cut, but there was enough blood there to tell him she’d been hurt. Walking to her, he lifted her chin up and saw that her nose had been bleeding recently, and wondered if it was from when Emma had been in here. Fighting compulsions, especially from a leader, was hard on a person. Telling the cop to go and get her a wash cloth, Mason sat down in front of her.
“Tell me who you are.” He could see her fighting him. Christ, she was strong, and when she shivered he knew that she’d won this round. “Tell me who you are now. And what that man at the hotel wanted from you.”
She lost, but at great cost to herself. The blood at her nose from the pain of what she was doing wasn’t all that happened to her. When she looked at him, he could see the anger too. She’d also bitten her lip through, and the swelling was making his heart pull.
“Susan Benjamin.” He didn’t think she was going to answer all of his questions, but she put her hands on the table and glared at him. Instead of pissing him off, Mason found himself liking her. “I’m not an ex-con, and that man, my father, will kill me as soon as I’m set free. If he doesn’t do the deed himself, I will do it for him because I’m not going to do what he wants.”
Reaching for Emma, he let her know what she’d said about not being an ex-con and asked her to look into it. He looked at the girl. “What are you doing in this town without telling me who you are and why you are here?” He could see the confusion on her face, so he explained. “I’m the leader of this leap, and by law you have to report to me, or whoever is in charge, of your presence.”
“Why?” He really didn’t know for sure why, but he knew it was law. “Not that it matters. I’m going to move on as soon as I’m sure that Ernie is going to be under lock and key for a while.”
“Ernie would be your father?” She nodded and wiped the blood off her upper lip. “You’d not hurt if you’d just answer the questions instead of being stubborn. You know that, don’t you?”
“Fuck off.” He nearly laughed at her but only just caught himself. “Am I in trouble? Can I leave? Or are you going to keep me here under some trumped-up charges for killing that fuck?”
“The other cop?” She didn’t even blink in his direction. “I have no control of what happens to you about the wolf you killed. His alpha is coming in here to talk to you as well. If he has any kind of punishment in mind, I can take care of that for—”
“No. You stay out of it. That would be between the two of us, nothing to do with you.” He nodded, but knew as surely as he was sitting there with her that he’d intercede on her part. “What happens to Ernie?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a cop, nor do I try and interfere with their laws.” The snort coming from Susan had him covering his mouth. She really was about as stubborn a person as he’d ever met. “What were you doing there? I mean, why are you here?”
“Didn’t she tell you yet?” He leaned back in his chair and asked her who. “Your wife. The mayor. I’m assuming that as soon as you told her that I’m not an ex-con and what my name is, she got right on that. But let me tell you now. I’m moving on as soon as I find out where Ernie is and how long he’s going to be there.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” She glared harder. He had no idea why he’d said that she couldn’t leave just yet, and was afraid she’d ask him. “You broke the law, and even if you weren’t aware of it, you still did it. There will be repercussions for your actions, and as soon as you’re free from here, you’ll report to me.”
Mason stood up, and so did she. She was tall, nearly as tall as him. And he had a feeling that her cat was going to be big as well. He was going to have to ask Emma. When she did nothing more than stare at him, Mason had a sudden thought. She was terrified.
“What will you have me do? Be tied to a post while you