Bonedust

this?”
    “Yeah,” Kanon said.
    “Then let’s hear what happened.”

    ***

    Tegan closed his eyes in relief. Yes . He didn’t know what he’d do if...
    “Thank you,” he whispered.
    “Don’t thank me. Just open that handsome little mouth of yours and start talking.”
    Tegan grinned. Handsome? One glance at Kanon, and Tegan could see his partner was half smitten with the Hound already. Not that Tegan blamed him. She was big and she was bad, but Lennox Donnelly also had a heart. A fair streak and he was going to run with that for all it was worth.
    “Anyone in that bar that night would vouch for Kanon. We’re regulars, never had an issue there before. Hell, the owners will vouch for that.” He didn’t add that Tristan and Carolyn Hale were also friends of theirs. Still, every bar regular and wait staff in that bar knew the two of them by sight, and they’d never once given anyone an issue there that hadn’t deserved it.
    The Hound had deserved it, but he didn’t say that part either. Not when she was beginning to sway. And sway she was, those sharp eyes considering his words and Tegan pounced on that weakness. “I’ll take you there myself. Kanon doesn’t start fights.”
    Normally. Lennox’s raised eyebrow told him she expected there was a ‘but’ to that, but she didn’t insist. “Fine, but I’m driving.”
    That was a bit too neat for Tegan’s taste. He shook his head, but outmanned as she was, Lennox wasn’t about to back down. “I’m not going to have Kanon bailing. You can drive separately, he can’t.”
    “You’re not exactly in a position to be bargaining,” Kanon said but Tegan waved him off.
    “Fine. Your word though, you’ll see this through. You’ll give us a shot to prove Kanon’s clear.”
    It was her eyes that gave her away. Soft, and they glanced down at the question, almost submissive, but Tegan wasn’t foolish enough to think this Hound had a submissive bone in her body.
    “Hounds don’t bargain with lions,” she whispered, only to drag her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared up at him. Her chin dipped in the faintest nod. “Fine. I swear to you, I’ll give you the chance to prove to me your partner is innocent. I’ll go to the bar; I’ll meet your witnesses.
    “But I make the final call. If I don’t deem their statements accurate or if what they say contradicts you, I’ll tote both of your asses off to Enforcement. Got it?”
    A smile touched his lips. “Got it.”
    “Then where are we going?”
    Tegan couldn’t help it then. He let his gaze drift down over her dirt layered pants, the tank top that was damn near the color of her skin. She wasn’t thin. At least not the wiry lean he was used to seeing in Hound females, where they could probably wear a bikini beautifully, but a sharp eye wouldn’t miss the jut of a hip bone beneath the skin.
    No, she was thicker. Still slender, but with muscle and weight to her. A solidity he was more used to seeing in lionesses. Dirt smeared her cheeks, and her hair was a tousled mess, strands of the reddest rust he’d ever seen. Several strands had fallen loose from the tight knot she kept it in, and they dangled just out of reach. He itched to reach out and touch it, to test the silk of it against his fingertips.
    Shit. Now, he was every bit as smitten with her as Kanon.
    She’d agreed to let them prove it and now he was thinking about running his hand through that long, long hair. Yeah. She’d just as soon break his hand than let him do that.
    Tegan caught Kanon’s eye, his partner giving him an impish grin and Tegan couldn’t help but smile back. At least they liked to share and sharing Lennox would be something neither of them would forget for a long time.
    Probably because she’d kill them.
    Lennox’s eyes narrowed.
    Tegan covered his smile with a small cough. One handed, he gestured towards her dirt stained outfit. “You can’t wear that where we’re going.”
    “Bullshit I can’t.”
    The muscle in her jaw flexed, tense and he could see the warpath opening up between them. Damn, the woman would do battle with just about anything if a man riled her right. Kanon snatched a strand of that hair and Tegan’s eyes jumped to his, knowing instantly the texture of her hair by the hooded expression on his partner’s face.
    Hell, Metro would let just about anyone in, as long as they were wearing clothes, but Tegan ached to see her without the dirt and with all that hair loosely draped over her