Werewolves of Chicago: Curragh (Werewolves of... Book 6) (5 page)

“
W
here am I going
?” Kara looked over to the man whose head grazed the roof of her not-small car. He was staring forward with an angry expression.

“West Polk and South Jefferson.”

She glanced to the road, then back at him. “I’ve got a gun by the way.”

He snorted.

“I’m trained to use it.”

“You won’t have to,” he grumbled, looking out the side window. She couldn’t help but check him out because those jeans framed his thigh muscles like it was their mission in life. That’s when she spotted the growing bulge in his crotch. Her eyes widened and she hurriedly looked back at the road. She knew she was wet, and she hated herself for it. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered.

“You’re not wrong.”

“I have a feeling all of this is wrong.”

He grunted. For the remaining ten minutes they drove in silence. When Kara pulled into the mostly deserted grouping of industrial buildings, she asked herself for the millionth time what the hell they were doing.

But something told her she knew.

She knew what he wanted.

She reached to the console between them and put the CTS in park. He was on her so fast she gasped. Pulling her jacket off her shoulders as his hot tongue took possession of her. He groped her breasts through her long-sleeve button-up shirt, and ripped off two of the buttons. She yelped, “Dammit!” He stared down at the ruined shirt and then met her eyes. In the overcast light of day, the green in his was truly gorgeous.

“Fuck it,” she moaned, grabbing the back of his head and kissing him with everything she had.

They fumbled with the seat for more room and he pulled her slacks down as she kicked off her shoes, mouths coming back to each other again and again. Heat pooled out between her thighs as they groped each other like they couldn’t stop. He lifted her onto his lap and grinded against her for a second. They both looked around to make sure they were still alone, and satisfied, kissed again as he unzipped his jeans and unleashed that enormous fucking cock.

“I can’t do this,” he groaned into her lips as she pushed her panties out of the way.

“I know,” she breathed as he entered her. “We’ve got to stop.” His head fell back a little as he filled her all the way, undulating his hips deliciously. “Oh my God,” she murmured into the rough muscles on his neck. He moaned as she bit him, and grabbed her by the hair to move her lips with the best kiss she’d ever had. It stayed in rhythm with smooth thrusts, never speeding up or slowing down. She was drenched, her nipples tight. He pulled out her breasts and tried in the small space to suck on them, gasping against her naked flesh before he gave up and focused on fucking her senseless.

Over and over they stole quick glances around to make sure they were safe, and then let their bodies enjoy something illicit they’d both regret. As the heat became fire, he cried out with an animalistic roar, pounding into her with so much power Kara felt she might break. She held onto him and felt her own climax rise and meet his. She whimpered into his ear as he gasped for air, “Dammit. Why did we do this?”

“Fuck,” he murmured into her cheek as he kissed it.

She climbed off and collapsed onto the driver’s seat, weak in body and conviction. Getting dressed, she ruefully shook her head at the missing buttons. Her career was too important to her to be fucking a man like him. He was a criminal on several counts she knew about. How many others she didn’t?

“I’m taking you back.” She looked over to see his reaction.

He stared into his own thoughts, zipping up his pants. His jaw tightened suddenly, and he nodded. “Yeah.”

“Great,” she muttered, turning the car on. Her heart, off. They didn’t talk the entire way back.

T
o Curragh
, the ride back to the hospital was taking forever. He was furious at himself. Not only had he been weak, now her smell was all over him. He couldn’t get caught like this. And he wanted to take her again. Every side-road they passed, he had to force himself not to tell her to pull over. They were still a few miles from the hospital when he couldn’t take it anymore. “Drop me off here.”

She shot a surprised frown his way and stopped the car without argument. He kept expecting her to ask questions. Where he lived. What he did. His last name. It was like she didn’t care if she ever saw him again. With all the women he’d been with, that never happened.

The car idled and they sat in silence. Both stared forward. Through his peripheral vision he knew her knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

“Well?” she asked, after he didn’t get out.

He reached for the door handle. “Have a good life.”

She made a noise of disgust. Curragh glanced over because he couldn’t help it. She cut a look his way and cocked one pretty eyebrow. She really was a stunner, this one. Those fucking eyes of hers, they could cut glass with a look. He opened the door and got out. She wasted no time, put the car in gear and sped off.

“Fucking cops.”

When he returned to the loft, a long walk and a lot of obsessing later, he found his packmates not home. The shower felt good, though he knew it was useless for anything except deceiving Xavier as to where he’d been. Curragh had memorized Kara’s scent. It would haunt his every waking moment. Her lips. The way she moaned when he rocked with her. It was all he could think about.

He was drying off when the front door opened, and from the sound of the footsteps, Xavier was home.

“Well, Howard came through for us,” the wolf called out as he locked the door. “Just like we thought when we overheard her conversation.”

“Yeah?” Curragh called back, distracted.

“Yeah. Not only did the scrawny little bastard cover up our tracks, he did away with the evidence completely.”

Curragh tossed the dampened towel on the floor and walked out, naked, into the main room. “Why? What does he want?”

“To get in our good graces.”

Plopping down on the beaten-up couch, Curragh snorted, “Transparent.”

“I baited him.” Xavier headed for the kitchen area. “Told him we were grateful. That he’d done a service to us and we wouldn’t forget it.”

Spreading his legs comfortably and propping one foot on the wood coffee table, Curragh called over, “I bet you told him you were impressed.”

“I did,” the dark-eyed wolf chuckled. “You want a drink?”

“I hate it when you do that.”

Pulling out a bottle of bourbon, Xavier asked, “Offer you cocktails for brunch?”

“Placate people.”

Xavier laughed. “You’re such a stodge.”

“What the fuck is a stodge?”

“I just made it up. It’s you. Stuck in your ways. You want that kid to be on our side…or theirs?”

He leveled a somber look at his packmate. “He’s on
his
side. Like everybody.”

Amusement shone in Xavier’s eyes as he set the bottle down with a loud thud and brought two full glasses over to the couch. No ice. “You’re on my side. And you’re on Draik’s. So don’t give me that crap. The kid just wants what we have. And I can’t blame him. He’s stunted somehow. There’s no reason a wolf should be that fucking skinny.” He stood above, sipping.

“It’s not right,” Curragh agreed, taking the extended glass and hitting it against his friend’s. The first time he’d met Howard Peters he didn’t believe what he smelled. Wolves can smell their own. It’s one way they can defend themselves, a sort of warning flag imprinted into their nostrils for survival. But Howard wasn’t like any of the wolves he’d ever met. The kid was thin and shy. Awkward. He had a story, and Curragh didn’t want to know what it was. It didn’t matter. They had more important things to think about. “I don’t care what he wants. We stick together because we’re stronger together. And we have the same desire to do some good.”

“I’m done arguing with you.”

“I doubt that.”

“He wants to do good.”

“See? Not done.”

Xavier threw him a smirk. “You’re as stubborn as those wolves in New York. Did Draik go with you after those Russians?”

Curragh made a face. “No. Why?”

“Because he left a message he found a couple guys. I thought he was taking the credit after you called him.”

They stared at each other, the air turning ominous. Xavier pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed their packmate. When the voicemail came on, he said, “Draik. Call us and let us know where you are.”

“He’s got it on silent if he’s laying low and keeping watch.”

“Right.”

The contraption that told them of police activity beeped, and both wolves looked over. Xavier rose up and went to it, reading the code. They’d hired an underground hacker to create it, and still had yet to give it a name. The guy wanted it named after him, but ‘
Trevor
?’ No. It was a high-tech computer that spelled out the locations of police whereabouts, and it read like complicated email, dashes and symbols strewn in. What was special about it was that it could be customized. They had it set to beep when the word ‘
Russian’
or
‘Mafia’
came into play.

Xavier called over, “We got something. Get dressed.”

Curragh leapt off the couch and beat his friend to the bathroom, remembering he left his clothes on the floor, and that they smelled of
her
. “Hang on. I have to piss.”

“So do I.”

“Wait your turn,” he said, knocking Xavier back and throwing a disarming smile like he was playing. The rouse worked. Inside, sure enough the whole room smelled of woman. Curragh nearly shifted at the scent. He closed the door and held onto it, steadying himself.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Picking up the clothes, he threw them in the shower and waited a minute. Then he flushed the empty toilet, turned on the shower and poured shampoo all over his jeans and t-shirt, mashing them around with his feet.

Through the door, his packmate called in, “What the hell are you doing in there? You just showered! We’ve gotta go!”

“I took a mean dump,” he shouted over the stream of hot water. “Give me a minute.” Black ink bled down the drain. “Shit.” Closing the curtain to hide his wet clothes, Curragh lathered his hands up with a ton of soap and waved them furiously through the air, clearing the room of her smell. Breathing in, he caught himself in the mirror and saw his eyes were glowing. Shaking his head like a dog, he bade his wolf to calm the fuck down.
She’s not here. Let it go. Down. Get down.

When he opened the door, he was met by the suspicious glare of Xavier. “What’s going on?”

“What are you, my Alpha? Go fuck yourself.” He passed him for the armoire and swung the door open, pulling out a fresh pair of dark jeans, socks, and a grey T-shirt as he heard the bathroom door close. His heart raced, waiting for the discovery of his shampooed clothing. But when the door opened, Xavier headed out, and said nothing.

Even when they got in the car, Curragh was waiting for the questions. None came. And that’s when he decided he really couldn’t see Kara ever again. It just wasn’t worth it.

K
ara stared at the Captain
. “Someone anonymously dropped off a bunch of sixteen year old girls?”

The Captain stood up and came around the desk. “Looks like we have a Good Samaritan in our midst. We had to get a Russian interpreter, because none of the girls spoke English. They were being sold as brides to the highest bidder. They’d come into the country because their parents were told they’d have a better life in America.” His face was somber. “Some of them were kept in cages for six months, some just arrived. They were smuggled in on ships.”

“And brought all the way to Chicago?” Kara’s face twisted with empathy.

The Captain nodded.

“Who saved them?”

“They said there were two guys. Not Russian. Strong though. Apparently they took out three armed guards.”

“We have them in custody?”

Mazzagatti shook his head once. “By the time we got there, the Russian’s were gone. So were the cages, but there were lines on the cement floor where they’d been. From what I understand, it was a dreary place.”

Another detective appeared behind Kara. It was Lanky, and he looked like he’d just won the lottery. “Sir, one of the girls just told us something very interesting.”

By the time the three walked into the room, the interpreter was agitated. The Captain asked him on sight, “What is it?”

“Well, one of the girls said she’d come over with her sister. Just five nights ago, she’d been given her pass to ‘a better life.’”

“And?”

The interpreter paused. “She said her sister was lucky. Because she was going to be married to Bill Tutors.”

Kara didn’t know who that was, but by the look on the Captain’s face, he sure did. He spun around and headed back to his office. “Monaghan!”

“What about me?” Lanky called out.

“Monaghan!” Captain repeated with a finality that barred further discussion. Lanky shot daggers at her as she passed.

“Up to your old tricks, huh,” he sneered at her back.

She bit her tongue and strode quickly out. The Captain was already on the phone when she got there. He held up his hand motioning for her to wait. “Lieutenant, get Lewis and Connors in my office. Now.” He hung up, but then dialed back. “Find out if Bill Tutors is home.” Pause as he rubbed his bald head. “Have someone drive over there and find out. I don’t care what you have to do.” He hung up again and bent over his desk with his hands on it. To Kara, he explained, “Bill Tutors owns five businesses in town, two private schools, and even a hospital. He’s also a major philanthropist. A good man.”

“Then what is he doing with a sixteen year old human-trafficked bride?”

The Captain straightened up, a deep frown creasing dark skin. “That’s what I’m wondering. I need to know if he knows how old she is. Bill’s not a handsome man. He may have paid for a wife without knowing the entire story. Or he might know exactly what he’s done. I need you to find out.”

“Okay.”

The entrance of Detective Lewis and Connors caused them to turn.

“Sir?” Connors said. They were on the task force with Kara, but she hadn’t yet gotten to know them. They weren’t part of the clique that was out to make her life hell, so for now, she didn’t hate them. For now.

“Detective Monaghan is going undercover to act like she just moved into the neighborhood with Bill Tutors. You know him?” They both nodded. “Tutors just bought an underage Russian bride from a human trafficking ring we’re presuming is run by Viktor Kruglov. Monaghan’s going to get herself inside that house, ask some questions, see what she can find out. She’s got an instinct I trust. I want you backing her up and I don’t want you giving her any shit. This is too important for office politics to fuck up. Understand?” They nodded. Kara felt a hot flush of embarrassment color her cheeks. She kept her eyes on the Captain. “If we have to play hardball after that, we will. But first, I want to try and preserve this man’s reputation in case he’s unaware of what he’s been drawn into.”

“What do you want us to do?” Lewis asked, game for anything.

“She’s going to be wired. A surveillance team will be hidden in a van out front. I want you two nearby, waiting to go in there if she needs you. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

The phone rang. Mazzagatti answered quickly. “Yeah? Okay.” He hung up. “He’s home. We don’t know for how long.”

“Why would a man like Bill Tutors be home on a Thursday afternoon? Doesn’t he have an empire to run?” Connors asked.

Kara sobered the room. “Probably making his new sixteen year old bride feel right at home.”

Without another word, the three detectives turned on their heels and left to do what had to be done.