City of Sins

Chapter 6

Speechless for a moment, Bella just leaned back in the chair, arm on the table and giving Law a full view of lush curves on display. Struggling with a snappy comeback when the first rush of emotion was pure, undiluted fury left her searching for the right response. Energy seemed to crackle just above her skin, the beast peering back from under sooty lashes. “I could say the same. Seeing you twice in one day is certainly a first.”

She pulled the flat coke towards her and took a small sip, setting it down ever so carefully when what she wanted to do was fling the contents into his smirking face. “Is there a reason you’re here?” The eyes that stared him down had faded to a fiery gold, the same shade as savannah grasses in the heat of the afternoon.

That supercilious grin just widened. “Little bird told me you met with the King of the Desert Wind pack and the fang of the city’s love toy.” He took the glass from where it sat in front of her and took a drink, making a face before sliding it back. “That’s not worth what you probably paid for it….”

Adam leaned forward till their collective beasts bumped metaphysical noses, a move that had Bella’s lioness baring her teeth in irritation, but that didn’t stop the son of a b***h. “What is the Queen of the pride up to now?”

A moment of silence stretched thin while Bella counted to ten internally before responding, her tone revealing every unspoken emotion. “The same thing I was up to this morning. Working. I am working.” Her glare spoke volumes. “Just like I am now. I am working on a case. You of all people should realize just what a bullshit move….”

Law cut her off with an upraised hand. “The LVPD case? How does that even need…”

Bella slapped the scarred wood table because punching the head of the Pride probably wouldn’t do anything but make her feel better. Right now, she was teetering on a just because pimp slap. “Listen to me. My personal business is none of your business. My professional business is none of your business and this sudden interest in what I’m up to is seriously pissing me off.” The last bit of the sentence ended in a low growl, something so inhuman from such a pretty mouth. Anger roiled in the pit of her stomach, making the hand in her lap clench so hard that her fingernails left dents and a slow tremor rolled down her spine.

It didn’t take an instant for Adam’s power to hit, an onslaught of biting anger that brought goosebumps up and it took every bit of her willpower not to answer in kind. The lioness lingering in the depths was closer to surfacing, closer to letting go of humanity for an all out physical brawl. Whatever he was going to say, though, got interrupted by the same bouncer who’d carded her approaching the table. “Excuse me miss, is everything alright?”

Bella glared at Adam before shifting her attention to the other man, the angry expression morphing into one of irritation and relief, so quick that only Adam caught the change. “My brother is here trying to convince me that dating a woman is against God’s will and he and my mother would like me to return to my senses and come home.” With an ingratiating smile, she made a show of uncrossing and crossing her legs, flashing an obscene amount of gold skin and toned legs. “I’m just gonna wait for my girl and ignore him.”

Speechless for a moment, Adam didn’t even have time to defend himself as the burly male turned, slightly bemused by Bella’s machinations, and glared at him. “Do you want me to remove him?”

“You can try….” Didn’t take a second for Adam, still in the grip of animalistic rage to rise off the chair, the threat of an all-out brawl occurring becoming reality getting way too close for comfort.

Bella kicked him under the table and reached out to pat the bouncer on the arm and an impressively swole bicep. “It’s okay. He’s gonna leave in a moment… aren’t you, Eugene?”

Adam turned his head, growling softly, but sat down, waiting for the other man to leave before speaking. “You’re a real b***h, you know that?”

“Well, you’re an ass, so I guess we’re well matched.” Bella watched his face, saw Adam’s anger fading to be replaced by an oddly amused look. Didn’t help that he was actually an exceptionally attractive individual. Adam Lawson was a big man, over six foot four, big and muscled like a pro wrestler with zero body fat. Long waves of chocolate brown that faded to sunset gold were pulled back in a discrete pony tail but unbound, it fell over his shoulders and matched the neatly trimmed goatee and ‘stache. His brown eyes held just a touch of red, something that made girls swoon when streaked with the gold of his beast. Adam was one of the few shifters she knew that was unabashedly out, as in he did not hide his lycanthropy from anyone, clients or love interests, a luxury Bella couldn’t afford in her line of business.

Speaking of, another disturbance at the door drew her gaze. Raised voices and a quick scuffle had the problem solved, but Bella had gotten a glimpse with her enhanced vision in the dimness and swore softly. “Speaking of work….” Without another word, she stood and stalked off towards the back of the club.

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After the first encounter, Adam had been stewing most of the afternoon when one of the pride working on special event security at the Luxor informed him of Bella’s activities. Of course, subsequently the woman had dodged every call, disregarded every text. Truthfully, Bella had never caught his eye before this debacle, being more of a verbal sparring combatant instead of anything remotely worth bedding. Until now, his preferences ran to tall, leggy blondes with more feminine wiles. But this little hellcat had sparked some interest within the annoyance and he found himself gazing at those svelte curves stalking off with a half smile on his face. Rising, he moved to follow and what he saw blew his mind.

He’d been living with his beast for a long time, over a decade of sharing space with a creature who occasionally fought for the ironclad control of the body they shared. Most shifters made an uneasy pact with the beast, agreeing to occupy the same space while struggling with the feral choices that made no sense. That was the uneasy peace that always seemed ready to fall apart with the lack of morality of the animal side. As he trailed behind Bella, he saw it, the sway of her hips and the grace with which she wove through anyone or anything that got in her way. And he knew the moment the beast rose, a seamless melding of lioness and woman that left him speechless.

Her gait changed, morphing into a predatory glide with a liquid grace, body moving in a way that seemed almost inhuman as her head lifted. You could see them both, the lion a preternatural extension of the human it housed, and it was on the hunt. Never in all his years as a shifter had he come across a lycanthrope that was wholeheartedly at peace with the inhuman creature that called her body home.

A man exited the men’s restroom, did a double take, and a hand came up to halt her progress. All Bella did was turn her head ever so slowly and fix him with her leonine gaze, and Adam could feel the fear that erupted around the man from where he stood. The poor guy nearly knocked Adam down as he made a quick escape in the other direction while she continued unimpeded.

At a half-dozen steps behind her. He barely caught the door she pushed open as it swung back before it cracked him in the face. Bella had halted, her head lifted as if scenting the air before honing in on who she got. Turning, she made her way to a Dodge Ram in the far corner of the parking lot, stalking towards a barely discernible figure inside. Adam hung back, the comments inside making him question whether or not coming here had been prudent. Everything said inside rang in his ears and slowly the realization formed that he wanted to know her better, to get inside that beautiful head to see what made her tick.

He hadn’t been around when Petra went down. He’d been out of town at a conference in San Francisco. His queen had been a convenient choice, no love at first sight bullshit, but she’d been great in the sack, so it worked. Until she went too far. Until she decided Bella made a convenient target for her ire. Adam had only seen a little of the video Colin captured but for someone who topped off at five-foot nothing and barely over a hundred and twenty pounds, the slim creature stalking the parking lot in front of him had floored the much taller, heavier lioness in a way no one could quite figure out. Which made her queen, since no other lioness dared fight for the position now and more than half the pride bowed to her strength. Except for him, she’d never acknowledged him as anything but a king in name only, and their contentious relationship had continued.

Over by the truck, Bella suddenly backed up and the taint of gun oil and sulfur whafted his way a second before the pop. He started running before even realizing he was moving.

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Bella’s fury just burned under the skin, making cheeks flushed and eyes snap with a wild look that mirrored the state of the lion within. Adam and his renewed interest in anything to do with life made no sense. He’d never given a damn before, so what the hell was up?

Once outside in the parking lot, it wasn’t hard to find her target, parked towards the back of the lot and partially obscured by some decorative bushes. Great place to lie in wait with nefarious intentions on the mind. Anger perhaps pushed her to just walk up instead of pondering some other course of action, but the faster she got rid of this ass, the quicker she could dump Adam. Preferably on the side of a desert road with no water.

He’d rolled the window of the vehicle down, odd considering how hot it was, so Bella just yelled ‘Hey’ as she strolled up, heels sinking slightly into the still warm asphalt. He turned and even with just the light from the main street a couple hundred yards to the left, he looked wired. Eyes showed too much white and the stink from inside the vehicle screamed unhinged. The wife beater and collar shirt he had over it had seen better days, the hand with the cigarette smudged and nails dark with days of accumulated dirt. “You Jenna’s ex?...”

That’s all she got out before he pulled a small caliber revolver from somewhere on the seat next to him, catching the smell of the cleaning oil a second too late. There was a soft pop and a burning sensation on her left side. The two of them eyed each other in surprise.

“Oh god, I didn’t mean…… Oh god…….” Swallowing heavily, he might have said more, but a blur swept by her, roiling energy more painful that the wound now seeping blood down into the waistband of her skirt.

She’d forgotten Adam. He suddenly appeared, removing her attacker thru the window with little care for what condition he’d be in after the fact and tossing him over two cars with a flick of the wrist. Growling, eyes a fiery gold, he moved to go around her, but Bella put up a hand, shoving with both physical strength and a preternatural slap.

“Law… not here.” He pushed against the hand, not seeming to feel her there in the angry rush to decimate the man who’d left his queen bleeding. “LAW!” Bella screamed his name and shoved again, digging deep with metaphysical claws until Adam gave a little shake of the head.

He shoved her hand away, rubbing the area with a bemused scowl. “How did you do that?”

Before she could answer, the bouncer came running over. “You guys okay? I called the cops….”

Without a word, Adam picked her up, careful to keep the bloody wound next to his body. “We’re fine. I’m gonna take her to my car to wait. She’s a little freaked out right now.”

For once, she didn’t argue.