by Vella Day
Sometimes Logan wanted to strangle Stone. “It’s not as if my dragon is giving me much choice.”
Stone winced. “That bad, huh?”
“It’s becoming more and more distracting by the minute.” Stone was probably not the best choice of confidant, but it wasn’t as if he could confide in Griffin. Hell, his brother was mated to Wendy’s cousin Danita. Any talk of mates would surely get back to Wendy, and Logan wanted to be the one to tell her that they belonged together—or at least tell her he wanted to give it a shot.
I won’t let you fail when you do, his dragon said.
As if his animal had the power over Wendy. “Right now, I need to figure out something about this case. I don’t need to be obsessing over a woman.”
“Amen to that.” Stone smiled. “You want to know what I think?”
Logan didn’t like his cousin’s tone. “No.”
“I’m going to tell you anyway. You need to call her and ask her out. Get her out of your system.”
“For starters, I have asked her out a couple of times, but she keeps turning me down. As for getting her out of my system, it doesn’t work like that. Wendy is my mate. She is part of my being.” Sheesh. “For a shifter, you should know better.”
“Maybe I do. I still say you should ask her out again. You can wear her down. As soon as she agrees, you’ll get your mojo back.”
Mojo? Who says that anymore? It didn’t matter. Stone might actually be on to something. “What if she turns me down again?”
“Don’t be such a wuss. You’re the charismatic Logan Caspian. I’ve seen you in action. You can be persuasive when you put your mind to it. Just don’t push too hard. You’ve got this.”
He hoped that was true, but if she said no again, he wasn’t sure how he’d respond. Be angry? Resigned? Or more anxious? He prayed it wasn’t all three. “I’ll think about it.”
“When was the last time you spoke with her? And I don’t mean on the phone. Face to face.”
“I don’t know. Maybe three weeks ago.”
“Right after her capture?”
“Not right after. I gave her some time to get over it.”
Stone leaned closer. “Get over it? I’ve never known you to be so out of touch. A woman doesn’t get over an assault like that. Ever. You need to show her some sympathy. We’ve all been in tough situations before. Draw on those memories and let her know that things will work out. Eventually.”
This coming from playboy Stone? “That’s what you would do?”
“Hell, yeah. I’d even take her flowers or something to show her I care. If nothing else, suggest she go to a spa for some rest and relaxation, but whatever you do, don’t suggest she seek help. Wendy is well aware that therapy helped Danita. Let her cousin be the one to bring up the topic of getting some mental health help.”
As much as he didn’t want to admit his cousin might be right, Stone brought up some good points.
Logan searched his mind for what he and Wendy had talked about the last time he called her. “I believe I was sympathetic when we spoke. I asked her how she was holding up, and Wendy said she was doing fine.”
Stone shook his head and then pushed back his chair. “You bought that line?” He huffed. “Here, I thought you had your shit together. You need to try harder to find out how she’s really doing. A strong woman like Wendy won’t admit she needs support.”
“What if she won’t talk to me?”
Stone held up his palms. “Who are you? I’ve never known you to be such a basket case. Knock on her door, cuz. If she is your mate, she’ll know it as well as you do. She’s just scared, I bet.”
That was what his dragon had told him. “I appreciate the advice.”
Stone stood. “I have work to do. If you need me to do anything, just give a holler.”
“I will. And thanks.”
Stone nodded and left.
It took Logan all of fifteen minutes to finally decide he should call her again. He would start by asking her about her trip to the police station. That was non-threatening.
Don’t do that, his dragon chimed. She’ll think you’re a stalker.
You’re right. If I say I saw her outside the police station, she’ll ask why I was there. If I tell her I’m working on a case with my cousin Anderson, she’ll ask what case it is. Knowing her, the nosy journalist will want to investigate the death of the two teens, and I can’t let that happen.
The last time Wendy had investigated a big story, she’d poked the bear—or dark Fey in this case—and ended up in a cage at the bottom of a mine. Had it not been for her cousin’s premonitions, Wendy might have died underground. Logan shivered at that thought. Even his own cousin Tory would have died at Malpan’s hand if another Fey hadn’t interfered.
Decision made. Logan would act as if everything was normal and then ask her out. She’d already finished her story on Malpan and probably another one too, so she had no excuse not to socialize. Pleased with his decision, he dialed her number.
Wendy’s cell chimed. She picked it up and checked the caller ID. It was Logan. Again. She wasn’t sure why she’d programmed in his number after he’d called the first time, but part of her wanted to stay connected. She told herself it was because her cousin was mated to his brother. “Hey, Logan. What’s up?”
Wendy was pleased she kept her tone friendly. Considering her pulse was fluttering, she’d expected to sound breathless.
“I’m calling to check up on you.”
“Check up on me?” She liked that he cared, but the implication was that she hadn’t recovered from her capture, and that bugged her a little. Okay, it bugged her more than a little, though it was possible the stress of earning a full-time position at the newspaper was getting to her.
“I mean, I hadn’t heard back from you, and I was worried,” Logan said.
“Did I promise to call you?” He wasn’t making any sense. She would have remembered if she had.
“Not exactly. You said you were too busy to talk the last time I called because you were working on your latest article. I believe you’ve published that Malpan piece, so I thought you’d be free to go out to dinner.”
Whoa. Not where she thought he was coming from. Her heart lurched at the idea of a date though. The lustful and lonely part of her wanted to scream yes, but if she became distracted by the hunky Logan Caspian, she’d never meet her deadline for this next piece. Knowing her, she’d ask him for help with this drug case, and he’d throw a fit—assuming he was anything like his brother Griffin.
From what she’d learned about Logan, he would claim chasing after a drug dealer was too dangerous. And yes, it probably was, but she was a journalist. She’d also promised both herself and Danita that she would be more careful this time. She’d learned her lesson with Malpan.
“I really appreciate the invitation, but to be honest, I’m working on another article. If I don’t finish this next piece soon, I might end up on the street.” Crap. That sounded bad, but there was a lot of truth to it.
“Excuse me?”
“I meant that the editor at the paper is breathing down my neck to give him another newsworthy article. If I do, he’ll offer me a full-time position and that, Logan Caspian, is my life-long dream.”
“Oh.”
“How about a rain check?” she asked before he could come up with another reason they should go out.
“Sure, darling, but if you need help with your story, will you promise to ask me?”
Darling? She didn’t know if she liked the affectionate name or not.
Stop analyzing everything, her wolf said. Enjoy it.
If she really needed his help, she would ask. “I can do that.”
“What’s this big breaking story you’re working on?” he asked.
Damn. “I’m not at liberty to discuss it.” Silence. This wasn’t going as planned. “I meant I’m trying to figure out which story I want to tackle next. I’ve had a few ideas and just need to do a bit more research to decide which
one would be the best.” She really only had one lead, but if a better one came along, she might change her mind.
No, you won’t. You made a promise, and the Wendy Oprander I know, would never do anything but give it her all.
Why did her wolf suddenly decide to become so moral? And so chatty?
“I see,” Logan said.
Damn. Now she’d hurt his feelings. “We’ll go out to lunch just as soon as I clear up this story. I promise.”
“Sounds good. Don’t get into any trouble, you hear?”
She liked the sudden cheer in his voice. “I won’t.”
As soon as she hung up, she questioned whether she should have said yes. The stress release might have been a good thing for her muse. Wendy had only spent a short time with Logan when she’d asked for his help in locating the men who’d been held captive in the mine, and their time together had been fun. She’d loved the dragon flight with him so much that at the time she was almost willing to believe he was her mate. But could she make that decision after just being held captive? No. In the end, it was for the best that she’d said no.
No, it’s not, her wolf shot back. You’ll never know if he is your mate—which I can assure you he is—unless you go out with him.
I said I will. Just not now. So back off.
Her wolf growled. Whatever. She needed to focus on this article, which meant she wanted to speak to the kids whose names were on the list that Melanie gave her. While the teen wasn’t positive all of the people had attended the party, some surely would have. Interviewing kids seemed safe enough. It wasn’t as if she would be interviewing suspected drug dealers.
Finding their cell numbers would be hard, but contacting them via social media would be a breeze.
She’d just started her investigation when her cell rang again. Thinking it was Logan calling back, her pulse soared. He probably wanted to push a little harder for them to go out.
Her smile disappeared when she saw it wasn’t him. Rather it showed an unknown caller. “Hello?”
“Ms. Oprander?” the stranger asked.
“Yes.”
“This is Phil Landry from the Thedia Provincial newspaper.”
Her gut clenched. Could this be the man Stanton Everhart had mentioned? “How can I help you?”
“You can help me by coming to Thedia Province so we can discuss your possible full-time employment with our paper. I was highly impressed with your piece on the Malpan slave ring. Great work. We here at the newspaper could use someone like you.”
She didn’t know what to say. Wendy had longed to hear such words of praise her whole life. “Thank you, but I’m in the middle of working on a big piece here, and I’m not sure I can get away.” In all honesty, she needed to be paid for the piece first so she could afford the airfare and hotel bill. “When I’m finished with it, I’d love to meet with you.”
Or would she? She wasn’t sure she wanted to leave Edendale where the weather was balmy and where her cousin lived. And then there was Logan, though Wendy wasn’t sure if they were mates. Her mom had died when Wendy was too young to understand what sex and mating meant, and her alcoholic dad sure wasn’t about to talk about stuff like that.
Stop it. She was doing it again. Why was she trying to talk herself out of considering Logan as a potential mate? Didn’t she want to see if what she had felt might be a real connection between them? Or did she want Logan to be just another man?
“I’m afraid the offer is only open for another few days. I need a journalist now, one who will go after the hard stories. Let me know if you are interested. I’d be happy to pay for your ticket, hotel, and meals for the inconvenience.”
Wow. That offer tempted her. “That’s really generous. Thank you. I’ll let you know. Soon.”
“I hope to hear from you.”
Mr. Landry hung up. Damn. Had she made another mistake by not jumping on his offer? Maybe, maybe not. If she were able to write this story about the two teen deaths, she could work full-time at the Edendale Herald instead. Then she wouldn’t need to move to Thedia. However, the Thedia offer wasn’t contingent on her writing anything. As much as she wanted to cling to that idea, Wendy wanted to see this story to the end. The parents of those teens deserved closure.
With an even stronger determination, she pushed aside the euphoria from the job offer. She then searched for, found, and contacted a few of the students on the list of potential partygoers. She didn’t want to say too much on social media, but she hoped they’d meet her in person.
Only one person responded. The young lady said she’d talk to Wendy, but only over the phone. She asked for Wendy’s number and said she’d call her when school was out. It was the best Wendy could hope for.
For the remainder of the afternoon, Wendy researched the drug Crenathum and where it might come from. When her cell rang at four thirty, her nerves flared. “Wendy Oprander speaking.”
“Ms. Oprander, this is Charlotte. You contacted me earlier today about Mike’s party.”
“Oh, yes. Thank you so much for getting back to me. What can you tell me about it? Remember, I won’t print any names unless you give me permission.”
“I appreciate that, but I wasn’t in the room with them when they took the drug.”
“That’s okay. By any chance, do you know where Mike or Tom got the Crenathum? I’m only concerned about bringing the dealer to justice.”
“I wish I did. I don’t do drugs, so I wasn’t told anything about that.”
Wendy was good at reading people, but she couldn’t quite decide if Charlotte was telling the truth or not. “Did they say anything about meeting someone earlier that day or the perhaps the day before?”
“No.” She inhaled. “Wait. This probably means nothing, but Tom had a math tutor, a Mr. Quigley. I saw them talking together in the parking lot the day before the party. I doubt Tom was talking about drugs with him though.”
No, but maybe Mr. Quigley was the one selling Tom the drugs. “Is Mr. Quigley a teacher at your school?”
“No.”
“Do you know where I could find him?” Wendy asked.
“No, but I bet Tom’s mom knows. She would have been the one to pay him to tutor Tom.”
“Good point. I appreciate you sharing everything with me, Charlotte. If you happen to hear anything, can you call me? Remember, I won’t mention your name.”
“Sure.”
Wendy hung up, her mind spinning. During her research on Crenathum, it appeared as if it was mostly processed in Thedia. Her former boyfriend, Deke Darnell, lived there. Not that he did drugs, but perhaps he could ask around. Doing so herself could be dangerous.
But first, she needed to call Tom’s mom and ask for Mr. Quigley’s number. Wendy hesitated to make the call since speaking with Mike’s mom had been hard enough. Her grief had torn up Wendy’s insides and reminded her of her own loss when her mother had passed, but Wendy couldn’t let her issues get in the way. This was about finding an evil person. She could do this.
She dialed the number and waited. The phone rang ten times. Either Tom’s mom was avoiding all calls, or she’d left her phone at home when she went out. Darn. When it went to voicemail, Wendy told her who she was and why she needed to speak with her. Wendy disconnected, planning to call again as soon as she returned from Thedia—assuming she decided to go.
Chapter Four
Considering the newspaper in Thedia was picking up the tab for her trip, Wendy saw no reason not to listen to what Phil Landry had to say. She called him to let him know she would hop on a plane the next day. His offer might even be something she could live with. While she and her cousin Danita were close, once Danita had moved out of the apartment on the floor below hers and into her mate’s place, the two of them hadn’t seen nearly as much of each other. Knowing Danita was safe and happy was good enough for her.
As for missing Logan Caspian? She barely knew the man.
Whose fault is that? her wolf asked.
Okay, I’ll admit it.
It’s mine. I haven’t gone out with him, because Logan unnerves me. Do you remember when he asked me if I’d ever flown with a dragon before, and I told him no?
Yes, but I figured this powerful being overwhelmed you with so much lust that you couldn’t think straight.
Finally, she understood. Yes. Just a day or two before that, his own brother had flown me from the mines to Edendale. How could I forget that ride?
Even if that hadn’t happened, she and Deke dated for months, and he’d flown her many, many places. Clearly, she wasn’t in her right mind when she was around Logan.
I have one word for you: mate.
The last thing Wendy needed was to continue this conversation. Right now, she wanted to do some research on this newspaper and learn what the surrounding area had to offer. Tomorrow, she’d call Danita and let her cousin know that she was about to fly to Thedia for a job offer. Wendy propped her feet up on the table and leaned back, trying to figure the best way to break the news to her.
“They’re willing to offer you a job based on one article you wrote?” Danita asked after Wendy explained everything the next morning. She wished Danita didn’t sound as if it was too good to be true.
“It was a great article, if I do say so myself. I think since I was held captive during part of the time, it added a lot of authenticity.”
Danita sighed. “I really am happy for you. How long will you be gone?”
“I plan to return in two or three days. I’ll fly in later today, talk to Mr. Landry tomorrow, and then fly home.”
“You did say Thedia, right?”
“Yes.” Where Deke Darnell now lived. Danita was well aware of how much Deke Darnell had hurt Wendy when he’d walked out on her and never called again. His reason was that his dad had been injured in a car wreck. What was a good son supposed to do? Put sex above his father’s well-being? Maybe not, but he shouldn’t have ghosted her afterward. Sheesh. “I know it’s cold there, and I might hate the place, but I owe it to myself to check it out.”
“Are you going to contact Deke?” Danita’s words came out metered—or should she say laced with disapproval?