“Are you…all right, Jane?”
Dr. Bob’s question made her pause. A wry smile curled her lips as she looked back at him. “You sound worried about me.”
He puffed up his chest. “No. Not at all.”
She waited.
His chest deflated. “You’re human.”
Not according to Aidan.
“You have to be careful in their world. I’m in it only as little as I can be.”
He was warning her. That was almost cute. “And here I didn’t think you cared.”
No humor glinted in his eyes. “They use humans. We do their dirty work.” His stare trekked to the body on the slab. “We clean up their messes.”
“This isn’t a mess. It’s a man’s life. And I will find his killer.”
“Even if that killer is in Aidan’s pack? Because he controls all the werewolves in the city. Once word gets out that a wolf did this…” He exhaled. “Those two outside probably already heard us. You know wolves have that freakish hearing.”
Jane just shook her head.
“They’re probably calling him right now—”
Okay, he might be right on that point. She shoved open the door and strode into the hallway. Sure enough, her guards were there. Garrison was easy to spot with his messy mop of bright red hair. The guy was generally her lead guard. Mostly because he’d sworn some blood oath to protect her after she’d saved his ass. Only he was currently on his phone, hunched over and—
Jane grabbed the phone from him. “Aidan? Yeah, it’s me. And what Garrison was trying to tell you is true.” She glared at Garrison. Seriously, I wasn’t even done with Dr. Bob. “We’ve got a werewolf killing in the city. And we need to stop him.”
***
Jane strode down the New Orleans street, her steps fast and angry. She could hear her guards behind her. Keeping their careful distance. Was this really supposed to be her life? Constant guards? Aidan needed to back off with this shit. She was—
A sharp cry sounded behind her. Jane whirled around. Her blond guard was on the ground, unconscious. A street lamp’s light fell on him, clearly showing his slumped form.
“Jane, run!” That was Garrison’s yell. Her head whipped toward him. Garrison’s claws were out and he was facing off against a shadowy figure. “Get out of here!”
The figure lunged for Garrison. The shadow picked up Garrison and held him at least a foot in the air, like the werewolf was some kind of rag doll.
“Stop!” Jane yelled. She yanked out her gun. “Let him go!”
The figure threw Garrison. The redheaded werewolf hit the lamp post with a hard thud. He didn’t get back up.
And the shadow turned to face Jane.
She kept her gun up and aimed right at his heart.
He stepped toward her and illumination from a nearby street lamp hit his face. Not the face of some hideous monster, but a man. Strong features. Sensual lips. A small cleft in his chin. Thick hair. Intense eyes.
“Hello, Mary Jane. I’ve been looking for you, for a very long time.” He took another step toward her.
“Move again, and I will shoot.” Both of her guards were unconscious. And this joker—he thought he was just going to stride right up to her?
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Right. You’re just here to hurt the two guys who were with me.”
He shrugged. “They were following you. I was afraid they meant you harm.”
His voice held no accent, and he had a deep, rumbly tone. Rather like Aidan’s.
The guy was about Aidan’s height, his shoulders were almost as broad, but he didn’t carry the raw, animalistic edge that Aidan did. This man—he was more suave. Controlled power. But the danger was still there. Plain to see.
“I was trying to protect you,” he said. “I’m sorry if I did something wrong.”
Was he telling the truth? Doubtful. “I don’t know who you are, buddy, but around here, if you attack first, that’s a one-way ticket to jail. You just assaulted two men.”
“They aren’t men.”
Her hold on the gun tightened. It was way after midnight and the street that housed the ME’s office wasn’t exactly booming with traffic right then. In fact, they were the only ones around. She’d intended to rush over to the police station and do a background search on her victim.
That’s not happening now.
“You’re under arrest,” Jane said.
His gaze swept over her. “You aren’t alone.”
Uh, no, she wasn’t. But her guards were currently unconscious. “You have the right to remain silent.”
“I know that you think you are alone. You think that you don’t have options. You’re scared, and you have to be tired of the fear.”
“Listen, buddy—”
“Vincent. My name is Vincent Connor.” He smiled.
There was no flash of fang, but his smile still unsettled her. Mostly because it looked far too intimate. As if the two of them shared some special secret.
“You don’t belong with the wolves,” Vincent said.
Crap. He knows way too much about me and about this town. “Put your hands up, now!” Jane barked at him.