Crowning Glory [The Royal Wolves 3] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Honor James

  Close to his ear she whispered, “You bet I am, not often do I get to rough up someone I like.” She looked at Miklos and shot him a look that begged him to say anything to her, anything at all, but when he didn’t, her gaze swung to the larger, taller man and she swore that a tree root grew there in the middle of the hall because she found herself tripping and if not for Ben catching her she would have fallen flat on her face.

  When the hell did the fallen angels get released from hell, because the man she saw made her whole body melt and his gaze was nothing short of molten, promising fire. However it was the sinful, too-sexy body and looks that had her heart thumping its own tune.

  She shoved Ben into an interrogation room and followed close behind him. “Talk to me, Ben, why did you kill those girls?” She ensured her voice was heard as she closed the door.

  Lifting a brow at that, Ben shook his head. “Keep telling you, Detective, you have the wrong guy. I’m a lover, not a fighter,” he added, unable to help himself. “Course, if you’re more interested in a loving I’m willing to forget all about this,” Ben told her, holding up his hands even as he heard his brothers outside the door. Mik was trying to get Laz to calm down and Laz was ready to shred someone. “Oh boy,” he muttered, shaking his head as they came in with the family lawyers.

  “Laz,” Miklos tried again as he also tried to stay between his brother and Desmonda. “Hey, Dessie.” He grinned at her evilly, knowing his own personal nickname for her drove her insane.

  “Do not call me that.” She growled with every bit as much fire as any female wolf would have done.

  “What the hell are you charging my brother with?” Laszlo snarled, just barely keeping from baring his teeth at the woman. Inhaling sharply, he caught her scent and felt interest peak slightly, but not enough to keep him from ripping her throat out.

  Chapter 2

  “Good morning, sir,” Craig Meyers said as he sat his briefcase on the table, ignoring the tension at the doorway.

  “Hi, Craig, sorry to get you up so early,” Ben told him as he sat. “Did Laz let you have coffee, at least?” he asked curiously.

  “Yes, sir,” Meyers told him as he sat next to him and pulled a pen and a pad of paper before closing the case and setting it down. “I had more than enough time to hit a Starbucks on the way in,” he said before looking to Desmonda. “Detective, would you care to enlighten me as to what my client is being charged with?” he asked pointedly, ignoring Mik and Laz still arguing, although they were now in a corner, Mik finally having gotten his older brother blocked there.

  “I believe that the warrant before you will spell everything out.” She stood and walked toward the door. “If you will excuse me just a moment?” she asked and without waiting, pulled the door open and slammed it shut behind her. Leaning back against it only a half a moment, she strode to the door beside it and opened it. Seeing the three men there she gestured. “Out,” she said with a growl. “No recording the lawyer with his client, dipshits.”

  When the room was empty, she took a seat at the desk and watched the attorney read the paper and look at Ben and then back at the paper. It was simple really, she had handed him the protection summons and on it had written that the station had a mole in it and his client was in danger and to trust her, as hard as that was.

  She watched him reading through the papers as Meyers looked to Ben who just rolled his eyes and nodded. Signalling to Laszlo, he passed the papers over and stopped Laszlo’s tirade to read it and then glared at his brother.

  Striding back toward the door, she unplugged the audio and moved quickly to the room. Opening the door, she once more sidestepped Gabriel, the avenging angel from hell, and moved to the attorney. “So do you think we are ready to talk bail?” She hoped like hell so because Ben needed to get the hell out of there and she needed to figure out who the hell had set him up.

  “Actually, I believe you should be releasing him on his own recognisance considering this,” Meyers said, taking the papers from Laszlo.

  “She can’t, Craig,” Ben said softly. “She needs this to proceed normally so there isn’t any suspicion,” he murmured barely audibly. “Just go with it,” he muttered, seeming to ignore the look Laz shot him.

  His lips pursed but Meyers nodded. “What do you have in mind, Detective, and please understand that if you are going to be totally outrageous about this we will have to take measures for the false arrest of my client for crimes he clearly did not commit?” he asked.

  Laz paced to Mik and eyed him. “Why are you going along with this bullshit?” he asked his younger brother in a tone intended for only the Wolves to hear.

  “Because I know where she’s going with this. Despite her opinion of me, I’m much smarter than Lassie as she continually calls me.” Mik glared at Desmonda just for the hell of it. “She may be brash, obnoxious, snotty, and an annoyance I could do without, but she’s got a plan. So just chill out, big brother,” he recommended. “You can huff and puff on the way out the door, for now just relax for the moment and pay attention.”

  “I am fine with releasing him. However I would like to request that he wear an ankle monitor, I want to be able to find him anywhere at any time.” Actually it would be her wearing the bracelet with the actual bead on it, but hell, they didn’t know that and didn’t need to. “I will keep track of him via GPS tracking and be able to find him when and where I want and need.”

  Meyers leaned in to talk to Ben and she watched as they ended up having a bit of a heated argument that ended with Meyers having a peeved expression. “My client is willing to go along with this.” The silent word “farce” was left off, but was clearly there. “As long as it’s understood that he has two stores outside of the metropolis area that he will need to be allowed access to. If it is permitted that he be allowed to attend them as per his regular schedule, he is willing to wear this…monitor.” Meyers sneered as only a lawyer could.

  “I will be back shortly with the monitor then,” she said, happy as a clam because now whoever it was that was trying to find and kill Ben would be coming right to her doorstep. Oh happy day.

  Grabbing the kit from Marcia, the Desk Sargent, she grinned. “Thanks, girl, going to go and tag me a wolf.” She winked, ensuring that everyone in the too-small department knew what she was talking about. As she walked back to the small room, she slipped the faux transmitter from her pocket and the real one into her pocket, the exchange made so smoothly no one could have caught it.

  Entering again, she looked at the large man, then Miklos. “Hey Mickey Mouse, you might want to take Pluto for a walk while I get his kid brother ready to walk.” Laszlo was making her too aware of just where he was in the room. Distraction was not something she needed.

  “Not happening, Dessie Do Right,” Miklos said right back as he eyed her. “Besides, big brother rarely if ever actually listens to us mere peons that are his younger siblings.” Elbowing his brother when he heard the growl, Mik shook his head at Laz. “Down, boy,” he murmured. “Just leash him so we can get out of here. Oh, and Harker, for whatever reason, wants to remind you that you’re supposed to be over for dinner tonight. No excuses or I finally get my wish and can shoot you.” He grinned, seemingly cheerfully, at the thought.

  Desmonda bent in front of Ben and rolled his pants leg up. “Nice gams, Benny boy,” she said with a grin up at him as she pulled his sock down and then looked at Mik. “Tell her I am up to my nose in paperwork, no dinner for the Demon tonight.” She snapped the bracelet in place, quickly using the larger man’s bulk to snap the one onto her leg too and activated it. “There we go.” She tugged his pants back down and patted his knee. “You are all leashed now, my friend, you won’t be able to go all wolfy with this on, so keep that in mind, will ya?”

  “Oh, now you tell me,” he muttered, rotating his ankle slightly. “It’s not exactly comfortable, Des,” he murmured softly to her. “And don’t think I didn’t catch that,” he added, his eyes moving to her ankle and then back to her face. �
��Or them,” he said, his eyes flickering past her to his brothers.

  “You can clip it later, Ben, when you get home all right?” she asked and grinned. “I’m baiting a hook.” She confessed and headed for the door.

  “What the hell is she doing?” Laz demanded of Miklos quietly. Getting a shrug and pointed look, he dropped it. Once they were out of there though, she knew he’d be demanding answers of his brothers.

  “All right, you know the standards, no leaving the country and keep your phone on Ben because when I need you, I will call you, all right? Give Harker my best and tell her I will be by sometime next week or so.” Normally she went every day but no way in hell would she bring whatever was about to happen to her friend’s door, she already had been through enough. “Oh, and kiss the kid for me, will ya?” Mik and Harker had adopted the cutest little girl, one that made even Desi realize how much she wanted a family.

  Miklos put a hand on her arm. “You call if you need anything, Des, I mean it,” he told her softly, looking her in the eye. “You annoy the crap out of me, but Harker would be seriously pissed if anything happened to you so call, no matter what time it is.”

  She felt Laszlo watching them and could almost sense he had an irrational urge to snarl at his brother and demand he get away from her. His face indicated it was an odd feeling, one that shook his normally calm demeanor enough that he suddenly seemed to realize that he was too much on edge.

  “I will, Mik, don’t worry about me.” She looked to Ben. “Take him home with you, he needs to be watched over, so take him home with you.” She hated to send him home with Mik but it was the safest place for him. “Watch over them, Miklos, keep them safe for me?” Because she had no damn idea what was coming for her now, but she would face it head on, just like she did everything. “Go on, I’ve got this.” She stepped away from them and bowed her head. “Gentlemen.” With that she was gone down the long hallways, knowing she would need to be in her car and leaving when they did so as not to raise suspicions.

  * * * *

  Frowning after her, Mik signalled his brothers. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” As Ben stood, Mik opened the door and walked him out to the main area to sign out as per Desmonda’s orders and instructions. Leading the way outside, Mik looked to Laz. “Meet at my place tonight,” he said quietly. “Get Janos and Kris there, too,” he murmured. “I’m taking Ben with me for now, whatever Des is up to we need to keep it going or screw it all up.” He looked to the parking lot, easily spotting her in her car.

  Nodding, Laz looked across where his brother was. “You’ll explain just what the hell all that was about, too.” It was not a question. Receiving a nod, he stepped back. “Then I’ll see you tonight boys,” he said and turned to head for his car, his day already behind because of this mess.

  “He’s going to skin her,” Ben commented idly.

  “I know,” Miklos said. “I just hope he lets me know so I can get the popcorn and truly enjoy the spectacle when it happens.”

  Looking to his brother, Benedek frowned. “You don’t think that they’re meant to be mates, do you?”

  Miklos started to choke. “Good god do you hate him that much as to saddle him with that bitch?” he asked, stunned.

  Shaking his head, Ben looked to where Des sat waiting. “No I don’t, Mik. But she’s not as bad as you seem to think she is. And I think they’d be perfect for one another,” he murmured before he shook his head again. “Never mind, get me to your place so I can get this thing off of me, will you?”

  * * * *

  She waited until they pulled away and then pulled away, too, following them for several miles before making a turn away from them. She would draw whoever it was that was pulling her chain to her and then ensure that they knew never to fuck with her, just before she killed them.

  Gone was the civilized woman and in her place was the true bitch who hated to be toyed with, jerked around, used as a pawn and given something as a puzzle to work, when the only true puzzle was who wanted him dead the most.

  Driving into the depths of the countryside to a cabin she arranged for ahead of time, she was tapping a finger on her steering wheel, completely and totally ready to kill someone.

  * * * *

  Pacing around Miklos’s living room, Laszlo listened to his brother as he detailed the plan as he’d figured it out that Desmonda was putting into play. “It’s suicide,” he finally said, stopping across from where Mik sat with Harker and their little girl who was trying desperately to stay awake. “She’s just setting herself up with no back up of any kind.”

  “She’ll call if she needs help,” Ben said, leaning back in his chair with a shrug, just glad to be rid of the damned ankle monitor, even if it had been a fake.

  * * * *

  It was hours later as she sat inside of the dark cabin. Leaning back against the seat of the couch, she closed her eyes and drifted.

  She was in a field, open and sunny. Turning her face up to the sun, she breathed in deeply, inhaling the scents around her and not even for a moment realizing she was stark naked in the dream.

  It was the feel of the grass as she lay down on her back that clued her in, but she didn’t care, it felt heavenly. The cool grass and hot sun, it was perfect. “Where are you?” she whispered, needing to no longer be alone, but afraid she always would be.

  She squinted and saw what looked like a familiar figure approaching in the distance. His face scrunched, as though to say, Well isn’t this just a fucking kick in the nuts, as the figure eyed her naked form, the sun lovingly kissing her whole length. Moving across the field toward her, she could see the figure was Laz, and he paused at her feet and stared down at her. Her eyes were mostly closed and the look on her face seemed to be heart-wrenching to him. Kneeling, he tipped his head even as he reached out to lightly touch her ankle. “Hello, Desmonda,” he said softly.

  Her eyes opened fully to see him and she smiled. “It’s the Angel who has come to kill me.” Funny she didn’t recall inviting him to her dream, but god he was sexy enough. “I knew that you were beautiful then, but for you to come into my dr—” Oh shit, she so wasn’t here and now. “You are angry right now, aren’t you, Laszlo?” Yep, she was sure that he was more than a little pissed, she wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to kill her next time he saw her. She’d kind of been hoping for this, but with someone like Benedek, definitely not the growly head of the family. Not that she’d admit that to anyone, ever. The dreaming, a place where a Wolf found his or her mate. A place to get to know one another without the masks demanded of society hiding the true person within. A place to bare one’s soul and know that you were fully, completely, and forever accepted. It was the beginning of the most delightful end, a partnership made by the fates or the universe or maybe by some god. Whatever it was, it appeared that Laszlo Farkas was her Wolf mate and she was his. Wasn’t that just a kick in the pants?

  “Pissed?” he asked and shook his head. “No, not really, confused and mildly annoyed, definitely.” Gently encircling her ankle with his hand, he rubbed his thumb along the soft inner flesh. “I’m betting that you aren’t overly thrilled to see me though, or so I’m guessing from your expression as you figured out just what this means. And since you know that means someone’s been talking out of turn and I may have to crack his head when I see him next.”

  “Then you would have to crack Harker’s head, too, because Benny isn’t the only one who told me about the dreams.” Her skin was on fire as he touched her and her panting, glazed eyes, and wet lips showed just how she was reacting. “I don’t blame you if you are pissed, Laz.” She reached out and touched him, realizing she was naked and not even caring. “But do you think that for a moment you could pretend that I could be someone you could let into your life?” If only in a dream, she wanted to feel like she belonged, if only once.

  Frowning slightly, he moved and shifted to lie at her side, resting a hand on her belly. “Why do you say it like that, Desmonda?” he asked her softly, leaning o
n an elbow so he could see all of her. Moving his hand, he touched her cheek, stroking his fingers over her soft skin before gently rubbing at her lips. “Talk to me,” he murmured gently leaning in to press his nose to her neck and inhale slowly.

  “I would rather talk about you, tell me about you? You wanted to rip my spine out through my nose, didn’t you?” She knew he had, hell 99% of the people who met her wanted to do just that, and most of them she hadn’t just arrested their brothers.

  Rubbing his cheek against hers, he closed his eyes. Her scent seemed to give him a moment of peace he’d never before experienced or, if he had, it had clearly been far too long. “You have a very annoying way about you, a style purposefully designed to get under someone’s skin and rub them the wrong way. I may still strangle you for that show, but if you get yourself killed I will be very, very angry.” Lifting his head, he stared into her eyes. “Don’t do anything to get hurt, Desmonda.” He said the words as though that would snap his very tight string of control like nothing else could. Pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth, he kissed her gently. “I want to have the chance to kiss you in reality, so no injuries and definitely no getting yourself killed, are we clear?”

  “As crystal.” She turned to him and smiled. “I want to feel again, Laz, will you help me to do that?” She felt plenty, she had more emotions hidden than anyone would ever know but they were just that, hidden. “I won’t get myself killed but it seriously pisses me off that someone is trying to use me like a puppet on a string and they have a mole inside of the police department where I am currently stationed, so I will try not to get killed and try not to get hurt.” Her fingers stroked his lips lightly until…