To Catch A Croc by Amber Kell Read Free Book Online Page B

last week. I hadn’t heard anything about them until then. They walked into my bar as if they owned the place and demanded protection money.”
    “Seriously?” Isaac had never heard of a group of shifters trying to shake another group of shifters down. It was downright rude. To demand protection was to declare the other shifter incompetent and unable to care for his people, the ultimate shifter insult.
    Marty scowled. “Of course, seriously. Why would I make something like that up?”
    Eaton placed his hand on Marty’s shoulder as if trying to remove some of the tension growing there.
    “Sorry. I just never heard of anything so stupid in my life. Do they actually think you’re going to pay? You guys don’t even stay in town very long. You only own that bar because it’s convenient,” Denton said.
    As long as he’d known, hawk shifters left every year for migration.
    “Like I told my boys, I’m sticking around from now on. My traveling days are over,” Marty said firmly.
    Eaton made a noise Isaac didn’t understand.
    “When you said no to the protection, they beat you up? Why didn’t your gang step in?” That was the most puzzling part for Isaac. Most flocks were pretty tight knit. For them to step back while a bunch of crocs hit him shocked Isaac a bit.
    Marty wiggled uncomfortably in his chair. “They’re mad at me because I’m quitting the gang. They’re fighting amongst themselves to find a new leader. Helping me would be seen as weakness.”
    “Bastards!” Eaton said. The words sounded strange coming from such an angelic looking man but, from what Isaac had learned, the sweet-faced eagle had a sniper certification. Looks could be deceiving in many ways.
    “What do you know about the crocs’ home base?” Isaac asked, desperately trying to keep Marty on track. The hawk easily strayed from his conversation if it looked like Eaton would be interested in what he had to say.
    “I heard them talking about their ship. It sounded like one of those that hauled containers to me. If they came in under radar, they could smuggle in practically anything,” Marty said.
    Isaac had to agree. “There are only a few places you can land a container ship and have it offloaded for you. They’d have to bribe the crane operator to have any containers removed from their ship but, if they have a hand in the union pocket, it would be possible.”
    “Or if they’ve threatened the right people,” Marty said. “They seem like the kind of people to use the stick instead of the carrot. They’d count on people being too afraid to say anything.”
    “Their mistake,” Isaac said. The thrill of the hunt raced through his veins. He loved deciphering a mystery. “I’ll send out some of my boys to investigate where the crocs might be hiding out. Container ships aren’t tiny. They can’t be hiding just anywhere.”
    “That would be great. It would be nice to get an idea of how many salties are here, too. If they are just a vanguard, then we might be able to scare them off before they can make inroads into the Seattle market. We have enough of our own criminals and drug dealers. We don’t need them imported,” Denton snarled.
    “That’s it, then. I’ll call around. Denton, you figure out what we’re going to do once we find them and you two, decide how you want to help out.”
    “Who put you in charge?” Marty snapped.
    Isaac didn’t hesitate. He had to strike when he could. “Denton did when he agreed to be my mate.”
    Denton’s mouth dropped open. Isaac decided that was the perfect moment to leave. He gave Denton a quick kiss and left the mansion before Denton could deny he ever said any such thing. Isaac didn’t even make it to his car before Aden intercepted him.
    “You hurt that boy and I’ll have a new puma skin rug in my cabin,” Aden said without bothering with the niceties of a greeting.
    “Nice to see you again, sir. I have no interest in hurting Denton. I want him for a mate.”
    Aden frowned