Willow Point 16

  Raising the Stakes

  [Siren Publishing: The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection: Erotic Romance, Contemporary, Alternative, Paranormal, Shape-shifters, Romantic Suspense, MM, HEA]

  Jason is done with men. After his boyfriend Stephen broke up with him, Deputy Dante Mykel pulls Jason over for speeding. It seems he can’t catch a break where men are concerned. Now Dante wants to be friends. Fat chance of that happening. Until Jason is assaulted in the parking lot at work. Dante is there to scare the guy off, and now the deputy is stuck to Jason’s side. When his attacker runs them off the road, Jason is sure they’re dead.

  Dante can’t believe the belligerent man he pulls over is his mate. Worse, Dante had left his old life behind because his ex-boyfriend wouldn’t stop stalking him. Somehow Cal has found him in Willow Point and shoots Dante. Now Dante must find Cal before he comes back to finish the job, while trying to protect Jason from a lunatic out to teach him a lesson. Things have turned chaotic, but Dante has fallen in love with his quirky human and will put down any threat that comes their way.

  Length: 29,000 words

  RAISING THE STAKES

  Willow Point 16

  Lynn Hagen

  Siren Publishing

  a subsidiary company of Siren-BookStrand, Inc.

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Raising the Stakes

  Copyright © 2022 by Lynn Hagen

  ISBN: 978-1-64637-693-3

  First Publication: October 2022

  Cover design by Emma Nicole

  All art and logo copyright © 2022 by Siren-BookStrand, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at legal@sirenbookstrand.com

  Siren Publishing

  a subsidiary company of Siren-BookStrand, Inc.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.

  You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.

  For all titles by Lynn Hagen, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/lynn-hagen

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  RAISING THE STAKES

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  RAISING THE STAKES

  Willow Point 16

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2022

  Chapter One

  Dante’s radar gun blinked seventy as the car zipped past where he was parked. He flipped the lights and siren on before pulling onto the nearly deserted road, giving chase.

  The car in front of him, a red sedan with a cracked taillight, slowed before pulling over, dust kicking from the sudden stop. Dante got out of his air-conditioned cruiser and sauntered to the driver’s door, where the window was already rolled down. A pair of blue eyes stared up at him. “Is there a problem, Officer?”

  “I’d say going seventy in a fifty zone is a problem. Driver’s license and registration.”

  The guy’s hands curled around the steering wheel in a grip so tight that the blood fled his fingers, leaving them a stark white. “I was not going seventy,” he argued.

  “I have a radar gun that says otherwise. License and registration.”

  The sun was already beating down on Dante, and he was not in the mood for this shit. If this guy kept arguing with him, he was hauling the prick in. Dante’s morning had already been tested from an argument he’d had with another speedster, and his mood hadn’t gotten any better.

  With a huff, the guy handed over what Dante had asked for.

  “Insurance?”

  “Do you want my email and password, too?” He tapped a few things on his phone then turned it toward Dante. Dante saw the guy was a few days shy of having to renew it, but for now, it was good.

  “I’ll be right back.” Dante walked to his cruiser and slipped into the blessed cool air. His skin began to itch as the sweat dried while he tapped the information into his onboard computer.

  Jason Phelps. He was twenty-seven, five six—short for a guy—and the address put him smack-dab in the middle of Willow Point. Funny, Dante had never seen him before. He would have remembered someone as nice-looking as Jason.

  Then again, Dante had just moved to town and didn’t know many of the residents.

  When nothing turned up, he got out, slammed his door because damn if he wasn’t irritated with the heat, and walked back to the red sedan. Jason had turned the radio on, some talk show, but the volume was low.

  “Everything good?” Jason gave Dante those blue eyes again and damn if they didn’t stir something inside of him. A small kick to his chest that said, under any other circumstance, he’d be asking Jason out instead of giving him a ticket.

  “No warrants.” After handing him back his things, Dante wrote the ticket.

  “Are you shitting me?” Jason looked ready to pop a blood vessel as Dante gave him the piece of paper. The reddening of his face was in contrast to his mop of light blond hair. “You can’t let me off with a warning?”

  “You can’t obey the law?” The guy might be cute, but Dante had dealt with many people like him who thought Dante was in the wrong for pulling them over in the first place. Like he was in the wrong because they weren’t obeying the speed limit.

  Did he ever give people breaks? Yes, Dante did, but he normally gave them to those who didn’t give him attitude and mouth off. This guy looked as if he demanded his way through life.

  “Would it help if I said I was related to Gem City?” Jason batted his eyelashes at Dante. “My cousin is dating Grey Matthews.”

  Dante knew who the alpha of this town was, but he didn’t appreciate Jason trying to name-drop after he’d acted like a prick. “Would it help if I said I didn’t care who you were related to?”

  “You’re impossible,” Jason said with a huff. “I’ll have you fired.”

  Dante pressed his lips together as he narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t sure how much clout Jason had when it came to his cousin, so he took a step back. Dante hadn’t been working for WPPD for very long, and he didn’t want to get fired because he didn’t know who held weight in this town and who didn’t. “Wait right here.”

  As soon as he was out of earshot, Dante called his boss. Sheriff Tate Weston was a big, burly man who was fair, but tough. He was a bear shifter, too. It seemed the station was filled with various shifters, from wolves to lions to panthers. There was even an impala shifter who’d started around the same time Dante had.

  “Sheriff Weston.”

  “Hey, boss. It’s Dante Mykel.” Dante rolled his eyes because he seriously doubted he needed to give his last name. “I got a guy pulled over who says he’s Gem’s cousin. He’s kind of a prick, but I just wanted to know, should I let him go?” Dante had already given Jason a ticket, but he wanted to see what Tate said.

  “What did he do?” Tate asked with a voice laced with curiosity, and a bit of humor if Dante wasn’t mistaken. Dante had met Gem one afternoon at Kent’s Café but didn’t know him personally to assume this situation was funny. He didn’t know what type of guy Gem was, so he wasn’t sure about his cousin.

  “Seventy in a fifty.” Luckily, Route 26 was never busy. Dante had been driving this route for about two months, and it was mostly empty. Willow Point had been the right fit for him, but there were times when he missed the hustle of the city.

  Not often enough that he wanted to go back to that way of life. Not after a really bad breakup, his ex stalking him to the point Dante had to embarrass himself by having a restraining order sworn out against Cal, and not enough that he wanted to run into Cal, his ex, who didn’t understand what the words “it’s over” meant. It was as if those two words, when put together, became distorted between Dante’s mouth and Cal’s ears.

  In his world, Dante could have killed Cal and buried the body. That was what nonhumans did when someone acted as nutty as Cal had. Dangerous was more like it. But Dante hadn’t wanted to take things that far, so he’d applied for the job in Willow Point to get away from Cal.

  “I don’t know Gem’s cousin, but I’m pretty sure Grey’s mate would have a fit if he knew a relative broke the law. Give him the ticket, and if his cousin has any problems with that, tell him to come see me.”

  Dante grinned. He was glad Tate had his back and he didn’t have to eat crow
where Jason was concerned. That took the bite out of the prick’s threat. “You got it.”

  After he hung up and tucked his phone into his uniform pocket, Dante walked back over to the car. He rested his arm on the top of the roof and smiled. “Sorry, the ticket stays.”

  “It’s not like my day wasn’t already messed up.” Jason sighed. “I’m not normally an asshole, so I apologize. Really, I do.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Got dumped by yet another jerk, and I was taking it out on you.”

  Dante wasn’t sure if Jason was lying or telling the truth. Either way he still felt manipulated. “Sorry to hear that. Have a nice day and don’t have a lead foot.”

  Halfway to his car, Dante stopped and sniffed the air. The heavy aroma of honeysuckle invaded his lungs. His cheetah was going crazy, too. He thought his animal’s behavior was from the rude way Jason had acted, but that shouldn’t have affected his beast. Dante normally had more control over his animal. There would be only one reason.

  Jason was his mate. Good god, please don’t tell me that prick is my mate. But there was no other explanation for his cheetah to be yowling, damn near breaking free to get to Jason.

  Dante spun, ready to go back to the red sedan, but Jason had pulled away, his arm out the window, his middle finger in the air.

  * * * *

  “We hardly ever hang out, and now your name holds no clout in this town,” Jason complained as he talked with Gem over the phone. “I thought Grey ran shit.”

  “First, tell me the context of your snit,” Gem said. “Second, I never said Grey ran anything. You just assumed that because he’s so well liked and respected.”

  Jason had to think hard about that one. Had Gem ever said Grey ran things? He hated that he couldn’t recall, which made him back down. Yes, Jason was in a snit because he thought Stephen had been the one. He thought maybe he could finally settle down. He’d gotten a rude awakening when he’d found his so-called boyfriend hugged up with another guy.

  What had Stephen said? “You knew the score, Jason. Everyone at The Manacle knows you’re a sure bet.”

  Talk about a reality check. Was he a sure bet? Had Jason given in so easily every single time? It wasn’t that he was a slut. He hadn’t considered himself one. Jason just wanted love, like everyone else. He clearly was looking in the wrong place if he thought a club was where you found your dream guy.

  And then that cop. Jason still fumed when he thought of Officer Asshole. Sure, the guy was dreamy with a side of delicious, but he was a straight-up prick. No, you were, and then you threatened to have him fired. How did you expect him to react?

  Jason groaned. He just couldn’t seem to get his shit together. He honestly didn’t date as often as people thought, had sex even less. Rumors were always juicier than the truth.

  “Jason, you haven’t told me why you’re in a snit.”

  “Ugh, because I lost yet another boyfriend and then was pulled over by a cop.” Jason looked around the diner, hating that he was sitting there alone when he saw so many couples. Why couldn’t he have a decent boyfriend? “I may or may not have tried to use your name to get out of a ticket. I might also have told the cop he could be fired for giving me one.”

  “Are you serious?” Gem half shouted into the phone.

  “About being dumped or the ticket?” Jason knew why Gem was pissed, but he really wasn’t in the mood to get a lecture. He’d gotten those too many times from his parents. While Jason couldn’t seem to do anything right, his sister, Sara, was their golden child. She was spoiled rotten with a capital R. His mom and dad had bailed her out of so many financial crises, yet Jason had never asked them for a dime.

  It hadn’t helped that Sara had cut Jason down in front of Stephen, telling him how many boyfriends Jason had had in the past two years. She’d exaggerated the numbers, but Jason had seen in Stephen’s eyes that he’d believed her.

  Jason wasn’t even sure why his sister hated him so damn much. She got everything she ever wanted. Why couldn’t she leave him alone?

  “You know what I’m talking about,” Gem said. “Why did you get a ticket in the first place?”

  “Speeding on Route 26.” Jason smiled his thanks when the waitress brought him his food. He was seated at the counter instead of a booth because he felt booths were supposed to be for three or more people and Jason was by himself.

  “Christ, speeding?” Gem asked.

  “It’s not like you’re a saint, Gem,” Jason groused. “I was pissed and blaring my music, trying to forget Stephen existed.” It hadn’t worked, and he’d gotten a ticket for his efforts to rid Stephen from his mind. To purge the bastard after that embarrassing breakup.

  “I thought you were dating Jeremy.”

  “That was two boyfriends ago.” Jason lowered his head. Maybe he was that easy. He didn’t think so, though. He’d dated four guys in the past two years. That wasn’t a particularly high number. He had a few friends who hooked up with a different guy every week. Jason wasn’t in it for the sex, although it would be a damn lie if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

  He wanted something more permanent. It wasn’t as if he had any shining examples. His dad cheated on his mom countless times, and his mom simply ignored her husband’s infidelities. Gem’s parents were a different story. They had a loving marriage that Jason had always envied. Why couldn’t his own parents be that in love?

  “Do you want me to come over?” Gem asked. “We could eat until we’re fat and watch whatever you want, except horror movies.”

  The offer should have made Jason smile, but he was too busy being the guest of honor at his own pity party. Table for one, please. He sighed as he pushed a fry around his plate. “Nah. I’m just gonna go home and forget today even happened.”

  “Jason, I don’t want you moping around. I can be great company. I’ll even bring a friend with me.”

  That was the last thing Jason wanted. Another witness to his failures. It was bad enough Gem knew how pathetic Jason truly was. Two years ago, at The Manacle, when Jason had been hanging off a hot stud, he’d dared Gem to find some random guy and hook up with him. It was just Gem’s luck that the guy he’d hooked up with stuck around.

  Why didn’t Jason have that kind of luck? All he kept finding was losers with huge egos. Guys who thought that just because they hung out at a gym they were the shit. Jason was done with muscleheads who were nothing more than assholes.

  “Are you sure?” Gem asked. “I can be there in twenty.”

  “I’m at the diner having dinner,” Jason said. “Besides, tonight is the night I wash my hair.”

  Gem laughed. “Does that excuse even work anymore? I never understood it in the first place.”

  Neither did Jason. Who had a set day of the week to wash their hair? Who canceled plans to wash their hair? Hadn’t girls in the fifties or sixties used that to get out of a date?

  “Call me if you change your mind,” Gem said before they said their goodbyes and hung up.

  Jason squirted some ketchup onto his plate and had begun digging in when someone sat down beside him. He didn’t think anything of it since this was a diner. It wasn’t as if Jason could stop anyone from sitting next to him.

  “Eating fries with that ketchup?”

  He stiffened at the familiar voice. Slowly, Jason turned to see Officer Asshole sitting there smiling at him. “Gonna write me a ticket for excess ketchup use?”

  “Not fair. You popped off at the mouth and gave me serious attitude. Besides, you were speeding.”

  Jason hated how attracted he was to the prick. His insides were fluttering like crazy, even though he reminded himself that the cop was a dick and he was through being easy. “I didn’t ask for conversation with my fries.”

  “I’m Dante Mykel.”

  “Don’t care.” Jason shoved a fry into his mouth to stop himself from saying something he might truly regret, like how good Dante smelled or the fact that the guy had given a name. He wanted to think the man was Officer Asshole. That kept Jason from wanting to flirt. It seemed he wasn’t going to learn his damn lesson when it came to men. Muscled men who were nothing but assholes, guys who were only out to stroke their own egos.