Ursula still looked confused. “Maybe I buy that. But it doesn’t explain anything else. Why were you at Randall’s house? Why did the rogue wolf go there? Why did you kill her?”
Dana squared her shoulders. She could actually tell the truth about this. “Cole’s been trying to convince me to help him escape. He thought that if I experienced a kill in wolf form that I would realize that killing was natural and beautiful, and that I would be on his side. So he convinced me to be at his house at midnight and sent that wolf to attack me. I had to kill her in self-defense.”
Ursula took a moment to digest this. “He thought that killing would make you agree with him?”
Dana nodded. “Yeah.”
“And he sent a wolf for you to kill?”
“That’s right.”
“How?” said Ursula. “How could he send a wolf?”
“We don’t know that yet,” said Dana. “But he did admit to being the rogue’s alpha. And we have some evidence that Tom Hathaway, the wolf he was corresponding with, was killed by his father because Cole formed an alpha bond with Tom, supplanting the boy’s father.”
Ursula closed her eyes. “Alphas.”
“I know how it sounds, but in this case—” Dana began.
“There are no alpha wolves,” said Ursula.
“The evidence really isn’t backing that up,” said Avery. “Randall has some kind of pull over these rogues, and we don’t know what that is yet. It could be an alpha bond.”
Ursula opened her eyes. “You’ve both gone crazy.”
“Listen, King, let us keep digging,” said Avery. “We’ll prove it.”
She shook her head. “This is not how this tracker office conducts investigations. It’s tawdry and cheap. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not to mention, I specifically ordered you, Gray, to stay away from Randall, did I not?”
“Yes.” Dana looked at the floor.
“You’ve made a mess of everything. You’ve gotten a journalist bitten, gotten another wolf killed, and allowed Cole Randall to manipulate you.”
Avery took a deep breath. “We’re sorry, but—”
“No,” said Ursula. “That’s not going to cut it. You’re both suspended for two weeks. Effective immediately.”
Suspended? Avery too? “No, King, suspend me, but not Brooks. He didn’t do anything. I was the one—”
“Spare me,” said Ursula. “I have to suspend both of you, because you’re attached at the hip. And you’re in this together. Hand over your access badges.”
* * *
“You didn’t have to do that,” said Dana as she and Avery got off the elevator on the floor where their apartments were located.
“I meant what I said,” said Avery. “We’re in this together. You and me. I’ve got your back.”
“I don’t deserve that,” said Dana.
“Oh, believe me, I know.” He strode down the hallway. “My apartment. Now. We’ve got things to talk about.”
Dana hung her head, feeling ashamed. She had no choice but to follow him. Once inside, the two sat down on Avery’s couch.
“So, listen,” he said, “you owe me now.”
“I do,” she said. “I so do. Jesus, Brooks, you should never have done that. You should have turned me in to King.”
“We’re partners,” he said. “And the thing is, even though you’re acting crazy, it’s not your fault, exactly. You’ve gone a little crazy over this Randall thing. We’re going to fix it somehow, and the only way we can do that is to figure out what he’s up to.”
“Okay,” she said.
“There are rules now, though,” he said. “You don’t see Randall alone. Ever again. You want to see him, I’m coming with you.”
“Neither of us can go, can we? King took our badges.”
“You really think we can let this Randall situation sit for two weeks while we’re suspended? He’s killing people. From a cell, he’s killing people. We have to stop him. And I don’t care whether we’re technically suspended or not.”
Dana chewed on her lip. “You have some way to get down there?”
“Not yet, but if we need to see him, I’ll figure out a way. And you will not see him without me. Got it?”
She shrank into the couch.
“Gray, answer me.”
She couldn’t. She saw the sense in what he was saying. She understood it. But she didn’t want to make a promise like that. She wasn’t sure that she could keep it.
Avery sighed. “You’re not saying anything.”
She wouldn’t look at him.
He got off the couch. “It’s times like this that I wish I drank alcohol.” He headed into his kitchen, which was set up just like hers, with a bar between it and the living room. “Want a soda?”
“Sure,” she said.
He came back with two cans. He handed one to her. He opened his own, but he didn’t sit down. He stared down at her instead. “I really am crazy to cover for you with King.”
She nodded. “You should take it back. Go tell her what really happened.”
“No,” he said. “It makes us both look bad now. But I’m not working with you on this unless you can promise you’ll stay away from him.”
“I can’t promise anything when it comes to him.” She toyed with the tab on the soda can. “Something about him makes me act crazy.”
“Fine,” said Avery. “Then I’ll just have to watch you. You will not leave my side until we figure this out.”
She made a face at him. “Not leave your side?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll keep you away from him.”
“Brooks, I don’t think—”
“No arguing about it,” he said. “It’s not an offer. It’s an order. My ass is in a sling here too, and I’m not going to let you mess everything up.”
Well, she guessed that was true.
He sat down on the couch. “So. He’s your alpha.”
“He said he wasn’t,” she said. “He said he couldn’t make me submit, and that’s why he tried to kill me.”
Avery raised his eyebrows.
“It’s like something else he said,” said Dana. “He told me once that he wasn’t killing the wolves that he killed out of retaliation, he was killing them because they weren’t any use to him.”
“How’s that connected?”
“He killed wolves that weren’t useful,” she said. “Wolves that wouldn’t submit.” She leaned forward. “I think he was trying to create a pack. He tried to alpha the rogues. If he wasn’t successful, he killed them.”
“So that would mean that he tried to alpha you and failed,” said Avery.
“According to him, yes.”
“So, then why are you drawn to him?”
She was quiet. “I don’t know.”
“There’s got to be a way to find out if you’re a beta wolf to Cole Randall,” said Avery. “We need to be able to prove whether you are or aren’t.”
“And whether the rogues are or aren’t,” said Dana. “If we could prove he forced them to shift, then they wouldn’t be responsible for their actions. We shouldn’t be punishing them.”
“But we have to keep them here if Randall can make them shift any time he wants,” said Avery.
Dana set down her drink. “We need to prove that Cole’s an alpha. We need to find a way to break the bond between alphas and betas. And we need to find all the other betas that Cole created and break their bonds.”
Avery sipped at his soda. “Oh, is that all?”
She smiled. “And do all of that while we’re suspended and while you’re trying to keep me away from Cole.”
“Well, let’s start with the writings of Fredrich Sullivan, I guess. Maybe he’s got the answers.”
* * *
Dana woke up on Avery’s couch with his laptop resting on her stomach. She was lying on Avery’s shoulder, and he’d draped a careless arm around her. She didn’t move for a minute. It was comfortable, if a little awkward, and Avery was warm. His ar
m around her seemed protective, and it made her feel safe. As much as Cole made her blood boil, he never made her feel that way.
She shifted a little, to peer up at Avery’s sleeping face. He’d really gone out of his way for her, hadn’t he? Could it possibly be because Avery sort of... liked her? No, that was ridiculous. She didn’t believe it. She and Avery had been close for years, but because they were partners. They’d never seen each other in any romantic light before, and she seriously doubted that he’d change his mind because he found out she was crushing on a serial killer.
What she’d done with Cole didn’t make her more attractive.
She tried to sit up, but Avery’s arm prevented her movement. He tightened his grip on her, winding his arm over her waist and pulling her closer.
Dana set the laptop on the floor and tried to move his fingers.
Abruptly, Avery woke up. He let go of her, shrinking away into the couch. “Gray?”
Dana scrambled to her feet. “Um, good morning. We must have fallen asleep.”
“Right.” He rubbed his eyes.
Dana wrapped her arms around herself, unsure of what to say.
Avery busied himself with rearranging pillows on his couch.
She tried not to watch him, but there wasn’t anything else to look at.
He stood up and started in the direction of the bathroom, but Dana was in the way. He moved to go around her.
At the same time she moved to stop blocking him.
Suddenly, he started laughing.
Hesitantly, she smiled too.
“Look,” he said. “I’m sorry I cuddled you in my sleep.”
“Me too,” she said. “I mean I’m sorry that I did.”
“Don’t know why I did it,” he said, moving around her. “You work out so much that there’s not an ounce of anything soft and cuddly on you. You’re the opposite of a teddy bear.”
That was the Avery she knew. The teasing Avery. But why was it that his comment on her lack of cuddliness sort of stung, like a barb?
* * *
They went into town for breakfast, to Denny’s. Once they had some coffee and food in them, they woke up enough to get back down to discussing the case.
“Okay, so according to Sullivan,” said Avery in between bites of home fries, “beta wolves react to their alpha’s scent. They’ll immediately adopt a submissive pose, exposing the back of their necks.”
“Which I don’t do when I smell Cole,” said Dana. “But I do react to his scent. It makes me—”
“I’m eating, Gray.”
She turned her attention to her pancakes.
“So, we can take Randall’s scent to all of the rogues we have locked up, and prove whether or not they’re betas.”
“But we have to get his scent.”
“Let me worry about that,” he said.
“But it almost doesn’t matter,” she said, “because what Cole’s done isn’t completely explained by the alpha bond. Because alphas can only force betas to shift and call them. They can’t force them to do anything they don’t want to do.”
“Yeah, that bugs me too,” said Avery.
“We know that Cole somehow sent that wolf to hurt Hollis and to attack me. But we don’t know how he did it.” Avery washed down his bite of eggs with a swig of coffee. “Maybe we should check the email and letter list for that wolf’s name again.”
“She’s not on it,” said Dana. “He was communicating with her some other way.”
“But how?”
She shook her head.
* * *
Kayla was adamant. “I can’t do that.”
They were in the hallway outside the elevator. It was evening. Kayla had just finished doing her job—working with wolves to reign in their beasts—and now she was coming home for the evening. Dana and Avery had been waiting for her.
“Why not?” said Avery.
“You know why not,” said Kayla. “Because you guys are suspended. And if I let you see Cole Randall, I’ll get in trouble too.”
“You work with him tomorrow, though, right?” said Dana. “They transfer him up to the rehabilitation wing?”
“Yes,” she said. “I convinced them that he wasn’t so dangerous that he needed to be kept in maximum security all the time. But if you two go see him, and anyone finds out, they’ll never let him out again.”
“No one will find out,” said Avery. “Who else is on that wing with you during that time?”
“No one, I guess,” said Kayla, biting her lip.
“This is important,” said Dana. “We need to see him. It’s got to do with all these rogues that have started killing after they’ve been rehabilitated. If we can talk to him, we think we can stop it.”
“Please, Kayla,” said Avery.
“If I get suspended, I am holding the both of you personally responsible.” She stuck a finger in each of their faces.
* * *
In the rehabilitation room, Cole was chained hand and foot. He could move a little bit, but the chain on his feet was attached to a hook on the wall, meaning that he couldn’t get farther than the middle of the room. Despite this fact, Kayla had done her best to make the room comfortable. She had put a few recliners in the room, and Cole lounged in one of them now.
Avery and Dana stood in front of him.
He arched an eyebrow. “Where’s Kayla?”
“She’ll be here in a minute,” said Avery. He’d made Dana promise not to speak to Cole unless it was absolutely necessary. He would nod at her if it was okay.
When she’d promised, she hadn’t seen why it was such a big deal, but now that she was in Cole’s presence, she immediately felt out of control. Her clothes felt too tight. Her skin felt hot. Her breath was shallow. She stared at him—his dark eyes, his lean body. She wanted him. Even with Avery in the room, nothing had changed. She yearned to be able to touch him again.
Dana stayed back, keeping Avery between her and Cole. She couldn’t trust herself.
“We need something from you,” said Avery. He held out a towel. “Your scent.”
Cole looked amused. “You want me to take a piss on it or something?”
Avery gave him a withering look. “Rubbing it under your armpits would work just fine.”
“What do you want my scent for?” Cole asked.
“Does it matter?” said Avery.
Cole made a tent with his fingers, his chains jangling as he moved. “It does if you want me to do it.”
“I’ll get it from you whether you cooperate or not,” said Avery, glaring at him.
Cole smirked. “Itching for a chance to get into a scuffle with me, aren’t you?”
Avery’s lips pressed into a firm line. He was getting angry. Dana could see that. She usually smoothed things over when Avery got angry. But she wasn’t supposed to say anything. She was starting to feel nervous.
“Wouldn’t work, anyway, even if you won,” said Cole. “She’s mine.”
Dana’s heart turned over when he said it. As usual, she felt the dual feelings of delight and disgust. She did feel that way—as if she belonged to Cole. And she also wanted free of him. His possessiveness tainted her. She wanted to protest that he didn’t own her, even if it wasn’t exactly true. She didn’t want him to have the satisfaction. But she remembered her promise, and she kept her mouth shut.
“Randall, you got a funny way of looking at things,” said Avery. He shoved the towel into his back pocket. “We can get to the scent in a minute. I did have another question for you.”
“I thought I made it clear before that I only answered questions from Dana,” said Cole.
Avery shrugged. He nodded at Dana. “Then she’ll ask you.”
Dana cleared her throat, feeling nervous for some reason. “How did you communicate with the wolf that I killed? You’re locked up here.”
“Alone,” said Cole. “I want to be alone with her.” He locked his gaze with hers, and there was a dark promise in his eyes, something forbidde
n. Something she wanted desperately.
“Out of the question,” said Avery.
“She wants to be alone with me too.” Cole smiled. “Don’t you, beautiful?”
“I—”
“Shut up, Gray,” said Avery, putting a hand in her face. He advanced on Cole, planting his hands on either side of the arms of the recliner Cole sat in. Avery’s face was inches from Cole’s. “Forget about her. You’re not going to screw with her head anymore. You’re not going to hurt her anymore.”
Cole was relaxed, not reacting to Avery’s aggression at all. “Aren’t you a knight in shining armor, then?” He laughed. “Dana, you should feel special. You’ve got this one looking out for you, that Hollis obsessed with you, and me to boot.” He sat up straighter, eye to eye with Avery. “Of course, maybe it’s because of me that they’re all sniffing around. They know you’re taken, and they know what you are. It’s all instinct.”
Avery straightened, folding his arms over his chest. “You going to answer the question or not?”
Cole smiled up at him. “Have you ever seen Dana’s breasts?”
Dana made a choking noise. “Don’t.”
Avery glared at Cole. “She even have any these days? She exercises constantly, trying to run away from thinking about you. She’s so thin, there’s nothing to her. That’s what you do to her.”
Dana didn’t realize that Avery was watching her so closely.
Cole’s glance flicked to her, taking in her body. His gaze found hers, and there was concern in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do that,” said Avery.
Cole ignored him. “I can’t escape you either, you know. It’s better not to fight.”
Dana wanted to go to him so badly in that second. She actually took several steps.
Avery caught her. “Gray.”
She looked away. “Do you need to leave the room?” Avery asked her.
“Judging from your answer, I’m guessing you haven’t seen them,” said Cole.
Avery stiffened. He wasn’t facing Cole anymore. He had his hands on Dana’s shoulders. He let go of her slowly.
“They’re really very beautiful,” said Cole. “Soft white skin, nipples like little raspberries.”
Dana squeezed her eyes shut. She wished he’d shut up.
“I don’t think I’m going to answer any questions unless I get to taste them again,” said Cole.
Avery grabbed her shoulders again. He turned her, so that she was facing the door, and he propelled her ahead of him towards it.
“It’s been nearly two days since I have, you see,” Cole called after them.