Page 48 of Shifter For Hire (For Hire 2)

The small station Lachelle had so proudly joined not only shrunk but it became a hostile place to be in a matter of seconds. Her heart broke, and Gerard looked down at her, his eyes widening.

He rounded on the crowd. “Be quiet, now!”

The sheer volume in an enclosed space crippled half the crowd. Every mouth shut. All bodies stilled. Every human groaned in pain, including Lachelle and Janessa. Little Bannon bounced happily while mumbling in baby language. His voice was the only one heard in a room full of people.

“I won’t be arrested,” Gerard announced. “I can’t protect Lachelle in jail.”

“You attacked several people and damaged private property,” the commander said. He didn’t back down from Gerard’s size. “Do you deny that?”

“Whether I deny it or not, I’ve said I won’t be arrested. I won’t live by your laws. A dragon isn’t constrained by human rules.”

“Oh God,” Janessa moaned. “We should have discussed this a little more.”

“You don’t make the rules in this city,” the commander snapped. “Our elected officials do, and me and my men enforce them.”

With his words, several men postured. Lachelle rolled her eyes. They were only getting brave because the commander stood up to Gerard. All of them kept their distance behind him like sissies. She lost respect for every one.

“Do you assume I’m afraid of you?” Gerard threw his shoulders back and clenched his fists. He appeared to grow another couple of feet. “Do you think that I will cower to your numbers? I won’t.”

Lachelle patted his arm. “Okay, dial it down, big boy. Commander, I think we should—”

“Be quiet, Waverly. Because you didn’t report this…this thing…we’re in this mess. You didn’t do your duty as an officer of the law, and then you come in here talking about its your fiancé?”

Her mouth fell open.

A low growl started in Gerard’s throat. When he spoke, she had to strain to understand the words spoken in such a deep rough tone. “Do-not-speak-to-her-like that.”

“Crud.” Lachelle couldn’t hold onto Gerard as he surged forward.

Guns left holsters and pointed at Gerard’s head. Ripples of scales appeared on every shifter’s head. Several gasps of horror erupted around the room. People shouted insults. Lachelle tried to get Gerard to ease up, but her voice fell on deaf ears. Things were about to get ugly.

A tall willowy beauty stepped in front of the commander from somewhere behind him. She wore a gray pencil skirt with a crisp white blouse, topped with a matching gray jacket. Her honey blonde hair was piled atop her head, and she wore spiky black heels that showed off the endless length of shapely legs.

The woman clapped her hands together. “Hey, hey, guys, enough. Charles, I visit your office having heard you run one of the most professional precincts in the city, and this is what I see?”

The commander rushed to apologize. “I’m sorry, Kelly. I never expected things to escalate to this level. As we discussed earlier, it all just blew up out of nowhere.”

Kelly gazed on every one of the officers and took her time spinning on those heels that Lachelle would have worn but taken off the second she hit the club dance floor. She never would have donned them in the office. This woman was too into herself.

Kelly strolled toward Gerard. She tweaked a button on Gerard’s shirt, teasing him.

Lachelle smacked her hand away. “I think you better get back over there where you belong, Kelly.”

“That’s Commander Kelly to you.” She hardly spared Lachelle a look. Her attention was all for Gerard. “I belong on both sides, and you could say you need me.”

She seemed to be speaking directly to Gerard. Lachelle forced herself not to punch the woman in the mouth.

After a long pause for effect, the woman dragged her gaze from Gerard to take in Lachelle. From Lachelle’s chunky black service shoes to her polyester pants up to the long-sleeved shirt that looked like it should be a man’s, Kelly found her wanting.

“You could say I’m a liaison—between the humans and the shifters,” Kelly continued.

“What makes you so qualified…ma’am?” Lachelle already couldn’t stand her. It irked her that she had to respect the woman’s rank.

Kelly’s laugh grated as much as her voice, although not because it wasn’t perfect. Because it was perfect. “Because of who I am. My name is Kelly—”

“—Durante,” Gerard cut in. “She’s the one I told you about, Lachelle. She’s my mate.”

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