by T. S. Ryder
"You look like the biblical forbidden fruit," Levi told her as soon as she stepped into the restaurant where they had agreed to meet. His gaze ran over her greedily. "I didn't think you were going to call me. It's been two weeks."
"I've been busy," she said, not meeting his gaze. Busy trying to think up a way to do as Smith ordered without actually abusing Levi's feelings for her. "Anyway, want to sit down?"
Levi tucked her arm into his and led her to a corner booth. It was relatively shielded from the rest of the restaurant, which was a relief. Already people were giving the two of them knowing glances, and she knew what they were thinking. Looking at Levi, though, she could tell he was thinking something very similar and she felt her body flushing.
"So, how have you been? Found a place for your bakery yet?"
"Um, yeah, I have." It was only just sinking in how long she was expected to stay here, undercover. And she didn't know the first thing about running a bakery. Why had Smith given her this as her cover? "It's this great little place. I can't wait until it's up and running."
"I'll be your first customer. Which reminds me. We're having a community clean-up here soon, and it'd be great if you could come help out. I think it would be good for you to get your business name out, too," Levi added. He pulled a crumpled paper from his pocket. "Here's all the info you need."
"It looks great. I'll be there." She tucked the flyer into her pocket. "So, is this something you've organized?"
Levi beamed. "Yeah. At first I thought it was stupid, but Steven's promised to let me do more pack-related stuff if I do a good job on this, so I'm going to make it work. I'm tired of being the Beta that doesn't do anything. Steven thinks I'm not responsible enough, but he's never given me a chance… but that's not first date talk. Or is this a second date?"
He grinned at her and waggled his brows, making everything tighten and heat inside of her. Lucy gulped down some water.
"So… I found out that that realtor that I was seeing to help me with my bakery wasn't a realtor at all," she blurted. "Turns out he was actually an undercover cop. I saw it in the newspaper."
Levi's grin faded. He turned slightly and nodded. "I know. It's hard to imagine. But if you think that's a shock, I found out that my brother knew he was undercover the whole time."
Lucy jolted. Her eyes widened before she could stop herself. She stared in shock at Levi. Did the Alpha have Knox killed because of his investigation? The server came for their orders, but Lucy sent her away, telling her she needed a few more minutes to decide what to eat. Her throat dried and she felt sick. But she had to know more.
"Your brother knew he was an undercover cop?"
"Yeah. Cops, they're always assuming that we're crooks."
Lucy flinched. She hoped Levi hadn't noticed.
"We're a pack, but they act like we're a gang. You don't see people treating Wolves this way… but I guess since Wolves tend to live out in the country, keeping to themselves, instead of occupying their own territory even after humans built skyscrapers on it… Well, whatever." Levi shrugged. "We're not Wolves, and it's useless comparing us to them. But anyway, apparently there's this one cop that Knox and Steven were investigating together. Someone who is pushing drugs into pack territory."
If the news that the Alpha knew Knox was an undercover cop was shocking, this was even more so. Lucy's heart hammered. "How do you know?" she stuttered.
"Steven told me. After I wanted to egg the investigating detective's car… Well, I thought I'd driven out all the drug dealers. I harassed them enough that they stopped hanging around, but it seems I wasn’t as successful as I thought." His eyes burned. "I want to go after this guy, make him stop. But Steven wants me to lay low. He thinks Knox was killed by the dirty cop."
Was this the truth, or was her cover blown? Lucy shuddered. "I hate to think that the police would do something like that. They're supposed to be the ones protecting us. Are you sure that's what's going on? It wasn't a gas leak or anything?"
Levi shrugged. "Steven doesn't think so. But that's enough of that dreary topic. What looks good?"
He focused on his menu, but Lucy couldn't take her eyes off him. If they knew she was a detective, then telling her about a supposed dirty cop that Steven and Knox were looking into together was a red herring. But if her cover was intact… Well, that was another thing she would keep looking into, along with the drugs.
And if her cover was intact, she would have no problem believing what Levi had just told her, about the fact that he fought against the drug dealers that tried to sell on his territory. If that was true, then he had done more for the people around her than the cops… and yet, she was investigating him.
A sudden burst of nausea had her choking back bile. She clapped a hand to her mouth, gripping the tabletop. Her stomach clenched. She bolted from the booth to the bathroom. She didn't even have time to close the door behind herself before everything was coming out of her mouth. The missile just barely made it to the toilet. Lucy bent over. Sweat beaded her forehead as her body heaved.
"Lucy?" Levi followed her into the bathroom.
His hands laid on her shoulders, and Lucy was about to swat them away when he gathered her hair up out of her way. Just in time for another missile of vomit. Holding her hair with one hand, he closed the door with the other. Lucy collapsed to her knees, and Levi rubbed her back soothingly.
This was not the way most guys acted on a first date. Tears burned her eyes. He was exactly the kind of guy she always wanted. And when he found out about her lies, he'd never forgive her.
By the time she had stopped vomiting, Lucy was pale and clammy. She stayed on the floor, the world spinning around her. Eventually, she glanced up at Levi and smiled weakly. "Guess I ate something bad."
"Uh… Maybe." Levi winced. "Remember when I said chances of you being pregnant were slim?"
Lucy stared back at him. Something curled in her stomach, and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick again. "Are you suggesting that I'm pregnant? Pregnancy sickness doesn’t do this. This is food poisoning or fever or something. Not pregnancy."
"You smell pregnant." Levi ran some cool water over a paper towel and passed it to her. "I'm… not sure what to do now."
"I'm not pregnant."
"You are." Levi's eyes were wide, his expression shell-shocked. The same as Lucy felt. This could not be happening. The shifter knelt beside her. "Look, how about we make sure? We'll go to the drugstore for a pregnancy test and then back to my apartment. Because if you're pregnant, there are certain things you need to know about human-Coyote pregnancies."
Lucy shook her head, wanting to reject everything he was saying. But she had to know for certain, and going to his apartment would help with her investigation, so she closed her eyes and nodded. "We can do that. Let's go."
***
Pregnant.
Lucy sat in the clean but small bathroom in Levi's apartment, her eyes closed. The used pregnancy test was in the garbage beside the toilet. She wasn't sure what was worse, the fact that she was pregnant after a one-night stand (is it a one-night stand if there is another date?) or that she was pregnant with a suspect's baby.
She had always wanted kids. Before she decided to be a cop, her greatest dream was to be a stay-at-home mom with half a dozen children running around. But she had always thought it would happen in a certain order. Love, marriage, etc. Not like this.
Levi knocked at the door. "Lucy? Are you okay in there?"
"Fine," she called back. Her voice caught.
Even if this was completely unplanned, she could have been happy. Ecstatic. She had a good amount of money saved, and even moving to a new division in the precinct wouldn't be so bad as long as she had a reason for wanting it. A baby was that reason. And she'd already made up her mind that she was keeping the baby.
But what would she tell her child when they asked who their father was?
Lucy stared at the supplies she had found under the bathroom sink. Levi had all the co
mponents to create mercury fulminate. And mercury fulminate was a common component to many bombs. As of that moment, he wasn't just a suspect in a pack-run drug ring.
He was also the prime suspect for the murder of Aaron Knox.
Chapter Five – Levi
Lucy's face looked rather green, but that was understandable. Coyote shifter pregnancies, even when one of the parents was human, progressed differently than human pregnancies.
For starters, the gestation period was typically only sixty-three to seventy days rather than nine months. It didn't give her much time to come to terms with the accidental nature of the pregnancy. And then, even after the birth, the baby – or babies, as Coyotes often had multiples – would take another two months to fully develop. When they were first born they were small, weighing only a few ounces, with their eyes and ears still shut. They would need a warm, safe place to continue growing until they were at the typical human newborn stage. After that, they aged like humans, but getting there would be difficult.
Levi squeezed Lucy's hand, smiling at her. She didn't return the smile, instead turning away from him. It must be that she was feeling sick, although she often seemed to be in this shell-shocked state lately.
"I don't know if this is the best time for me to meet the rest of the pack," Lucy said as he pulled her down the cracked sidewalk to the large warehouse that doubled as the pack's best nightclub.
Brightly colored lights spilled from the warehouse door, and the percussive music already made Levi want to dance. But he forced himself to stop and turn to Lucy, knowing he needed to listen to her worries and reassure her. It was part of being a responsible mate and father, after all.
"What's wrong?" He smoothed her hair from off her face. "Is it the noise?"
"No."
Levi frowned for a moment. "This is supposed to be the celebration for our successful neighborhood cleanup. You can see how much better everything looks. The litter's all gone, and we've painted fences and buildings. Look, over there! Flowers! This is the first great thing I've accomplished in my life, and I want you to be a part of it. But if you want to rest, I can take you to my apartment—"
Lucy shook her head. "No. Let's just go in. You wanted to introduce me to your brother, anyway."
"I did." Levi squeezed her hand again and led her in.
Even though they had been seeing a lot of each other for almost two weeks now, she had resisted getting closer to his family. They had spent a lot of time together, though. Most of the time they had spent cleaning up the space she rented for her bakery. She told him about her parents while they scrubbed down the walls. He in turn answered all her questions about the pack while they swept the floor. Almost every day they spent the whole day together, working. At night they often watched a movie and had dinner together at her apartment until she told him it was time to go.
During that time, they only rarely kissed, at Lucy's insistence. She wanted to get to know him better without hormones getting in the way. When he invited her to the party, he was afraid she was going to say no. But she was there, and they entered the warehouse holding hands.
The great thing about this place was that it was huge, and the whole pack could fit inside with only minimal bumping into each other. A buffet-style bar was set up along the far wall with various refreshments like cake, chips, and pizza. Garbage bags were hung up along the walls. Levi scanned the room and soon found Steven on an upper balcony. He led Lucy through the crowd to the stairs. As the climbed up, Levi frowned. These things had some rust on them… repairs were necessary.
"Maybe my next project will be a community improvement fundraiser," he mentioned off-hand. "Get stuff fixed up around here."
Lucy didn't reply.
The balcony space was less crowded than down below. Steven leaned on the edge, looking over the pack with a worried expression. Heather and several others chatted while swaying to the music. Levi pulled Lucy over to his brother, beaming. Whatever Steven was worried about – and he was always worrying – could wait. Now was a time of celebration!
"Steven, I want you to meet Lucy," Levi said, raising his voice to be heard over the din. "Lucy, this is Steven. He's my brother and Alpha of the Coyote pack."
Lucy's smile was clearly strained. "Pleased to meet you."
"And you." Steven shook Lucy's hand, doing just as poor a job at looking happy.
Levi frowned between the two of them. What was going on? His brother and his mate had to get along… Life would be miserable otherwise. He cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. "Lucy's pregnant. I mean, we all knew that already, but I was thinking that I should take her to the shifter Hospital. Human Hospitals don't have the equipment and knowledge to treat us properly," he added for Lucy's sake. "And—"
"I need to talk to you." Steven grasped Levi's elbow. "Heather, can you come stand with Lucy for a moment?"
Heather moved over to Lucy. Good, that would help. Both were human with Coyote mates, after all. Steven dragged Levi down the rusty stairs and out the back door. There, the Alpha turned to him with such a serious expression Levi wanted to laugh.
"Levi, she's not your mate."
"What?" Levi scoffed. "Of course she's my mate. She's pregnant and I'm the father."
Steven shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That means nothing to her. You have to remember that humans operate by different rules than Coyotes. Even among us, a female getting pregnant by a male doesn't mean that they'll stay together. And humans… They like to take things slow. How long have you even known this girl?"
"I dunno… A month? Thirty-two, thirty-three days. Does that really matter?"
"Of course it matters!" Steven threw his hands into the air. "You know how long I was with Heather before she decided that we were meant to be together."
Levi scowled. "I have no intention of waiting around for six months. Lucy is pregnant, she has to know we're mates by now. Besides, most mates know each other right away."
"Not humans. That's what I'm trying to say. You can't just assume she's on the same page as you are. You have to keep your emotional distance, otherwise, your heart is going to be ripped out and stomped all over."
"Sure. Fine, whatever." Levi rolled his eyes. Steven always thought he knew best. Not in this case. Lucy was his mate. "I'll keep my emotional distance. But since we're talking, do you know anything more about the dirty cop pushing drugs into our territory."
Steven sighed. "Not yet."
Levi scowled. "Okay. Okay, I've done it your way so far. I've been a model citizen and haven't gotten involved. But this needs to end, Steven. If you don't let me help protect the pack, I'll go rogue. If you want me to stay within your lines, then give me something to do that will drive this guy out by the morning."
"It's not that—" Steven cut himself off. "You know what? You're right. I have not been utilizing your strengths enough. Tomorrow morning, we will discuss what you can do."
"Good." Levi embraced his brother, then pounded his back. "Now let's get back to the party. The pack is waiting for us."
"The pack or Lucy?"
Levi ignored him. He was too pleased that his brother was finally going to accept his help to pay much mind to his paranoid ramblings about Lucy. Of course she was his mate. It was ridiculous to think anything else.
He quickly returned to the balcony and made a beeline for Lucy. She was standing little ways from the others, her cellphone pressed to her ear. Her face was white.
"But—" she cut herself off when Levi got closer. She swallowed. "Yes, sir."
She hung up the phone and turned away from him. Levi sidled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her lightly on the neck. She shivered and leaned in against him like she always did, but she quickly pulled away. Her hand pressed to her mouth as she looked at him.
"Levi, you have to get out of here."
"What?"
"Look, there's no time to explain. But if you want to help your pack—"
"Slow
down!" He reached for her, but she pulled away. "Lucy, what's wrong?"
Even as he spoke, the lights blinked off. The music cut out. The doors to the warehouse burst open. Dozens of people dressed head to toe in black body armor rushed in, holding assault rifles at the ready. They began shouting for people to drop to the floor, shining flashlights in their eyes. Levi ran to join Steven. Lucy reached for his arm, and he pulled her behind him.
Steven's voice rang out over the screams from down below. "What is going on here?"
The rifles were pointed in their direction. A dozen men hurtled up the steps. Levi snarled, standing protectively in front of Lucy while Steven shielded Heather. Giant white letters spelling 'Police' were splashed across their vests. He rolled to the balls of his feet, preparing to attack if necessary.
"On the floor!" one of the men shouted, shoving his gun into Levi's face. "Now!"
Steven made a twitching move, as though he wanted to punch the guy's lights out. Levi watched his brother. His own body burned with the desire to defend his pack from this threat, but he would follow Steven's lead. Even though there was still shouting going on, echoing in the warehouse, the whole pack had their eyes on Steven, waiting.
The Alpha swallowed hard. "Do as they say."
It went against all of his instincts, but Levi followed Steven as he knelt on the floor. Two of the cops grabbed him, pulling his arms behind his back. Levi snarled as they cuffed him.
"Thought you were clever, eh? Thought you could get away with it?"
Was that Moose's voice? What was he doing in a raid? From the corner of his eye, Levi saw Steven being cuffed as well. They were dragged to their feet and propelled down the stairs. A snarl burst from his chest as Heather and Lucy, both cuffed, were pulled after them.
Red and blue lights flashed outside. Levi was hustled towards a black van. He dug in his heels, trying to swivel to find Lucy.
"Not her," a voice rang out.
Levi threw himself to one side, dropping to the ground. Relief burst over his heart as Lucy was pulled out of the line and her handcuffs removed. She bit down on her lip as she met his eyes. Guilt was written all over her face. The man standing beside her clapped her on the shoulder.