Chapter Three

Lainie knew just by looking at the man in the doorway that he was ready to bolt. Yet, Rance seemed determined to attempt to talk the man out of his weapon. She gripped the handle of her gun tighter, wanting to shake her head, but not wanting to give anything away to the thug enduring an intercession with Rance. Big town cops and their stupid ways. He’s had a chip on his shoulder since he showed up at my crime scene, thinking he knows how best to handle things. All big city cops are the same, no matter how much their eyes smoldered.

Lainie watched as the intruder took a deep breath, and her panther sensed what was about to take place and growled. Then, just as she knew would happen, the punk turned and darted away, jumping off the porch onto the grass as he attempted his escape.

“Damn it!” Rance shouted, just standing there staring as the man made a quick retreat. “I hope he gets eaten by an alligator.” His frustrated mumble almost made her laugh, but then he shouted at the fleeing man. “Did you hear that? I hope you get eaten by an alligator!”

What a frickin’ idiot. Lainie shoved past the detective in pursuit of the other man. There was no way the kid would get far, not in her woods, not some city-slicker who thought he was all bad-ass because he belonged to a gang. Her panther begged to be let loose, but Lainie resisted the urge, mainly because she didn’t need either of the men—the one she chased or the one she left behind—seeing her naked when she shifted back. Besides, where would she put her handcuffs?

She leaped over a fallen log, swiping at a low hanging branch as she passed it, knocking it out of her face before it left a mark. With the stamina of her panther, she raced after the man, gaining quickly. Movement off to her right tried to snag her attention, but she ignored it, choosing instead to keep her focus on the man in front of her. Of course, then she wondered if he was alone or not. There was no doubt the kid was involved in Roger’s death. There really was no other explanation as to a gang member being in Bull Creek. Yet, Roger was dead, the deed done. So why the fleeing man even showed up at the cabin baffled her.

She heard a roar as something burst through the foliage in front of the man she pursued, a giant wolf leaping out to block the man’s path. The gang member screamed, skidding to a halt, but his feet slid out in front of him, and he fell to his ass. She watched as he crab-walked backward trying to get away from the wolf in front of him. She slowed her pace to a walk, her chest heaving with the breaths she took as she reached down and grabbed the man by the collar, rolling him over. Pulling her handcuffs from behind her back, she started reciting the man’s Miranda rights, her gaze on the wolf who stood in front of them, his tongue lolling out from his exertion. Her panther purred its admiration within her, a thirst for the wolf in front of her overwhelming. Knock it off, she scolded her panther.

“Get that thing away from me, man,” the punk said, as he squirmed on the ground, doing his best to flip over.

Lainie picked the man up and slammed him back down on the ground. “What’s the matter? A big tough shit like you is afraid of a little dog? Ah, that’s so adorable.”

“You’re crazy, lady.” The man’s breathing came in rapid gasps as he kept his gaze on the wolf, still doing his best to roll over and get away from the animal.

Lainie picked his shoulders off the ground again and slammed him back down. “I said knock it off, damn it.” She shook her head as she stood up straight. She left the handcuffed man on the ground for now, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at the dark gray wolf, its golden eyes staring back at her. Things just became a little more complicated.

Her panther salivated within her, wanting to shift and be with the wolf. Okay, a lot more complicated.

With a shake of her head, she pointed back to the cabin. “Go on, get out of here,” she said with a frustrated tone. “I’ll meet you back at the sheriff’s office.”

“What?” the man on the ground shouted. “What the hell you talkin’ about, lady? You’re not leaving me here with that thing.”

Lainie blew out a breath as she ran her hand through her hair. “If only I could.”

The wolf barked once, the sound almost like a laugh, and then it turned on its hind legs and darted back into the woods. She did not doubt that Rance Culpepper would be waiting for her at the sheriff’s office by the time she arrived.

With a shake of her head, she reached down and gripped the gang member under the arm. “Come on, get up.” She was sure the kid was alone or else someone would have come to his aid by now. “Wanna tell me what you were hoping to find at the cabin?”

“Go to hell.” The kid tried to jerk away, and Lainie was tempted to trip him and watch him hit the dirt, but she needed to get back to the office before Rance ran his mouth to Chet. Still, it would be nice to know what the kid wanted from within Roger’s place.

She spun the kid around and shoved him toward the cabin. “If I were you, I wouldn’t try and get away. That detective was right; there are alligators out here, and I highly doubt they get much to eat in these woods.”

The kid turned and glanced at her over his shoulder, his eyes wide, his expression unsure whether she told the truth or not. She just gave him a blank look as she continued walking. He turned back around, only this time he kept staring around them, checking for wild animals, she was sure.

When they arrived back at the cabin, she glanced around, trying to discover if Rance was still around or not. Where did he come from anyway? She was sure she would have heard a car pull up, and even if she hadn’t, the idiot in front of her surely would have seen Rance get out and approach the cabin. So how did Rance get here?

She took the gang member to her vehicle, shoving him into the back seat, doing her best not to be gentle with him. It was his fault, after all, that she had to deal with Rance in the first place.

“You really should let me go, Missy,” the kid said, his eyes narrowed as he tried to look menacing. “You don’t know what you’re getting in the middle of. The Serpents aren’t a group to be messed with.”

She just stared at him a moment, and then shut the car door, turning back to the cabin as she put the kid out of her mind. She came here to get a look around and wasn’t going to leave without getting it. Making sure the car was secure, she stepped back into the cabin, her hands on her hips as she gazed around. What were you hoping to find?

While she already planned on searching the cabin when she first arrived, now with the appearance of the Serpent gang member outside, she knew there was something to find here, so she searched with a more thorough intent. Opening doors, peeking inside cabinets and closets, Lainie searched every drawer and cubby, nook and cranny, she came across. Nothing out of the ordinary stood out to her, however. Roger O’Brien lived a minimalist, subdued lifestyle. Of course, he had only been here two weeks, and he was on the run, so it stood to reason he didn’t have much baggage in case he needed to vamoose pretty quick again. Still, the gang member must have thought Roger possessed something vital or he would have run back to Pensacola after killing the man, instead of hanging around to sightsee. So, what was he looking for?

As she wandered through the back half of the cabin, she came across a desk in the extra bedroom. She searched the drawers, the file cabinet, even did a scan for secret compartments, having watched too many spy movies. She stared down at the desktop, her hands on her hips, knowing she was missing something, but not sure what it was. Then it hit her. There was no computer, but there was a clean square spot in the middle of a dusty desktop, the perfect size for a laptop. But why was it missing? They caught the man in the back of her car before he could search the cabin, and to the best of her knowledge, she was the only…

Rance. Damn him! She turned and bolted back out of the cabin and to her car. The detective had plenty of time to search the place before she returned with the Serpent member. She should have known better than to trust a city boy.

She started the engine even before she had the driver’s door closed, ignoring the man in the back seat and his protests as she jerked the car into gear and hit the gas. Rance Culpepper better hope she didn’t get her hands on him, because as much as her panther wanted to jump his body and see how well a wolf and a panther could do together, Lainie wanted to throttle the man. And she would if she found him.

She slammed her palm into the steering wheel. Damn! She should have known better than to let him out of her sight.

“What’s the matter, pretty lady?” The Serpent said from the backseat. “Someone take all the Frosted Flakes out of the cabin?”

“Shut up,” she snapped, both hands on the steering wheel, pretending the hard plastic was Rance’s neck. She sped through the dirt roads of Bull Creek on her way to the sheriff’s office, ready to put an all-points-bulletin out on Rance’s car. She’d arrest him for interfering in an investigation, eager to throw the handcuffs on him and slap him behind bars.

Her pussy dripped, her panther drooling at the thought of Rance in cuffs and at her mercy. Lainie growled, doing her best to ignore the images her panther kept shoving into her mind. Stay out of it! Of all the times for her panther to be horny, now was not it. Lainie knew what her animal tried to tell her, but she refused to listen. She didn’t need to be mated to some jackass of a detective who probably couldn’t find his way out of the woods even if he did shift into his wolf. No, the man was a sneaky, mangy...

She sighed. Good looking, strong, seductive man. God, I so do not need this right now.