The Mane Event (3 page)

Bukowski, chuckling, started the car. “And he was right, even though he wasn’t the healthiest man we’ve ever arrested. But a guy like Llewellyn would never realize it. So don’t waste your time.”

“I know. I know. A girl can fantasize, though.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

He pulled out into traffic and headed back to the precinct.

Mace Llewellyn. Back in New York and looking tastier than anything she’d ever seen before. Who knew he’d turn out like that? She’d always thought of him as adorable back in the day. The cute boy who sat next to her in science class, making her laugh by mocking everyone around them while trying
not
to stare at her breasts. He’d been brutal, witty, and her biggest crush ever. Now, however, well…now the man was a god. He had to be at least six foot four and well over two hundred pounds, without a single ounce of fat on him.

Initially, she’d been unimpressed with the males she caught glimpses of while waiting around for Missy. Too pretty. Too glossy. Too…clean. They wore Armani suits and seven-hundred-dollar watches. They were all blond. No, not blond. Gold. Seriously gold. Their skin. Their eyes. Their hair. It was hard to believe these people lived in New York.
Her
New York. Where you found every shade, every hue, every color under the freakin’ rainbow.

As far as Dez was concerned, her family represented true New York culture. Her father a good Irish boy from Hell’s Kitchen. Her mother a sweet Puerto Rican from the Bronx. Together those two people created one brown-skinned daughter who looked like she just arrived off the boat from Cataño. Another redheaded daughter with pale skin who looked like she should be on Broadway in
Riverdance.

Then they made Dez, who dangled between both worlds. Her straight brown hair had a reddish tinge. Her skin seemed to have spent too much time in the sun. Plus she had the same damn freaky-colored eyes as her dad.

Mason seemed to have the same problem. He belonged and he didn’t.

He always had the golden hair. The golden eyes. Even that golden skin. But now he had something rough and ready about him. He had stubble on that strong, square jaw. He recently shaved off that golden hair, although it seemed to be fighting its way back. His pensive gold eyes showed he’d seen a lot of the world over the past twenty years. And based on the brutal scar that cut across his neck, the world had been pretty hard on him.

Yeah, but Bukowski probably hit it right on the head. A guy like Mace was way out of her league…if she had a league. It’s not like she dated much once her marriage to “The Idiot” ended four years ago.

Still, the fourteen-year-old Mace used to give her this little tingle at the base of her spine when he would smile at her in biology lab. This adult Mace, though, made her entire body tingle—violently.

She didn’t even think Mace noticed her back then. He always treated her like a sister he didn’t actually hate. After seeing him now, though…well, she really hoped he didn’t actually look at his own sisters like that.

Dez had changed. And all for the better. No longer the painfully shy girl trying to hide huge breasts behind a load of books so the jocks would stop trying to grab her, this Dez reeked of attitude and confidence. Almost cocky. Even the way she moved. She walked with her back straight, head held high, breasts straining beneath a burgundy turtleneck sweater, daring a guy to touch them. And seeing the way she moved, Mace had no doubt she would snap the neck of the first fucker who tried something.

Yup. He still wanted her. Had to have her. And, like a gazelle running past him on the African plains, he would do whatever necessary to get his paws on her.

Mace looked at the door that blocked him from his sister. With a heavy sigh, he walked toward it and prayed they got along better this time. He wasn’t sure he could handle any more stitches on his throat.

“W
hat exactly were you doing with that…that…police person?”

Mace’s feet sat comfortably atop his sister’s desk, and his eyes stared up at the ceiling.

“Well, if you hadn’t interrupted us, I probably would have laid her out on your desk and—”

“Mason Llewellyn! This is not funny. That idiot is a cop—believe it or not—and she’s trying to prove that
I
had something to do with Alexander’s death. She actually asked me if
I
killed him.”

Mace watched his beautiful sister. She took after their mother. He took after his father. And they got along about as well as that pair did.

“Did you?”

Missy glared at him. “Of course I didn’t!”

“Just checking. I know how cranky you can get.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you.”

“As a matter of fact—”

“You have no idea what’s going on.”

Something in his sister’s tone made him stop. Something tired…and scared.

“You’re right. So why don’t you explain it to me.”

Missy began rubbing her temples. A sure sign her stress level just hit a new high. “I don’t know. I think someone’s trying to take over the Pride. Force the males out.”

“You’re telling me lions
shot
Petrov?”

“I said I don’t know.”

“Clearly.”

An unspoken rule among shifters—never fight against another shifter with anything but your fangs, claws, and hunting skills. One of the reasons few lions shed a tear over the loss of the Withell Pride a few months back. Using poison on your claws? Tasteless.

“You sure it’s not hyenas? I know I’ve been away for a while, but you can’t tell me you’re getting along with them.”

Missy sniffed. “Hardly.” No. He didn’t think things had changed that much. Not when Missy still sported a scar on her back from a childhood fight with a hyena. They were the only shifters Mace knew of born with their fangs and the belief that everything around them existed simply to be their prey.

“Just be careful, Mason. If some other males are planning to take over, I’m not sure if they’ll see you as a threat or not.”

Males always left the Pride they were born to, but since the Llewellyns were one of the “civilized” Prides that traded their males out, his existence created a bit of a problem and a threat to outsiders trying to claim his sisters and cousins as their own. With his money and name, the Pride could get three higher-level males for him.

Of course, that particular thought made him want to retch.

Although, Mace really wasn’t worried. He learned a long time ago how to survive without the Pride. He’d been the hunter and the hunted. Trapped in the middle of firefights with seemingly no way out. He’d killed. Humans. To protect his men and himself. His days of pampering had disappeared as soon as he went off to the Naval Academy.

But his sister’s concern almost made him feel like he didn’t hate her. Almost.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Nothing at the moment. Just keep breathing.”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know yet. I don’t want some renegade males trying to take over this Pride. Sherry had two cubs last month by Petrov.” Missy shuddered. “I’d hate to think what they’d do if they got in.”

He didn’t want to ask the next question, but his stupid sense of duty and loyalty wouldn’t allow him to do any less. “Do you need me to stay here?”

“No. Shaw and Reynolds won’t stand for it, and I don’t need you three snarling at each other over breakfast. Besides, we have some important people coming over for a holiday banquet tomorrow. And since I know you won’t clean yourself up for it—”

Mace held up his hand. “A simple ‘no’ really would have answered my question.”

“Where will you stay? And don’t say your apartment. It won’t be safe.”

He wanted to say “between Dez’s thighs,” but that would simply set his sister off again.

“Actually a buddy of mine from the Navy is coming to town. He and his Pack are staying here for the holidays. I can crash with them for a while.” He looked up to find his sister staring at him in horror. “Is there a problem?”

“Did you say Pack?”

“Yes.”

“You’re friends with a…a…dog?”

“He prefers wolf, but yeah, I am.” He actually considered Smitty his brother. They’d saved each other’s life on more than one occasion.

“But…you can’t be friends with him.”

In theory, maybe. They were Pack and Pride, dog and cat; he and Smitty should be the worst of enemies. Especially with the Pack–Pride war that had been going on for decades. But the military created strange bedfellows. Guys who had to rely on each other for their survival. Smitty was and always would be one of his best buds. Even if Mace caught him on more than one occasion licking his own balls.

“You know the funny thing is, Missy, I’m really not asking your fucking permission.”

“Don’t you dare curse at me, Mason! I’m not one of your military cohorts or that slut from the Bronx.” Mace looked back up at the ceiling. Five minutes with his sister and he felt twelve years old again.

“Now,” she continued, “are you at least going to come over for Christmas? I have a gift for you.”

Mace glanced around Missy’s office. There wasn’t one sign that in five days the world would be celebrating Christmas. It could easily be the middle of August for all the decoration that his sister had up.

“Are you even celebrating Christmas?”

“Don’t be smart. The living room is quite decorated. I just don’t like tinsel and things in my office.”

He didn’t even have to ask to know that his sisters hired someone to decorate their living room. No way would the Pride’s females lower themselves to something as middle class as putting up a Christmas tree.

“We’ll have to see. I may be busy.”

His sister’s gold eyes narrowed. “Not with that woman.”

If he were lucky, Christmas day his cock would be so far inside Dez MacDermot, going anywhere would be a physical impossibility.

But to his sister, he shrugged. “You never know…”

Dez cringed as her boss slammed his door closed. But before she could walk away, he snatched it open again. “And I better not see your ass until after the New Year!” He slammed it again.

Dez glared at Bukowski as she headed back to her desk. “
I
didn’t even do anything.”

“You did ask her if she killed Petrov. I think your exact words were, ‘You whacked him, didn’t you? You sadistic bitch.’”

“Sadistic heifer. And it was just a question.”

“Uh-huh. Well, your ‘question’ now has you on a lovely vacation until after the holidays.”

“Still doesn’t seem fair.”

“Maybe not.” Bukowski threw himself into his desk chair. “But your dad is the one who golfs with the lieutenant every couple of weeks. Whatcha wanna bet he went on and on about his poor baby working every holiday?”

Who knew bringing her dad to an NYPD function would cause all this trouble? She introduced him to her lieutenant, and once the men found out they were both former Marines, they got along like a house on fire. Then they started golfing several times a month with some other Marines. Dez knew it would only be a matter of time before her father found out that she really didn’t have to work during the holidays. With her seniority and vacation time, she could take the entire month of December off.

But Dez worked the holidays for a reason. Because anything had to be better than another Christmas with her sisters. There were just so many times a woman could hear she was a failure with men and in her career before it really started to hurt.

Dez flopped herself into her chair and glowered at a wall. The current situation did not bring her happiness.

“So what are you going to do?”

She glanced at Bukowski, then back at the wall covered in “wanted” flyers. “Pretend it didn’t happen.”

Her partner chuckled. “Good luck with that.”

Dez turned her chair around and glanced at the Petrov file sitting on her desk. She examined the picture attached to it. Petrov had been a handsome man, no doubt about that. But nowhere close to Mace.

Closing the file, Dez glanced up briefly when she heard someone settle into the chair on the other side of her desk. When big feet propped up on the vast amount of paperwork in front of her, she looked back up.

Yeah, that sure was Mace Llewellyn staring at her from the other side of her desk. Just staring. Like he used to. Like he knew where she’d buried the bodies of all her goldfish after their unfortunate “accidents” or what she did with her sisters’ toothbrushes on more than one occasion. The all-knowing, all-seeing Mace stare, and it still made her crazy.

She raised an eyebrow. “Why are you here?”

He mockingly gave her the raised eyebrow back. “You never gave me an answer.”

“Yeah. I did. In fact, my exact words were ‘no’.”

“Yes, but I’ve chosen to ignore that until I hear what I want.”

Dez laughed. “Jesus, Mace. You really haven’t changed all that much, have ya? You’re still…you.”

“Are you talking about my bountiful charisma and overwhelming charm?”

Okay. The hysterical girl-giggling had to stop. A mature woman of thirty-six, she had a divorce under her belt and a healthy mortgage. Acting like the football team captain asked her out to the prom was not, in any way, remotely mature.

“Mace—” Dez stopped and looked around the room. Yeah, she had every idiot’s attention. “Don’t you people have something to do?”

As one, “No.”

She growled and looked back at Mace. She blamed him for what would certainly be hours, maybe even days, of precinct gossip. “Mace. I can’t go out with you.”

“If you’re worried arresting my sister will come between us—really, that’s not a problem. I’m pretty sure it will bind us tighter together. Besides, we made plans…involving Missy’s desk.”

“You know I was only torturing your sister.”

“So you were just using me?” He actually sounded wounded. “Like a whore?”

“Mace…” She stopped and rubbed her eyes. Of all the places he could be doing this, her precinct should not be one of them.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Trying to make me crazy.”

The look he gave her was pure predatory male. “I like you crazy.”

Christ, did he just growl that?

After all these years, Mace still worked her in all the best parts. Making her feel uncomfortably warm…and seriously wet.

Flash-flood warning wet.

Her desk phone rang. She should have been grateful for the distraction from Mace, but she grimaced instead. She did not look forward to this.

Apparently afraid she wouldn’t get the phone herself, Bukowski reached around Mace and picked up the receiver.

“Detective MacDermot’s desk. Well hi, Mrs. MacDermot, how are you?”

She held her hand out. “Gimme the phone, you—” She bit back the curse she had at the ready. It took her years to beat that Bronx girl out of her system. She wasn’t about to let her loose again. Especially in front of the one person she still wanted to impress.

Bukowski tossed the receiver to her. She caught it and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hi, baby.”

“Hiya, Ma.”

“So, I hear you’re available for dinner on Christmas.”

Jesus Christ, did the lieutenant have her father on speed dial or something?

“Well—”

“Don’t you dare lie to me, Desiree MacDermot!” The acid tone that still made her cringe zipped across the line. “Dinner will be at six. Bring pie. Love ya.” Her mother hung up. As always, the woman was short and to the point.

Dez dropped the phone back in its cradle. This Christmas had gone to hell fast.

She looked up and saw gold eyes staring at her. Actually, they were devouring her.

Holy shit.

The woman was fucking gorgeous.

“Don’t look at me like that, Mace.”

He dropped his feet to the floor. “Like what?”

“You know like what.”

He leaned on the desk, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, and he waited. Waited for her to realize they would be together.

“What, Mace?
What?
”

“I’m waiting on you.”

“Don’t bother.” She casually waved him off. “Apparently I’ve gotta go buy pie.”

She sounded so despondent, he couldn’t help but smile. “Not a big fan of the holidays?” He’d have to work with her on that. He loved Christmas but had never been able to really celebrate it with his own family. He really wanted Dez to enjoy Christmas as much as he did. Right now, however, she looked like a puppy that got her tennis ball taken away.

“The whole season brings me out in a rash. I usually work during the holidays, but now, because of
your
sister, I’ve gotta deal with them.”

“Them?”

“The family.”

He understood her pain. Of course, his sisters weren’t about to demand his presence to anything, especially if there might be a chance he’d end up embarrassing them. And since Mace went out of his way to embarrass them that would be a damn good worry.

“Oh God. I gotta go shopping now.” She buried that beautiful face in her hands. “I hate holiday shopping.”

“You know what? I gotta go shopping too. We should go together.”

She started to drag her hand through her hair, then abruptly stopped. She shook her hand out and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Have you always been this pushy?”

“I’ll buy you a hot chocolate.”

He watched her fight that amazing smile. “Go away, Mace.”

“You’re going to leave me to the tender mercies of these cruel New York streets? All alone? On Christmas? No family?” He sighed, giving her his best “sad look.” He’d perfected it over the years with quite a few sympathetic barhooks. “Missy doesn’t want me around for her big Christmas banquet tomorrow. She says I’ll embarrass her in front of all her friends.”

Dez damn near growled in anger. “You’re her brother. How could she do that to you?”
Yes!
He had her. At least…well…he
did
have her.

“Hey, hoss.” Bobby Ray Smith, also called Smitty by his closest friends and the entire United States Navy, grabbed a chair from one of the other desks, pulled it up next to his, and sat down. “They do have some beautiful women in this city.” Why, oh why, did he meet with Smitty first before coming here?
Cause you’re a dumb ass, Llewellyn
.