Bear This Heat (A BBW Shifter Romance) (Last of the Shapeshifters) by A.E. Grace Page A

an opportunity for me to pry information out of you?” she asked him.
    He nodded, conceding the point. “It is. But can’t I still be curious?”
    “You can.”
    “I get the impression that a murder in a small town like this, news spreads fast and people would be talking. The lady at the café didn’t say anything about it.”
    “Nobody knows yet. It only happened this morning.” Sasha sighed. “But everyone will know tomorrow.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah. The neighbor, the one you didn’t speak to, is Arthur Sands. He runs the free newspaper, The Salty Sentinel .”
    “I’ve seen it.”
    “Yes, I figured. Anyway, he’ll probably have an interview with himself put on the front page. Complete with exaggerations and lies. Your typical tabloid tactics.”
    “So the phones will be ringing down at the station tomorrow?”
    “Yup, but that won’t be my problem anymore.”
    Dylan looked at her as they walked. “Anymore?”
    “I used to get saddled with working the phones a lot.”
    “Why?”
    “I’m sure you know,” Sasha said to him, and she pointed at a dark blue car parked in the driveway to somebody’s house. “If you did in fact read today’s article about my promotion.”
    Dylan nodded, running his tongue over his teeth. “It’s because you’re the only woman cop in your precinct.” He watched for a reaction, but she didn’t blink or flinch or show any signs of anger or bitterness. She must have been really used to it by now. She just nodded.
    He caught himself staring at her, and a quick eruption of emotion seemed to wind him for a moment. Just in the brief time they’d spent together, he already knew he enjoyed her company. He looked forward to the rest of the night that he’d get to spend with her. On their ‘date’. It made him grin. It was amusing, the circumstances, and he was sure she saw it, too, even if she wasn’t going to show it.
    “Is it tough?” He turned back to look at her. She was walking a step behind him. It was probably protocol. Or at the very least, caution.
    “What?”
    “Being the only woman at the station all the time.”
    “What do you think?”
    “I think it must be. Probably a big boy’s club here.”
    “That’s how I’d term it.”
    “So why do you do it?”
    Sasha stopped then. “What, are we getting to know each other now?”
    Dylan grinned. “Just curious.”
    “I like the work.”
    “Being a cop? I always imagined it would suck.”
    “Oh yeah?” she asked. “Why is that?”
    “Married to the job. Always a risk. Always in danger.”
    “That doesn’t bother me so much.”
    “Okay, I lied,” Dylan said. “That wouldn’t bother me, either. I guess the main thing I would hate was only being able to make friends with other cops.”
    She pushed her lips together. “That’s true.”
    “I mean, because who wants to be friends with police, right?” Dylan heard a small laugh, and stopped and turn, putting his hands out in a half-shrug. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
    “Yes.”
    “I bet people get real friendly when they need your help, though.”
    “Either that, or they become indignant assholes.”
    “So,” Dylan said, exhaling dramatically and turning to continue walking down the baking street. “ Why were you promoted?”
    “They couldn’t not promote me.”
    “I guessed it was political. But what did you do to earn it?”
    “Got into a firefight with a few of thugs cooking meth. Over on the bad side of town.”
    “I thought this whole town was a bad side.”
    She blurted out a quick laugh. “You could say that. But there are some parts that are less bad.”
    “So, what, you kill anyone?” When Dylan didn’t hear a reply, he turned to see that Sasha was no longer walking close to him, but had stopped a few feet back.
    “No,” she told him.
    “Didn’t mean to press any buttons, D.I. Monroe.”
    “You talk about killing pretty lightly, you know? Interesting, considering I’m working a murder case, and you’re my only