“Oh no, that's terrible. Maybe I should check on him.”
“Not now, he's asleep. I just checked on him,” Gary informed her.
“Oh. Let me know if I can do anything.”
“Right now, you might start dinner.”
“Is it my night?” She checked the schedule. “Oh shit, it is, sorry, where is my mind? I'm on it.” Shannon set to work, fixing dinner. “So, what’s wrong with Fletch?”
“Touch of the flu, I guess, or maybe just the change of location. Sometimes it takes a few days to get use to a new place,” Gary told her.
“He sure seemed fine this morning.”
“Maybe he just did too much yesterday when he cleaned up the storage yard and it finally caught up with him. He really did a lot of work out there.”
“Well, I hope he feels better.”
Shannon decided to fix burgers and got to work. She had no idea that shifters never got the flu.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine tomorrow,” Kenney added as he set the table. Stan finally joined them just as Shannon threw the first burgers on the indoor grill.
“Everything alright?” Gary asked.
“Yup, we got what we needed.”
“Good. Did you look in on Fletch before you came down?”
“I did, he was asleep."
“What are you guys talking about, what did you need?”
“I wanted to find the service records for those helicopters for Fletch,” Stan told her. “He couldn't do anything until we found them.”
“That was nice of you.”
“I felt bad for him. He was so excited and now he doesn’t feel well.”
“Wow, there is actually a soft spot under that hard exterior of yours.”
“Don’t tell anyone, it might ruin my reputation.” He gave her a wink and fixed his burger.
“Ha, no one would believe me.”
“You’re right, they wouldn’t.” He sat down and helped himself to a pile of french fries.
“Kenney, did you check the back gate?” Gary inquired.
“I did, I had to replace the lock.”
“What happened to the lock?” the all too curious, Shannon, inquired.
“Well, it was old and rusted, and apparently we lost the key. Fletch needs to be able to get in and out of the yard.”
Shannon was getting suspicious.
“What's going on? Yesterday none of you even knew Bradley Fletcher. Now you're tripping over each other trying to do things for him. What are you hiding from me? The wolf is back, isn't it.”
She walked out of the break room and ran up the stairs. They thought she was going to her room, but she made a detour and went to see what was really wrong with Fletch. When she entered his room, she stopped short.
Fletch looked so innocent and handsome while he slept. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw his wounds. She ran from his room and back downstairs.
“What happened to him!” she yelled at all of them. “It was the wolf, wasn't it? He's back, isn't he?”
“Yes, he came back. He attacked Fletcher."
“Is he going to be alright? Is he going to turn into a werewolf now?”
“No, he's not going to turn into a werewolf, he'll be fine, he just needs to rest for a day or two. Captain Miller will double check on him tomorrow.” Gary informed her.
“That won't be necessary, I can take care of him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, I am, why wouldn't I be? I'm a doctor and a damn good one.”
“Shannon, everything came about so fast, all I could think of was protecting you. I apologize for not giving you the credit to be levelheaded enough to take care of him.”
“You had better start telling me what I need to know.” Shannon was pissed.
“Shannon, fix your dinner and come and sit down. Please. There are a few things I need to explain.”
Shannon fixed her hamburger and sat down, but she didn't touch her food. “Start talking.”
Stan and Kenney had finished their meal, but they stayed at the table.
“First of all, Fletch is going to be okay. The worst bite just missed an artery.”
“Thank God,” Shannon voiced with relief. She smiled to herself, Gary referred to him as Fletch, that meant he liked him, and he'd be around for a while. Kenney and Stan picked up on it as well.
“His first assignment is to learn how to run the office, so his injuries won't hold him back. He should be completely healed by the time he goes into the air with us.”
“And what about the wolf?”
“Until we talk to Fletcher, we don't know if he was able to fight back. Hopefully he was able to do enough damage to discourage the wolf's return.”
“And what about me. Where do I go when I'm threatened, who do I turn to?”
“Well, we'd really like you to come to us, we're here for you.”
“Right,” Shannon uttered sarcastically, “that's why you have been so truthful and straightforward to share so many things with me.”
“First of all, would you have believed us?”
“No, of course not.”
“That's what I thought,” Gary replied.
“But you've never given me a chance.”
That made him stop and think, he did give her a chance, but she had turned him down. It was better he let that fact drop.
“I'm sorry, you're right. It was an error in judgment, we were trying to protect you. Now we know that the only way to protect you, is to tell you the truth. We won't keep anything from you from now on.”
“Like I said before, start talking."
Shannon wasn't going to cut him any slack.
“Alright. Something you need to know first; we have what is called a Tribunal. It's like a judge and jury for shifters. That is why we don't get the regular law enforcement involved with the exception of Frank Miller.”
“Is he a shifter too?”
Gary shook his head ‘no'.
“If we could identify the wolf-man that is after you, the Tribunal would remove him, and you would never have to worry about him again.”
“Jeez, if only I could remember. And?”
“We know Miss Colfax was also attacked by the wolf. That is why I agreed to let you keep in touch with her.”
“Poor Adrianna. Unfortunately, she can't remember anything, either.”
“Were you able to find anything on social media?”
“No. If she had anything on Facebook, she might have used an alias.”
Shannon took a deep breath and let it out.
“Is that it?”
“Not quite. I think he's going to continue to come after you until he finishes what he started.”
“You mean, until he kills me.”
Gary nodded. His plan was to tell her Fletcher was a shifter, but at the last moment, changed his mind. If she continued to be too afraid to come to him, maybe she would turn to Fletcher. She had already shown signs of being attracted to him. He'd keep the footage of the security cameras to himself, for now.
“So, what do we do now?”
She wasn't getting the answers she needed.
“I think we all need a good night's sleep. Starting tomorrow, I want everyone to work in teams. No one goes anywhere alone. He'll know we'll be watching for him, so he probably won't come back for a while.”
Chapter 17
Shannon tossed and turned; she couldn't sleep. She finally got up, threw on a robe, and went to check on Fletch. When she looked in on him, she almost turned around and left.
Fletch was naked, lying on his bed. He had bite marks on his arms, and claw marks across his chest. A bandage was securely taped to his shoulder, so she couldn't examine the wound there. She knew she should leave, or at least cover him up, but she couldn't help herself. She was mesmerized. His body was beautiful, and she had seen a lot of men's bodies in her line of work.
He moaned, and she quickly went to his side and pulled the blankets over him. She felt his forehead for signs of feve
r, he felt cool. He opened his eyes and looked around. He finally focused on her face.
“Hey there, how do you feel?” she asked quietly.
“I've felt better,” he whispered. He tried to move and let out a moan.
“Stay still, you need to relax and rest.”
“Did you patch me up?”
“No, it was Frank Miller, he's a retired doctor and close friend of Gary’s.”
“Hmm,” he closed his eyes as she brushed his hair away from his forehead. “Mmm, that feels good.” He slowly went back to sleep.
Shannon sat with him until she started to nod off. Finally, she forced herself to return to her own room, and climbed into bed. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about Fletch, how he could have been killed because of her. She slowly went to sleep….
*****
“How long have I been here?”
“Four weeks. We thought it best to keep you in a medically induced coma. Give your body a chance to heal. The police will want to take your statement now that you’re awake.” The doctor noticed her heart started to race; her monitor started beeping wildly….
“You bitch,” someone screamed, “do you have any idea what I went through to arrange the perfect evening? You didn’t even have the decency to call. You couldn’t check your fucking phone once in a while?”
“Shannon, I’m going to add a mild sedative to your I.V.
“What?” She didn't know if she was talking to the doctor, or the person screaming at her. The drug started to work immediately, and she relaxed. Before either of the voices could say anymore, she had drifted off into painless sleep.
*****
Shannon slowly came awake. She looked at her clock, it was six in the morning. She stretched and paused, she thought about her dream. In her dream, someone was screaming at her. The voice was familiar, but for the life of her, she couldn't place it. She stretched again and got out of bed.
She remembered Fletch and quickly got dressed, she wanted to check on him. When she looked into his room, his bed was neatly made, and he was gone. She ran downstairs and found him having breakfast with the boss.
“Good morning.” She looked at Fletch. “You should be in bed, resting.”
“I'm alright, I think I've rested enough. I was starving, I hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning.”
“Have you eaten already?”
“Just a bagel and some coffee with the boss. Gary offered to fix me something earlier, but I thought I'd wait till everyone came down to eat.”
Gary and Fletch had already discussed the events of the previous day. He knew that Shannon was still unaware of his shifter status.
“I'm sorry you got hurt because of me.” Shannon was upset that he had been attacked.
“I'll live. I got in a few good bites, myself.”
“What?”
“Punches. I might have even broken his leg.”
He didn't tell her that he had seen the man.
“I hope you did. I wish you could have killed him.”
“Maybe next time.”
“Nooo, I don't want there to be a next time.”
“Relax Shannon,” Gary interrupted, “if Fletcher broke the wolf's leg like he claims, hopefully he won't come back.”
“Hopefully,” she replied quietly, almost under her breath. Kenney and Stan arrived.
“Hey, Fletch, how you feeling?” Stan asked as he poured himself and Kenney some coffee.
“I've felt worse, but I'd rather not.”
“You lost a lot of blood, you sure you should be out of bed already?”
“That is exactly what I said.”
Shannon gave Fletch a look that said I-told-you-so.
“I’ve been through a hell of a lot worse than this; this is nothing.”
“Really, you'll have to tell me about it sometime.”
“I'd rather not.” That made Stan laugh.
The alarm blared.
“So much for breakfast.” Kenney set his plate down and headed for his gear.
Fletch knew he had about seven minutes before the chopper took off. He quickly put together bacon, egg and pancake sandwiches, and filled the coffee mugs. He knew everyone drank their coffee black, except for Shannon. He had watched her fix her coffee and hoped he got it right.
As everyone boarded the helicopter, Fletch handed them a wrapped pancake sandwich. He'd already given the coffee carrier to Gary with all the coffees.
“Wow, thanks Fletch,” Kenney yelled over the sound of the rotors winding up. Fletch flagged them off and stepped back into the hangar. As they lifted off, a truck pulled up.
Frank Miller got out of the truck and introduced himself.
“How are you this morning? You were in pretty bad shape last night.”
“I understand I have you to thank for this,” he pointed to the bandage that could be seen under his shirt. “Thank you.”
“I'd like to check your wound, make sure you're knitting back together okay. You should be almost healed by now.”
“You know about us?” Fletch asked.
“You mean shifters? Yes, I know,” Frank told him.
“How, I can tell you're not one of us.”
“Why don't we go inside, I could use a cup of coffee if you have any. We'll talk while I check your wound.” Frank followed Fletch inside. They waited until the hangar door closed, then went to the break room.
Frank Miller and Bradley Fletcher spent the next two hours telling each other about themselves.
*****
“When I was a young boy,” Frank Miller explained, “I got lost in the wilderness of Montana, in the middle of winter. Hungry and freezing cold, I thought there was no hope of surviving. I was so cold and tired, I curled up in the snow and went to sleep.
When I woke up, I was wrapped in the arms of the biggest brown bear I have ever seen; a grizzly. I didn't dare move, for fear of being killed. All I could do was to pretend to be asleep, and hope the bear thought I was dead. Besides, the bear was warm.
The next time I woke, I was alone. There was a campfire and a blanket around me. I heard the rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs. I pretended to be asleep. Peering around the blanket, I watched as the bear returned and turned into a man.”
“You can stop hiding under that blanket, I know you're awake,” he told me while he dressed.”
“What are you? I asked and he told me he was a shifter. I was a runaway, from a county foster home and not a good one. I was tired of going hungry and getting beatings for nothing. That man, that bear, became the closest thing to a father I've ever known. From that day on, he taught me everything I know, helped me get into a good school and become a doctor.”
“Wow, is he still around?”
“No. He died a couple of years ago. I retired from being a doctor so I could help shifters. There are a few around, you have already met your teammates. I look out for them. What about you, what’s your story?”
“I was kidnapped into a shifter sex trade. I never knew I was a shifter. I didn't even know what a shifter was. I saw horrible things. Women and boys raped and tortured. Some beaten within inches of their lives. Some didn't make it.”
“I heard about that, not through regular channels, I have shifter connections. The FBI and a big guy named McCormack rescued you.”
“Charles McCormack, he taught me how to shift.”
“When it was reported on the news, you were all regular young men and women. How many were there?”
“Fourteen survived. There were others but they didn’t make it. Unfortunately, the person responsible, killed a lot of people to get to us.”
“Luckily, you were one of the survivors."
“I sometimes wish I wasn't, but a lot of good people helped me get my head straight, Charles being one of them. I'm going to try and help Shannon. I'm glad Gary told me what was going on. If he hadn't, I might not be sitting here. When I saw the wolf, I figured right off, it was the one after Shannon.”
“You we
re very lucky. That bite on your shoulder was bad, but it could have been a lot worse. He missed your jugular by a millimeter. Everything looks like it's healing okay. Well, Mr. Bradley Fletcher, I should be on my way.”
“Please, call me Fletch.”
“It's been a pleasure talking with you, Fletch. If you ever need anything or have any questions, just ask.”
“Thank you.” They shook hands and Fletch walked him out to his truck.
“One last thing, does Shannon know about you?” Frank asked.
“Not yet.”
“I've warned Gary about that; she needs to know.”
“Thanks Frank, I'll tell him.”
Fletch watched Frank drive off and went back inside.
Chapter 18
While the rest of the crew were gone, Fletch familiarized himself with the area. There were topography maps on the office walls, as well as in the break room, and he studied them. He prided himself on how well he could remember things. He had heard of people with photographic memories, but he wasn't that good. He could look at a map and basically remember the important landmarks, the coordinates, and directions.
He looked at the map of the United States. Caldwell, Idaho, was the halfway point between his home and friends in Bend, and Charles McCormack in Montana. He hadn't talk to Charles in a while and decided to give him a call.
*****
“Hey, Fletch, how are you?” Charles asked when he answered the phone.
Fletch explained to him what he was doing and where he was. He told him about his new job, and his training. Then he told him about the helicopters. Charles could tell Fletch was super excited about both of his new endeavors.
“So, what are you going to do with two helicopters?” Charles asked.
“I plan to restore one in honor of my grandfather. Maybe I'll sell the other one to pay the expenses. I need to restore both of them enough to get them running before I do anything. Then I have to have them certified safe to fly.”
“I might know someone that might take one off your hands,” Charles told him. “Do you have capital to work with?”
“I'll get by.”
“Fletch!”
“No! I didn't call to borrow money.”
“I know you didn't, but I want to help. Give me your account number and I'll transfer some funds directly to your account.”
Haunted by the Wolf- Shannon Page 9
