the most forthcoming no matter a partnership. Kyra had learned not to trust without some proof the other person was true to their word.
Her emotions weren’t her barometer for that either. However, the coyote and her emotions gave Claudia more than her due in trust.
“Make any progress?” he asked. “Ava needs a little more intel for the trial. They got the continuance.”
“Ava,” she muttered. “You knew if things went south she’d be taking over the case, so why the hell aren’t you here?”
“Because you were already there with a cover in place, remember?” he asked carefully. “What’s eating you tonight? Did they refuse to work with you?”
“No,” she snapped, running her finger over a button of Claudia’s shirt. A hint of cedar and leather clung to it.
Just then the image of Claudia striding across the street to her filled her mind. She’d worn a look of pure concern that had swept over her like a tidal wave and stole her breath.
Then, when she’d fought with Sam … that had been so sexy. No one had fought for her like that in a long time, even if it was a bit trivial when all was said and done.
“So, who are you going to be working with?” Wes asked quietly, jerking her back to the moment.
“I’m still working on it. I can’t just get an agreement based on nothing. This is a small town. These people are nosy and don’t trust outsiders.” She lifted the shirt to her nose, drew in a lungful, and exhaled softly.
God, if the smell of the woman didn’t mess with her head. She wasn’t going to be able to get the job done if she didn’t stay strong.
Kyra never allowed a handsome face to get to her. She’d learned too early the libido had to be squashed allowing logic to take the lead.
“Have you set things in motion?” he asked.
“Struggling.”
“Make it work,” Wes insisted. “We need to close this case before Ava gets too far into hers. Russo will kill her if he thinks his son is going to jail. Get what we need to make sure both Carlo and his uncle spend the rest of their lives behind bars.”
“I’m working on it,” she bit out, thinking of Russo’s half-brother. The connection was almost invisible, but she’d found it, thanks to her snooping around Jericho’s office. “What about Shadow?”
“They aren’t our concern,” he said. “Let the damned secretive shifters that live there deal with it.”
“How can we, Wes?” she asked coldly. She’d seen more than enough of the behind the scenes dirt going on here in the last two weeks alone not to be so apathetic.
She’d even gone a step further to do a good deed that she knew Wes wouldn’t exactly approve of, considering the trouble it could cause if anything went wrong. She’d taken care in making sure the information got where it should be, but…
“Stay on point,” he urged in her ear. “We can’t afford to make all their problems our own.”
“They connect. Russo is the cause of the club being blown up because of the drugs. Shadow won’t take that once they realize he’s behind it.”
“Don’t tell them,” he replied. “Let them think Mallory and Sam had a hand in it.”
“No,” she snapped. “No.” Kyra liked both women too much to allow them to be accused of killing that many people, even though they were negligent in not closing the club.
“Have you even found Russo’s brother?” Wes asked in an irritated tone. “We need to expose him, or Carlo’s lawyer will find a way to cast enough reasonable doubt that Ava won’t win, and her child won’t be safe anywhere.”
“You’re playing bodyguard, that’s your problem,” she told him acerbically. “Mine is to get her what she needs. We should both just do our jobs. Good night.” She ended the call and ran her fingers through her curly locks.
Kyra climbed from the bed to close the curtains and climbed back in it right next to Claudia’s shirt.
She fought back tears as a wave of sadness washed over her. It had been a long time since she’d felt this lonely.
Chapter Fifteen
Kyra frowned at the knock on her door early the next morning. She was staring out the window of the kitchen, a pot of coffee perking as she waited for the cinnamon rolls to bake.
Before her was part of the file she’d put together on Russo’s brother. She knew where he worked, and she also knew he was a member of the Coalition thanks to the pack he’d been affiliated with.
From what she’d learned about him, he wanted to run part of the Russo empire and how better than to make his mark here. She also knew he had killed an agent, but she couldn’t prove it had anything to do with Ava’s case.
She closed the tablet and stuck it in a drawer before going to the door where a look out the peephole revealed the good-looking face of the woman she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about. After a brief hesitation, Kyra pulled open the door.
“What do you want?” Kyra asked blandly.
“Good morning, sunshine,” she said mockingly as she slid in past her.
Kyra rolled her eyes. “Come back to antagonize me some more?”
“We need to talk,” Claudia said coolly. “Good, the coffee’s on.”
“Don’t you have to work?” Work, right. She had to find some work to with the club being closed. Her cover story was taking some time to figure out what she wanted to do next.
Without a job she might look suspicious sticking around here.
“In a bit,” Claudia replied. “Right now, we have more pressing things.”
“What is this ‘we’?” she demanded and turned and led the way to the kitchen.
Claudia took a seat at the table for two while Kyra poured coffee and gathered the cream and sugar before going to the oven to remove the rolls.
“What are you going to do now that the club is closed?” Claudia asked. “You can’t just leave with a job to do.”
Kyra threw a look at Claudia over her shoulder. The woman was watching her carefully, those coyote eyes held more animal than human.
Kyra turned away to put the buns on a rack and ice them.
“I don’t know,” Kyra said finally. The case was the thing, it had to be solved, Russo and his family put behind bars.
“I have an idea or two,” Claudia told her.
Kyra wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this, but said nothing as she put a few on a plate and set that on a tray with coffee, cream, and sugar bowl. She added spoons and napkins and took that to the table.
“You don’t strike me as a runner,” Claudia murmured taking a cup from the tray and sipping from it. “You’re beautiful. You use that to your advantage along with whatever other skills you’ve developed for the job—whatever that really is.”
“So?” Kyra would call herself adaptable. She’d learned she had to be to get a job done.
“So, why not sway with the wind?”
“And do what?” Kyra added cream to her coffee and then sugar. “Being your girlfriend and living off you isn’t going to convince anyone I’m anything other than a tramp looking for a meal ticket.”
“What people think is that important to you?”
Kyra frowned. “It’s about self-respect,” she murmured. “Besides, nosy people are always looking for something to talk about and they might notice that I’m not just shopping and hanging all over you.”
“I doubt you’re even capable of that,” Claudia replied with a hint of amusement.
Kyra glared at her. “Never have been.” Because she’d never had that as a choice.
“I have a small team as mayor, but I rarely use it. My pack provides security when I feel I need it.”
Kyra frowned. “You ride a motorcycle,” Kyra said.
“This is true,” Claudia agreed. “But with everything that’s going on, a more closed fo
rm of transport with a regular driver who can kick ass might be called for. Of course, you’d share my security with a pack mate of mine.”
Kyra didn’t fear Claudia, just the price working so closely with her would exact. The attraction was already there. Both their animals knew it, and they’d be drawn to act on their animal instincts at some point.
She drew her lips into a line and averted her gaze, Claudia’s gray one probing in its calculation. Kyra picked up a sweet and bit into it.
“What? You don’t trust me?” Claudia asked sarcastically.
Kyra snorted. “Should I? I know why you’re here making this offer. I’m sure you’ve talked things over with Mallory and Sam, and you’ve all decided you’d be the better one for the job.”
“Kyra, I don’t know much about what you’re really up to, but I’m assuming having an ally amongst this town’s ranks is high on your list of things to do. You’re getting one and maybe three—three packs. You can do a lot of damage to us all if you’re the enemy.”
“I’m not here to hurt any of you,” she said.
“Then act like it,” Claudia snapped, slamming a fist on the table. “Drop the attitude and work with me. Trust for trust.”
Kyra met her gaze, the intensity of it blistering. The coyote inside her growled softly and Claudia’s eyes sparked with something she didn’t understand, as if she’d picked up the animal’s greeting on the mental plane.
That was impossible. Well, it wasn’t technically, because that was how the snow coyote and even wolves and hyenas communicated in animal form. That mental link to pack was unshakable, though they didn’t hear each other’s every thought. On the other hand, they felt the others, knew they weren’t alone.
And she missed that right down to her soul.
“I don’t want a repeat of last night,” Kyra told her.
“I told you I wanted you in my bed, but I’m not going to rape you,” Claudia told her coldly. “I don’t need to resort to force.”
“I’m not worried about rape, Claudia. I meant trying to seduce answers from me. That is a blatant violation of trust.”
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