Lawman Lion: BBW Lion Shifter Paranormal Romance

by Zoe Chant

  “What will you do now? How can we handle this?” Charity asked him.

  Mason shook his head. “I’m going to do what I should have done in the first place,” he said. “I tried to do this the nice way. I gave Jessup every chance to be decent and give up whatever he was trying to do here. Now, I handle things the way I should have from the very beginning.”

  Charity grew a little wary. She didn’t especially like the sound of this. “What does that mean?” she asked.

  Mason glanced down at her, expression grim. “It means I should challenge him – the shifter way.”

  “Challenge him?” Charity said, feeling fear rising in her chest. “You mean, to a fight?”

  Mason nodded. “It’s the shifter way – you have a beef with someone, you hash it out like this, out in the open, winner takes all. If I win, I can order Jessup and his crew out of Coldstream County – for good.”

  Charity bit her lip. It sounded good – in theory. She’d seen Mason’s hulking lion form, and she had no doubt he could win any fight he was in. But… “That would solve our problem,” she said, crossing the room to sit down on the rumpled bed. “But what’s to say that the Reapers won’t just do the same thing all over again in the next county they come to? Sure, they’d be out of our hair, but I don’t really like the thought of turning them loose on someone else. There must be some way we can get rid of them. For good.”

  Mason nodded. “You’re right. And I think we can do both. We have Casey’s evidence, now. I’m sure Jessup chose him because he’s my cousin – just another way to try to compromise me. But it won’t work. He thinks I’ll back down, or that you’ll be frightened enough to just hand over the diner to get rid of him. Let’s show him just how wrong he is.”

  Despite the situation, Charity couldn't stop a small smile from tugging at her lips. Mason sounded so damn confident that it was hard not to believe things really would turn out just as he said they would. “All right,” she agreed. “So how do we do this?”

  Mason sat down next to her, rubbing his fingers over the stubble that had sprung up on his chin overnight. If anything, it made him look even more manly and rugged – something that Charity hadn’t even thought possible. It was only with some effort that she was able to pull her mind back to the problem at hand, rather than letting it drift away into all the things she wanted to do with him right now.

  “There has to be something we can do that means we can get him – both under shifter law and human law,” Mason said.

  “I don’t know a lot about shifter law,” Charity said. “But maybe I can help out as a human. Casey’s already said he’ll give evidence – that has to count for something.”

  “It’ll count for a lot,” Mason said. “But I’ll need to make sure there’s evidence other than just Casey’s say-so. It’s a problem he’s my cousin, and I'm sure any lawyer Jessup gets will make that clear to the jury. We need something else.”

  Charity nodded. An idea had started to form in her mind, but she doubted that Mason would like it much. “We could try to trap him. Trick him into admitting he had something to do with the drugs.”

  Mason was watching her closely. “We could,” he said. “But he’s smarter than that – he’s not going to tell me anything.”

  “No. Of course he wouldn’t talk if you’re there,” Charity admitted. “But he might slip up with me.”

  Mason sucked in a surprised breath. “Charity, what are you thinking about doing? You know I won’t let you put yourself in danger –”

  “I won’t be in danger,” she said. “Not when I have you to protect me. But we have to get the goods on Jessup somehow, don’t we? And if Casey’s evidence alone might not be enough to do it, and if we know he’ll just move somewhere else and try all this on again even if you can make him leave the county, then this might be the only way.”

  Mason frowned, looking away from her. Just as she’d known, he didn’t like the way she was thinking one little bit.

  “Look,” Charity said, softening her voice a little and placing her hand on his arm. “I’ve been looking after myself for a long time now. I was standing up to Jessup and the Reapers for weeks by myself. I can handle myself with them. Let me go to him. I’ll tell him I give up – he can have the diner. I’ll say Lincoln pulled you into line, and he’s forcing you to do what he says. I’ll tell him I’m sick of fighting him, and I’ll take his money. He'll think he’s won – but all the time, I’ll be recording our conversation. I’ll get him to say whatever he needs to say to get a conviction.”

  Mason was silent for a while, clearly thinking the plan over. “You were right when you said I wouldn’t like it,” he said, turning to look at her. “I hate the idea of sending you in there alone to deal with those guys. But you’re also right when you say we’re running low on other options.” He sighed. “Isn’t there another way?”

  Charity shook her head. “I know it’s risky, but remember that Jessup is my problem too. I want to play my part in bringing him down. And I really feel like this is something he would believe: I go to him, and tell him I’m ready to sell the diner to him. I’m the only one who could do it. If you go, he'll know something’s up right away.”

  Mason nodded. “Especially since I got him nice and angry last time I went round to warn him off. But he’d already set his plans to plant the meth in motion then. It wouldn’t have mattered what I said. It was already done.”

  They sat together in silence for a while, Charity’s hand resting on Mason’s arm. After a short time, he covered it with his own, before leaning over to press a warm kiss to her forehead.

  “I might not like it, Charity, but I trust you can handle yourself. I know you’re not a shrinking violet, but you won’t take any unnecessary risks. And I’ll fit you with a wire myself – and I’ll be waiting close by in case things get ugly. Even if I can convince my human side to let you do this, my lion won’t like it at all. I’m sure he’ll be prowling around, restless as hell, asking me why I’ve let this happen.”

  Charity laughed. “You make the lion sound like it’s a separate part of you.”

  “In a way, he is,” Mason said, smiling. “I just choose which part I want to come forward at a particular time. But the lion’s always there, giving me his opinion, whether I want it or not.”

  “I suppose I can see how that works,” Charity said. “It must be strange.”

  “I guess I don’t know any different,” Mason said. “To me, it seems odd not to have it – not to be able to shift if you need to, or have a lion there to check your instincts with. If I’m unsure about something, I can always bring the lion out, get him to sniff the air, check for danger.”

  “That sounds amazing,” Charity said, a little wistful. “I wish I had something like that.”

  “It would definitely make me feel a little better about sending you into Jessup’s place, knowing you could shift,” Mason admitted. “But we’ll work with what we have. I’ll be close by. Everything I said about protecting you and not letting Jessup hurt you is still true, and it seems like you’re determined to do this.”

  Mason looked at her a moment, and Charity could see the faint hopefulness in his eyes that she might suggest some other way. She hated to do it, but she nodded her head firmly. “I am. I want Jessup gone – and to make sure he can’t hurt anyone else out there. I’ll do whatever I have to make sure it happens.”

  Raising a hand, Mason ran his fingers gently through her hair. “You see, that’s part of the reason I love you,” he said. “You’re brave and you think of others. I’m so lucky.”

  Charity grinned, before planting a kiss on Mason’s lips. “Not half as lucky as me,” she said, before wrapping her arms around his neck, and drawing him close.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Charity

  Charity drew in a shaky breath, her heart pounding, as she turned her truck down the dirt road leading to the Reapers’ current hideout. Mason had told her where to find them as he’d been fitting her with a wi
re back at his office.

  She knew it fit invisibly into her bra, but as she pulled up outside the decrepit farmhouse, she felt almost as if it was a glowing brand that Jessup would see as soon as she stepped into the room.

  Swallowing, Charity pushed the unhelpful thought from her mind. She didn’t need anything that made her look even more nervous than she already was. She reminded herself that the wire was transmitting everything she said back to Mason – that he’d hear everything, and he’d be there if she needed him.

  She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, however.

  She’d just do what she had to do, and leave. Everything they’d need would be there on tape. There was no need for a confrontation of any kind. In fact, that was the last thing she wanted.

  Shutting off the ignition, Charity took a moment to squeeze the steering wheel, before opening the door and swinging her leg out of the truck, planting her foot firmly on the ground. I can do this, she told herself. And, for the moment at least, she truly felt that she could.

  Charity squared her shoulders, then made her way across the yard, filled with dead plants and dry grass. She hadn’t gotten far, when Jessup himself appeared at the doorway, a small, sly smile on his face. Charity had expected that. Even if the Reapers hadn’t been shifters, there was no way anyone could have missed her massive truck pulling up.

  “Well, if it isn’t my favorite little lady,” Jessup said, his oily smirk coming through clearly in his voice. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

  Charity smiled tightly.

  Just do what you’d always do, she told herself. The more she thought about it, the more she’d come across as fake and forced. She’d just try to have the conversation she’d have even if she wasn’t wearing a wire.

  “I don't think it’s all that unexpected, is it?” she asked, her tone acidic. “I think you must have been expecting a little visit like this.”

  Jessup’s facial expression didn’t change, and he simply shrugged his shoulders. Of course, the gesture was non-committal and wouldn’t have been caught on tape anyway, but Charity hadn’t been thinking it was going to be that easy.

  “Well, I can see you have something you want to talk about,” he finally said. “Why don’t you come on inside, and we can see if we can’t sort it out?”

  Charity felt her stomach turn over at Jessup’s words, but she knew there was no choice but to go inside. Jessup might become suspicious if she refused – and besides, her aim here was to convince him he held all the cards. If she started trying to dictate to him, she would only sabotage herself.

  Not trusting her voice not to waver if she spoke, Charity only nodded, before walking across the yard and up the decrepit wooden steps of the ranch house.

  Mason, I hope you’re getting all of this, she silently prayed as she walked past Jessup where he held the door open for her, and into his lair.

  She had to blink in the half-light of the room beyond – the curtains were drawn, and the room was stacked with boxes upon boxes upon boxes. Charity didn’t want to speculate what was inside them. More concerning than that, even, was the six or seven muscle-bound men who sat around the room, all staring at her in a deeply unfriendly way.

  “Well,” she said, returning their stares as best she could. “Thanks for the welcoming committee.”

  Jessup, standing next to her, snorted out a small laugh. “See, that’s why I like you, girl – always gotta be a little spitfire.” He made a quick jerk of his head, and three of the men immediately stood up, moving out of the room and into the hallway beyond. “Take a seat, and let’s find out what I can do for you.”

  Charity licked her lips, before sitting down on one of the chairs in front of an old coffee table. It was old, and she sank down into it, the springs giving way beneath her.

  “I think you know why I’m here,” she said, clenching her fists and staring at Jessup as he sat down across from her. She took a deep breath, and decided to take a chance. “The drugs. In my diner.”

  Jessup tilted his head a little. Again, he gave nothing away. “And what have I got to do with that?” he asked. His eyes glittered in the low light of the room, cold and hard.

  Charity smiled humorlessly. “All right, Jessup. You can say whatever you want, but I think we both know what you were hoping for. So how about we leave out the bullshit, and cut to the chase? I don’t want to be here one second longer than I have to be.”

  Whatever Jessup thought of that, nothing of it showed on his face. He continued to regard her coldly, though the slightly twisted smile on his face didn’t waver.

  “All right, missy,” he said. “Then how about you tell me why you’re here? Especially since your pretty boy boyfriend was here just yesterday, spouting a load about how he was going to run us out of town.”

  Charity shrugged. “That was then. This is now. That was before you planted a crateload full of drugs in my kitchen.”

  Jessup was silent. Charity started to realize this would be a lot harder than she’d hoped – and she hadn’t even been hoping for much. Even if Jessup didn’t think she was wearing a wire, he still wasn’t going to be drawn into an easy confession. But he wasn’t denying it either – and while Charity knew that that wouldn’t be enough, she had to hope she could eventually work him down into saying something that would give him away.

  She sighed, long and hard, and let her shoulders slump, as if she was too tired to hold them up any longer. “I came to tell you: you win, Jessup,” she said, her voice quiet. “My business has been going down the drain since you and your men showed up – but I’m sure that’s what you intended all along. You were just waiting for me to get desperate enough that I’d feel like I had no choice but to sell when you came along and suggested it. And when that didn’t work, you tried another tack.”

  Jessup was silent for a long moment, before he chuckled. “Well now, you mean to tell me you’ve changed your mind about selling me the diner?” he asked. “After everything you said about how you’d never sell up?”

  He was mocking her. Anger swelled up in her chest, but Charity kept her focus. “Like I said – that was then, this is now. I don’t want to have to deal with the FBI or whoever the hell else sniffing around, and I can’t afford to shut down, even for a little while. You’ve made your point. But you knew that, didn’t you? You knew I’d never be able to stand up to you against something like this. I don’t even know where to begin.”

  Jessup leaned forward, the look in his eyes growing almost feral, a sneer spreading across his lips. “And what’s the point of fucking the county sheriff, then, if he can’t help you out of a tight spot like this?”

  Charity had to swallow back her instinctive response to tell him to go to Hell – his ugly words hit her straight in the heart. But she knew that that was what he was trying to do, and he was trying to provoke her into slipping up.

  She let him see her anger – it would have been obviously false if she hadn’t been offended by what he’d said – but she controlled it, only letting him see what she wanted him to see.

  “You knew what’d happen,” she sneered back at him. “You knew his alpha would forbid him from interfering, even if he’d wanted to. You know he doesn’t want trouble, so he’s told Mason he has to pass over the evidence to the proper authorities, and let things take their course. He might still be my mate, and as sheriff, his hands are tied. The only way I can protect myself is by getting the evidence to disappear. Back to where it came from, preferably.”

  It was a bold lie. Charity honestly wasn’t sure if Jessup would buy it. Mason had, after all, told him he’d never back away from his commitment to Charity. But it was the only thing she had to convince Jessup as to why she was here.

  “We both know how those drugs got there, Jessup,” she said. “So like I said – let’s just cut the bullshit, so I can get out of here.”

  Jessup leaned back. Something about him had changed – he seemed more confident now, less on edge. It seemed like he’d bought her l
ine about Lincoln having forbidden Mason to step in on her behalf: he was more convinced he’d truly won now.

  “All right, have some patience, darlin’,” he said. “I want to make sure I get a good deal for that diner of yours. It’s not like it’s much to look at after all, is it?”

  Charity tensed. “You told me you’d give me a fair deal.”

  Jessup only shrugged. “That was, as you said, then,” he said. “Now I think I’ve changed my mind as to what a fair deal is.”

  Charity stared at him, trying to remind herself that this was all fake. She wasn’t going to sell him the diner. All she needed was a confession of guilt about planting the drugs, or of conspiring to force Mason to resign from his position. Both, preferably.

  “Why, because of drugs you put in there?” Charity asked, letting her anger out in her voice. “Or because you destroyed my most lucrative time of day? Which one is it, Jessup? Oh, wait, I remember – it’s both. So don’t insult me. Just tell me what you’re willing to pay.”

  Jessup laughed out loud. “A fighter to the end,” he said. “All right, darlin’, we’ll cut to the chase, then. I’ll offer you a flat eighty thousand for the diner and everything in it. Lay off the staff – we won’t be needing them. How does that sound for a fair deal?”

  Charity shook her head, fury coursing through her. “Eighty grand, for what was until recently a perfectly profitable business? Is this a joke?”

  “Not even close to a joke, sweetheart,” Jessup said, his voice suddenly low and dangerous. “I’m willing to offer cash, and it’s a lot more money that you’d get from anyone else. Especially since don’t forget, I can cause a lot more trouble for you yet, if I feel like it. Not to mention your sheriff.”

  Charity swallowed. This was as close to an admission as Jessup had given so far – she hoped Mason had heard it.

  Can I get just a little bit more? she wondered as she stared into Jessup’s eyes. She had to let him think he had her running scared now.