Page 110 of Her Wolf

Even the crickets chose that moment to go silent. Or, perhaps Ana’s scream had made them wary to start up their chirping again.

“Zachary West?” Lars repeated quietly, as he went around to the back of the Jeep. He peered through the back window, cupping his hands to the glass to ward off the moon’s reflection. “This is Zachary West’s man?”

“Was,” Peter said. Then he turned to Finn. “We’re losing her.”

The words were meant for his ears alone. He studied Peter for a few seconds and then narrowed his eyes. “Lars, listen to those voice mails.”

“Will do,” Lars said, stepping away from the car as he held the cellphone to his ear.

Finn stepped right up to the open driver’s side door, leaning his upper arm against the top of the car as he bent forward.

“What’s your connection with Zachary?” Finn asked in a low voice.

Peter’s eyes flickered over his face before he answered. “I’m DEA. He’s a drug dealer. What do you think my connection is?”

“Why’d you come here tonight?” Finn asked.

“Wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Two new capos, and all that.” Peter glanced at Lars, who was still a few feet away listening to the phone’s voice messages. “Plus, the leader of a rival cartel was planning to show up. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

Finn couldn’t argue with the logic, but he knew Peter was holding something back. The fact that he’d killed the guy in the trunk instead of handing him in for questioning…

“Who do I phone in the DEA to confirm who you really are?” Finn asked, leaning closer still to Peter.

He expected the man to move back, but instead he sat forward a little so their faces were less than an inch apart.

“Fredericks. He’s Special Agent in Charge.” Peter’s gaze shifted to Finn’s mouth before snapping up to his eyes again. “And it’s Price. Kane Price.”

“This Fredericks guy can vouch for you?”

A strange light entered Kane’s eyes. “You betcha,” he said in a voice that was too cheery, too fake, too damn everything.

“Milo!”

Finn drew back, studying Kane for a long moment before turning to Lars. “What?”

“So…” Lars said, holding the cellphone up and wriggling. “Fun fact: Neo thinks Zachary West owes him a big ‘ole heap of money.”

Finn frowned, aware there was more to come and annoyed that Lars was dragging this out for dramatic purposes. But before he could open his mouth to prompt him to continue, Lars said, “’Cos see, it turns out, he’s gone and sold Cora to the one and only El Lobo.”

. . .

Kane watched the lithe form of Lars walk closer. The man moved with arrogant grace. When he’d first seen him as a doorman, he’d taught it was all just machismo…but he acted that way around the bulky Milo Finn too.

And Milo, he was coming to realize, was something of an enigma. For one, Kane rarely felt anything except loathing for men like him; strapping guys that lived and breathed their own egos. But Milo didn’t use his bulk to intimidate; that seemed too easy. Instead, he pretended to be a dumb fuck, and then sat and worked out all the pieces while you were wondering how long it would take you to wear through your ropes and break free.

There was no reason to keep lying. If this dynamic trio went ahead and called Fredericks, gave them his badge number—

Fredericks would lie.

He was a sick sonofabitch sometimes. He’d lie to these guys, tell them he’d never heard of a Kane Price. If they gave him the badge number, he’d tell them it was a fake.

That was the stand-up guy Fredericks was. Because Kane had been suspended. He wasn’t supposed to be bringing down cartels all by his lonesome.

He was making the department look bad.

And Fredericks was nearing retirement. He didn’t want to rock the boat.

“He sold her,” Milo repeated, the words coming slowly out his mouth like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

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