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He pulled in a deep breath. His fingers whitened around his badge. “Yeah, sure, let’s do that.” His head cocked to the right. A move she’d seen a hundred times. A move he always made just before he threw out a challenge to a suspect.
Her heart thudded too hard in her chest. He’d come to Baton Rouge.Why? Not for me, but for...
“Let’s gotalk,Erin, and you can tell me just why you interfered in a murder investigation this weekend and why the hell I found your picture clutched in the hands of a dead man.”
Ah, that would be why.
ChapterSixteen
His claws wantedto spring free. Jude could feel the burn beneath his fingertips, but he held onto his control.
The cop.The one heknewErin had cared for back in Lillian. They were in Erin’s office now. The man stood less than five feet away, and he was watching Erin with far too much knowledge in his eyes.
“Jude, do you mind if I speak with Ben alone?”
Yeah, he did. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered down at her.
She stared right back up at him. “Ineedto speak with him alone.”
Dammit. He was not happy with this crap. “I’ll be right outside.” He glanced at the cop. The guy had moved back and leaned against Erin’s desk.
Human.
Her fingers skimmed over Jude’s arm. “Thank you.”
Territorial.The word echoed in his head. Erin had no idea just howterritorialhe was feeling right then or how badly he wanted to rip into the cop.
Her lover. He knew it. He could see it in the man’s eyes. The detective had been with Erin. Hell, maybe he’d even loved her. Jude had heard the way the asshole first said her name.
And Erin—how did she feel? She’d told him things were over with the cop because she couldn’t fit into his “normal” world, but?—
But Jude knew just how badly Erin longed for “normal.”
Rip him apart. Easy prey. Fight. Claim.
Mate.
The beast raged inside.
But he was more than the beast, and he was trying to prove that to Erin. Besides, she had her own choices to make.
Jude clenched his teeth and stepped back. “If you need me, I’m right outside.” Of course, she’d be able to take down a human no problem, so the message wasn’t so much for her.
For the cop.His gaze held the other man’s.Right outside.
When he left the room, Erin swung the door shut behind him.
“Man, are you freaking insane?” Zane demanded instantly. “You’re gonna let that cop stay in there alone with your woman? Did youseethe way he was eyeballing her, like a good fu?—”
Jude turned his stare on the demon, and Zane wisely shut the hell up.
Then Jude crossed his arms over his chest and got ready to wait. He’d agreed to stay outside, but it wasn’t like the thin walls would give Erin much privacy. Not to someone like him, anyway.
If that asshole cop yelled at her again, Jude was going inside, and the claws would be coming out.
* * *
“How did you find me?” Erin asked, keeping her voice cool and easing into her desk chair.
