Her body was still singing, the need for release still tearing through her, as Sheriff Lacey knocked on the door once again.
Wiping her hands down her thighs, Cassa drew in a hard breath before pulling her control around her and moving to the door.
She looked back at Cabal, wishing she could still her response to him as easily as he seemed to be stilling his to her. She would have taken more time to get herself under control, to stop her hands from shaking, if the sheriff hadn’t pounded on the door again.
Clenching her teeth, she gripped the doorknob and pulled the door open, stepping back and facing the sheriff as the other woman’s gaze sliced into the room and settled on Cabal.
For a moment, Cassa felt the tension and the certainty that the sheriff and Cabal knew each other more than either of them would want her to realize. It was in the tension that tightened in the other woman’s shoulders, and the suspicion that filled her hazel eyes.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.” The sheriff’s tone was wry, her smile friendly, though the knowledge that she had indeed interrupted something was clear in her gaze.
“Not at all,” Cassa assured her. “Please come in, and thank you for taking time to see me again.”
“When I received the message that there was possible Breed violence in the county, I admit, I rushed right over. You didn’t mention that earlier today.”
Great. Cassa glanced at Cabal and watched his eyes narrow.
“Is Mr. St. Laurents involved?” Slender, tall, the sheriff hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her jeans as her gaze raked over Cabal. “I always did think he was a rather suspicious character.”
There was an edge of laughter in the sheriff’s voice, and one of familiarity. She wasn’t trying to hide the fact that she knew Cabal, but there was no sense that she knew him too well. Cassa tried to still the jealousy rising within her, both surprised and horrified as she recognized the emotion.
She didn’t do jealousy. She did not, she would not, become jealous of a man. There was no quicker way to self-destruct than to give in to that emotion. And Cassa refused to ever self-destruct again.
“Mr. St. Laurents, I’m certain, is most likely involved somehow.” Cassa felt the tightness of her smile as well as the certainty that Cabal had come here tonight for no other reason than to influence her against the investigation she had come to Glen Ferris for.
Danna Lacey stepped into the room, her gaze going between Cassa and Cabal as a dark brow lifted curiously.
Dressed in jeans, an official shirt and boots, Sherrif Lacey looked the quintessential country girl. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a sleek braid that fit well beneath her official sheriff’s hat and showed off her high cheekbones perfectly.
Green eyes twinkled merrily, but they held a hint of cyni cism. She was amused though well acquainted with dealing with Breeds and very well aware of their deceptions.
She should be. Danna Lacey’s department had been one of the first to sign on to cooperate with Breed Law in its efforts to incorporate Breeds into the law enforcement communities and to enforce the new laws governing violence against Breeds.
“So, what’s the problem?” Sheriff Lacey looked between the two of them. “Usually the Bureau of Breed Affairs contacts me if any violence has occurred involving Breeds. Not reporters. And you didn’t mention any of this earlier, Ms. Hawkins.”
“Ms. Hawkins is merely concerned, I believe,” Cabal drawled. “We’ve been conducting training exercises in the national forest and she came upon one of them the other night.”
Oh, that was a good one.
“Not quite,” Cassa objected. “The last I heard, Coyotes in the employ of John Bollen don’t exactly cooperate with the Bureau or Sanctuary.”
John Bollen, formerly second-in-command under General Tallant, a once high official with the Genetics Council, had taken over after Tallant’s death. The Tallant organization, now called Bollen Enterprises, supplied security guards, personal protection and other services where muscle and weapons were required. It had, under General Tallant’s ownership, also supplied subversive teams to strike against Breeds.
What it did now, where Breeds were concerned, was anyone’s guess. Bollen kept his business quiet, but the general consensus was that the Breeds were now in more danger from Bollen than they ever had been when the organization was under Tallant’s leadership.
“Bollen’s Coyotes are in the national forest?” Sheriff Lacey directed her question to Cabal. “During Breed training exercises?”
Cabal directed a chiding look to Cassa before turning back to Lacey.
“Come on, Danna, you know how it works. We spy on them, they spy on us. No one was armed, no one was hurt.”
Sheriff Lacey grimaced at the comment before directing her attention back to Cassa. “Then where does the violence come in?”
Cassa knew immediately that the sheriff, though sympathetic and likely prone to disagree with or outright disbelieve Cabal, wasn’t about to involve herself in investigating something Cabal was so clearly warning her away from.
“I was ambushed in the forest,” Cassa stated, hiding her anger now. “I thought you should be aware that Coyote soldiers are roaming the area and I did feel threatened. Had Mr. St. Laurents not been in the area, then the three soldiers I faced could have become dangerous.”
Lacey’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know who they are?”
“Only one.” Cassa shrugged.
“It was Dog and his two lieutenants, Butch and Mongrel.” Cabal spoke up with a cold smile.
Sheriff Lacey shook her head at the information, her expression becoming sober as she gave a sharp nod. “I’ll alert the forest rangers to be on watch for them,” she promised. “As well as the local police and my deputies. We can’t throw their asses out of the area, but we can keep an eye on them.” She looked back at Cassa. “How much longer will you be here?”
Cassa crossed her arms over her breasts, aware that the sheriff was probably hoping her stay would be brief.
“I’m not certain,” she stated. “Should it matter?”
The sheriff grimaced. “You’re like gas poured on a Breed fire,” she said. “You could be the reason the Coyote soldiers are here, Ms. Hawkins, as you’re well aware. The few times Dog has shown up in your reports, you’ve not exactly been tactful in regards to your opinion of him.”
“I’m not paid to be tactful.” She felt like a ten-year-old being taken to task for causing trouble.
“And I’m not paid to babysit reporters who go looking for trouble,” the sheriff shot back. “Stay out of the forest until the Coyote soldiers are gone, that’s the best advice I can give you.”
In other words, it would be really nice if she just packed up and left town. Cassa mentally scratched the sheriff off her list of persons to contact should she actually need any help in her own investigation.
“Thank you so much for your time, Sheriff.” A patently false smile spread her lips as she strode to the door and opened it for the other woman. “I’ll be sure to let you know should I need any additional help.”
Sheriff Lacey breathed out wearily as she shook her head and moved to the door. “Ms. Hawkins, Breed Law states that I can’t run these guys out of town, nor can I officially protest their presence. As much as I hate it, I have to put up with the likes of men like Dog and his lieutenants until they actually mess up and give me a reason to contact the Bureau or throw their asses in jail.”
“Until then, I’ll just hide in my room and pretend I’m having fun,” Cassa stated sarcastically. “I’ll be sure to mention that in the pleasant little story I had planned about the area.”
“And while you’re mentioning that, please mention that you created this situation for yourself by plastering Dog’s picture all over the damned air at that station you worked for last year,” the sheriff reminded her. “ ‘The once anonymous Coyote Breed, suspected of drug and weapons smuggling, violence against Breeds and stealing candy from little children,’” the sheriff quoted her mockingly as she shook her head in amusement. “Really, Ms. Hawkins, did you think he was going to be pleasant when you met up with him in the forest? You were lucky Cabal and his team were there.”