Misty groaned and pushed up from the table. “He better not think about telling me what I can and can’t do. I’m done with that shit!”
A chorus of “You go girl” and “atta girl” rang out from the women. Sky just laughed, she was shocked to find she was actually having a good time.
Once Misty was gone, the others turned their attention to her.
“Ragen and I both have mates. We’re happy with them, so we have no designs on Damien. Right now, the seven of us get together at least once a week and have dinner. We would like Damien’s mate to be our eighth. Someone who fits in and is comfortable with our group dynamics.” Jackie stood and nodded at Ragen.
Sky understood where they were coming from, and she wanted to reassure them. “I’ll make sure Gerri Wilder is aware of your group connections and when she finds his mate, she understands too.”
Both women chuckled and smiled at her. “We are going to go. Thanks for letting us crash your afternoon. We’ll see you later, okay?”
Jackie waved as they walked away.
Sky watched them for a moment, thinking about everything that had been revealed today. She needed to talk to Damien and find out the truth once and for all. Sky signaled for the waiter, and when he approached, she asked for the check.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, your drink and the other ladies items have been paid for. Mr. Grimes left authorization that anything you wanted was to be charged to his credit card.” The waiter walked away, and Sky realized she really needed to talk to Damien. She pulled out her phone and dialed his number, thankful Gerri had her save it just in case she needed it. After a few rings it went to voicemail.
“Damien, it’s Sky.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “I need to talk with you. I, uh, I think I made some assumptions and want to discuss things with you. Give me a call when you get a chance.” She hung up the phone and glanced around the room. “Excuse me, sir.”
Sky got the waiter’s attention. “Could I order room service from you or do I have to call down and do it officially?”
“I can do it, ma’am. It will be delivered in about forty-five minutes to an hour, if that’s okay?”
Sky agreed and placed her order. Forty-five minutes… just enough time for a relaxing bath, and to maybe rethink her opinion of Damien once and for all.
She might have to eat her words and actually give in to her desire for him. Damien had gotten under her skin, and she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted another man. The whole thing was crazy, but it wasn’t like he had a mate.
How bad would it be if she spent a few days giving in to temptation. Afterall, she knew he wanted her. He’d admitted it to her. So why not? Why not let Damien take her to the dark side?
Chapter Fifteen
“Do you see anything, Sheriff?” Damien called on his panther’s eyes to see if he could figure out what had caused the loud crashing noise they had heard.
“No, but it sounded like it came from the area where we found Mayor Jomen’s body. Come on, might as well look around the area and see if there is anything we may have initially missed.” Patrick led the way and Damien followed behind him, still searching the area with his animal’s senses. He called on his nose as well as his eyes and ears. Each was better when shifted, but he didn’t want to do that out in the open.
“How many shots were there, Patrick?”
Patrick paused and glanced at him over his shoulder. “Just one.”
Damien nodded and followed behind the Sheriff.
“Damien, this is the spot. He was facing the wall, his hands were tied behind his back, and we found three sets of footprints. Assuming it was him and two others out here.” Sheriff Demogue pointed to the backside of the warehouse. “We found one set of vehicle tracks back there. No one has been around the area lately, so we assume it’s from the suspect’s vehicle. We sent them out to see if they can identify the type of car.”
Damien squatted and looked at the area his body would have lain. “Would you be squeamish if I shifted? I can track better as my panther. Just stay close in case anyone sees me and freaks out. I don’t want an ass full of buckshot.” Damien grinned, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. Patrick had been around a long time, but Damien couldn’t recall ever having shifted in front of him before.
“Uh, nah, go ahead.” The man’s face paled a little, and Damien chuckled.
“It doesn’t hurt, and you’re safe.” He started undressing, and Patrick spun around.
“Sorry, I forgot about the whole naked thing…”
“Shifters don’t care; it’s a human hang up.” Patrick ran his hand around the back of his neck and squeezed.
“Hmm, sure.”
Damien dropped his pants and chuckled. “Turn around if you want to see the shift. It will be fast, and you’ll miss my naked ass.”
Patrick laughed and slowly turned to watch as Damien dropped and shifted into his panther. “Well, fuck me running. Shit, can you understand me?”
Damien made a chuffing noise and walked closer to Patrick.
“Good kitty, um, go sniff around or whatever the fuck you do.” Patrick took a step back and watched him warily.
Damien walked the area around the body dump, and then worked his way along the building to the spot the car was parked.
“Lennon, can you hear me? Eli’s hopefully busy right now. I’m with the Sheriff at the warehouses. Can you call him and relay information for me?”
“Sure. Give me a minute to get him on the phone.”
Damien heard Patrick’s phone ring, and he turned to watch the man. He pulled it out glancing at the caller ID and then gave Damien an odd look.
“Lennon?”
“Hey. Damien asked me to relay some information. I know this is weird, but we have a pack link so he can talk to me telepathically while shifted.”
Patrick shook his head and stared at Damien. “Total mindfuck, but very cool. Okay, what did he find?”
“Lennon, tell him I can smell two different types of cologne near where the car was parked. Both are strong scents and not something I’ve ever smelled around town, though they are familiar. He should check into the people we think Jomen was working with before we closed him down.”
Damien passed on a few other minor things then made his way back to his clothes and shifted. “Tell him I’ll call him later and thanks.” Patrick nodded and repeated the words to Lennon.
“Um ,why didn’t you just tell me all that when you shifted back?” Patrick narrowed his eyes at him.
“Where’s the fun in that? It was much better watching you realize shifters could do things you never expected. And besides, I owed you for the diner this morning.”
Patrick groaned. “Fuck, forgot about that.” He shook his head laughing. “Okay. So, I’ll go back through the case files and see if the former Sheriff has anything about Jomen’s activities. I doubt it, as he was in on it, but ‘honor among thieves’ and all that shit.”
Damien nodded absently. Those scents were familiar. He had come across at least one of them, but he couldn’t recall where, and it was driving him crazy.
“By the way, your phone rang while you were shifted. I didn’t want to answer but I heard the voice mail beep.”