Figure of Speech

The Fox went limp beneath her just as Jim and a strange Wolf ran into the room. “Chloe?”

The Wolf stared at her, then at the fallen Fox. “Remind me you two shouldn’t be messed with.”

She backed up slowly, snarling at the Wolf in man form. He was far too close to her mate.

“Down, vixen. He surrendered.” Jim watched as the other Fox shifted, turning into a blond man with a scar across one cheek and eyes so dark they should hold stars. If Chloe had seen him in his human form she would have been terrified. He looked like he ate babies for breakfast and nuns for lunch.

And he’d submitted to her dominance.

Yikes.

Chloe shifted, ignoring Jim’s scowl. “Boo… too… sue… who are you?”

The man blinked and looked toward Jim before responding. “Casey Lee Coleman.”

The man’s thick Southern accent screamed Georgia to Chloe, who’d heard the same lilt in Tabby’s voice. Oddly enough, the sound of it made Chloe relax. “Are you from Marietta?”

“Atlanta.” The man—Casey Lee—stood, keeping his eyes respectfully down. He kept sniffing, as if trying to catch a specific scent. “May I ask how you did that?”

“Did what?”

“Disappear like that.” He peered around, his brow furrowed. “Even now I…but it’s different.”

“Good,” Jim grunted. He lifted one of Spencer’s shirts from the pile next to his bed and tossed it to Chloe. “Here.”

Okay. Apparently it was all right to wear his brother’s clothes. Not all Wolves could handle their mate wrapped in another man’s scent, even that of kin. She slipped the shirt on, holding it closed over her breasts. “I think I’m the Fox version of a Kermode.”

The Wolf tilted his head in confusion, but Casey Lee seemed to know exactly what she was talking about. “The white Bears?”

“Julian DuCharme.” The Wolf seemed to make the connection. “But instead of healing…” He shared a glance with Casey Lee. “You’re a master at hiding.”

She shrugged. “I guess so. It’s the first time I’ve tried it since the beating.”

The two men exchanged another glance. The Wolf, whose name she still didn’t know, spoke up as the Fox leaned closer, sniffing her shoulder. “Your fur used to be red, right?”

She nodded.

He held out his hand, smirking when Jim tried to force him to put it down. “Derrick Hines.”

“Chloe Williams.” She took it, shaking firmly. She refused to be intimidated by the larger man. “Now tell me. Why the duck did you two invade my home?”

Casey Lee shook his head and turned toward the Wolf. “I can’t fight her no more.”

“Huh?”

Casey Lee sniffed her shoulder again. “She smells like family. Like kin. I can’t fight family.”

Chloe lifted her arm and took a deep whiff. She didn’t smell any different, but for some reason Casey Lee felt comfortable enough to sit cross-legged on the floor. “I don’t understand.”

Casey Lee shrugged. “Neither do I, but Derrick and I need to return the Senate’s deposit. No way, no how I fight family.”

Derrick rolled his eyes. “Well, shit.”

“Are you kidding me? He submitted because you smell like family?” Max Cannon shook his head. “I think I’ve heard everything.”

“Not yet, but I’m working on it,” Emma immediately responded, earning a grin from her mate. “Okay, Jimbo. We need to figure out what the hell is going on with those two.”

Those two were the men who’d come to Jim’s home with the intent of taking his mate. Jim was far less inclined to forgive them than Chloe was, but he was bowing to his mate’s desire to make nice with them. The fact that she was cuddled up to him on Max’s sofa, safe and sound, went a long way toward making that easier.

At the very least they were getting information from the mercs. They were currently sitting in Max’s living room, talking to Adrian, Gabe, Barney and Ryan. They’d agreed to convene there once Jim called Barney to let him know what had happened. It was Chloe’s idea to also call the Alpha pair, and they’d insisted on holding a council of war.

“Who told you to come after Chloe?” Barney sounded outraged.

Jim immediately turned his attention to the other men, ignoring Emma’s comment. “What’s going on?”

“They said it was the Bear Senator who sent them.” Barney huffed. “I know the Bear Senator. He’s a cousin of mine. Carl wouldn’t send mercs after someone who’d supposedly been declared a rogue.”

“Wait.” Derrick pinched the bridge of his nose while Casey Lee looked sick. “Are you telling me we were lied to?”

“Aw, hell no.” Casey Lee shot out of his seat. “Let me get the paperwork.” He darted out of Max’s house like his ass was on fire. He returned quickly with a manila envelope. “Here.”

Barney took the envelope and began rifling through the documents it contained.

Jim stood at his side, reading over his shoulder. “Blah blah blah, Chloe Williams and James Woods, blah blah, preferably alive, blah blah. Who is Darien Shields?”

“My cousin’s secretary.” Barney scowled. “I don’t get it. Carl doesn’t handle Hunts. He shouldn’t have called down mercs. He doesn’t have the authority.”

“As a Senator he does.” Derrick shrugged. “It’s not the first time a Senator has called on us to do what you guys can’t.”

Casey Lee coughed. “Are we sure about that?”

Jim didn’t like where this was going. “I’m beginning to think Sarah was right when she said the right hand is spanking the monkey while the left makes lunch.”

Derrick, who’d just taken a sip of soda, sprayed it everywhere as he laughed.

Casey Lee chuckled. “Damn, that’s some good baloney.”

“Speaking of baloney, what if your cousin doesn’t know about this?” Jim picked up the letter. It had been printed on what looked like Senate letterhead. “Could someone else have written this, but used your cousin’s secretary’s name to cast suspicion on him?”

“Just in case we found anything out?” Barney stroked his chin. “It’s possible. I don’t know enough of the inner workings to tell you if it would be possible, but I’m betting it would. Who would think to double-check official correspondence was actually coming from the person it said it was coming from?”