Page 25 of Filthy Fae

“How long is this going to last?” Lance asked, his voice a low rumble that made me wonder if he was actually talking about the tape.

I chose to believe he was.

“Until I can get to the hardware store for more permanent parts.” My fingers bumped his as I wound the tape. Damn it. Why had he come in here? We were so close I could feel the tickle of his breath on my wet cheeks, could see the glimmer of his eyes, his wolf shining through just a bit.

“So, Jane convinced the cops to let us into the crime scene?” I finished wrapping the tape and paused, looking up at Lance’s strong features. God, he looked so damn kissable when he wiped the asshole smirk off his face for two seconds. And his lips were so close to mine I could just…

A loud, obnoxious ringing sound chimed through the tiny cabinet under the sink, and I slid out, grabbing for my phone, my heart pounding.

“Marie,” I said into the phone, relief flooding through me. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you.”

“I know,” she said, her voice an affected high pitch. “I got your messages, but I’m afraid it’s out of the question. I’m already giving you one unit for free. I’m not giving you a discount on a second one because you don’t want to evict your boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend. And wait a second, this unit should be paying rent. They handed me an envelope, which I delivered to you three weeks ago,” I gritted out.

The pack had given that money to Zeezee as a one-time courtesy.

“I did get an empty envelope three weeks ago, but as that unit is in your job contract, I can’t charge them rent. I also can’t give a discount every time the tenant comes to me with a sob story,” Marie said. “Everybody’s got a sob story, Scarlet.”

“This unit can’t go rent-free,” I said. “I’m not living here anymore, and I’m not going to provide for them.” Technically, I’d provided for Zeezee and Zane twice over.

“You’ll need to evict them and take your name off the lease,” Marie said, flatly. “And if you’re asking for the discount on another apartment, it will be in your name, so if anything happens in that one, you’ll be liable.”

Of course, I would.

I looked around at the clot of dark hair that had spewed from the pipes and the wet towels all around me. “Fuck this. I told them I was cutting them off, and somehow, Zeezee and Zane managed to steal double rent from me this month. Then, they went ahead and started a war.”

Chapter Ten

Aaron

The house of the fateful sex party sat at the edge of a cliff on the highest step in Eureka. The lower steps of the city were a shit-show of dilapidated bridges and half-collapsed hovels, but in the upmost steps waited an entirely different city. The three-story sprawling orange and white Victorian looked as mundane as any other mansion on the block. I’d expected police tape or patrol cars outside, but the grass was recently mown, and the front door shone with a layer of fresh vermillion paint.

Lance pulled up to the curb, killed his engine, and turned to Jane in the front passenger seat. “I thought you said you’d arranged with the sheriff for us to have an hour to investigate the scene?”

“I did arrange it.” She trailed off as she lifted her gaze from her phone to peer around the street. “They better be here. I had to pull in a favor from the governor using your name, Alpha. The police don’t even look like they have a presence here. Are you sure we have the right address?”

“Yeah, this is it.” Lance glanced into the backseat. “You three stay in here while we...” His gaze snagged on where Mack’s hand was on my head, scratching behind my long, pointed ears. My older brother shook his head slightly, his nostrils flaring. “Just stay here until we signal.”

Lance and Jane disembarked from the front seats and headed up to the front of the house.

Mack leaned past where I sat wedged between him and Scarlet. It had taken Lance and me an hour to convince Darrel that he should stay behind, but I’d still been surprised when the fae prince had climbed into the back of the van. I’d been even more surprised when he’d reached over and started scratching behind my ears.

“Am I doing something bad?” Mack asked.

“Um...” The slightest smile fought its way onto Scarlet’s otherwise miserable expression. “You know that you’re scratching Aaron behind the ears, not a dog, right?”

“I know.” Mack’s brow furrowed. “Is that rude? I figured he’d have growled or something if he didn’t like it.”

Scarlet puckered her lips as if unsure how to answer that. “I’d say more intimate, but in a friend way. The equivalent of rubbing someone’s shoulders or laying your head in their lap. I don’t suggest you do it to Darrel or Lance. Or really any werewolf other than me, and apparently Aaron.”

Making eye contact with her, I harrumphed and leaned my muzzle along Mack’s leg. When Mack pulled his hand away, I raised my paw and scratched at his leg. The fae prince chuckled and massaged his magical hands through my fur. “Bark twice if you want me to stop?”

A second later, Scarlet’s hand joined Mack’s, massaging down my back. Part of me wanted to stay exactly where I was forever, while another part was tempted to turn into a man and surprise the hell out of them. It was the wrong time, though. Both Mack and Scarlet’s moods had grown heavier as we’d crossed the city. Even if Mack had never met these fae, it had to feel personal. If I were in his place, it would have.

Outside, Lance and Jane knocked on the front door, and a fae opened it as if he’d been waiting just inside. He looked around so nervously, he was either expecting an attack or about to attack us.

“What the hell?” Scarlet growled. “Did they arrange for us to investigate the scene at the exact time as the Queen’s investigators? First in the station, now at the crime scene. It’s like the police want us to go to war.”