CHAPTER 1
“Absolutely not.” Funny how Gavin kept repeating it and yet Broderick continued to pester.“Come on, dude. Do this one favor for me.”“One? Don’t you owe me like a dozen at this point?” And yeah, he kept track. A practical man, Gavin fully planned to call them in one day.“All I’m asking is that you talk with the girl. Once you meet her, you’ll agree with me. She’s innocent, and if someone doesn’t step in and do something to help her, they’re going to throw her ass in jail and toss away the key.”“As I recall, you said the same thing about Simon, your lawn guy.”“So I misjudged in his case. How was I to know he was an ex-biker with a brother in jail for murder? He seemed like such a nice guy.” Gavin could practically see his friend squirm at the reminder. “This time, though. I’m telling you, the girl is innocent and could use someone on her side.”“My answer is still no.”“But I haven’t mentioned the best part. I’m pretty sure she’s being framed by Fabian Garoux.”The juicy tidbit dangled before him, surefire bait to pique his interest. At the mention of Fabian, Gavin stopped drumming his fingers and swung his chair away from his lofty view of the city—the advantage of a penthouse office suite. Expensive but worth every damn penny. “What the hell does Fabian have to do with this?”“Did I forget to mention that the man this woman supposedly murdered was his enemy?”As were lots of other people. Fabian didn’t have many close friends, probably because he was a prime example of an asshat.“Have you stopped to consider that maybe she was hired to do the hit?” While it was not exactly common, women were just as capable of assassination as a man. Gavin remembered a pair of twins in bikinis he once crossed paths with whose victims often died with a smile. A smart man, who intended to live ripe into his old age, he steered clear of the invitation to celebrate their acquittal. Winning didn’t make his clients innocent. He was just that good.“No way was she hired. My gut says she’s telling the truth about being framed.”“Your gut also keeps dragging you back to that Mexican place, even though you have to chew antacids like a candy-stricken addict for days afterward.”Broderick groaned. “Such pleasurable pain. And stop changing the subject. Talk to her. Hear what she has to say. If you don’t believe her, then no harm. She keeps her public defender and goes to jail. But if you believe her…”Then Gavin would take on the case pro bono just for a chance to screw with the dirtiest dog around. Fabian Garoux, biggest crime lord in the city. Slippery bastard with too many bodyguards, always a ready alibi, and the wolfsbane of Gavin’s existence. Also known as his creator—and the alpha Gavin refused to roll over for.“Fine. I give up against your expert nagging. I’ll see her. What jail are they holding her in?”“Funny thing you should ask. Someone posted her bail. Anonymously. A hefty half-million dollars. Know anyone with cash like that?”That piece of dangling steak just got bigger. Fabian had that kind of money. The thought of tying him to a serious crime practically made Gavin wag his ass in delight. Good thing it remained planted in his chair. Wolves could get away with shaking their tail. Grown men in suits? Not so much.“That is some serious dough.” But chump change for Fabian. “Get her to set an appointment with my secretary.”“No need to delay. She’s already there.”“What do you mean, she’s there?”“I mean there, as in sitting in your reception area. I dropped her off at your office just before I called.”And Gavin never knew of his visitor because his secretary had left to fetch them both lunch.As Broderick hung up, midchuckle, Gavin grumbled under his breath. “No-good, meddling feline, always trying to help every bloody stray that comes his way.”A less nice guy would have eaten the furball. However, Gavin counted Broderick as one of his closest friends and had since his change. It was Broderick who calmed Gavin down the first time he morphed into a wolf at the insistent brilliance of a full moon.As Gavin was suffering from a full-blown panic attack, first from the pain of shapeshifting, then from dealing with the horror of the knowledge he’d chased down a rabbit and eaten it raw—which still made him want to heave—Broderick was the one who’d found him and offered him a towel to gird his naked loins when he awoke the next morning, naked on the forest floor. Pine needles, for the curious, did not make the best of cushions, unless attempting a homeopathic version of acupuncture.Back to Broderick, though. If his bud wanted something, then Gavin would provide it. He always did. Why did it prove so hard to hate the good guy? Dammit, I keep trying. And failing. Stupid best bud. I gotta remember to chase his mangy butt up a tree the next full moon. Watching him climb down bare assed the next day always gave Gavin a good chuckle.Fabian Garoux, on the other hand, wouldn’t get the same courtesy. This was one instance where Gavin was kind of glad Broderick had involved him. Anything to do with Fabian was of interest to Gavin. Especially anything that might allow him to punish the arrogant jerk through legal means.Standing, Gavin stretched to his full height of six feet three before heading to his door, a thick, double-hung, steel-framed, and insulted vault of a portal, which he’d had installed when remodeling the office. A safe place to change if caught unexpectedly downtown during a forced moon shift. While werewolves in London might run rampant, werewolves in New York City got shot at. For those who wondered, silver or metal bullets hurt and could kill, while buckshot was a literal pain in the ass to remove.Opening the door a crack, Gavin glanced out and, at first, didn’t see anyone. His visitor blended that well. Head ducked, shoulders curved, the woman blended into the background.When he cleared his throat, she immediately startled and raised her head. The biggest brown eyes framed in long, dark lashes met his. Met and snagged his gaze.Punched him as well in an emotional sense.She’s the one.Like hell.He stepped back and, as if afraid the devastating—unwanted—conviction would follow, slammed the door shut.Then stared at the thick portal.What the heck just happened?Nothing … and yet everything. The world had obviously tilted on its axis because nothing felt the same. He teetered as if off balance and he couldn’t deny a change within him. He couldn’t have said what it was or what it meant—liar—but he sure as hell felt it. And it had something to do with the woman.A woman he’d just rudely ignored and slammed the door on.Oops.Not being a pussy—unlike Broderick, that big feline hairy bastard—Gavin took a deep breath and told himself to man the hell up. There was nothing scary about a frightened human woman.A woman who was gone.Ah hell.As he stared at the empty reception area, he realized he’d have to do something he’d sworn never to do. Chase after a woman. And he’d thank his inner wolf to simmer the hell down. He wouldn’t lope or run or loll his tongue while doing it. Even a wolf in legal clothing had an appearance to maintain.Perhaps a little more aggressively than needed, Megan jabbed at the elevator button. Then stabbed it again for good measure, even though the light illuminating the down arrow showed her request already in progress.But she needed the cab to arrive faster.I need out of here.Now.I should have never come. How had she let herself get talked into it?Oh yeah, she remembered, Broderick with his husky purr and genial smile. She’d happened upon him by accident exiting from her attorney’s office, her vision flooded with tears because she’d stubbed her toe on the way out, anger making her clumsy. Why the ire? Because the courts saddled her with an idiot for a lawyer, one who wanted her to plead guilty. Even though I’m damn well innocent.Peeved, her toe throbbing, her eyes watering in the most annoying fashion, and then her colliding clumsily with a broad-shouldered man, when he’d asked, “What’s wrong, sweetie?” she’d replied.“Wrong? What isn’t wrong? That idiot is talking twenty-five to lif
Initial panic conquered, Gavin, while not resigned to his fate—yet—could now take a mental step back and analyze his situation.Less situation, more like dilemma, as he contemplated what role the woman who sat across from him would play in his life. Not just a woman, his mate.My mate.Even just thinking it made him want to run for the woods. Or get really, really drunk.Before anyone came to the conclusion he was blowing things out of proportion, perhaps a few facts would help. When it came to his kind, in other words, Lycanthropes—men who became werewolves if the wolf virus took a fancy to them after a bite—it was said that there was only one woman destined to share their secret and heart.One woman. One lover.Forever.One.Ha.Until now, Gavin had scoffed at the very idea. He’d spent the last ten-plus years as a werewolf, tasting the delights of the nubile fairer sex. Indulging in erotic pastimes—bad, bad wolf.Sex with whomever he fancied was part of his lifestyle. In his world, h
“Surreal” didn’t come close to describing her evening repast with Gavin. Megan had heard of slick lawyers with their legal talk meant to make your eyes roll back in your head. Met with a disinterested one who made her actually want to murder someone. Given her current experience, she didn’t hold lawyers in very high regard, so she certainly never expected to lust after one.I’m a grown woman. And yet, much like a moon-struck teenager, she clung to Gavin’s every word, trembled inwardly every time they innocently touched. Even worse, she couldn’t help hoping he’d touch her more.It completely and utterly annoyed her, yet she couldn’t stem the reaction, but she could make sure things didn’t go any further.Once dinner was over, again he led her with a firm hand in the middle of her back. He held open the door for her and tucked her hand in his arm as he walked them to the parking lot. His courtly gestures didn’t do anything to help her attraction.Why can’t he act the uncouth jerk? It mad
Making an appointment and giving warning was never any fun, which was why Gavin showed up on Fabian’s doorstep right after leaving Megan.Give the cameras that recorded everything that dared encroach on his territory, Gavin wasn’t surprised when the master of the house himself opened the door, a dark brow raised. Fabian presented him with a cool, “To what displeasure do I owe this visit?”At least the older wolf—who in his early forties counted as older than Gavin’s early thirties—no longer pretended a fondness for his creation. In the beginning, Fabian had tried to take Gavin under his wing, more like have him bend on a knee to his overlord paw, but Gavin would have none of it. The ruthless manner in which the crime lord had turned Gavin in the hopes of having a lawyer join his legal team had stroked Gavin the wrong way.Changing Gavin into a Lycanthrope hadn’t cured him of his stubborn nature, or his desire to be his own man—and now wolf.How dare Fabian upset the carefully ordered l
Tired and feeling kind of grubby, Megan couldn’t wait to get home, strip, and take a long, hot shower. When the police showed up in the middle of the night—which truly was a cruelty given even the birds weren’t awake yet—and dragged her away, they’d not given her time to bathe or dress properly. Why bother when they had her exchange her pajamas at the station for a lovely orange jumpsuit? Apparently, they’d expected her to stay awhile.She’d thought herself a tad bit screwed, too, until Gavin arrived with some good news. It appeared as if her new lawyer might prove himself useful after all. He’d manage to spring her with the most simple of logic, the truth.It seemed someone wanted Megan’s butt in jail. Question was, why? Wasn’t it enough she stood accused of murder? Did they have to compound the insult by taking away her freedom to find justice?As she bounced from one foot to another—clad in some truly comfortable purple fleece-lined Crocs—she almost wished she’d ask to keep the oran
This was bad. Oh so bad.In his defense, when Megan had told Gavin she wanted to go he’d tried to say no. Several times as a matter of fact. Then she leaned in close, placed a hand high up on his thigh, and whispered, practically against his lips, “I’m going, and you can’t stop me. So either we go together, or I go alone.”Bested. By a woman. Which was how he found himself in a den of iniquity, with his future mate, regretting his decision. Especially when he noted the interested leers of the men patronizing the place.His lip curled in menace, and he couldn’t help a low growl, which Megan, thankfully, didn’t hear. But it did force him to put a lock on his more primitive side.This wasn’t the time or place to get jealous. He knew on a rational level that he needn’t fear competition from the men in this place, but his possessive side, which until now he never suspected existed, really didn’t like the male attention directed her way.With a boldness he would not have suspected her capabl
Once again, Gavin insisted on accompanying Megan to her apartment door. Talk about dancing with temptation.Bad enough dealing with him in the closeness of his car, especially after that devastating kiss, then having the scent of his cologne enveloping her as other building tenants forced him to invade her space. But she doubted her willpower if he entered her apartment, a place that would offer privacy and a bed. A bed that hadn’t seen any exercise since her move here.I need him to go. Quickly. Exiting the elevator, she took brisk steps to her apartment, only to slow as she approached the door to her place, a door not quite closed.Key in hand, she hesitated.“Move away from the door,” he ordered, but she didn’t jump to obey.“Maybe I didn’t close it properly when we left earlier,” she muttered, reaching out with trembling fingers to push at the portal. It swung open.Before she could truly comprehend what she glimpsed, Gavin had inserted himself between her and the open doorway, blo
Megan fumed all the way to the hotel.I can’t believe they invaded my space like that.Did they really think the loss of some stuff would make her plead guilty?Like hell.But she did find it worrisome that someone would go to such destructive lengths to try to pin a murder on her. Who hated her enough to want her in jail? Or was it she was just that the most convenient scapegoat?Of other concern was the ardent interest of her lawyer. When he’d issued his invitation to have her stay with him, her first impulse was to say yes, especially since she got the feeling he didn’t mean in the guest room. Then sanity kicked in, and she found herself refusing.Getting involved with the man who was supposed to convince a jury and judge of her innocence wasn’t in her best interest. Neither was accepting any favors from him. But what choice did she have?She couldn’t very well pull money out of a secret offshore bank account so she could hire some other swanky lawyer. Poor little secretaries didn’t