"There's been a second murder,” she said, the annoyance in her voice aimed more at herself than him. God, anyone would think she was still that dizzy teenager, not the much wiser woman she'd become. “Same MO."
He sat up a little straighter. “Why didn't you mention this straight away?"
"Could have something to do with seeing the one face I never wanted to see again."
Again that darkness flared in his eyes. “Tell me about the second murder."
"As far as we can tell, it's exactly the same as the first one. My people are up there now, locking down the scene and taking prelim photos."
"Who discovered the body?"
"Local teenager out for an early morning run."
"You've taken his statement?"
Anger flickered through her. What in moons did he think she was, an amateur? “Hell no,” she bit back. “Was I supposed to?"
"Sarcasm is not what either of us needs right now.” His gaze bored into hers. “If you can't handle me being here on this case, step aside and let someone else take care of it."
She didn't bother answering. As the IIS officer for this region, he had no choice in being here, and as head ranger, neither did she. But he was right about one thing—she had to get a grip on herself. “The coroner should be up there by now. You got a team following?"
He nodded. “Two people. They should be here this afternoon. We will, of course, take over investigations, though we'll appreciate your department's help in dealing with the townsfolk."
And he was going to need it, because the citizens of Ripple Creek didn't appreciate the sort of superior attitude he was currently offering. She took a drink of coffee and asked, “How far behind are they?"
"They'll be here in a few hours."
"Are you intending to wait for them, or do you want to head up there now?"
"I'd like to get up there before the scene gets too contaminated."
That flicker of anger became a roar. “My people are well trained and damn good at their jobs."
"But they aren't trained for this sort of investigation, which is why the IIS is always called."
The IIS being called had nothing to do with skill—or the lack thereof—but was a means of pacifying the humans who always seemed to think that the murder of a human on a werewolf reservation was the first sign of a planned uprising. Humans—or at least some of them—seemed to live in permanent fear of wolves. Why, she had no idea, especially when humans had all but wiped out the werewolf population in America. Hell, of the twenty reservations that had been granted originally, only eleven now existed. And two of those were in jeopardy from the encroaching human population. Resettlement was currently being discussed, but she knew from her old man that this time the wolves on those two reservations were going to give the government the legal fight of its life.
But she didn't bother saying anything, because voicing her opinion wouldn't matter a damn. Cade was here, and their part in this play was now officially minor.
She gulped down the rest of her coffee and rose. “I'll take you out there now."
"Good. And on the way there, you can give me your opinion about these killings."
She bit back the instinctive urge to throw another bitchy comment his way. As she walked past him, she tried to ignore the warm tease of tangerine in her nostrils. But it wasn't so easy to ignore his familiar presence at her back, or the way his body heat seemed to caress her skin, burning her the way the sun might burn during summer.
It had been like that the first time she'd met him—a rush of heat, a fever that had become fiercer the longer she'd stayed in his presence. No wolf since had ever given her that sort of reaction, and she was damn glad of that fact. These days, she was quite content to spend her time in Ronan's arms, secure in the knowledge that the sex was good, that she was safe, and that he would never do anything to hurt her.
Kel turned around at the sound of their footsteps, and her gaze went from Savannah to Cade and back again. Though her expression was perfectly pleasant, Savannah was hard pressed not to smile. Cade had a lot of ground to make up if he expected anything more than very basic assistance from Kel. And considering that the smooth operation of this ranger station depended greatly on the efficiency of its admin assistant, Cade was in deep trouble.
Unless, of course, he brought his own admin assistant, which considering the sort of money being thrown at the IIS these days was highly likely.
"Kel, I'm taking Mr. Jones up to Pike's clearing. If anything urgent comes in, call Steve to handle it.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Have you booked rooms for yourself and your people?"
The deep blue of his eyes seemed to bore right through her. “Not yet."
She repressed a shiver and glanced back at Kel. “And arrange two rooms at one of the lodges."
A smile touched Kel's lips. “Right away."