by Olivia Gayle
A siren blipped out toward the street, and Ever looked back to see a police car pull up beside her Bug. She ducked down behind a short remnant of remaining drywall, peeking around to watch what unfolded.
The cop car opened and a tall man with dark hair and a wide-brimmed hat stepped out. He eyed Ever’s little car for a moment, then lifted a radio to his lips. Ever pulled herself back behind the wall, keeping hunkered down.
“You can come out, Miss Jackson, I know you’re there.”
He knew who she was. How could he know it so quickly?
Duh. Cop. But that didn’t stop the uneasy feeling itching between her shoulder blades.
In front of the house, she heard the cop heave a sigh. “Miss Jackson….”
Ever had heard that same exasperated tone from teachers and social workers before. It meant that play time was over and it was time to act like an adult. Even when she’d been a kid. Rolling her eyes, she stood and raised her hand up by her side. “Stop, don’t shoot,” she said drily, sarcasm heavy in her tone.
Even from this distance, her weak-sauce eyes could see one corner of the cop’s mouth turn up in a half-smile. “Could you please tell me,” he called, “why you’re trespassing on private property?”
When in doubt, stick with the truth. “Hey, it’s my sister’s house. She invited me.”
Obviously that wasn’t what the cop was expecting. He frowned. “Your sister?”
Okay, so cop-guy was kind of cute. Maybe even really cute, although she’d need her glasses to be sure from this distance. “Yeah, Sonya Jackson. She lived here until recently.” Ever cocked her head to the side. “Can I see a badge, please?”
Her question seemed to confuse the cop, as if he’d been thinking about something else. “Why don’t you get off the rubble and we can talk.”
Ever crossed her arms. “How do I know you’re a real cop?”
“The silly hat and blue lights don’t give me away?”
His words made her lips twitch, although she wasn’t in the mood for smiles. “Just your badge, and we can talk.”
She could imagine him grumbling under his breath, but he pulled something off his belt and held it aloft. Without her glasses, Ever couldn’t make out the specifics, but it looked vaguely badge-shaped and glinted in the sunlight. Good enough. “Okay, gimme a minute.”
“You know, construction zones are dangerous to walk through,” he commented as she moved over the pile. “Nails and broken boards can be hidden anywhere.”
“Thanks for the tip, Ranger Rick.” Stepping down off the rubble, Ever dusted off her hands and looked across the car at the cop.
And blinked.
Whoa.
Thoughts of her sister fled her mind as she stared at the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on. Damn her near-sighted eyes, it would have been nice to know beforehand that the pretty was this, well, pretty. She stared, slack jawed, mind flitting to all things dirty and awesome. Oh yeah, he could totally break her two year drought.
Maybe he could even keep the uniform on.
“Miss Jackson?”
Ever blinked. Mr. Talk-Dark-and-Yummy was staring at her, a frown creasing his gorgeous brow. Was anything this man did not sexy? The wind shifted slightly, blowing her hair forward over one shoulder, and his nostrils flared.
Frown, hell. Now he was glowering at her.
What did I even do? Still didn’t stop him from being dead sexy.
“You’re human.”
The matter of fact way he said it, and the fact that such a declaration even needed to be made, confused Ever. “Uh, yeah,” she said, “and you aren’t?”
His jaw snapped shut, loud enough that from this close Ever could hear the click. He looked confused about something, glaring at the house then back at Ever. “Did you file a missing persons report?”
Missing…oh, her sister. “No, I didn’t know she was even missing until I got here and saw the house.” Or, what was left of it.
“Get in the car.”
His imperious order cut through some of the haze clouding her mind. “Excuse me?”
His glower deepened, but he didn’t repeat himself. Damn, he looked good in that uniform. Even the silly hat.
“I don’t even know your name yet,” she said, her voice a purr, and gave him an uncharacteristic wink.
Then she paused. Blinked.
Wait a minute. What the hell was wrong with her? Since when did she, Ever Jackson, get all googly-eyed over a guy?
“My name is Sheriff Aidan Tucker, and I need you to come with me.”
He didn’t seem to have any problems with googly-anything, just with her. His words pulled at her strangely, as if she wanted to obey, but Ever had a lifetime of practice with disobedience. She crossed her arms. No matter how gorgeous he might be, she wasn’t getting into an unknown man’s car.
Well, unless maybe he meant to…
No.
“No,” she echoed her thought, lifting her chin.
Obviously he wasn’t used to someone not following orders. “Do you want to find your sister or not?” he snapped.
Well. Mr. Handsome seemed to have changed from one moment to the next, and Ever wasn’t appreciating the attitude. Of course, that just made it easier to turn him down. “No thank you, I’m fine on my own.”
“Fine. You’re under arrest for trespassing.”
“What?”
So stunned was she at that turn of events that she didn’t even move as he grabbed her wrists and cuffed them behind her back. She just stared at him, dumbfounded, until he tried to push her into the back of the car.
Oh, hell nah. Filling her lungs, she let out a shriek at the same time that she kicked backwards, striking him in the shin.
He cursed above her and clapped a hand over her mouth, so she just bit his finger. He didn’t let her go, just threw her head first into the back of his cop car and slammed the door hard enough to rattle the windows.
Okay. Happy feelings gone. Ever was pissed.
CHAPTER FOUR
Aidan was pissed.
The cursing and screaming human behind him kicked the metal cage between them again right behind his head, threatening him again with legal action.
All Aidan could think about was No no no, there had to be some mistake.
How in the hell could his mate be human?
Okay, just think. It wasn’t like there wasn’t a precedent. Roughly ten percent of the population of Arcadia had begun their lives as human, all of whom had been turned voluntarily. Even then, however, none of them had ever felt found their mate in the human world, let alone felt the mating bond with a human.
It didn’t work that way.
His first thought was to go to his father, but the Brahm wouldn’t appreciate the way he’d handled the decision. Hell, now that he’d circled the block a few times, even Aidan couldn’t believe his actions. Cuffing his mate and throwing her in the back of a car?
Smooth, bro.
“I am going to fucking sue you for every penny you have,” Ever screeched from behind him. Another booted foot kicked the grate. “Every. Last. Penny, you asshole!”
Which, in a human court, would definitely be the case. Except this was Arcadia, and as far away from human courts as one could get. Folks here liked that, made concessions to keep it that way. Which of course he’d just ruined.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
Apologies weren’t going to be enough in this situation. Hell, the woman in the back, if she learned the truth, would probably take that information straight to the media out of spite. That meant she’d have to be dealt with, permanently.
And she was his mate. Which he’d never allow.
Shit, hell, God, fuck, damn…
Blowing out an exasperated breath, he pulled into a parking spot outside a nearby park, and turned off the car. That seemed to shut her up for a second, but when he turned around to look at her she glared at him with distrust.
Okay. So he deserved that and more.
&
nbsp; “How long has your sister been missing?”
She continued to glare at him, her lips thin with anger. It was bad, of course, that his brain only thought she looked adorable when angry.
Why hadn’t anyone warned him that finding your mate was this freaking confusing?
“Look, I want to help.”
She kicked the screen again. “Then let me the fuck out of here!”
“You’ll just get yourself hurt,” he said, and her eyes narrowed. Great, now she probably thought he was a condescending fuck too. Chalk it up to the rest of his list of mistakes. “I want to help you, but you need to tell me what’s wrong.”
“What the hell kind of town is this anyway,” she vented, gritting her teeth and looking around the car. “And what the hell kind of person locks someone up for asking a goddamn question.”
“You’re right, okay? I screwed up.”
That finally seemed to get her attention, although the glare didn’t lessen one bit. In this close of quarters, her scent permeated the air, filling his senses with her. When her lip curled in an expression that would make a tiger proud, he felt his dick jump.
Not now, very bad timing.
Of course, his cock didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
“I want to speak to your boss,” she growled, sounding every bit like a shifter woman. Immediately the chubby became a full on strain to his work pants, and he had to swallow back his groan.
“I promise I’ll do everything I can to make this right,” he said, hoping she’d hear the honesty. God, he’d screwed this up royally, but he’d be damned if he let her pay for his mistakes.
His father was going to kill him.
“Just tell me everything you know about your sister’s disappearance.”
In reply, she just rolled on her knees and shoved her cuffed hands toward him. “These go first.”
It wasn’t her hands he was looking at, however. God, she had curves that made his mouth water, a narrow waist that curved down into an ass that wouldn’t quit. Before when they’d been talking, he hadn’t really looked her body over much.
Now he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“Hey, my face is up here, bozo.”
He snapped his eyes up, feeling guilty at being caught. She was staring at him quizzically, a stubborn set to her jaw. “Cuffs?” she said, jangling the offending bracelets.
“Uh yeah. Yeah.” Could he sound like more of a buffoon?
As meetings went, he’d screwed this one up.
He opened the rear door carefully, and when she presented her hands he quickly uncuffed her. She rubbed her wrists and glared at him, but at least stayed in her seat. “Now can you tell me everything you know about your sister’s disappearance?”
Her glare said it all: she didn’t trust him. That thought cut him deeply, hurting far more than he could have imagined. He’d make it up to her, he swore it to himself.
Finally, she looked away. “I don’t know much. She lived at that address where you found me; I know because I found a picture of the two of us. We haven’t been what you might call close the last few years; she had her life, I had mine. But she left a message on my cell two weeks ago, then didn’t answer any of my calls, so….”
She shrugged, looking back at Aidan. “That’s all I know. Now what can you do to help?”
“Let me listen to the message, maybe I can hear something you missed.”
Ever rolled her eyes but pulled out her phone, finding the recording and pressing play.
“Sis, it’s me. Listen, I need your help…”
By the end of it, Aidan wasn’t any closer to being able to help than before. He’d heard nothing in the background; she’d probably been home when the girl had left the message. A home that was now lying in ruins.
Something obviously didn’t add up.
“What did she do for a living?”
“Hair and nails last I checked.”
“Do you know where she worked last?”
Ever shook her head. “I don’t have access to detective-style stuff so I can’t track her movements, but she’s always been the responsible one. She’d have a job; I’ve never known her not to have one.”
A starting point at least. He could check the salons in the area, see if any of them knew the girl. “Where are you staying?”
Her gaze sharpened. “Oh hell no, buddy, you’re not keeping me on the sidelines.”
“If something did happen to your sister, you’d be safer…”
“Fuck safe. If something’s happened to my sister, I want to be there and see it myself.”
Aidan tried to think. His office kept the records for all shifters moving in and out of the area. If his hunch was right and the sister had gone through official channels, the information might be there. How and when she’d been Changed might be a mystery, but if she was they’d know. He’d also look into the demolition of the house; that was too convenient, too odd.
If something had indeed happened to a shifter in their community however, Aidan needed to call the Brahm. Best to have all the information first as anything less would only piss his father off. Nothing of any real import had happened in Arcadia for years; humans passed through the town like any other with relative ease, but never settled in.
Until now.
“Come on, let’s go see what we can discover about your sister.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Every inquiry into the whereabouts, or existence, of Sonya Jackson in Arcadia turned up nothing. If she was a Shifter, there should have been something on file about her transfer into the area. If she was human, surely someone would have reported her by now.
It made no sense.
“Why was the house demolished?”
Ever’s question came from over his shoulder, her scent wafting to his nostrils. The visceral reaction his body had was distracting, to say the least. “Right, yes,” he stumbled, pulling up the city records and typing in the address. The city’s database had merged years ago with the police department’s at the Brahm’s orders to make research like this that much easier. “Looks like it’s been scheduled for demolition for a while,” he said after a moment’s search. “It was abandoned and condemned.”
“Well, that’s bullshit. It was the address she gave me and this picture proves she was there.”
Ever’s voice held a stubborn note, and Aidan wondered what she was thinking. Then her hand came to rest on his shoulder, and all he could think about was the warm contact there, and how much he wanted to wrestle her to the ground and…
Does everything with this girl have to come down to sex?
In a word? Yup.
“I don’t doubt you,” he said, getting his jumbled thoughts back together. God, if a hand on his shoulder could elicit this kind of reaction, imagine what it would do on his…
He cleared his throat. “Let me make a few calls. Do you have a recent picture of her?”
“I can find one on Facebook.”
“Do that and print it out, and we can start asking around town.”
Aidan let her use his computer as he stepped away, pulling out his cellphone to dial his father, only to have it ring in his hand. He answered it immediately. “Sheriff Tucker.”
“You son of a bitch.”
The angry tones of Julian Murphy made Aidan clench the phone hard enough to hear plastic crack. “I take it this is about the Landry farm.”
“Do you understand how loans work? I give out money and expect to be paid back. When I’m not, shit happens.”
“Those folks are good for their payments and you know it.” Aidan glanced at Ever quickly, then stepped away a few paces. “I assume you spoke with the Brahm?”
“Oh no, he wouldn’t deign to speak to a lowly peon like me. No, he calls my father and has him, as he put it, deal with me. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be a grown man and have your father lay into you?” Julian snorted. “Of course not, your daddy’s the big shot isn’t he?”
If Julian knew how
often Marshall Tucker’s anger had been directed at his son, he wouldn’t say that. Then again, the smarmy little bastard probably would anyway. “You’re a selfish bastard Julian,” Aidan said through clenched teeth. “Could probably do with a few beatings.”
“You’re one to talk, you…” Julian cut himself off from whatever he was going to say. “This isn’t over between us, Sheriff.”
The last word was said with a verbal sneer, and Aidan just rolled his eyes. “Have a nice day, Mr. Murphy,” he said in a tight voice and ended the call. What a prick.
Julian’s call left him not in the mood to speak with his father. The elder Tucker would definitely pick up on the tension and want to know details, and Aidan wasn’t ready to hash out his personal beef with Julian Murphy. Instead, he opened his email and typed out a terse message, giving the details so far and his course of action.
“Will this picture work?”
Aidan looked up at the image Ever was holding up, and frowned. “You two are twins?”
“Twins?” She looked at the picture, then back at Aidan. “No, but I suppose we look similar in this picture. People used to mistake us for each other when we were kids, but we grew out of that.”
Aidan wasn’t so sure. The hair was different—Sonya’s dark hair was a wavy bob, while Ever’s was long and straight—but their facial features were close.
What do you expect from sisters, I guess.
“That’s perfect. I’m assuming you want to come with?”
“Hell yeah, but this time I ride shotgun.”
That made Aidan grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
*
Thirteen salons in the town, and none of them had ever seen Sonya.
“Would she work anywhere else?”
“Well, yeah, sure. But most of her experience is in hair and makeup. She tried waitressing once for extra money but it went badly. She tends to be a bit clumsy.”
Aidan scratched his head, staring out the window and thinking. “Okay, we can file a missing persons report for her and try to go through official….”
His phone buzzed through with a text, and Aidan checked the message.
