For Your Paws Only (Supernatural Enforcers Agency #2) (5 page)

“I’m free any night this week,” she blurted.

She must have realized that it made her sound a little desperate and perhaps a little pathetic as she immediately blushed, right from her ankles up to her hairline. He didn’t think it sounded desperate; hearing that she wasn’t lining up dates with random guys was, quite frankly, a huge relief. Although, he knew deep down he shouldn’t be thinking like that, given that he was actually trying to drive her away and all.

“So? What day’s good for you?”

The tip of her pink tongue darted out of her mouth and wet her plump lips. Cutter inwardly groaned. She wasn’t making it easy.

“Never,” he replied shortly. “I’m not interested.”

“But…”

“But, nothing! I’ve told you before; nothing is going to happen between the two of us.”

It took all of his strength –
which he had to wrestle from his inflamed wolf
– but there, he said it.

Lucie frowned. “You can’t pretend that I don’t affect you.”

Cutter scrubbed a hand down his face. “What do you want from me, Lucie? Fine, yeah, you’re attractive, that’s just a physical reaction I don’t have any control over.”

She jutted her chin stubbornly. “It’s not just physical.”

“I’m not your mate, okay? I don’t want a mate.”

“But…”

“I mean it, Lucie,” he told her warningly. “You need to forget about me and move on.”

Cutter clenched his fists to stop them from trembling. No, no, he didn’t want her moving on to another man, not deep down, but what could he do? He wasn’t right for her, and she deserved to settle down with a successful husband in a big house with lots of kids… From experience, he knew he wasn’t much of a father. He didn’t deserve to be a dad again, either.

“But, what if you’re my mate?” she asked quietly.

His beast howled, but Cutter remained stony. “I’m no one’s mate.”

Lucie scowled at him, defiantly but cutely, of course. “I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”

He turned his back on her and started walking away. “You’ll be waiting forever.”

“We’ll see,” she muttered obstinately.

He made his way back to his friends – or at least those assholes he happened to be out drinking with. Dale was looking a little worse for wear. It took a lot for wolf shifters to get drunk, but Dale seemed determined to do so. Lake and Wes had abandoned the wolf to talk to other colleagues.

Cutter sank onto the stool next to him and signaled for a bottle of beer.

Dale leered in Lucie’s direction. “Saw you talking to snuffles. Whatsamatter?” he slurred. “She knock you back?”

“No,” said Cutter, tightly.

“She’s not your type?”

No, he wouldn’t have said a cute, chirpy, little hedgehog whose favorite color was pink, collected stuffed toys, enjoyed carnival rides and cotton candy really was his type.
Not before he met her, anyway.

“Just leave it.”

Dale started swaying ever so slightly. “You should just fuck her. That’s what she wants.”

His sullen wolf perked up at the suggestion, but Cutter wasn’t moved. “I can’t.”

Dale pursed his lips together. “Well, maybe I will.”

Fury lanced through Cutter, and as Dale moved to stand up, he kicked the stool out from under the inebriated wolf, sending him sprawling to the ground. Dale dissolved into laughter, shared by many other shifters in the bar.

Cutter grabbed Dale off the ground and half-carried him out the bar, pretending that he didn’t see the wistful look on Lucie’s face as he did.

In spite of his wolf’s protests, he knew he was doing the right thing. She should have more than he could offer her. Despite how much he wanted her, he had to stay away. He just needed to make her see that before he gave in to temptation.

Ugh, life really wasn’t fucking fair
.

Chapter Four

Tuesday

Go big or go home.
Easy to say, not so easy to do.
Not that she had no plans of ‘going home’ if her plan didn’t work.

Lucie pondered what kind of gesture she could make as she rearranged the medical bay. Over the past year, she had rearranged everything thirty times. It irritated the heck out of her fellow nurse, Helga, but Lucie found it therapeutic and it helped to pass the time. There wasn’t a lot for her to do really. Other than the physicals, she was supposed to help out the medical examiner, but the last two certainly hadn’t wanted her assistance. Hopefully, the new one would have his head planted firmly on his shoulders, rather than buried up his own patootie.

She heard a yelp followed by a moan. Helga was currently massaging a stressed out otter shifter. Helga’s massages were a strange mixture of pain and pleasure. She could just imagine the large she-bear working as a dominatrix. Lucie had once submitted for a massage, but never again.
She felt like Stretch Armstrong at the end of it.

The problem with working at a place where the majority of workers were shifters was that they rarely got sick, and when they did get injured, more often than not their own healing abilities cured them. If they needed a doctor or a nurse, it usually meant they weren’t likely to recover.

Okay, back to her problem. Go big or go home. Hmmm, the problem with Cutter was that he didn’t seem to like anything. He complained about the things he didn’t like –
and there were a lot of them
, but he didn’t seem to mention if he actually liked anything.

She’d seen him drink beer. Maybe she could sneak into his apartment, fill his bathtub with beer and get into it
naked
. Her hedgehog fluttered in delight at that idea.

Lucie decided against it. While it had its merits, she doubted she’d be able to get into his apartment – she was hardly stealthy, and she didn’t really want to walk around smelling like a brewery.

She had seen him eating cake. Well, once, when it was another agent’s birthday. He hadn’t admitted to anything as extravagant as liking it, but he didn’t spit it out on the ground. Ooh, she could bake an enormous cake, have it delivered to his apartment and then jump out of it –
naked
.

Again, she got encouragement from her little animal for this plan, but again, she decided to reject it. Her oven really wasn’t big enough, and the thought of being trapped inside a cake wasn’t enticing.

The right plan was out there somewhere; she just needed to latch onto it.

“Hi there,” rumbled a deep voice behind her.

Lucie and her hedgehog yelped in surprise and threw a dozen bandages into the air, scattering them all over the floor. She spun to find herself staring at a tall, handsome lion shifter.

He leaned against the doorframe, nonchalantly and gave her a bemused smile. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Rick.”

Snickerdoodles!
She’d totally forgotten that their new medical examiner was arriving. She was such a scatterbrain.

She rushed forward and gave his hand a thorough shake. “No, I’m sorry, Doctor Powers, I knew you were coming, I should have welcomed you up at reception.”

The big lion shifter waved his hand. “Nonsense, I don’t want you to go out of your way for me. And, please, call me Rick.”

Lucie’s cheeks warmed. “I’m Lucie; I’m one of the nurses.”

Rick raised an eyebrow as the otter let out a cry before an almost orgasmic groan.

“And that’s the handiwork of Helga, our other nurse,” explained Lucie.

He cocked his head on one side and sniffed. “Polar bear shifter?”

Lucie nodded.

“Strong hands,” he murmured, thoughtfully. He gave Lucie an appreciative glance that, to her surprise, made her blush. “Hedgehog?”

“Yep.”

He gave her a wide grin that, if she hadn’t been so hung up on Cutter, would have made her melt like an ice cream. Her hedgehog didn’t like it, but Lucie had to admit the doctor sure was good looking. He was tall – maybe even an inch or so taller than Cutter – and he was built like a solid wall of muscle. His blonde hair was thick and wavy, framing his chiseled face. He was definitely going to turn a few heads in the office –
male and female heads
.

“I look forward to us working together,” he purred as his eyes roved over her generous curves.

Lucie gulped. There was definitely some innuendo breathed into those words. She tried to hide her astonishment.

“Well, I, uh, how about I give you a tour of the building, introduce you around, and I’ll get you a pass key sorted out.”

Rick gave her a crooked smile that brought out a dimple in his left cheek. “That sounds wonderful. Lead the way.”

She did, self-consciously aware that he was following behind and ogling her butt.
Her big, round butt
. Not that there was anything wrong with it, it just wasn’t her favorite feature, and she’d never actually met a man who showed it quite the same appreciation Rick was doing. He’d only met her ten minutes ago – he certainly wasn’t wasting any time!

Her little beast huffed. The prickly little being did not like this lion shifter one bit. Lucie, on the other hand, couldn’t make up her mind. He certainly seemed charming and open, but his flirtiness was a little unnerving. Sure, plenty of men had flirted with her, but they’d never come on quite so strong, nor did they emit such powerful vibes as Rick. He was definitely a strong shifter, maybe even an alpha personality.

As they got in the elevator, Lucie suddenly became all too aware of just how tiny the metal box was. But, then again, she’d never been inside one with such a huge lion shifter who seemed more than a little determined to brush up against her.

“So, umm, are you married? Or do you have a significant other?” she asked trying to sound casual. She may have just missed it and instead sounded breathier than Jessica Rabbit.

Rick chuckled. “I’m single. I moved back here to be near my sister, she just had twins, and I want to spend time with my family. I’m looking to settle down and start my own family.”

Oh!
She and her hedgehog quivered. Those were such wonderful words to hear. She just wished they were coming out of the mouth of a stubborn wolf shifter. She wondered if she could introduce him to Cutter, maybe he would be a good influence.

“Umm, why don’t we start with the gym?”

“Perfect, I like to work out every day if possible. If I don’t, then I like to go sailing on my yacht.”

Of course he did. He couldn’t just be handsome, charming and a doctor, apparently he had to be rich, too. This guy was Mr. Perfect.
Or rather, Doctor Perfect.

Oh, he was definitely going to be popular with the female denizens of the building.

*

Cutter kicked a stone with his scuffed boot and huffed as it ricocheted off a dumpster. He was trying to replay how their hedgehog victim had been murdered, while trying to forget his own hedgehog shifter problems.

His wolf had, uncharacteristically, opted to give him the silent treatment over what happened last night. Cutter didn’t like to admit it, but it was a welcome change from dealing with an almost unmanageably loud wolf. But he certainly didn’t want it to become a regular occurrence. He’d met shifters who had lost touch with their animals and were forced to live as humans. The haunted looks on their faces said it all –
it was like losing your soul
.

A very hungover Dale and an extremely unimpressed Primrose had been dispatched to re-interview the toucan bride’s family. The more he thought about the case, the more he was certain that their victim had faked her own death. There was too much that didn’t fit, and he didn’t like the fact that they didn’t have a body. Who could just walk around a wedding carrying a corpse? Although, the bride seemed to have disappeared in the middle of it, so maybe it wasn’t that hard for something odd to go unnoticed.

His hope was that the obnoxious agents would somehow irritate a confession out of one of the bride’s nearest and dearest. Hell, twenty minutes alone with the two agents might even tempt one of them to confess to being Jack the Ripper.

Avery stared at him, hands on hips. The sun glinted off her aviator shades. “Are we ready yet?”

“Settle down, Topgun,” grumbled Cutter. “We want to get this right if it ever gets to court.”

Wayne smirked and crossed his sinewy arms over his chest. “Since when do you care about that? You usually terrify suspects into volunteering themselves onto death row.”

“Since I became the boss,” he snapped.

Avery grimaced. “Remind me again, when’s Gunner coming back?”

“Not fucking soon enough,” muttered Cutter.

He knelt on the ground and traced his fingers over the spot where a few drops of blood had been found. The body of their victim had been discovered elsewhere, but they guessed that the attack had started in the alley where Reginald, their hedgehog, kept his makeshift home, which was a kind of shelter made out of old mattresses, magazines and held together by used extension cords. The care worker told them that Reginald never strayed far from home for fear that someone else would take it over. He was very proud and territorial over his shack. They did wonder if the murder had occurred from a fight over that –
a heat of the moment deal
– but they weren’t sure.

They guessed that the killer had hurt Reginald, perhaps hitting him hard enough to draw a little blood outside the shack, and then Reginald had tried to run, with the killer in pursuit. Small drips of blood, and also fibers from Reginald’s worn clothes had been found until they reached the alley where he was killed. His body, what was left of it, had been tossed into a dumpster, but the killer hadn’t tried to clean up the copious amount of blood.

Cutter let out a long breath. “Okay, Wayne you be the victim. Avery, you’re the killer.”

“Why am I always the victim?” griped Wayne as he gingerly sat in front of the shack.

Avery gave him a playful pout. “You’re so much better at it than me.”

Cutter hushed them with a scowl. “Okay let’s try it a few different ways. Avery, you’re walking down the alley.”

She started walking. “Strange that I’m out here in the middle of the night.”

Wayne pointed to the other end of the alley. “There’s free parking down there at night.”

“So maybe I’m walking to my car, but it’s still kind of dangerous to be out at night.”

Cutter nodded. “Marvin couldn’t really tell us anything other than a big predator with sharp teeth attacked our victim.”

“Wolf, cat or bear?”

“Yeah, those would be my first guesses. I’d lean to wolf or cat, though. Hedgehog shifters can actually be quite fast.” He almost smiled as he thought of the light-footed Lucie chasing him around the office.

Avery stopped when she arrived at Wayne. “So then what?”

“Maybe Reginald asked for some spare change or something and he got a punch for his troubles,” suggested Wayne.

The parts of his body they found had enough bruises for that to be true.

“Okay, show me,” said Cutter.

Wayne and Avery play-acted that, with Wayne flailing around on the ground, over-acting in a manner that would make the hammiest actor proud.

Avery rolled her eyes. “Settle down, Brando. Now, what?”

The gator shifter rolled to his knees. “Maybe they got in an argument and our killer just lost his temper.” He gave Cutter a sly grin. “Wouldn’t be the first time a wolf shifter went nuts for no reason.”

“We’re still not sure a wolf did this,” he muttered.

Avery tapped a finger against her lip. “At that time of night and in this part of town, they could have been drunk and not exactly thinking clearly.”

Cutter rubbed his forehead. “I don’t think this is helping. All we’re doing is guessing, and even if we’re right, we’re still no closer to finding out who did this.” He stared at Reginald’s makeshift home. “Did the crime scene techs look over all his stuff?”

“They did,” replied Wayne. “They took a few things back to the lab to look at, but given that the murder happened elsewhere, they didn’t really bother with this place.”

Cutter dug out the crime scene photo. The alley had been cordoned off for a couple of nights before being released. Since it wasn’t actually the scene of the murder, it wasn’t deemed important. It was odd that no one else had tried to take over the hedgehog’s area. His wolf stirred uneasily.

“Didn’t that care worker say that Reginald never liked to leave his home because he was afraid that someone else would try to move in on his turf?”

Avery nodded. “Yeah, he was apparently really obsessive about it.”

“But it’s been a week, and Reginald is definitely not coming back, yet no one else has tried to, why not?”

Wayne shrugged. “Maybe they’re too scared.”

The lioness pulled off her sunglasses. “You think there’s something to that?”

He wasn’t the best as solving puzzles and working things out, so he relied on the instincts of his wolf to steer him in the right direction. And his wolf seemed to think it was odd.