Pack Justice (Nature of the Beast Book 1) (36 page)

“I think he’s taken offense to your suggestion,” Marcello’s brother commented. “Just let him catch you so I can watch him put you in your place. This is the most entertainment I’ve had since watching Andrea sink her teeth into you for antagonizing Sean into making a run for it.”

“A little busy here, Dan,” my prey gasped.

The act of speaking slowed Marcello enough for me to pounce on him, and I drove him to the carpet. Before I had fused with my cheetah and wolf, I had been no match for the cop, but with their strength combined with my own, our once one-sided matches had evened out.

Marcello growled at me, and I heard his wolf in his voice. Excitement from both my spirit beasts burned through my head, and I fought to keep a hold on the other Fenerec, my gaze locked on his unprotected throat.

“Why am I the sacrifice here?” Marcello complained, fending me off with one hand on my chest and the other pressed to the bottom of my chin. “It’s like you want me to get bitten.”

“Someone has to get him used to it. You volunteered by opening your mouth and suggesting he court a female other than his mate. Just let him bite you already, or we’ll be here all night.”

“That implies I don’t get to bite back.”

“You’re correct, you don’t. I’m pretty sure Ramirez said, and I quote, ‘If he decides to get into a dominance fight with either one of you, lose.’ You antagonized him into a dominance fight. Sean, control yourself at least a little. You get to bite him, not make him bleed.”

The wolf in me wanted to bite Marcello as hard as possible, but the cat in me wanted to mark the man and claim him as ours. The spirit beasts snarled and hissed at each other in my head, leaving me the victor of the three-way dispute.

Maybe the wolf had kept me alive, but I’d spent far too long in the company of a feline. When Marcello sighed his resignation and stopped resisting me, I pinned him with my weight and rubbed my face against his throat, marking him.

My wolf yanked away control. With a scrape of teeth, the wolf satisfied his need to come out the victor, and as soon as I came in contact with Marcello’s skin, I fled, my spirit beasts driving me across the room to escape any potential retaliation.

Dan choked on his laughter, slapping his leg where he sat beside my sleeping mate on the couch.

“It’s not that funny,” Marcello complained, rolling onto his stomach. “I wasn’t suggesting you court another woman, Sean. I was more thinking you could have interviews with female witches to see if you hit it off with any of them while you lured your ex-wife out so we can finish her off.”

I slinked to Andrea’s side, sitting beside her legs and resting my cheek against her knee. “Explain.”

Marcello propped his chin in his hand. “Considering your circumstances, Ramirez and O’Mallory want to see if you hit it off with a witch. Witches can help us Fenerec keep our instincts under control. Good witches can stop us from transforming, dampen out-of-control instincts, and help us in other ways. She’d like to see if you hit it off with any of the witches from our station first. Send you off with potential candidates to a public place while a bunch of undercover cops scope the area to see if your ex-wife shows up. Put on a little show, let a few reporters think you’re back on the market, catch some attention.”

Neither of my spirit beasts liked the idea, and neither did I. “I am not going to deliberately mislead people.”

Marcello narrowed his eyes at me. “It’d keep Andrea safe. If you give the appearance of taking an interest in other females, Idette will have no reason to look at Andrea. That protects her and helps you find a witch. You’re going to be dominant enough you’ll need one. At the very least, it allows the witches in our district to get a feel for you. It’s important.”

“He’s right, Sean. We need to lure Idette out, divert attention away from Andrea, and we really do need to partner you with a witch. Think about it this way: you want to help get rid of your ex-wife so she’s no threat to Andrea, right? This will let you do just that.”

While neither of my spirit beasts wanted anything to do with a female other than Andrea, they were enthused about the idea of killing Idette.

I didn’t have to think on it for too long. “Fine, but only if Andrea agrees to it.”

Marcello’s smile worried me. “You just leave her to us.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

The last thing I wanted was to be seen in public with a female other than Andrea. No matter how much I protested, on Monday evening, I sat on the patio of a cafe with Alice, sipping coffee and wishing I could be somewhere—anywhere—else.

Unfortunately, I liked Alice, which kept me from running back to the office so I could strangle Andrea’s home address out of someone and go visit her.

My wolf and cheetah complained in my head, their restlessness and need to be near Andrea growing stronger by the minute. She was mine, and my tolerance with the plan to keep us separated to safeguard her crumbled under my desire to be close and protect her.

“I told them you’d hate this idea,” Alice said, grinning at me over her mug of coffee. “If I didn’t know you so well, I’d be offended, Mr. Scott. Couldn’t you at least pretend you like me?”

“I like you, which is exactly why I don’t want to put you in my ex-wife’s sights. Anyway, you’re married. I’m not supposed to like you, not like that!”

I wanted Idette gone, as did my spirit beasts, but the only ones lured out by my presence on Hollywood Boulevard were a few photographers who snapped a couple of pictures before finding somewhere else to be in a hurry.

Alice flashing her badge at them likely had something to do with their departure.

“Your husband is going to see those pictures in a newspaper and kill me,” I predicted.

“Considering he’s standing about fifty feet down the street window shopping with Ramirez, I think he already knows.” Alice laughed, shaking her head. “Relax, Sean. Enjoy yourself. It’s natural for a man to look for a new woman—or a good lay—after escaping the stranglehold of a serious bitch.”

“You’re a married woman. Also, while I like you, there’s only one woman I want.”

“Just play along. The plan isn’t going to work if you don’t cooperate. You having a potential affair with a cop is good gossip material. I can see the headlines now.”

“I’m not having an affair with anyone,” I growled.

“Of course not. We’re two friends having coffee together, which happens surprisingly often. I could text Ramirez and have her send my man over here to join us if you’re truly uncomfortable. You need to get used to it, though. Until Idette’s dealt with, we need to play it safe.”

I sighed, well aware Alice was right. Understanding the reasons for acting as bait didn’t make me like being away from Andrea, especially not after a wretchedly long first day back at work.

The pile of paperwork I needed to deal with would keep me busy for weeks, and none of the cases I’d been assigned filled me with enthusiasm. I recognized make-work when it landed on my desk.

“Bad first day back at work?”

Talking about work gave me a chance to think about something other than how much I missed Andrea. “Today was dull. Tedious.”

“After the past few months you’ve had, I thought you’d appreciate dull and tedious.”

“The settlement cases might take me an hour or two of real work each, and I have two. The rest is all paperwork—paperwork undergraduates could handle without breaking a sweat.”

“View it as a test of your patience, Sean. You’ll be back in the full swing of things soon. Any sign of the rogue bitch?”

I searched the crowd for Idette, but I knew she wasn’t there. Neither my cheetah nor wolf had picked up any sign of my ex-wife. To my relief, whatever had pulled at my wolf and allowed him to track her was gone.

If I couldn’t sense her, I had hope she couldn’t sense me, either.

I sighed. “No sign. No one I recognize, either, who isn’t supposed to be here.”

“You think this is a waste of time.”

“I know it is.” One of the first things Ramirez had done was release footage of the culprits responsible for the destruction of my home, and the news stations had been eager to spread the images. I had already had several run-ins with reporters at the office.

Starting my day talking to reporters and giving them more than a curt ‘no comment’ hadn’t helped my mood at all. Putting Idette and her pack of criminals in the limelight protected me as much as it did Andrea.

In good conscience, I couldn’t hide. If I did, others might fall victim to those Idette had freed from prison. Douglass Roberts was the worst of them, but the others were still criminals, rapists, and murderers, the type of people who belonged in prison.

I had the feeling none of them would make it back to prison. I still didn’t understand everything about the Inquisition and its function in the secretive society of Fenerec and witches, but I learned a little more each day.

It would take me a long time to accept the brutality of pack justice, but I appreciated I could continue my work. I could keep hunting criminals.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“I was just wondering how much things would change,” I confessed.

“A lot.” Alice flashed me a smile.

I appreciated that about Alice. When it came to the important things, she was up front, direct, and honest. “I figured.”

“Give it a few weeks, do your paperwork, and get used to everything. We’ve all gone through it. Ramirez kept me at my desk for two months before she let me go on my first patrol. You’ll get through it faster. With Andrea around, I think you’ll settle in quick.”

“You’re assuming Andrea will be around.”

I should have accepted Andrea’s offer to move in with her from the start instead of holing up in a long-term hotel.

“Anyone who thinks she’ll stay away for more than a couple of days is going to get an unpleasant surprise. By tomorrow, the woman’ll be jumping out of her skin, and so will you. By Friday, she’ll be on the warpath, and I will wisely stay out of her way. By Friday, you’re going to be insufferable.”

Sipping my coffee, I returned to gazing at the crowd and checking out the people across the street. I spotted Andrea leaning against the window of a high-end clothing boutique. With a shameless smirk, she waved at me.

“Pretty woman, walking down the street,” I muttered.

“She showed up, didn’t she?”

Andrea wore a skirt that ended halfway up her thighs, and I wasn’t the only man openly staring at her legs. “She showed up all right. I need to take that woman home with me, Alice.”

“You saw her yesterday. Yesterday.
Less than twenty-four hours ago
, Sean.”

“And?”

Alice glared at me, pulled her phone out of her purse, and dialed a number. “The fucking bitch is across the street, babe.”

“Hey,” I protested, scowling at the cop. “That’s rude.”

“Honest,” she retorted, hanging up. “I have no idea what she’s wearing, but your expression tells me you like it far too much for your own good.”

Instead of Alice’s husband crossing Hollywood Boulevard, Ramirez made the hike and linked arms with Andrea. If I hadn’t known better, the pair looked like old friends in a chance meeting, complete with Ramirez squealing her excitement—excitement I was positive was feigned.

My mouth hung open. “She squealed, Alice.”

“Ramirez? She does that sometimes.”

“She
squealed
.”

“Convincing, isn’t it? Hey, this could work really well. No one is going to question your sexual prowess if someone takes pictures of you leaving with us three. We’re some of the best looking women in Cali, you know.”

I was saved from having to respond by Ramirez dragging Andrea across the street to join us.

“You mind?” Ramirez asked. Without waiting for an answer, she sat next to Alice, leaving the seat closest to me open for Andrea. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Fancy,” I echoed, staring at the police chief in disbelief. “Who are you? What have you done with Ramirez?”

Andrea laughed and slid onto the chair beside me, careful to tug her skirt down so she wasn’t showing too much leg. If I leaned just right, I got a beautiful view of the defense attorney’s thighs.

“She’s my evil twin,” Ramirez stated. “Sean, maybe you should stop staring at Andrea’s legs. You look like you’re about to drag her into an alley and eat her alive.”

My prey laughed. “I’m okay with that.”

“Of course you are. You two are making this impossible, I hope you know.”

“Ramirez, it’s winter. Give it up. You may as well move him into her place and keep them together. Our targets aren’t stupid, and with the amount of publicity we’ve been feeding the reporters, someone would have spotted them by now, especially considering how popular Sean is with the media.” Alice held her hands up in a helpless gesture of surrender. “Plan B has a far better chance of working. I don’t know why we didn’t go straight to Plan B. Plan A was a terrible plan to begin with and relied on Mr. Scott being a reasonable man, which he is emphatically not when it comes to a certain lady who has caught his fancy.” Alice paused, coughed, and leaned over to stare at Andrea. “What are you wearing? I feel like I should be writing you up for solicitation.”