Once he was at the door, he pulled it open and he felt as if he’d been kicked in the gut. There were severely decayed bodies there. It looked like a family and he wanted to retch, but forced himself to stay cool and mentally distant. Trail called the state police and asked for Jackson. He’d liked the man and as a shifter, he would understand the situation.
He had no idea who these victims were, but no one should ever kill children. It was against any honorable code. Waiting, he walked around the hut and looked at the worn path that circled it. Seeing paw prints, he wondered if those had been the killed or the killers.
Flashing lights illuminated the horizon. Jackson must have been nearby when the call came out. The police car slid to a halt and Jackson jumped out. “What’s going on Trail?”
“Someone ordered a security system for this place. I got here a little too late.”
Jackson stumbled and Trail was sure the smell had hit him. “How many?”
“A family of four. Not too many killers will take out kids.”
Jackson peeked in the door. “Damn. Are they human or shifter?”
“I haven’t a clue. They are so badly decomposed, they could be well known to me and I wouldn’t recognize them.”
“When did the order come in?”
“Probably a week ago. We’re running at least a week behind but I was out here already and this was nearby.”
Jackson stepped away and put in the call for the medical examiner and crime scene investigators. “I guess this will get dropped in my lap now.” Jackson said letting out a long sigh.
“I think you’ll be the best for the job seeing as it involves shifters one way or the other.”
“You’re right, but I have the right to dread the whole thing. It’s not going to be pretty either way.”
“I feel for you, but I feel for those children more. Anyway I can help?” Trail asked.
“I’ll need all the information available on whoever put in that order. They have to pay a deposit, right? There’ll be a money trail.”
“Unless they paid cash or used a gift card. I can’t see anyone leaving this behind and paying out of their own account.”
“You’d be surprised what people do.” Jackson said but Trail shot him a look.
“I guess you’re basing that on cases in general but someone already killed four people and no one came here looking for them.”
“Not until you did.”
“I was led here. They wanted me to find them, either as a warning, if they are shifters or a look what I done for you, if they are affiliated with the haters.”
“The medical examiner is a wolf. We’ll know as soon as he gets a chance to look at them. For now, just go to your office and send me the information about the order. When I find out more, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay. I’ll head back and get the order pulled and track the payment if we can.”
Trail headed back to the office, his heart heavy and his mind trying to figure out what was going on. Problem was he didn’t have enough information. Driving back, he went through everything in his mind because he just couldn’t help it. He wanted to push it to the back and not go over it again and again, but it wouldn’t stay away.
It was a relief when he got to the office because here was where some answers might be. “Trail.” Twila said and ran into his arms. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” She stepped back. “What’s wrong?”
“The last job didn’t go like I expected it to. There was a dead family in the house.” He went on to explain everything to her. “I need you to track the order and the payment method and find out anything you can. The state police want it all.”
“That explains something. The name.”
“P. Hunter?”
“It said Primal Hunter. I thought it was a mistake so I abbreviated the first name on our paperwork.”
“How did he pay?”
“He used gift cards. It’s possible they might be traced, but I bet he used cash and bought them from a machine.”
“Damn. I wish we could find out something. He killed kids. Two of the bodies were so small.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that. Let me go track down what I can and I’ll get it for you.” Twila whispered and she patted him on the back.
Trail leaned back and tried to clear his head. It must have worked because he drifted off. When he woke, Twila was gently shaking him. “What?” He mumbled.
“I’ve got what information I could find. He bought the gift cards with cash at a mall not far from here. The camera is cleared every month and they just did it. I wrote down the information in case the cops want to double check. He called from a cell phone but it’s not registered to anyone. The phone and the card with the minutes on it were purchased together at a department store. They wouldn’t discuss their video monitoring with me. It was a very by the books guy. The phone hasn’t been used since the last time they called us to set up the appointment.”
“That’s good. You got a lot of information. We didn’t expect many breadcrumbs. Is it time to close up shop yet?”
“Not yet, but soon. Why don’t you take a cat nap and when you wake, we can go upstairs?” Twila suggested. It sounded like a good idea to him.
When she woke him up this time, it was time to close the office and go home. “I suppose I should tell you we have an event today too.” Twila observed. “Not as serious as what happened to you, but one of the racists was caught. Naqi dealt with him.”
Trail froze in place turning to look at his female. “Where did this happen?” He asked quietly.
“In the office.” She admitted.
“Who was in here?”
“No one.”
Trail shot her a look of disbelief. “Try that again.”
“No one. I could tell something was wrong and I called Naqi. He went inside to look around and found the guy hiding in the closet. Stupid human thought we couldn’t smell him. They still think I’m human like them.”
“I’m proud of you for staying watchful, but try not to count on the fact that they think you’re human will save you.” Trail said.
“I know that I need to be careful, but I have been. You can’t do it all, you need my help.”
She had a point. No one knew how many humans were involved with the racists and there was no way to know, at least right now. They would have to find a way to track them and identify them soon. That was what Twila’s super tracker was doing.
“Have you heard back from your hacker?”
“Yes, I sent the information on to Tyne. I still have a copy if you want to see it.” Twila offered.
“Yes, I would like to.”
“I can pull it up on my laptop upstairs. You can read it while I try to cook us a meal.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Trail could barely imagine the domestic scene but he wanted to experience it. Maybe in time, a few pups would be thrown in the mix. Once all the problems were settled, that was. Twila was his future, his present, and his everything.
He escorted her upstairs keeping a watchful eye on everything around them. His nose also came in handy and he was sure there was no one nearby. They entered Twila’s apartment and he scented food right away.
“I threw somethings in the crockpot. They are handy for working people.” Trail just nodded but his stomach growled like a beast speaking for him. “Someone’s hungry. Let me pull up the information on the computer and then I’ll finish the meal so we can eat.”
She sat at the desk and only moments later had everything pulled up for him. Standing, she motioned to the chair and he sat down. His attention was on the screen but he could hear Twila as she fixed their food. Whoever this female was who had gathered the information, she was thorough if it was correct. The organization of racists was large and had deep pockets. They had members who were ruthless criminals and did the difficult jobs assigned to them. Fortunately these criminals were smart and when they messed up, the organization cut them loose.
The resear
ch showed that pattern over and over. The leaders were not loyal, only focused and full of hate. She had made a graph that showed the bottom rung had no idea who the higher levels were. That was something they’d already discovered. She also suggested to Twila that she leave these people alone because they are no good. If only they’d been given that choice.
Trail would love to distance himself and his kind from them, but the choice was already made. They would have to fight it out and make these racists uncomfortable before they would leave them be. He didn’t want to fight, he had to fight.
“Are you ready to eat?” Twila asked. The table was set and everything looked wonderful.
“I can’t wait.” He said as he made his way to the table where she already sat waiting for him. “This looks like beef Stroganoff? I didn’t know you could make it in a crock pot.”
“Try it and tell me.”
He took a forkful and blew on it because it was hot. Tasting carefully so he wouldn’t burn his tongue, the flavor exploded in his mouth. “Hell yeah! That’s delicious.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that recipe then.” Twila teased. She sipped her wine, probably that sweet stuff she liked and he grabbed the beer she’d gotten for him.
There was sourdough bread, corn, coleslaw, and he could smell something sweet cooling off in the oven. He’d wondered if she could cook, not that she had to, but damn he was lucky. It was a meal anyone would appreciate. Trail tried to savor it but he was so hungry he caught himself shoveling it in. She didn’t seem to mind. Maybe she knew how much he was enjoying her cooking.
He finished the food on his plate and got seconds as she went and pulled the dessert out of the oven. She quickly frosted it and he almost drooled. “Carrot cake?” He asked.
“Yes, I wasn’t sure if you would like it.” She said uncertainly.
“Goddess, it’s one of my favorites.”
Twila smiled and her face glowed. “I’m glad I picked it then. We’ll have to discuss what you like and what you hate.”
“I like most foods. The only two things I don’t like are beets and snails.”
“I don’t care for snails either, but beets?”
“My mom made pickled beets every Sunday. Argh! Maybe if she hadn’t forced me to eat them when I was a pup I wouldn’t hate them so much.”
“Alright. No snails or beets, I can live with that. But if we ever visit Ariel, she makes a mean beet salad and I’m eating some.”
“I can look away and plug up my nose.”
“You know you never talk about your family.” Twila mentioned.
“I know. Someday we’ll sit down and discuss them but for now just know she isn’t alive and I never care if I see my dad again as long as I live.”
“That’s not a bombshell or anything.”
“I know it just makes you want to know more. I’m sorry about that, but I just can’t say more.”
“You’ll tell me when you can.” She agreed.
Trail felt relieved not to have to unload his personal shit right then. Once their relationship was solid and the mating complete, he’d tell her about his past. That way it would be too late for her to leave him. Was he being an asshole? Yeah, but he came by it naturally. That was something he just didn’t want her to know yet.
Trail took a bite of his cake and moaned. “This is fucking good.”
Twila smiled. “Thank you. Now I know how to reward you when you’re a good boy.”
“I’ll be good, but Baby you’ve got a full grown male on your hands and before the night is over, you’ll know it.”
His mate blushed so sweetly. It made him feel like she was innocent in many ways regardless of what she’d been through. It made him wish he could kill the male that had put her through it, but he was already dead. The only thing left for him to do, was to love her as she should have been loved and protect her even from herself sometimes if necessary.
Twila got up and started to put away the little food that was leftover. He got up and began to wash the dishes. It was an easy job and he didn’t mind doing it. Manual tasks like it helped him to think. “You don’t have to do the dishes.” Twila said once she was done putting everything away.
“I don’t mind and you made such a great meal it’s the least I could do.” She began drying and putting things away. They were done in ten minutes. “Are you ready for bed?”
“As soon as I turn my computer off.” She said. Sitting down at the desk, she shut it down. “Did you discover anything useful?”
“I wish I had. Maybe I know a little more about them. They are bad people, really bad. How they found about it us what I’d like to know. That group won’t stop, not until we make them. The guys they’ve sent against us are their lowest level of members. Those people care nothing about them. When they are killed, injured, or caught, they just cut them loose.”
“I noticed that with the prisoners we’ve caught. They never know anything either.”
“That’s true. They have one contact and they don’t even know his real name. The only thing they might care about, is they’ve used up money without a worthwhile result. Mostly the guys they’ve been using are criminals looking for somewhere to belong. The place they chose wasn’t a good one. They also pull in a lot of loners looking for a home.”
“It’s sad that they take advantage of people that only want a sense of belonging.”
“It is, but so far those people they’ve pulled into their group haven’t felt bad about trying to kill us.” Trail observed.
Twila stood up and he held out his hand to her. She took it and he led her along to the bedroom. Trail dropped her hand and stripped off his clothing. “I could sure use a shower.” He grinned as he strode toward the bathroom. “What about you?”
His female stripped naked and followed him. Trail set the temperature of the shower as hot as bearable. He wanted the water to ease their knotted muscles and relax them both. Stepping under the water, it stung for a second before he got used to it. Pulling Twila in, she yelped before she adjusted to the heat too. They were both completely wet. He bent his head to give her a kiss and pulled her into his arms.
Continuing the kiss, he lifted her onto his rock hard cock. Her arms circled his neck hanging on as he positioned himself to slide into her. Twila’s legs wrapped around his hips and he leaned her against the shower stall wall. Slowly, he slid all the way into her sopping wet channel. He groaned as he fully seated himself. “Goddess yes!”
Now that she had adjusted to him, he began a punishing pace feeling the need to give her a climax then find his own release. He hammered into her feeling his cock swell until it was painful as he held off his orgasm waiting for Twila to find her pleasure first. Rolling his hips to hit a different spot, she moaned and her legs squeezed him tighter.
They were both so close it would take just a push to get them to their release. One of his hands snaked between them and he rubbed her clit firmly. Twila screamed his name and he felt her channel crush his cock forcing his orgasm forward. Streams of hot seed shot out of him until he was completely drained.
Trail leaned against her summoning his strength after the monumental climax they had shared. His wet curly black hair hung in his eyes and he shook it, spraying water on her. Twila just laughed.
“Maybe we should clean up and go to bed?” She suggested as he let her slide down his body and his cock twitched with new interest. “Hm, let’s clean up and if you aren’t tired, maybe we can move it to the bedroom.”
“Okay. Deal.” He got some soap and lathered up his hands. Soaping her up felt good and he started with her hair and worked his way down.
Twila rinsed off before soaping him up. He loved the feel of her slippery hands as they ran over his body. It was nice to forget all their worries and play around in the shower for a while. Now that he had rinsed clean and the water was turning cold, they could linger no longer. Trail turned off the water and as Twila stepped out of the shower he wrapped a towel around her and dried her off. He grabbed ano
ther towel and dried himself off then he hung it on a towel bar.
Naked and not the slightest bit bothered by it, he strode after Twila into the bedroom. Catching her before she got into bed, he gave her a kiss that was filled with all the love he had for her. “I suppose we’d best sleep now.”
They crawled under the blankets and he pulled her into his embrace. He wasn’t sure if he could sleep anymore without her lying against him so why take the chance? His fingers stroked her silky skin and she went to sleep in no time. Trail struggled to sleep and at some point he must have. That was why he woke to an empty bed and the aroma of breakfast cooking.
“Good morning.” Trail said as he stood behind Twila looking at the food she was fixing.
“Good morning. I hope you’re hungry?”
“I am very hungry. Hopefully after I eat, I can get to work and catch up on my list.”
“We’ll have a new guy starting today. Maybe he’ll learn as quickly as Ray did. Ray and Rita will be in the office this morning too. We’d better hurry.”
“We have enough time unless they come early.”
Twila filled his plate and handed it to him. She filled hers next and sat down at the table across from him. They both ate quietly and finished their food quickly. She got up to wash the dishes but he helped her.
“Let’s go to the office and we can get some coffee started and wait for everyone to show up.” Twila suggested.
“That sounds good to me.” Trail agreed. He had high hopes that today would be a normal ordinary kind of day.
They made their way to the office and got the coffee going. Sitting around in the office, they both had their mugs of coffee close by. Even though the caffeine had no effect on them, they were in the habit of drinking it and it would feel weird not to.
“It shouldn’t be long before the new guy gets here.” Twila offered.
“Tell me about him.”
“He’s mid-twenties, single, and worked for a security company as a teenager. His name is Don Drucker and he seems nice enough. We didn’t exchange any personal information because my time was short. I had another interview scheduled. The experience he has doesn’t compare to Ray’s but it’s better than none.”
Bad Habit (Wolf Investigations and Securities Inc. Book 2) Page 9
