Page 43 of Paws and Claws

"Nothing suspicious here," Tabitha reported. "Unless you count the owner's taste in garden gnomes. Who needs thirty-seven of them?"

"Focus, Tabitha."

"I am focused. Very focused on how creepy these things are. One of them just winked at me."

Despite himself, Dominic chuckled. "Get out of there before someone calls the police."

"You are the police."

He heard her climbing back over, and moments later she dropped beside him with a flourish. The moonlight caught her purple hair, making it gleam. His fingers itched to run through those wild strands.

"Another dead end." She bumped his shoulder playfully. "Guess we'll have to try your boring way next."

"You mean the legal way?"

"That's what I said - boring."

Their eyes met, and for a moment the air crackled between them. Dominic fought the urge to pull her close, to finally taste those smart-mouthed lips that had been tormenting him for weeks.

Instead, he cleared his throat. "We should head back. Early start tomorrow."

"Right," she muttered. "Can't keep justice waiting."

As they walked to their vehicles, Dominic wondered when exactly this troublemaker had become essential to his peace of mind. His lion already knew the answer, but he wasn't ready to admit it yet.

The following afternoon, Dominic stared at the scattered equipment on the lab table, his lion's enhanced senses picking up traces of chemicals and metal. The forensics team buzzed around him, muttering technical terms that meant nothing to his law enforcement background. His attention kept drifting to Tabitha, who poked at various devices with unconcealed curiosity.

"Don't touch anything," he growled, catching her hand before it made contact with what looked like a modified radar screen.

"Relax, Sheriff." She didn't pull away from his grip. "I know how to handle delicate equipment."

"Like you handled that security system at the last lab?"

"We got in, didn't we?"

Her smile hit him like a physical force. His lion rumbled with contentment at their continued contact, and he reluctantly released her hand. These days, every interaction with her felt charged with possibility.

"Sheriff Blackmane?" The lead forensic tech approached, looking puzzled. "We've never seen anything quite like this. The components suggest some kind of tracking system, but it's beenmodified with..." She gestured helplessly at her tablet. "Well, we're not sure what."

"It's definitely Hunter tech," Tabitha said, leaning over to study the readout. Her shoulder pressed against his chest, sending a jolt through his system. "See these markings? Classic paranormal detection circuitry."

Dominic's eyebrows rose. "Since when are you an expert in Hunter technology?"

"Since I started reading up on them after they tried to frame me." She shot him a look that was pure challenge. "Some of us do our homework."

His lion preened at her competence. "Any idea what they're planning to track?"

"Given the modification to the standard detection array?" She bit her lip in concentration, and it took all his willpower not to stare. "I'd say they're trying to catalog different types of paranormal signatures. Like creating a database of who's what in town."

The implications chilled him. "That would let them target specific species."

"Exactly." She straightened, and he immediately missed her warmth. "But they left in a hurry. Three labs abandoned in two weeks? Something spooked them."

"Or they're getting ready to move." The protective instinct that had been growing stronger since they started working together surged forward. His lion wanted to shield her - shield everyone - from whatever the Hunters were planning.

Dominic's lion prowled under his skin as he walked Tabitha to her door, hyperaware of her every movement. The setting sun cast long shadows across her face, highlighting those mischievous blue eyes that had begun haunting his dreams.

"Want to come in?" She jingled her keys. "I've got some theories about those lab components."

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