Sealed with a Hiss: Book Four Supernatural Enforcers Agency (16 page)

Yes, she was sure Erin would want to help.  Besides, Erin could still say no – there was no harm in asking.

*

“Thanks for doing this Erin,” gushed Jessie.

Erin smiled, and her cheeks turned pink.  She was quite a shy and down to earth woman.  It was one of the things that Jessie liked about her.

“Of course, I’m surprised Gunner didn’t ask.”  She paused.  “Actually, I’m not.  He’s convinced that because I’m human I’m liable to fall apart and die any second of the day.”

“He’s just a little protective.”

“He tried to make me wear a crash helmet in the car the other day in case of an accident. Plus he wants to move so that we don’t have any stairs, and there’s no chance of me falling down them.  And he never lets me shower alone in case I fall over.”  She blushed at that last part.

Jessie winked.  “I’m pretty sure the shower thing is for his benefit, too.  It’s kind of sweet how much he loves you.”

The blush turned a dark red.  “I know, but trying to make me go to the emergency room because I have a splinter is overkill.”  Erin gave her a searching look.  “I hope this case is resolved soon.  It’s causing a lot of tension in the SEA.”

Jessie fought back the angry retort her squirrel wanted to let rip.  Erin wasn’t criticizing Gerry’s handling of the case.  She was merely stating a fact.  She was probably missing her own mate, too.  “I hope so, too,” she muttered.

“I hope the Director appreciates how much work you’re putting into the case.”

“I’m sure he does.”

Technically the house wasn’t a crime scene anymore; they no longer had agents guarding it.  But it hadn’t been released to Millie Crescent yet.  Apparently she wasn’t very happy about that.  Both Cora and Hester had told her that Millie had made a complaint both to Juliet and a number of other Council members.  She had milked the grieving widow act for all she was worth.  The Council members were now putting pressure on Juliet to put pressure on Gerry to charge Lance and give her back her house.

Jessie gave her inner beast a mental frown and told herself to be reasonable. 
Maybe Millie was really grieving.
  She just couldn’t like the woman because of the position she was putting Gerry in.  Gerry came first above all others in her mind.  And now because of this pressure, they needed to find some evidence quick.

Although her other teammates had doubts about Lance’s innocence, Jessie didn’t.  Not because she believed in the young man. 
Not a bit!
  But she believed in Gerry.

“Ugh,” exclaimed Erin as she took in the huge amount of blood splattered across the cream carpet.

Jessie rubbed her arm.  “Are you sure you’re okay?  You’re not likely to be sick?”

“No, my morning sickness is all gone.  When I had it, all I did was eat some pickled herring.”

“Okay, now I feel sick.”

Erin chuckled.  “Yeah, it’s safe to say I’m having a little polar bear. That’s just a lot of blood.”

“Yeah.” 
Black carpets were the answer – all the way.

Erin walked around and gingerly touched a few items as Jessie tried not to watch her too closely.  She picked up a picture of Maxwell and Millie and winced.

“Erin?”

“Ugh.”  Erin collapsed to her knees and clutched at her head.  “Oh god.”  Blood trickled out of her nose.

“Erin!”

Chapter Twenty

Gerry was leaving work.  Yes, it was only 6 pm, and he was leaving work.  No, his watch hadn’t stopped.  No, the world wasn’t coming to an end.  He was just leaving work because he was bone tired.  Plus he was annoyed and wanted to see Jessie.  Usually, he found her ensconced in her office and talking to her for a few moments,
while fondling her breasts if she let him
, usually perked him up.  But she was nowhere to be found, and she wasn’t answering her phone.  So naturally his jealous snake assumed she was out enjoying herself with someone else because he was neglecting her. 
Yes, he was neglecting her – he couldn’t deny it
.  Which was why he was leaving early – or earlier than he usually did – so he could spend some time with her and remind her that she belonged to him, and she wasn’t allowed to have fun without him.  Okay, that sounded a little harsh.  He’d work on what he was actually going to say.

He was headed for the lobby to the outside door when a man stormed in, almost knocking over a pregnant rabbit shifter.  His python sneered at the man. 
Humph, otter shifter.

“Who can I speak to?” he shouted.  “I need to speak to someone important right now!”

Boris, the bear shifter security guard, ran over to the rabbit shifter while growling at the otter.

Gerry stepped forward and nodded at Boris, telling him to take care of the rabbit.  “Gerry Sanders, Director of Operational Teams.  May I help you?” he said with a chilly smile.

“Yes, if you value your job you damn well can,” glowered the otter.  The python harrumphed.  Threats from a tiny squirrel shifter who was your mate were one thing.  Threats from an otter shifter you weren’t even sleeping with were quite another.

“What seems to be the problem?” ground out Gerry as his muscles twitched.

The otter wagged a finger in his face. 
Boy, this guy had no sense of self-preservation
.  “I was promised I would get my revenge and then that bitch backed down and said I wasn’t a ‘
suitable candidate’
.”  He put air quotes around the last two words, and also put the words into a singsong voice.  “My bitch wife has to pay!” he growled, as fiercely as an otter could growl.  They were just vermin, after all, thought his sneering snake.  Not like squirrels, he quickly added.  No, they were adorable little creatures, right up there with kittens and puppies – which were definitely not delicious food. 
Not like some of his den mates thought.

“Sir,” said Gerry, slowly, “perhaps we should talk in an interview room, if you’d like to follow me…”

The otter looked around the room and on seeing various agents watching him, went pale.  He let out a garbled cry and ran to the exit with Gerry hurtling after him.

Fuck, who knew otters, could run so damn fast? thought a panting Gerry. 
Or maybe he was just getting old.
  That was an even less palatable thought.

The otter was in his car and driving away before Gerry could even get his breath back.  At least, his eyesight was still good.  He managed to get the license plate before the guy pulled out into traffic and cut up two other drivers.  Their maniacal honking did nothing to slow him down.

Revenge thought Gerry.  He’d said that a woman offered him revenge on his wife, and then she’d backed down.  His gut instinct told him this was the break he’d been waiting for.  Then his actual gut gurgled because he hadn’t eaten in hours. 
Hmmm, maybe Jessie would cook for him
.  She usually did.  She often brought him food to work as well, because she insisted he didn’t eat right.  His snake virtually purred as he thought of the ways his mate tried to take care of him.  She tried as much as possible without it seeming obvious that they were in a relationship. 
It was hard work; he knew that.

He was daydreaming again.  Something he noticed more and more when he was away from Jessie.  How he ever coped before he met her, he did not know.  He grabbed his phone and dialed Jessie, hoping she could trace the plate he just got.

Jessie answered with a wobbly sniff.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded, his snake on immediate alert as he sensed her unhappiness.

“I’m at the hospital.”

Panic gripped him.  “What?!”

*

Gunner was furious, and Jessie didn’t blame him.  He was furious with both Erin and Jessie, but given that Erin was pregnant, he had decided to vent his fury on Jessie.  Not that she minded.  She shouldn’t have asked Erin to go there at all – it wasn’t even her case.

“What the fuck were you thinking going behind my back?” he snapped as he prowled up and down the hospital room.  Considering his mood, the hospital insisted on a private room.  They knew Gunner; he’d put a fist through their walls a few times before.  They thought privacy was the best thing for him.  “Erin isn’t cleared for field work.”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t…”

“Damn fucking right!”

“Gunner calm down,” said Erin, softly.  “The doctor said I would be fine.  It was just a bad headache – no lasting damage, and I wanted to help.”

“You could have been seriously hurt,” he said through gritted teeth as he struggled to contain his bad mood.

“I can get hurt running across a street.”

Gunner’s eyes widened.  “Oh my god, you’re right, you’d be killed!  That’s it, no more walking across streets unless I’m there to help you.”

Erin rolled her eyes.  “I’m pregnant, not eighty.  And I don’t think all this yelling is good for the baby.”  She patted her stomach, which was still pretty flat, but she may as well have been eight months pregnant considering the effect it had on Gunner.

Jessie and her squirrel felt immediate relief as Gerry rushed into the room.  His eyes black from his beast found hers and he sighed.  “What happened?  What’s going on?  Are you okay?”

“We’re all fine,” said Jessie, reluctantly holding out her hands to stop him from advancing on her and doing something crazy like hugging her. 
Which would be nice, but probably not something they should do in public.

Gerry breathed in and out a few times before he finally noticed Erin, who was trying to get out of bed, and Gunner was blocking her at every move.

“Erin, are you sure you’re okay?  Is the baby okay?”

Erin smiled and opened her mouth, but she cut off by her grouchy mate.  “Fucking miracle that they’re both fine.  What the fuck were you thinking, Jessie?”

“Don’t you dare speak to her that way,” snarled Gerry vibrating with fury as he stepped between Gunner and Jessie.  If looks could kill, the polar bear shifter would already be stone cold on the floor.

Gunner bared his fangs.  “Jessie knows she shouldn’t have taken Erin there.  I’m just trying to protect my mate.”

“As am I!  You speak to Jessica like that again, and I will wring your fucking neck!”

Silence loomed in the room.  Gunner took a step away, but Gerry didn’t back down.  Gunner and Erin looked at Jessie with a mixture of surprise and interest. 
Yep, there didn’t seem to be a way to explain away that.

Since there really was no point in pretending now, Jessie stepped toward him and rubbed his arm.  “It’s okay, honey, he’s not going to hurt me.”

Eventually, he stopped trembling and dropped his eyes in embarrassment.  Jessie gave them an apologetic look and managed to drag him out of the room.  Erin made a hand gesture, telling her to give her a call.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, eyes still trained on the floor.

She rubbed her hands over his arms and chest.  She’d heard that touching a mate was a sure way to calm them.  At least, that’s what her mom said.  Her parents were always kind of touchy-feely, though. 
Probably why they had eight kids.

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” she murmured.

Gerry balled his fists.  “I just…”

“I know.  Gunner was upset because he thought his mate was in danger, and so were you.  I’m the one who’s sorry.  It’s my fault.  Neither Erin nor I are supposed to be out in the field.  I shouldn’t have gone there; I just wanted to help you.  Erin thinks it must have been some kind of spell over the house; she said they had a similar thing about a couple of months ago.”

“The department store robbery,” he said almost automatically.  “Erin’s team - The Beta Team was looking into it.  There was no robbery.  The employees staged it and put a spell on the store to stop anyone from finding out.  Erin tried to get a vision, and she ended up with a migraine and a nosebleed.  I’d be impressed if it didn’t piss me off so much.”

“I know it doesn’t help much, but maybe it shows that something else is going on here.  I sincerely doubt Lance would have put the spell on the house and then end up holding the murder weapon over the body anyway.”

“No.”

“But it’s not enough, right?”  Her squirrel deflated in disappointment.  She’d tried to help and put Erin in danger, and she still hadn’t done any good.

Gerry cupped her cheek and smiled.  “No, but it’s a start.  Thank you for trying.”

He bent down for a kiss, and she pressed her lips to his.  He pushed his tongue at her lips, trying to gain entry, trying to deepen the kiss.  Carefully, she repelled him, pushing against his chest.  She didn’t want to hurt him when he was in a delicate –
or perhaps dangerous
– state of mind, but these were the rules they were living under.  One of them had to think clearly.

“Not here,” she whispered, trying to get a handle on her own arousal.

He ran through irritation and disappointment before landing on resignation.  “Yes, you’re right.”

Tactfully, she moved away from him.  The bulge pressing against her stomach was not helpful when trying to think unsexy thoughts.

Her squirrel wasn’t, but she was grateful when he distracted her by asking her to run a plate for him.

*

Gerry ended the call and squeezed his phone so hard that the screen cracked.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jessie, rubbing her eyes from staring at the case files too much.

“I sent Avery and Wayne to pick up the otter who was ranting and raving at the SEA earlier.”

“And?”

“LLPD were already there - he’s been murdered.”