COYOTE SAVAGE (9 page)

favor? Do a search through our database, and see if you can find any unusual reports associated

with either the Carson’s or the Brady’s ranch filed by my dad starting about two years ago.”

Bobby nodded, though his expression marked his confusion. Rebecca took a deep breath

and headed for her office door. Darrin stopped pacing and glared at her when she walked in.

“About bloody time,” he said.

“Good afternoon, Darrin. What can I do for you?”

“You can start by telling me where in the hell you’ve been. I’ve been waiting here for

nearly an hour!”

Rebecca shrugged, walking behind her desk. For some reason she felt the need to keep

something between them. “Investigating. Is that all?”

Darrin snorted and crossed his arms. “Really. Are you sure that’s
all
you’ve been doing?

You haven’t, maybe, been out at the Brady ranch?”

His voice made her skin crawl, but she pushed the feeling aside.

She leaned against the back of her chair, meeting his gaze. “I was out at the ranch,

checking their security as promised. I have more than enough proof that their coyotes aren’t to

blame for your loss of sheep. We’ll have to consider another explanation.”

“I had a feeling you’d see it that way.” Darrin smirked at her. “I hear they like to share

their women. I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

She ignored the contemptuous tone to his voice, keeping her expression neutral. Though

she didn’t plan on hiding her burgeoning relationship with the men, she’d be damned if she’d let

Darrin taint it. “What the Brady boys do in their private life is just that—private. As is what I

do.” She waved at the door. “Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do. I’ll call your father as

soon as I have more information. I’m looking into a lead as we speak.”

She sat at her desk and started flipping through papers, hoping he’d get the hint. His

breath against the back of her neck took her completely off guard. She hadn’t heard or seen him

move.

“I’m more man than they could ever be.” His lips coasted over her skin, ending in a light

lick to her neck. “You’ve put up a good chase, but it’s time you realized who the winner is.” His

hand brushed down her arm.

She spun, knocking him back as she surged to her feet. “Don’t touch me!” She flicked at

her arm, wishing she could erase the feel of his fingers on her, even just her jacket. “Now I

suggest you leave before I find a reason to toss your ass in jail for the night.”

Darrin laughed, heading past her on his way to the door. “I like a woman who makes the

hunt worthwhile. Enjoy this little victory…it won’t last long.” He took a step out then turned

back. “And my father will find a way to shut those boys down. It’s only a matter of time.”

Rebecca crossed her arms as he sauntered out of the office. Bobby popped through the

doorway holding some papers. She shifted her focus to her deputy.

“I’m not sure if this is what you were looking for, but I thought you might want to check

it out.” He paused, grimacing. “You might not like it.”

She took the papers and spread them out on her desk, skimming through the sheets,

stopping on the third page. “This doesn’t make any sense. According to this report, the Mayor

had his consulting firm organize a number of seismic tests on land adjacent to the Brady ranch.

But he never had the company file their final analysis on their findings.” She looked over at

Bobby. “He knows better than to break protocol when it comes to government money.” She

flipped to the next page and her breath stalled. “This is a police report filed by my dad. Looks

like he questioned the Mayor on the report, but he never went through with any charges.”

Bobby looked away and a deep chill wove down her spine.

She tapped him on the arm. “Do you know why he never finished this or why the original

report isn’t on my computer?”

“The original report isn’t in the database. I only found it because it was attached to your

dad’s police file. And he never finalized anything because he was still investigating when

he…died.”

Tears stung her eyes, but she managed to keep them at bay.

Bobby toed the floor, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry, Sheriff. I should have mentioned it,

but in all the commotion, I guess I forgot. Your dad hadn’t really told me much about the

situation, only that he didn’t like the way the Mayor ruled the town. I figured he must have just

decided it wasn’t worth it, yet.”

She patted Bobby on the back, gathering the sheets together and stacking them off to the

side. “Thanks. And I know how much you helped my dad. There’s just one more thing. Is the file

on my dad’s death still in the back?”

“Exactly where you asked me to put it.”

“Great. Why don’t you go for lunch? I’ll cover the desk.”

Bobby shuffled his feet, glancing at his watch. “Are you sure? I’ll be okay for a while if

you’d like me to stay.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

* * * *

Talon sat in the truck, drumming his fingers on the dash as the radio played in the

background. Ten fucking minutes had never taken so long to tick by. He checked his watch

again, smiling when the number finally changed. He grabbed the keys and opened the door,

when he noticed Deputy Blake walk out of the station and head down the street, whistling to

himself. Talon frowned, the uneasy feeling skittering down his spine again. With Blake gone,

that left Rebecca alone.

He crossed the street and stepped inside. “Rebecca?”

She didn’t answer and the inklings of fear pitted his stomach. He stalked forward,

listening down a hallway. A cool breeze drifted along the corridor, ghosting over his skin and

ratcheting up his unease. He clenched his hands and headed for the main room. He’d just

rounded a corner when he slammed to a halt. Rebecca was in her office being stared down by

large cougar. She didn’t have her gun, which meant she’d either locked it in her desk, or it’d

been knocked out of her hand.

He ran for the door, watching as she grabbed a chair and held it in front of her, keeping

the animal back. He fisted the door, rattling the glass as he tried to force it open. Rebecca barely

spared him a glance as the cat lunged, scratching at the chair’s legs. He shook it again, scanning

the room for something to use, when he saw Bobby’s chair tucked under his desk. A roar

sounded from inside the room, and he knew he had only one chance.

Talon shucked his jacket and shirt and grabbed the chair, raising it behind his shoulder

then launching it at the glass wall of her office. The legs impacted the surface, shattering the

glass as it crashed through, bouncing across the floor and pushing the cougar back. Talon

followed its path, running at the broken pane and diving through. As soon as his feet left the

floor he changed, landing on paws on the other side, his pants falling to the floor as he leaped in

front of her, growling at the cat.

The animal hissed at him, flashing its teeth as it sized him up. He snapped back, all

thoughts centered on keeping the cougar as far from Rebecca as possible. They danced around

the room, the cougar gaining ground. Something rattled behind him, but he didn’t turn to look,

lunging at the cat as it shuffled to the left. The cougar lashed out, catching him across the side,

but he kept moving, ignoring the flash of pain. He laid his ears back, growling again, when a shot

shattered the wall beside the cougar. He hopped back, but the cat was already running, leaping

through the broken window and loping across the floor before it disappeared down the hallway.

Talon turned to give chase when Rebecca fell to her knees beside him, hugging him

around the neck, her body trembling. His need to comfort her took over and he shifted back,

wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her close.

“You’re hurt.”

Her voice was thick and he could tell she was holding back tears. He eased away,

glancing at the scratches across his side. Though his skin was streaked with blood, the lines were

already starting to heal.

He shushed her, drawing a finger along her chin. “It’s nothing. As soon as I changed, it

started to heal.”

She furrowed her brow and tilted her head, a sigh of relief feathering from her lips.

“Thank god.” She looked out through the broken window. “I don’t even know how that cougar

got in here or how the door got locked. One minute I’m going over some files, the next, the damn

thing knocks me down as I’m headed for the doorway.” She stared into his eyes. “That’s the last

time I lock my gun in my desk, protocol or not.”

He gave her a light squeeze hoping the simple gesture would ease some of the tension

bunching her muscles and crinkling the lines across her forehead. He stood up, still cradling her

against him as he righted the toppled chair and ushered her into it. She fell into the seat, finally

shoving her gun back in the holster.

A genuine smile captured her lips as she stared at him. “As much as I love the view,

baby, you might want to put some pants back on before anyone decides to investigate.”

He sighed and gathered his stuff, quickly dressing before joining her at her desk. “You do

realize that wasn’t a chance encounter, right? There’s no way a cougar just happened to get this

deep into town and picked your building to visit. I felt a breeze down the hallway by the door

when I came in. I bet my ass there’s an open window back there.”

“But it doesn’t make sense. Who would release a cougar in here just to hurt me?”

“That wasn’t an ordinary cougar, sweetheart.”

The color drained from Rebecca’s face as she stared at him, wide-eyed. “A shifter?”

“It’s next to impossible to scent the difference in their animal form, but it’s the only

reasonable explanation.”

Rebecca shook her head, letting it fall back against the chair. “You do realize the irony in

that statement. But wouldn’t you know if there were other shifters in town?”

“Not unless it was someone we spent a lot of time with. We can mask our ability

somewhat, but only for short periods of time.”

She nodded and rocked back, gathering the papers on her desk. She looked up at him,

sadness creeping into her eyes. “I was going over my dad’s file…the one about his death. I

thought I might be able to find something I’d missed before.”

Talon felt her guilt as a palatable sensation, and linked his hand through hers. “It wasn’t

your fault. You weren’t even here.”

She shrugged, trying to gain some distance, but he didn’t allow her. “Maybe if I had

been, he’d still be alive.” Her shoulders drooped slightly. “He wanted me to work with

him…watch his back, but I was too busy making a name for myself in the big city to play the

role of deputy. If I’d bothered to give him just a bit of my time, I might have been there when…”

“He was shot by a hunter?” Talon said.

“It wasn’t a hunter that shot him…no way. My dad was too smart for that, regardless of

what this stupid file says. I’ve read it a hundred times, but I’ll never believe it.” She met his

gaze, anger burning bright in her eyes. “I think he was killed because he was asking too many

questions about a report he found—one he wasn’t supposed to see. Did you know that Carson

was running seismic tests on the edge of your property?”

“Seismic tests?” Talon shuffled through his head, but came up empty. “I don’t know

anything about seismic tests. Why was he doing that?”

“I’m not a geology expert, but it’s generally to look for deposits like oil or diamonds. It

seems my dad confronted Carson when he realized the proper reports hadn’t been made, but he

was killed before he got any answers…at least, that’s what I’m guessing, seeing as he never filed

any charges.” She stood up and paced the room. “Who owned the land before you bought it?”

“It belonged to a native group. The only reason we were allowed to purchase it was

because of the refuge. Otherwise, it would have been turned over to the park’s department.”

“But if Carson found a loophole around that, then manages to get your permit revoked…”

“He can purchase it for next to nothing and do whatever the hell he pleases with it,”

finished Talon. “Damn. I knew that bastard smelled wrong.”

Rebecca stopped walking and touched his arm. “It’s just a theory, but it’s a place to start.

Unfortunately, I don’t see how it ties in with the cougar attacks. You can’t seriously think that

the Mayor is a shifter.”

Talon shook his head, banging the desk. “Caden and I have spent too much time around

the jerk for him to have shielded himself this entire time.”

She sighed and took a deep breath then sat up, sniffing the air. “Wait a minute. Do you

smell that?”

Talon inhaled, detecting an array of scents, one of which was Rebecca’s sweet essence.

“I’m assuming you’re not talking about your arousal.” He smiled at her glare. “I smell a number

of things…the orange cleaner they use on the floor, the metallic scent from the gun, a hint of

smoke from outside—”

“That! The smoke, but I don’t think it’s from outside. I smelled it before…the other day

at the Carson’s farm—like old cigars.”

Talon froze as all the pieces fell into place. He looked at Rebecca, feeling his heart swell

as the truth shone in her eyes. He reached for the phone. “I’ll call Caden—”

“As much as I appreciate you riding to the rescue…again, I can’t let you and Caden risk