Undercover Lovers [Urban Affairs 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (10 page)

“Maybe. I think we need to go public.”

Slade’s jaw dropped. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“It’s the only way. The Feds are trying to swing public opinion against the Weres. We need to swing it back. Believe it or not, there are a lot of human sympathizers out there.”

“And how do we get them to hear our side?”

“I know a man on the
Hoboken Bulletin.
It’s a local newspaper from Hoboken, New Jersey—”

“A local rag won’t help us.”

“Just hear me out. It covers local, regional and national news, but bulletinreport.com can serve the world. Our story will be picked up all by
the major news portals. We’ll be on the front page of Yahoo! News, Google News, as well as
nytimes.com, USA.com, and a host of others.” Mike’s face grew animated as he got more excited. “Think about the bloggers. We’ll go viral.”

“What about negative publicity?”

“Sure, there will be some, but the point is we’ll be untouchable. The Feds won’t make a move on us while we’re the center of attention.”

“And what happens when we’re not big news anymore?”

“Believe me, this story isn’t going away any time soon. It will inflame your people and their supporters. Help your cause.”

“And maybe start a war.”

“Change always comes with collateral damage. We’ll try to keep it to a minimum.”

“And you’re sure your friend will go along with this?”

“Yes. He doesn’t know about me and Jax, but he hates the government and the way they treat the shifters. Besides, his career is assured with this. He could win a Pulitzer.”

“Okay,” Slade said with some reluctance. “We’ll play it your way. But we need to get together with Jax. After all, two wolf heads are better than one.” He managed a grim smile.

Mike’s face fell. “This is the part I dread most. He has no idea who I really am.”

“Let me talk to him first.”

“I don’t know…”

“He can take his anger out on me.”

“Okay, do it. I’ve seen enough wolf for a while.”

“We’ll meet tonight. Do you know a good out-of-the-way place?”

“The Sleep Inn. It’s a motel in
Hoboken. I’ll be registered as Mr. Lycan.” Mike winced when Slade started laughing. “Private joke. I’ll check in at midnight and wait for you to bring Jaxon. Stay safe.”

When Jaxon finally got back to The Kennel Club, he went straight to his office and the desk drawer that held his bottle of scotch. He poured himself a tumbler full and took a big swallow. He felt like shit. Too much drinking led to hangovers and heartache. Alcohol just complicated everything else, and he couldn’t think straight. Worst of all, it did nothing to help him get Slade out of his head. If Slade remained a fixture at the club, they’d end up fucking again. He had no doubt about it. The man was just too damn tempting. In all the time he’d been with Mike, he’d had no one else and he’d forgotten how it felt to be with another wolf. When he made love to Mike he always held back, just a little, afraid he’d hurt him physically. With Slade he could let go and not be afraid of anything. A shifter’s body mended quickly. Too bad the mind couldn’t heal as fast.
Stop being so maudlin. Are you a wolf or a wimp? It’s the damn booze. This drinking has to stop. And it will stop, just as soon as I fire Slade.

A little voice of reason started a conversation in his head.

Don’t look for someone else to blame, look for a solution.

Isn’t that what I’m doing?

No.
Analyze the situation and then take the necessary action to put things right.

But I am putting things right.

Yeah, at the expense of someone’s livelihood.
Isn’t there a better way to handle this? And I don’t mean drinking and staying away from the club.

This is the only way I know how to get my life back to normal.

Finding the right man was next to impossible, and yet he and Mike had found each other. Mike was honest and loyal to a fault. He’d been nothing but good to Jax and would do anything for him. But Jax knew damn well Mike would never accept another man in their bed, and he refused to jeopardize what they had for the sake of a threesome.

He heard Slade’s footsteps outside his office, and he took another drink. How did the man know he was here? He must be spying on him.
Fuck.
If Slade wanted repeat sex, he was barking up the wrong tree. Jax wasn’t going down that road again.

But this was as good a time as any to get the unpleasant business of terminating Slade’s employment over with. Slade’s presence in Dogtown had turned Jaxon’s life upside down, and it could not continue. He couldn’t run the man out of town, but he could get him out of his club. Once that happened he’d make sure they didn’t run into each other again.

Slade rapped on the door and Jax yelled, “Come in.”

Slade walked in, slamming the door behind him.

“Sit—”

Slade pulled something out of his pocket. A cell phone? He walked around the room with the object in his hand and a serious expression on his face.

The man is fucking crazy.
“What are you doing?”

“Looking for bugs.” Slade sat on the chair in front of Jaxon’s desk. He place one foot flat on the floor, the ankle of his other leg resting on his knee.

I don’t believe this.
“Since when are you so paranoid? Nobody comes in here.” Jax shook his head. “What happened to your face? You look like shit.”

“Thanks. You should see the other guy. By the way, you don’t look so good yourself.”

Jax ignored the compliment. “You look like you need a drink.” He held out the bottle.

Slade took it. Jax pulled out another glass and slid it toward Slade, who poured a stiff drink. The man really did look like hell. “Quinn tells me you were sick last night.” Jax tried not to seem too interested. “Feeling better?”

Slade knocked half of his scotch back before he answered. “Yeah.”

“Good. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” Jax hesitated, his tongue felt swollen and dry in his mouth, and no more words came out. His own reluctance to finish their relationship and get Slade out of his life tormented him.

“Yeah, so what’s on your mind?”

“I’m firing you.”
There, it’s out.

Slade looked poleaxed, as if the words were the last thing he expected to hear. “Why? Is your boy back?”

“No.” Jax made a mental note to check up on Korey. It had been days, and the young wolf had never called him. “I’m doing away with the dancing. It stirs the men up too much, and they get into trouble.”

“Well, I was going to quit anyway.”

Now it was Jaxon’s turn to be surprised. “Leaving town?” His heart actually twisted at the thought.

“Maybe. Maybe you are.”

Jax narrowed his eyes at that.

“I’ll cut to the chase.” Slade banged his glass on the desk.

Jax kept his mouth shut. Slade had something on his mind, and Jax wanted to hear what it was. He refilled Slade’s glass, slid it over to him, and waited to hear what the man had to say.

“Where did you go yesterday?” Slade asked abruptly.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Make it my business, Jax. We need to cut out the shit. This is important.”

“What’s so important, you arrogant prick? I’m waiting for you to say your piece, and you keep talking riddles. As for me, I have nothing to say to you except you’re fired.”

“I don’t mean to beat around the bush, but I’m usually as closed mouth as they come. It’s not easy for me to come clean, especially about this, but things have spiraled out of my control.”

“What things? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Slade’s face went even more serious. “I have a story to tell you.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’m not who you think I am.” Slade paused, suddenly pale and at a loss for words.

Why am I not surprised?
“Who are you? I want the truth.”

“I’m an undercover agent working with the Division of Shifter Affairs.” He looked up, saw Jaxon’s face, and looked down again.

“Division of who?”

“Shifters. DSA is an offshoot of the FBI. The various Were groups have always lived in their own segregated neighborhoods. The FBI kept an eye on things and all was relatively quiet—until recently. Reports of civil unrest and meetings between the various Were groups kept coming in, so the Feds started this new division.”

Jaxon’s shock had dissipated. Now his head swam with the implications of what this could mean. “What kind of meetings?”

“The different groups have always functioned independently. Now they’re banding together and talking riots. Your name came up as being a leader in the community and a supporter of organized rebellion. According to the FBI you’re a subversive who wants to overthrow the government.”

Jax started laughing.

“This isn’t funny, Jaxon. They’re going to make an example of you. They want your head on a plate, and they picked me to deliver it.”

Jaxon’s eyes flashed. “Get out.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m telling you all this because I want to help you.”

“You can help me by leaving me the fuck alone. I’m as far from being radical as a palm tree in Antarctica.”

“Did you hear what I said? This is the FBI. If they say there’s a palm tree growing in Antarctica, nobody is going to argue the fact.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“You can’t fight the whole damn government. It’s a battle you can’t win.”

“And you care because why?”

“You think I like spying on my own kind? I’m an outsider working on the inside. I put my own life on the line because I think I can help my people more this way.” Slade shook his head. “Cut me some slack. I’ve been agonizing over this assignment ever since I got here.” Slade stared at Jax intently. “Say something.”

“I’m being set up.”

“Yes. You are. And so am I. They’re claiming I went rogue. I’m a marked man.”

“Why us?”

“My guess would be because Dogtown is a high-profile Were ghetto in a town that’s terrified of terrorists. There’s a big shifter population living here. The Feds have no trouble manipulating reality, and humans are already off-balance, scared, and anxious. Making an example of a bunch of worthless shifters would be easy. It would be all over the internet in a matter of hours, sooner.”

“Why are they so damn anxious to bring us down?”

“We’re different. Humans automatically assume that anyone who is different is dangerous. It would be great if everyone felt comfortable in their own skin and accepting of each other’s differences, but it’s never going to happen. There will always be a minority group that the others can gang up on, and right now it’s us. They’re afraid their days are numbered, that before long they’ll be the minority race. Think about it. We’re stronger, we heal faster…”

“I am thinking about it. If they keep ganging up on Weres they’ll drive some of the fringe element to acts that will be dangerous and lead to loss of life—on both sides.”

“Yeah, well, I kept telling myself that as an agent of the law, I could help to keep the scales of good versus evil weighted on the good side. I thought I was in a position to keep things in balance, but it’s a losing battle. No matter what the government says in the media, they’re not friendly to our kind. I had to learn the hard way. You gotta believe me, I don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t want any trouble.”

“Yeah? Well, I don’t either, and it seems to me you brought the trouble with you. If you get out of Dogtown, maybe it will disappear with you. So get out.”

Jax got up from behind his desk, intending to throw Slade out if he had to, but Slade stood immovable in front of him, like the mysterious monolith that appeared with the chimps in
2001: A Space Odyssey
. He reached out to shove Slade, but the other wolf grabbed his hands and pulled him in. “It’s too late, Jax. We’re in this together. I have it on good authority.”

“Whose?”

“Michael Donovan.”

“You ignorant, self-serving, loathsome son of a bitch.” Jax growled. “Why bring him into this? You don’t know shit about Mike, but you’ll say anything to involve me in your scheming bullshit.”

Slade gripped his jaw with one hand and held his face steady so Jaxon had to look in Slade’s eyes. “Listen to me. Mike Donovan is my contact here. He works for the director of DSA, just like I—”

Jax drove a knee into Slade’s groin and slammed him against the wall.

“Umph.” Slade grunted. His head made a satisfying thud when it impacted with the hard surface. He grabbed his crotch and gasped. “N
o fair taking a nut-shot.”

White-hot anger blurred Jaxon’s vision. “
Who the hell do you think you are? Where do you get off making up shit like that?” He pressed his muscular forearm across Slade’s throat and pushed.

Jax cut off his airway, and Slade didn’t even try to fight back. He started choking, and his eyes went buggy.

For good or bad, this man meant something to him. His wolf pulled back. Suddenly Jax came back to his senses and pulled back. Slade staggered and started sliding down the wall. Jax came up close and held him up. “Damn you, Slade. Why don’t you fight?”

Breathing heavily, he shook his head no then leaned back and closed his eyes. The scent of his sweat mixed with arousal made Jaxon’s own groin ache, but in a good way. Jax couldn’t resist the urge to touch his cheek. Slade opened his eyes cautiously as Jaxon’s fingers traced his mouth. Slade’s lips parted and sucked at Jaxon’s finger.

“Slade…” A slow and smoky ecstasy came over him, and he couldn’t resist pressing his lips to Slade’s. As much as Jax wanted to taste him, he wanted the closeness more. This is what he’d been missing so desperately. Slade moaned in encouragement, but his kiss was soft and chaste. Jax deepened the kiss, teasing Slade’s lips until he opened for him. The kiss went from sweet to something more, something wild and hunger-driven. Slade’s hands on the small of his back held him close, and they ground their bodies together as if dancing to their own seductive tempo.