me, and then Clark's voice came from behind us. I guess she'd finished her phone call and opened the door quietly enough that Raborn and I didn't hear her. "Marshal Raborn, I need you to drive to Oregon for me, right now."
He glanced back at her, and then moved so he could keep an eye on both her and us, which meant he wasn't as stupid as he seemed. "We have a serial killer in Seattle and you're sending me on some trumped-up errand?"
"As your superior I'm telling you that you are driving to the far side of Oregon today; if you question my orders again, I'll find something for you to do on the far side of Alaska, is that clear?"
"Why?"
"Because I'm tired of your attitude and because I can. One more word and I promise you that you will be seeing so much real estate that by the time you drive back this case will be over."
He closed his mouth tight, lips thinned with anger. The flush that had been fading began to darken again. If it was blood pressure, eventually he was going to stroke out if he didn't learn to control himself. He just nodded.
She handed him a piece of paper. "This is where I want you to drive and what I want you to pick up for me."
His eyes barely flickered over it before he turned on his heel and marched off. I think he didn't trust himself to keep quiet if he stayed near us all.
Clark looked at me and Edward, but finally settled on me. "Bringing in lovers as deputies won't help your reputation, Blake."
I sighed. "I know, Marshal Clark, but neither of them is just a pretty package. They'll be an asset to the case, or we wouldn't have flown them in."
"They better be more than a booty call, Blake. No offense, gentlemen."
"None taken," Nicky said.
Domino just looked at her.
It was her turn to sigh. "Prove to me that they're more than just pretty, or muscle. Prove to me that they can help us catch these things."
"Things?" I made it a question.
"Whatever is killing the weretigers isn't human. Whatever injured Marshal Karlton wasn't human either. What my marshals chased in the woods with you was sure as hell not human. We have a body in the morgue that is charred halfway between human and animal form. Nothing on this case is human, so until I have another word for them, they're things, perps, monsters. Now get out there and do something useful." She went back into her office, and we started moving down the hallway like we had a purpose.
"Raborn is going to be trouble," Lisandro said.
"He'll try," I said.
"How do we stop him?" Domino asked.
Edward said, "Execute the warrant; be so good at the job that he can't come back at Anita."
"The job is to kill . . ." Ares hesitated, trying not to say the Harlequin. "The killers, right?"
"Yep," I said.
Ares smiled, a flash of teeth in his delicate face. "We'll be good at the job."
The rest of them just nodded. I realized in that moment we were a pack, a pride, we were a unit. We were - us. And for the first time since I understood that it was the Harlequin killing the weretigers, I felt . . . hopeful.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
EDWARD WAS AT my right as we walked across the parking lot. Nicky came up on my left. His fingertips brushed mine. I had time to squeeze his fingers before Edward said, "We've got company."
Nicky dropped back a step like a good bodyguard. I knew without looking that Domino was at my back; I could feel him like heat behind me. I was aware of the other men the way I was aware of my surroundings, or men in general, but not the way I was with the other two; they were mine in ways the others were not.
Marshal Newman was leaning against our rental car. He had a nice, noticeable bandage on his forehead. He looked a little pale in the sunlight, so that the few freckles he had stood out against his skin. I hadn't noticed them last night, or was it two nights ago? I honestly didn't know what day it was. Newman's short brown hair looked as if he hadn't bothered to comb it since he got out of the hospital. He leaned that tall, lanky body on the side of the rental and watched us.
When we were close enough, Edward called out, "How's