Pack Investigator (12 page)

“Now check these out.” Haas clicked his mouse and two more evaluations popped up, this time from the Clear Creek Fire Department. Every mark was high and they were recommended for promotion.

“I agree with these.” Garrett pointed.

“I thought you would. I went through every single shifter’s file from the KFD. Not one of them received a mark over a one. This is enough that I can start an internal investigation. I’ll have to follow procedures but the ball is already rolling on that.”

“You’re going to take them down?” Garrett rubbed his hands together. Excitement rushed through him.

“We are,” Haas said.

This was it. Garrett was getting everything he’d ever wanted. He had his sister close, friends that he cared for like family, the job of his dreams and a woman that he couldn’t get enough of.

Yes, he was one lucky man. And he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Garrett leaned over the desk and shook Haas’s hand. As he left the office he felt lighter than he could ever remember. He smiled and waved at people as he made his way back to his vehicle. Now he had a woman to see.

The drive to Lily’s didn’t take long. He liked her place and hoped he’d be spending more time there. While he was grateful that Julie’s house was available for him, it wasn’t his own home.

Lily opened the door before he’d even reached it. She was smiling as she waited on him. He hurried up the walk until he was right in front of her. She wore soft gray pants and a white T-shirt. Her hair was wet so he guessed that she had showered after she’d gotten home.

He wrapped his arm around her back and yanked her close, kissing her deeply as she responded with passion. Garrett nibbled on her lower lip before he drew away.

“Unless you want to give your neighbors a show we better get into the house,” he told her.

Lily laughed. “I think Mrs. Brazos across the street would enjoy it but I’d rather take this somewhere more private.”

Garrett nuzzled her neck then pushed her inside and closed the door. The scent of cooking meat filled the air and his stomach growled.

“Hungry?” she asked with a lifted eyebrow.

He nodded. “Very.” He wasn’t just talking about food.

“It’ll be ready in about a half an hour,” she said.

Garrett grinned. “That will give us plenty of time.”

“For?” she teased.

“This,” he said before he picked her up.

She squealed but wrapped her legs around his waist. Garrett attacked her neck as he carried her into the living room. He dropped her on the couch, following her down. He covered her body with his, already returning his lips to the soft skin of her neck. Lily pushed her hand under his shirt and scoured her nails down his back.

Garrett growled against her flesh.

“Now, I need you now,” she said as she pulled at his clothes. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

He’d been hard and wanting since he’d left her house that morning so he knew how she felt.

“Get naked,” he demanded. He backed off enough as he yanked off his shirt and Lily followed his order. Once they were both naked, Garrett ran his hands up her body. He started at her ankles and rubbed all the way until he cupped her breasts.

Lily moaned and arched into his touch.

He bent and took one of her pebbled nipples into his mouth.

“Yes,” she hissed.

Garrett trailed a finger down until he found her pussy. She was already wet. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told him that she was ready. Still he pressed the digit inside her to make sure she received the pleasure she deserved. He added a second after a few moments until Lily was lifting her hips to urge him on.

He waited, it was hard. Oh God how hard he was, but he didn’t stop until Lily was pleading.

“Garrett, please.”

He drew away and settled between her legs. He grasped his cock with his right hand while pushing her legs farther open with his left. He pumped himself a few times, watching as Lily licked her lips.

He pushed inside her in one smooth, strong, thrust.

Lily raised her arms before letting them fall onto the cushions above her head. Garrett wrapped his left hand around her wrists and held them tightly. Lily shuddered and he withdrew before plunging back in.

Next time he would take his time. Would really give Lily the attention that she deserved but right now he had to claim her. Had to mark her as his own. He drove himself into her over and over again until she was screaming. When she climaxed and her inner muscles clamped down on his cock he grunted and came as well.

It was good, so very perfect.

He dropped down on her. “I think I’m blind,” he managed to mumble. He was exhausted and sated.

Lily giggled.

Perfect. Had he said how perfect she was?

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

Were Chronicles: Pack Balance

Crissy Smith

Excerpt

Chapter One

“Stop! Police!” Cooper Grainger shouted as he followed his suspect down the fire escape.

Of course, the idiot didn’t stop. Instead, the skinny moron glanced over his shoulder at Cooper, stumbling when he saw how close Cooper was. His eyes widened almost comically, and if Cooper wasn’t trying to intimidate the man he would have laughed. At six foot tall and a solid mass of muscle, Cooper felt like he was chasing down a kid instead of the thirty-five-year-old junkie. The drugs and alcohol Kenny had consumed most of his life had taken a toll on his physique. He couldn’t have weighed more than a hundred twenty pounds. He was severely underweight.

“Come on, Kenny!” Cooper yelled. “You know I’m going to catch you.”

They were almost at ground level. The four flights down hadn’t affected Cooper but Kenny was rasping and panting. Cooper stomped down in his black, beat to hell combat boots. He wore his usual uniform of faded jeans and a black T-shirt. Tonight he’d included a tactical vest, just in case someone decided to take a shot at him.

He knew his appearance sent fear into the men and women who were dragging his city into the gutters. He used it to his advantage as often as possible and the full impact when dressed like he was added to his dangerous stature. The creeps that he’d been dealing with lately needed a good scare. Cooper was determined to bring them all down.

“You’re just making this harder on yourself,” Cooper shouted at Kenny.

“Screw you, Grainger!” Kenny screeched. He turned his head again, causing him to miss the next step. Kenny shrieked as his arms flailed, and he went crashing down.

Cooper slowed, watching him fall. It wasn’t far enough to injure Kenny, but it would put an end to his stupid escape attempt.

Cooper stopped following and stood with his hands on his hips as Kenny lay sprawled on the ground at the feet of his partner. Josiah Burns looked up at Cooper with a familiar smirk.

“He ran?” Josiah asked in his deep southern drawl.

“He ran.”

Shaking his head, Josiah reached down and hauled Kenny to his feet. “Really, man? Every time?”

“I didn’t do nothing,” Kenny claimed, but his eyes were darting all around nervously.

Cooper had worked too long in the narcotics department of the Clear Creek, Missouri Police Department not to know the signs of a lying suspect. “Three dead.” Cooper stepped closer to where Josiah was holding Kenny up. “We want to know what new shit has hit the streets.”

“I don’t know!” Kenny wailed. “I swear!”

“Then why did you run?” Josiah asked, shaking him.

“I see cops and I run. It’s like…built in,” Kenny claimed.

Cooper met his partner’s gaze. The look that passed between them was one that had been practiced over many years. Kenny wasn’t being completely honest and they both knew it. While Josiah just had a really good ability to read people, Cooper used his wolf shifter senses to pick up on the signs that Kenny was showing and trying to hide. The nervousness and desperation was a bitter scent to his nose. They’d busted Kenny many times over the years, and while he did always try to escape, he was more anxious this time. Sometimes Kenny even gave them tips. The fact that he hadn’t even hesitated before taking off told Cooper a lot.

He growled, leaning his face closer to Kenny’s.

“Okay, okay. Maybe I heard some stuff,” Kenny said as he held his hands up. “But I don’t have nothing to do with any of it.”

Cooper didn’t bother correcting Kenny’s grammar. Kenny was actually more together than most of the poor souls that had given their lives over to drugs. “Why don’t you tell me and I’ll decide how
involved
you are.”

“Sure, man, I’ll do that,” Kenny promised.

Cooper didn’t like the way his eyes rolled from side to side. Breathing deeply, he concentrated on the scents around him. Not an easy thing to do with the stink of the dumpster mixed with piss and vomit from the back of the bar.

There… He could smell someone approaching. He jerked his chin at his partner. “Backup?” Cooper asked Kenny.

Kenny’s eyes widened even more and his jaw dropped open.

“Let’s go,” Josiah rumbled as he jerked Kenny to the side of the building and away from the weak alley light.

Cooper turned toward the sound of careful and slow steps. Crouching down, he prepared himself for a fight if needed. The two men that stepped out of the shadows farther down the alley were not strangers to Cooper. He stood to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest. It looked like he and Josiah would have more of the locals to interrogate. He cut his gaze to the side and smiled at his partner. Josiah smirked while shaking his head. He knew how much Cooper wanted to let loose on these two. The last time they’d had them in their sights, they’d slithered through like the snakes they were. Human snakes—not the shifting kind.

“Well, well, well,” Kade Montgomery said with a sneer. “If it isn’t our favorite narc cop.”

“And two of my favorite all time losers,” Cooper replied back.

Kade and Jordan thought they were tough shit. He and his partner had busted them numerous times. Jordan’s entire family were involved in a number of illegal activities. Every member of the Bradley clan was in and out of jail and Jordan was following in their footsteps with vigor. Cooper had tried to help the youngest Bradley. He’d hoped that by giving Jordan someone he could talk to and offering him a hand in getting out of the hard life he led, the kid would be able to make something out of his future. It had become clear quickly that Jordan had no intention of changing his ways. He wasn’t just mixed up in the family business. He loved it. Jordan was a bully and enjoyed drugs and hurting people.

Jordan Bradley sniffed. “I’ve been waiting for this day a long time.” He bounced on his toes while he spoke.

Cooper wasn’t intimidated. Even if he hadn’t been a shifter, which he was, he was sober, trained and ready. “Yeah? Me too.”

Jordan rushed him, but Cooper easily sidestepped and using Jordan’s momentum, pushed him farther away. Jordan skidded several feet down the alley. Cooper twisted in time to catch Kade’s arm as Kade threw a punch.

Tightening his fingers around Kade’s wrist, he caused Kade to cry out as he yanked him forward. Cooper made certain not to crush the bones in his grip. He snarled into Kade’s face. Kade paled before starting to shake with fear.
Oh, this is great.
Kade and Jordan hadn’t known he was a shifter. Cooper grabbed the collar of Kade’s shirt before launching him into the brick wall right next to his partner. Josiah had Kenny on his knees with his hands cuffed behind his back. Josiah bent to secure Kade, grinning at the whining kid. “It didn’t hurt that much,” Josiah taunted Kade.

Cooper was hit in the back. He grunted but remained on his feet, so he turned and glared at Jordan. It would take more than Jordan’s strength to knock him down. Spinning, he swept his leg, catching Jordan by surprise. A yelp sounded just before Jordan hit the ground. Standing over him, Cooper scowled. He hadn’t even worked up a sweat. Jordan’s head had slammed into the cement and he was moaning.

“You’ll be joining us at the station,” Cooper said, as he rolled Jordan over. He placed his knee on Jordan’s back, allowing him to reach around and pull out his cuffs.

“This isn’t over,” Jordan said, before grunting as Cooper tightened the bindings.

“Oops,” Cooper laughed. “Too tight?”

“You’re going to be sorry,” Jordan warned.

Cooper yanked him up and spun Jordan around.

“You don’t threaten me,” Cooper snarled. “I will tear you apart.”

“Try it!” Jordan taunted. “You don’t know what you’re up against this time.”

That was interesting. He’d get Jordan back to headquarters and try to get a little more from him. It couldn’t hurt. Maybe Jordan was just running his mouth, but maybe not. Cooper pushed Jordan forward to meet up with his partner and the two other prisoners.

“I called for a couple of cruisers,” Josiah told him.

“Good.” Cooper took hold of Jordan’s shoulder as Josiah and he led their perps out of the alley toward the front of the club.

Night Moves was a popular local hangout that was doing good business on a busy Friday night. Music blasted out of the open door, mixing with the sounds of cars whizzing by.

Cooper was getting a headache, all the noise and commotion joining together to make his head throb. It had been a long day. Hell, it had been a fucked up two weeks since the first young shifter had been found in a dark alley from a drug poisoning. Cooper and Josiah were running themselves ragged trying to find who was responsible and make sure no one else died. It wasn’t a simple task.

Clear Creek was the biggest city in five counties. A lot of the neighboring residents migrated there on the weekends. Sadly, the numbers included young adults who were looking for a party. It was a dangerous time for anyone to be experimenting with drugs in the city.

Cooper had wanted to work in the narcotics department of the Clear Creek Police Department since he’d first been a patrol officer at the young age of twenty. When he had driven a cruiser, he’d watched good people lose themselves in pills and other drugs. A man or woman who had smiled at him the week before or said a friendly ‘hi’ had turned into someone completely different under the influence. He’d wanted to help those people. Now, fifteen years later, he was fulfilling his dream but he was feeling helpless, instead of like he was making a difference. In the last five years, drugs had flooded in to his city. The current popular illegal substance was the worst he’d ever seen. For some reason, the mixture that was circulating was deadly to shifters. The lab hadn’t figured out what was being put in the drug that was poisoning the shifters, so Cooper and Josiah were determined to find the source fast.