Nolan

by Ally Summers

  Her cheeks flushed, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had the same dirty thoughts I did about us being alone and off the grid. It was enough to make me take her in my arms and kiss the hell out of her.

  “I’m fine, detective.” She was still stubborn, maybe more so now that she had let me see her cry. She was putting the walls back up.

  “It’s Nolan.”

  “Nolan.” She huffed. “I’ve been up here for two months with no problems. It has been quiet and peaceful. I promise you I can take care of myself.”

  “You don’t sound completely confident,” I goaded her.

  “I am.” She stormed out of the office, and I chased her down the hall to the living room.

  “Wait, Ava,” I called her.

  “I think you should go now.”

  I pulled a business card from my wallet. “Here. If you remember that warehouse address, call me.” I paused in the doorway. “Or anything that could lead us to where Allied is making more supers.”

  She tucked it in her back pocket. “I don’t think it’s going to come back anytime soon. I blocked it out for a reason. Maybe it’s self-preservation.”

  “That’s too bad. I wouldn’t mind coming back up here for another interview. That is, if your memory on some of those details comes back.”

  She pressed her hands into the door. “Goodbye, Nolan.”

  I chuckled. “See you later, Ava.”

  I jogged down the front stairs and slid behind the wheel of my truck. I stared at the house for a few minutes before finally starting the ignition. I was supposed to be here for work, and all I could think about was her. I threw the truck in reverse before circling in the rock driveway and steering back on to the county roads. I put Sweet Willow Lane in my rearview mirror.

  I didn’t know how to describe what had happened back there. She had gotten under my skin faster than any woman ever had. And had I moved the case any further? The information about the supers and Allied was a good lead. A strong lead.

  I’d talk to Griffin as soon as I made it back to town and tell him where he needed to start the next phase of the investigation. I made another right and then a left.

  I hated leaving her there. She didn’t think she was helpless, but how safe was she? A beautiful woman like her alone in shifter country? It was a nightmare waiting to happen. I made a vow to my bear to check on her at the end of the week. He didn’t need a cop’s excuse to see her again. I could make it personal if I wanted.

  The radio crackled on my truck.

  “Detective Bryson, come in. Come in, detective.” There was a high-pitched squeal that pierced my sensitive bear hearing.

  I yanked the speaker off the holder. “Bryson here.”

  The popping and static hurt my ears. I turned the volume to low.

  “Nolan.”

  “Is that you, Rawlings?” What was he doing calling me during the day? He knew he wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near this case.

  “Listen, I tried your cell.” It sounded like something snapped in the radio. I winced.

  I groaned. “I know. I know. It only works if I stand on one foot in Ava Lance’s hallway.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind. Go ahead.”

  The popping almost drowned out his words. “Attack—reported—red—Thunder Pike—attack.”

  “Say that again, man.” I held the receiver to my ear.

  “Thunder—attack—hour—”

  “I can’t hear you man, say it slower.”

  “Hiker attack—super—loose—”

  “Shit.” I slammed the radio on the dash. I looked at my phone, but the signal bars were flashing.

  I didn’t think. I didn’t process it. I didn’t need the missing words from Rawlings’s message. I let my bear’s impulse take over. I sped into a U-turn, kicking up gravel and debris and headed straight for Sweet Willow Lane.

  If there was another attack in Thunder Pike I couldn’t leave Ava. I hit the gas and pointed for the cottage.

  Seven

  Ava

  I needed space to breathe. Nolan Bryson took all the air in the room. Make that, all the air in my cottage. That bear shifter had affected me more than I wanted to admit. My judgement was clouded. My thoughts were fuzzy. I waited until his truck’s taillights were no longer in sight before I wandered outside. I leaned over the railing, inhaling as much fresh air as I could.

  I didn’t know if I should have said as much as I did. It was hard to forget something, when everyone seemed to be fixated on it. Thank God Hannah was in London where none of this could touch her.

  There was a leak at Allied. Someone had leaked my name to the Hunter’s Lake police department. But who?

  Did it matter? Whoever it was, wanted the information given to the police. He or she wanted me to reveal the darkest secrets that came from Allied. I shook my head, praying it wasn’t a way to test my loyalty. I didn’t know how to pass a test like that.

  In the mountains, sunset came much quicker. I couldn’t believe I had spent an entire day with Detective Bryson. When was the last time I had spent that much time with a man? My love life in Thunder Pike was non-existent. The older shifter lady, Norma, who I rented the house from offered to set me up with one of her nephews, but I knew shifter romance was something I should stay away from. It seemed complicated and messy.

  That was until I met Nolan Bryson.

  I’d never looked at a bear shifter the way I looked at him. Shit. I was already crushing on him, when I needed to be thinking about my next move. Was it safe to stay here if there was a leak at Allied?

  I watched the bows on the trees start to bend. The leaves swayed. The wind was picking up. I needed to collect my magazines from the swing and head inside to make dinner. I gathered the celebrity gossip stack in my arms when I heard a limb snap, but it sounded larger than a regular branch. It was more like a beam. Heavier. Weighted.

  “What in the hell was that?” I whispered. I walked around the side of the porch when suddenly I saw the red eyes staring at me from across the backyard.

  I screamed, dropping the magazines. My chest seized with panic as I hurried backward and ran as quickly as I could into the house. I threw the deadbolt in place and pulled the blinds to the base of the windows.

  Oh my God. Oh my God.

  I couldn’t find my phone anywhere. I sprinted to the bedroom, throwing blankets and books on the floor, searching for it. I knew those eyes. I knew that vicious sealed mouth. My hands shook. Could it break through the lock?

  I heard my phone thump as it landed on the floor. I crawled on my knees trying to find it under the bed when the beating began. Holy shit. He was at the door. I thought I heard the wood splinter and fracture. I realized there wasn’t enough time to call anyone. I had to get out of the house before that thing got in.

  I shoved the phone in my front pocket, lifted the edge of my window, and threw a leg over the side. I prayed he wouldn’t be able to see me from here. If I could hit the ground running, I might have a chance to make it to the road and flag down help. My car was parked in the carport on the same side of the house as that monster. There was no chance I could get my keys and make it there without him spotting me. The window was the only way.

  I took a breath and jumped. But as soon as I did, the beating on the door stopped.

  Shit. He knew I wasn’t in the house any longer. That was the problem with super shifters. They had twice the hearing power. Twice the senses in every capacity. It’s what made them the most desirable hunting and killing machines Allied had ever worked with.

  I searched for a place to hide in the backyard. There was no cover, just the small lean-to Norma had used to store firewood for the renters. I ran to the wood shed and crept below the first row of logs. I could see him barreling around the corner of the house. His eyes were set on me. He could probably smell me a hundred yards away.

  I looked around for something to defend myself with, but I knew that with fire logs as ammunition, I wasn’t going t
o be able to keep him off me for long. He could toss them aside as if they were toothpicks. I grabbed one of the pointiest pieces of kindling I could from a tin bucket and held it forward. If he was going to come after me, I wasn’t going down gently. I’d at least make him feel pain. I had to try. I twisted the stake in my hand, pointing it forward.

  The super took one giant stride toward me. I winced. Shit. This wasn’t how I wanted to die.

  The first gun shot went off and I screamed. He staggered forward. It took another five before the shifter finally hit the ground face-first.

  I slowly opened my eyes fully. I saw the super lying lifeless in the grass. I waited for him to move, but he was motionless.

  Nolan ran toward me. His hand extended.

  “Are you okay, Ava? Did he hurt you?”

  I shook my head. I didn’t think I could speak. My throat was dry and my tongue felt thick.

  “Hold on.”

  Nolan tossed the logs aside, making a scattered pile to get closer. He cleared the path to me. I felt him loosen the grip I had on the pointy kindling.

  “I’ll take that.” He tossed it in the yard, reached over, and lifted me in his arms. “I’ve got you.”

  He took long strides to his truck, routing us around the dead body in my yard. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the beast. I kept waiting for him to pop up. To run toward us.

  “What do you say I take you somewhere safe? Somewhere far from here?” Nolan urged.

  I nodded as he buckled me into the passenger side of the truck.

  “Give me just a second.” He closed the truck and locked me inside.

  I watched in horror as he strolled to the body and nudged it over with his boot. The monster rolled on its back. Nolan checked for a pulse, and combed the victim’s pockets, but came up empty. Then he disappeared into the house and emerged on the front porch carrying an overnight bag.

  He opened the door and slid the bag next to me.

  “I grabbed a few things for you. Anything else you need we can get in Hunter’s Lake. I need to get you out of here.”

  All I could do was nod. The words weren’t there yet.

  Eight

  Nolan

  She was in shock. I got it. I knew what she had been through would have scared the shit out of anyone. If I hadn’t made it in time, I didn’t want to think about what would have happened to her.

  I saw that asshole stalking toward her and pulled my firearm. He didn’t stop after the first shot, or the second. I didn’t know what was running through his veins that made him keep running for Ava, but it wasn’t shifter blood, and it wasn’t human. I’d read the reports about the supers, but seeing him up close was a game changer. It was a monster. Disgusting and vile.

  I reached over and took Ava’s hand. She didn’t flinch. Instead, she curled her soft grip inside my hand and I squeezed it reassuringly. I needed to get within radio range so I could call Rawlings and Griffin. Someone had to get back to the house and collect that thing.

  “Do you need me to stop?” I asked. At least she wasn’t shivering any longer. There weren’t many places along the stretch to Hunter’s Lake.

  “No.” It was the first time she had spoken in thirty miles.

  “Not too much longer. We’re almost there.” I ran my thumb over her knuckles.

  We hit the city limits of Hunter’s Lake and I drove straight to my house. I could catch up with the station as soon as she was settled.

  I pulled in the driveway and parked the truck.

  “Here we are.” I jumped from the driver’s side and ran around to let Ava out.

  “Thank you.” She stood by the truck while I grabbed her bag.

  “Come on. I’ll show you around.” I led her through the garage and into the kitchen.

  She stood in the middle of the floor. “It’s nice.”

  “Thanks. Bachelor life. Not much to it, but it’s home.”

  I turned on a few lights. I had converted the spare room into a home gym. I planned on giving Ava my room and I’d take the couch for a few nights, at least until we figured out where she wanted to go next. It was hard to picture her back at the cottage alone, though. One night at a time, I told myself. I had to get her through tonight.

  “Would it be okay if I took a shower?” she asked. “I’d like to change. I have wood chips in my hair from the shed.”

  “Oh yeah. I’ve got clean towels in the closet.” I showed her the bathroom. “Right in here. Maybe I’ll work on some dinner while you shower.”

  “That sounds nice.” Her voice was quiet. I noticed she had lost some of the feistiness I had seen all day. It was to be expected.

  “Take your time,” I offered. “There’s plenty of hot water.”

  She nodded and slowly closed the bath door in place.

  I exhaled. It was the second time today my bear and I were on the same page. The first was when I took out the super, and now giving her a chance to catch her breath.

  I pulled out my phone and hit Griffin’s number. He wasn’t going to believe all the shit that had gone down today in Thunder Pike.

  By the time Ava was out of the shower, I had changed the sheets on the bed, talked to both Rawlings and Griffin, and made a big pan of stir-fry. She walked in the kitchen, smelling like fresh rain and honey. I stopped the growl from bouncing off the walls right before it barreled out of my chest.

  “Feeling any better?” I asked.

  “I think so.” She slid into one of the barstools and watched as I stirred the dish together. “You cook, detective?”

  “When are you going to start calling me Nolan?”

  “I guess I should.”

  I saw the twitch at the corner of her lips.

  “Can I get you a drink?” I offered. “It’s either beer or liquor.”

  “Definitely liquor,” she stated.

  “All right.” I reached in the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. “Will this work?”

  She sighed. “I hope so, but I’ve never been that close to being mauled to death by a super, so we might need more.”

  “Understood.” I filled a couple of glasses with ice, added a mixer, and the bourbon. “I’ll put the liquor store on alert,” I joked.

  “Thank you.” We clinked glasses and I returned to serving out plates.

  “There’s a team going to Thunder Pike now,” I explained to her. “I made a few phone calls while you were in the shower. I needed to update the other guys working the case. I told the captain I would stay here and get your official statement. I’m going to need to go in to the station in the morning. He said I could stay put for the night, so the good news is I don’t have to leave.”

  “If you need to go now, I understand. You have a job to do. I’ll be okay.”

  “No. I’m not leaving you right now. It’s okay. I don’t want to leave.” I heaped chicken and sliced vegetables on two plates. “Here’s a fork.” I placed it in front of her. “And dinner.” I slid the plates across the counter.

  “I didn’t think I could eat, but then I smelled this and you changed my mind.” She smiled.

  “Good. You need to eat, especially as strong as I made that drink.”

  We ate in silence for a few minutes.

  “What else?” I asked. “What can I get you?” I wanted her to know she was safe here. That nothing could happen to her as long as she was under my roof. I wouldn’t let it. I’d protect her.

  “This is plenty.” She placed her fork on the counter. “You’ve already done more than enough. All of it. It’s too much.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  I watched as she took a sip of the bourbon drink.

  “After the way I treated you today?” She turned to face me.

  “Believe me. I’ve had leads treat me much worse.” I chuckled. “You were a cake walk.” I winked, trying to make her feel better.

  “Now, I know you’re lying.”

  “Never.” I winked.

  Ava c
lutched her drink. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “It’s about shifters. Mates actually.”

  “Oh? Okay. What is it?”

  I had no idea where this was headed, but I had spent the day quizzing her on everything from her high school hair color to her grades in college. She was entitled to a few questions of her own.

  “My studies didn’t really get as far into the interpersonal stuff as I thought it was going to. I wanted to learn. I wanted to understand the relationship side. Not the science.” She took another gulp. “So how do you know? When you have a mate? How do you know?”

  “Oh wow.” The question kicked me in the chest. “Something clicks. It’s not like a get a memo,” I joked. “My bear instincts go into overdrive and I’ll know.”

  “So you don’t know who your mate is?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Not yet. But I’m not exactly rushing it.”

  “What do you do if you meet someone, and she’s not your mate?”

  I studied her for a second. “Oh, you want to know if I can sleep around?” I chuckled. “Yes. I can have as much sex as I want.” I needed to fix myself another drink. This conversation was inadvertently headed in a dangerously hot direction.

  “But then how is it different? I thought sex was mating or claiming? What is it? I think I’m confused.”

  I made two more drinks and gave Ava a fresh one.

  “Sex is sex. Right? Humans do it. Shifters do it.” I placed the glass on the bar. “But when a shifter takes a mate. A true mate. His instincts kick in and he wants her to be his forever. The best way to solidify that is with cubs.”

  Ava blinked. “You get her pregnant?”

  “Not right away. Or maybe. I don’t know. I’ve never tried to get the mate I haven’t met yet pregnant. We’re talking instincts and mating bonds that kick into place.” I sighed. “It’s different for every couple. It could be two days or two months before they decide to have cubs. They know when it happens. That’s the best I can do to explain it to you. I’m sorry that’s a terrible explanation. But all I know are stories from other couples.”