Shane’s lips flattened. “You think someone took it.”
“I think it’s what makes the most sense. A lot of the trucks are missing pieces. Tires. Belts. An entire engine. Some of them have full trailers. There’s a whole shipment of clothing in that one.” Holly waved towards one of the trucks on the fringe. “Now ask me what I didn’t find.”
The alpha raised an eyebrow. “What didn’t you find?”
“Bodies.”
Shane’s other eyebrow arched. “No bodies at all.”
Holly held up one hand, fingers and thumb in contact to make an O shape. “Zero. No bodies. No body parts. No smell of death or picked-over bones. Not even in the trucks. And the entire place reeks of Ferals. I’m not sure I like what that implies.”
The memory bubbled up unbidden in Erin’s mind. A Feral crouched over Andy, crooning a soft, demented invitation for the truck driver to come with them. To hear them sing. Like she’d heard them in the night, calling to each other as they pushed trucks into place…
Shane’s tightened grip on her shoulder pulled her back to herself. “Erin? Are you all right?”
Erin blinked. “Yeah. Sorry. I was just remembering what happened yesterday. The last of the Ferals was, ah, was chewing on the truck driver’s arm. Then licking it.”
Holly winced. “I am so, so sorry you had to see that. The Feral virus is largely transmitted through saliva. Blood sometimes, but saliva’s the primary method. Biting is just a way to create an open wound for passing the infection along. Any unhealed wound would do it.”
Erin’s gut clenched. “No wonder it’s spreading so fast. A Feral just has to sneeze on someone with a papercut.”
“Sort of.” Holly rocked her hand in a so-so gesture. “When the Feral virus first started to spread, it was one ‘flavor’ of the virus. One strain. No one’s saying much about it on the news, but… Between the four of us? I’m pretty sure there’s multiple strains, but I have no confirmation. It could just be that the one we know and love is mutating fast. From the start, it was aggressive and infected a person’s system quickly, but it requires a hefty dose to get started. The whole arm-chewing bit. It may have evolved itself to require less of an initial dose.”
Erin’s arm throbbed. She ignored it. “You know a lot about this.”
“Yeah, I’m loads of fun on pub trivia night.” Holly snorted.
Rigo, who stood just behind Holly, shook his head at Erin to discourage further questions on that line. Erin took the hint. “Anyway. While that Feral was gnawing on Andy, it was talking to him. I didn’t think they had it together enough to talk.”
“Most don’t. There’ve been a couple who did. That’s why I’m curious about multiple strains. There’s been some unexpected behavior lately.”
Shane looked down at Erin. “What did the Feral say?”
“When it was talking to Andy, it said something like, ‘Hear us, brothers and sisters, hear us sing, smart one, come with us.’ Then I yelled at it so it would leave Andy alone. I didn’t know how badly hurt he was yet, so I wanted it to try to save him.” She couldn’t help but sigh. He’d had no chance, yet she still felt bad.
Shane’s hand shifted to her other shoulder, so he could squeeze her from the side. “That was kind. And brave.”
“And didn’t work, but at least I put in the effort, right?” Erin leaned her head sideways against him for a too-brief moment. She had forgotten how nice it felt to borrow someone else’s strength. Don’t get used to it. “After I yelled at the Feral, it looked at me and said, ‘You, too. New truck child. Like him. Like me.’”
Rigo’s eyes narrowed. “New truck child. There are many trucks here, and no dead drivers. No one dead, in fact. Does it sound to anyone else like the Ferals are infecting the drivers?”
“Infecting drivers and stealing truck parts,” Shane said. “I talked to Anita the other day. Shipments aren’t always making it to Coyote Trail. Now it sounds like the Ferals are intercepting them before they can arrive.”
Pieces fell into place in Erin’s mind. “Andy said the runs were getting dangerous. He had guns in his truck for protection.”
“Because that worked out,” Holly said wryly.
Erin rolled her eyes. “I know. Andy said a lot of things. You should have heard what he had to say about alpha males.”
Holly stared at Erin. She looked to Shane, then back to Erin. Then the scout burst into gales of laughter.
Shane groaned. “Oh, God. Fuck that noise.”
“Alpha males!” Holly wheezed between words. “Oh, shit. I’m so sorry. This is a really awkward time for me to laugh, but—”
Shane glanced at Erin. “You see what I have to put up with?”
Erin couldn’t help but grin. This is how he stays sane. How they all stay sane. The pack keeps each other up. There’s always someone to laugh and break the tension, or to pick up the slack if one of their friends can’t carry their burdens. God, they’re so lucky to have that. I miss having a family.
“The alpha doth protest too much, methinks,” was what Erin said.
“You’re all pains in my ass. Except you, Rigo,” Shane said.
“Sí. I’m just a beta male who cannot challenge your alphaness,” Rigo replied, deadpan.
“And now, you betray me.” Shane heaved a sigh. “Even the new kid in town. Erin, you were saying something, before you all took turns stabbing me in the back.”
“I was just trying to fit in. Get your pack to like me.” Erin smirked. “What I was saying was, the trucking routes have been dangerous long enough for Andy to carry guns so he could die without firing a shot. There’s a lot of trucks out here, so whatever is happening has been building a while. But does it seem a little too coincidental that cell phones are having reception problems today as well?”
Shane regarded her with a thoughtful expression. “You think they’re about to make a move.”
“I think it’s smart to assume they are.” The words from her dream whispered in the back of her mind. Do not fail. Our time shortens. Your pups made a mistake. It has cost us. What mistake had they made?
The alpha nodded. “You’re right. They wouldn’t have hit two Bullies in the daylight if they weren’t growing bold.”
That was the mistake. The sudden realization struck. “They probably didn’t mean to hit you at all. Tyler and Levi were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were waiting for Andy’s truck. Your pack was a target of opportunity. A shitty one.”
“Andy’s truck? Or any truck?”
“I’m not sure. There’s one way to find out.” Erin nodded towards the truck stop. “Let’s go see if the truck is there. It might tell us something.”
Shane nodded. “All right. When we get back, I’ll call the cell phone company. There could be a valid reason for the reception problems. I can also send out a few runners to talk to the packs in the nearby towns. They might be able to tell us something.”
“We can go, boss,” Holly said.
“No. When we’re done here, you and Rigo are going home. You’ve been out all night.” Shane stared at Holly until further protests died on her lips. “You’re both off duty tonight. If you’re awake, you can come to Erin’s welcome dinner. It’s Saturday night. Garage is closed tomorrow. Perfect night to take her out and thank her.”
“Maybe we should bring food to your house instead,” Rigo offered. “If deliveries aren’t coming, the restaurants in town may be short on supplies. We should leave them for the people in the town.”
Shane pursed his lips. “I like that better. Let’s do that. See if you can get a call through. If not, head back and pass the word. Then go to bed.”
“Sí. I will do this.” Rigo sketched a mock-salute, then pulled out his phone to try the lines.
Had Shane not already impressed her with the way he led his pack, he would have won her over with the thoughtful way he watched over the town. One of those “alpha males” Andy complained about would have allowed the people of the town to give him h
is due, and demanded they provide him with their restaurant-quality food. Shane left the food to the people he protected.
Andy, I’m sorry you’re dead, but you were really an idiot. If reincarnation is a thing, I hope you do better next time and have a happy, enlightened life. Maybe as a woman.
Shane glanced down at her. “You don’t mind, do you? I’m really sorry. I should have asked, since it’s your party.”
“I like this better,” she assured him. “Times are kind of shitty. The people here deserve to have whatever nice nights out they can get.”
“So do you.” Still, he smiled, the warmth from it lighting his eyes. “But the pack knows how to throw a mean barbecue.”
“I have no doubt. No party like a werewolf party, right? Anyone ever make the ‘party animal’ joke at you before?” She didn’t even have to ask.
He rolled his eyes. “Only at least once a month. Come on, before you ask me if I’m from London, or if I’m on the hunt and after you.”
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up with a pleasant tingle. “Are you?”
His gaze slid sideways to eyeball her. “Which?”
She shrugged. “Either. Both.”
He faced forward again. “Well, I’ve never been to London.”
She repressed both the flutter in her stomach and the urge to giggle like a schoolkid as they walked the dusty road to the truck stop graveyard.
“I like her,” Holly said, as she stood next to Shane at the door of the abandoned shop that had once serviced the truck stop.
Erin had thrown herself into examining the derelict semis the moment they’d arrived on the scene and hadn’t slowed down since. Even though she had to be exhausted still from the day before, and the sun’s heat had to take further energy out of her, she still swarmed over the wreckage with a determined purpose. Holly had given Erin a small notepad and pen found inside, and the mechanic had gone to work.
Shane wouldn’t take his eyes off her. Not that he wanted to. Nothing attracted him more than a capable woman doing what she loved, and he’d missed it. Nicole had never shown this much passion for an activity. For anything, maybe. Did she before Greg died? Did that die with him, too, or did it never live inside her at all?
The more he watched Erin, the more he realized what he and Nicole had never shared. No common interests, no passions. Just idle ways to pass the time and desperations.
No love. Just loss.
“I do, too,” he answered Holly. “And if you say a damn word about how she and I would be good together, I’m going to tell the entire pack that you admitted your undying love for Rigo.”
Holly groaned. “Can you not? Rumors about that already crawl up from the depths of the gossip swamp every month or so. No. I’m not going to say anything about you and Erin. You won’t be good together if both of you don’t want it. I don’t know about her, but maybe you aren’t ready yet.”
Sanity, for once. He felt much less defensive in the face of it. “Mm. Maybe I’m not.”
“But maybe you are.” Holly spread her hands. “No one knows but you. It hasn’t been long since Nicole, and she was an infected pustule on your ass for long enough to leave a deep scar behind.”
“That’s— That’s graphic, Holly.”
“Maybe I wasn’t her biggest fan.” Holly wrinkled her nose. “Either way, you two were terrible for each other. You found each other at the bottom, in the worst time of your lives, and then you found jackhammers so you could take each other lower.”
He wanted to protest but couldn’t find an argument against what she said. All he could do was frown. “We never meant to.”
“No one means to, boss. Trust me. You two had the best intentions. You even looked good on paper. In practice? I dunno. Maybe the pain you tried to use as a foundation turned into quicksand instead.”
He stayed silent. Too many thoughts choked his brain to transform into coherent words.
Holly picked up the verbal slack so Shane didn’t have to. “If Anita hadn’t found a true mate in Jake, I would never have expected her to take up with anyone so quickly. She had a lot of pain to heal from. So do you. Take your time. But know when that time is over and don’t let fear stop you.”
“Like it didn’t stop Anita.”
“She knew when she’d found the one who completed her. Be open to that.” She reached over to tap his chest over his heart. “Listen to your wolf. It will tell you. You never know when your mate will come along. It’d be a shame to lose out because you were too afraid to hold on.”
Fear. Not many people would accuse him of that. Alpha werewolf, Feral hunter, the man the town called first when a situation went to shit. Yet both fear and grief had dominated his life for so long that he wondered how the entirety of Coyote Trail didn’t smell it on him.
Who’s afraid of the big, bad wolf? Turns out, it’s the wolf himself.
“I thought you didn’t come over here to talk about Erin and me,” he said.
Holly snorted. “I didn’t. Though if that’s what you took out of our little heart-to-heart, either you’re dense as osmium or you’re lying to yourself already.”
“Osmium?”
“It’s the densest material on Earth.”
“How the hell do you know this, Holly?”
“Dated a scientist,” she said, and deflected just as fast as he had. “What I came over here to talk about was Erin herself. She went through an awful experience yesterday.”
“We all did.”
“Yes, but we’re probably more used to it.” Holly nodded toward the woman who scribbled on a notebook while halfway under a semi. “I don’t think decorating Feral heads with shotguns is a common hobby where she comes from.”
Shane looked over at Holly. “You’re probably right. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying she might still be processing what happened. Right now, she’s got plenty to keep her occupied. That might not be true later. Going through that alone would suck.” Holly glanced at Shane. “Let’s make sure she doesn’t have to. Have the pack keep an eye on her. Ask Mama Hernandez if Erin can stay out at Rigo’s. I’d let her stay with me, but I’m still nervous about the safety of the place after that Feral broke in.”
“Then you shouldn’t stay there, either.”
Holly waved a hand. “I’m fine. I just want more time to make sure the security measures are enough before I invite any squishy humans to sleep there. How’s your place looking?”
“So far, so good. Which surprised me.” Shane turned his attention back to Erin as she examined another truck, frowned at it, then strode to another to check it out. “I have the feeling it will continue that way. They attacked. We killed them for it. It’s a message in a language even they can understand.”
“Don’t mess with the alpha’s lair,” Holly said.
Shane smirked. “Don’t mess with the alpha’s lair.”
“Maybe she should stay with you, then.” The corners of Holly’s lips twitched.
“Maybe next time I go see Levi in the hospital, I’ll mention you and Rigo. Everyone’s coming to see him. He’s bored. Wonder how long it would take for the rumor to get through the whole town.”
“That’s fighting dirty, boss.”
“All’s fair in war.”
“And love. You left that out. Wonder why that could be?”
“Hey, I might have something,” Erin called out.
Right in the nick of time. “What is it, Erin?” Shane asked as he and Holly crossed the intervening space.
Erin held up her page of hasty, scribbled notes. “So, I can verify that truck Holly wondered about was the one I rode in yesterday. I didn’t see the guns behind the seats, by the way, so someone took them. But I also didn’t see the parts for the refrigeration unit.”
Shane arched an eyebrow. “The air conditioner?”
“No. Andy drove a truck with a refrigeration compartment in the trailer. I’m not sure how well it worked, because his truck was a dumpster fire on wheels, but
I guess it did well enough for him to take cargo. It isn’t there.”
That didn’t make sense. “All right. That’s strange.”
“It’s stranger when you see this.” Erin gestured at her list. “There are several other refrigerated trucks out here. None of them have cooling units anymore, either. They’re all gone.”
“Just the refrigeration units?”
“No. I didn’t look at every truck, but I looked at enough. They’re all missing various parts, though it’s different for every truck. And most of them have damage to the undercarriage. Tires, axles, the like. Damage you’d expect to see if they drove fast over rough roads. Or debris in the road.” Erin stared at them.
Holly picked up on what she meant. “You think the Ferals are setting up traps?”
“It would explain yesterday,” Shane said. “That pack of Ferals shouldn’t have been able to surprise Tyler and Levi. Hell, they shouldn’t have been out there at all. Not unless they were waiting to snare another piece of prey.”
“Like the truck,” Erin said. “Shipping routes and schedules aren’t difficult to get hold of. Especially if they’re stealing truckers along with the trucks. That’s— That’s a disturbing thought.”
He could see the memories of yesterday lurking behind her eyes. Holly was right. I’ll talk to the pack tonight. Erin won’t have to deal with this alone. “To put it mildly. We’ll keep our eyes out when we’re hunting in case we can help anyone who got caught in this.”
The unspoken thought that help might come in a gruesome shape of mercy lingered in the hot desert sunshine.
7
The Last Wishes of Saviors and Sinners
Erin’s laughter rang through the kitchen, shameless and bright. She sounded lighter than he had yet heard her, unencumbered by whatever she carried on her heart, and Shane never wanted the sound to end. How long has it been since a woman laughed like that in my home? Hell, how long since I have?
Brave the Night: A Bully Boys Novel Page 6