Hounded (Shifter Town Enforcement)

by Hart, Sadie

  She reached for her cuffs when Tegan caught her wrist. “You are not taking my partner. Not for something he didn’t do.”

  The threat hung in the air.

  Lennox stiffened. “I could have you charged for obstructing justice. You’re not helping yourself, Mr. Sharpe.”

  “Tegan,” he said, and Kanon watched as Tegan gently took the cuffs from her hand, wincing at the touch of silver against his fingertips before he tossed them aside. They hit the hardwood with a soft clunk, but she didn’t move to follow them.

  The pulse in her neck jumped.

  Her lips thinned. Kanon watched as a subtle readiness settled in her muscles. Here came that fight.

  “Lennox,” Tegan said, imploring, but she bared her teeth at the sound of her name coming from him.

  Tegan gave her a grim smile.

  “Lennox,” he repeated, drawing it out, “Kanon did not attack your Hound. I have witnesses who could prove it. Your man swung first.”

  “So, what, you punched him back?”

  Kanon gave a quiet huff. The edge of a smile curling his lips. “Yeah. I did. Then he kept on hitting and I thought, Fine, we’ll play.”

  He watched her lips thin, the corners lifting in a slight grimace.

  “I don’t start fights with Hounds. Tends to get me a bullet right here.” He poked his forehead. “Be kind of stupid don’t you think?”

  “Lions don’t tend to think.” There was a sour note to her voice as she glanced away, staring back towards the dining room and the open window she’d climbed through. Kanon waited, watching as she ran down her options. She had to know. Sexy as she was to him right now, Kanon wasn’t going peacefully. Maybe if a cop had asked him to go downtown, sure. But a Hound? Downtown for them meant: Hey, come see the electric chair. He’d pass.

  A sigh slid out of her, a sharp blast of breath as she took one last look at freedom and turned back to them with a nod. “And you got witnesses to prove this?”

  “Yeah,” Kanon said.

  “Then let’s hear what happened.”

  ***

  Tegan closed his eyes in relief. Yes. He didn’t know what he’d do if...

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “Don’t thank me. Just open that handsome little mouth of yours and start talking.”

  Tegan grinned. Handsome? One glance at Kanon, and Tegan could see his partner was half smitten with the Hound already. Not that Tegan blamed him. She was big and she was bad, but Lennox Donnelly also had a heart. A fair streak and he was going to run with that for all it was worth.

  “Anyone in that bar that night would vouch for Kanon. We’re regulars, never had an issue there before. Hell, the owners will vouch for that.” He didn’t add that Tristan and Carolyn Hale were also friends of theirs. Still, every bar regular and wait staff in that bar knew the two of them by sight, and they’d never once given anyone an issue there that hadn’t deserved it.

  The Hound had deserved it, but he didn’t say that part either. Not when she was beginning to sway. And sway she was, those sharp eyes considering his words and Tegan pounced on that weakness. “I’ll take you there myself. Kanon doesn’t start fights.”

  Normally. Lennox’s raised eyebrow told him she expected there was a ‘but’ to that, but she didn’t insist. “Fine, but I’m driving.”

  That was a bit too neat for Tegan’s taste. He shook his head, but outmanned as she was, Lennox wasn’t about to back down. “I’m not going to have Kanon bailing. You can drive separately, he can’t.”

  “You’re not exactly in a position to be bargaining,” Kanon said but Tegan waved him off.

  “Fine. Your word though, you’ll see this through. You’ll give us a shot to prove Kanon’s clear.”

  It was her eyes that gave her away. Soft, and they glanced down at the question, almost submissive, but Tegan wasn’t foolish enough to think this Hound had a submissive bone in her body.

  “Hounds don’t bargain with lions,” she whispered, only to drag her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared up at him. Her chin dipped in the faintest nod. “Fine. I swear to you, I’ll give you the chance to prove to me your partner is innocent. I’ll go to the bar; I’ll meet your witnesses.

  “But I make the final call. If I don’t deem their statements accurate or if what they say contradicts you, I’ll tote both of your asses off to Enforcement. Got it?”

  A smile touched his lips. “Got it.”

  “Then where are we going?”

  Tegan couldn’t help it then. He let his gaze drift down over her dirt layered pants, the tank top that was damn near the color of her skin. She wasn’t thin. At least not the wiry lean he was used to seeing in Hound females, where they could probably wear a bikini beautifully, but a sharp eye wouldn’t miss the jut of a hip bone beneath the skin.

  No, she was thicker. Still slender, but with muscle and weight to her. A solidity he was more used to seeing in lionesses. Dirt smeared her cheeks, and her hair was a tousled mess, strands of the reddest rust he’d ever seen. Several strands had fallen loose from the tight knot she kept it in, and they dangled just out of reach. He itched to reach out and touch it, to test the silk of it against his fingertips.

  Shit. Now, he was every bit as smitten with her as Kanon.

  She’d agreed to let them prove it and now he was thinking about running his hand through that long, long hair. Yeah. She’d just as soon break his hand than let him do that.

  Tegan caught Kanon’s eye, his partner giving him an impish grin and Tegan couldn’t help but smile back. At least they liked to share and sharing Lennox would be something neither of them would forget for a long time.

  Probably because she’d kill them.

  Lennox’s eyes narrowed.

  Tegan covered his smile with a small cough. One handed, he gestured towards her dirt stained outfit. “You can’t wear that where we’re going.”

  “Bullshit I can’t.”

  The muscle in her jaw flexed, tense and he could see the warpath opening up between them. Damn, the woman would do battle with just about anything if a man riled her right. Kanon snatched a strand of that hair and Tegan’s eyes jumped to his, knowing instantly the texture of her hair by the hooded expression on his partner’s face.

  Hell, Metro would let just about anyone in, as long as they were wearing clothes, but Tegan ached to see her without the dirt and with all that hair loosely draped over her shoulders.

  She caught Kanon’s hand, so ready to fight when Tegan gave a low chuckle, stepping closer. Trapping her, between them and the dining room. She could run, but she’d have to back down for that. Lennox Donnelly looked like she’d rather shoot them both first.

  But she was still trying to be the nice girl. “I thought you wanted help.”

  Tegan let her see the lazy draw of his eyes as he looked her up and down from head to toe. “You’re filthy. Your hair is a mess...”

  “You have dirt smudged on your cheeks.” Kanon licked a finger and reached out to swab a spot when she jerked back, a laugh floating from her.

  “Is that your game? Seduce the Hound meant to drag you in?”

  “No, Tegan actually intends to take you to the bar.”

  Her gaze flitted back to Kanon. “And you?”

  Kanon lifted his shoulders in a shrug, his grin growing wider. “We can go to the bar.”

  “We are going to the bar. Unless your witnesses are fake, then we’re all going down to Enforcement.”

  Tegan snatched a piece of her hair, giving it a small tug. “Then you should probably clean up. I can show you to the bathroom.”

  Her death glare would have been enough to make most men cower. It only turned Tegan on more. “I’m going as is.”

  “Might as well roll you in a few mud puddles first.”

  Kanon snorted. “Or dump her down a manhole along the way.”

  “She does stink a little.”

  “Like wet dog.” Kanon edged closer, his hand finding the back of her neck just as she flatt
ened her palm against his chest. Her jaw went tight with warning, but she caved.

  “All right. Where’s the bathroom?”

  That was something Tegan had no problem showing her. They scooted her up the stairs and into the guest bathroom, even letting her shut the door and lock them out. He didn’t think for one second she’d run. She wasn’t the tuck-tail-and-bolt kind of girl.

  Tegan shook his head at the sound of the lock turning over. Relief poured through him and he closed his eyes, tilting his head back. He knew Tristan and the Metro staff would clear Kanon’s name, he just hoped it’d be enough for her. He’d come too damn close to losing Kanon tonight, and the thought left him hollow. Exhausted. Kanon slipped up behind him, wrapped his arms around Tegan’s waist, holding him tight.

  “We got lucky,” Tegan murmured over his shoulder, knowing damn well Lennox would hear them.

  “Maybe.”

  Kanon pressed a kiss to the crook of his neck, then trailed several more across his collarbone, nipping over his pulse.

  “Kanon,” Tegan whispered, his voice drying up in his throat as Kanon rocked into him from behind. The tap water in the bathroom stopped.

  “I figure if she reneges on our deal and turns me in, I might as well get you one last time.”

  “It’s not going to happen.”

  “Having you, or her breaking the deal?”

  “She won’t break her word.” Tegan twisted his head around to press a kiss to the corner of Kanon’s lips. “And you always have me.”

  Kanon gave a satisfied groan, and cuddled closer.

  “You are not screwing each other outside that door.”

  Tegan smiled.

  Kanon pressed another kiss to his pulse and then called out, teasing, “Not yet, honey, care to join?”

  “I would rather jump out the window. Put your pants on so I can come out.”

  “Damn,” Kanon whispered against his ear. “Reckon we should take them off first?”

  The bathroom door jerked open and Lennox stumbled straight into Tegan, catching herself on his shoulders. He shuddered at the press of her against him. She was softer than he’d thought, all that muscle yielding perfectly to such soft, sweet femininity. Kanon leaned into him from behind and Tegan groaned.

  Lennox gave a small growl, stepping back, startled. “You all have no sense of...”

  Her voice died in her throat and she turned away, lips pursed. “The bar, boys.”

  Lennox stepped past them both and headed for the stairs. “I’ll meet you at my car. It’s by the billboard for that new grocery store in town. Behind a few bushes.”

  Her sultry tone turned dark, as she glanced between them, and then met Tegan’s gaze. She’d heard everything. “I hope you’re right and you can clear your partner’s name.”

  A shadow slipped over her face as she headed down the stairs.

  Tegan’s gut twisted.

  She hadn’t looked so sure.

  Chapter Two

  Good Hounds didn’t play with lions. Especially not a pair like the two of them. Lennox leaned against her car, head tilted back to the sky. She couldn’t believe she’d let them talk her into this. Hounds weren’t the judge and jury; they were just the ones to snatch the quarry. But the thought of hand delivering a potentially innocent man to his death sentence gave her stomach cramps.

  That wasn’t her gig. Lennox liked justice, fairness. Though the chances of Kanon Reyes actually being innocent were slim, her instincts told her otherwise. Guilty lion-shifters didn’t often try and wheedle their way into proving their innocence. Instead, they tended to come at her, no claws barred. And while the two of them had looked ready to fight, they hadn’t.

  Restraint wasn’t a thing she was used to finding when it came to lions.

  A smile tipped the edge of her lips as she saw the pair of them striding down the road, each step in sync with each other. They moved together, graceful, lazy, and powerful. Lions were the heavy artillery of the predator world and the two men striding toward her looked every bit the part.

  If either one of them had ever attacked a Hound, she had a hard time picturing one of her men walking away. They looked like the kind of men who finished what they started. Her brows furrowed. So why had he let Nick walk away? The Hound had a broken arm, a few cracked ribs, and a few minor injuries, enough to lay him up in a hospital for a night, but nothing that would have killed him.

  Tegan drew up short, Kanon following him a step late. Tegan’s gaze focused on hers. Perceptive. He made her uneasy. His partner seemed more playful, not quite as serious, but Tegan Sharpe fit his name. His sharp attention to detail missed little, and he watched her constantly. Stripping whatever defenses she tried to toss up.

  He was going to be the difficult one, she decided.

  “Changing your mind already?”

  “Nope.” Lennox thought about asking why Kanon had let Nick walk away, but she bit her tongue. She’d get the story out of the witnesses. Not the ones trying to cover their own asses. She jerked her head towards her car. “Get in.”

  Lennox hit the keypad in her hand and the car beeped unlocked.

  “Oh fancy,” Kanon said.

  Remembering the bucket of rust he’d been driving, Lennox couldn’t help but smile. “Compared to the death trap you drive, I bet.”

  That drew a low laugh from both men as they approached, their large bodies drawing a half circle around her as they crowded closer. Intimidation tactics wouldn’t work on her and Lennox straightened, her lips parting to tell them just that when Tegan’s hand brushed her hip. A blaze of heat stretched out from his fingertips and her body jolted. One handed, she caught his wrist.

  They so needed boundaries, but Lennox had the sinking feeling that the cats in them didn’t much care for rules. “Watch your hands or I’m cuffing you both in the back seat.”

  Now that she thought about it, the idea was genius.

  “Of course,” Tegan said, only to nod at the door behind her. “Then by all means, would you mind stepping aside? I figured I’d sit in the back.”

  Oh.

  Then he dropped his gaze to her hand, the one still holding his, almost pressing it tighter to her hip and she jerked back, letting him go. A shudder of a breath slipped out of her as she stepped away, giving him all the room he needed. Damn. She’d never felt so trapped, cornered, insane, turned on... All when she needed to do her damn job. She scrubbed a hand over her face. And where the hell was her back up? Someone was supposed to have been watching Tegan, contacting her if he came home early. So why hadn’t she gotten a warning call?

  Better yet, why wasn’t someone coming to give her a hand? To make sure she didn’t do anything stupid, like help a cute lion male grope her.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, turning as Kanon stepped around the car to the passenger’s side. They both stared up at her, warm, welcome smiles on their faces. Friendly.

  She could do friendly. Maybe.

  Lennox jerked open the driver’s side door and slid in, rolling the engine over as they both settled into their seats. “Directions?”

  Tegan leaned against her seat, his breath whispering through her hair and she hunched her shoulders to drive off the shivers that followed it. “Take this street up to sixty-seven. Then we’re getting on the highway.”

  Alarm twisted in her gut. “Just how far away is this bar?”

  “I don’t really remember, do you, Kanon?”

  “Ah, no. I don’t. A few CDs worth of a drive.”

  Lennox cringed. The car kicked up dirt along the old country road, goose bumps still lingering down her back as Tegan rested in the space between the two front seats. Close. Too close.

  The man had no sense of proximity.

  “How far?” She merged on to sixty-seven.

  Kanon shrugged. “You ever been to Utah?”

  “No and I don’t plan to.”

  “Relax sweetheart, enjoy the drive.” Kanon snatched her iPod out of the glove box, plugged it into the stereo and began
flipping through her tunes. She’d have howled at him if she’d have thought it would do any good.

  “We’re not going to Utah.”

  “The bar is just over the state line. It’s probably an hour and a half drive, no biggie,” Tegan said.

  No biggie? What the hell had Nick and the pack been doing in Utah?

  If she had any sense at all, she’d turn the car around and head for Shifter Town Enforcement. Except, she already knew Nick’s side of the story, now Kanon and Tegan’s—what she needed was someone who wasn’t a Hound or a lion. And the office in Utah would do just as well as the one in Idaho.

  She also needed a plan for when she got there. Neither man looked like the kind of guy to go peacefully if things went south. Her skin started to crawl. She couldn’t do the takedown alone if things didn’t pan out their way.

  She bit her lip and feigned focus on the road, her mind spinning.

  She was going to need back up.

  ***

  He couldn’t believe it. She’d let them in her car. Lions. Dirty, filthy, dangerous lions. He stared down the road, the dust finally settling, slack jawed. A Hound should know better. She should know better. He paced along the edge of the road, the beast inside him scrambling, desperately trying to dig its way out. He clamped the dog down hard. Not now.

  He would walk back to his car a man, and he would follow her. Idiot that she was. How could she not know? He had watched her for so long, tracking her movements. She knew how dangerous lions were. A growl rumbled up his throat, fueled hot with anger and he clenched his fists at his sides.

  She’d been stupid and careless, and to make it all worse...she’d wrecked his plans. Kanon Reyes was a loose cannon. That had been part of the reason he’d picked him. The lion had a record, he’d been a rogue with an untraceable history, and was easy enough to spike into a brawl. And to top it off, he was a Reyes. Oh, he might not live with the pride, his daddy might not even know he existed—yet—but with that last name and lion running through his shifter blood, Kanon’s fall would taint them all.