Inked

Nokolai.”
    “I’m so sorry.” Instinctively she went to him, but something in his face kept her from doing more than touch his arm. “I’m so sorry, Rule.”
    He put his hand over hers. His face was tight, his eyes hooded. “There’s more.”
    She nodded.
    “Steve’s throat was cut. The police have arrested another Nokolai, Jason Chance. They plan to charge Jason with the murder.” Rule’s jaw tightened. “It’s an easy out for them. No need to look for a killer—just charge the nearest lupus with the crime and forget about it.”
    “I take it Steve wasn’t killed while in wolf form.” Or else the authorities wouldn’t have any interest in the death. Killing a lupus was only illegal when he looked human. “You don’t believe this Jason guy did it?”
    “No. Neither does my father. I have to go home.”
    “Of course.” And this was the downside of the mate bond—the sheer inconvenience. Rule couldn’t go unless Lily did, too. The mate bond didn’t allow them to be far apart. Not that they knew exactly what distance would trigger the dizziness, because it changed. Without warning, without any pattern she could spot, it changed. Damned whimsical bond.
    “I’m sorry to drag you away. You’re almost finished at Quantico.”
    She shrugged. Her training—necessary since she’d been a homicide cop, not an FBI agent, until recently—had been interrupted constantly ever since the Turning hit in December. With the uptick in ambient magic, the FBI Unit she belonged to, which dealt with magical crimes and crises, was stretched thin. “Another delay hardly matters, and I’m not working a case right now. I’ll have to clear it with Croft, but he’ll be cool with it. He understands my situation.”
    With Ruben gone, Martin Croft was running the Unit. He was one of the few humans who were aware of the existence of the bond that, in rare cases, formed between a human woman and a lupus. Of course, according to the lupi, the bond didn’t form—it was bestowed on them by their Lady. Who, in Lily’s opinion, wasn’t nearly as mythological as she ought to be.
    “Steve was killed in Del Cielo—or at least his body was found within city limits, and the Del Cielo police claim jurisdiction.”
    She frowned. The town sounded familiar, but she couldn’t remember why. “That’s north of Nokolai Clanhome, right? In the mountains.”
    “Yes. It’s the home of Robert Friar.”
    Her breath sucked in. “Shit. The rat bastard who’s started that stupid Humans First organization.”
    “Prejudice in Del Cielo isn’t confined to Robert Friar. I’ve had…encounters with the police there, and I’m not the only one. Lily, those cops aren’t like you. They won’t find Steve’s killer, and Jason may well stand trial for a murder he did not commit. I need you to take over the investigation.”
    Unconsciously her hand tightened on his arm. “I can’t. Rule, you know that. I don’t have any authority over a regular homicide. Only if magic is involved. You said his throat was cut. If there’s any suggestion this was a ritual murder, a sacrifice, then I could check it out, but—”
    “No. I…” He inhaled sharply, pulled away, and paced a few steps before stopping. “I’m not explaining well. I think…From what my father said, it’s possible a federal crime did occur.”
    Her throat ached. He was hurting. “The Unit doesn’t handle hate crimes. Croft’s not going to give me a green light to investigate one, but if that’s what this was, there are other agencies that might be pulled in, both state and federal. I’ll see what I can do.” Which might not be all that much, she was afraid. Prosecutors weren’t lining up to prosecute hate crimes against lupi.
    “Not that.” He waved it away with an abrupt gesture. “I’m talking about the law against the use or manufacture of gado.”
    “Gado?”
    Impatiently he said, “It’s what they used to use to keep us from Changing.”
    “I know that, but why do you think gado was involved?”
    “The tattoo. Steve’s killer decorated his throat before cutting it.”

2
    LILY was about forty thousand feet over Ohio when she closed her laptop and reached in her purse for the final gift Rule had given her: a new iPhone.
    He’d been almost apologetic about it. A phone wasn’t romantic—and besides, he’d bought one for himself, too. But he’d covered the romance base just fine with the earrings and the panties; this was one very cool new