Page 2 of I Ain't Lyin'

“Leo Wilson, you are under arrest for the murder of Harvey Larson and possession of illicit drugs. You have the right to remain silent—”

Whiteness blanketed my vision, a high-frequency buzz overshadowed all the noise, and my stomach rolled. One final thought played across my mind before I lost consciousness.

Harvey is dead?

Chapter Two

Ashton

Monday morning meetings were the bane of my existence. No amount of sweet and creamy hazelnut lattes or warm and cakey treats could make the sounds of my overly chatty teammates bearable at eight a.m. Listening to them speak about glory holes and gossipy dramas, I had no clue how this group of horny shifters managed to get anything done. Somehow, my team was one of the most successful in our caseloads. I only listened to their antics with half of my attention, but I witnessed only minimal effort from them to be professional on a conference call. I couldn’t help but ponder how much we could accomplish if they applied themselves.

“The cub just shifted into a human baby in the middle of the enclosure?” Meghan, the Global Shifter Council’s sweetest but nosiest agent, leaned closer to Jordyn, filling her in on the newest rumors on what cases we may be getting this week.

“That’s what was reported.” Jordyn reached for a double-chocolate donut with sprinkles and placed it on her rose-gold-colored laptop. I cringed, thinking of the mess she was making. Didn’t anyone teach her that you don’t do that?

“Let’s get this meeting started.” Our supervisor, Gregory McIntyre, entered the conference room and sat beside his assistant at the head of the long oak table. “Jason, did you prepare the files for everyone?”

Jason stood and passed everyone a differently colored folder with our names in the top right corner. “In these folders, you will find the details of your next case. The GSC has voted to clear some of our older files. Those of you with the royal-blue folders will tackle the cases that have fallen into cold case territory.”

I noticed that my folder was golden yellow. Hopefully, that meant a new case. I didn’t mind working older cases, but I wanted to get out of the office for a bit, and most of the cold cases were going through the evidence we had in-house, not going out to find new clues.

“The orange folders are for those currently working on an active case. We would like you to complete the form, explaining any updates you have made on the case this week.” Jason cleared his throat and motioned to the few agents who held the tangerine-colored folders, including Jordyn and Meghan. The agents didn’t look thrilled to have more paperwork to fill out, but I thought the new system might help our team improve at solving the cases that passed through our office.

“If the orange and blue groups have no questions, you may leave the meeting and start your task lists for the day.” Gregory dismissed most of the team and waited until they had dispersed to address those of us remaining. “You all have received the golden folders this week because the newest cases that have come into the office are some of the most important ones I have seen in a few months, and I want to ensure the right team members were given the cases. We can’t have any mistakes or misadventures while dealing with these cases. Especially Ashton, Willa, and Dean’s case.”

“Three of us are assigned to one case?” I flipped open the folder I was holding and scanned the file. “We usually only send one or two agents per case. What makes this one so special?”

“I will address that one in a moment.” Gregory turned his attention to the four other agents still left in the room. “Maximand Margot, you should have received the Tanner case file. That one should be quite easy to deal with. My only concern is that Governor Tanner is a high-profile shifter, and any situation he is involved in must be handled delicately and efficiently. None of the news outlets have scented the story yet, so please make haste and ensure we secure his child’s location before that becomes part of the issue.”

“I’m familiar with that area of the city the child was last seen in.” Maxim stood and packed up his belongings. “Let’s start heading in that direction, and we can go over the file in the car, Margot.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Margot followed her partner toward the door. “We will call in for backup if anything seems to be leaked to the press.”

“Thanks.” Gregory nodded and switched his focus to Kalvin and Callie. “As for you two, your case will take you to New Mexico. There is an issue with a group of coyote shifters down there trying to get into the sex trafficking trade. They should be shut down with a simple visit; they seem to be easily redirected from past interactions we have had with their group. But if you need assistance, contact Captain D’Angelo down there, and his team can step in until our special forces arrive.”

“We have your travel plans set.” Jason handed Kalvin and Callie envelopes. “These hold your flight and accommodations information. You have three hours to pack before meeting at the airport. The pilot will take off shortly after two p.m., but you still need to get through security.”

“Thanks. We will go over the files on the flight.” Kalvin waited for Callie to collect her belongings, and they left together.

“Now, let’s take a look at your case.” Gregory folded his fingers together and leaned farther into the table. “Something about this case doesn’t sit right with me. I am sending Ashton in first so he can get a better handle on the human team handlingthe case, but I want you two to join him a day or two later and use your abilities where needed.”

“Why are the humans handling this case?” I saw that the suspect in a shifter murder was also a shifter. “If this involves two shifters, we should have the main jurisdiction.”

“Unfortunately, the suspect claims not to remember anything, and the police officers that showed up after an anonymous call reporting a murder are not willing to dismiss any humans involved.” Gregory shook his head. “They seem to be a bunch of assholes, honestly, and the case will most likely be strenuous just dealing with them, but I chose you three because I know you can handle situations professionally and get the truth without starting a humans vs. shifters catastrophe.”

“We will do our best.” Willa stood and gestured for Dean to follow her. “We need to finish up one thing from the case we thought we closed out last week, so meeting up with Ashton tomorrow or the day after works perfectly.”

“I’m ready to find out what happened to this—” I looked down at the file to verify the shifters’ names. “Harvey Larson. And I will see if we can determine if Mr. Wilson is lying or actually can’t remember what happened that night.”

Gathering my files and phone from the table, I couldn’t help but notice that my dragon had perked up at the sound of the omega’s name. Poor dragon thought every omega was our potential mate. Surprisingly, this time, I didn’t rush to remind him that it probably wasn’t.

Chapter Three

Leo

My mind was still murky, but the interrogating officers didn’t care if I couldn’t remember the events of last night. They wanted this to be easy and hoped to catch me in a lie. I could see in their glares that they would gladly banish me to the lockup for the rest of my life on even the tiniest morsel of evidence if they could. I couldn’t let them trip me up into saying something incriminating. Luckily, my parents taught me not to speak unless my lawyer was present.Silence would be my friend as I waited for my council to arrive.

“I told you already, I refuse to speak until I have legal representation.” I took a sip of the water the officers had finally provided me after I had almost passed out from dehydration. Their supervisor had to step in and advise them against such tactics as withholding water from me since my lawyer could then plead my case of being coerced.

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