Night Games

6

Selina’s feet pounded against the pavement as she ran. Her heart pounded, the blood and adrenaline racing through her veins. Air rasped in and out of her throat, and her lungs burned. Still, she pushed herself harder, faster, one hand clenched around the thick leather of Grim’s leash.

Her familiar had no problem keeping stride with her, his long body stretching into a gallop. So far, running herself into the ground hadn’t made her mind shake loose anything new about this case.

Frustration seared through her. She wanted this to go faster, to catch this guy and give his victims some peace. To give his victims’ families some peace. To give herself some peace. She ignored that that was going to be more Rest in Peace than peace of mind.

“Ready for more, Grim?”

He barked in return, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his dual-colored eyes gleaming. They’d been stopped a couple of times so people could look at his unique gaze, but Selina just wanted to run today. Sometimes it helped her think, and sometimes it just gave her an hour to outrun herself.

After more miles than she’d bothered to count, she slowed and glanced around. Self-derision jolted through her. She was on the corner of Jack’s block. He’d gone home earlier this morning, claiming that he was meeting someone for lunch. And he’d called the someone a “she,” so Selina was pretty sure he had a lunch date with another woman. She refused to let that bother her. A part of her had wanted to argue against him doing anything other than working with her today, but it was Sunday, and everyone deserved some downtime. They’d get a call if something happened that they needed to handle, but at the moment, they were just waiting for various people to run down paperwork for them.

It boggled her mind that Friday night, she’d been at Merek’s wedding, Saturday morning she’d been thrust back into her worst nightmare, and now the weekend wasn’t even over yet. It felt as though a million years had passed since she’d danced with Jack at the wedding.

Ignoring the urge to jog past his house, she forced herself to keep going a few more blocks to a local park. She’d take a spin around the park, get Grim some water, and then head back to her place before she drowned in her own sweat.

Kids ran around squealing with laughter on the playground, their parents close by keeping watch. Selina did an automatic sweep of the area to make sure nothing shady was going on. Far too many druggies and perverts liked to pick their prey at parks, but she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

The grass and trees were the vivid green she’d grown used to since relocating to Seattle. Someone who didn’t grow old by human standards had to learn to move every few decades or so, and she’d liked the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest. Slowing to a stop at a drinking fountain, she took a swig and then turned on the faucet for Grim to lap up as much as he wanted.

She glanced around at the tennis courts, basketball courts, and softball field. The park was hopping. Everyone seemed to be taking advantage of a morning of nice weather.

“Dude, Peyton! Get the lead out!”

She froze at the sound of the familiar voice coming from the basketball court.

No. It couldn’t be. She’d deliberately avoided his house. It figured that Fate would be such a fickle bitch as to throw him into her path anyway. He’d said he had to meet someone for lunch—a woman—not a bunch of guys for a basketball game. He’d forgotten to mention this part. Then again, maybe his meeting with the other woman got cancelled, and this was Plan B.

That was not relief she felt. It was not. She refused. He meant nothing to her, and she didn’t give a damn if he slept with every female who crossed his path. She had magic on her side, and she took a monthly potion to ensure that she couldn’t get knocked up unless she wanted to. The same potion made sure there were no diseases he could give her either. If he wanted to slut around, then whatever. She hadn’t offered him any kind of exclusivity, and she didn’t expect any.

The writhing mass of ugliness that filled her chest at the thought of him banging another woman made a liar of her, but she ignored that. She didn’t have time left to get truly involved with anyone, and it wouldn’t be fair to do that to him even if she wanted to.

Still, she couldn’t stop herself from staring at the group of four men glistening with sweat while they played ball. They were all well built, so it wasn’t any kind of hardship on the eyes. Jack and Peyton seemed to be on the same team, playing against two other dark-haired men. One had had his nose broken more than once and the other was so good-looking he was almost pretty.

Grim tugged on his end of the leash, and she released the water fountain to stop the flow. He nudged her leg with his shoulder, trying to move her along with their run. She just glanced down at him and arched her eyebrows. “Hey, you might not be interested in shirtless guys, but did I stop you from doing a little prance past that cute poodle a few blocks back? Or stop you from letting her owner pet you and tell you what a pretty puppy you were?”

He made an indignant noise in his throat, then glanced at the men, gave a resigned sigh, and sprawled onto the ground at her feet. She chuckled and bent to rub him between the ears. The grunts, swearing, and squeaking tennis shoes brought her attention back to the men on the basketball court.

Jack slapped the ball out of the pretty boy’s hands and bounced it to Peyton, who was making an obvious effort not to use his superhuman speed. The two men they played against were clearly Normals. Some Magickals could disguise their abilities better than others, even from other Magickals, but there was always that shiver to the senses, that awareness, that another wielder of magic was nearby. Selina felt none of that with these two. They, like Jack, were Normal.

Which meant Peyton had to be careful not to be too strong or too good or have reflexes that were too swift for the human eye to follow. He was doing a good job of slowing himself down, Selina thought. Which was probably why the guy covering him managed to elbow him in the face while they both dove for the basketball.

The wolf staggered back, covering his nose with one hand and bending over to brace his other hand against his knee. He shook his head and said something Selina couldn’t hear when the guy who’d hit him tried to pull him upright.

“Dude, just let me look. It’s not nothing. I felt your nose give under my arm. It’s definitely broken.”

Or at least it had been before Peyton’s werewolf healing abilities had taken care of that little problem. And that sounded like a good cue for her to step in.

“Come on, Grim.” She jerked on his leash, and he groaned as if she were torturing him, even though he’d been the one wanting to move a few minutes before. Damn dog.

He made a funny little laughing noise in the back of his throat before he ambled forward with her.

“Hey, Jack. Hi, Peyton. I didn’t know you guys would be here today.” She lifted the bottom of her T-shirt and hastily swiped at the sweat on her face.

When she let her shirt drop, she found every man’s eyes glued to her midriff and chest, their gazes displaying varying levels of interest. Okay. Not the distraction she’d been going for, but she’d take what she could get. Peyton shot her a grateful glance as his unbroken nose was forgotten.

“Hey,” said Jack in greeting, his gaze sliding up from her breasts to meet her eyes, his voice a low growl that sent goose bumps down her skin. He shot a pointed, territorial glance to the other men, which was pretty rich considering he’d told her he was having lunch with another woman. “Guys, this is Selina Grayson.”

“Honey, you need to stay away from these Feebs. Try a real cop on for size.” The guy who’d elbowed Peyton gave her a cocky grin.

“Nah, she’d like the CIA better.” Pretty Boy ducked into her line of sight. “Ever taken a spook for a ride?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “She is a real cop, jokers. Detective Grayson is with the Seattle PD, but she’s using her expertise to assist Peyton and me on a case.”

She gave them a cool nod. Even though she was far too sweat-drenched to pull off ice queen, she’d give it a try. “Gentlemen. And I use that term lightly.”

“Probably for the best.” Mr. Cocky Cop gave her a slightly less lecherous smile and a solid handshake. “I’m Rick Tanner.”

“Hi.” She let his hand go the moment civility allowed it, but then she had to repeat the process with Pretty Boy, who tried to touch her longer than was necessary.

“I’m Stephen Mitchum.”

“Hello.” She extracted herself from his grip, and if she zapped him with a tiny spell that would feel like an electric shock, no one was any the wiser. He jerked a little and shook out his fingers.

Rick made a bid to recapture her attention. “We met Laramie in the marines. Before he went Feeb.”

“Semper fi,” Jack replied.

“Oorah, Devil Dog.” Stephen growled the words, while Rick made a weird barking noise that set Grim off. Selina hauled him back before he could lunge at the cop.

“I was never military.” Peyton’s normally impassive face showed incredulity for a brief moment. He glanced at Selina as if she were the voice of sanity.

She shook her head. “I did some time in the navy.”

Way back when the U.S. was fighting Nazis, but she kept that to herself.

Stephen’s face lit with a smile. “Oh, yeah? I’d like to see you in uniform.”

Or out of it. The words were unspoken, but everyone could read the sentiment on his expression. She should have zapped him harder.

Jack apparently decided to jump in before anyone else could hit on her. “Actually, guys, since Grayson’s here, I had a question for you that might help out our case.”

“Oh, yeah? Shoot.” Stephen bent over to retrieve the ball, tucking it under one arm.

“I’m looking for a pattern, a weird one.” Jack swiped the sweat from his face. “I’m wondering if anything has come across either of your desks recently.”

Rick chuckled and met Stephen’s glance. “He always wants the weird ones. His life has been a lot more interesting than mine since we left the corps. Okay, what brand of freaky are we talking about this time?”

“Someone attacked, roughed up bad, and drained of blood.”

Rick snorted. “Yeah, we had one of those. Wasn’t my case, but they caught the guy. Some loser ex-boyfriend who thought he was a vampire or something. Went to those fetish blood-drinking clubs and shit.”

Well, that would explain why it hadn’t popped on the Magickal PD’s radar. Selina idly rubbed between Grim’s ears. “Yeah, the loser might not be the loser you’re looking for.”

“You got another one?” Interest stirred in Rick’s voice.

“Yep.”

“I’ll let you guys be the ones to tell the detective you’re taking over her case.” Rick went over to a gym bag on the side of the court and dug around until he came up with a cell phone. “Let me get you her contact info.”

“Appreciate it.” Jack fished his phone from one of the deep pockets on his shorts and punched in the number his friend gave him. “I’d like to talk to this wannabe-vampire loser, too, just in case he knows something useful. What’s the detective’s name?”

“Connie Wright.”

He tapped more buttons on his phone. “Great, thanks.”

When he flashed a triumphant grin at Peyton and her, she arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah. Your hunch paid off.”

Not that she’d doubted it was a possibility that Mary Winston wasn’t their first victim in Seattle, but she’d been hoping. The fewer people who died, the better. That familiar wash of shame and failure crashed over her, Bess’s face flashing through her mind.

She jerked a bit when Stephen brushed up against her. When had he gotten closer? His gaze dropped to her chest. She gave Grim’s leash a twitch, and he let out a bark, muscling his big body between hers and Stephen’s. The dog licked his lips as if spook was his favorite meal, and Stephen backed off, his face going pale. Yeah, Grim and his evil eye had that effect on people.

Good doggie.

She stroked her fingers over her familiar’s silky forehead, swept the men with a glance, and decided it was time to bow out of this conversation.

“Jack can let me know when he gets in touch with Detective Wright.” She gave a short wave at the FBI agents. “I’ll see you guys at the office tomorrow. Bye.”

“Nice meeting you, Detective.” Rick gave her a polite nod, but there was still a glint of interest in his eyes. She refused to look at Jack and see if his gaze showed any interest. He’d planned to see another woman for lunch, and she didn’t give a shit if that made her sound jealous.

“Come on, Grim.” Turning on her heel, she jogged away from them, and ignored the fact that she could feel them scoping out her ass.

She’d barely managed to make it around a copse of trees and out of their line of sight when she heard footsteps pounding up behind her.

“Selina, wait.” Jack pulled even with her, his long legs keeping pace. “You barely even looked at me back there, and I got us a huge break in the case. What was that about?”

What did he want? A cookie? He was just doing his job. Now he could go and eat with some other woman. She shrugged, though she doubted it showed while she was bouncing along at a swift trot. “I was just trying to help Peyton out with the nose thing. I didn’t expect to end up in a professional tangle.”

“This whole separation of job and personal life is a big deal to you, isn’t it?” He dipped his head to try to meet her eyes.

She shot him an incredulous look. “What was your first clue, Laramie?”

“I get it with the sex with co-workers thing, but ... just running off like that bordered on rude and unfriendly.” He spoke easily, not even winded from running and talking at the same time.

“What was unfriendly was how all of you stared at my tits. So you’ll forgive me if I didn’t want to stand around and be ogled by my colleagues. It’s easier to think about breakthroughs in the case when no one is visually groping me. A little professional separation is a good thing, in my book.” If her voice came out choppy and sharp, she put it down to the fact that she was jogging, not that his accusation stung. So he thought she was a bitch. He wasn’t the only one.

“I’m not sure that you can’t be friends with your co-workers, which seems to be the extreme you’ve taken it to, but you’re right about us staring at you. That was rude, and I apologize.”

Damn. A graceful apology that undercut any ability to be pissy with him for not being buddies with her colleagues. Her teeth gritted together. Time to change the topic to something that didn’t have her on the defensive. “Aren’t you going to be late for your lunch date?”

“I can be a few minutes late.” He said it so casually, she wanted to smack him. Or blast him with a really nasty spell. If they weren’t in public.

She lengthened her stride a bit, but then she figured outrunning him was futile. Maybe after they went past his street, he’d stop following her. “Most women I know don’t like to be kept waiting.”

He was silent for a long moment. “Seriously, Selina. Did I do something to piss you off? I thought we had a good time last night.”

“We did. Or, at least, I did. I can’t speak for you.” She tossed her hair out of her face, annoyed by the damp strands clinging to her neck.

A strangled sound emerged from his throat. “If the ‘oh, fuck, yeah, just like that’ wasn’t a pretty good clue that I enjoyed myself, I’d be happy to get more vocal for you.”

Gods, was it hot out here or was it just her? Seattle was having a sudden heat wave. The vivid reminder of what Jack had said and done to her the night before sent her hormones into overdrive. A bead of sweat slithered between her breasts, and her breath came far faster than it needed to for the speed they were going. “You were fine.”

“Fine?” Indignation laced his tone along with a large dose of bruised masculine pride. “You say that to a fifteen-year-old who can barely find his dick. I’ve been better than fine for a long time, darlin’.”

“And modest, too.” She fought the need to smile, which just annoyed her because she didn’t want him to make her laugh, and she ignored the fact that that was totally irrational. It was just that kind of weekend. Off balance and thoroughly fucked.

He made an offended noise. “You want me to act like I don’t know what I’m doing?”

As if she’d go for a second round with someone like that. She echoed the offended sound he’d made. “We wouldn’t be sleeping together if that was the case.”

“Okay, then tell me what I did to piss you off.”

She had no idea how to put it into words without making it seem like she was more invested in this ... thing they had going than she was. “Look, it’s fine if you’re fucking someone else, but... announcing it as you leave my bed is bad form, you know?”

“Announcing? Fucking someone ... What the hell are you talking about?” Genuine confusion colored his words, and it took everything she had not to punch him. Hard. Which was not like her cool and collected self.

She tossed one hand up. “And I repeat, ‘I need to get back home and clean up some, make sure there’s food in my fridge. She’ll worry otherwise. We’re supposed to have lunch today. Gotta go, bye.’ Is this ringing any bells?” She widened her eyes at him. “So, yeah, I thought you’d given a pretty pointed indicator of what was going down today. Naughty nooner ... hot lunch date. Whatever.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Wow. I swear I’m not usually an ass about this kind of thing.”

Yeah, that was so reassuring. He usually juggled his women better than this.

“I’m having lunch with my mother. That’s the ‘she’ I was talking about, the one who would care if I’m working too hard and not taking care of myself.”

Oh.

Jack swung left down the next street, Grim close on his heels and dragging her along behind. Her mind spun, trying to process what he’d said, and being hit square between the eyes with just how hard the green-eyed monster had bitten her. She wasn’t supposed to care if he was shagging everything on two legs.

This was not a good sign.

It was only then that she realized she’d followed him to his house, which wasn’t what she’d planned. Story of this week, right? She sighed and slowed to a stop in front of his place, ready to say her good-byes, again, and take herself home for a shower and a few hours poring over the paperwork from the All-Magickal Council. She also needed to give some thought to what she wanted to ask this Connie Wright about the case she thought she’d closed. The wheels in Selina’s mind spun, a million details to consider bombarding her at once. With any luck, the first victim hadn’t been cremated and Tess could take another whack at an autopsy. With any luck, the wannabe vamp boyfriend could give them some useable information.

Luck had never been on her side with this killer, but she had to try.

“Hey.” Peyton appeared before them, and he didn’t seem the least bit winded. She and Jack had been jogging at a decent clip, and Peyton hadn’t passed them on the way. The wolf shouldn’t have been using his super speed to get back to the house first.

She narrowed her gaze at him. “How did you beat us here?”

“Took a shortcut through the neighbor’s yard.” He shrugged. “They’re friends.”

A shiver of awareness went down her spine, and she knew they were being watched. By Magickals. She could all but feel their gazes drilling into her. She tilted her head, opening her senses to try to discern where their observers were. And what they were. Werewolves. The thought hit her, that familiar boom of precognition that reverberated in her skull.

Magickals gave off certain signals that other Magickals could pick up, depending on the type of precognitive abilities they had. Some had the sight, like Merek. Others could read magic through physical touch, or hear it with clairaudience, a few could even taste it or smell it. Telepathy, telempathy, it ran the gamut, but every Magickal had some of it.

Werewolves and vampires had an animalist combination of extrasensory abilities, but she didn’t know if it was technically classified as clairvoyance. It made up for the fact that they sucked at casting spells.

Selina had a pretty low level of claircognizance. She just knew things, sometimes without any real explanation why. Gut instinct, she’d always considered it, but with a twist of magic.

And she knew they were being watched, the awareness growing, creeping down her skin and leaving gooseflesh behind.

“There are werewolves staring at us.” She met Peyton’s gaze. “Have you done anything to piss off your pack lately?”

“No.”

Chatty as always, that one.

“It’s my mom and stepfather.” Jack raised his hand and waved at someone down the street, who stepped out of a sedan with dark-tinted windows.

A woman who looked a lot like Jack jumped out of the passenger side of the car, while the driver was a man who could easily pass for a mountain boulder, he was that huge. The woman wasn’t short, but he easily dwarfed her. Both were definitely werewolves.

Selina expected to relax, knowing these weren’t enemies stalking them. Instead, nerves winged through her belly. She felt like she was meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time, and she wanted to bitch-slap herself for the feeling. No one knew she was sleeping with Jack, and she was not his girlfriend.

“We didn’t want to interrupt, so we gave you a minute to finish your conversation.” The big man rumbled, his voice matching his appearance. He didn’t acknowledge for a second that his wolf hearing could probably have reached far enough to overhear them.

Jack nodded, gesturing between the two groups. “Selina, Peyton, this is my mother, Angela Maria Bates Laramie Kerr.” The woman made a face at him and he winked. “And my stepfather, Darren Kerr.”

Selina had heard of Darren Kerr before. He was an up-and-comer in the local wolf pack. Some said he might make a bid for Alpha some day. And he was married to Jack’s mother.

They all shook hands, and Selina tried not to fidget as Angela gave her an assessing look. Gods, she was four times the age of this former Normal. She told herself to get a grip and just nodded at the other woman.

Angela smiled. “Great to meet you both. You’ll join us for lunch, of course.”

Oh, hell no. Selina had planned to cut and run half an hour ago. What was she even still doing here? She should be home now, reviewing files. She lifted Grim’s leash for everyone to see. “Oh, I have my dog with me, so I’ll have to—”

“Nonsense.” Angela flapped a hand, a steely light filling her gaze. The woman had made a decision, and that was that. Selina didn’t have to wonder where Jack got his tenacity from. “There’s this great little bistro a couple of blocks over. It has plenty of outdoor seating, and people bring their dogs there all the time.”

“Well ... uh ...”

Jack nudged her shoulder, flashing an enticing smile that did quivery things to her insides. “Come on, take your mind off of work for an hour. It’s good for you.”

He was right, damn it. Sometimes it did help to think about something else for a while. It was why she’d gone for a run in the first place. Her mind was still subconsciously working on the problem, and not focusing on it could let her sort it out. She hated when he did that. He seemed to know exactly what to say to cut any arguments out from under her. She fought back the need to growl. “Fine.”

Jack watched his mother hook her arm through Selina’s as the group walked down to the restaurant for lunch. “Jack has mentioned you.”

“Has he?” The death rays beaming out of Selina’s eyes made him damn glad she wasn’t allowed to do magic in public. He’d have been roasted by the hex she cast just then. “What has he mentioned about me?”

His mother shot him a wicked look, and Jack fought the urge to muzzle her. The thing about his dad dying and the two of them being left alone was that she’d become as much friend as parent, which meant she felt free to harass the shit out of him.

“I haven’t said anything.”

Both women snorted at that.

Peyton gave him a look that said he was screwed, but his stepdad didn’t feel the need to express the sentiment silently. “You are so hosed, son.”

“Thanks, Darren. That’s really helpful.”

The two women were now talking too quietly for him to overhear, and Jack tried not to worry. He hadn’t said a word about sleeping with Selina to anyone. It was no one’s business except his. And hers. But he was pretty certain she wouldn’t have said anything. She didn’t seem to have anyone she confided in. At least, no one she’d mentioned. He hit that frustrating wall where he lacked the knowledge he craved to answer all his questions. He could school himself to patience all he wanted, but it was maddening. She told him just enough that he couldn’t protest she was refusing him, but she stonewalled any real attempt to know her. He hadn’t been fooled the night before that she’d teared up over an old case that haunted her. Sure, that would be enough to throw her off balance, but tears? No. She wasn’t the type to cry over ancient news—she was too experienced a cop for that. There was something else she wasn’t telling him; he could feel it.

It made him want to shake her, take her over his knee and spank her. The thought of her bare ass draped over his lap made his cock stiffen. He thrust that line of thinking away before he humiliated himself. It was a good thing his basketball shorts were loose or he’d be more than a little uncomfortable right now. Even now, Darren shot him a knowing look, then glanced at Selina and raised his eyebrows.

Jack kept his face impassive, but he doubted the older man was fooled. Who else would he be getting revved up about? It sure as hell wasn’t his mother, and Selina was the only other woman here. Damn. He’d tipped his hand. He could only hope Peyton hadn’t noticed, but it was unlikely. That wolf missed very little. The only consolation Jack had was that Peyton didn’t gossip. Or even talk much.

He might get out of this morning without Selina skinning him alive. First, he’d let her think he was having a nooner with another woman, and then he’d let it slip that they were knocking boots. He was batting a thousand here. Awesome.

“Jack! Aunt Angela, Uncle Darren!” A slender blond woman came flying out of the café and threw herself into Darren’s arms. Then she hugged Jack and Angela, shook hands with Selina and Peyton, and escorted them to a table on the patio under a big umbrella.

“Friend of yours?” Selina arched her eyebrows, a grin twitching at her lips, as she watched the younger woman croon over Grim.

“Something like that. The blonde is Holly Kerr, and that’s Erin Bates.” He waved to a curvaceous brunette who poked her head out the door of the restaurant. “My step-cousin and my bio-cousin went into business together.”

“Cousin?” For just a moment, Selina wore the same stricken expression he’d seen yesterday before she masked it. She cleared her throat and forced a smile. “It’s good you have family. When you’re around as long as me, you tend to be the last one standing.”

His mother made a sympathetic noise, but something told Jack that Selina hadn’t been telling the whole story. Another secret she was keeping. It just made him more determined to dig under her defenses and learn everything about her. He couldn’t say why he was so fixated on it, only that no woman had affected him the way she did in close to forever, and he had to figure out why. What made her different from all the other females who’d gone in and out of his life over the years?

“Holly has her MBA.” He pointed to the woman petting Grim. Then he gestured to where the brunette had disappeared. “Erin went to culinary school. They also own that new bakery over on Broadway.”

Selina blinked. “You mean Sugar Rush?”

“That’s the one.” He grinned, proud of what his relatives had accomplished.

Her mouth formed a moue. “Good congolais.”

“What?” Peyton spoke for the first time.

She shrugged. “It’s a coconut cookie biscuit thing. It’s good.”

“Do they serve it here?” A keen interest shone in his gaze, and Jack had to wonder if the wolf had a serious sweet tooth. It was certainly the most interest he’d ever displayed in anything besides work ... and Tess, but that was a topic Jack wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. He had to associate with Peyton, Tess, and Cavalli for the rest of his foreseeable career. While Tess didn’t work with them directly, since she was a medical examiner, it didn’t make it any less awkward that Cavalli and Peyton both wanted the same woman they all dealt with on a regular basis.

“I’ve heard of you, Agent Peyton. Or is it Peyton Something?” Holly quit petting Grim and stood up to face the table. She cocked a hip and propped a hand on it, her lips curling flirtatiously as she looked Peyton over. The barest flash of wolf canines showed in her smile. “One of my friends is the archivist for the pack, so she handles preserving all the pack records, and she says yours don’t indicate a first name. Just the one name, like Prince or Madonna.”

Jack snorted.

Remaining impassive, Peyton didn’t return the smile or the flirtation. “I’m afraid that’s not a question I can answer for you.”

“Top secret spy stuff.” She nodded sagely, winking. “Unless you don’t know your own name.”

Peyton just grunted, picked up a menu, and began thumbing through it.

Her laughter tinkled out at his response, or lack thereof. “I’ll be back to take your orders in a few minutes.”

“And I’ve got coffee for everyone.” Erin, his Normal cousin, bless her culinary genius heart, passed out empty cups and just left an entire pot of liquid ambrosia for them. She dragged Holly away with her.

Silence dropped over the table, and Jack sighed in relief. His mother poured coffee in everyone’s mug and then buried her nose in her menu. Under any other circumstances, he loved going out with his parents, but this seemed ready to explode in his face. He’d invited Peyton and a couple of his contacts in other law enforcement agencies in order to introduce them, establish more contacts for the wolf over in the Normal world, and have a nice competitive game of basketball at the same time. He hadn’t expected to run into Selina, or to have anyone dragged along for a warped version of Meet the Parents.

Selina let her menu drop to the table and narrowed her eyes at Peyton. “I’d say you owe me for saving you from the nose-breaking drama back there.”

A single eyebrow arched. “Did you want me to buy your lunch?”

“No, I want you to answer a question.” She barely took a breath before she launched her little bomb. “Are you shagging Tess?”

Jack choked on his coffee, and Darren reached over to pound him between the shoulder blades, nearly collapsing his rib cage.

“Holy shit, Selina. How are you going to ask a man that at lunch?” Especially considering what a privacy Nazi she was about her own personal life.

Rubbing his jaw, Peyton sighed. “Yes. I’m sleeping with Tess.”

The elf reached over and socked him in the arm. “Why, you sly dog ... uh, wolf, I mean.”

A bark of laughter spilled out of Peyton, and he shook his head at her. Jack just stared at the other man. He’d worked with Peyton for several years, and he was pretty sure that was the first time he’d heard the werewolf laugh.

Peyton took a sip of his coffee, hiding a grin. “I prefer it not become something you speculate about at the office, which is the only reason I’m confirming it for you. Once the gossip starts, no matter how true or untrue, it doesn’t tend to stop. I trust you won’t say anything.”

“I can assure you of my discretion.” Selina leaned back in her chair.

It was a smart move on Peyton’s part. He now had two people at the FBI office and two more who were influential in pack politics who would dissuade any rumors of a sexual liaison between Tess and Peyton. Well played.

“Now you.” Angela propped her elbows on the table, gluing her gaze on the elf. “Are you shagging Jack?”

Selina didn’t squirm, didn’t flush, didn’t do anything to give a reaction away. “I don’t answer questions about my personal life.”

An incredulous sound burst out of Jack, he couldn’t help it. “After what you just asked Peyton, isn’t that a little hypocritical?”

Her mouth formed a thoughtful moue. “No ... I don’t owe anybody. Peyton owed me, remember? I don’t have to admit to anything.”

“So you admit there’s something to admit to. Ha! I knew it,” Angela sang out. “I knew it, I freaking knew it.”

Selina’s dark eyes slitted. “What exactly did you say about me?”

“Nothing! I mentioned I was working with a new woman. That’s it.” Jack heaved a sigh. How had this devolved so fast? And how had it ended up his fault? He hadn’t put anyone on the spot about their private life.

“It was the tone he used. A mother can sense these things.” Angela held up her finger. “I knew it. I even told Darren after you mentioned her on the phone yesterday, didn’t I?”

Darren chuckled and reached over to run a hand down his wife’s hair, leaning in to kiss her forehead. “Yes, my love, you told me.”

She grinned, cupped his face in her hands, and smacked a kiss on his lips. “I adore you.”

“Please, people. You’re going to kill my appetite before I can even get a bite of the food.” Jack groaned, teasing them as he had since they started dating in his teens.

Darren reached over and ruffled his hair, and Jack laughed and ducked away as best he could in his chair. His laughter died when he glanced up and saw sadness cross Selina’s face. Did it pain her to see people interacting with family? When had she last let anyone in enough to let them joke and play with her in public? She was so locked down, so frozen everywhere except in bed, he was always surprised to even hear her laugh. That couldn’t be healthy, and he didn’t give a damn how much older and more experienced she was, he knew repressed and unhealthy when he saw it. All he could do was loosen her up and hope she didn’t hex his ass in the process. Good thing he was a man who liked risks.

She looked away from him, offering his stepdad a smile. “So how’re things going in the packs? Your leader has some fascinating thoughts about the treatment for lycanthropy Chloe Standish is developing.”

Now there was a subtle topic change guaranteed to light Darren’s fire. Jack glanced around them. There was no one else sitting near them on the patio, so unless they had werewolf hearing, they weren’t going to hear an elf asking about werewolves.

Darren growled, the sound bestial enough to have Grim on his feet searching for the threat. Selina reeled her familiar in and stroked his head. Darren’s face darkened as he spoke. “They’re arguing about how to handle the treatment when it comes on the market. Some are even talking about rejecting it, as if they’d have that kind of say in things. People are going to be all over it no matter what. They’re chomping at the bit now, just waiting for it to make it through FDA approval. The pack Alpha is an archaic moron, and his son is even worse because he should know better.”

Darren was big and quiet, and he’d scared the shit out of Jack when he’d met him as a kid. But his stepfather was solid. He’d lay down his life for those he loved, and that was a bedrock Jack and his mother had both needed back then.

The pack leaders had pissed Darren off more and more the last few years, and Jack wouldn’t be surprised if his stepfather challenged the current heir for leadership when the Alpha died. The ins and outs of wolf pack politics were always a bit murky, but Jack was fairly certain challenging for leadership involved hand-to-hand combat.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about his family getting that deep into politics, but Cavalli’s father was on the Vampire Conclave, and Merek had just married into a family that ruled the Witch Coven, so Jack figured he’d be fine.

“Well, you know the pack Alpha has had his hands full. Maybe caution would serve him well.” Absolute evil gleamed in Selina’s gaze as she dove headfirst into a political debate with Darren, with his mother egging them both on, while Jack and Peyton watched with amusement.

This? This was the Selina Jack wanted to see more of. When she let some cracks show in those walls of hers, she was amazing to watch. If she were like this all the time? It would be almost irresistible. Not that he minded the ice queen, but the warmer, more passionate Selina was damn fun.

Peyton apparently thought so, too. This was probably the closest Jack had ever seen the wolf come to a full-on smile. Another Magickal who could use some time blowing off a little steam. Maybe Tess would do that for him, though Jack didn’t even want to think about what that meant for Cavalli. That was a hot mess Jack wanted no part of, and he hoped like hell it didn’t spill over into the office.

Selina hadn’t admitted to anything about their affair, which didn’t surprise Jack at all. She’d said she wouldn’t answer personal questions, and that was final. Jack had no clue where things with them were going, but he was willing to strap in for the ride and find out. As he watched her yank his stepfather’s chain—a mountain of a werewolf that made most people shake in their boots—he knew he’d at least be entertained, no matter what came of this.

I like this one. She’s got grit. His mother’s telepathic voice whispered in his head.

Yeah, that was the problem. He liked this one, too. Far more than was good for his peace of mind.