by Crissy Smith
“You’re lucky I love you,” Duffy told Calvin. “You always take her side.”
“Of course I do,” Calvin agreed.
“Smart ass,” Duffy teased.
Well, he’d managed to make her smile while relaxing her. Annabelle pushed off the counter and walked to join the men. Carter was farthest from her at the opposite end of the table, with Duffy and Calvin sitting on one side, leaving Logan and the chair beside him empty.
Annabelle slid into her seat and noticed Logan’s mug was about three-quarters full. Maybe he hadn’t been there long.
“The coffee should be fresh,” Logan said. “Carter and I finished off the first pot so I just made that one.”
Duffy and Calvin both had bottles of water in front of them, telling her that they’d be heading to bed soon.
She knew the routine of her family, but Logan’s she had no idea about. “Been up long?”
“Yeah,” he said leaning toward her. “I have been.”
Duffy slapped the table while chortling as she blushed at Logan’s words.
“Okay, funny guy,” Calvin said, standing and pulling Duffy to his feet. “It’s time for bed.”
“That’s what he said,” Duffy joked.
Carter groaned and Annabelle shook her head.
“You’ll have to excuse him, Agent,” Calvin said to Logan. “He’s delirious from lack of sleep.”
“That’s—”
Calvin slapped his hand over Duffy’s mouth before he’d finished his sentence.
“It’s fine,” Logan assured Calvin. “If you don’t mind giving me a call so we can discuss that other business, I would appreciate it.”
“As soon as we wake up and eat, I’ll do that,” Calvin said. He nodded at Logan before pushing Duffy into motion ahead of him.
“I’ve got work to do,” Carter stated, rising as well.
Annabelle wanted to object at suddenly finding herself alone with Logan, but Logan placed a hand on her thigh and she remained quiet.
After Carter had left the room, Logan removed his hand and wrapped it around his mug. “You looked like you were about to bolt.”
“I was considering it,” Annabelle admitted.
“Regretting last night?” he asked.
She had to think about her answer. “Yes and no,” she said.
Logan grunted. “Want to elaborate?”
How to say the words? “I’m not usually in need of saving. I don’t want you to think I’m…”
“What?” he pressed.
“Weak.” She whispered the word.
“No,” he said. “That’s the last word I’d use to describe you.”
“Really? Then how would you describe me?”
“Strong, independent, smart, resourceful.”
“You don’t even know me,” she responded.
“I should probably confess that as part of my investigation I gathered Intel on all of you that live here.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t really surprised. Mac had prepared all of them in case they ever got questioned by the cops. There hadn’t been any talk about the Coalition, but the same principle applied. She also knew what her file said about her. Mac had once given her a copy.
“Since you all did the same, I hope you’re not upset.”
“What?” Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. How had he found out?
Logan chuckled. “Carter told me. He said it was part of his job to check out anyone nosing around the town.”
“He does take his job seriously,” she hedged.
“Carter also said he gave you the file.”
“Why would he tell you that?”
“I asked,” Logan answered. “He tried to stammer out something but ended up just admitting to it.”
“Okay,” she said. “So, are you mad?”
He shook his head. “No, I would have done the same thing in your guy’s shoes. I’m a Coalition agent who shows up and starts asking questions. It’s obvious that you all have a good life here and aren’t keen on letting anyone in.”
“I wouldn’t say that. We’re not exclusive on purpose,” she corrected. “There are just not a lot of shifters who want to hang out in a territory with so many species. Some can’t handle it.”
“It’s a unique situation, but it seems to work.”
Annabelle rolled the tension from her shoulders. “It does.”
“So I’ll make you a deal,” he said.
Why does that sound dirty? “I’m listening.”
“You keep our date for the night and I’ll forget about that file you shouldn’t have.”
That was a pretty good deal. Carter knew better than to admit anything to Logan, so she’d have to find out why he had. The young shifter lied for a living and could have covered them better.
“I think Kelly will work for me,” she said. “What time?”
“Seven?”
“Okay,” she agreed. That gave her all day and most of the evening to freak out.
“I have an appointment with the sheriff I need to get to,” Logan stated. He pushed his mug away and stood.
“The hunters?” she asked.
“Yes.” Logan gripped her chin and tilted her head back, just gazing into her eyes for several long moments.
“What?” she questioned nervously.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her. But he didn’t give her time to respond before he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was soft and quick but still sent a zing of arousal through her.
“Uh,” she managed after he separated from her.
“And, Annabelle…?”
“Yes?”
“Your coffee’s gone cold.”
Chapter Six
Logan pulled in front of the Brookside sheriff’s department and let his truck idle as he looked through the blinds to see inside the small station. He spotted Magnus standing at a desk with a phone up to his ear and two other deputies working on computers.
It was a tiny place and he wasn’t sure what to think about that.
Either Brookside didn’t need a big law enforcement presence, or they were sorely underfunded. For Annabelle’s sake, he hoped it was the first. He didn’t like the idea of her having to deal with situations like the previous night if she didn’t have proper assistance.
Magnus glanced his way and nodded through the window. Logan had placed a call to his office on the short drive there to have a couple of agents come pick up the hunter Magnus was holding in custody. They were due to arrive in about an hour and half, meaning he needed to get busy so he’d be ready to transfer them over. Logan hoped that after that, Magnus might have time to talk.
Seeing Duffy and Calvin this morning had really brought home that he needed to finish his investigating, even if his gut told him that Samantha was probably better off wherever she’d disappeared to. It was time for him to do his fucking job and not think about fucking.
He’d have time with Annabelle after he had resolved his case. There was no way that he wouldn’t take the chance to get to know her better.
Logan turned the key and shut off his truck then pushed the door open. He gathered his laptop and files from the passenger seat then swung the door closed. Magnus had moved to the front of the building and waved him in as Logan approached.
“What’s going on?” Logan asked.
“If you don’t get that asshole out of my cell, I’m going to rip his throat out.”
Oh wow, I didn’t expect that answer. “What’d he do?”
Magnus ran his hands roughly across his face before he sighed. When he met Logan’s gaze, Logan saw the anger the sheriff was barely keeping locked away. “He hasn’t shut up all night. He keeps spouting off all kinds of hate.” Magnus leaned closer to Logan. “Of course, my deputies are shifters and they don’t deserve to have to listen to that shit.”
“I agree. I didn’t realize it would be so bad. He was actually pretty calm after we’d gotten the weapon away from him.”
“He stayed that way until we locked him up. After
he realized that everyone here was a shifter, he went ballistic. It’s a good thing I separated his sons from him. The guy was losing his mind and might have hurt them.”
“Are the boys still here?” Logan questioned.
“No,” Magnus said. “Even though one of them was an adult and I could have charged both with illegal hunting, I allowed their mom to come pick them up. They don’t need to be around their father right now.”
“Good,” Logan said. He didn’t have a problem with the two younger men. It was the big bald guy who needed an attitude adjustment.
“You’ll take him into Coalition custody?” Magnus asked. His hard stare dared Logan to say no.
Logan straightened his shoulders and looked Magnus in the eye. He would show no submission to the other shifter. It wasn’t in his personality and Logan also had the added law enforcement connection. Most local police didn’t like the federal government stepping on their toes. The power play could become strong between the two of them. “Yes, agents from my office are already on the way.”
Magnus relaxed and grunted.
“That’s what you want, right?” Logan checked.
“Yes,” Magnus said. “I can’t keep him long, so you take him and he’ll be your problem. I don’t want him back in Brookside ever again.”
“I can’t promise that,” Logan admitted. “We work within the laws.”
“You might not be able to promise that, but I’m going to make damn sure.” Magnus stepped forward and pulled open the door, ushering Logan ahead of him. “Let’s do this, then.”
“You can’t intimidate a suspect,” Logan said quietly.
Magnus merely chuckled. “Who said anything about intimidating?”
Logan knew he was going to have to watch the sheriff. Not that he thought Magnus would break any laws, but he might not toe the line. Logan was a by-the-book agent. He would use every resource he had against the hunter, but he would not allow any of the guy’s rights to be trampled on. “I’ll handle him.”
Instead of responding, Magnus led him to the small desk one of the deputies was seated at, working on a computer. The young officer glanced up at Logan and Logan had to keep himself from smiling. The deputy didn’t look much above the legal age. He also visibly swallowed and grew nervous as he spotted Logan.
Taking a deep breath, Logan realized that the deputy was a coyote shifter. It made sense that the deputy would be wary of him. As a large predator, Logan’s instincts would normally have him trying to intimate the weaker shifter. But Logan wasn’t ruled by those instincts. Instead, he nodded at the coyote.
“Agent Logan Coldwell,” Logan introduced. “I apologize you got stuck watching my suspect.”
The coyote peered at Magnus before addressing Logan. “It was amusing at first, but all the name calling and threats got old real fast. I’m Deputy Carl Wilson.” He held out his hand to Logan, which Logan quickly accepted and shook.
“I’ll need to know exactly what he said. If he made threats against you for being shifters, I might be able to work in some charges for a hate crime of some sort.”
Carl grinned. “I’ll write my statement.” He looked at Magnus. “With your approval, sir.”
“Yes.” Magnus patted the deputy on the shoulder. “Go ahead, Carl.”
Magnus waved at the other deputy, who ambled over with a cup of coffee in his hand. While Carl had been young, fresh-faced and fit, this second deputy was Carl’s complete opposite. With a beer gut, a receding hairline and many years on him, he didn’t appear to be able to run down a two year old, much less any criminal. “This is Deputy James Garcia,” Magnus said. “He was the one who actually got stuck with our guest all night.”
“I apologize to you as well, then,” Logan said.
James didn’t offer his hand. He just nodded at Logan. “I prefer to work the overnight desk, so it’s my own fault.” James grinned, showing stained yellow teeth. “I might not move as fast as I did in my younger days, but I can still give as good as I get.”
Logan nodded in acknowledgment. “My agents will get him out of your hair.”
“No skin off my nose,” James quipped. “It’s usually empty here at night, so at least it kept me entertained. He fell asleep a couple of times and I might have accidently dropped things waking him up.”
“Ah,” Logan mused. James had gotten his revenge the only way he could and Logan approved.
“You want to talk to the guy?” Magnus asked.
“Yes,” Logan confirmed. “I assume you ran his record for prior arrests.”
Magnus snagged a file off the desk and passed it to Logan. Logan set his own stuff down on the corner before flipping open the cover of the folder.
Leslie Compton, aged fifty-six, married with two children. Worked as a machinist in a factory about thirty miles from Brookside. Leslie had a criminal background, which didn’t surprise Logan, given Leslie’s anger issues. He’d been arrested twice for driving under the influence and had spent time in jail for a couple of bar brawls. Yeah, Leslie was not the kind of person who Logan would ever want to be friends with.
“Great guy,” he muttered sarcastically.
“You should have met his wife,” Magnus said. “He screamed at her the entire time she was getting the boys. There wasn’t anything she’d do, but he was cursing her for leaving him in. I’m more than a little worried about her when he gets out. I made a call to the local police down there.”
“Any domestic calls?” Logan asked, although he had a feeling the answer was yes.
“Several called in by a neighbor, but the wife never pressed charges. Wife always denied that her husband abused her.”
“Without any marks or a report, there’s nothing they can do,” Logan finished.
“Yep,” Magnus confirmed.
“I’ll pass that information on to my agents.”
“While you’re doing that, I’m going to call the officer I spoke with. When I told him you might be taking this guy in, they said they’d send a social worker over to talk to the wife. Maybe they’ll be able to get her to understand the danger this time,” Magnus said.
“I don’t plan on letting him out anytime soon. He’s a danger to shifters.”
“Let’s hope your agency agrees,” Magnus commented. By his tone, it sounded like the sheriff had his doubts.
Logan would have to prove to yet another person in this town that the Coalition was there to help. What is with these people? “Where do you have him?”
“This way.” Magnus jerked his head off to the side.
Logan snatched up his folders and laptop then followed Magnus down a narrow hall until they reached a locked door. Peering through, Logan saw Leslie sitting on a small bunk with his head back against the wall. Magnus unlocked the barrier and pushed it open before ushering Logan past. “I’ll just leave you to it.”
Magnus kept the door open as he walked away. Logan shook his head, but he had other things to worry about than the sheriff’s mistrust. Logan sauntered forward until he was standing in front of the cell Leslie occupied.
“About time you showed up. You can’t keep me here.” Leslie rose, glowering at him.
“Actually, I can,” Logan corrected. “You broke the law, and we’re not talking about a fist fight with another drunk. You were hunting inside federally protected lands.”
“So give me a fine and I’ll pay it,” Leslie said.
“Not going to happen,” Logan said. “I have reason to believe you knew you were shooting at a shifter.”
Leslie snorted. “Prove it.”
“I will,” Logan promised. “In the meantime, you’re being transferred into the custody of the Shifter Coalition.”
“I’m human,” Leslie argued. “You have no jurisdiction over me.”
“Wrong again.” Logan walked up to the bars and wrapped his fingers around them. “You’re looking at some serious charges this time.”
“I know people,” Leslie claimed, but he’d gone pale and Logan knew that Leslie w
as finally feeling some fear. It wasn’t even a smidge of what Annabelle had felt the night before.
“You might know the pope and it wouldn’t do you any good. We take attempted murder very seriously.”
“Murder?” Leslie’s face grew red as his anger spiked. “It was a fucking animal.”
This was the problem. Unless Logan did something, this man was never going to see any shifter as an equal. Fucking ridiculous. Annabelle had every right to go for a run in a forest where she should be protected.
“And when I talk to your kids, are they going to think you were just after an animal?” Logan questioned. He already knew the answer. The teen from the previous night had given Logan an idea of what was really going on.
“You leave them out of this!” Leslie yelled.
“I wish I could,” Logan lied. “You got them involved when you decided to take them into the woods in the middle of the night.”
“I want a lawyer!” Leslie screamed.
Logan nodded seriously. “You need one.”
He turned and walked back toward where Magnus had disappeared to. Logan couldn’t question Leslie any longer until he had representation. That didn’t matter, though. He was finished with him for the time being. He needed to write up his report and email it in.
Since he was working another case, Logan wouldn’t have to follow Leslie back to town. Instead his office would handle the charges while he concentrated on what had first sent him into Brookside.
Logan knocked on the doorjamb to Magnus’ office door. “Got a minute?” he asked.
“Sure.” Magnus nodded toward a visitor’s chair in front of him. “Have a seat.”
“Thanks.” Logan moved to sit.
“You get anything from him?” Magnus asked.
“No, but I didn’t expect to.”
“I figured,” Magnus said.
“He asked for a lawyer.”
“You going to call one for him?”
“They’ll take care of that at headquarters,” Logan replied. “It’ll take a while to get him processed, so maybe he’ll smarten up and lose the attitude.”