Surprise Mating
Page 15
However, since Captain Doyle believed that this was a serial killer moving from New York to Atlanta, she had to go. Now with this third murder here in Atlanta, the press would be all over it. And she was going to have to be front and center, damn it, she thought. They were going to make her cut her hair and wear something business-like instead of her standard jeans and t-shirt.
Shaking off her thoughts, Jewel walked over to the table with the victim and started taking pictures. She reached out and touched the arm of the victim. It was only a light touch to the arm. She was trying to see if you could get a vision.
It was as if she went back in time. She could see the victim lying on the table. She was talking to somebody. It looked like she said, “We had a good time, but this is going too far” but Jewel had a hard time reading the girls lips. She couldn’t hear the other voice, it was muffled, but she could feel the woman’s fear from whatever he said.
Jewel watched as the tape went over the victim’s mouth. She made a note to see if the tape was left behind. Fuck, she was terrified, the woman felt confused and scared, why was he doing this?
Then the women struggled, trying to get loose. This could not be happening to her, she had just been out for a little bit of fun and ended up here. What the hell was going on?
Jewel observed two hands reach up and touch the woman’s legs then she was pulled closer to the end of the table. She couldn’t see anyone’s face but the woman’s, but the blurred movements showed the man’s arms, she studied his skin, the way his hair was shaved off his forearms.
What Jewel saw next pissed her off. She watched a hand reach up to the woman’s stomach, then turn into claws. The claws slit the woman’s stomach in two. Jewel flinched as she could almost hear the rip of the flesh, it disturbed her.
The vision stopped before Jewel could see anymore. She knew the suspect was a male, because of the semen in the victims. Now she knew that the suspect was a wolf as well. This changed everything.
If humans found out that a wolf shifter killed the victims, it would change everything as they know it. Humans didn’t know about shifters. If they did then shifters would be put into cages and experimented on. The Elders had seen it in the past when someone found out about them, they were treated like freaks, so they went into hiding, making sure never to reveal their shifter side. A killer among them could be disastrous.
This man was smart. He never left a print or hair. Now Jewel was glad that he didn’t leave any hair. How could she explain if a wolf’s hair was found at the scene? The visions were always the same; she could only see so much of what happened. They needed more information. Jewel was getting frustrated quickly with her gift, and with the torture the victims were going through, it pissed her off.
Excerpt from Boots, Chaps, and Cowboy Hats
Taming Team Ten Book One
By Jana Leigh
“Hey,” the large man who was driving said. “We are supposed to meet the foreman of the ranch.”
Slone grinned and looked at the men who were slowly lining up. Alex was slow to get there but ended up at the end of the line. Slone walked to him with a grin and held out his hand. “Alex, welcome home.”
Alex looked up stunned, and then he recognized his childhood friend and grinned. “Slone?”
“Yeah, I am your knew foreman, in charge of teaching you SEALs how to be cowboys,” Slone said with a chuckle and Alex grabbed his hand and did the one arm hug.
“Shit, man, I was gonna call you when I settled in. The dads said you were somewhere in Wyoming, I figured we could meet up. This is awesome, they didn’t tell me,” Alex said with a laugh.
“When they called me, I said I would be honored to help out, quit my job and hightailed it here. I beat you by a week,” Slone said and looked down the line at the rest of the men. “Hey, I am Slone Brate, the new foreman of the Second Chance Ranch, and you are Thane, Gage, Mason, Drake, Jessie and of course, Alex,” he said, naming each of the men correctly.
“Stalker?” Jessie asked and looked at him suspiciously.
“No,” Slone laughed. “Just making sure I know who I am supposed to be teaching. Dallas and Noah filled me in.”
LC stepped forward and held out his hand. “Yep, you can call me Thane.”
The others did the same and Alex felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His friend would help teach them ranching, and the men could decide if this was what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, or if they just wanted a piece of land to retire on. With their VA retirement for medical reasons, they were able to at least have some money coming in to help pay for things, and since none of them had lived in the country in the last few years so their pay had stacked up to a nice tidy sum.
“The big house has enough bedrooms for all of you,” Slone pointed. “Let’s get you settled and then we can talk, then I can give you a tour of the ranch and we can start first thing in the morning.
All of them nodded and looked around curiously but followed Slone into the large house. There was an older woman and man in the foyer waiting for them. They all looked at Alex who shrugged.
The woman smiled and with tears in her eyes, she walked to each of them and hugged them saying as she did, “I am Louise, the cook and housekeeper, and this is my husband, Timothy, who is a handyman and wrangler that is going to help you out. Welcome home, and I am so happy you are all here, if you need anything you tell me. Now, I have a nice pot roast and potatoes, green beans and a nice chocolate cake for you. When you are ready, come down, and I will get your favorites written down.”
The men looked stunned and accepted the woman’s hug, and then mumbled in return. They weren’t quite sure what to do about this show of emotion. It just wasn’t what they were used to.
“Thanks,” Alex said and looked down to the floor.
Her husband walked up, stuck out his hand, and said gruffly, “Welcome.”
Alex looked at the older man warily and shook his hand. It was firm, and the look of understanding crossed the older man's face and Alex looked at the others as they followed, and he saw the kindred spirits all relax with the man's handshake. This was the right move. Alex knew it.
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