Wolf Pack (7 page)

“Coyote,” he corrected.

“Same thing,” Abilene said back.

“Ignore him,” Cole said and nudged her forward.

Since she didn’t know what was going on she stayed close to Cole. They walked around to his desk and he pulled out the chair and motioned for her to sit. Kendra dropped down and peered around the room.

“What?” she asked when her gaze landed on Jade.

“Luca is an asshole. He thinks he’s funny but he really isn’t,” Jade replied.

“I’m hilarious,” Luca argued. “And I knew Cole wouldn’t be able to stay away from her.”

Cole growled. “You bet on me?”

Luca nodded with exaggeration.

Kendra knew she shouldn’t be amused, but she was. Jade had told her yesterday that Luca had been on his best behavior and it appeared that she was now seeing him as his true self.

“How about we get to work,” Cole said. His tone made it clear his words were not a suggestion.

“I think we found something,” Adam called out.

“Good.” Cole strolled over to him, and Kendra pulled out her laptop from her bag.

She placed her computer on the desk and powered it on. Several emails popped up. She opened the one from Taylor first.

There was another attack last night.

This time on the border between pack land and the safe zone.

There will be an inner circle meeting at 7 tonight.

Kendra glanced over at Cole. He was bending down over some paperwork reading. “Cole.” She motioned him over.

He didn’t hesitate and was by her side in an instant. She pointed to the message.

“I need to call Zak,” he said.

She nodded. Cole walked away as he dug out his cell phone from his pocket. Kendra moved on to the next email.

Stop looking for Trent Compton

Kendra blinked at the message. The sender address wasn’t one that she recognized.

“Can anyone trace where an email originated from?” she questioned. Back at her own office she would have to send the request out but she’d heard about all the technical work Cole’s team did in house.

“Let me see,” Mitch said from beside her.

Kendra rose and gave her seat over to him.

“Do you know who gnikahpla is?” he asked.

“No, I have no idea,” she told him. She glanced over at Jade. “But whoever it is does not want us looking for Trent.”

Jade and Abilene rushed over. They leaned over Mitch’s shoulder as he typed furiously fast on the computer. “Brady, we need Cole back in here,” Jade hollered.

He nodded and ran out of the door.

“Almost…I think I got it,” Mitch mumbled as he worked.

Kendra bit her lip. Instead of keeping them from searching for Trent they would be closer by catching whoever had sent her the message. They obviously knew that she was looking for Trent. This person might be the key to stopping all the attacks.

“No! No, no, no!” Mitch shouted then pounded his fist on the desk. The wood cracked under the assault.

“What?” Jade yelled as she caught his hand.

“Virus,” he said. “The laptop has been corrupted and the email address is invalid. I can try to hack into the original server but that’s going to take time.”

“Damn it,” Kendra said with a sigh.

“Well, at least we have one clue,” Luca said from his desk. He had his feet propped up and was juggling three oranges.

“What are you doing?” Abilene asked as she walked back toward him.

“Practicing. I thought I would put on a show at the barbecue this weekend,” Luca replied.

“That will be hard to do with two broken hands.”

Kendra spun around to where Cole was leaning against the door. Two other men stood behind him.

Luca laughed. “Who’s going to do that? You, puppy dog?”

“No, I’ll call your brother, who’ll call your mom, and she will,” an attractive blond man said as he entered the room. She’d seen him the day before when she’d exited the conference room with Jade.

Luca let the oranges fall and put his feet back on the ground. “You’re a jerk, Zak.”

Oh, so this is the tiger shifter.
It seemed like he had something to control Luca with, too.

“What do you mean by clue?” Kendra asked.

“Well,” Luca said as he stretched then stood. “Did you notice that gnik ahpla is alpha king spelled backwards?”

“Alpha king,” Kendra and Jade repeated.

“Now we just need to find out who that is,” Luca said.

Alpha king?
Kendra didn’t need help putting it together. “I know who it is.”

Cole grabbed her and towed her into the hall. The door slammed behind them, and Kendra found herself shoved up against the wall.

“What are you doing?” she snapped at him.

The anger vibrating out of every inch of him, his teeth clenching, was unexpected. “You lied to me.”

“I did not.” She tried to push off the wall but he tightened his hold on her wrists.

“I asked you if the pack had anything to do with this.” He leaned forward as he spoke. His dark eyes deepened even more. “That meant your Alpha.”

“Taylor is not involved in this,” she exclaimed.

“I had a good long talk with Zak and he filled me in on some missing pieces from your story.”

Kendra yanked on his hands. “Let go of me, Cole.”

“Not yet,” he replied. “You’re going to listen to me first. And if you lie to me again I will pull you into Commander Green’s office and let you confess to him. He can then call your boss and explain how you’ve been putting the case at risk.”

“You’re threatening me?” She couldn’t believe the turn her day had taken in a matter of minutes. As soon as they’d gotten a lead on the case, Cole had literally turned on her. It hurt, her heart ached and she had to work to keep her eyes from tearing up.

“Taylor Rosas is not only the Alpha in Lake Worth, one of the largest packs in the country. He is also next in line to join the Wolf Council, which is what all Alphas strive for. His biggest rival also happens to be the shifter that you’re supposed to be helping to convict,” Cole told her. “Then you show up here, where we’ve already started an investigation, to try to find out what we know.”

She was shocked into silence for several seconds before the rage took over. Kendra slammed her head forward into his chin. Cole cried out and finally released her.

Kendra followed up by kneeing him in the balls. Cole dropped. “You’re an idiot,” she spat.

Cole growled and came at her but she quickly moved out of reach.

“Actually, I’m the stupid one. I should have known better.” She crouched down in front of him. “You don’t care about anyone, do you? Every day you come in here and do your job, you laugh with your friends, but you’re all alone, Cole. And that’s the way you like it. That’s why you didn’t join the pack.” Her emotions were about to come through so she stood. “Please thank the commander for his help, but I’ll work alone from now on.”

“Kendra!” Cole climbed to his feet. “I won’t let Taylor get away with this.”

“Your fear is clouding your judgment,” she told him. “Instead of focusing on Taylor you need to look at Shawn Langford.”

“He’s locked up,” Cole snapped.

“For now. We do need to find Trent first and that is something Taylor wants. Shawn, however, will do whatever he can to see that Trent isn’t found. Or at least not alive,” she reminded him.

“I want to talk to Taylor,” Cole demanded.

She shrugged. “Do whatever you want. I’m not working with you any longer. But I’d call ahead first. It’s rude to show up to speak to the Alpha without an appointment.” Kendra turned and walked away.

“Kendra!” Cole called.

She stopped and turned back.

“We need to discuss this.”

Kendra shook her head. “I think we’re past talking now.”

He lunged for her as the office door opened. “Cole, Mitch might have found the account for the email address,” Jade said.

“You better go, Agent,” Kendra told him.

When he called her name this time she ignored him. Luckily for her she didn’t need an appointment to talk to Taylor.

Chapter Five

Kendra poured herself another cup of coffee then strolled into the living room and sat on the couch. She had the wood in the fireplace blazing but still pulled the soft cashmere blanket over her lap. She wasn’t really cold, more heartbroken and in need of comfort.

She was still replaying Taylor’s words from earlier when she’d told him everything that had happened with Cole.

To her shock and utter disappointment, Taylor hadn’t been angry about the accusations from Cole. He hadn’t been surprised either and had said he’d be happy to meet with the Coalition. Kendra hadn’t wanted any more to do with the conversation and had gone home.

Not that she’d made much of a dramatic exit. She didn’t get to go far since the cabin was on the pack property. As part of the inner circle she had to be close by the Alpha in case he needed her.

In the past she’d always found comfort in the closeness she had with Taylor. Now she wished for a bigger buffer area. She didn’t want to think about Cole, and probably Zak, going to Taylor’s. They could even be there now.

She burrowed deeply into the cushions of her couch. Maybe she could stay there for the next couple of days. Of course her boss wouldn’t understand so she would only have the rest of the night before she had to get back on her search. She’d already emailed her superior and informed him of every detail so far. Well, she’d left out the part about sleeping with Cole but she’d come clean on everything else. Including the fact that she refused to work with the Coalition again.

A knock sounded on the front door and she jumped. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn’t picked up on anyone approaching.

Kendra set her mug on the side table and rose. She strolled toward the front door but paused a few steps away. Not even needing to take a deep breath, she knew who was visiting.

“Open the door, Kendra!” Cole shouted as he pounded on the wood.

“Go away,” she ordered.

“I’m giving you a chance to act like an adult here. Let me in,” Cole yelled.

Arrogant asshole.
She turned on her heel and walked back to the couch. Blanket back in place and mug in hand, she closed her eyes and tried to block out the sound of Cole trying to knock the door down.

Finally after several long minutes, Kendra sat in blissful silence. She took a sip of her coffee.

“You’re just going to sit there?”

She choked and sat up. “How did you get in?” she asked Cole.

“Your back door wasn’t locked,” he answered. He was casually leaning against the wall in the living room.

“Only an idiot would break into a house on pack property,” she replied.

“Well if my behavior earlier didn’t prove I am an idiot, nothing will,” he said softly.

Kendra set her cup down with a loud thud. She was lucky it didn’t break. “I don’t want to hear this.”

“Too bad,” he grumbled. “You had your say earlier and now it’s my turn.”

Resigned, she waved him forward. “Make it quick. I’d like to take a shower before bed.”

He quirked his lip but moved and sat on the chair across from her. “I’m sorry.”

Kendra frowned at him. “Okay.”

Cole leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “I’m sorry, Kendra. Everything you said this morning was true. I jumped to the conclusion of Taylor being involved instead of Shawn Langford because my feelings for you threw me off guard. But the way I spoke to you is unforgivable. I truly do want to apologize.”

And he was sorry. She could feel his sincerity. “I understand,” she said. “I haven’t even known you for forty-eight hours and your words hurt me.”

He flinched.

“No,” she told him. “I’m not mad anymore. I’m trying to say that I don’t blame you. If I’d had the same fight with anyone else or even if someone else had questioned me about Taylor I probably wouldn’t have reacted the same way. But when it was you, I felt used and cheap. Like what we’d shared hadn’t meant a thing.”

“It meant too much too soon,” Cole whispered.

“Yeah,” she agreed. They sat in silence for a few minutes and she watched him. He had dark circles under his eyes and his normally handsome face was pinched with tension. She started to laugh.

“What?” he grumbled at her.

“Look at us sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves,” she pointed out. “It’s funny when you think about it.”

“Funny?” He narrowed his eyes before he launched himself over the coffee table and tackled her.

Kendra squeaked. Luckily she’d already put her empty mug aside and her hands were free. The blanket twisted between them as they struggled in a playful way before rolling off the couch. He grunted, and she giggled since he’d cushioned her fall.

Cole cupped her face and held her still. “There’s a lot we need to talk about, but first…” He drew her face down and kissed her.

“Mmm,” she hummed against his lips then pressed her tongue to the seam of his.

He opened, and she darted her tongue inside then withdrew it.

He growled before he flipped her over and kissed her hard. Kendra pushed at the back of his shirt so she could get her hands on his strong muscles. She traced her fingers over the planes of his shoulders and lower.

Cole rose to his knees and stripped off his shirt. Kendra gazed up at his massive chest. Her mouth watered just looking at him. He grinned before he helped her remove the tank top she wore. She’d already taken off her bra earlier so his hands met with her skin as he palmed her breasts. Heat spread through her as she closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation.

She gasped when he lowered his mouth to one of her nipples and nibbled lightly.

As he sucked on her he trailed his hand down to the waistband of her yoga pants and slipped his fingers inside and under her panties. Kendra spread her legs, hoping that he wouldn’t tease tonight. He had each time before, and now she only wanted a simple erotic encounter between the two of them.

“It’s okay,” he whispered after he’d lifted his head. “It’s going to be okay between us. I promise.”

She nodded.

“Good. Now lift your hips.”