Free Her Lone Wolf by Paige Tyler Page B

with him. What chance did a woman have?
    “Forget it,” Clayne said firmly. “I’ve told you before that I don’t need a partner. They’re dead weight and just get in the way. And if you think that I’ll get along better with this one, just because she’s a woman, you’re wrong. It takes more than a pretty face to get the job done—or get on my good side.”
    He turned and headed for the door, suddenly having an urge to get back to the range. Shooting something seemed like a really good idea at the moment. But a hand caught his arm and jerked him around. Thinking it was John, he bared his teeth, ready to snarl, only to snap his mouth shut when he saw that it was Danica. Shit . Most men were too busy trying not to piss themselves to put a hand on him, much less glare at him with fire in her eyes like she was doing.
    “I think you heard John wrong.” It was damn hard to even comprehend what she was saying because her scent was so overpowering this close. “He didn’t say I was going to be your partner. He said you’re going to be mine.”
    Clayne stared. Obviously, someone had had their Wheaties this morning. What the hell was with this woman?
    “John told me that you had problems working with your previous partners and that it affected team performance.” She went up on tiptoe so she was almost eye level with him. Not quite even, but almost. “Well, those issues aren’t going to hurt our team.” She smiled at him, and damn if it didn’t make his heart beat faster. “Fortunately for you, I’m good enough at my job to carry your dead weight for a while. But I won’t do it forever, so you better get your crap together.” She leaned closer, and he damn near passed out from the pheromones she was putting off. “Pay attention, wolf boy. From this moment on, we’re a team, so get used to it. Because you don’t want this pretty face pissed off at you.”
    She brushed past Clayne and stormed out of the office. He stared at her retreating back in disbelief. Damn, hadn’t he been the one who was going to do that? The woman had just punked his ass in front of his boss, and all he wanted to do was chase after her.
    A soft chuckle from behind him brought him back around, and he turned to see John regarding him with the same amused look he’d had on his face earlier.
    “What the hell just happened?” Clayne asked.
    His boss smiled. “I’d say you just met your match.”
    * * *
    Clayne shook off the memory to realize he had a stupid-ass grin on his face and a hard-on in his pants. Thinking too much about Danica always had that effect on him.
    He smothered a snarl and picked up his pen. Maybe taking notes would help him think about something other than Danica. But Carhart was already breaking people into investigative focus groups. Another waste of time. Where the hell had this guy gotten his badge?
    “Buchanan, you’re with Beckett and Moretti,” Carhart said.
    Yeah, he figured that.
    By the time Clayne grabbed his coffee and notepad, Danica and Moretti were already heading out the door. Apparently, they assumed he’d follow like a good dog.
    * * *
    “I’m going to throw up if I look at these crime scene photos any longer.”
    Danica glanced up as Tony tossed the pictures on the table in the conference room they’d commandeered. Carhart had assigned them the task of profiling the victims to see if there was any connection between how they were selected. Danica knew right off the bat that Carhart considered this busywork. Her new boss was putting most of the assets on tracking the serial killer. That’s where everyone thought the big break in the case was going to come. Profiling victims was backup work, but ever since Clayne showed up, she and Tony had been relegated to the B-Team.
    “You’re welcome to the witness statements from the friends, neighbors, and relatives.” Clayne sat at the end of the table with his boots propped up on an adjacent chair, a tall pile of folders in front of him that was