by Vella Day
Danita wasn’t the type to let it drop. “If I do, it will be to see how his dad is doing.” That wasn’t the real reason, but if she revealed she was working on a story about the teens who’d overdosed, Danita would try to talk Wendy out of going.
“Uh-huh. You still like him, don’t you?”
“I had feelings for him, but that is in the past. I doubt I can forgive him for never contacting me again. He should have at least texted me to let me know his dad was okay.” In truth, the moment she met Logan, she realized that what she and Deke had was merely lust. “Look, I have to finish packing. I’m flying out in a couple of hours. I’ll call you when I return. Hugs to Griffin.”
“Be safe.”
From her cousin’s wistful tone, she was referring to staying safe emotionally. “I will.”
Once Wendy finished packing, she took a shuttle to the airport. When she stepped up to the airline counter, she held her breath, hoping a ticket was waiting for her. Score! It was. Go Thedia Provincial. She liked a paper with class. Not that the Edendale Herald wasn’t a nice place to work—when they were willing to published her material—but she didn’t recall them springing for anything, even if it was for a story. To be fair to them, she was merely a contractor.
During the short flight, she studied her notes about the deaths of the two teens and wrote down the facts as well as her thoughts in a coherent fashion. No guilty party jumped out at her, but hopefully Deke could fill in some blanks.
After she landed and checked into her hotel, she gave him a call. Despite having lived in Edendale for four months, Deke had kept his Thedia number. She couldn’t imagine what his cell phone bill had been like during that time, considering the cost of roaming charges nowadays.
“Wendy? Is that really you?” Deke asked.
She was thrilled he answered and actually sounded pleased. “Sure is.” She told him that she was interviewing at the Thedia Provincial.
“That’s great. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”
“It is. Apparently, Mr. Landry read a piece I did and was impressed.”
“Good for you. I always knew you’d be a success someday.”
He did? That was news to her. Wendy waited for Deke to suggest they get together, but apparently, he was waiting for her to make the first move. Being aggressive was not an issue for her however. “I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?” Wendy couldn’t tell by his tone if he was hesitant or excited.
“Do you think we could meet tomorrow morning? It won’t take long. I just want to ask you a question or two about a case I’m working on.”
He chuckled. “I see some things haven’t changed. Sure. What about Ripley’s? It’s a breakfast restaurant on Altuna Street.”
That shouldn’t be hard to find. “Perfect. How about ten?” Her appointment with Mr. Landry was at one, so she’d have plenty of time to make the interview after seeing Deke.
“Great. I’ll see you there.”
When she disconnected, she worked hard to push aside all emotions about what tomorrow would bring. To keep busy, she hung up her dress she planned to wear to the meeting with Landry and then hopped into the shower. Flying always made her feel grungy.
As she washed, her mind whirled. If she ended up taking this job, leaving everything familiar behind would be hard, but for her career, she could do it. Just when she thought maybe she could make the change, the image of Logan’s face popped into her head. Did they have a real connection? She thought so, but Wendy wanted to wait until after this whole drug issue was solved to find out.
When Wendy entered the restaurant the next morning and spotted Deke, she was just about to smile when she noticed the beautiful brunette sitting next to him. Not to worry. This wasn’t a date. Wendy had only claimed the meeting would take a few minutes. This woman could be a coworker for all Wendy knew.
Refusing to assume the worst, she painted on a smile as she moved toward him. “Deke.”
Wendy then turned toward the mystery woman, held out her hand, and introduced herself.
The woman shook hers. “Nice to meet you. I’m Becky, Deke’s mate. He said you two had met in Edendale.”
Becky was his mate? That was fast, but the way she rattled off the fact that Deke and Wendy had merely met in Edendale implied this woman had no idea what had gone on between them. However, since what had happened was in the past, Wendy let it drop.
“Yes, we did. He helped me with a little investigation. That’s why I called him today. I wanted to discuss another article I want to write.” She faced Deke. “If this is a bad time, we can just email.”
He pulled out a chair. “No. Becky and I have no secrets from each other.”
She was about to say that he and his mate had a few, but then thought better of it. “Great.”
“First, tell me about this job offer,” Deke said.
She wasn’t there for small talk. “I really don’t know much, but I’ll find out soon enough. Hey, listen. I’m working on an article about two teens back home who overdosed on Crenathum. Have you heard of that drug?” She believed everyone knew of it, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
“I hadn’t heard about the deaths, but I do know about Crenathum. I’ve never used it myself, but it can have some bad side effects. How can I help?”
“It is my understanding that most of the Crenathum is manufactured here due to the area’s unique weather conditions. I was hoping you might have heard rumors about who might be making the drugs and then transporting them across province lines.”
His eyes widened. “Me? No. I wish I could help, but it’s not something I’m involved in. Word to the wise, I think you’d be better off investigating something less dangerous.”
Out of habit, Wendy lifted her chin. “I can take care of myself.”
One brow rose. “A wolf shifter doesn’t have a fighting chance against a dragon, assuming one is involved in dealing this drug. In case you don’t know, Thedia is crawling with dragons—more so than any other province. Our kind likes the cold.”
She hadn’t considered that. “I don’t plan on approaching one. I merely want to learn something and then hand the information over to the cops—on the condition they give me an exclusive interview of course.”
Deke nodded. “Of course. That is wise, but even asking questions can get you into trouble.”
Her former boyfriend had no idea the lengths she’d gone to for her last story, nor how she’d almost died. “I appreciate the warning.”
The waitress stopped by with a carafe of coffee, which Wendy gladly accepted. She had, however, lost her appetite. As Deke and his mate ordered, Wendy enjoyed her hot brew.
“For you?” the server asked.
“Nothing, thank you.”
“You don’t want breakfast?” Deke asked.
That had been her plan before he came with Becky. “I’m too nervous to eat, but thanks.” As quickly as she could, Wendy drank most of her coffee and then pushed back her chair. “If you hear anything, please drop me a line.” Wendy slipped Deke her business card in case he’d lost her email address or phone number. Wendy then faced Becky and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” This time, Becky’s comment was filled with pleasure.
Wendy snapped her fingers before standing. “I almost forgot to ask. How is your dad?”
“My father?”
“You had to leave Edendale because he’d been in a car wreck.”
“Oh, yes. The car wreck. It wasn’t as severe as we first thought. His dragon healed him pretty quickly. Thanks for asking.”
If his dad had healed that fast, why not return to Edendale if only to say goodbye? If nothing else, Deke could have called to tell her his father was fine. Deke was an ass. She should be happy he’d ended it. “I’m glad.”
Wendy couldn’t wait to get out of there. Not that she wanted to spend an hour reminiscing with Deke about the good times, but if they had, it would have been super uncomfortable in front of his mate.
With the promise that Deke would contact her should he learn something, Wendy left. The distance from her hotel to the restaurant had been less than a mile, so she decided to walk back. Because she hadn’t anticipated having so much extra time, Wendy stopped several times to peruse many of the store windows and liked what she saw.
There were a few negatives to the town however. While Sawmill, the capital of Thedia Providence, was nice, it was at best half the size of Edendale, and Wendy was a big city girl at heart. That aside, she promised herself she’d keep an open mind.
Once she made it to her hotel, she headed straight to the restaurant to do further research. Since she had almost two hours to kill, she ordered breakfast. She then studied her surroundings. The clientele looked like what she’d typically see in Edendale, but for some reason, she had an uneasy feeling someone was watching her. It could have been because Deke made the comment about how it could be bad for her health to ask a lot of questions. For now, she’d push aside her drug related research and focus on staying calm while getting ready to ask questions and provide answers to Mr. Landry.
When it was time to go, the clerk at the front desk gave her directions to the newspaper office. Thankfully, it was only a short walk. Even though it was brisk outside, Wendy wanted the exercise. The sun was shining, and the rather dark clouds were far off in the distance.
Wendy arrived early to her interview. Better early than late as her mom used to preach. After waiting for almost a half hour in the lobby, a tall woman with short, curly hair approached her. “Mr. Landry will see you now.”
Finally. The woman escorted Wendy down a hallway to an open door that led to an office. The nameplate next to the door read: Mr. Landry, Editor In Chief. He stood and smiled. Landry was a large man, and because his voice shook over the phone, she was expecting him to be a lot older, but the opposite was true. He was at most forty. Perhaps it was also because her boss at the Edendale Herald was ancient that she expected Mr. Landry to be too. The second similarity was that both this editor and her boss were humans.
Mr. Landry walked around his desk and held out his hand. “I hope you didn’t wait too long. I needed to make sure tomorrow’s paper was good to go. Have a seat.”
“Not at all.” Wendy would have said that even if she’d been asked to wait for hours.
Sitting on her hands to keep from fidgeting wouldn’t have looked good, so she clasped them on her lap and pretended the cool-headed Logan Caspian was beside her. She inhaled and smiled, ready to be interviewed.
“I’m really curious about your piece on Malpan. How did you figure out he was involved in slave trading?”
Saying it involved a little bit of luck wouldn’t sound good, so she picked the parts that showed she was resourceful and smart. Naturally, she left out some of the sketchier aspects of her investigation. Because she suspected he’d ask her this question, Wendy was well prepared to answer.
“I’m impressed with your ingenuity. Are you working on any other stories that I might be interested in?”
“Just investigating the death of two teens. I doubt it would be of interest to the Thedia readers.”
Chapter Five
“Knock, knock.”
Logan looked up from his desk and smiled. It was his sister Greer. “This is a surprise. To what do I owe the honor?”
Greer ran the jewelry store with their cousin Tory in the building situated at the base of the SinCas building in town. Not only did she sell the goods, both she and Tory helped design the gems that the Sinclairs mined.
His sister pulled over a chair and sat down. “Mom is worried about you.”
That was the last thing he expected her to say. “Why? Other than a quick trip to Thedia, I haven’t left the office in what seems like forever.”
“If that’s the case, why haven’t you answered her calls?”
“Shit. I saw she left a message, but I totally forgot to call her back.”
“That’s not like you.”
“No, it’s not.” His pulse skyrocketed. “Did something happen? Is Dad okay?”
“Dad is fine. Mom is fine. It’s just that she wanted to have a little dinner party next week for the family. Even though everyone seems to have settled into a routine after taking down that slave trader, we all have been lax about calling or stopping by.”
Logan leaned back. “I’m guilty, but it’s partly because Anderson has asked me to help with a new case.”
That wasn’t the whole truth since there had been a few weeks’ gap between closing the Malpan case and this new one, but he needed some excuse. Actually, it was all Wendy’s fault. If she hadn’t walked into his life, he’d be on track.
“I hadn’t heard about this new case. Anything interesting? Is it something the Guardians need to deal with?”
“I’m not sure.” He told her about the two teens who’d overdosed. “I don’t think I’d be involved if both of the parents weren’t prominent in the community.”
“Teens can be careless, but if you can help the cops find the drug dealer, it could save other lives.”
“I agree.” His voice trailed off mostly because he was thinking of someone else whose life could be in danger—as in right now. He was sure it was nothing, but when Logan had decided to take a different approach with Wendy and call her once more, her phone kept going to voicemail. It was as if either her phone wasn’t recharged or she wasn’t able to get to her phone. He didn’t want to think she’d been kidnapped again. That would be like lightning striking the same person twice.
A hand waved in front of his face. “Tarradon to Logan.”
He jerked his attention back to his sister. “Sorry. I was thinking about something.”
A small smile lifted her lips. “From the way streaks of teal were slicing through your eyes, it’s about a woman.” She leaned forward. “Spill it. I haven’t had any juicy gossip in a while.”
“It’s Wendy.”
Her brows lifted. “Wendy, as in Danita’s cousin?”
“Yes.” He didn’t know why everyone acted so surprised.
“I didn’t know you were seeing her.”
“I’m not,” he said. “Though it hasn’t been because of lack of effort on my part. I swear when she came by the office after her capture, we had a connection. I felt it, and I know she did too.”
“A connection? As in maybe you’ve found your mate type of connection?”
His family would find out sooner or later. Whether he could convince Wendy of the fact was anyone’s guess. “Yes.”
Her smile lit up her face. “I’m thrilled for you. What does Wendy have to say about this revelation?”
He glanced at the ceiling in an effort to figure out how to phrase his failure. “She won’t go out with me, so I’ve not had the chance to discuss it with her.” Surprisingly, saying the words out loud hadn’t been that hard.
His classy sister whistled—something he couldn’t recall her ever doing before. “You need to step up your game, brother.”
From her tone she was teasing, but Greer was right. “I’m trying. I’ve been calling her, but it only goes to voicemail.”
“Could she be avoiding you?” Greer snapped her fingers, pulled out her phone, and swiped a number.
“What are you doing? I don’t need any help. I can figure this out by myself.”
“I’m calling Danita. If anyone knows what Wendy is up to, it’s her.” Greer pushed back her chair and stepped into the hallway.
That wasn’t good. What was she planning? Greer didn’t return for a good ten minutes, tempting him to listen in on the conversation, but out of respect, he didn’t. When her laugh filtered into his office, Logan finally relaxed.
Greer waltzed back into the office and returned her phone to her purse. “All is well. Wendy was offered a full-time job in Thedia, and she went there for an interview. She should return tomorrow.”
“How is that good? She is my mate, damn it. What if she takes the job?”
Greer waved
a hand. “Wendy won’t do that. She’d never leave Danita.”
How could she be so sure? Apparently, Wendy didn’t think they could be mates, or she would have conferred with him first. Right? This bit of information however created a good reason for Logan to find her—before she accepted the job.
“What else did her chatty cousin say?” Greer pressed her lips together. He pulled out his phone, ready to call Danita’s mate if need be. “Griffin can get his mate to talk.”
“Okay, okay. You’ll find out soon enough. Before Wendy met you, she dated a guy who has since moved to Thedia.”
His fists clenched. “What happened between them?” He could only hope the guy cheated on her or something. Then she’d never be tempted to look him up.
Greer shrugged. “I didn’t get all of the details, but his name is Deke Darnell. In order to learn more about the real reason for her trip, I suggested to Danita that she and I, along with a few friends, invite Wendy to a girls’ night out as soon as she returns. I’m sure we can drag all the juicy details out of her over some drinks.”
“I like that idea. The more friends she has here, the less likely she’ll be to relocate. If the topic comes up, find out why she won’t go out with me—or answer my calls.”
“That’s not how these get-togethers work. It’s not an inquisition. If Wendy happens to bring up your name, we can ask her.”
“Fine. By any chance do you know what town in Thedia Providence she’s in right now?”
Greer dipped her chin. “Don’t tell me you plan to fly there and confront her.”
“Not confront. Merely observe.”
His sister crossed her arms. “What do you hope to accomplish?”
He hadn’t thought that far in advance. “I don’t know.”
“What happens when she finds out you are basically spying on her?”
Once more, he hadn’t thought it through. “I’ll figure it out if and when that happens.”
Greer smiled and shook her head. “Oh, brother. You have it bad. I have to say I’m pleased. I never thought you’d find your mate, but if you are determined to be your pig-headed self, Wendy is in Sawmill where she is interviewing with the Thedia Provincial newspaper today. Where she is staying, I couldn’t say.”