“I don’t care about leading the wolves,” she said. “I just want to sleep with the man who killed Rex. You have to be something to manage that.”
I really didn’t want to look at Rachel at that moment.
“Well, I had help, you know,” I said lamely.
“You can bring your werebear too.”
“Ew,” I said reflexively. I had zero interest in bedding down with Harvey in the room, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Sorry, but uh…he’s gay.”
Harvey’s head shot up so fast that his deerstalker hat nearly flew off his head. Leland gave Harvey an appraising look and nodded.
“What?” croaked Harvey.
“Nothing,” Leland stated. “I just wasn’t aware of your interest in other fellows. It has absolutely no bearing on anything, of course, I was just surprised.”
“I don’t have an interest in other fellows,” Harvey replied through clenched teeth. “He’s just saying that to get out of having to bone this chick.”
Trina gave me an irritated look. “Is this true?”
“I didn’t think he’d hear me,” I answered, wincing.
“Asshole.” Trina stood up and put her hands on her hips. “At this point, I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man on Earth.”
Then she stormed off.
That stung, and it was kind of embarrassing since everyone else in the room hadn’t likely heard the start of her interview.
Rachel was grinning from ear to ear.
“Next!”
After another ten faces and names that had no business even bothering to attempt to be the leader of this pack, I wrapped up my interviews and strode down to the center of the arena.
All eyes were on me as I prepared to announce their fate.
Nobody here really had the wherewithal to run the clan, except for Marissa. Many were strong enough, but they were too ruthless. Others would back down at the first challenge, and some had serious delusions of grandeur. I’d never understood why people tried so hard to become something they weren’t, especially when they knew they’d be miserable. Steve Austin, for example, didn’t want to be the head of the wolves. He wanted to be their main IT guy. That was it. But he couldn’t rightly say that because it’d be considered weak. Once he’d been bypassed in this little ritual, though, he’d…
I glanced up at the thought, wondering how much power I really had here.
Time to find out.
“Okay,” I called out, “listen up. I’ve interviewed all of you and I have to say that there are some pretty strong candidates in this crowd.”
I began pacing back and forth in front of the line of people.
“I’m sure most of you really want a crack at being the top dog, but I also know that you are bound to accept my final decision.”
Nobody said a word.
“Before I announce the final person, though, I would like to make a recommendation that Steve Austin be made the head of the IT department for the group.”
Steve’s eyes lit up, but I could tell he was fighting to play it cool.
There was no argument, so I went on, picking a couple of names from memory that stood out during the interviews.
“I’d also say that Clara Brown should run the weekly combat training systems, with Brett Poole as a second.
I then decided it was time to repay Trina for embarrassing me in front of all of them.
“And Trina Hudson should be in charge of janitorial.”
“What?” she shrieked.
I gave her a hard stare. It’d be the only thing hard she’d ever get from me, so I gave it to her good.
The other wolves turned to her.
Obviously, she had breached etiquette with her outburst.
“I mean,” she fought to recover, “janitorial has always been a dream of mine.”
“That’s perfect, then.” I left my eyes on hers for another few moments. “And that brings us to who should be the new leader.”
I placed my hands behind my back and surveyed them all. Marissa had to know she’d be the obvious choice, but I nodded at the main candidates a couple of times to make her feel a little less sure of her chances. By the time I had my eyes on her, I could see she wasn’t quite as confident as before.
“Now, when I make my selection, I expect everyone to respect my choice. Your rules and regulations make me the arbiter here. Don’t forget that.”
The air fell still at my proclamation.
“At the same time, I’m going to charge each of you to make sure that your leader does only what is best for the pack, and that means what is best for the community as a whole.” All eyes were on me at this point. “If your leader does anything that will bring the law down on your heads, I would wager that I have selected the incorrect person for the job, and I’d hate to have to come back here and set things straight.”
Threats. That’s how you worked with the wolves. Power and control was what they responded to. Baseless threats did nothing, but they’d seen what I’d done to Rex, so they knew I could back up my statement.
“Are there any questions?”
There were none.
“Good.” I then took a few more steps away from them, spun around, and said, “I name Marissa as your next leader.”
Chapter 28
With the wolves out of my hair, I had to deal with something even more scary: Rachel Cress.
My inner voice was yelling at me to avoid any awkward hugs and to just say “farewell” and get the hell back to Vegas. She’d left to come to London because she needed to do that. It was wrong to argue with her about it, then, and it was wrong to discuss it now.
With that in mind, I said, “We need to talk.”
Seriously, sometimes I wondered why I had internal dialog at all.
“I agree,” she said, not looking at me as we walked over toward the London PPD HQ that was nestled in a null zone behind the National Gallery gift shop. “Alone.”
Hadn’t expected that.
“Harvey,” I called up ahead as he and Leland prattled on about their various hobbies and such, “why don’t you two head back to Leland’s headquarters? Rachel and I want to have a talk.”
He gave me a wink. “You got it, Chief.”
Ugh.
“Ugh,” agreed Rachel.
Once we were free of those two, we took a seat on the stairs of the National Gallery. It was a little cold out, but not horribly so. Since it had gotten pretty late, we had a decent level of privacy.
There were tons of fire engines running around and the town was glowing near the bridges and the park.
“What do you think is going on over there?” Rachel asked, pointing.
“Simon Strong and his pal Montague are in town.”
“Ah, say no more.” She then turned and looked at me. “So, what is it you want to say?”
Yeah, what did I want to say? I missed her? I cared about her? I wanted to put Harvey back in charge of the paddy wagon so I didn’t have to deal with his oddities?
“I want you back,” was all that came out.
“On the Vegas PPD, you mean?”
“No,” I answered, “…and yes. Both.”
I could tell from the gleam in her eye that she wasn’t planning on making this easy.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Ian.”
She knew full well what I was saying, but it was no fun for her to just accept that and move on. Honestly, werewolf challenge games were easier than dealing with the likes of Rachel Cress. Yes, wolves hit harder, sometimes, but Rachel dug her nails in. Actually, I kind of liked it when she did that.
I cleared my throat.
“Okay,” I said, standing up and walking in front of her and down a few steps. I didn’t feel comfortable seated when I was going to say what I was about to say. “These last couple of months have—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, her face losing every ounce of mirth. “Please tell me you’re not going to get down on a knee, Ian. I’m
not ready for that.”
“Neither am I,” I breathed in horror as my libido passed before my eyes.
She grimaced. “You don’t have to act like it’s the worst thing imaginable, either. Sheesh.”
“Sorry, but both of us are way too young for that level of commitment.”
“I’m not,” she replied, clearly speaking from the position of maturity.
“Fine, but I am.”
I let out a long breath. If we were never going to tie the knot, why should I bother to tell her how I felt? Then again, our kind didn’t get married anyway. It just wasn’t the way things went.
“Well,” I said, building up my courage, “you know what I am. I can’t help being that.”
“A perv, you mean?”
“Sure,” I deadpanned.
“I know you can’t help it,” she remarked without inflection. “I also know you don’t have to flaunt it as much as you do. But you may recall that even when we were together, back in the day, we both continued playing the field.”
I blinked at her. “I didn’t.”
“Sure, you did,” she said with a laugh. “Remember—”
“No, I didn’t.”
The blood drained from her face. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Remember, I’m very loyal when I make a commitment, Rachel.”
“Huh.”
“Apparently, you’re not as loyal.”
“It’s just that I thought we…”
I just shook my head at her as she trailed off.
“And you call me a perv.”
“You are.”
“Seems you’re more of one than I am, Rachel.”
Her arms uncrossed as mine crossed, signaling that the tables had turned. I wasn’t one who got all clingy when I was in a committed relationship, but if I was willing to turn off the hose—uh-hem—then I expected the same in return.
“Sorry,” she groaned. “I thought for certain you were playing around, too.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t.”
Part of me wanted to keep this angst going on, but that was years ago and this was a new day…or night, anyway. The point was that I wanted her back as my partner, but I also wanted us to give things a shot. A real shot. Not a married-level shot, but a real shot nonetheless.
I waved a dismissive hand. “Forget about all that. The fact is that I want you back as both my partner on the Vegas PPD and as my girl.”
“Your girl?”
“Don’t take that as me being a chauvinist, Rachel. You know I don’t mean it that way.”
It was apparent that she was fighting to contain her response. At least that was something.
Finally, she glanced away. “Me too,” she mumbled.
“What?” I choked out, not sure I’d heard what I thought I heard.
“Me too,” she said more loudly, looking up at me. “I want to come back, too.” Then she rolled her eyes and added, “And I want to be ‘your girl.’” She actually put that last part in hand quotes.
“Seriously?”
She got up and wagged a finger at me. “Don’t make me say it again, Ian. I swear I’ll kick you in the balls.”
I smiled.
“Okay, but we have a few logistical issues to sort out here.”
“Leland, Harvey,” she rattled off as she headed down the stairs past me, “and the fact that you’re the chief and I’m your subordinate.”
“Exactly.”
We started walking over to the London PPD. I took her hand in mine. It felt odd. Right, but odd. She didn’t fight my holding her hand, which was a good sign.
“I can put Harvey back on handling jail pickups for now,” I said. “He’s been a decent partner, but I never expected it to be permanent. I was just hopeful that you’d eventually come back.”
“He’ll probably take it hard,” she said. “He seems kind of sensitive.”
“I know.” It was true, too. Harvey would see it as me dumping him. I’d have to let him down easy. “I’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll put him with Serena or something.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to go over well.”
I laughed. “True.”
“As for Leland,” Rachel said, “I doubt he’ll have any issues with it at all. He’s one of those who feels that ladies are meant to fall before him and grovel at his feet.”
“Yeah, he does seem to have a James Bond vibe going on.” I thought back to a few of the movies I’d seen. “At least Bond respected the level of strength women have.”
“Oh, so does Leland,” Rachel noted a moment later, “especially after I punched him in the gut when he told me he’d handle all the thinking during our time together.”
“Ouch.”
“Don’t worry, he’s changed a lot since Bellows made us partners.”
We stopped just inside the null zone before stepping inside.
“As for me being the chief, Rachel, we’ll just have to agree that we’re all business when on duty. I promise I won’t treat you any differently than I do anyone else.”
She nodded. “Fair enough. And I promise this time to actually be loyal. Again, I didn’t know that you—”
“That’s old news,” I interrupted. “I’ll let it go and so should you.”
“Works for me.”
“One thing, though…” I said as we walked inside. “How do you feel about valkyries?”
Chapter 29
Chief Bellows was seated in his office, looking as grumpy as the first time I’d seen him. It made me wonder if the man even remembered how to smile. Looking at him, you’d find it hard to imagine he’d ever even learned how to do it in the first place.
Harvey and Leland were already there when we walked in.
“Good to have you back, Officer Cress,” Bellows said in his gruff voice.
“Thank you, Chief,” Rachel replied, showing him a level of respect I never got.
Bellows then motioned at Harvey and Leland. “Seems we have another problem here, though.”
“What’s that?” I asked before Rachel could.
“Uh, Chief,” Harvey coughed, “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way or anything, and I really don’t want to hurt your feelings. You’ve been great. Honestly. Just great.” He was shifting around and babbling. “You helped me out of a bad situation with Matilda, and—”
“Who’s Matilda?” said Leland.
“My wife,” Harvey answered. “She’s in prison, though. Long story. I’ll tell you later.”
“So you’re really not gay?”
“No, I’m not gay,” Harvey said, and then looked at Bellows. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay.”
Bellows’ eyes darkened. “Why are you looking at me when saying that? Are you implying something?”
“No, not at all, Chief Bellows.” Harvey was clearly beside himself now. “I was just making sure you were clear that I wasn’t one of those prejudiced types!”
“Oh, right,” Bellows said, coughing.
“Harvey,” I coaxed, “get on with what you were saying, will you?”
“It’s just that…” He trailed off and then took a deep breath. “It’s just that I think it’d be better if I worked with Leland. He and I complement each other’s skills really well. I’m a good fighter and he’s horrible at it, but he’s a great shot and I just don’t have a steady enough hand for it.”
“I’m not that bad at fighting,” Leland argued.
“You’re terrible,” Rachel stated with a laugh. “Sorry, Leland, but if it weren’t for my magic protecting you over these last couple of months, you’d be either in the hospital or the morgue. You’re great with a gun, but you couldn’t win a fight against a punching bag.”
Leland frowned in a pouty way.
“Anyway,” Harvey continued, “I’m kind of getting this feeling like you’re going to ask Rachel to come back to the PPD, so…” He must have caught the fact that Rachel and I glanced at each other because he got very smiley. “I knew it! Well, I think tha
t’s great, but it leaves me stuck running the bad guys back and forth to the holding cell. That was cool at the start, but now that I’ve been on the beat for a while, I can’t go back to doing that, you know?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “I get it.”
“So what do you think?”
“It’s not up to me, Harvey,” I said, tilting my head toward Chief Bellows. “It’s his precinct.”
Bellows harrumphed and started in on cracking his knuckles. This guy seriously needed some laughing gas or something.
Finally, he looked at me and said, “And I don’t suppose you have the room or the budget in the Vegas PPD for these two, right?”
“Sorry, Bellows,” I replied truthfully. “I really don’t. My jurisdiction is tiny compared to yours.”
He grumbled something under his breath as he looked around his desk.
“All right, all right,” he said as he pointed sternly at Harvey, “but you’re going to treat me with respect, young man. If you ever threaten to shove me into a bin again, I’ll have your balls for supper.”
I grimaced at that visual. “Why would you want to eat his balls for supper?”
“Agreed,” Leland stated with equal disgust. “That’s rather disturbing, sir.”
“I don’t mean it literally, you idiots! It’s just…” He paused, his face red as an apple.
“I know what you mean, Chief,” Harvey spoke up firmly, “and you’ve got my word that I won’t do anything like that. I only did that before because Chief Dex was my chief at the time…sir.”
The implication there was that if Bellows brought Harvey onboard, the werebear would be willing to snap me in two and shove me in the trash.
That was a lovely thought.
“All right, then,” Chief Bellows said, putting his hands up slightly. “Nobody else wants to work with Leland anyway, so he’s all yours.”
“That’s great,” Harvey blurted while doing a mini fist-pump. “And don’t worry, Chief,” he added as he looked back at me, “if you ever need me for anything, I’ll be there for you. Like I said, you helped me out a lot and I owe you for that.”
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