by Jodi Vaughn
“So we have found a trail after all.” Clutching the bag, he made his way over to Jaxon.
Jaxon frowned as he shoved the bag under his nose.
“Jesus, dude. That shit stinks.” Jaxon stepped back.
“At least we are following the right breadcrumbs. Or should I say ‘meth crumbs’?” He tossed the bag on the ground. “What did you find?”
“We have a basement window.” He pointed to the boarded-up window that was too small for anyone, let alone a werewolf, to fit through.
“Are you kidding? I don’t think a six-year-old could fit through there.”
“Wait. I’m not finished.” Jaxon walked over to the window and grabbed the board on the window. A click sounded, and then the board, along with a sizeable section of the brick, swung open. It was about a four-by-three-foot opening.
“What the fuck?” Lucien’s mouth dropped.
“I know, right? I mean, how genius is it to put a concealed door at the smallest window in the whole building? No one would have ever thought to try to get in here.” Jaxon smirked and pulled out his cell phone. He opened the flashlight app and shone it into the dark basement.
“Which means these are some highly motivated drug dealers.” Lucien pulled out his phone and snapped a photo of the hidden door. His Pack Master would be very interested in seeing this.
Lucien stepped inside the basement and Jaxon followed after him.
The scent of years of filth and dirt mixed with mildew had him wrinkling his nose up in disgust. The faint scent of crystal meth and sex lingered in the air in a far corner of the room.
“Yep. Drug house for sure. I’m surprised the scent isn’t overwhelming.” Jaxon held up the phone to a far corner of the room. Old blankets and empty baggies were littered across the concrete floor. All evidence that the users would get high and party.
“I think it’s been a few days since they last used in here.” Lucien held up his own flashlight app and scanned the room. Other than garbage, there wasn’t much in the room.
“Let’s go see what’s up there.” Lucien nodded toward the stairs that led to the first floor.
Jaxon followed his lead.
The door at the top of the stairs was locked. Lucien rammed his shoulder into the wood and the door gave and swung open.
He stepped into the darkened hallway of the building and blinked, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkened room. Tiny slivers of light filtered in through the cracks of the boarded-up windows.
Wordlessly, they wandered through the litter-filled hallways, stopping only to peek into the rooms they passed. There were old, moldy mattresses in some of the rooms, suggesting that maybe it had once been a den of homeless people until the drug dealers had taken over for their own gain.
The scent of old urine wafted around Lucien, and he swallowed back the bile rising in the back of his throat.
“Why can’t people walk a few feet to go outside and take a piss instead of pissing inside?” Jaxon growled.
“Because they don’t give a fuck, I suppose.” Lucien wrinkled his nose and continued the trek. When he reached the last room, he nodded toward the stairs.
“Want to see what’s on the next two floors?” Lucien wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his arm.
“Why not? But I suspect it’s just going to be more of the same. More stink. More piss,”
Jaxon hissed.
“Probably.” Lucien snorted.
A few minutes later, after making the trek to the second floor and not finding anything out of place, they forced their way up to the third and last floor of the apartment building.
They turned left at the top of the stairs and opened the door to the first room.
What Lucien saw made the hair on his neck stand at attention.
“Jaxon, check this shit out.” He pushed the door all the way open and stepped inside. Jaxon was right behind him, muttering a curse.
This window was different. Instead of being boarded up from the outside, it was boarded from the inside. On either side of the window were two automatic assault rifles propped against the peeling wallpaper, and in the corner was a crate of ammo.
“What the hell have we stumbled upon?” Jaxon’s gaze darted around the room. “Why would someone leave thousands of dollars of guns and ammo in this shit hole?”
“My guess is because they are coming back.” Lucien jogged out into the hallway. “Check all the rooms.”
“For what?”
He met his brother’s gaze. “I’m betting that each corner room with a window has the exact same setup. It’s like a guard post. Go check that end and I’ll get this end.”
Lucien went to room opposite and opened the door. He wasn’t surprised to see another window boarded up from the inside with guns resting against the wall. He ventured farther into the room and over to the window. He felt around the edges of the wood panel covering the window until his fingers brushed against a hook and latch. Flicking the hook up, he pulled on the wood. The wood panel swung open from a side hinge that had been screwed into the wall, allowing the whole board to swing free.
Sunlight filtered into the darkened room, and he rested his hands on the top of the windowsill and gazed out. His position offered an unobstructed view of the back of the building and of the backyard.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hall with Jaxon’s approach.
“Hey, you’re right. Both rooms on the end are set up the same. I noticed a latch on the side of the window in both rooms and both windows open up.” Jaxon rested his hands on his hips.
“This isn’t just some low-rent drug-dealer setup.” Lucien’s gaze rested on the guns. “This is something else. And my gut tells me that it’s going to help lead us right to Zane.”
***
“What the hell’s she doing?” Zane mumbled to himself as he pulled into the driveway of the construction site. His gaze zeroed in on Skylar with her hands full of a large kitchen cabinet. It was obvious she was struggling to get it from the back of a truck into the house.
He stopped his Harley by her truck and killed the engine. Setting the kickstand, he slid off the bike and jogged over to her.
“Here, let me.” He took the large cabinet out of her hands, despite her protests.
“It’s not that heavy. I can carry it.” She pouted as he ignored her.
“Doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t be carrying it anyway. Not with all these assholes here to help.” He said it loud enough so a passing worker heard him and dipped his head in embarrassment.
“They offered, but I told them I could do it.”
“Figures,” he mumbled as he stepped into the kitchen. “Where do you want this?” He turned to face her.
“Over there. It’s the last cabinet that needs to be hung.” She motioned with her hand.
He carried it over and hefted it up to the worker standing on a ladder. He held the weight from the bottom while the cabinet was screwed into the wall.
Once it was secure, he stepped back and admired the work.
“This looks really good. Did you pick these out yourself?”
She grinned. “Not exactly. The owner picked out a different set of cabinets, and these were delivered by mistake.”
That couldn’t be good.
“Don’t look so worried. I already talked to the owner and sent a text with the new cabinets and explained what happened. I think she liked the fact that I talked the supplier into letting us have these for the same cost as the other ones.” She shrugged. “In the end, it worked out.”
“Wow. I got to say I’m impressed. You must be one hell of a businesswoman.”
“No, I’m one hell of a construction worker.”
He didn’t suppress his smile as he let his gaze drift over her body.
Her T-shirt sleeves were rolled up to her shoulders, revealing her toned arms. Sweat dripped from the ponytail she was rocking onto the front of her shirt, making the fabric cling to her like a second skin. Her jeans were tucked into her work bo
ots, and her tool belt hung off her hips at an angle.
“What?” She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip.
“Never thought I would be saying a tool belt was sexy.” He grinned.
Sanchez coughed and cleared his throat while Skylar’s face went as red as her hair.
“We need to get busy since the owner will be coming by today.” Sanchez continued to ignore Zane and turned his attention to her.
“I know. Too much to do and not enough workers.” She brushed her hair out of her eyes.
“I can help,” Zane offered.
“You?” Skylar’s skeptical eyes matched what he was feeling.
He’d never done construction work in his life. But now he was suddenly feeling all Bob the Builder.
“Sure. Just show me what needs to be done.” He glanced at Sophia as she entered through the back door. Her hair was messy, her clothes were dusty, and she was clutching a block of wood in her chubby hand.
“Hey, little bit.”
“Hey, Zane,” Sophia quipped before wrapping her hand around Skylar’s thigh and resting her head. “Skylar, I’m thirsty.”
“I’ll get you a drink, honey.” Skylar’s fingertips trailed though the little girl’s dark strands.
Zane’s heart clutched with longing. Mesmerized, he couldn’t move or tear his gaze away from the sweet interaction between Skylar and the little girl. She was a natural with the child. An image of Skylar with a baby in her arms filled his mind. With his baby in her arms.
Skylar looked up at Zane and narrowed her gaze. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He quickly looked away and forced his mind on other things, like the job at hand, instead of imagining what Skylar would look like pregnant. “Tell me what needs to be done.”
That stupid drug in his system was making him crazy with these feelings and images. Fuck, what he wouldn’t give to get back to his normal self.
“Well, since all the cabinets are in, we need to get new measurements for the countertop. These new cabinets are bigger than the ones we ordered.” She glanced down at her phone. “They close in half an hour. We can’t get the order to them today, but if we get the measurements done and take it to them first thing in the morning, then hopefully they can have the granite cut in a day or so.”
“That fast?” Zane picked up a tape measure. She handed him the plans and a pen so he could write the measurements down.
“It helps that Jonesboro has its own granite and stone place in town. I know the owner, and he understands that I’m on deadline. So I’m hoping he will make my countertop the priority.” Skylar worried her lip with her teeth.
“I’m sure you can convince him. You seem to be quite the negotiator.” He stepped toward her, wanting to kiss her.
“Skylar, I’m thirsty.”
“Oh, right. I’m sorry.”
“Here, I’ll get her something to drink if you tell me where the drinks are.”
“By the tree out back in the cooler.” She sighed. “Thanks.”
He headed out the back door.
The heat blasted him in the face. At least in the house there were fans to stir up a slight breeze and disperse the humidity.
A plume of dust caught his eye as a car sped up the driveway. He didn’t know what kind of asshole was behind the wheel, but he was sure going to have a talk with them about driving way too fast with Sophia running around...
Snatching a drink out of the cooler, he stalked back to the house.
“Skylar, someone’s here. And they are driving way too fast.” He unscrewed the top of the chilled water bottle and handed the bottle to Sophia. The little girl smiled before taking a long drink. Her sweaty hair had matted to her face, but she didn’t look like she minded one bit. She looked like she was having the best time playing in the dirt. It reminded him of when Skylar was little and playing in their front yard.
“Oh, my gosh. It’s the owner. She’s here early.” Skylar wiped her hands nervously on her thighs and glanced around the room as if wondering how she could magically put the kitchen back together within seconds.
He chuckled. “Relax. The owner knows it’s a work in progress. She’s not expecting it to be move-in ready.” He tugged her into his chest.
She relaxed for a second before stepping back. “I know, but I was hoping to have much more done. I wanted it finished early.”
He cupped her cheek and forced her to look into his eyes. “Breathe.”
Nodding, she closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath.
The car pulled into the yard and stopped. She stepped out of his arms and dusted off her T-shirt.
“Can you help Bart unload the wood floor from the truck? I’d like for the owner to get a glimpse so I can show her how it’s going to look once it’s installed.”
“Sure.” He pressed a kiss to her lips before heading out the back door while she went out the front to greet her customer.
“Skylar said to put these in the living room for now, since she’s giving the tour to the owner in the kitchen.” Bart swiped his forehead with a black bandana and let down the tailgate of the truck. “I’ll be glad when we’re done. This has been one hell of a job.”
“How long have you guys been on this project?” Zane hefted a pile of boxes with ease while Bart grabbed only two. The man grunted as he followed Zane to the front of the house.
“A few months now. It’s undergone a dramatic change since we first started.”
“It seems like it.”
“Dude, you don’t understand.” Bart chuckled as he stepped up the front steps and into the house.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, the whole back of the house was blown out. Like a goddamn bomb.” He lowered his voice and leaned into Zane. “If you ask me, I think the owner is into something dirty. Like the mafia. How else would you explain a bombing in someone’s house?”
Unease skidded across his spine and up his neck. Why didn’t Skylar mention that to him? He didn’t really figure the mafia was interested in setting up territory in Arkansas.
He set the wood floor down as the voices of women drifted out from the kitchen. His senses immediately became alert as the familiarity of the female voice dawned on him.
He thought back to a few months ago when the Guardian compound had been bombed after a female had been kidnapped. Then they had gotten word that the female’s house had been bombed as well.
Holy shit.
This wasn’t just any client’s house. He was standing in Ava’s old house.
This meant one thing. Damon was not far behind.
***
Skylar smiled as she walked around the kitchen and pointed out the progress to Ava Trahan and her grandmother. “As you see, the cabinets are done, and once we get the countertops in, we can start on the hardwood floors.”
Skylar hadn’t expected the owner to be so beautiful and or to be around her own age. When they had Skyped, Ava never could get her camera to work, so Skylar had never seen her until today.
“Are you sure you want to sell this place, Ava?” Her granny peeked out the window over where the sink would soon be. “It’s so quiet and peaceful. You and Damon could make this a second home or just keep it for when you want a girl’s retreat.” Granny smiled.
“I don’t need a girl’s retreat. I don’t want to be away from Damon as it is. The only reason he’s in Jonesboro with me is because he’s working some top-secret drug case for Barrett.” Ava clamped her mouth shut and winced as she looked at Skylar. “Probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“Yeah, and now we’re going to have to kill the pretty contractor to keep her quiet.” Granny shoved her hand in her white purse and dug around.
Skylar laughed a little at the offhanded comment. Surely the old woman was joking. She’d never had cause to be nervous around a client before. She’d not been worried when Ava told her the house had been bombed. Hell, she had bought the st
ory Ava gave her about some crazy kids throwing a pipe bomb in the house. She said it was a horrible Halloween prank.
“Just kidding, hon.” Granny pulled out a peppermint, stuck it between her wrinkled lips, and smiled.
“Want one?” Granny held out a second piece of candy.
“Sure.” She relaxed and reached for the candy.
Granny’s smile faltered and she leaned in closer. Her nostrils flared. Narrowing her eyes, the old woman spoke. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you, my dear, are a wolf.”
Chapter Nine
“What did you say?” Skylar felt the blood drain from her face as her gaze darted between the two women. She inhaled deep, and for the first time since they had entered the house, she caught their scent.
They were wolves. Gray wolves.
“How’d did I miss that?” Ava was now staring at her with interest.
“Probably because Skylar smells different. She’s not a gray. She’s a red wolf.” Granny frowned.
“A what?” Fear flashed through Ava’s widened eyes. She took a step back, bumping into the corner of a cabinet. She flinched at the pain but didn’t for one second take her eyes off Skylar.
Dread, cold and suffocating, wound itself around Skylar’s body. She knew what other Weres thought of red wolves and how they were looked down upon. The only time she’d forgotten that she was different from other werewolves was when she was with Zane’s family. They knew what she was from the beginning and had been accepting of her. It was because of them that she wanted to show others that not all red wolves were bad.
But now, looking at these two women, she realized that she’d been wrong to hope for such a thing.
They would always see her as the enemy.
“Skylar, I’m hungry.” Sophia came running into the room with her wooden car.
Skylar scooped her up in her arms and held her close. She glared at the women. If they so much as tried to touch her Sophia, Skylar wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate. “Okay, sweetie. Just a few more minutes. I think these two ladies were just leaving.”
