Wild

 

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CATCH A TIGER BY THE TAIL

Eve Langlais

 

CHAPTER 1

Having nine lives was well and good in theory, but when a woman straddled a man—fully clothed unfortunately—held a gun to his head, and said, “What are you doing in my drawers?” it probably wasn't a smart thing to say, “Hoping to lick some delicious cream.”

Broderick could blame his stupid statement only on the fact that his mother claimed he'd landed on his head instead of four paws more than was healthy for a kitten.

He could also blame hormones for his ill-advised statement because it took only one look at the curvy redhead straddling him, and a single sniff, to realize the goddess threatening his life was his mate.

Meow
. And he meant “Ow!” as she dug the barrel into his skin, not at all impressed by his compliment.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot.”

Apparently, “Because I'm pretty sure we're soul mates” wasn't the right answer.

“Listen, smarty pants, I really don't want to have to blow a hole through your obviously empty head. However, I will if you don't give me some answers as to what the hell you're doing in here. This area is off-limits to patrons.”

“And are you off limits, too?” Too late it occurred to him how that might sound.
I think I might have just implied she's a prostitute.
Maybe she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Judging by the way her lips pursed, she did. “I am not for sale.”

“I didn't mean to say you were. Ah hell, this isn't going too well. Do you mind if I get up so we can start over?”

“Not until you explain how you got in here and why you're going through the bar's files.”

“I came in through the door.”

“The locked door.”

“Was it?” He gazed at her with his biggest, most innocent, kitty cat eyes.

They didn't melt her one bit. “I know it was locked, which means you broke in.”

“Or had a key.” He held up the shiny silver object.

Her gaze narrowed. “Who gave that to you?”

“Your boss.” His, too, but no use getting into details about that now, given she still held a gun to his head.

“Why would the bar owner give you a key?”

“So I could do my job. I'm an auditor.”

Long lashes blinked. “Excuse me, you're what?”

“An auditor, not an IRS one in case you're wondering. I work for a privately operated company that does a lot of subcontract work for the city and law enforcement.”

“And you're here because?”

“Congratulations, you've been selected out of hundreds to have your business dealings perused and your bank accounts monitored for illegal activity.” His game show announcement and brilliant smile fell flat.

“I've got nothing to hide.”

“Then this will be a painless process, especially if you don't shoot me.”

“I guess since you're here on official business that people know you're here?”

“Tons of witnesses.”

“It's your lucky day then,” she said with a smirk.

Brody couldn't determine if she joked or not. Either way, the gun lifted from his temple.

The lovely redhead moved away—a shame—and dropped with a sigh onto a worn office chair.

Broderick picked himself up off the floor and brushed himself off. While not as meticulous in his appearance as his friend Gavin, as a feline, he couldn't help but groom himself.

“Now that we've ascertained I'm here on valid business, I think we should start over. Hi, my name is Broderick Fredrickson with the 123 Audited Agency. I've been hired to go through all your accounting records in order to reconcile certain discrepancies that have come to light.” The city and the cops weren't the only ones looking for an answer to mismatched funds. His secret boss, the Lycan alpha of the city, also wanted to know.
“Who the hell is screwing me over?”
were his exact words.

Only an idiot would think they could steal from Fabian Garoux and get away with it. Brody hoped that idiot wasn't the woman in front of him. If she proved culpable, then fate surely screwed with him, leading him to his mate only to have her taken away, because if there was one thing his alpha boss hated, it was thieves.

“I'm not aware of any discrepancies.”

“And you would know this because?” He arched a brow.

“Because I'm the one who, for the last few weeks, has been filing the receipts, collecting the monies, compiling the employee pay records, and submitting them to the accountant.”

“Who was doing it before you?”

“Ricky.”

“What happened to Ricky?” Brody already knew—strangled and fed to the fishies—but wondered what she'd say.

She shrugged. “Damned if I know. No one does. Ricky disappeared. Didn't show up for work one day, and a week later, with girls threatening to quit if they weren't paid and distributors refusing to deliver, I kind of took over until they could send in a replacement.”

Broderick frowned. “The guy managing this place disappears and upper management didn't send someone to look into it?”

“Yeah, they sent Frank, the guy who collects the money and stuff for the accountant. He's the one who told me to keep doing what I was doing.”

Curious. When they'd questioned Frank, he said the accountant, Larry, had put her in charge because she had hot boobs. She really did, a perfect handful, confined by an awful bra.

We should rescue her breasts.

Any other time he would have attempted, but Brody was here to solve a mystery. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted by a lovely redhead.

“Are we done here? I left Nancy alone behind the bar, and given that the after-dinner rush hour is about to start, I should get back there.”

Done? Oh, they were far from done, and Brody didn't just mean because of his job. His kitty wanted to get to know her better. Starting with her name. “Who are you? I never did get your name.”

“Because you never asked.” Then, almost begrudgingly, “Lulu.”

“That's it? Lulu?”

A heavy sigh left her. “Lulu Lamontaine.”

A made-up name if he ever heard one, but he didn't push it. Lots of people had reasons to change their names. Some to escape their past. Others to ensure a brighter future. He wondered what Lulu hid from. “Nice to meet you, Lulu. What time do you finish work?”

Her brows crinkled in suspicion. “Why do you want to know?”

“I thought we could grab dinner.” And then hit somewhere a little more private for
dessert.
Meow!

“Why would we do that? I've already told you everything you want to know.”

“Oh, we're far from done. I'll have many more questions for you, but the real reason I asked is because as I said, when we first met, you are my soul mate.” He presented his claim with his biggest smile, the one that popped both of his dimples.

Instead of swooning in pleasure, she laughed, and pointed her gun again.

“Not a chance, numbers guy.”

“We prefer the term
geek.
” Sure, he wasn't the classic thick-rimmed-glasses-wearing, pasty-skinned nerd portrayed in movies, but Broderick definitely belonged more on the geeky side of things, where numbers and equations brought a thrill of excitement.

“Whatever. Geek, nerd, I don't really care; we're done. Now get out of my bar.”

He'd leave, for the moment. However, she was delusional if she thought they were done. Lulu had caught the eye of the tiger, and no way was he letting her escape.

Step 1: Woo her with his incredible charm.

 

CHAPTER 2

Lulu didn't move for several minutes after the attractive male in his rumpled suit left. She didn't move for a few reasons.

First, finding the guy snooping in her office had taken her by surprise. On his knees and sifting through her filing cabinet, he was rocking along to the music piped into her office and didn't hear her approach.

She almost shot him. Surely no good could come of someone spying. But she'd restrained herself. Too many questions from the cops. Once she'd ascertained he was there on legal business, she decided he was harmless. An accountant, snort. Or so he claimed. Like an idiot, she'd forgotten to ask for identification, but then again, the fact that he produced a key and a plausible explanation for his presence seemed to indicate he was there on real business.

I wonder why no one warned me about it.
Surely, whoever gave him the key could have spared a quick warning call.

And that was just the first set of reasons keeping her mentally spinning.

The second was she needed a minute to process his claim that someone was cooking the books, with an unvoiced accusation that she was to blame.

Not me.
Lulu wasn't a crook. It would have never even occurred to her. Stealing was never okay. Murder under the right circumstances though … Her parents had an interesting ideology that she struggled with now that she'd left home.

But who cared about her traumatizing childhood? Someone thought she was pocketing dough. Never. Every dime the bar made went to the accountant. She barely did anything more in her job as manager than hand over the cash and credit card receipts for their daily sales. With company checks, which left a trail, she paid the distributors and did payroll. So okay, she was pretty involved with all the money aspects surrounding the bar, but that didn't mean she was the culprit if numbers didn't add up. The knowledge that something illegal was happening, on her watch, didn't sit well.

I better not be getting framed.

The final reason she lingered in her office, the most surprising reason of all, was because of her unexpected reaction to Broderick. He'd told her they were soul mates, and for a moment, a stutter from her heart, and a warmth she'd never thought to feel again after the betrayal of her ex, floored her.