Lycan Packs 1: Lycan Instinct (16 page)

Bullshit
. There wasn’t any gear in the trunk that he couldn’t have gotten from the forensics specialist’s kit. With a frown, she dug her keys out of the pocket of her blue jeans and tossed them to him.

Cooper eyed her but cast glances at Rafe, who sat silently staring at the muted financial report.

“Did you need something else, Coop?” She didn’t try to hide her annoyance.

“Nope. Thanks. Back in a bit.” He left after one more look over his shoulder.

When she returned to her seat, her fingers tapped the padded armrest.

“His coming back for gear doesn’t make you right about him.”

Rafe grinned.

“It wasn’t like he could get into the trunk without the keys.” She could see he didn’t believe her logic any more than she did.

“Want to wager how long he’ll take before returning your keys?”

Mackenzie grimaced. Why couldn’t Coop have come up with a better excuse...or waited a few more seconds? Ten seconds. Just ten more seconds. Of course, the keys gave him another reason to come back.

“Do you like Italian, Detective?”

She swallowed and shrugged. “I’m not going to have to dress up for this, am I?”

“Dress is optional...” Heat flooded her cheeks, and he flashed a straight set of pearly whites. “I mean, what you wear is your choice. I only get to choose the place.”

“Where?”

“My place.”

“Dinner. Nothing more.”

He nodded obligingly. “That was the wager.”

She’d go because she didn’t welsh on bets. Besides, Fuller had told her to stay close and put the pressure on; maybe she’d get the opportunity to do some more snooping around his place.

Looking around the room, her gaze settled on the portrait centered on one wall in an obvious place of honor.

“Who’s the woman?”

Something flickered briefly across his face. Sorrow? Anger?

“My sister, Ariana.”

“She’s beautiful.” The woman posed in a window seat, a serene smile on her rosy lips. A delicate pendant adorned her neck. Her midnight locks draped over one shoulder in a riot of curls. The artist had captured perfectly the sparkle of humor in her emerald eyes. But for some unknown reason, he’d left the portrait unfinished, and the painted colors faded into sketched outlines, then into nothing.

“She was, yes.”

“Was?”

“She died several years ago.”

“I’m sorry.” She reached out, laid a hand on his arm, but then pulled back. She shouldn’t be feeling sympathy toward him. She should be interrogating him, pressuring him into making a mistake. Seeing him stare at the portrait, with his jaw locked against any sign of emotions, tugged at her heart. He’d experienced a great loss; she could relate to that, the emptiness, the longing to hear a loved one’s voice one more time.

“She was murdered.” His soft words had the impact of a sledgehammer.

The team took longer than Mackenzie expected, but she guessed catching up with a wild wolf pack on a vast piece of property wasn’t the easiest of tasks for investigators more familiar with handling stationary evidence.

“We thought it best to call the search off for now,” Cooper explained when he returned to the house. The agent had left moments earlier, but a few others remained outside, putting away equipment. Despite stopping twice during the day for meals, they’d managed to track down about half the pack. The rest proved elusive. “With the sun setting soon, it’s unlikely we’d find the others before dark anyway.” Cooper eyed Rafe. “There are only eight on the property, right? No more?”

Rafe nodded but remained silent and relaxed in a chair, as if falling under suspicion of murder and served a search warrant was a trivial inconvenience. A tick in Cooper’s jaw evidenced his irritation in Rafe’s continued placidity.

Stone had a talent for hiding his thoughts and emotions. He tapped into that expertise whenever he wanted, although he’d let her glimpse another side of him. A softer, more vulnerable side. He’d changed the subject after revealing his sister’s fate, but not before she’d seen pain. When she probed his connection to the more recent murder victims, he displayed frustration and even a hint of anger. She preferred he remain reserved. Cold. Distant. She could better maintain her own aloof professionalism when he did. Seeing him as a man with feelings, a man who could be hurt, made it more difficult for her to view him as a coldhearted killer.

Cooper said, “The team will come back at first light tomorrow and try again.”

Rafe further pricked Coop’s fury by addressing Mackenzie. “I won’t be here tomorrow. Business requires my presence in the city. However, I can arrange for Lucian to be here.”

She nodded and looked toward the door. “Where is he anyway?”

“When the house came into view, he left us to find our own way back,” Cooper answered, sitting in the bay window seat to pick burrs off his pant cuffs. A fresh breeze played with the sheer ivory curtains through the opened windows. “He and that hound wandered off into the brush again.”

Mackenzie frowned. “Whatever for?” She looked at Rafe, but he shrugged and turned another page of the newspaper he’d picked up to read. The crisp pages crackled as he popped it into position.

“Don’t ask me,” he said from behind the wall of newsprint. “Luc may be my brother, but even I wouldn’t hazard a guess to what he’s thinking half the time.”

One of the specialists stepped into the room. “Detectives, we’re all packed up. Gonna head on out, if there’s nothing else today.”

Mackenzie raised a hand in farewell. “That’s fine. Thanks.” As he disappeared through the doorway, she asked, “Where’s Gabe? I figured he’d want to be here for this. Did you not call him?”

Rafe had left the room earlier to make a few calls. Business calls, he’d said. She’d used the opportunity to snoop but found nothing incriminating. When the housekeeper brought her a glass of iced tea and nearly caught her poking around in the compartments of an antique secretary, Mackenzie decided not to press her luck.

“No need. Besides, he has enough work to do dealing with business after the effects of your previous warrant. Your people seized a lot of equipment, apparently. All that must be replaced so current projects aren’t adversely impacted.”

Sorry she’d asked, she stuffed her hands in her pockets, then quickly pulled them free. She wasn’t the guilty party here. She was just doing her job. If that inconvenienced him, he’d have to learn to deal with it. Surely that was better than waiting out the investigation from behind bars.

Bloodcurdling screams erupted from outside. Faint but clear. Female and urgent.

Both detectives and the civilian reacted alike. They ran for the door.

Chaos met them at the tree line about a hundred yards in front of the house.

The black wolf clawed the trunk of a tree and barked ferociously. His snarls replaced all prior evidence of the playful pet. A stream of male curses and female shrieks came from within the branches.

“G! What the hell? Luc?” Rafe beat the cops to the scene, and wasn’t even breathing heavy when he got there, and that annoyed her.

Luc stood a few feet a way in his usual pose, arms crossed and a smirk on his face, although his eyes held a fierce anger that made a shiver creep up Mackenzie’s spine. Maybe she was focusing her investigation on the wrong brother?

“G...” The wolf paused, peered at Rafe a long moment, and then as if by silent agreement, he moved to sit beside him.
How did one train a dog to do that
? “You can come down now, Ms. Drake.”

Mackenzie gaped. How’d he know who was in the evergreen tree? She couldn’t see anything past the thick foliage.

“How did you—”

“Didn’t you recognize the voice?”

She pressed her lips together. No. She hadn’t. Damn the man for pointing out her failed powers of observation. When a shoeless foot poked out, she glanced around for shoes. Sure enough, a red pump lay a short distance away. A pair of trim legs, encased within slacks in serious need of repair followed the foot, and soon, the entire reporter dropped agilely to the ground.

Evalyn Drake faced them, wiped her scuffed hands off on her pants and when she saw the wolf, took a step back.

“That thing is dangerous.” She pointed to the wolf who sat calmly watching her every move.

“Reporter is his favorite flavor,” Luc said with a chuckle.

“Knock it off, Luc,” Rafe said in warning. “I may know you never mean a damn thing you say, but these detectives here might take you seriously.”

Luc cursed.

Seconds later, Drake’s photographer hit the ground. He immediately walked several yards away to where he’d apparently dropped his camera.

“Turn that on, and we’ll sue you for trespassing on private property,” Luc said in a tone laced with menace.

Drake held up a hand to her photographer, who mumbled that the camera may not work now anyway. Under watchful eyes, he busied himself with checking out the equipment.

“Mr. Stone, I thought we had an agreement. We only wanted to—”

“I’m aware of what you want,” Rafe said. “But as I’m sure my assistant informed you when she canceled our appointment, my schedule is rather full today. And although I tolerate the occasional imposition of the paparazzi, I refuse to submit to an interview with a person who illegally sneaks onto my property. I don’t like being ambushed.”

“I haven’t spoken with your assistant, but the guard at your office said you’d chosen to work from home today. I thought I’d just misunderstood the location. We were not sneaking through the woods. We walked down that road you call a driveway.” Still barefoot, she tugged her suit coat in place and straightened. Her gaze met Rafe’s boldly, but her hair remained disheveled and her face and clothes bore the signs of her dash for safety. “A van was pulling out when we arrived, and the gates were open, so we drove in, but our blasted vehicle broke down back there. God, I think I walked a mile before that beast scared a decade off my life.”

“You agreed to an interview?” Mackenzie asked before she could stop herself. Hadn’t Fuller warned her that the gloves would come off when she served the warrants? Had Rafe planned to fight her with a reporter instead of attorneys?

“Yes, the interview concerning my latest multimillion-dollar acquisition in Vegas was scheduled more than a week ago.”

“Actually, we’re planning to do a three-part biographical piece on the cornerstone, if you’ll pardon the pun, of an international empire. Stone’s accomplishments in the business world over such a short time are the stuff of dreams. With this latest acquisition, and the anticipated release of his security software package, his worth could rival that of Bill Gates.”

Mackenzie fought the cringe when she saw Drake’s demeanor shift into hound-dog mode. The reporter scented a story.

“But you know? I received a tip right before I came out here.” She looked at Rafe. “I thought I’d wait until I got here to ask you about it, but now that I see the detectives here, I think it’s true. You’re a suspect in the canine murders, aren’t you?”

“As lead investigator, I don’t believe I’ve named any suspects in the case, Ms. Drake.”

“Care to name one now?” When Mackenzie shook her head, Drake asked, “Then what are you doing here if he’s not a suspect?”

“I—” Rafe began.

“Stone is participating with the investigation as an expert on canines.” Mackenzie showed no emotion, regardless of Cooper’s gaze boring into her back. She would face hell for this, if not from her partner, then from Fuller. At least the damn camera wasn’t on.

“An expert...” The reporter eyed the wolf still parked peacefully by Rafe’s side. “So the tip I got about a search warrant served at the Lykos Institute yesterday is untrue?”

Rafe’s hand on her shoulder stopped Mackenzie’s response in her throat. “I’m sure Detective Lyons won’t mind if I explain that yesterday’s incident was simply a matter of formality. I’d already offered my assistance in her investigation of the tragic deaths of Senator Robertson and Mr. Shumaker. However, for legal reasons, I couldn’t authorize the release of DNA information on the multitude of animals stored in the institute’s database without an ‘official’ request.”

“So—”

“Ms. Drake, it’s getting dark. I’m sure the detectives would like to get back to the city and their investigation. Why don’t we go inside?” He gestured toward the house, but she paused to glance at the wolf. “Luc, take G inside. It’s been a long day.”

“Come on, G. Maybe I can scrounge up a doggy biscuit or something.”

As Luc and the growling wolf left, Drake retrieved her shoes and a bag she’d dropped some distance away, then headed for the house. Mackenzie followed with Cooper, who remained suspiciously silent, while Rafe picked up the conversation.

“I’ll have Marge call an auto mechanic or tow truck, whichever you prefer, and postpone my other engagements for the next hour to answer your questions...concerning our original interview topic. That is, if your camera is working?”

The photographer bringing up the rear gave a thumbs up.

When they neared her car, Rafe paused. “Detective Lyons. It’s been a pleasure, as always. I’m sure we’ll see each other again?”

“Yeah, right. Thanks again for the information.”

“If I may help further in any way, you have my personal number.” He faced Cooper and nodded. “Detective Cooper. Good day.”

As he walked away, she heard Drake ask, “And what is your private number, again?”

Rafe’s smile was evident in his voice. “Ah, that’s classified information.”

“But
she
knows it.”

“Privileges of the badge. I never argue with cops....”

Mackenzie let Cooper drive back to the city, hoping she’d get some rest, but he hadn’t forgotten his earlier promise. The time for their talk had come.

“What the hell was all of that? ‘I never argue with cops.’ And you with your ‘participating expert on canines’. We just served two search warrants against the prime suspect in a murder investigation, and you two are acting like a fucking tag team. I’m telling you, Mac, you better level with me.”

Mackenzie sighed. If she told him she’d kissed their prime suspect, would he report her?