She straightened her clothes and avoided looking at Cody. His chuckle drew her attention as she patted her shirt into place.
He was leaning back against the rail, grinning. She blushed and shifted her feet.
“Come here.” He motioned her over.
Aubrey pursed her lips, unmoving.
“Come here,” he said again.
She shuffled closer, cringing inwardly that she had followed his order against her will.
He reached over and lifted her chin with the tips of two fingers.
“It’s okay,” he assured her.
She didn’t have any response to that. She was mortified that she had been begging for him, completely lost in him.
“It’s okay,” he said again, kissing her forehead.
She sighed and leaned her face against his chest, just breathing him in. Now, instead of pure need flowing through her, his scent calmed her.
It was amazing how she could go from one emotion to another with just a small change in Cody’s aroma. It was a power that all leaders had. Gregory had been a master, and to find out that Cody was also gifted with the ability showed his inner strength.
He ran his hands down her back as the tension started to leave her.
She looked up at him and he lightly pressed his lips to hers.
“Cody…” She swallowed. “You can hurt me again.”
Pain flashed in his eyes. “I know.”
“Please don’t.”
“Never again,” he promised.
Aubrey would have to take him at his word. Right then she had to put a little distance between them to think.
“I have to get back to work. Let me walk you to your car,” he said.
She nodded, grateful. She had to decide what to do about Cody.
There was enough going on right then. Her Cast leader had been killed. Her ex-lover was now taking over, and she needed to tell Mike about the threat and what Anton had told her.
A few hours to get her damn hormones under control would be good too.
Cody intertwined their fingers and guided her down the front steps to where she’d parked her car.
He opened the driver’s door and dipped his head for another slow, deep kiss.
Her body was still tingling as she climbed into the vehicle.
Cody waved as she started the car and put it in reverse.
Aubrey’s heart ached just a little as she drove away.
Chapter Seven
Cody twisted the cap off his beer bottle before he bent back over the papers he’d spread across the coffee table. He tried his best to concentrate on the information in front of him and forget how Aubrey had felt in his arms earlier that afternoon.
He had been at his Flock’s house when Aubrey had called Anton and asked for a meeting. Anton had accepted without even consulting Cody. But he had agreed that Cody could stay.
Cody had been so pissed at her for ignoring his order to stay out of the investigation. She was going to get herself hurt. That was his biggest fear.
Obviously she was not letting it go.
He’d also been furious as Anton had told her what he and Gregory were doing and feeling his leader’s guilt and sorrow. He’d followed Aubrey out to read her the riot act, intent on making her see that she wasn’t helping.
But he’d touched Aubrey and everything had released inside him.
He had been tired and angry, and couldn’t fight the attraction between them any longer.
Cody had felt her touch and had just reacted. He’d made certain that he didn’t hurt her when he’d twisted her arm around her back and pressed up behind her.
But that was where he’d lost just a little restraint on himself.
Once his lips had touched hers, he’d been spellbound.
She’d responded so beautifully to him too. Aubrey was a strong, wilful woman so it had been hot when she’d given herself over to him, had begged.
Just thinking about it again had his cock throbbing. He cupped himself, knowing that he had to get some relief before he could give his mind completely over to the case, or he wouldn’t be able to concentrate.
He unsnapped his jeans and yanked the zipper down before pushing his pants and boxers low on his thighs. He sat on the dark leather couch and dropped his head back while he palmed himself. He brought up the memory of Aubrey’s hand on him and closed his eyes.
He stroked himself, thinking about her kisses and the way she would have squeezed him. Then, reaching far back in his memory, when he’d made love to her all those years ago, he thought about their bodies locked together.
He’d been so tight all day needing this.
He sped up his motions as his breath caught. He scraped his nail against the slit in his cock and pulsed out his release. Cupping his free hand over his seed, he tried to catch all of his cum.
A hard knock on the door startled him out of his peace and he jerked.
He stood, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch to wipe his hands. He yanked his jeans up and fastened them quickly, before taking the cloth and heading into the kitchen. He tossed the spoilt cover into the laundry room as he went to wash his hands at the sink.
The pounding came again and he cursed. He snatched up a dish towel, drying his hands as he stalked to the front door. He pulled it open just as Jamie raised his hand to knock again.
“What?” Cody snarled at him.
Jamie rocked back on his heels and grinned. He sniffed Cody, breathing deeply. “Interrupting?”
Cody rolled his eyes and stepped back to let Jamie in. Zak stood behind Jamie trying, unsuccessfully, to hold back his own smile.
“Fuck off,” Cody grumbled and turned sharply to walk back into his living room.
Jamie bounced in, with Zak following then closing the door behind them.
For a big guy, Jamie had a tendency to bounce when he was happy. He had so much excess energy that Cody was always surprised such a huge man could seem so childlike.
“Beers are in the fridge,” Cody said with a wave of his hand.
He went back to the coffee table and picked up his own bottle. He took a long drink without turning around.
“So…” Jamie drawled in his deep voice.
He knew that they could smell his jack-off session. It was too recent and he hadn’t been able to clean up properly. Plus, as a bear shifter, Jamie’s sense of smell was amazing.
Cody refused to be embarrassed. “Leave it,” he groused.
Jamie just laughed. “You are alone, right?”
Cody did face his friend then and glared.
Jamie just held up his hands. “Just asking.”
Zak entered the living room and passed Jamie a beer.
While Jamie was large and loud, Zak was the complete opposite and was very much a reflection of his tiger. All sleek stealth wrapped up in a package of a good-looking man.
Jamie was dressed in his leathers so he must have driven his bike over. His handsome face was hidden by a beard that was several days past a good shave. His black hair was slicked back and amusement danced in his dark eyes. Cody had met Jamie when he’d joined the Phoenix Police Department. Jamie had been working a missing person’s case that had collided with one of Cody’s cases.
The bear shifter was known for his easy-going, friendly manner. They’d become good friends right away.
Zak Lewis was a little harder to read. He’d been in the Vice department of the same police force as he and Jamie, but was more quiet and reserved.
He was a tall, slender-built man, but his power was obvious. Alpha dominance screamed from Zak’s essence. However, Zak didn’t like to discuss it.
There had been several times that Cody had seen Jamie in his bear form. And the man was a terrifying sight. He’d never seen Zak shift into his tiger, though.
Even though Cody had been Zak’s back-up for a few cases, the tiger shifter’s sharp mind and unwavering nerve were intimidating. There were times when Zak unnerved him, so Cody could only imagine how the suspects felt.
“We heard about your two cases. Sorry about Kevin, man.” Zak took a seat in his recliner and sighed.
Cody tilted his bottle. “Thanks.”
He sat back on the couch as Jamie prowled around the room. Cody was used to Jamie’s constant unrest. He knew that even though Jamie had to be in motion, his friend was listening intently.
“Want to talk about it?” Zak asked kindly.
So Cody told them about the case, the connections, and his thoughts. He’d put Byron and Chloe on the kid in the picture. Anton had given him the name of the agency they’d used and the two detectives were contacting the company.
Ryder was hitting all the spots the lone shifters hung around to see if he could catch sight of him. Cody’s plan was to go back over every piece of evidence they had to see if something caught his eye.
They were still waiting on the results from the bomb that was used at Gregory’s murder scene.
Zak bent over the table and picked up the photos. As he shuffled through them, Jamie stared at Cody.
“What?” Cody asked Jamie defensively.
“There’s more,” Jamie insisted.
Zak lowered the pictures. “He’s right.”
Cody didn’t want to talk about it. If he told his best friends about Aubrey, he’d get nothing but shit.
“Nah,” Cody said easily. “I’m just tired. There was no time between the hits on Gregory and Kevin. I haven’t slept well.”
Jamie stalked closer and peered down at him.
He was a trained investigator. He knew what Jamie was doing. So why did he want to give in and tell him the truth?
Jamie’s gaze travelled up and down Cody before he stepped back and snickered. “Who is she?”
Cody stilled. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Jamie was the type that would call bullshit when he sensed it.
“Who?” Zak asked with a frown.
Jamie took a long, deep breath. “Female, shifter, and all over our man here,” Jamie shared gleefully.
Cody pushed himself off the couch and walked away to grab more beer from the fridge.
The living room was silent when he rejoined Zak and Jamie. He passed them their second bottles before settling back on the couch.
He picked up the interview files from the table that held Aubrey’s statement. Who was he kidding? He was going to tell them about her.
He handed Aubrey’s statement over to Jamie and watched as his friend put his beer on the table and opened the folder.
While Jamie read, he remained silent. Once he was finished, he passed the pages over to Zak.
Zak whistled and looked up at him. “She’s a fire cracker.”
“Oh yeah.”
“I like her,” Jamie commented happily.
Chuckling, he nodded. Of course Jamie did. He actually thought that Jamie and Aubrey would get along famously.
“There’s more,” Cody stated. He filled them in about his and Aubrey’s past, what had happened earlier in the day with Anton. How Aubrey had shown up even after he’d told her to stay out of it.
Jamie was nodding even before he had finished. “Come on, man. If you were in her shoes, you’d have done the same thing.”
Cody had already come to terms with that and really didn’t need it pointing out. He glanced over at Zak, who shrugged.
“He’s got a point.”
“I know he has a point!” Cody snapped. “Two people have already been killed. If she keeps this up, she might be next!”
“So have you told her that?” Zak replied calmly.
Cody snorted. “Yeah, why don’t I just wave a red flag at the bull?”
“Or,” Zak said, ignoring him, “let her help you. You said you brought the two human detectives in.”
“I don’t want her involved,” Cody said slowly.
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Jamie spoke up. “And if you weren’t still in love with her, you would have already brought her in.”
Cody rubbed the back of his neck, his tension returning. “I’m not still in love with her.”
Both men snorted at Cody’s declaration.
“Come on, man.” Jamie sat on the coffee table right in front of him. “It’s us. We know you.”
Cody hated that his friend was right. He would have tried to work more with the Cast if he wasn’t afraid for Aubrey.
Oh, there was no doubt that something was there. But he didn’t believe that he could love someone he hadn’t seen in over fifteen years.
“You can either keep her in the loop so you can watch out for her, or have her investigating on her own,” Zak informed him.
“I know,” Cody agreed.
“And you get to spend time with your sexy woman,” Jamie added.
Cody sniffed. “How do you know she’s sexy? You haven’t got to her photo yet.”
Jamie smirked. “Lucky guess.”
Cody didn’t want to smile.
Jamie just stared at him, blinking innocently.
“I hate you,” Cody told him.
His friend laughed with a loud, booming sound. “No you don’t!”
* * * *
Aubrey was still stinging from Mike’s words as she entered the bar at the edge of town.
Mike hadn’t been happy when Aubrey had informed him about Cody and the meeting. He’d calmed down a little when she’d told him about the new information. But he had ordered her to steer clear of the Coalition.
After she’d promised to be more discreet, he’d allowed her to pull Chad and Tyler in.
She’d given both men their assignments before she’d decided to hit some of the hotspots where rogue shifters hung out.
Smoke and the strong smell of stale beer assaulted her as she walked through the old bar.
She’d changed into tight jeans and a low-cut black shirt with her black boots so she wouldn’t stand out. But even in her casual clothes, she didn’t exactly fit in.
Ignoring the eyes staring after her, she made her way to the bar. She sat at one of the aged, scarred stools, and when the old man working scowled at her, she ordered a beer on tap.
He eyed her as he poured her drink. He placed a dirty mug of brew in front of her. “Three dollars,” he mumbled.
She gave him five and told him to keep the change. His expression didn’t get any friendlier.
“What do you want?” he grumbled.
“Just a beer,” she answered, taking a sip.
It wasn’t as cold as she preferred and tasted extremely sour. She resisted spitting it out.
He sniffed and walked away.
She used the filthy mirror behind the bar to check out the place. There were still a few men who continued to watch her.