Big Bad Beast Read Online Free PDF Page A

exactly a blue blood, was she? Something that the Llewellyns usually insisted upon.
    “Yes, Detective. What can I do for you?”
    “My boss was wondering if you could come in tonight for a meeting.”
    Ric frowned. “I’m working tonight and have plans, so I’m not sure that’s going to—”
    “We have your team, Mr. Van Holtz.”
    Ric blew out a breath. Dee-Ann . “I understand. I’m heading right over.”
    “Thank you.” She ended the call and Ric slipped the phone back into his sweats. Already irritated, now Ric was extremely annoyed. He glanced at his watch, making sure he had enough time to deal with whatever drama Dee-Ann and her team had gotten into and then get back to meet his friends without being forced to cancel the entire evening. He could do it, even though he might be a little late, but they’d wait for him.
    Already thinking of what he’d have to do in his kitchen before he could cut out, Ric gazed down to the end of the alley that led out to the street. That’s when he saw him. Their eyes met and the kid took off.
    Ric ran to the end of the alley, looking up and down the busy street, trying to catch sight of him again. Nope. Nothing.
    Damn it. This night was simply not getting any better, was it?

    Dee sat in the cage, her elbows resting on her knees, her chin resting on her fists. She sat in the cage and waited while the She-tiger in the cage next to her paced back and forth like she was about to be dragged off to the Bronx Zoo tiger display.
    “How can you just sit there like that?” Malone finally demanded.
    “What do you expect me to do? Pace around like an idiot?”
    “I expect you to do something .”
    “Don’t see the purpose of gettin’ all upset.”
    “When do you ever?”
    “That was always your problem, Malone. All emotion, no sense.”
    Malone faced her, gripping the bars with her still-bloody knuckles. “At least I give a shit. At least I care about those people they found.”
    “That’s real Yankee of ya, Malone. But your big emotions don’t really help nothin’, do they?”
    “Cold as your precious daddy, I see.”
    That had Dee up off the bench she’d been sitting on, across the cage, her arm through the bars, and her hand wrapping around the back of Malone’s head. She jerked her forward, slamming her forehead into the titanium metal they used for these cages since they were built specifically for shifters.
    Malone’s fist came through the bars, punching Dee in the eye.
    Fangs bared, the two females held on, trying to drag each other through the bars.
    “ Dee-Ann! ”
    Dee stumbled back, the pair releasing each other at the bellow.
    Trying to see through her already swelling eye, she blinked in surprise.
    Van Holtz . . . er . . . Ric, stood outside the bars, absolutely seething. He was in his black sweats, black Van sneakers, and black T-shirt, but the scent of his busy kitchen still lingered all around him. The predator cops sitting at their desks lifted their heads and tested the air, probably trying to figure out why they were suddenly so hungry.
    “Get out here,” Ric ordered and Dee walked forward. She reached through the bars and fussed with the lock that held her for a bit. It opened easy enough, and she heard Malone gasp in surprise behind her. Poor felines. They just didn’t have the same way with locks as wolves and foxes.
    “Why didn’t you do that before?” Malone wanted to know.
    “Because knowing I can do it is just as good as doing it. Just like knowing that I can cut your throat while you sleep—”
    Ric placed a hand over Dee’s mouth and pulled her down the hall. “Bathroom?” he asked Desiree, who was unlocking Malone’s cage.
    “At the end of the hallway.”
    They found the room and Ric pushed her in.
    “What is wrong with you?” he demanded.
    And all Dee could do was shrug and admit, “She irritates me.”
    Ric opened the first aid kit tacked to the wall and took out some gauze and antibiotic cream. He wet the gauze and