For Your Paws Only (Supernatural Enforcers Agency #2) (7 page)

Not that Cutter thought he’d actually find something, but it had felt good to vent at someone who kind of deserved it. Avery and Wayne were still out interviewing people, so hopefully they might uncover something of use.

As much as he wanted to run out and try to solve Clayton’s murder, he had to remember that he had other obligations. Their other victims deserved the same respect as Clayton. Although, he would dearly love to get his paws on Clayton’s crime scene.

“Ahem.”

Cutter narrowed his eyes but didn’t take them off the screen in front of him. There was no mistaking who that pissy sounding ‘ahem’ had come from.

“What?” he hissed trying not to sneeze at the artificial lily of the valley perfume.

Primrose clucked her tongue. “I solved the toucan case,” she announced smugly.

Okay, that got his attention
. His wolf huffed by Cutter turned his attention to her. “So, what happened?”

The hyena shifter gave him a superior smile. “According to the crime scene technicians, the blood wasn’t all fresh, meaning that some of it had been drawn from her body before the day she was supposedly killed.”

Cutter was right; she had been planning to fake her own death.

“So I surmised that it must have been her cousin, the nurse, who had drawn the blood from her, and I got him to lead us to her.”

He folded his arms. “How’d you do that?”

“I told him the truth, that we suspected she was still alive, and he ran to her. We tailed him and found her. They’ve both been arrested for wasting our time; I expect they’ll get some community service. Their family is livid.” Her eyes gleamed at that; apparently she enjoyed this kind of thing.

“Did they say why they did it?”

Primrose waved her hand dismissively. “They were in love and wanted to marry but she said her father would kill her if she didn’t marry who she was told. The usual soap opera exaggerations.”

His wolf snarled at her lack of concern. “Did you think there might be something to that?”

She rolled her eyes. “If she wants to make a complaint against her father for making threats against her, she can. Otherwise, this isn’t any of our business.”

Cutter groaned inwardly. And people called him a stone cold bastard. “The Director…”

“Already knows that I’ve solved the case. I made sure to tell him in person.”

Yeah, he bet she did
. She was nothing if not thorough in trying to crawl up the promotional ladder. He thought about yelling at her, telling her to make sure the toucan was safe, and that she shouldn’t go over his head to the Director, but what was the point? He honestly didn’t care about who got the plaudits for solving the case. He’d never done the job so he could get a slap on the back and a hearty well done. He’d speak to the Director himself about the toucan’s safety. Or maybe just send him an e-mail; no need to piss him off in person.

“Good work, where’s Dale?”

She seemed a little put out by his reaction – like she was expecting an argument from him and was disappointed when it didn’t happen. But that feeling passed quickly.

“I have no idea,” she said snippily. “I heard Clayton Reeves was murdered.”

He jutted his chin defensively as his wolf prowled. “Yes.”

It might have been his imagination, but she looked a little worried. “Do they know why yet?”

“I wouldn’t know; the case is being handled by Diaz. Did you know him when you worked in Ursa?”

Primrose scoffed. “Everyone knew Clayton Reeves. The guy was an asshole.”

“Who’s now dead,” he spat through gritted teeth.

“Doesn’t change the fact that he was an asshole. There was some speculation that he was here investigating something.”

She gave him a searching look as he stared at her blankly.

“News to me if he was.”

“I have to finish up my report,” Primrose muttered.

She turned on her heel and stalked over to her desk. She furiously bashed at her keyboard.
Jeez, what did the computer ever do to her?

Speculation? He’d considered the same thing, which would explain why Clayton came into town without telling him. But, he was curious as to who else thought that too, and whether it was something that would have actually led to Clayton’s murder.

Clayton wasn’t someone who could let things go, and he didn’t do well with downtime. Getting drunk and playing with prostitutes could only take up so much of his time. Cutter wondered if Clayton had held onto his unsolved case files from the past thirty years and had been trying to solve them during his retirement. Admittedly, it was something that Cutter would do, too. Whenever he had been forced into taking vacation days, he spent them hassling witnesses from unsolved cases. And when asked, Clayton had been pretty darn cagey about just what he was getting up to in his free time.

But, he didn’t know what had caused him to come to Los Lobos. Unlike most agents, Clayton had spent his entire career in Ursa.

With a grunt, he realized that it was time for his interview with Diaz. Great, now he had to play nice with the jaguar asshole who delighted in leering at his hedgehog.

He wondered what the Director would do if he accidentally punched Diaz in the face.

*

“I’m sorry about your friend,” said Avery.

Cutter grunted as other agents murmured the same sentiment. “Thanks, I don’t want to talk about it.”

They were at the Red Moon Bar. They already raised a toast to Clayton, and now, Cutter was trying to forget all about his day.

He looked around the bar; he didn’t want to admit it, but he was disappointed that Lucie wasn’t there. She didn’t come to the bar as often as he did, but he had been kind of hoping to see her friendly face. He just didn’t realize how much he wanted to see her until that moment.

He also noted, with some trepidation, that the new doctor wasn’t there. He had a bad feeling about that.

Dale passed him another beer as soon as he finished his last one. “Drink up, the night is young.”

Cutter took a sip of his beer and, casually, tried to start a conversation. “Has anyone met the new doctor?”

Isis smirked. “You mean, Doctor Hotness? Sure have.”

“Not that hot,” grumbled Cutter.

Avery shook her head. “No, he is, he’s extremely hot.”

Cutter scowled at her; Avery was usually the voice of reason when compared the Isis, who was a man-eater.

“I heard he’s single, too,” offered Jessie.

His wolf growled.
Terrific
.

Wes gave them a reproving look. “Is that all men are to you women – pieces of meat?”

Isis snickered. “No, he’s a piece of meat – like prime rib. You guys,” she looked in turn between Cutter, Dale, Wes and Wayne, “you guys are more like hamburger patties.”

Wayne affected a wounded look. “I’ll have you know I’m more like beef jerky.”

Avery eyed him dubiously “What, chewy and leathery?”

“No, tough and I last a long time.”

He winked at the women, and they burst into fits of giggles. His wolf grumbled at their antics.

“What’s the doctor like? Why isn’t he here tonight?” asked Cutter trying to steer the conversation back to his original point.

Jessie shrugged. “He seems great, funny, charming…”

“Has a tight, tight ass,” offered Isis.

“But, he said he’s still settling in, and needs to unpack all his boxes after the move. He said he’d love to come out with us another night. And Cecile already asked him to be on the softball team.”

Cutter slapped down his beer. “But she hasn’t even seen him play!”

Isis snorted. “Doesn’t matter, you should have seen the way Cecile was simpering all over him when Lucie was giving him a tour of the building. I swear I thought the swan shifter was going to faint like a southern belle.”

His wolf stirred at the mention of Lucie. He figured she was only giving him a tour because she was being nice, and they were going to be working together.
She was too nice for her own good
.

He tried to sound nonchalant. “So, he’s at home, right? Not, anywhere else?”

Not out on a date with a hedgehog shifter? Lucie had said specifically that she was only interested in him, but what if the lion shifter tricked her into a date. She was so sweet and innocent; he could have bamboozled her into having dinner with him. Lord, they could be eating pasta in a romantic, Italian restaurant at that very moment!

Dale gave him a sideways look. “What do you care? You don’t want the doctor for yourself, do you?”

“Of course, not,” he muttered. “I’m just curious; he seems kind of familiar.”

“A few years ago, he worked at the Ursa SEA. But, still, you seem really interested in him.”

Cutter rolled his eyes, told Dale to fuck off and sucked on his beer. His wolf was a little mollified. He guessed that if Lucie had gone on a date with the lion, Jessie would know. She had her tiny finger on the pulse of all the gossip in the building.

As the evening wore on, people drifted away to talk to other friends and hook up with new friends until Cutter was left drinking with Dale.

“Shame about Clayton,” observed Dale dispassionately.

There had been no love lost between Dale and Clayton. In fact, the older eagle shifter had been suspended a couple of times for punching Dale.

“Yeah,” murmured Cutter.

“You should do something to take your mind off it.”

Cutter nodded. He’d been thinking about doing just that. He was thinking about leaving, shifting and going for a run. Letting his wolf free might be just what he needed. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and intended to leave altogether when he got back.

When he did return to the table, it was to find that another beer had been lined up for him, Dale was grinning inanely and they had been joined by twin peacock shifters.

He sat down and glared at the twin girls –
and yes, they were little more than girls
. He considered asking them for ID to make sure they were allowed to be in the bar. They both flipped their black hair over the shoulders in unison and stared at him disinterestedly.

“Cutter, this is Taryn and Sharon.”

He nodded in their direction and leaned over to Dale. “What the fuck are you doing?” he whispered, furiously.

Dale chuckled. “No need to thank me. You’re tense; you need to get laid. These girls are horny. Pretty copacetic, right?”

“When did you learn such a big word?” he taunted as his wolf yapped miserably.

There was no way he was going home with one of those girls, so Dale would just have to entertain them both. In fact, he’d probably enjoy that.

“I’m not interested, okay?”

Dale frowned. “Just have your drink and enjoy their company. If you’re not interested after you’ve finished then all you have to do is leave, and I’ll take care of them.”

All his instincts said no – his wolf howled at him to get up and get the hell out of there – but Cutter gave in.
What could one beer hurt?

“Fine.”

Dale grinned and started chatting to the girls. They were in college, majoring in English Literature and played lacrosse, but they didn’t let that get in the way of their true passion of partying.

Cutter grabbed his beer. Fuck, he’d need alcohol just to listen to these vacuous girls. He’d rather listen to Lucie explain the difference between knitting and crocheting.
Damn, he could have listened to her talk about that all day long.

He took a long swig and frowned at the slightly bitter taste. The twins were gushing about how they won a wet t-shirt contest on their last spring break. Cutter gulped down his drink; he didn’t care about the taste, he just needed alcohol – stat. This was going to be a very boring conversation.

*

He watched as Cutter lurched and shambled to the open door of the cab. The peacock shifter trying to shepherd him into the vehicle swore and slapped at him. The intoxicated wolf shifter laughed uproariously at a joke no one else seemed to get.

He snorted. What a fucking joke. He smiled as he considered that taking that peacock home would rupture any chance he would have with the hedgehog shifter Cutter was lusting after.

Huh, maybe he’d kill the hedgehog, too. Before he killed Cutter, just to make the fucker suffer. In the years he’d spent dreaming of the things he’d like to do to Cutter, he hadn’t factored in hurting his female. Might make it even more fun.

“You coming, baby?” slurred his own female for the night.

He turned back to watch her rubbing up and down against his car. He gave her an indulgent smile mixed with contempt. He gave one last look at Cutter, who was trying to get out the other side of the cab, and the peacock who was trying to grab onto his arm.

“Yes, I am.”

Chapter Six

Wednesday

Lucie felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Ten-pound, mutant butterflies by the feel of them
. She was just a teeny bit nervous.

Go big or go home. Well, maybe more like
biggish
.

This probably wasn’t what Avery had in mind, but this was a gesture that was very her. She didn’t want to do something that was out of character; she wanted Cutter to love her just as she came. A somewhat cute, stubborn as nails, curvaceous hedgehog shifter.

She had considered Isis’ suggestion of turning up in her birthday suit and giving him a sensual mauling. But she was ever so slightly concerned about a huge gust of wind blowing up her coat and giving everyone a free peep show. Perhaps, it was something they could try later – like for a one-year anniversary or something.

For now, she needed to do this her way. So, she spent the previous evening baking his favorite treat - blueberry muffins. She assumed they were his favorite because every time he went to the coffee shop they were his choice du jour of sweet treats.
Yeah, her stalking had finally paid off
.

She had arranged them all pretty-like in a basket and had specifically chosen a blue sundress that highlighted her eyes and accentuated her best assets. She giggled as she had a brief feeling of being Little Red Riding Hood, and Cutter playing the part of the Big Bad Wolf. Or maybe she’d be Little Blue Riding Hood.
Either way
.

Her hedgehog snuffled and wrinkled her nose in excitement. Yep, this was it. She would lay her soul bare, tell him she loved him, and she would ask him once and for all if he could ever be with her. In about ten minutes, she was going to be very happy or very sad – but at least she will have tried. Then, she’d give it a week, come up with a new plan and try again!

Lucie rapped on Cutter’s apartment door. The door swung open and… the smile froze on her face as a half-naked, young peacock shifter stood framed in the doorway. In Cutter's doorway! The girl’s expression was one of boredom and Lucie couldn’t fail to notice that she was wearing one of Cutter’s shirts.

She felt sharp prickles at her heart as her hedgehog whined unhappily. Nope, this didn’t mean anything. Not, yet. There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation.

“Uhh, hi, I thought this was Cutter’s place.”

The girl shrugged. “It is.”

Well, so much for hoping she just had the wrong door.

“Are you his sister?”

Maybe his parents had adopted her… yeah, that or she was grasping at straws.

The peacock snorted. “No, sweetie, we just hooked up last night, he’s still in bed. Can I help you with something? Hey, are those muffins that I smell?”

The girl grasped at the basket and Lucie, too stunned for action, let her take them away.

“Yes,” Lucie murmured faintly, “I just came to drop off his… ah, order of muffins, enjoy.”

“Mmmm, yummy, thank you.”

The girl disappeared inside the apartment and slammed the door shut with her foot.

Lucie was standing staring at the door for a couple of minutes before she closed her mouth and dejectedly dragged her feet all the way back to her car. Her beast was whimpering sadly, but Lucie was too stunned to commiserate.

In the year she’d been stalking him, she’d never even seen him flirt with another woman, never mind dating or sleeping with one. That had given her hope. She knew he was attracted to her, but a real sign that a shifter had already chosen their mate was that they wouldn’t be able to have sex with another woman. She couldn’t bear the thought of another male touching her; she had hoped it was the same for him with women.

Clearly, that hope had been misplaced. Who was to say how many other women he had been with? She hadn’t watched him every second of every day; he could have been with dozens of other women. All the while laughing at the silly hedgehog for chasing after him.

It was like her heart was ripping apart, but she had to face the truth - he really didn’t feel the way she felt. The truth was…
crushing
. It shouldn’t be, but it was. He hadn’t made any promises to her; she had no right to expect him to be faithful to her, and yet, she had. The fact that he hadn’t been devastated her, and she couldn’t even be angry with him. Technically, he hadn’t even done anything wrong!

Her lip trembled. No, she would not cry. This incident wasn’t worth her tears - it really wasn’t.

Now, all she had to do was keep telling herself that over and over and maybe, eventually, she and her hedgehog would believe it.

*

Cutter growled awake, furious at himself for getting drunk. He hadn’t been blind, stinking drunk in over three years.

Ugh, his head
. It felt like a fucking elephant was bouncing up and down on him.

His nose tickled at the unfamiliar scent of sandalwood. Yuck, the smell made him want to vomit. He tried to bury his head in his pillow but froze as he heard movement in the room, and the scent intensified.

Who the fuck was that?

“Finally, you’re awake,” sniffed a bored voice.

His eyes snapped open, and he sat up in bed far too quickly. Pain lanced through his head, but he ignored it, choosing to focus on the peacock shifter sitting cross-legged on his bed and licking her fingers.

He squinted at her as dribs and drabs of the previous night filtered through.

He had a fifty-fifty shot. “Sharon?”

She rolled her eyes. “Taryn.”

He nodded but finding out just which twin she was didn’t explain how she had made it to his apartment, and why she was wearing his favorite Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison t-shirt. He looked over his own body and was relieved to find that he was still wearing all his clothes from the previous night.

Cutter rubbed his forehead, ignoring the annoyed grunts of his wolf. “What are you doing here?” he asked trying to sound as neutral as possible, and not show the fury that was bubbling inside him.

Even in the days when he did have casual sex, he didn’t invite women back to his place. This was his den; he liked his privacy. He wanted to tell her to get the fuck out of his apartment, but he wasn’t an ogre. Well… he wasn’t a
total
ogre.

“Don’t you remember?” she asked, mockingly.

“Obviously not,” he ground out, fisting the covers. He needed to busy his hands, or they might find their way around her neck to throttle the smug look off her face.

Taryn started munching on a muffin; in between bites she said, “You were drunk off your ass, so I brought you home.”

Try as he might, he couldn’t recall being dragged home by Taryn at all. Lord, what else didn’t he remember?! He was almost as agitated as his braying wolf.

“We didn’t fuck, did we?” he choked out.

Taryn gave him a look of disbelief. “No, and if we had, you would have remembered me.” She preened for a second and Cutter fought the urge to vomit. “You were practically in a coma by the time we got here, and you kept moaning the name Lacey or something – that was definitely not a turn on.”

Cutter exhaled a long breath and lay back on the bed. “Thank fucking hell.”

“Thanks a bunch,” she grumbled, sarcastically.

His wolf yipped in relieved joy. He didn’t think he could have gotten it up for the young peacock shifter, but he had to be sure. If he was finally being honest, his desire for other women had died the day he met Lucie. Other women left him limp, but just the thought of Lucie doing anything mundane like scratching her nose sent blood rushing to his groin with the ferocity of a tidal wave. At that, his manhood stirred, and Cutter silently groaned.
Not now, you insatiable fucker, he thought
. His dick really did have a mind of its own.

“It’s not you; it’s me,” he muttered half-heartedly. “Why are you wearing my shirt? I don’t see why you needed to get undressed,” he griped, eyeing her half-naked form with irritation.

“That’s all thanks to your buddy, Dale. He decided we should reenact the wet t-shirt contest and threw beer all over Sharon and me. Anyway, I’m gonna use your shower and then you’re gonna give me money to reimburse me for the cab last night and the cab I’m gonna take to get home this morning, and given that your friend ruined my clothes, I’m taking some of yours.”

“Fine, yes, whatever.”

She could have his fricking TV at that moment, and he wouldn’t give a shit. He just wanted her gone.

“Why didn’t you just leave last night?”
And save him the hassle of dealing with her
.

“I ran out of money and there wasn’t any in your wallet; I tried searching your apartment, but I couldn’t find any. I found some really out of date condoms, though. Guess it’s been a while, huh, champ?” She smirked at him. “But, if you did want to do anything, I can promise you I’m not fertile right now.”

Her hand snaked over to him but froze mid-reach at the cold, stony look on his face. “Not interested.”

Taryn huffed and went back to eating her muffin. “You might have told me at the bar that you were impotent.”

His wolf snorted more in amusement than anything. In any other context, he probably would have been frothing at the mouth at what she said, but getting her the heck away from him was far more important that any slights to his ability to satisfy women.

She gobbled the rest of her muffin and moaned at the taste. Cutter couldn’t help licking his lips. Whatever it was had smelled delicious. His wolf rumbled in satisfaction as the smell permeated the air. It was the sweetest smell in the whole world –
blueberries
. Other than meat, he rarely salivated over food – it was just something he needed to consume to survive. But damn if those things didn’t smell like a mixture of heaven, home and arousal. Fuck, he was getting horny from a darn pastry!

“What were you eating?” he asked curiously.

“Blueberry muffins,” she replied with a genuine smile. “Want one?”

“Fuck yes.”

She bounced off the bed and disappeared into his living room. They must be good; based on his time with Taryn he’d swear she was only capable of scowling and smirking. And even better, they were
blueberry
muffins.

He’d never really liked them until a year ago, until he met a certain hedgehog shifter who smelled just like them. Now, he couldn’t stop eating them. They were rich, sweet, succulent and delicious.

Taryn brought in a basket of them and settled it on the bed. He frowned as he looked inside at the moreish treats; they all had blue hearts iced on top. He sniffed the basket and felt a pulse of desire shoot through him.
Oh, no.

“Where did you get these?” he demanded, hoarsely.

She shrugged and picked up another muffin. “Some woman dropped them off for you.”

He leaped out of bed and his head protested vociferously at the sudden movements. “What woman?”

“She didn’t leave her name; she was a hedgehog, though.”

His heart almost stopped beating as panic and fear twisted within, making his wolf whimper. “Did you see her? Did she see you?”

Taryn eyed him like he was a lunatic. “No, I got her throw them through the window, of course she saw me.”

“Fuck!” he yelled.

Thankfully, he was already dressed, but he realized his car must still be parked outside the bar.
Fuckity, fuck!
He grabbed his stash of cash and threw some bills at her.

“See yourself out,” he barked as he ran for the door.

“You might want to bathe first,” she called after him. “You don’t smell all that good.”

No, he imagined he didn’t, but by that point he didn’t care. His wolf hounded him to move faster, and he did. His couldn’t stand to wait for the elevator and, instead, hurled himself down the stairs a flight at a time. He ignored the outraged shouts of his neighbor Mr. Wozniak and pushed past him. He couldn’t feel too bad about almost knocking him over; the old bastard had trained his cocker spaniel to try and take a bite out of Cutter every time he saw him.
They had an ongoing feud about parking spaces.

None of that mattered, though. He had to get to Lucie and tell her that nothing happened with Taryn. He had to make sure that she didn’t think he had slept with the peacock shifter. It was imperative that he do so as soon as possible.

A small, sly part of him wondered why he was in such a rush. After all, didn’t he want Lucie to leave him alone? Wouldn’t seeing him with another woman reach that objective?

His wolf roared. Yes, he wanted Lucie to move on, but not like this. The thought that she could be hurt by seeing Taryn at his apartment ate at him, and he needed to do something about it.
He felt like his life depended on it.

*

Cutter skidded to a stop at the medical bay. He looked around the room, wildly. Where was she? Where the fuck was she?

He heard the unmistakable groans from Helga’s latest victim, but other than that, the area was quiet. He ran his hands over his head. She had to be here somewhere. All he had to do was wait patiently, and she’d show up. How hard could that be? Twenty seconds later, he realized it was nigh on impossible in his agitated state.