Wolf-Run

by Linda Palmer

  "Would you please explain to me why you can't just go the police and tell them everything but the supernatural part of your story? You obviously know details that could bring The Arm down. Why else would they threaten you?"

  "If I were innocent, I could. You're forgetting that I'm not."

  "So plea bargain."

  "That might get me a lighter sentence or even off the hook, but what about my pack? And what about all the Weres who took the cure and are now trying to get their lives back together? Not to mention the ones who didn't, but are no longer living lives of crime. All they need is another hurdle."

  "You're right. You can't go to the police." With a sigh of resignation, I rested my head on his shoulder. "Will you stay here with me like we talked about before?"

  "Sure you want me to?"

  "I'm sure. Where's all your stuff? The cougar at your apartment building said you'd moved out and showed me your forwarding address."

  He laughed at my choice of words. "So that's why you were taking the short cut. I wondered."

  "Yeah. I was coming after you."

  "Thanks for that. My stuff, such as it is, is in my truck."

  "Good." Impulsively, I slid down to where my head lay on his thigh. I stretched out my legs, which didn't reach to the other end of the oversized couch. We watched TV in silence for a while, or he did. My thoughts were actually in Washington with my parents. "I wonder when they were going to tell me about Max."

  "Your parents?"

  "Yes. What do you think my uncle did?"

  "He's your dad's half-brother, right? With different mothers?"

  I nodded.

  "Maybe he's a drag queen."

  That made me laugh. "Try again."

  "Hmm. Maybe he embezzled money or something. Your grandpa probably wouldn't have forgiven that."

  "Max has tons of cash. He doesn't need to steal from Heritage Books. And how would he do it, anyway? It's not like he handles the budget or anything."

  Brody thought for a minute and shrugged. "I give up."

  "Me, too. It doesn't matter, anyway. I'll love him no matter what."

  He began to play with my hair, twisting the ends around his finger as if he thought they'd revert into the curls he preferred. "Is UA the only college you applied to?"

  "No."

  "Is it the only one that offered you a scholarship?"

  "No."

  "So why'd you decide to go there?"

  "My parents said it would be easier if I lived at home. Tucson's just thirty minutes away."

  "Hmph."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "If money isn't the issue, and they're seldom in town, I assume they meant easier on them since you could continue to guard the home front while they play."

  I sat up. "Don't hate the parents, okay? That's my job." He winced. "Sorry. I just can't stand the way they treat you, like you're some kind of hired help or something."

  "But they don't."

  His lips became a thin line of displeasure, sure sign that he wanted to argue. Wisely, he didn't. "Did they pick out your major, too?"

  "No, I did. And before you say anything, I'll admit that I probably chose one I thought would please them. But don't worry; I already decided to change it to Education."

  "That's the first smart thing you've said today." As the theme of 'Cops' signaled the end of the episode, I stretched lazily. "I need a nap." Last night's adventure and my resulting lack of sleep had definitely caught up with me.

  "I could use some Zs, too."

  I stood and crooked my finger at Brody before walking to my bedroom. He followed a second later. We stretched out on top of my comforter under a fuzzy blanket, intending to rest for just a while. When I opened my eyes again, it was dark outside. Late Friday night or early Saturday morning? I wondered, raising my head so I could see the clock. Midnight. I saw that Brody still lay beside me, deeply asleep judging from the sounds of his breathing. Without making a sound, I slipped off the bed and out of my clothes. I put on my sleep shirt, brushed

  my teeth, and crawled under the covers.

  The next time I opened my eyes, sun streamed through the eastern window. I looked at the bedside clock: 7:00 a.m. I heard the shower running in the hall bathroom, realized that Brody must've retrieved his stuff from his truck, and was already up and at it. I got up, too, scrubbing my face and teeth and pulling my hair into a ponytail.

  I loved Saturdays as a rule. Iris always cooked biscuits and gravy if I was around, a tradition that hadn't died when I moved out. So the minute Brody stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and clearly rested, I grabbed his hand and headed to the big house. Iris met us at the door, as did the scent of frying sausage and browning biscuits. I introduced Brody.

  "He's staying with me for a while."

  "In the spare bedroom," Brody said.

  Iris laughed and motioned us to the glass-top table. Seconds later, she served us open-faced biscuits covered in gravy with sausage patties on the side. She added a pitcher of fresh orange juice before joining us. We began to eat.

  "Is that today's paper?" I asked, pointing to one lying on the tile bar.

  "Yes."

  I got it and returned to the table so I could scan the headlines. My gaze instantly landed on the date. I realized today was Brody's birthday. I saw a headline about that missing child, a three-year-old girl named Abigail Wells. I pointed to it. Brody solemnly nodded.

  "May I take this with me?" I asked Iris.

  She nodded. "Sure."

  When we finished eating, I sent Brody home with the paper and helped Iris clear the table.

  "Do you have a cake mix I could borrow? It's Brody's birthday."

  "Why don't you let me bake one for him? I don't have anything else to do. I can cook dinner for him tonight, too, if you'd like. Something special."

  "Oh, would you? I could call his mom. We'll have a birthday meal for him, just the four of us."

  "Good idea. Leave everything to me. Will seven work for you?"

  "Absolutely. Thanks, Iris. You're the best."

  "Glad to do it. I like your young man, by the way." I sighed. "He is perfect, isn't he?"

  As soon as I got back to the guesthouse, I told Brody I had to run to Wal-Mart for some tampons. I knew that would keep him from asking questions, which it did. I snagged his cell phone from my bar as I walked out the door, hoping he wouldn't notice that it was missing before I put it back. As suspected, his mom's number was in his contacts. I invited her to dinner. She accepted. I gave her directions.

  At Wal-Mart, I bought Brody a Pink Floyd box set. With luck, he wouldn't already have it. I also bought some party plates, cups, napkins and some trick candles. The kind that kept relighting no matter how hard you blew on them. Yes, that was silly, but I needed that at the moment.

  I managed to put the phone back on the bar without Brody noticing, probably because he was so focused on the news and the story about the lost child, who lived in Wolf-Run. I sat beside him on the couch and listened to the anchor, who said that the little girl had been missing since Friday afternoon. She was last seen playing in her yard. There were frantic parents, represented by a 'family spokesperson' and not on television. According to police, they weren't suspects in the abduction.

  "Do you think you could find her?" I asked.

  "Maybe. But I'm not exactly sure how. It's going to take some thought."

  "Good. That will keep you occupied while I get ready for the party."

  "What party?"

  I handed him his present, which I'd just wrapped. "Happy birthday, Brody."

  He laughed. "I didn't realize what day it was."

  "Well, you have a lot on your mind."

  He tore into the present and gave me a big grin. "Wow. I've been wanting this for ages."

  "Good. Your mom will be here around six-thirty. Iris is cooking something special."

  He gave me the oddest look. "Thanks, Cass."

  "Everyone deserves a birthday party."
<
br />   "Oh, not for that, though I do appreciate it. Thanks for the roof over my head, for offering to tutor me, for not wigging when you learned I was a Were..." His voice trailed off.

  "Finished?"

  He shook his head. "No. Most of all, thanks for your faith in me. It's made a huge difference in my life."

  "My pleasure."

  "Com'ere." He patted his thigh.

  When I moved to sit in his lap, he hugged me really hard. I heard him slowly inhale, as if absorbing my scent or something.

  Then he kissed me. "Once this whole thing is over, I'm doing everything in my power to wrap you up in love. I'll work so hard to make your life perfect. Whatever it takes, baby. We're gonna be so happy together."

  I smiled into his neck and raised my head to look him in the eye. "Speaking of happy, I think I really am going to declare my independence and get a place of my own, one that doesn't have strings attached."

  "Life is hard, Cass. You have no idea what it's like out there. Working and going to school will be tough." Hm. "There's, um, something about me that you don't know."

  His eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh yeah? What?"

  "My granddad set up a trust fund for me when I was born. It kicked in when I graduated from high school, and though I haven't really dipped into it yet, it's mine for the taking. So I don't have to work if I don't want to."

  Frowning slightly, Brody set me off his lap. "How much are we talking, here?

  Keep it light. "Just a million, give or take. A lot of it is invested, and you know how the stock market is these days."

  “ Are you shitting me? “Brody jumped up and looked down at me in obvious dismay. “Why didn't you say something?" I stood, too. "It never came up."

  For several seconds, Brody stared without speaking. He shook his head. "What are we doing, Cass? I mean I knew before that this whole you-and-me thing was a leap. But now—

  you don't need me to make your life perfect. It already is." I couldn't believe my ears. "Money isn't everything. In fact, it's nothing."

  "Easy for you to say."

  Suddenly I wanted to strangle him and his foolish pride. "If I gave it all to charity, would you love me better?" He snorted. "This doesn't have anything to do with how I feel about you. Nothing will change the fact that you have me, heart and soul."

  "So what are we talking about?"

  "Life. You were born into money. You deserve things I could never give you."

  "Oh my freakin' gosh! I had no idea you were so shallow." His face flushed. "Shallow? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

  "It means that you put stock in superficial things. It means you let what's on the outside influence your perception of what's on the inside."

  "But—"

  "I'm still the same Cassidy you rescued—the one who loves and depends on you. Is something like a stupid little trust fund going to come between us?"

  "It's not little."

  "Maybe not, but it is stupid." I pressed my fingers to my temples, which had begun to throb, and blinked away my tears of frustration. "If I can look past the fact that you're a wolf, you should be able to look past the fact that my granddad had money. Stuff like that just doesn't matter—not to people who love each other. Do you love me Brody? I mean really love me?" Brody sighed. "Yes, I really love you, and you're right. It shouldn't matter."

  "And we'll never have this conversation again, right? Even if I buy you a new truck tomorrow and pay cash for it." The horror on his face made me burst into laughter.

  "Kidding."

  "Better be."

  "I won't have time tomorrow. I've got to find an apartment big enough for the two of us."

  Chapter Ten

  Sasha got to the guesthouse around six Saturday night, but we were ready for her. I gave a tour of my place before walking her and Brody to my parents' house to meet Iris. I showed them around there, too. Promptly at seven, Iris announced dinner. The smell of southern fried chicken signaled that she'd cooked my favorite—comfort food!—which meant mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, homemade rolls. All the good stuff a South Carolina transplant such as Iris loved to cook. Brody and his mom clearly didn't mind the menu choice. Their smiles told me that. Iris joined us as we sat and ate.

  Since I'd mentioned Sasha's vocation, Iris began to ask all the questions I'd been too shy to verbalize. How did her insights come to her? How did she know who they belonged to? And how did she turn them off when she needed peace and quiet?

  "I shut down that part of my brain, much as you send a computer into hibernation mode."

  "And when you power up again?" I asked.

  "I'm overwhelmed, at least until I sort it all out." She laughed when she caught my expression, which was probably sympathetic. I mean, how on earth did she deal with all that?

  "It's really not so bad."

  While I gathered up the empty plates, Iris brought over the cake she'd made, a triple layer chocolate one with "Happy 20th, Brody" written on it in white icing. I stuck the trick candles in place and lit each one. Brody blew on them until he turned red in the face and caught me laughing at him. Naturally, we all had a huge piece of it. Well, the girls did. Brody ate two. Stuffed and happy, we helped Iris clean up. That done, Sasha, Brody and I headed back to my place. They sat on my couch while I made a pit stop. When I got back, I found my boyfriend channel surfing and his mom lost in thought. Powering up? I wondered, sitting next to Brody.

  "Who's Max?" she suddenly asked.

  "My uncle. Why?"

  She looked past me to Brody. "He just, um, popped into my head is all. Maybe he's thinking of you."

  Oh yeah? I looked over my shoulder at Brody, who gave me an innocent smile. Had something passed between them? Some signal I wasn't meant to see? Or did they even need signals to communicate? My gaze darted from him to Sasha and back to him. Their expressions gave nothing away, but I had a funny feeling. Maybe I was the psychic one. That reminded me...

  "I heard Brody's voice in my head the other night while he was a wolf. He said you could explain it."

  Sasha looked very pleased by that development. "I didn't know he had that gift. It's a true love thing that defies explanation, even by a psychic.” She got up and kissed the top of my head. “I really need to go, but first, Brody, open this." She dug into her purse and pulled out a small white box, which she handed to her son.

  He opened it and lifted out a gold pocket watch. One push of a tiny button on top of the stem opened an ornate cover and revealed a photo of a young girl.

  "That's your grandmother, Rosalie." She glanced at me.

  "My mom. The watch belonged to my dad. His dad gave it to him when he graduated from high school. Now I'm giving it to you."

  Brody eyes swam with unshed tears. "But I didn’t graduate."

  "Doesn't matter. I couldn't be prouder of the young man you've become, and I know you'll pull it all together when you're ready."

  Now I wanted to cry.

  "Thanks, Mom."

  "You're welcome. Walk me to my car?"

  "Sure."

  Though tempted to join them, I hadn't missed the subtle body language that told me she wanted him to herself for a minute. And who could blame her? I did watch them from the window and witnessed an urgent conversation that I hoped didn't have anything to do with Max. Surely, Brody and I were past the point of secrets now.

  Surely.

  His mom finally left. I tried to read Brody's expression when he walked into the house, but had no luck. I turned on the TV, but didn't really see or hear it since my worries totally distracted me.

  "Shit!"

  "What?" I shifted focus to the here and now and looked where Brody looked—the TV. I saw a man standing behind a microphone, talking.

  "Tucker Wells is the father of that little kid that's gone missing."

  "So you know these people?"

  "Yeah. Tucker is an older Were who took the cure. A really nice guy. I liked him a lot."

  "Do the police have any leads?"
/>   "Not according to CNN. Got a phone book? I want to call him."

  "Yeah, sure." I dug it out of the magazine rack in the living room.

  Brody looked up the number and punched the appropriate buttons on his phone.

  "Tucker? Brody Anderson." Pause. "I'm good. I heard about your daughter. I want to help." Pause. "Didn't take it. Neither did Jackson, Lee, Welch, or Stewart." Pause. "They’ve broken away, so I’m calling the shots at the moment.” Pause. “No sweat, man. When do you want us?" Brody listened and nodded. "We'll see you then." Pause. "Well, if it is, all the better. Nothing would make me happier than bringing those fuckers down." He snapped his cell shut.

  "He thinks the Arm is behind it, doesn't he?" Brody shrugged, which told me he probably did, too. He flipped his cell open again and made another call. "Jackson, hey, I've got a job for us." He explained about the missing child.

  "We're supposed to meet Wells at his place at 10:00. I thought we could meet somewhere a couple of hours before. We'll shift and shift back. Well, all of us but Stewart since he's the best tracker. "

  I tugged on his shirtsleeve to get his attention. "Have them come here. You can change in my back yard."

  Brody thought for a second before nodding and telling Jackson where to meet.

  I waited until he laid down his phone. "Why are you going to shift back before you look for her?"

  "For several reasons. First off, five wolves on the prowl is way too weird, even in a city named Wolf-Run. Second, Stewart has the best nose, and he's not shifting back. Third, we don't want to scare the kid to death. If we find her, that is."

  "You will. I can't believe we're doing this...." He snorted. "What's with the 'we'? You're not going."

  "The heck I'm not. Just try and leave without me."

  "Cass, please—"

  "Do not waste your breath. I'm den mother. I have to go." Registering his scowl, I added, "Did you honestly think I'd let you have all the fun without me?"

  "It may not be fun. If we actually do find her, there may be bad guys to contend with. You’ve already had two too many brushes with trouble."