The Mane Attraction (32 page)

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Authors: Shelly Laurenston

BOOK: The Mane Attraction
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Chapter 27
A
t three
A.M.
, Mitch called to let Sissy know a bunch of them, including Brendon and Bobby Ray, had taken Travis to the hospital to get his leg set. The break was apparently so bad it would take more than a week to heal.
Sissy would have felt awful if Mitch hadn’t sounded so proud over the phone. At one point, he even told her, “I figured I had to go with him since my girlfriend was the one who beat the crap out of him.”
It had been the first time anyone had ever called her that where she hadn’t automatically responded, “Who the hell are you talking about?”
Instead, she curled up on the couch, Ronnie asleep with the other She-wolves on the floor, and said, “He made me mad.”
“He made me mad, too. But I’m glad you’re the one who kicked his ass.”
They talked for nearly an hour until Mitch told her, “It looks like we’re taking him back. I’ll stay with Smitty’s Pack tonight. See you before the game?”
“Of course. In fact, I was thinking that ... um ... when you go back to Philly, I can go with you. Just until you testify,” she rushed to explain.
He was silent for a long time, until he finally asked, “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to be alone.”
“Sissy ... that would mean a lot to me. You’ll be like my sexy bodyguard.”
She laughed. “Well, somebody’s gotta watch your back.”
“I have to go. I’ll talk to you in a few hours.”
“Okay.” The words she really wanted to say were right there. Right on the tip of her tongue. But she’d never said them to anyone who was not a blood relative or her best girlfriends. “Um ...”
“Sissy?”
“Uh-huh?”
“I love you.”
Sissy let out a breath, her hand gripping the phone tighter. “Me, too. I mean ... I love you, too.”
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled at the humor in his voice. “Shut up.”
“Talk to you later, baby.”
“Yeah.” She disconnected the call.
Sissy was in love, and it wasn’t nearly as appalling as she had thought it would be.
“I love you, Mitchy!”
“And I love you, Sissy!”
Then Ronnie and one of Sissy’s cousins began to make kissing noises while the rest of the She-wolves fell out laughing.
“To the devil with all y’all!”
Mitch had only been asleep a few hours when he felt the couch he was stretched out on dip and someone slapped him in the back of the head.
Growling, he looked over his shoulder and glared. “Desiree.”
“Mitchell.” She grinned. “Glad to see you’re breathing.”
“I was sleeping.”
“Yes. But I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m playing ball in a few hours, so ...” He motioned her away with a wave of his hand.
“Oh, that’s nice. I come out to Hicksville to track down your little murderer, and you brush me off.”
“You’re not letting me sleep, are you?”
Her grin grew. “Actually, Smitty sent me up here to get you. He said I should awaken you with my dulcet tones.”
Dulcet tones? The woman had a voice like sandpaper over gravel. And Smitty knew that.
“Thanks.” Yawning and rubbing his eyes, he pulled himself up. “Any leads?”
Dez shrugged. “We’re pretty sure she’s headed this way. Your head is worth a lot right now. Maybe they’ll mount it on the wall.”
“Shut up.”
“Or they’ll stuff your entire body, and you can be put next to someone’s stuffed armadillo and their tiger skin rug.”
“I hate you.”
She laughed. “I know. Mace hates when I wake him up like that. Although, he hates it worse when it’s the dogs.”
“I don’t know how you got him to live with those dogs.”
“Love me ... love my dogs.”
“You got a car?” Mitch abruptly asked her.
“Yup. A lovely beige rental.”
“Give me a ride when I get dressed?”
“Sure,” she answered simply as Brendon walked by on the way to the bathroom.
He stopped and stared at Dez and Mitch. “Dez ... what is your deal with cats?”
 
 
They’d only gotten a few hours sleep and couldn’t find
any
food left in the entire house. Damn cat. Now the Smith Pack She-wolves had finished eating their breakfast at the diner and were headed back out to the streets they’d grown up on but had left behind for the fast city life of New York.
Ronnie glanced down at Sissy’s feet. “Maybe we should get those hooves of yours done at a nail salon. A little polish wouldn’t hurt.”
“Last I saw, I can still wear your boots. So watch the glass house you throw those boulders at.”
The two friends grinned at each other but stopped abruptly as the scent hit them. Actually, it hit them all.
And like the brazen hussies they were, Paula Jo and her Pride pulled up in her topless Jeep.
“Hey, Sissy Mae.”
Sissy stepped forward. “What are you doing here? Have you lost your mind?”
“I had to make a decision.” She lifted her right hand, palm up. “My kind”—and lifted her left—“your kind.” Paula Jo, continued, shaking her head, “But in the end, it really came down to a more important decision.”
Again, she lifted her right hand, palm up. “Southerner”—and then her left—“Yankee.”
Sissy briefly crossed her eyes. “What are you talkin’ about?”
“We’ve been hired to distract you. Some Yankee lion waving ten grand with a promise of twenty. We figure we can have some fun with that ten, and she can shove the other ten up her Yankee ass.” Paula Jo looked Sissy straight in the eye. “She’s here for your man, Sissy Mae. And that crazy bitch isn’t going to stop until she gets him.”
 
 
“Hello?” Dee walked through the house and found the note on one of the living room end tables.
Went to diner for breakfast. Meet us there or at the field for the game. —Sissy
Typical. Heifers didn’t even wait for her. Of course, she did suddenly disappear on them, and she knew Sissy didn’t care. That’s why she made a great Alpha—Sissy didn’t insist Dee spend every moment with her like most Alphas. Sissy understood her Pack and acted accordingly.
But Dee had heard about what had gone down between Sissy and Travis, and Dee hated the fact that she’d missed being there for her cousin.
And Travis deserved what he got as far as Dee was concerned. He made her glad she had no brothers or sisters of her own. Sure, you could get a Bobby Ray or Sammy, but you could just as easily get a Travis or a Jackie.
Figuring she’d already missed them at the diner, Dee decided to head on home until it got closer to game time. She went to the kitchen, and as soon as she stepped in, she caught the scent, her gaze automatically lifting at the same time as the .45 locked on her. Without thought, only years of training, Dee hooked her foot under the kitchen chair by her and kicked out, flinging the chair across the room. It slammed into the lioness, the weapon knocked from her grip.
The lioness stared at her weapon and then back at Dee. After a moment, her eyes widened as recognition dawned. “Well, well, how far we
haven’t
gone.”
Dee’s head cocked to the side. “I thought you were dead, Mary. They told us you were dead.” And that’s why Dee would never have thought of Mary as the shooter—she’d already looked into a few of her old comrades, but they were all definitely breathing and had alibis.
“As far as they’re concerned ... I am dead. God knows, we weren’t making enough money at that job, considering what we had to do.” She flexed her gun hand, probably trying to work out the pain the chair had caused when it hit her. “So I decided to go out on my own. Make the big money. But don’t think you can get between me and my payday, little puppy. You were never
that
good.”
Dee didn’t have any of her guns, and the lioness’s gun had skittered under the refrigerator. Quickly flicking her gaze across the clean counter, Dee saw the knife block and a hammer hanging beside a couple of screw drivers. She went for the hammer. Knives were a nightmare to fight with. Even though she could—hell, she’d been trained to, but she’d also been trained that it was an easy way to get a major artery cut.
By the time she swiped up that hammer, Mary had launched herself at Dee, a hunting knife in her hand. Dee turned her body, and Mary slammed into her side. Ramming the female’s hand down on the kitchen table, Dee cracked it with the hammer.
Mary unleashed a roar and shoved, forcing Dee into the counter. With the blade gone, the lioness wrapped her hands around Dee’s wrists. Dee slammed her foot down on Mary’s instep and slammed her head into Mary’s.
Yanking away from her, Mary shoved Dee again, this time into the kitchen table before she charged over it. Instinctively, Dee knew she had more guns outside and scrambled after her. Mary had just reached the old screen door when Dee tackled her from behind, the momentum of it forcing them through the door and out onto the porch.
“All right, so what’s going down?”
Mitch glanced over at Dez and frowned. “What’s going down about what?”
“You and Sissy? Man, Smitty is pissed. He called you a using bastard. Why?”
Sighing, Mitch stared back out the window. “Can’t you ask Sissy these questions? I’m a guy.”
“I get along better with men.”
“Then get it from Smitty.”
“He stormed away, and Jess went after him. Come on!” She practically bounced up and down in the seat. “Tell me! I’m a fellow detective. You
have
to tell me.”
“I can’t believe you’re throwing that at me.”
“By any means necessary.”
Mitch turned and glared at her. “That is not the proper use for that quote.”
“
Tell me!
”
“No. Suffer. And turn here.”
“Fine. I’ll ask Ronnie Lee.”
“Good. Do that.”
“And let me tell you, the whole no cell phone thing has been making me insane. I
knew
something was going on, and no one was telling me.”
“Shouldn’t you be focusing on finding my killer?”
“You ain’t dead yet. So get over yourself.”
Why did he like this woman? Maybe because she was strangely fascinating. Although waking up to that voice every morning ... more power to Mace.
“The house is right up here.”
She turned and drove the short bit down the dirt lane. “I hear banjos.”
“Stop it. And I’m telling Sissy you said that.”
“Rat.”
They pulled to a stop in front of the house. Mitch looked out the front windshield. “I don’t think they’re here.” Which really disappointed him since he’d planned to take Sissy for a quickie in her bedroom or the bathroom. Whatever worked best for them in the moment.

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