Bending Steele (12 page)

All in all, pride life should have been a
bonus.

The woman on screen screamed as the man in
the mask jumped out at her. Kanon tossed another kernel of popcorn
in his mouth. Stupid woman. They were all too stupid to live in
movies like this. Didn’t anyone know when to look behind them?

A soft creak sounded from the porch and Kanon
gave an irritated huff. Except, pride life meant he was suddenly
responsible for a handful of others. Their kids, their families.
Born a rogue, he didn’t have much need for a big family. Didn’t
like having to watch everyone else’s backs. He wasn’t good at it.
He liked his space and his freedom. Outside of Tegan, Kanon much
preferred to be left alone.

And in the end, the pride intruded as much as
the damned Hounds did. He couldn’t even watch a movie in peace. The
floorboard creaked again, the whisper of it almost lost completely
under the wail of the dying woman on screen. But it’d moved around
the wraparound porch to the side of the house. Someone sneaking in,
then. It wouldn’t be the first time one of the pride females had
tried to sneak in. Lionesses in heat didn’t tend to think about
much beyond the urgent need to mate.

Then again, if Kanon was fair, nor did most
males. He just wasn’t the father type. That and he already had
Tegan.

Soft footfalls and the quiet groan of the
aging floorboards allowed Kanon to track her progress to the window
he’d left open in the dining room, hoping to let in a cooling
breeze. No luck. Which meant he also couldn’t catch the intruder’s
scent. Kanon munched on a handful of popcorn and stared blankly at
the movie, every other sense on high as he tracked the person
sneaking into his house.

Could also be another male, looking to try
and take the pride. He tensed, but waited. Listening. Kanon knew
the moment a shoe touched the hardwood floor in his dining room and
right then, he had another piece of the puzzle. Whoever it was, she
was soft and easy on her feet, like a huntress stalking a zebra.
Definitely female. No male lion moved that lightly on his feet.

The steps paused, just a brief hesitation
before creeping closer to him, but she didn’t rush. She was clever
enough to wait until she was sure he was actually watching the
movie. He felt like grinning. This was almost fun.

She paused close to the room, if not in it,
and Kanon had to force himself not to turn his head. Instead, he
inhaled a quiet breath, keeping it slow and easy as he tried to
catch her scent. Definitely female, but beyond that he wasn’t sure.
There was no wind to work in his favor, and just then Tegan’s
stupid air freshener let out a blast of cinnamon so strong it
burned his nose. Another TV victim fell dead.

“You know I’m here,” the woman said.

“Honey, I knew you were there the moment you
stepped on my porch. Just figured I’d wait and see what you were
gonna do.” He didn’t look, though, damn, he wanted to. Instead he
waited for her to decide; let her figure out her next move. She
sounded sultry. Like the kind of woman that could lure a man to his
grave just by the sound of her voice. Like a siren in the middle of
the damned ocean.

She’d made it this far. What was she going to
do now? Bail and run or keep on coming? A wave of desire flooded
him at that last thought. Please keep on coming. He wanted to see
where this would go. It was already more entertaining than the
movie.

“Kanon Reyes?”

Tension crept into a knot between his
shoulders. “That depends, doesn’t it?”

Carefully, he set the bowl on the carpet and
slid to the edge of the couch, turning to get a good look at the
woman in his living room. Damn. She had dirt all over the front of
her clothes, and her skin-toned tank top clung to every curve of
her body. Her combat boots looked worn and comfortable, wrapped
lovingly around strong legs. She also had the reddest hair he’d
ever seen.

But she wasn’t a lioness.

Kanon’s gaze drifted to the gun holster and
the ugly butt of the gun he’d bet was packing silver.

His nostrils flared as he sucked her scent
down deep.

Canine. Kanon cringed. Hound. Fuck.

“Who are you?”

“Lennox Donnelly.” He saw the glint of silver
cuffs dangling out from her back pocket as she took a step forward,
confirming his suspicions. Shifter Town Enforcement. If they’d sent
a dog after him, it’d be a ridgeback.

Probably a whole damned pack.

“Kanon Reyes...”

“Save it.”

There was a creak on the front porch again,
faint. Heavier. Male this time. Damn.

So they had sent a pack.

She reached a hand around and tugged out her
badge.

The steps on the porch headed straight for
them. Confident, quick. Her attention flicked to the door, her body
going tense as she reached to pull her gun. Not a Hound, then. He
was on his feet before he heard the key slip into the lock, moving
to block her shot. He reached out towards her with one hand, the
word coming on a low growl, “Don’t.”

Her gaze locked with his. She didn’t give a
rat’s ass what he wanted, and Kanon stepped towards her, violence
entrenching itself deep in his gut, threatening to erupt. Her eyes
turned hard as she leveled the gun on him, but at least it wasn’t
aimed at Tegan.

The door swung open and his partner stepped
in, black hair shaggy around his face. Tegan froze. His growl was
instantaneous as he glanced from one to the other, before turning
to face off squarely with the woman pointing a gun at Kanon. “Who
the fuck are you?”

“Lennox Donnelly,” Kanon said before she
could spit it out. “And she was just about to explain why she
thinks she’s supposed to arrest me.”

But he knew. He just wanted to hear it from
her. Hear one of Shifter Town Enforcement’s many little lies. She
stiffened, shoulders tensing, and he could almost picture her
hackles rising all the way down her spine. Kanon swallowed.

Hellfire. She was something different, all
right. Not exactly beautiful…the gun, the rough and rugged edge to
her, the fierce blaze of confidence in her eyes as she flicked her
attention between them—calculating the risks. Drop dead was stamped
all over her pretty little face, right along with the dust smears
and the rust-colored hair, a few loose strands hanging around her
face, bringing out the green in her eyes. Green that wouldn’t carry
true to her dog.

Even as she pointed a gun at him, he wanted
her. His tongue made a wet line across his lower lip. He was every
bit as stupid as the idiots in the movie screaming behind him.
Worse, probably. No one in the movies ever got the hots for Michael
Myers when he came after them with an axe.

“You attacked a Hound.”

No he hadn’t. The son of a bitch had
sucker-punched him. Kanon had just made damn sure he’d finished the
fight. If the Hound hadn’t wanted to play with a lion, he shouldn’t
have started it.

“That was your dog’s fault, not Kanon’s.”

Tegan took a step closer and Lennox
stiffened, her gaze darting between them. She couldn’t shoot them
both. With a slight baring of teeth, she holstered her weapon,
briefly lifting both hands in a no-harm gesture. Confidence clung
to her as she braced herself to stare them both down. She never
once looked away. Never once backed down.

“Look, I’m not here to argue or negotiate. I
have a warrant for your partner’s arrest. That’s it. If you have an
issue with it…”

“I have an issue with it, honey,” Kanon
drawled.

The look she shot him was every bit as fiery
as her copper red hair.

“Then take it up with the courts.”

“No. I’m taking it up with you. We both know
in a court case between a Hound and a lion, I don’t stand a chance.
You all are supposed to do whatever you’re ordered—”

“And you don’t have an obedient bone in your
body.”

Kanon closed the distance between them in a
single stride. She radiated heat, warmth, but he could now see the
slightest tremor in her hands. Scared. But a cornered dog fought
back. People were like that, too. She wouldn’t go down without a
fight.

“I didn’t start that fight, and the minute
you lock me up, I’m a dead man.”

He’d had issues with Hounds in the past, and
a lion with a troubled history wouldn’t get a jail cell; he’d get a
short stay in a holding cell followed by a swift execution. Better
dead than alive was Shifter Town Enforcement’s lion-shifter
motto.

Tegan grabbed his shoulder and squeezed, the
tension zinging between them. Wild, restless. One look at Lennox,
the calm professionalism stamped over her face, and certainty
settled in his gut.

They were going to have to kill a Hound. Kill
this Hound.

Spend the rest of their lives looking over
their shoulders for something Kanon hadn’t even started. God damn
it. He should have killed that stupid dog when he’d had the
chance.

“Then you shouldn’t have assaulted a
Hound.”

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 grab 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, I’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 burst 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 have 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 have done if...

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Don’t thank me. Just open that handsome
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 the 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 been in a tussle with someone there who 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 opening. “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 even outmanned,
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. She had a point,
and they were already asking her to take one hell of a leap of
faith already.

“Fine. Your word, though, that 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 would ever be
submissive.

“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 believable, or if what they say
contradicts you or each other, I’ll tote both of your asses off to
Enforcement. Got it?”

Tegan found himself smiling at her direct,
fierce intensity. “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, but a sharp eye wouldn’t miss the jut of a
hipbone beneath the skin.