Dragon's Choice

by Juniper Hart

  Of course they have seen it before; bodies with these markings were found in spades before I reined in the pack. They haven’t seen a killing like this in a decade.

  “Why are you grinning?” he demanded, snatching the paper from the folder and peering at the pathologist’s report. The words were difficult to read in his exhausted state.

  “Because we know who he is now,” Jeannie replied, leaning up against the desk and folding her arms beneath her huge breasts.

  Cameron peered up at her. “We got an ID?”

  “Yep, I ran his DNA through CODIS. He’s in the system—a few times.”

  With wide eyes, the sheriff fumbled through the papers in his hand to learn the identity of the dead man. In seconds, he was holding the pages-long arrest record in his hand.

  “Andrew Bell. Did twelve years for attempted murder, five years for torture, two years for assault…” Cameron’s intense blue eyes flittered down the sheet to find his known associates and he nodded knowingly. “He’s a mob guy from New York. Jesus Christ.”

  Jeannie peered pensively at her boss, a small smile toying on her lips.

  “That’s an interesting spin on things,” she said lightly. “Maybe that accounts for the man winding up dead and the girl not talking. Someone from the mob threatened her, so she made up a batshit crazy story about wolves in her panic.”

  Cameron swallowed.

  I will mention this to Seaver. Maybe he can put that spin on it if this ever makes it to trial.

  “Could be,” he said. He glanced up at Jeannie gratefully. “Thanks for bringing this to me,” he told her.

  At least he now had somewhere to start looking for whoever was targeting Gabriella, but it was becoming fairly clear who it was: the mayor of New York City, David Charlotte.

  He pushed open the door to his apartment, his eyes still glued to the files.

  It only makes sense that the mayor would have connections to the mob, but why would he want Gabriella dead, especially if he was the one who owned up to the affair and she left town? She is not a danger to him. She has been denying it from the start, and with her out of town, he has nothing to worry about from her anymore. But who else could it be?

  Cameron assumed something more was going on than he could see, but he intended to learn everything he could and confront the man with an arrest warrant for conspiracy to commit murder.

  Hell, I may even charge the bastard with murder for the death of his hitman for good measure, and ensure he never sees the light of day.

  A familiar rage was beginning to grow in Cameron as he thought of how close Gabriella had come to being killed.

  He almost ruined everything by sending that demon out here. I was almost exposed—

  Cameron froze, his eyes adjusting to the blackness of his apartment.

  Someone was in his place.

  Quietly, he placed the file on the kitchen table and prowled toward the living room without making a noise. His nose sniffed the air for a clue as to who the intruder was, but Cameron’s senses were substantially lower than usual. He had not fed nor slept in too long.

  He could hear a faint noise coming from the bedroom as he drew closer, but he realized it was the television. Did I leave that thing on in the bedroom? It was possible, but he could not recall doing it. It did not change the fact that someone was in the apartment. Slowly, he pushed open the door to the bedroom and sighed, lowering his hand from his hip where it hovered over his sidearm.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he grunted, thrusting open the door with a thud as it crashed into the wall. Gabriella jumped at the noise, her face growing pale.

  “What the hell is wrong with you, sneaking up on me?” she yelled back, her hand over her heart.

  Cameron was immediately contrite, and he hurried inside the room.

  “Sorry,” he told her begrudgingly. “I wasn’t expecting you here. Why are you here?”

  She looked at him as if stunned by his apology. She lowered her shoulders as she realized she was not in danger.

  “Cory said I was staying here until trial,” she replied dryly.

  It was Cameron’s turn to grow pale. “Staying here?” he echoed. “You can’t stay here.”

  Gabriella immediately jumped to her feet.

  “I thought he was full of shit,” she grunted. “But he opened the door and told me to wait for you. He told me to tell you that he ‘figured it out as you requested.’ I can leave if you want me to.”

  Cameron stifled a groan, remembering what he had told the attorney earlier. Just one more person I am going to have to deal with later, he thought grimly.

  “No, it’s fine,” he told her. “You can stay tonight. We’ll make different arrangements in the morning.”

  She peered at him uncertainly.

  “I can’t understand why Cory would have brought me here if it wasn’t what you wanted.”

  Cameron knew exactly why, but he did not explain it to Gabriella; she had enough to worry about.

  “Have you eaten?” he said instead. “I don’t have much here, but I can order a pizza or something.” He winced at the sound of the words, but to his surprise, she nodded in agreement.

  “I’m actually famished,” she said. “I ate with Cory after court, but I could use more nourishment.”

  Cameron chuckled lightly and shrugged. “I can’t guarantee that Great Falls Pizza is nourishing, but it’s food.”

  Gabriella sat back down on the edge of the bed, where she had been watching television, and nodded.

  “Sounds good,” she agreed, and Cameron picked up the home phone on the bedside table, pressing a speed dial number. If Gabriella noticed, she did not comment as the sheriff placed the order. When he replaced the cordless phone on its charger, he turned to the lovely brunette, unsure of what to say.

  She was so beautiful, yet vulnerable, sitting tersely on his king-size bed. Cameron suddenly found himself inexplicably embarrassed by his mediocre accommodations. It was not that he could not afford better—he just did not see the point when he was alone.

  She’s used to living in luxury and she’s hiding out in a one-bedroom apartment in Great Falls.

  “I guess you didn’t have any problems getting access to the money,” Gabriella said, watching him out of the corner of her coffee-colored eyes. He shook his head.

  “No. I went out of state to retrieve it, just in case someone was tracking your spending.”

  She looked at him appreciatively and nodded.

  “That was smart. Thank you for everything you’ve done,” she murmured.

  Cameron drew closer to her and sat gingerly beside her. “We identified the man who was in your house.” Gabriella’s head whipped upward and she stared at him with hope.

  “You did?” she gasped. “Who is he?”

  “His name is Andrew Bell. He is a mob affiliate from New York.”

  Gabriella’s face underwent a variety of changes, settling on confusion. “A mob hit? That makes no sense. I have never had any dealings with anyone like that. Why would the mafia want me dead?”

  “You tell me,” Cameron replied. “I am thinking it has something to do with your relationship with David Charlotte.”

  “There was no relationship with David Charlotte!” Gabriella shouted, her face growing red with anger. “It never happened!”

  Cameron was taken aback by the passion in her tone. He supposed it was only natural that she would deny it—she had done so in the past, if the articles he had read were any indication—but she seemed genuinely upset by the mention of the mayor.

  “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” he asked, resisting his usual urge to respond with cynicism. He was learning that she did not respond well to his intimidation tactics. She’s got her own mind and she will stand her ground. If I don’t tread softly, we will just end up yelling at one another.

  Gabriella seemed uncomfortable at first, but she seemed to read something in his face; whatever it was, it encouraged her to speak.

>   “I don’t really even know what happened,” she confessed. “I was away in Milan for a photo-shoot, and when I returned to New York, my voicemail was full and there were reporters camped outside my house. Apparently, the mayor had confessed to having some torrid affair with me when pictures surfaced of him with some brunette.”

  “Well, if you’re in the pictures—”

  “That’s not me!” Gabriella insisted. “No one can tell who the girl is, and if wasn’t for David Charlotte saying it was me, there would be no reason to believe it!”

  “There must be some way to prove that you were nowhere near him when those pictures were taken,” Cameron commented.

  She shrugged miserably. “No one wants to hear what I have to say. Why would a ‘happily’ married man make up such a story if it wasn’t true? It could ruin his career and his marriage. Although from what I hear, he’s being revered for standing up and confessing to this horseshit story. Even his wife is sticking by him.”

  Cameron’s brow furrowed. What reason would a man have for naming a woman who isn’t his mistress as his mistress?

  His eyes widened as the answer came to him.

  “The real brunette in those pictures is a bigger danger to him than a supermodel, obviously,” he realized aloud, and Gabriella stared at him.

  “Of course!” she said excitedly. “He wants the real woman kept secret, so he found a scapegoat. Why didn’t I think of that? I thought that he had some weird vendetta against me this entire time. I couldn’t understand why he would say something so untrue.”

  Gabriella cocked her head to the side and stared at Cameron.

  “He’s hired someone to kill me so I don’t continue to proclaim my innocence?” she asked quietly. “This is so much worse than I thought.”

  Without thinking, Cameron put his hand on her shoulder.

  “You don’t need to worry, Gabriella. We will get to the bottom of this. We’re already on the right path.”

  “Hopefully we’ll figure it out before the next hitman finds me,” she lamented. “I wonder how he found me in the first place.”

  Cameron put her chin between his thumb and index finger, drawing her face upward to look at him.

  “You need to trust me, Gabriella,” he told her in a low tone. “I will not allow anything to happen to you.”

  Gabriella stared at him, her mouth parting slightly as she read the sincerity in his eyes.

  “Why?” she whispered. “I have been nothing but a pain in your ass since I got here.”

  Cameron nodded, not releasing her.

  “Yes, yes you have,” he agreed. “But I am drawn to you.”

  The words were foreign to his ears and tongue, but he did not regret saying them as Gabriella’s luminous eyes widened.

  As in his dream, she reached forward, encircling her arms around his neck and pulling him close, tasting his lips timidly, like she was worried he would pull away. He forgot about the danger he was putting them both in as his mouth parted, feeling the tingle of electricity pass between them.

  Cameron returned the kiss with the passion he had been containing since the day he had met her, his hands slipping about her arms to caress her smooth, bronze skin. He wanted her as he had never wanted another and he could not allow the moment to pass.

  Her eyes closed and his face moved down her cheek, inhaling her skin as he slipped her shirt above her head, exposing her firm, braless breasts. She looked exactly as he had envisioned her, and he relished the taste of her as he nuzzled her cleavage. Gabriella sighed, falling back onto the bed, and Cameron licked at her eagerly, his hands unbuttoning her tight jeans. Lightly, his mouth grazed over her chest, sucking gently on her erect nipples, his hands cupping her tiny rear against his huge hands. Lower his face traveled, smelling her succulent flesh until he focussed in her center.

  She moaned softly as he dove into her, wanting her sighs to become screams. His tongue contacted her throbbing core and he began to lap at her in smooth, even strokes, feeling her tense beneath him, her breaths quickening as her hands curled into the sheets. He felt her beginning to lose control as she bucked upward, her orgasm growing, but Cameron wanted to feel the magnitude of her release upon him.

  Abruptly he stopped, pulling himself back to release his own pants, his member engorged and ready to take her as he had yearned to do for weeks. She was ready for him, her brown eyes flying open to watch him, her arms pulling him close.

  He slipped inside her fluidly, and they instantly fell into a rhythm as though they had choreographed their union. Gabriella’s slender legs wrapped about his broad waist, linking her ankles around him, pushing him deep inside her. In seconds, Cameron could feel the hot gush of juices against him, and a feral cry escaped Gabriella’s lips as she shattered around him.

  He did not slow, instead increasing his motion as he filled her deeply, feeling his own desire prepared to spill into her hot and furiously. His arm securely around her waist, Cameron allowed himself to explode, watching Gabriella’s awed expression as he shuddered almost violently.

  Their hearts were a synchronized hammering as they stared at one another, the last of their juices expelling from their bodies.

  Cameron opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden pounding on the door interrupted him.

  “Pizza!” they declared in unison, laughing. Cameron pulled out of her quickly, offering her an almost shy smile before locating his pants and pulling them over his hips, scrounging through his pockets for money.

  Rushing to the door, he pulled it open, his happy beam fading.

  “Hey, boss,” Brewer said, leeringly. “Can we come in?”

  Behind the cop was the remainder of the pack, Cory leaning against the railing, shaking his head as he examined his nails. The attorney glanced up at him, the expression in his smoky grey eyes unmistakable.

  That son of a bitch ratted me out.

  Cameron knew he was in a lot of trouble.

  10

  Gabriella smiled happily up at the ceiling, still relishing in the feeling of Cameron inside her as she lay on the bed. It was the first time she had felt safe in a long while, and she wanted the feeling to last forever.

  He really will protect me, she thought happily. He cares about me even after our rocky start. Maybe there is an out to this hell after all.

  “I said no!”

  She heard Cameron’s voice rise angrily from the living room, and the sense of security she had felt disappeared. She wondered what was happening and quickly located her clothes. Gabby slid toward the half-closed door of the bedroom, listening to the voices.

  “You have some explaining to do, boss,” someone said.

  The voice was vaguely familiar, but Gabriella could not place it. Cautiously, she peered into the hall. Her heart caught in her throat as she recognized Deputy Brewer standing in the living room, but he was not alone. Her attorney was also there, as well as four other men she did not recognize.

  “What did you just say to me?” Cameron snarled, suddenly coming into view as he advanced on the older man. “I do not need to explain myself to you.”

  The tension was palpable, and Gabriella knew she needed to hide, but she couldn’t bring herself to move, watching the scene with fear.

  How much trouble will he be in if I am discovered here? she wondered. Did Cory tell the police department how Cameron helped me? Isn’t that a violation of attorney-client privilege?

  “Where is she, Cameron?” Brewer asked softly. “She shouldn’t be here.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cameron snapped quickly.

  She watched as her lover glanced at the lawyer. Cory shifted his gaze downward.

  “We know she is here, Cameron,” Cory said flatly. “I brought her here, remember?”

  “Just leave her,” Cameron snarled. “She’s not harming any of us by being here.”

  “What the hell has gotten into you? How could you be so reckless?” one of the strangers demanded, beginning to pace the small room.


  “If this is such a problem, why didn’t you just take care of her this afternoon?” Cameron whirled and glared at Cory. “You had the chance to do it.”

  Cory laughed mirthlessly. “You know exactly why I didn’t touch her.”

  A feeling of dread swept over Gabby as she began to understand what they were discussing—killing her.

  “Because I am still in charge around here,” Cameron said firmly. “Now get the hell out of my apartment. If anyone touches that girl, I don’t need to tell you what will happen.”

  The men began to shake their heads, and Gabriella drew back, her heart thudding.

  “No, Cameron,” Brewer replied. “This is not something you can simply ask us to dismiss. You have endangered all of us with your recklessness. Jesus Christ, you have always been the voice of reason! That is why you lead. But I think we all agree that you’re slipping if you can kill and cause so much publicity to chase a skirt.”

  There was a low, menacing laugh that sent chills through Gabriella as she looked about the small room for a means of escape.

  “What are you going to do about it, Brewer? Cory? Bram?”

  There was silence. Gabriella’s blood ran cold as a familiar but hideous sound filled the space. Unable to stop herself, she returned to the doorway and watched as the men drew into a circle around Cameron, a feral growl emitting from their collective throats. They sounded like the creature in her apartment, the one who had killed Andrew Bell.

  “You can’t lead if you can’t think clearly,” Cory told him conversationally, but Gabriella could see his grey eyes take on a yellowish tint, his chest beginning to heave in anger. The half dozen men seemed to grow larger, and Gabriella could no longer see Cameron in their midst.

  What are they doing? She screamed silently, watching in horror as they enclosed upon the sheriff.

  “No!” Gabby shouted. “Stop!”

  Instantly, they spun, their faces an identical mask of anger.

  “Kill her,” Brewer spat, and before Gabriella could react, they had started to advance upon her, fangs enlarging.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped. “You… It’s true. You’re—”