by Anna Martin
Grant laughed. “We’re going to miss you.”
“He means he’s going to miss your beer,” Adam corrected.
“Well, once I have the new brewery up and running, you’ll be the first ones I’ll invite over.”
“We’ll hold you to that.”
They talked business for a while longer, debating the merits of the different breweries Jackson had suggested to step in his place. Grant was quite insistent that they stick to a Washington-based company, even if that did mean going as far as Seattle.
These guys knew their beer, possibly even more than Jackson did.
“So, what else is up with you?” Adam asked as they started to wind down their shop talk. “You said you’re moving back into the city too?”
“That’s the plan.”
“You’re still with the human, then?”
Jackson smiled at that. “Yeah.”
“How’s it working out?” Grant asked.
“It’s been rocky,” he admitted.
“And now?”
Jackson huffed a laugh. “It’s like I suddenly had permission to look, you know? I’d only ever looked at women before. Then I was suddenly looking at Leo, and he’s gorgeous.”
With their lunch finished, Jackson didn’t hang around, not wanting to take up too much of their afternoon. To have Adam and Grant on his side was going to be a huge bonus as he started rebuilding his life in Spokane. It was going to be different, that was for sure, but there was a little ray of sun starting to shine on his future.
Chapter Twenty-Two
LEO WAS running an hour late by the time he got back to the staff room to pack up his stuff and leave the hospital. Considering the day he’d had, that wasn’t too bad.
He had a headache, just pressure behind his eyes, and driving in the slushy rain across town on a dark winter evening wasn’t exactly enticing.
Jackson had called a few days ago and asked him for a date, which was just too cute. How was Leo supposed to say no to that? So he didn’t, and agreed to meet Jackson in a neighborhood with a less-than-stellar reputation because Jackson had something to show him.
Mitch had said that was the most ominous thing he’d ever heard of and had implemented a panic distress call system just in case the worst happened. It was nice, knowing his best friend had his back, but Mitch hadn’t quite forgiven Jackson for his “I’m straight” comments and had decided to be a bitch about everything Jackson-related. Leo was sure the novelty would wear off soon enough.
There was a parking lot to one side of the converted factory building, and Leo parked in one of the free spaces and gripped his phone in his pocket as he walked around to meet Jackson.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said. Jackson was leaning against the wall, one foot kicked back, typing away at something on his phone.
“Don’t worry.” He leaned down and kissed Leo’s cheek, just quickly, then grabbed his hand. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“I want to show you something.”
“You do know you sound like a serial killer right now?”
Jackson laughed brightly and tugged Leo’s hand. “Come on.”
He unlocked a side door to the building and threw the light switch just inside the door. With a low, metallic thwang the huge space brightened under industrial lights.
“It’s a scary old industrial unit.”
“Well, yeah, right now it is. It won’t be when I’m done with it. This,” Jackson said grandly, stepping into the space and spreading his arms, “is the new Lone Wolf Brewery.”
“You’re relocating the business?”
“Yep,” Jackson said, looking exceedingly proud of himself. “At the moment I’m out in the middle of nowhere and—don’t tell her I said this—Valerie’s right. I’m practically a hermit. All I’ve done in the past five years is work my ass off to get the company stable.”
Leo followed him around as Jackson explained his plans, how he would divide the space, rebuild some of what he had before, but better this time, because now he knew exactly what he needed to make it a success. Leo could see it in his mind’s eye, the way Jackson described the brewery and bar and restaurant.
“But this place is in the middle of nowhere. And it has a shitty reputation. Jackson, if you’re going to go through everything to bring the business into the city, then surely you want to give it the best chance possible?”
“No, see, things are changing around here. There’s lots of investment happening in this area, and we’re going to ride that wave. Gentrification is about to become my new favorite word.”
Leo laughed. “Okay. Well, I’m glad you found something that works for you. It’s certainly a change in direction.”
Jackson nodded. “Yeah. It’s going to mean changing up my business model. I can’t supply other bars while running my own; that would be madness. I’m hoping I can still do the wine thing. I’ll be able to tell on that once I get an architect in here.”
“Do you have one? An architect, I mean.”
“Not yet. I should by the end of the week, though. Dad’s going to get in contact with someone he knows.”
“Wow.”
“There’s more.”
“More?” Leo laughed.
“Yeah.”
They went back outside, round the building to the front entrance, where Leo was already imagining folding glass doors and a patio that brought the outside in, and how, once developed, the bar could become a cornerstone of this new community.
Inside the front door was a tiny but opulent hallway leading to a very old-fashioned elevator. They went inside, Leo choosing not to ask questions just yet, watching when Jackson hit the button for floor four. Out of five.
“Is this an apartment?” he asked, unable to keep his curiosity contained as they exited the elevator and approached a shiny door.
“Condo.”
“Jackson.”
He turned back, beaming. “I bought it.”
“You did what?”
“I bought it,” Jackson repeated, holding the door open to let Leo inside. “A few days ago. At the same time I bought the unit downstairs.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I found the condo first, actually, then found out about downstairs. Isn’t it perfect? This place is about thirty minutes away from my parents’ house. Far enough that they won’t try and make me go over every night, but close enough that I can actually see them from time to time. Closer to my friends too.”
Twenty minutes from the hospital, Leo thought.
The condo was beautiful, seriously beautiful, and Leo understood the appeal. It was all a bit much, though.
“Jackson….”
“Hmm?”
“Why?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know what you’re expecting of me here. I don’t know what this is supposed to mean.”
“I’m not expecting you to move in,” Jackson said in a rush. He’d been running his hand over the smooth wooden work surfaces in the kitchen, an almost-reverent dreamy smile on his face. That smile slipped really quickly. “I mean, not unless something’s happened? Do you need somewhere to stay?”
“No, no, everything’s fine. I like living with Mitch.”
“That’s good. This is just somewhere closer,” Jackson said. He stepped up to Leo. “If you want to stay here some nights, that would be good. It just means I’m, you know, within the city. Rather than miles away.”
“Are you going to be okay with that?” Leo asked. He reached up to brush his fingers through Jackson’s hair, gently putting it back in place.
“What do you mean?”
“I know you like where you live now. How you can just shift and run whenever you want.”
Jackson nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I can get out to neutral territory in about thirty minutes if I need to. And the old brewery is only an hour away.”
“It wouldn’t be the same as having all that countryside right on your doorstep.”
Jackso
n fell quiet for a moment, clearly thinking. “I guess there will be an adjustment period. I did grow up here, though. It’s not like I’ve lived in Nine Mile Falls all my life.”
“Okay.”
“I get what you’re saying,” he said in a rush. “I do. I just… I guess it feels like a good move. Like this is a good time for me to shake things up in my life.”
“I like that idea,” Leo said, daring to smile a little.
“Good.” Jackson looked relieved.
“Is this the date?”
Jackson laughed. “Not yet. I was going to take you to dinner, actually.”
“Dinner sounds good. I’m starving.”
Jackson locked up the condo and led Leo back down to where they’d both parked, Jackson’s shiny red truck next to Leo’s silver Prius.
“Jackson?” Leo called, stopping Jackson before he got into his car.
“Yeah?”
“Tell me you’re not keeping the chandelier.”
Jackson grinned. “I quite like it, actually.”
“We may need to discuss that further.”
He stepped in closer and let Jackson pull him into a hug.
“I think I feel it,” he murmured. “The bond.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Now Jackson was holding him, it had come rushing in. The sense of peace, of completion that he got when he was close to Jackson was difficult to name. He had a full sort of feeling in his chest and a tingling in his skin that could be ignored as one of a hundred other things.
“Good,” Jackson murmured, and Leo was smiling as he walked down to his own car.
Not a serial killer, he texted to Mitch before following Jackson to the restaurant.
Chapter Twenty-Three
FRIDAY NIGHT found Jackson sprawled on his couch wearing sweatpants and fuzzy socks, a beer in one hand and the remains of Chinese takeout still littering the coffee table. Everyone else had plans—his parents were at dinner with friends for the evening, Valerie was out with Celeste, and Leo was with Mitch, working. That was fine. Jackson was taking advantage of the peace and quiet in his new place.
He was watching a basketball game because he’d made a long-distance bet with Brandon on the outcome. Brandon had adopted the California Golden Bears as his team, and Jackson refused to forgive him for it, so he was more invested than usual in how the Washington State Cougars fared against them. There was ten bucks on the line and more good-natured banter with his brother via text message than usual.
The buzzing of his phone was easy to ignore the first time. He was stuffed full of sweet-and-sour chicken; his stomach hurt, and the distance was more than he could stretch. The second and third messages he considered ignoring, but the third one was persistent, and with a loud groan, he hauled himself up far enough to reach it. The messages were from Valerie.
Is L there with u?
Jackson
Jackson call me
Leo was working at Flair, podium dancing, because apparently that was a thing his soul mate did. Jackson had spent a solid afternoon trying to figure out how he felt about Leo’s side career dancing at a gay bar, and decided that he didn’t care. It didn’t matter if other guys were looking. They couldn’t touch, and he was pretty sure Leo wasn’t interested in them.
He felt very proud of himself for coming to such a mature conclusion.
He thumbed at Valerie’s contact information to call her.
“What’s going on?” he asked when she answered.
“Where are you? Where’s Leo?”
“I’m at home. Leo’s working. What’s going on?”
He could hear sirens in the background.
“Working at that gay club?”
“Yeah.”
“Something’s going down in there. I don’t know what it is. No one will tell me. There’s police and ambulances everywhere.”
“Why are you there?” Jackson demanded. He was already off the couch, searching for sneakers and a sweatshirt.
“I was in the bar across the street with Celeste. We saw the ambulances arrive, and now the place is on lockdown. Have you heard from Leo?”
“No. I’ll try and get hold of him. I’m on my way.”
He grabbed his keys from the hook and sprinted from the house, not stopping to turn the TV off or even lock the door.
Jackson knew he was speeding as he rushed across town, but he wasn’t the only one heading in the direction of Flair. He tried calling Leo’s number, over and over, and it went through to voicemail each time. Logic told him that there was probably a lot of cell phone traffic in that area right now, that he shouldn’t panic. Jackson told logic to go fuck itself.
When he was only a few blocks away, Jackson abandoned the truck in a side street, right underneath a sign that said No Parking. The crowd around the club was three deep, both curious onlookers and a few other people with the same panicked expression Jackson was sure he was wearing.
He didn’t even bother looking for Valerie, instead pushing through the crowd until he found a police officer.
“Please,” he said, grabbing hold of his jacket. “What’s going on? I’m a werewolf…. My soul mate is in there.”
The officer looked him up and down and pointed to a small area that had been cordoned off.
“Over there.”
“I’m sorry?” Jackson asked.
“You can wait,” he said slowly, like Jackson was stupid, “over there.”
Jackson felt the hot shame creep up his neck. It had been a while since someone dismissed him so blatantly, and so obviously, for being a werewolf.
He didn’t say anything further, not trusting himself to stay calm. The last thing he needed was to get arrested. He could get arrested later, when he knew Leo was safe.
The small group of people huddled together were all clearly waiting for information, rather than the gawkers who were just milling around. These were friends, possibly parents, maybe lovers. They had the same red-eyed, glassy look of terror that Jackson was sure he wore too.
“Is this—” Jackson started, then cleared his throat. “Is this where we wait for news?”
A woman nodded, her watery eyes reflecting the red-blue, red-blue flashes of the emergency vehicle lights.
“My son is in there.”
“My….” Jackson hesitated. “My partner.”
She nodded. Maybe she understood what he wasn’t saying. Maybe she didn’t care. She wasn’t a wolf, either way.
Jackson turned his phone over and over in his hands, then almost dropped it when it rang again.
“Hey, Valerie.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have no idea. No one’s telling me anything.”
“Well, it’s all over Twitter. Apparently there was some kind of attack in there.”
“Like a terrorist thing?”
“I have no idea. People were fucking live streaming it. It looks like carnage. There’s at least half a dozen rumors flying around but nothing for sure. And the Spokane police haven’t made a statement yet.”
“Okay,” he croaked.
“Where are you?”
He gave her directions, ridiculously relieved when he spotted her coming over. She pulled him into a hard hug that he didn’t realize he needed.
“Where did Celeste go?”
“Home,” she said simply. “They’re trying to clear the area of people who don’t need to be here.”
They both watched in silence as an ambulance was loaded with a person on a stretcher, then screamed away from the curb, sirens blazing.
“What if—” Jackson started, but Valerie shook her head.
“No. We don’t play that game, Jackson.”
“Why do you care, anyway?”
Valerie sighed. “I don’t hate him, Jackson. I’m concerned, for both of you.”
Jackson pressed the heel of his hand to his chest, where his heart was still thumping too hard. He took a couple of deep breaths. It didn’t help.
; “Because you’re stupid,” Valerie offered. “You’re both stupid boys.”
That made him laugh, which he was sure was her intention.
“Yeah,” he agreed. Because she was right.
Over the next hour, Jackson watched with a growing sense of dread and impatience as more people were taken away in ambulances and people from their little group were taken away by police officers. They were either ushered into ambulances or taken into a café a few doors down from the nightclub that seemed to be used as another containment space.
A few people came back out with their loved ones. Others didn’t.
“What’s taking them so long?” Jackson demanded again as he paced within their small area.
Valerie was huddled into her jacket against the cold. “They’re working through people in order of priority,” she murmured. “They’ll get to you.”
That didn’t help. Nor did the fact that Leo wasn’t answering his phone. Jackson still called, every few minutes. Just in case.
Eventually another police officer—a new one—approached them again and started taking new notes on who they were all looking for. Less than a dozen of them remained now, and their group had fallen into a grim sort of silence.
“Jackson Lewis,” he said when the police officer approached. “I’m looking for Leo Gallagher.”
“Okay.” She made a note in her notepad.
“Can you tell us anything?” he asked, even though he knew the answer from overhearing it twice already.
The officer was already shaking her head. “It’s an active investigation, sir. As soon as we can let you know, we will.”
She was already moving on to the next person before Jackson could ask anything else.
“You should go home,” Jackson said, turning back to Valerie. She was stamping her feet to keep them warm.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll text you when I hear something.”
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m too cold to argue with you. I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
He watched her scuttle away and felt bad for keeping her outside for so long. He wasn’t used to needing someone.
More people were led away by officers, on their own or in little groups, and Jackson couldn’t help but feel he was being intentionally ignored because he was a wolf. Most of the time he didn’t care about that shit; he had thick skin and he’d gotten used to it. Now, though, it was killing him.
