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"Who is the detective on this?" Jude asked
"Ben Greer He’s cos" Kent’s stare bored into her "You know he’ll do this right"
Yes, and she also kneouldn’t let her anywhere near the case, either Erin gave a grudging nod
Then the DA brushed by her He caught the elevator Jude had kept for her and vanished behind the heavy e and Lacy were gone They’d probably ducked into one of the roo for hours anyway," Jude said "The cops will have to search the woods with dogs"
He was right
"Then it’ll take ’e up the body"
Her eyes closed "What will it do to the boys?" They’d already been through enough
A brief hesitation, then, "Call Katherine Tell her to get the boys out of there--and to keep ‘em out until this ainst protocol--" She stopped She didn’t work for the Lillian DA any more He’d just said so himself
"Call her," Jude repeated, eyes intense "Tell her to get the boys the hell out of there"
The cops would be on their way over to her place now There wouldn’t beup"
No, and they didn’t need their only safe haven turned into hell right in front of their eyes
Screw protocol Not her case? Fuck it Those boys were hers She snatched out her cell phone Dialed the number she’d memorized yesterday When a woman’s soft voice answered, she said, "Katherine, it’s Erin Jerome We don’t have much time, and I need you to listen carefully…"
A line of motorcycles blocked the entrance to Mort’s Bar Pickups snaked and twisted, filling up the parking lot, and the blare of country music trembled in the air
Erin slaht had fallen, bathing the city in darkness The thick darkness hid the sagging sides and the dipping roof of Mort’s
She’d been in this bar once before A blind date that had gone to hell very fast
Not her kind of place Too loud Too drunk Too many men with free hands
Gravel crunched beneath Jude’s shoes She glanced at him when he rounded the front of the vehicle "You think the vauys in this place tended to run ood old boys" and not the paranorood old boys could be predators, too
"She was" He sounded absolutely certain
Erin raised a brow
"She knows if she lied, I’ll just cos Daood night "And if I do that, I won’t be so nice"
Right Because he’d been all goodness and light during that first shon
Her eyes darted back to the entrance Smoke drifted lazily from the front door Not a fire, just a shitload of folks with cigarettes, cigars, and who knehat else inside Her hands balled into fists "No sense standing around here all night Let’s go"
They started forward together A loud histle split the air, and Jude froze His gaze i on the back of a gray pickup truck His growl vibrated in the air "Don’t make me come over there and kick the shit out of you"
The ured they weren’t in the lance "I don’t have time for assholes"
"Neither do I" But she smiled Because Jude made her feel…aw, hell, he just made her feel
A burly bouncer blocked the bar’s door "Twenty bucks" He didn’t look up from his comic book
Jude tossed him the cash and sauntered inside
As soon as she crossed the threshold, the s to burn her nasal passages What was that? Not cigarettes This was stronger Almost like incense but--
"Got us so for her hand and pulling her close as he surveyed the crowd
"Bastard’s blocking all the scents with the kymine"
"What? Ky-kymine? What’s--"
"A scent that fucks up a shifter’s nose, that’s what" His eyes swept the crowd again "Vamps in the west came up with it a few years back They use it to even up the hunting field"
Erin felt like she had to sneeze She rubbed her nose, trying to stop the itch
"Won’t do you any good" He glanced up at the air vents "Bet they’re pu?" Not a good thought Hell, she didn’t even knoho "they" were The good old boys? The not so good old boys?
She inched a bit closer to Jude and felt the sting of her claws as they began to stretch beneath her skin If they were in for a fight, she wanted to be ready "You think the vamp sold us out?"
"Could be" He didn’t sound particularly concerned "Or maybe this isn’t for us"
The wolf
"If the bastard has been hunting here, the kymine could be for hiirlfriend staggered past them "It’d explain how the vamp kneas here"
Yes, it would Erin breathed slowly through her mouth If she didn’t use her nose, didn’t move it at all, she’d be fine
Maybe
"So what do we do next?"
"Well…" He steered her away fro until his back was against the wall and he had a good view of the crowd "We can march up to the bar and announce that we’re here for the wolf"
She eyed the bar It was surrounded byarrins
Hoould that conversation go? Hi We’re looking for a olf Um, no "What else can we do?"
He turned to her Winked "Got a little voyeur in you?"
"What?"
"I can’t hunt in here, and neither can he But outside…that’s fair ga led the way to darkness A couple, kissing, groping, headed for the thick door
Voyeur "Watching’s not soto be a big option right then "I’"