Taze (Rise of the Pride #11) - Theresa Hissong Page 0,69

you,” he said, grasping her hips. “I like you like this.” He rolled his hips and hit a spot inside her that craved more of the attention.

Calla smiled and followed his directions. It was hours later when they fell to their side, covered in sweat and each other’s mating scent.

Talon nodded toward the two chairs in front of his desk. The sheriff had arrived within seconds of his call, but the human agent, Kevin Tabor, took a little more time to arrive since he was driving in from the city. It didn’t really matter at that point. If what Calla said was true, Murdock was now shifter business.

“What did you find out?” Tabor asked.

Talon informed him of the theory Calla had brought to him earlier. The female was a damn good tracker, and he believed what she was speculating was, in fact, true.

“You know I can’t use any of this information, right?” Tabor cursed. “There’s no hard proof.”

“That’s the difference between us, Tabor,” Talon replied. “Shifters live by a different set of rules. We have special…talents that can prove someone’s guilt without physical proof. All we need are our senses.”

“And Calla sensed Agent Murdock is the alpha of these rogues?” he pressed.

“Everyone, human or shifter, carries a scent,” Talon informed the agent. “When Agent Murdock came here the first time, I immediately knew there was something different about him. He irritated my panther, and my panther is never wrong. As you well know, because you are doing your own investigation on him, Murdock isn’t the cleanest of agents.”

“What do you propose we should do?”

Talon glanced at the angel. Garrett knew exactly what would be done, but the humans wouldn’t accept it.

“In our world, shifter law prevails,” Talon stated. “Our law says that I, as an alpha, can put down any shifter who is guilty of a crime. Agent Murdock, Holden Manzelli, or whatever the fuck his name is, needs to be put down.”

“Put down?” Tabor asked, his eyes wide.

“Don’t look so surprised, agent.” Talon narrowed his eyes, feeling his panther push forward. When the room changed color, he knew his eyes had turned over to the full, glowing amber of his beast. “We are ruled by our animal nature.”

“You cannot kill him,” Tabor barked. “You will be arrested and put in prison. What would happen to your pride if that happened?”

“I know what would happen to my pride,” Talon bellowed as he stood from his chair and slammed his fists into the solid wood desk. The sound echoed throughout the room as he bared his canines at the male. “I also know what will happen should I do nothing. Murdock is a dangerous male, and he’s bringing drugs into the area that will kill a shifter. If humans get ahold of it, you know what that result will be.”

Talon wanted to hunt the male himself. The war had come to their town and right on their fucking front doorstep when one of Landon’s employees was taken. “This son of a bitch has come for one of our own, and I’ll be damned if I let him get away with it.”

“I need proof, Talon,” Tabor begged. “Without proof, I can’t let you go after him.”

“I’ll get your proof, but I’m telling you now, we need the laws changed. Holding him in a jail cell will not work. We need to go back to our ways. With the humans in our business, it’s taking longer to stop the Gadaí. If we were allowed to handle it the way we’ve handled our own kind for thousands of years, this war would’ve been over by now. I’m tired of standing back and letting the government rule my hand.”

“I will do what I can to get you the information we have on Murdock tonight,” Tabor promised. “Do not do anything rash until you have solid evidence that he is actually Holden Manzelli.”

Talon nodded, because he didn’t trust his voice. Tabor excused himself with a promise to call with a report first thing in the morning. The moment he was gone, Talon turned toward the sheriff and snarled, “I’m putting a team together to go after him tonight. We will get the evidence our way.”

Taze waited for Calla to come to the circle. With the information Talon had to deliver to the pride, not one member was allowed to miss the meeting. From the stress he’d been feeling over the past hour, he knew something big was about to go down. His alpha was pissed, and