Sealed with a Hiss: Book Four Supernatural Enforcers Agency (9 page)

Chapter Thirteen

April

Gunner finished his report. The only person they could find who had a motive for killing the weasel had a great alibi and wasn’t inclined to confess to paying anyone to do the deed. 
Another dead end case
.  This was getting to be a nasty way of life.

His snake hissed at him to pay attention.  The polar bear was hovering, and Gerry could scent a trace of uncharacteristic nervousness about him.

“What is it?” said Gerry with a weariness that came from many sleepless nights obsessing over a squirrel.

Gunner cleared his throat loudly.  “You know the new girl, Erin – Zane’s replacement.”

Gerry cocked an eyebrow.  Gunner had missed nonchalant a few exits ago.  He was about to tell Gerry something he didn’t want to – probably because he wasn’t sure how Gerry would react.  “I am familiar with her, yes.”

The bear rubbed the back of his head.  “Well, it’s just…”

“We’re keeping her - I have no intention of getting rid of her.”

Gunner nodded fervently.  “Oh yes, I am keeping her.”  His cheeks flushed pink.  “I mean,
we
are keeping her.”

Gerry’s brow creased.  “What about her?”

The huge polar bear sucked in a breath before blurting, “We mated and we’re getting married.”

“You’ve only known her a few weeks,” he said, evenly.  He couldn’t deny this was such a surprise.  He just thought that it was happening more quickly than expected, particularly as Erin was human.  He’d seen the way the bear looked at her, and the way she blushed in return.  He kind of hoped he didn’t look like that when he looked at Jessie –
goofy beyond belief
.

“The beast wants what he wants.”  Gunner treated Gerry to a dreamy smile.  His snake had the urge to hurl.

“And Erin’s sure about this?”

That wiped the smile away.  Gunner growled.  “Of course, she’s sure.  We’re not getting married straight away – Erin thinks we should wait and move in together first.”

He sounded like he would have happily thrown her over his shoulder and ran to the nearest wedding chapel – but he was being considerate of his human mate.

Gerry leaned back.  Technically, in spite of rumors, there wasn’t an exact rule about mates working together.  It was more of an understanding that they shouldn’t.  This was to either stop them from killing each other or to stop their teammates from killing them.  Judging from the fierce expression on Gunner’s face, he doubted the bear was going to be relaxed and easygoing when it came to his mate.

“I see, you understand that you and Erin shouldn’t work together?”

Gunner scowled.  “But…”

“Can you honestly tell me you would treat her as equal to your other teammates?”

“Well, I…”

“And you would happily send her out to talk to suspects without you there protecting her?”

Gunner’s eyes flashed to the brown of his bear’s before he managed to control himself enough to lie.  “I’d probably get used to it…”

“I doubt it.  For your sake, Erin will have to be transferred to another team.”

“I don’t like it.”

“No, but you’ll get over it.”  It wasn’t easy having a female you cared about so close.  He managed because Jessie was never in any danger. 
Well, only the danger from males wanting to screw her
.  Gerry pulled out his desk drawer and flashed a look at the file picture he kept there.  Her eyes were still closed and her mouth still a small O of surprise, and she was still gorgeous.  His beast rumbled in agreement.  “I’ll transfer Erin to the Beta Team,” he muttered, absently.

“Diaz’s team?” roared Gunner, who had never gotten along with the jaguar shifter.  Few males in the building did which Gerry attributed to Diaz’s flirty nature and that he hit on any female that crossed his path.  “You do know that the fucking jaguar took bets on whether he could get into her pants?”

Gerry sighed and closed the drawer.  “I understand a lot of males in the building did.  I understand that Cutter won because he bet on you.”  For all the men Gerry knew about, he had ordered them to report to the medical bay for a physical with the nurse.  Not the sweet, gentle hedgehog shifter, Lucie either.  No, they were to undergo physicals with the polar bear shifter who treated bodies like they were made out of putty.

“I’ve already spoken to Diaz – he and a number of males are attending the HR seminar in sexual discrimination in the workplace.”  After their physical, of course, when their bodies would be too bruised even to contemplate thinking about sex.

Gunner pouted a manly pout.  “I still think…”

“I don’t,” he snapped.  “You’re more reasonable than any bear shifter I’ve met, Gunner.  But do I trust you not to go crazy if someone looks at her funny?  Not even for a second, my friend.  But, congratulations, I’m sure you’ll be very happy together,” he added, to mollify the bear slightly.

It worked, too.  “Thanks, I’m really happy.”  Gunner chuckled, and his big body relaxed slightly.  “For a couple of weeks, I actually thought I could stay away from her.  I thought she’d be better off without me… my beast wouldn’t allow that, though.  Anyway, I better get going – we have plans.” 

In so far as a bear could skip, Gunner did so on his way out of the office.  It was in fact still a lumber, but it was a perky lumber.

His beast wouldn’t allow it thought Gerry.  He pulled the drawer open again and stared at the picture.

The beast wants what the beast wants
.  His snake growled.  And his beast wanted Jessie.

Gerry frowned and closed the drawer again.  But it wasn’t his fault they weren’t together.  Sure, he’d been an idiot at first, thinking he could wait until after his divorce.  But after trying that for a grand total of one day, he had changed his mind and wanted to try and work through their problems. 
Well, his problems
.  There was a moment in his office when she was dabbing at his wounds when he thought something would happen, but she said no to that.  Jessie didn’t want him and he couldn’t force her to change her mind.

But he couldn’t pretend he didn’t want her.  He couldn’t imagine not wanting her ever again.  He was intrigued when the giddy, young creature ran into his office.  Smitten after he kissed her.  And now… now he was burning for her, burning to be with her, to feel her pressed against him. 
God, just her laugh made him hard
.  That fucking gorgeous hiccuping giggle almost made him come in his pants.

He imagined what it would be like to introduce Jessie to his family.  The fake smile would congeal on his mother’s face as she took in Jessie’s dyed hair, boots, and t-shirts.  But he liked that about her.  He liked it that she was fun. 
And when had he ever had fun?
  It was school, college and then work, interspersed with dating cold python shifters who were no more interested in having fun than he was.  Edith was perhaps a little wilder than the average female python; although she didn’t want to share any of that wildness with him.  Was that why Jessie appealed to him so much?  The fact that she possessed something that he never had.

All these months, he’d been hanging on, settling for the small smiles she threw him.  But it wasn’t enough.  What would he do if she got mated or married to another male?  His beast howled in fury.  How could he possibly live with that?

In truth, he couldn’t. 
Something needed to change.

*

“Who drank all the milk and put the carton back in the refrigerator?” snapped Jessie in an unusually bad mood.  Her spirits had been pretty low since Christmas, but she managed to put on a cheerful face for the most part.  But the milk had just pushed her too far.

She was met with a chorus of ‘don’t know’.

Ugh!
  She gave in and put it back in the refrigerator.  She was sick of being these guys’ mother.  Eventually, one of them would want milk, they’d find the empty carton, and they’d have to damn well go to the store and get it.  Unlike every other time this had happened before, she was determined that one of them would cave before her.

Jessie rifled through the refrigerators.  Maybe the soup could have cream in instead – it’d probably taste better.  Except the cream went out of date quite a while ago.  She gave it an experimental sniff and her squirrel squeaked. 
Gross
.  She threw that in the trash – it was a day away from spawning its own civilization.

She pulled out a couple of yogurts, also starting to grow their own fungus and a piece of cheese that smelled like her high school’s boys’ locker room.  Hey, she only went in once on a dare.  After smelling it, she never went back.

It was time her roommates grew up and threw out their own trash.  Jessie gave the chore chart a forlorn look.  It was something that worked at home where all her siblings pulled together, but it didn’t work so well with three ungrateful roommates, and she was not going to turn into the
naggy
roommate.

Truthfully, she’d only just started to notice how bad the guys were.  They’d been living together for a year and a half now.  They had a really nice apartment, and because there were four of them, it worked out that the rent was cheap.  They’d met when they were all students, and apparently things like cleanliness and food in the refrigerator hadn’t seemed so important back then.  But now that she had a job, it was obvious that these guys were still behaving like kids –
and they wanted her to be their freaking mommy!
  Well, nuh-uh, no way.

Someone knocked on the door.

Jessie stirred her soup and yelled, “Is anyone going to get that?”

Greg and Arliss were playing a video game, and Kenny was in the bathroom again.  She’d never known a man take so many showers.  It was a little creepy and thank god she had her own tiny bathroom or she might have found out what he was doing in there.  She insisted on the separate bathroom since she was the only female.  They’d argued, and she’d felt a strong sense of victory after she won.  Now, she realized that they were idiots and defeating them in any kind of debate was just inevitable.

Someone knocked on the door gain.

“Seriously, is anyone going to get that?”

There was no reply, and the person knocked for the third time.

“Jessie, can you get that?  Someone’s at the door,” shouted Greg.

“No kidding,” she muttered.  “Mother, maid and now freaking butler.  Jeez Louise!”

She stomped into the hallway, tripping over Arliss’s bike.  “Arliss, have you left your bike in the hallway again even though I specifically asked you not to?”

“Yeah, careful you don’t fall over it.”

Her squirrel ground her teeth.  “Thanks!”

Still muttering death threats, she flung the door open.  “Gerry!” she gasped, and her squirrel perked up considerably.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he rumbled in his silky voice.

“Oh, no, of course not, come in.”  She hobbled back, and Gerry gave her a sharp look.

“Are you injured?”

“Just a biking injury.”

“You enjoy cycling?” he asked blandly.

“No, I just tripped over a bike.”

“Oh.”

Jessie resisted the urge to ask him what on earth he was doing there.  To be frank, his presence actually improved an otherwise extremely crappy night.  She wasn’t about to chase him away. 
At least, not right away
.  “I’m sorry please come into the kitchen, careful of the bike.”

He followed her, and she tried to clear room for him to sit, dislodging cycling magazines, comic books and sweaty t-shirts from a chair.  “Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess.”  And pretty disgusting she added silently.  He must think she was a total slob to live like this.

“No, I’m sorry,” he said.  “I shouldn’t have dropped by unannounced.”

“It’s fine; I was just…”

“Making tomato soup?”  He sniffed, and his eyes roved over the pan and leftover ingredients.

“Yes.”  She wasn’t about to admit that she was just going to happen to bring too much to work and offer him some, though. 
That would have looked totally lame
.  “So what’s up?” she asked trying to sound aloof and not like someone who was having a hard time getting a fluttering heart and an excited squirrel under control.

Kenny chose that moment to wander in only wearing a towel.  He grabbed a beer and nodded at Gerry.  “‘Sup dude.”

Gerry smiled coldly, and Kenny flinched before leaving very quickly.

“Your roommate?”  He looked at her accusingly, and Jessie felt unwarranted guilt.

She nodded.  “I have three.”

“All male,” added Gerry, tightly.

Jessie knew she wasn’t doing anything wrong.  Her roommates appealed to her sexually as much as a laundry hamper would, but for some reason, she felt the need to explain herself to Gerry.  Which logically she knew was absolutely ridiculous.  “Yeah, we’re all just friends.  We were all students together, although I seem to be the only one trying to move on from student life.”

Gerry’s eyes shuttered.  “Hmmm.”

“What can I do for you?”