Pack Justice (Nature of the Beast Book 1) (32 page)

“I don’t know about nice, but I can make a suggestion for a really wild time if you want a change of pace. No promises she won’t kill you in bed, though. Gotta watch the tiny firecrackers. Take it from me, Sean. There are a lot of options out there, but it’s not every day a man gets a gorgeous number like that defense attorney’s attention. I told you last night she said some pretty flattering things about you when she was dressing down that scumbag reporter.”

I choked on my own spit; coughing, I gaped at Kevin. “Are you serious?”

“I
liked
conspiracy theory number one. Hell, I’d jump into bed with her given half a chance. Have you seen her?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen her,” I mumbled, wondering how I’d change the subject from Andrea Morgan. Every single inch of her was beautiful, and my wolf was almost as eager to see her again as I was. “I’ve also seen her throw down better men than me in court. My pride is damaged enough.”

“Flowers, Sean. Thank the nice lady with flowers. Who knows? Maybe she’ll ask if you like coffee.”

“You’re terrible, Kevin. I can’t just hit on the first single woman I spot.” The flowers were a good idea, and I hoped she’d want a lot more than coffee. “Isn’t it a bit much to buy a woman flowers for fending off reporters?”

“You’re right. You better go straight for the engagement ring. Takes a hell of a woman to deal with
those
sharks.”

I laughed. “Worse than lawyers?”

“He really said some nasty things about you. He deserved every last bit of the tongue lashing she gave him.”

“I’m really going to have to watch this video.”

“It’ll be the best and worst five minutes you’ll spend this week.”

“Good to know.”
 

Chapter Twenty-Three

After visiting six houses for sale, my head spun from the possibilities and the new lump on the back of my head. If anyone had told me I would walk into a house for sale and get attacked by a rogue piece of ceiling, I would have laughed long and hard. That the plaster and rotten plywood had been accompanied by a disgusting amount of rain-dampened crud hadn’t helped matters any.

I did laugh at Kevin’s horrified expression and the fact he squeaked. He, at least, hadn’t fainted away like the seller’s real estate agent.

There was something to be said for Fenerec reflexes. I managed to catch the woman before she cracked her head open on the floor. My ability to hold back my hysterical laughter until I was in the safety of Kevin’s SUV said something about my professionalism, in my opinion.

“I wish I could say that was the first time in my career a house attacked someone,” Kevin groaned, banging his head against his steering wheel. “You’re cursed. You’re seriously cursed.”

I snorted, running my hand through my hair. Black sludge clung to my fingers, which made me laugh even harder. “I think it’s safe to say I’m not buying
that
house.”

“Good call. I fully support your decision.”

“That poor woman,” I said, twisting around in my seat to stare at the house. The seller’s agent remained inside, probably on the phone with the owners to notify them of the collapsed roof and ceiling. “All I got was a few chunks of plaster and some plywood. She gets to deal with the homeowners.”

Kevin choked on a laugh. “I’m impressed you had the presence of mind to catch her. You’re fast for someone limping around on a leg brace. You really should have brought your crutches.”

I grimaced. The limp bothered me; the brace didn’t weigh much, but after several hours, it cramped my calf and made the lingering ache of the break worse. Once home, I’d get out of the damned thing and stretch and massage the muscles, but I couldn’t reveal I wasn’t nearly as injured as I should be. “No kidding.”

The papers from the house buying venture were on the dashboard. I picked them up, careful not to drip on them. With a long list of mortgage brokers to talk to, house listings to review, and a list of preparations to ready my home for sale, I was at no risk of getting bored. I also wouldn’t have time to dwell on my growing list of problems, which was exactly what I wanted.

As long as I kept myself busy, I wouldn’t have to think too hard about the extreme changes in my life—or my curse of exceptionally bad luck.

“At least it was the last house on the list. I won’t have to explain to other agents one of the previous houses gave up its will to live and surrendered the instant you walked through the door.”

“I’ve heard people call lawyers bloodthirsty fiends, but I wasn’t aware our evil powers extended to houses, Kevin.”

“You should have hummed the Jaws theme.”

“As a piece of friendly advice, never hum the Jaws theme when you’re approaching another lawyer. They don’t appreciate it for some reason.”

“He looked ready to leap across the table and kill you, if I recall correctly.”

I smirked at the memory. “He just knew he was about to get his ass handed to him in court, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was a terrible defense attorney.”

“I still think you should watch that news report and try to land that hot little number. She’d be good for you.”

“I never knew you were a matchmaker.”

Kevin backed his SUV out of the driveway and headed in the direction of my house. “If you don’t want to take a chance on her, maybe you could introduce us?”

My wolf and cheetah snarled in my head, and I clenched my teeth so I wouldn’t hiss at my real estate agent and reveal I wasn’t quite as neutral about Andrea Morgan as I was trying to pretend. “I’ll watch the video. Who knows? Maybe flowers will work on a woman like her.”

“None of the cheap carnation shit, either. Roses or something exotic.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied in as dry of a tone as I could manage. “I trust you’ll at least let me shower before insisting I attempt to seduce one of California’s best defense attorneys?”

“Oh ho, you must like her. You don’t toss compliments around like that for just anyone.”

“You really are a fan of conspiracy theory number one, aren’t you?”

“Hardcore fan. Invite me to the wedding.”

I choked and spluttered. “Wedding?”

“Maybe you should just skip the flowers and go straight for the engagement ring. Hell, I’ve got a few minutes. I’ll take you to pick one. It’ll be my thank you present for freeing me from that demented bitch I made the mistake of marrying.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose before remembering I had grime all over my hands. “How about I just start with thanking her and a cup of coffee? I’m pretty sure asking her to marry me for beating down a reporter falls under the creepy category.”

“Sean, she smacked down a reporter for you on live television. Land her before she gets away.”

“It’s still a bit creepy.”

“Fine, just don’t forget to ask her to go for coffee after you’re done thanking her.”

It was hard to keep my expression neutral when both my spirit beasts were clambering for me to voice a definitive claim over Andrea. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good.”

My street was blocked off by police when we arrived. Two thoughts passed through my head. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and held it until my lungs ached before releasing it. I cracked open an eye to watch Kevin. “Now what?”

My real estate agent pulled over several driveways down from the blockade, turned on his blinkers, and put his SUV into park. “I don’t think you want to know.”

I groaned, took my glasses off, and banged my forehead into the dashboard several times. “It rains, probably for the first time in months, and you’re seriously going to tell me my house burned down while I was shopping for a new house.”

“Judging from the number of fire trucks and cruisers present, that’d be a pretty good guess. They’re parked in front of your place, and I ain’t seeing your house. You should be able to see it from here.”

“Hey, I don’t suppose you’re willing to provide an alibi, are you?”

“Consider it done. I’ll get you a list of the names and numbers of the agents we worked with today, too. I even have the seller’s agreement we signed and dated yesterday all ready for you.”

“I put my copy in the fireproof safe at least.”

“It gets even better.”

“I don’t want to know. I just don’t want to know.” I banged my head into the dashboard again. “I think I’ve reached my limit for one day.”

“The scumbag reporter behind conspiracy theory number two is harassing the cops at the barricade, and if my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it looks like the cute little attorney showed up along with the bottom feeders. I think she likes you.”

If Captain Ramirez didn’t kill me for not telling her I was leaving the house, Andrea would. I sighed, sat up, put my glasses back on, and unbuckled my seatbelt. “If you get a parking ticket, I’ll pay for it, but I think I’m going to need that alibi in about half a minute.”

“You got it. Your insurance company is just going to love this.”

“They’re going to love the fact I paid extra for the right coverage, too.” I considered crawling into the back of the SUV and hiding under one of the seats. Instead, I opened the door and stepped out onto the curb.

The light rain had been pleasantly chill in the morning, but as soon as I closed the door of Kevin’s SUV, the skies opened up and left me drenched in the time it took my real estate agent to circle his vehicle.

“You needed the shower.”

“I need a new life.” I trudged through the rain and headed to the line of cruisers, spitting so many curses Kevin laughed.

As I feared, Captain Ramirez was present, and she was talking to one of the firemen. Andrea glared at the reporter, who was staring in the direction of what used to be my house.

Shoving my hands into my jacket pockets, I slogged over towards Andrea.

The temptation to blow in her ear was too much for me or my wolf to resist. With a squeal, she spun around. The way the rain plastered her blazer and blouse accented every last one of her curves.

Her eyes were red, and they widened when she saw me. All the color fled from her face, leaving her a pasty gray. “Sean?”

Captain Ramirez whirled towards me, and her eyes blazed yellow. “Mr. Scott.”

While I wanted Andrea’s full attention, my wolf recoiled at the intensity of Ramirez’s fury, which added an acrid bite to her scent. I tensed, wondering if I could outrun her while wearing my wretched leg brace.

Kevin intercepted the police captain, thrusting out his hand. “I’m Kevin Weston, Mr. Scott’s real estate agent and a former client of his.”

My mouth dropped open at Kevin’s behavior, and I spluttered.

While I had been ready to make my escape, Kevin showed no signs of fear, and Ramirez’s attention diverted from me to my real estate agent. They shook hands, and Ramirez’s eyes narrowed. “I remember you, Mr. Weston. Twenty stitches and a broken wrist.”

I grimaced at the reminder of what Kevin’s wife had done to him.

“You have a good memory, Captain. What’s going on here?”

Ramirez’s attention once again turned to me. “An hour ago, we received a call about a fire at your home, Mr. Scott. It seems someone planted some rather potent explosives around the house and detonated them.”

I winced. “Now I’m really glad I wasn’t home.”

“We were under the impression you would be home today, Mr. Scott,” Captain Ramirez hissed. Taking a deep breath, the woman straightened. In a calmer voice, she said, “It’s a good thing you weren’t home, as I’m certain the blast would have killed you instantly. The building was flattened.”

The ramifications of her words sank in, and I jerked in Andrea’s direction, taking in her pale complexion, red eyes, and rain-flattened hair and rumpled appearance. I took in a breath to catch her scent, but the smoke and presence of so many other smells confused my nose.

“Sean Scott?” The reporter turned to me along with his cameraman.

“No comment.” Old habits died hard, and I cursed myself for opening my mouth and confirming my identity. “I had a six o’clock appointment this morning with my real estate agent so we could view a property across the city.”

“Mr. Scott, is it true Andrea Morgan conspired with your wife to murder you?” the reporter demanded, shoving his idiotically large microphone in my face.