When a Lioness Hunts (A Lion's Pride Book 8)

by Eve Langlais

  “That’s bullshit.” The rare expletive slipped from his lips as his frustration mounted. Surely, she wouldn’t be so…what? Undesirous of his presence? She wouldn’t even let him explain? He would have never let anything happen to her.

  When his attempts to enter failed, he finally resorted to calling the office, which proved a tad frustrating given he’d lost his phone. Or Melly had taken it.

  Didn’t matter. He bought one with the wallet he’d been allowed to keep. It took a few codes and several transfers before Maverick picked up.

  “Loomer! Where have you been? There are some people who want to talk to you about the Lipstick Grenade case.”

  “The what?”

  “The ring you helped us bust has been one we’ve been trying to stop for years. We kept finding evidence of the weapons but not a clue as to where they were originating. Pity they escaped.”

  “What?”

  “A massive jailbreak the likes of which we’ve never seen. They all escaped, including the ringleader, Marney, but no matter. We now have names and faces. It won’t be long until we see them again.”

  “About the other case, sir—”

  “Don’t tell me you’re still on that Pride Group thing. Didn’t you get my message?”

  “What message?”

  “The one telling you to drop it. We are no longer interested in the Pride Group.”

  “But the evidence—”

  “Showing improper tax filings has been handled. Returns have been amended, money repaid, and the fines handled.”

  Theodore closed his eyes and leaned against a brick façade. “It wasn’t just about the income tax returns. What of the lions?”

  “Weren’t real lions. Turns out there’s some freaks living in that condominium. Part of some weird sex cult group that likes to dress up and pretend they’re wild animals.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “Quite by accident. A call came in that there was a pack of lions on the loose. The cops went to look, but it turned out to be a bunch of folks from that condo dressed in fur. Quite drunk.”

  It explained the images but not Melly’s reaction. Unless…she was embarrassed because she was part of it.

  Now he’d be the first to admit he didn’t understand the allure of pretending to be a lion, but if it meant having a chance with Melly, a woman that made the Ice Man melt into a puddle, then… “Listen, sir, I don’t suppose I could have a few days off.”

  “A few days? Hell, take a week. You did good, Loomer. We’ll have more work for you since you’ve proven you can handle the big stuff.”

  “Really, sir?” He was surprised and pleased.

  “Guess we shouldn’t be so stingy on our requirements in the future.”

  Meaning myopic agents could still fill a role. Once the thing he’d longed to hear more than anything, but now he wanted to hear a woman say she’d give him a second chance. The question was, how to get her to listen?

  Since no one would let him through the gates and Melly wasn’t answering her phone—it went to a voicemail box that roared for a minute then beeped—he infiltrated the grounds of the condominium.

  It wasn’t rational or smart. It was the most insane thing he’d ever done, yet that didn’t stop him. He wore all black, even covered his face. He made it over the wall in between cameras, which wasn’t easy. Their security was almost seamless, except in one spot where they’d let a tree grow over the wall, providing a small spot where someone climbing over could not be seen.

  He dropped the crate he’d thought to bring and, by jumping on it, managed to catch the lip of the wall. He only grunted once as he made it onto the top. The branches barely rustled as he dropped into the garden. He traversed the grounds quickly, doing his best to appear like just any other shadow. Proud of his stealth. Everything remained quiet. No alarm.

  He’d managed to sneak in undetected.

  “Look at that idiot. Could he be any louder?” Aunt Marissa declared, clucking her tongue.

  “I kind of wanna shout ‘boo,’” Joan declared.

  Marissa, watching the entertaining antics of the human, understood the urge. “We can’t. Arik said no doing anything weird. We have to seem normal.”

  That had Joan snorting. “Normal? That’s not likely. Melly’s nerd already thinks we’re furries.” People who liked to dress up in animal costumes and pretend to be those animals, even during sex.

  “Better furries than the alternative.” They couldn’t be caught. The stakes were too high.

  “It’s embarrassing to the extreme,” Joan mumbled.

  “I take it your girlfriend saw the news footage.”

  “She did, and oh boy did she have some questions.” Joan sighed.

  “He almost tripped on Gunther,” Marissa remarked, the black panther quite visible to them but not the night-blind human.

  “I say we go furry and say hi.”

  Marissa shook her head. “We can’t draw attention.”

  “But look at him. He’s practically begging us to do something evil. I’ll bet if I go giant kitty on him, he pees his pants,” Joan said almost hopefully.

  “Melly would kill us.”

  “Melly dumped his ass when she found out he was lying. She won’t care.”

  “Don’t be so sure. I think there’s something going on between them.” She’d seen it that day her niece came barging in to save him. The coveting glint in her eyes, the deadly jealousy in her snarl.

  “Melly and a human?” Joan sounded appalled. “Oh, don’t wish that one her. You know what will happen.”

  “Violently loud entertainment? It sounds delicious.”

  “You’re so bad,” Joan exclaimed. “She’s your niece.”

  “She is, and I’m wagering she wins.” As the human approached the rear of the condo and the utility door tucked behind the large bush, Marissa thumbed her watch and unlocked it.

  He slipped inside.

  “What are you doing?” Joan asked.

  “Take a wild guess.”

  They exchanged a look. Smiled. It wasn’t the kind of grin anyone wanted to be the recipient of.

  “I’ll get the duct tape,” Joan said.

  “No time. We need to beat him to her apartment.”

  Entering the unlocked utility door at the back of the condo, he managed to avoid cameras and the night watchman. Even better, the stairwell to Melly’s place was empty. His luck was on fire tonight. Just a sign he was doing the right thing.

  The next part would be trickier. Having reached her apartment, he was confronted with a locked door. Knocking would just give her a chance to send him away, if she was around. The guard earlier today had said she’d left.

  Left to go where? Only one way to find out. A good thing he’d brought his lock picks.

  He laid the set on the floor and chose his tools, ignoring the voice in his head that asked him what he was doing. Was he really going to break in? How stalkerish was that?

  Sighing, he put away his kit, stood, and raised his fist to knock. Before it could land, the portal swung open and he gaped, not at Melly but at the two women smirking at him, only one of whom he recognized.

  “And just what do you think you’re doing?” asked the blonde in athletic gear, her hair a smart bob, her voice quite stern.

  “Now, Joan, isn’t it obvious. He’s here to see his sweet Melly,” cooed Melly’s aunt Marissa.

  “Er, hello, Mrs. Vandercoop.”

  “Please, call me Marissa.” Mrs. Vandercoop eyed him in a way that made him wish for more clothes. Her wink didn’t help.

  “Is Melly home?” he asked, soldiering through his discomfort.

  “No.”

  “Oh.”

  He must have let some of his disappointment show because Marissa trilled. “I think someone is horny. I can help you with that if you like.”

  “Uh, no thank you.” He backed away.

  The athletic blonde eyed his hand. “What’s that you got?”

  “Nothing.”
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  Even as he spoke, she snatched it from him and whistled at the contents of the leather wallet. “That’s some fine lock-picking gear you’ve got.”

  “I wasn’t going to use it.”

  “Then why bring it?”

  “Because at first, I wanted to surprise her.”

  “That’s an excuse rapists use.” The gaze narrowed.

  “I would never!” he huffed.

  “Should hope not or we’d eviscerate you and eat your heart.” Funny how the toothy smile made it seem like she spoke the truth.

  “I just want to talk to her. Explain a misunderstanding we had.”

  “You mean the one where you’re not just an IRS agent but a super-spy agent, too?” Marissa said.

  “I’m not a spy. But I am in a position where I can summon task forces to provide backup.”

  “Which you call in after spying on people and figuring out if they’re up to no good,” Joan stated. “Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.”

  “I never meant to lie to her. I had the job before we met,” he protested.

  “I can’t believe she fell for your bullshit. I never knew she could be so gullible.” Joan shook her head.

  “Now, Joan, don’t be mocking my niece for being led by her cootchie. We’ve had our share of trouble, too, when we let the other set of lips make our decisions. You have to admit, he is pretty.” Marissa tapped his cheek.

  “If you like that sort. I prefer mine without the dangly bits in the middle.”

  “If I could just talk to her—” he began.

  “Talk? Ha! Is that what you call it?” Joan snickered.

  “I think we should give the man what he wants,” Marissa declared, taking a step toward him.

  “I thought you told me not to get the duct tape.” The glance Joan tossed Marissa held annoyance.

  “We won’t need it because he’s going to come with us nicely, aren’t you?” Marissa’s gazed narrowed on him

  He retreated a few paces down the hall. “Maybe I’ll come back to talk to her another time.”

  “It’s now or never. But I recommend now while she still thinks of you fondly. Give her a bit of time to mull things over and I’m sure she’ll come to hate you.”

  “I never meant to hurt her.”

  “Hurt Melly?” More laughter. “Honey, it’s a surprise you’re still alive. Melly doesn’t usually handle betrayal that well. I still remember what she did to Gary the tiger when he told her there was no more of Aunt Mary’s apple pie. When she found the piece he’d hidden in the fridge, well…let’s just say he still faints at the sight of a ripe apple. But you’re not family. She wouldn’t be as nice to you.”

  “Because that’s what the pride does. We take care of our own.” Joan moved to flank him.

  “Melly’s not a killer.” But he wasn’t so sure about her aunt and friend.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, honey.” Marissa’s tone dropped. “Melly’s a hunter through and through. And if the pride gives her a target, she always tracks down her prey.”

  “Are you prey?” Joan stepped closer.

  There was something menacing in their gazes and body language. It occurred to him that perhaps he should leave. Only, when he turned around to either ride the elevator or skip down the stairs, he found himself hemmed in by more women. They’d arrived on silent steps, most of them tawny haired with their skin hues varying in shade, eyes glowing slightly golden with hints of green and brown. Their expressions weren’t exactly hostile, and yet his skin prickled and the hair on his nape lifted.

  He froze.

  One of them with a pierced nose and a shaggy ponytail smirked. “So this guy is why Melly’s been moping.”

  “He’s kind of boring looking,” said a woman with a large pregnant belly.

  “Maybe she likes peeling him out of his suit. I know I would,” said a statuesque redhead.

  “They say nerds work harder with their tongues.”

  The comments were tossed back and forth, some ribald enough to make him blush.

  “I think it’s cute he came looking for her,” said a petite woman.

  “Doesn’t matter what we think. I say we give the boy what he wants,” Mrs. Vandercoop declared. “Anyone up for a kidnapping and a road trip?”

  The girl with the piercing held up a roll of tape while the pregnant lady shook a pillowcase.

  The problem with having old school chivalry? He couldn’t hit a woman, not even a bunch of them intent on subduing him and stuffing him into the back of a van. But then again, why struggle when they were giving him what he wanted?

  They were taking him to see Melly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Melly moped. Not just your regular run-of-the-mill kind of mope. She was talking full-on, lip-jutting, stuffing-her-face-eating kind of mope.

  She missed Theo. Stupid really given she’d only known him for a few days, but being separated from him was actually physically unpleasant. She just wanted to lie in bed, under the covers, eating potato chips and ignoring the pile of crumbs accumulating in her bed.

  The farm—ranch, whatever you wanted to call the massive acreage with its giant house with so many additions it could have rivaled the Winchester Mystery House in California—the many outbuildings, the forest kept stocked with game, the pond with its koi fish and frogs, the river with the trout couldn’t distract her for once. She flopped from an inside couch to an outdoor couch. From tree branch to tree swing. Even tossing Kerry from the porch rocker she suddenly wanted didn’t do a thing to lift her spirits.

  Melly missed her pencil-pushing, muscle-bound, book-quoting geek. It sucked she’d never see him again.

  Meow.

  Even worse, she mourned his loss alone. Under the influence of the serum, he wouldn’t remember her at all. Would never know his brief respite from allergies was because of her. Slipping him the drug hadn’t been easy, but she’d managed a dose here and there, because nothing annoyed her more than a man who couldn’t get near her.

  Even if he weren’t prone to sneezing fits around felines, it would have never worked. The man didn’t like animals. He was employed by a government that would love to get its hands on her. He didn’t have a single flexible bone in his body—especially the one between his legs. So long and hard and…

  She clenched her legs tight, and her mood turned even more foul. When some mouthy biatch thought she could get away with asking, “Are you okay?” Melly tossed her into the pond.

  And when Aria’s husband dared protest? She tossed him in, too. It did nothing to appease her mood.

  And then her aunt appeared in all her flamboyant glory, wearing a pantsuit that molded her curves. Her hair was swept into some kind of fancy bun with pieces hanging down. She looked good, especially compared to Melly in her stretched-out and stained track pants and the T-shirt with a pudgy dough boy and the quote, Poke me and die.

  Auntie didn’t heed the warning. “There’s my darling niece. I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Why don’t you go play in traffic?” Melly snarled.

  “I see someone’s about to go on her period.”

  True, but not the reason for her bad mood. She scowled. “Leave me alone.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  “You want fun, then why don’t you go seduce someone’s younger husband?”

  A hand with red-tipped nails—an extravagance given it flaked the moment they shifted—fluffed the already bouffant hair. “I have plans to seduce more than one, actually. I hear the bear sleuth has arrived and they’re just raring to go.”

  Ah yes, the impending football match. It must be happening soon and would explain the camper vans and tents that had popped up all over the place. For the next few days, there would be bodies everywhere. Finding a place to sleep would be a challenge for those that didn’t arrive early or come prepared.

  Given her family connections, Melly rated a spot in the cramped attic with the sloped ceilings. Personally, she thought it was the best place. Access to t
he roof, her own three-piece bathroom, and a twin-sized bed she didn’t have to share. It also didn’t have an annoying aunt.

  “Don’t let me keep you from your home-wrecking plans,” she said with a wave of her hand.

  “I always have time for you, dear niece.” Which could have been construed as a threat. “If you want, I can find you a nice bear to play with.”

  “I don’t need anybody.”

  “In that case I have implements you can borrow to ease any urges you have.”

  “Gross.” And what did her aunt mean by implements? It sounded more ominous than a vibrator.

  “I’ll have you know I sterilize my toys better than any medical office.”

  “Can we stop talking about sex? I don’t want sex with a bear or some piece of plastic.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re pining over that human you were banging?”

  She had to bite back her first retort, which was they’d done more than banging. But that would imply he meant something to her. She blew a raspberry. “Please. As if.”

  Her aunt got a sly look. “Good to know you’re done with him.”

  “Why?” She just had to ask, even knowing she wouldn’t like the answer.

  “Because he is just my type.” Her aunt offered a slow, evil smile. “Corruptible.”

  Rawr. Before she even knew what she was doing, Melly sprang at her aunt. However, her blind jealousy was no match for a lioness of experience. Auntie moved quickly aside and delivered a blow that sent her flying, tumbling to the ground and then cartwheeling to her feet.

  Auntie wasn’t done. She gave Melly a few love taps, a head lock, and then a firm spank on the bottom with an admonishment, “Slow, girl. Still too slow. And dumb. Really, coming after me?”

  All true. Given Melly had attacked first, she couldn’t even be mad. “Sorry.”

  “I’ll forgive you this time.” Auntie blew on her nails, checking the polish. “Good thing you’re not pining.”

  Melly brushed herself off. “Just checking your reflexes.”

  “My body is fine. Why, last night, the man I picked up at the bar said—”