But while lying atop Trey certainly sounded like fun, Samantha realized maybe she needed to start with something a little less familiar.
“If I’m going to use up one of my favors,” she said softly, keenly aware of Trey leaning in even more, then closing his eyes and inhaling. Like he was trying to breathe in her scent. “It wouldn’t be for snooping into either of their backgrounds.”
“What would you use it on then?” he asked, lifting his gaze to hers. Oh yeah, his eyes definitely darkened a bit more, like the ocean in the middle of a storm.
Inspiration hit then, and Samantha didn’t even pause to wonder if she should do it or not.
“I’d use it to have you take me out to dinner,” she said before she could come to her senses and chicken out.
From the way Trey gaped, Samantha could tell she’d thrown the big cop for a loop. Fear and doubt immediately started creeping in, making her think she’d royally screwed up. Maybe Trey was one of those men who was more comfortable doing the asking instead of being asked. She didn’t like to think someone who was clearly so strong and confident would be insecure over something like that. But maybe she’d read him all wrong.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” he said, and she was relieved when she saw a spark of interest there in those mesmerizing eyes. Like he suddenly found a game he unequivocally liked.
She stepped closer, smiling as his eyes darkened again. “Actually, I’m using one of my favors to have you ask me out. That way, I can be progressive and traditional at the same time. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”
He grinned, his expression making her pulse skip a beat. “Definitely not. I’m a huge fan of progressive traditions. Dinner tomorrow night work for you?”
She had to force herself not to pump her fist in excitement. “It does.”
“Good. Should I pick you up at your place? Say seven o’clock.”
She nodded, then watched in disappointment as he turned and headed for the door. Not that seeing him from behind was a bad view or anything.
“Hey,” she called before he disappeared into the hallway. “I didn’t give you my address.”
Trey paused long enough to give her another one of those smiles that turned her knees to Jell-O. “At the risk of sounding like a stalker, I already know where you live.”
He was out the door before Samantha could say whether it made him seem like a stalker or not. But in all honesty, it wasn’t like she could complain very much since she already knew where he lived, too.
Chapter 3
When Trey got the call from his commander/pack alpha at five o’clock in the morning telling him to get to the McCommas Bluff Landfill, he’d assumed it was going to be another body dump. And when he’d pulled up the map on his phone and realized the landfill was only a couple miles from the Trinity River site where they’d found the body a few days ago, he’d been even more sure. So he was a little stunned when he reached the front gates of the landfill and didn’t see a single member of the press or the normal collection of morbid gawkers who liked showing up at any scene that might belong to the Butcher. Trey found it hard to believe the DPD could have kept something like this quiet. No matter how hard they tried, word always seemed to get out.
He got another surprise when he reached the backside of the landfill and saw only four vehicles parked on the side of the road. Typically, there’d be a frigging parking lot full of city, county, and state emergency vehicles at a scene like this. But other than the bulldozer sitting in the muddy field across the road, this part of the landfill was essentially deserted.
Trey climbed out of his truck, immediately spotting Connor, Trevor, Hale, and their other pack mate, Zane Kendrick, standing a few yards away staring at something on the ground behind a big pile of construction scraps. He’d only taken a few steps in their direction when he caught sight of two other people he definitely hadn’t expected to see here. For the first time, he began to think maybe there was something different going on.
“Corporal Duncan.” Deputy Chief Hal Mason stepped forward in the dim morning light to shake Trey’s hand. “I’m sorry for dragging you out of bed this early, but as you’ll soon see, this isn’t something that could wait.” Mason oversaw the SWAT team, along with several other specialty units within the DPD. And while he was fully aware that the entire team was composed of alpha werewolves, it was rare to see him in the field. The man was high enough up on the food chain that he didn’t go after bad guys himself, but low enough that he wasn’t expected to show up at crime scenes purely for publicity’s sake. “You already know Agent Carson,” he added, motioning toward Zane and the tall, slim woman with blond hair pulled back in a neat ponytail standing beside him.
Yeah, Trey knew her. And Alyssa, on the other hand, had no business being at any normal DPD crime scene—publicity or not. She was Zane’s mate and also an agent with STAT, aka Special Threat Assessment Team, the secretive joint FBI-CIA group that had the job of dealing with those things that went bump in the night. Things that very few humans ever had the opportunity to learn about until they were unfortunate enough to get eaten by one of them. If she was here, it couldn’t be good.
Or normal.
“I’m guessing this isn’t another Butcher body dump?” Trey asked as he and Mason moved over to join everyone else.
“No,” the deputy chief said. “At least we don’t think so.”
That sounded ominous.
Trey walked around the shoulder-high pile
