Free Claws by Kassanna Page B

of his soda.
    “ Mon dieu ! I don’t want to know anymore. We’ll call it plausible deniability.” The plastic squeaked as Armand scooted back in his chair.
    “I’m the sheriff. What would you try to deny that I don’t already know…intimately?” Etienne took a seat on the wooden plank attached to the table. He glanced around. More women than he’d originally though were gone. He closed his eyes briefly going over the night before. Something she’d said tickled at the edge of his memory. Opening his eyes he took in each man sitting with him. Why did it suddenly feel like the calm before the storm?
    “I’m not listening to you anymore, Etienne. As you Americans like to say—TMI.” Armand snorted. “On a different note, while you were recuperating from your night of debauchery, your guys returned and left this for you. Said they be at the station if you needed them.”
    “Great. This information should make Sint happy.”
    Percel raised his brows. “What is it?”
    “Contrary to what Sint believes, I have been doing my job. This is the record of the license plates matching the trucks we’re looking for based on the description Darcel gave me. I crossed referenced the names with local hunters who had purchased permits in the last couple of years. Then I had the fellas check out the guys who matched the basic descriptions. This is their report.” Etienne tore the top of the manila envelope.
    “Ya know, Sint might be right. Since all the investigations into our parrish, in an effort to be more cautious, we’ve tended to follow more of the human’s ways.” Percel sighed. “Do me a favor, don’t give Sint that info yet. She blames herself for what happened to Darcel and since we’re his guardians she’s decided she wants blood. Rules dictated by humans be damned. Do you have any idea how hard it is to calm down a pit viper?”
    “Yeah. I deal with Loubel on a regular basis,” Etienne muttered.
    Percel ignored him. “If Sint gets a hold of those names, our bank accounts will be empty for trying to cover up the shitstorm she’d create. Let’s enjoy your claiming and I’ll feed the information you have to her slowly.”
    Armand coughed before speaking. “Sint will kill you if she finds out.”
    “Naw, she’ll just make my life hell for a bit. She loves me.” Percel smiled. “But that’s half the fun of having a mate.”
    “I am rethinking my clan’s move. There must be something in the water here because you, mes amis, are touched in the head.” Armand picked up the plastic bottle at his feet and took a healthy gulp of the water.
    Etienne upturned the envelope and the papers slid into his hand. He scanned the names. Nothing jumped out at him. Shit, maybe he should talk to Loubel see if any of the people listed caught his attention. He should probably ask Marree, too. With her in the next town over living among the humans in Bayou Dupree, a town so small she couldn’t help but notice if anyone acted strangely. She might have saw something and not thought twice about it. Of course he could simply go out on the hunt and kill the motherfuckers. This time though, he would hide the bodies himself.
    Some of Armand’s men joined them and the chattering drew his attention away from the report. Etienne lifted his face and stared at the guys. “I wasn’t paying attention. What were you saying, Percel?”
    Percel walked to the smoker, lifted the lid, and the sound of sizzling meat on the grate split the air. He flipped beef ribs and slabs of chicken before dropping the top again. “I said I’m glad Sint isn’t here or she’d be all over you for what you found out.”
    The men nodded in unison.
    Etienne understood the sentiment and cocked his head, watching Darcel lead the other kids across the open area. In midstep they all shifted in a wave of color as brown-and-red spotted piglets leaped over a log. Green, orange-striped, and black snakes slithered under the felled tree while black and white