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He’s not pretending to not be a hypocrite. I’m not sure if that makes this better, worse, or entirely indifferent.
“I don’t know what to tell you, boss. I want to get back to work, but I do not want to be caught in the middle of a war that makes no sense to me.”
Chief sighs. “I don’t want war either, but there’s plenty who do. And the latest hostilities did not help.”
“What latest hostilities?”
“Remember those red light discount victims?”
“Sure.”
I couldn’t forget. I saw the crime scene photos and all those scenes are forever ingrained into my memory, along with other various unspeakable scenes that are the lot of anybody who works in law enforcement. We see the things nobody should see, and we pay the price for carrying those sights in our minds. I try to lock them away in the recesses of my mind. Some people have a memory palace. I have a memory filing cabinet, and most of the drawers in it stay firmly closed.
“That bug wasn’t killing random strangers the way you and Sally thought. And it wasn’t hanging out near red lights because it was attracted to them. It chose those locations because werewolves are affected by red wavelengths. Every single victim it took was of wereblood.”
“The fuck?” The curse escapes me. “You knew all of that and spent the whole time giving us hell for not having already solved the case?”
“I did what I could while keeping you two in the dark.”
“But we weren’t in the dark. Sally is fucking laying eggs right now and it’s your goddamn fault.”
I am wild. These revelations are not harmless. We were set up to fail. We were allowed to stumble into situations far more dangerous than we understood, and it has changed both our lives. Sally will never be the same, and neither will I.
“Easy, pup,” Connor says. “I know you’re angry, but I’m still your boss and I’m the alpha of your bloodline. I will not hesitate to kick your ass if you deserve it.”
“Try me, asshole.”
He looks at me with those dark eyes. He’s a big man. Well over six feet, and broad. I’ve always been a little scared of him, but I’m not scared anymore. I know his secrets. I know he has an intrepid reporter in his clutches. I know he is a werewolf. I know he’s crooked, maybe not completely immoral, but definitely not clean.
“You want to reconsider what you just said?”
I am far too pissed off to back down, and I am feeling my renewed strength intensely. I’m not scared of him, and I’m not going to act like a broken toy anymore. I don’t need his pity. I don’t need anything from him.
“Nope.”
He curses under his breath, like he is about to do something he really doesn’t want to do.
Connor lunges for me. I don’t know what the fuck he plans to do if he gets hold of me, but I have precisely zero intention of letting him grab me. I dip and dodge before he can take hold of me, realizing that Order has unintentionally been training me this whole time.
“My man has six arms, you think you can catch me with two?” I sneer at Chief. I would never have dared to talk this much shit to him before all this happened. I was more than physically damaged, I was mentally and emotionally timid. I’m not anymore. I feel like I’ve got back up. Even if Order isn’t here, I’m more powerful than I’ve ever been.
“You’re a little shit, detective,” Chief growls back. He takes another leap at me, and this time it’s close. I am starting to think that standing and fighting him is stupid. What’s he going to do if he gets hold of me? Beat me? Bite me?
Unfortunately for me, running means having to turn around, and turning around both loses me precious time and puts Chief behind me, where I can no longer see him to avoid him. Within a second of my retreat, Connor grabs me by the back of my shirt and shakes me, like a mutt with a small animal.
I let out a yelp, a high-pitched sound that has way too much fear in it for my liking. Being cocky stopped working for me really fucking quickly here. I can feel Chief’s intention in his touch, and I know he is serious about fucking me up right about now, teaching me a lesson, and breaking me to his will. He’s not just looking for an apology. He’s looking for raw, animal submission.
“Put my pet down.”
Just in time to save me from the consequences of my actions, Order melts out of the darkness, his voice cool and gravelly.
Chief drops me immediately. He knows well enough the kind of danger Order potentially represents, and he is not at all interested in keeping me in the face of it.
“Tessie, come here.” Order doesn’t even look at me as he gives the command, and I don’t dare look at him as I obey. I slink, unseen tail between my legs back to my master
“I’ll thank you not to lure my pet with whatever remnants of connection still linger between you.”
“She’s not your pet, mutant. She’s part of my pack, whether she, or you, like it or not.”
