such as this, but it also meant they left no permanent scars through their surroundings. Should a pack disappear, nature would reclaim those tracks within mere months.
“I told them we can always reschedule if the weather goes on this way,” Garnet added.
“Sure.” Sitting his ass down on one of the two battered sofas, he grabbed a sandwich off the tray of lunch goodies on the coffee table in between. “You want to start without them?” he said after taking and swallowing a bite.
“Yes.” Her eyes flicked to his hair. “I didn’t know we were meant to be in fancy dress.”
His wolf bared its teeth at the deadpan sarcasm, delighted by what it stubbornly took as play. “Simple daywear,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “I thought about pairing it with something black and blue, ran out of time.”
She scowled again at his reference to her punch, but he caught the shadow of that hidden dimple. “So,” he said, warmth rushing through him, “the routes into the city.”
They’d been talking things over for only about twenty minutes when Revel ran in, tall and with warm-toned skin of golden brown against a black tee he wore with black jeans and boots. The expression on the senior soldier’s face had them both jerking to their feet. Though Kenji and Garnet occupied an equal position in the pack hierarchy, Garnet was the one who spoke. This was her den and Kenji’s wolf understood the rules of behavior on an instinctive level.
Here, he was her backup.
“What is it?”
“Russ Carmichael is dead,” Revel said shortly, his skin flushed and his breathing fast enough that it was clear he’d run here full tilt. His next words made the reason for his urgency clear. “And it looks like Shane did it.”
Chapter 2
“Has anyone touched the body?” Garnet asked as she and Kenji followed Revel to the scene.
“Eloise found them in Russ’s quarters and she stayed in the doorway while she called me, but I had to go in to check for signs of life. Shane’s alive and needed medical help, so I sent for Lorenzo.” He glanced at her, dark eyes holding a question. “You weren’t picking up your phone.”
Garnet reached into her back pocket, came up empty. “Damn, I must’ve left it in my quarters.” Dropping her hand, she said, “Doesn’t matter—I’ll grab it later. For now, can you get me a forensic kit from stores?” They had a couple of trained forensic techs in the den, but since the two were rarely needed for pack matters, both worked at external jobs and were currently away at an out-of-state conference.
That wasn’t, however, a major handicap. All SnowDancer lieutenants and their most senior packmates underwent a rigorous training course to ensure they could handle such situations. Revel was still completing his training after his promotion, but Garnet had recently done a refresher course alongside Kenji and the other lieutenants.
“You have the updated codes?” she said to Revel before he broke off to grab the kit.
“Yep.” His gaze shifted to over her head. “Hey, Kenji,” he said, no hint of annoyance or tension in his tone at the sight of a lieutenant notorious for flirting with Garnet.
That Kenji outranked Revel had nothing to do with it. Neither did the current situation. Wolves had been known to growl and snarl at romantic rivals while working together to deal with an emergency.
No, it was Revel.
Garnet had always liked that about the senior soldier—that he was so confident, so centered, and so reliable. Part of her winced at that description even as it rolled through her mind. It hardly sounded exciting, and Revel was exciting. He was beautiful, for one, all quiet, intense eyes and fluid muscle; he was also a dominant and dangerous with it.
All the women, and yes, a few appreciative men, too, watched when Revel moved.
She had to remember that, not get caught up in the wild sexiness and wit and wickedness that was Kenji Tanaka, only to come out alone and hurt on the other side. She’d been there, done that, had the bruised knuckles to prove it.
“Good to see you, Rev,” Kenji replied, his own tone friendly, with no apparent undertone. “Despite the circumstances.”
“We’ll catch up later.”
The two men bumped fists, and then Revel was gone.
Two minutes later, she and Kenji arrived in front of a room sternly guarded by a tall young packmate with a blunt fringe of mahogany hair against skin of dark cinnamon brown. “Lorenzo got here sixty seconds ago,” Eloise said before Garnet