Slinking low past the counter, he located a darkened corner just on the edge of the camera range. He concentrated, sending a quick burst of power into it. Just enough to give it wavy static and blur the image. Then he rapidly shifted to human form and slipped on his clothes. Once dressed, he hurried down the aisles until he came to where he smelled the stronger scent of angelic grace. Grabbing the container, he snuck back to the corner with his prize.
Opening the evidence box gave him a blast of scent that nearly blew back his hair. The smell was undeniably angelic; this had to be Chuck’s father’s case. Sure enough, he found the surname Charles and dug into the files within. Glancing around to double-check no one was watching, he stuffed some of the files in his bag. He took some heavy sniffs of the rest, committing those other milder scents to memory.
A scuffling noise had him cursing in his head, worried he was going to get caught. Quickly, he began cramming the remaining things back intothe box haphazardly before slapping the lid on. He lurched to his feet and crept down the aisle, shoving the container on the shelf with a scraping sound that had him wincing.
“Hello?” called a wavering female voice.
Fuck, Janice,he nearly panicked and shucked his clothes, squashing them in the bag with the files. Frantically, he shifted back into dog form before snatching the sack in his mouth and rushing out. He remembered to quiet his sounds, so Janice didn’t hear him trotting towards her. His shadows still clung to his fur, so he was able to slip past her undetected. He still held his breath as he slunk lower, forcing himself into the dark baseboards in the neglected hallway.
“Huh,” Janice murmured as he rounded the corner, her voice fading with the distance. “I could have sworn I heard something.”
Hurrying back to the squad room where Chuck waited, Malachi almost ran into Jaxon. He hadn’t been looking too closely where he was going; he was so focused on making sure he wasn’t followed.
“Hey, Malachi! Hey, buddy!” called Jaxon with exaggerated cheerfulness. The smarmy bastard eyed him carefully, then took a step back. “Shouldn’t you be with Chuck?” he laughed in a false tone that set Malachi’s teeth on edge. “Where have you been, huh?”
Not having the patience for any of Jaxon’s fake bullshit, he merely loosed a short growl and swerved around the douchecanoe so he could hurry back to Chuck.
Despite his usual lack of brains, Jaxon had enough sense to realize Malachi didn’t like him and jumped back with alacrity. “Good to see you, Malachi; good doggie!” he called after the retreating form of the canine who would gladly piss on him even if he wasn’t on fire unless Chuck asked him not to, of course. Well, maybe.
Catching sight of Chuck, he romped the last few feet to her and woofed excitedly, shoving the bag into her hands.
Her expression changed from happiness at seeing him to puzzlement as she took the bag. No doubt she’d noticed it being heavier than it should be. “Mal… what…” she started, a small crease between her eyebrows the only outward sign an onlooker would notice that something wasn’t quite right.
Shhh,he cautioned.
To her credit, Chuck immediately went into a joyful-to-see-him mode and ruffled his ears. “Who’s a good boy? That’s you! That’s my Mal-Mal,” she gushed.
Don’t make me puke on you,he warned. He tried to hide his laugh with a cough, but she wasn’t fooled.
A large grin curved her full lips into a beautiful smile that felt like a ray of warm sunshine on his fur.
Fuck me,he kept to himself.I’m in so much deep shit here.
“What did you do?” Chuck whispered in his ear while stroking his back like she would do if nothing were amiss. “Were you a bad dog?”
Hide that bag,he instructed.Take it to the car, and I’ll explain everything in a bit, okay? Please trust me. Kelly, please.
“Of course I trust you, Malachi.”
Stay! Good Girl
True to her word, Chuck locked the bag up in his compartment where he could keep an eye on it. They completed their outreach program at the school, both declaring it a success, though they had different definitions of that term. Chuck signed up a higher-than-usual number of students for the junior ride-along program, and Malachi corrupted several teachers and the principal. The librarian was the easiest one to convince. He was a sucker for a woman in sensible glasses and no-nonsense heels. She’d practically begged to have her soul smudged. He knew just the demon to seduce her and made a mental note to call Mephistopheles later.
Chuck was quiet in the driver’s seat, studying him curiously in the mirror. Finally, she groaned. “Okay, fine. You’re going to make me ask. What was that all about, Malachi? Where did you go? I have a feeling that wasn’t an innocent bacon run back at the station. You were up to something. I’m sure it was inappropriate, or you wouldn’t be hiding things. Are you going to tell me?” She was shaking her head now with a bemused smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
Can we wait until we get home tonight? I don’t want to distract you from your work.He tilted his head and scrunched his fluffy eyebrows in a way he was sure would melt her.
Snorting, she pulled over and parked, then turned to face him. “Don’t. Don’t give me literal puppy dog eyes. You know I can’t resist that, you handsome lump of fur!”
You think I’m handsome?he teased.Like… are we talking Johnny Depp handsome in a dark, brooding way? Or Chris Hemsworth in a ripped god kind of way? Ohhh… Alan Ritchson. Now that guy could have me on my knees.He smirked as her mouth worked in stunned silence, taking in what he’d just said. He knew she meant handsome as a dog, but he’d also seen the way her eyes drank him in as a human as well. Still high on the glee from his success in liberating the files, he couldn’t resist teasing Chuck.
Finally, she shook her head. “You’re too much, Mal. Anyway… quit deflecting. Are you going to tell me or not?”
Just then, her radio came to life, and the squawking had him wheezing out a corny laugh.Saved by the radio,he sent, repeating her phrase from before.
Glaring at him, she pointed one finger menacingly as she responded to the dispatcher. Once she logged the details, her expression changed to all business. “Hang on, buddy, we’ve got a kidnapping.”
Arriving on scene with a screech of tires, Chuck and Malachi took in the scene of chaos around them. His ears flattened as he caught a whiff of demon when Chuck opened her door. A high keening whine slipped from his throat before he could stop it.
