Nolan

by Ally Summers

  Nolan

  Undercover Shifter Book Two

  Ally Summers

  Meredith Clarke

  Copyright © 2019 by Ally Summers

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Ava

  2. Nolan

  3. Ava

  4. Nolan

  5. Ava

  6. Nolan

  7. Ava

  8. Nolan

  9. Ava

  10. Nolan

  11. Ava

  12. Nolan

  13. Ava

  14. Nolan

  15. Ava

  16. Nolan

  Epilogue

  One

  Ava

  It kept happening.

  I gasped for breath and my eyes darted around the dark bedroom. My skin was coated in a thin layer of prickly cold sweat. Shit. It was worse this time. My mouth was dry, and my hands shook.

  I threw the covers off my legs and placed my feet on the floor. I was desperate for solid ground. I quickly turned on the lamp and checked the time. 3am.

  I winced, grabbed a glass of water, and shuffled to my office.

  This was the third nightmare in a week. I blamed my sister for recommending those stupid true crime podcasts. As I skimmed the headlines on my tablet, I knew she wasn’t to blame for all of it. Another hiker had gone missing.

  This time a woman. Single. In her twenties. Auburn hair. No family in the area.

  My stomach soured at how eerily our descriptions matched.

  The more lights I turned on as I moved through the cottage, the better I felt. I didn’t matter that it was a false sense of security. My office was in the back room of the house I had rented for the next four months. It felt secluded and safe. There was a warm glow inside the wood-lined walls. It had instantly become my sanctuary the day I moved in.

  I jumped when my phone rang.

  “Shit. You scared me.” I breathed into the phone.

  “What’s wrong with you? And why in the hell are you awake at this hour? I was going to leave you a voicemail.”

  I read the headline on the screen about the missing hiker. “You don’t want to know. I just can’t sleep,” I lied.

  “Since I got you. I have some news.”

  “What’s going on?” I tried to shift my attention to my baby sister. The time difference between us was nine hours. It wasn’t always easy talking on the phone.

  “I got a new job,” she squealed.

  “Hannah, that’s awesome. Is it with the same company you interviewed with last week?”

  “Yes, and the best part is that they’re giving me a signing bonus, and I want to spend it to buy you a ticket to come see me.”

  “Oh.” I blinked. “That’s really sweet, but…”

  She huffed. “It’s been months. Come on. You know you want to.”

  “I know,” I whispered into the phone. “The timing is off right now. I’m in the middle of this career—”

  “The timing is always off with you, Ava.”

  I bit my lip. She didn’t know what I was dealing with in Thunder Pike. No one did. Sure, it sounded like a fantastic getaway. A peaceful cottage in the gorgeous outskirts of the most scenic spot in the county. A place to relax and focus on whatever I wanted. At least that’s what I needed to convince myself was the truth.

  A place to get lost in the mountains and write poetry, or whatever people did when they were left alone too long.

  “Ava, come on,” she pleaded.

  My eyes traveled from the tablet to the hiking map I had tacked to the wall. The fear spiked through me again.

  “Okay.” The guilt trip she made me ride was powerful.

  “Okay what?”

  I nodded. “Okay, I’ll come to London. I’ll come see you.”

  “You will?”

  “You are offering to pay,” I teased.

  “I can’t believe this. You’re going to love London,” Hannah squealed.

  My eyes landed on the picture of the missing hiker. I shuddered.

  “I’m sure I will.”

  “I’ll call you back when I work out all the details.” I could practically see her smile through the phone. At least I had made her happy.

  “Sounds good.”

  There was a pause. “Hey, before you go…what are they like?” she asked.

  “What are who like?”

  “You know. The shifters. Are there as many as everyone says? Can you tell just from looking at them?”

  “Hannah,” I scolded.

  “What? I’m curious. I’ve never seen them. Or at least know that I’ve seen one. But I probably have, right?”

  “Yes, you definitely have.”

  “They are supposed to out-number the humans where you are. You aren’t going to tell me anything?”

  “There’s nothing to tell. I’m not here to study shifters. I’m on sabbatical. You know my work is not that interesting.” I tried to steer her in another direction. “It’s super boring compared to you, world traveler.”

  “Fine. I just thought you might have a juicy story. I hear the guys are hung like thick—.”

  “Hannah!”

  She giggled. “I’m just sayin’. Shifter sized and all.”

  “I need to go,” I warned. My love life was non-existent, and I wasn’t interested in telling her I hadn’t seen a naked man in months. Make that over a year.

  “You should probably get some sleep,” she suggested. “It’s too early for you to be up.”

  “Good idea. I’ll talk to you later.”

  My sister hung up and the room seemed colder. Less comforting than it had before she called. It felt as if she was on the other side of the world. If she needed family, I was the only one who could step in. And as long as this place was as dangerous as it was, there was no way I was letting my little sister anywhere near Thunder Pike.

  Two

  Nolan

  I saw the sign ahead. Twenty-eight miles to Thunder Pike. There was nothing out here on these county roads. No gas stations. No strip malls. Just acre after acre of wild forest in the peaks and valleys of the mountains. In this part of the county, that also meant untamed shifters. I was glad I had filled up my truck when I left Hunter’s Lake.

  It wasn’t that I had a problem with them, but things were getting bad. And I knew how shifters like the Thunder Pike crew reacted when they were backed into a corner. They came out claws swinging.

  My radio crackled.

  “Detective Bryson, come in.” The static popped.

  I picked up the receiver. “Bryson here. What do you have for me?”

  “Detective Rawlings needs you to call him when you’re in range. Says he’s been trying.”

  I exhaled. “There’s no service up here.”

  The only signal that could get through was our radio system. It was better than nothing.

  “Tell him I’ll call when I can.”

  “Ten-four.”

  I hung up the small hand held speaker and focused on the road. I wondered what Beau needed, and why it couldn’t wait until I got back to Hunter’s Lake. He had been taken off the missing hikers case weeks ago. His partner, Griffin, was still mad as hell about it. I didn’t get involved in department politics. Captain gave me a lead for the case and I had to follow it.

  I checked the bars on my phone. Damn it. Still nothing.

  If this lead panned out, I should be back by tonight. The problem was that every lead I chased was a dead end. Suspects who were on the run. Fictitious addresses. Liars turning
on each other. We hadn’t made any headway on the case. This one needed to be different. People were dying. There had to be a way to stop whoever was responsible for the attacks on the hikers.

  The hikers weren’t like everyone else. They were like me—shifters.

  I crossed over the town’s city limits. I drove through the small downtown and parked my truck at the corner diner. All eyes landed on me when I walked inside. I was used to it when I was around humans. I had a way of standing out at over six foot three and the build of a hockey player. The thick hair and dark eyes didn’t help me blend in any either. But here, in shifter country? They weren’t staring because they hadn’t seen my kind before. No. They weren’t intimidated by my bear or my strength.

  The people here hated strangers. Worse than that. They hated cops.

  “Good morning.” I smiled at the hostess, waiting with a menu in her hand.

  She looked terrified to speak to me.

  “Only one?” she asked.

  “Only one.” I tried to put her at ease. I wasn’t here to cause trouble. I was here to solve it. Stop the crimes that had infiltrated this small town and mine. The rash of hiker attacks ran all the way from Hunter’s Lake to Thunder Pike.

  I followed the girl to a booth in the back. It was noticeably the spot farthest from the door, and blocked by the drink station.

  “Thank you.” I slid into the red vinyl bench.

  “Marcie will be right with you.” She turned and hurried toward the front of the restaurant.

  I nodded at the other customers. A family of bear shifters sat to my right, while I picked up on the scent of a wolf, I just couldn’t place him this far back.

  Marcie appeared. “What can I get you?”

  “A cup of coffee and a stack of pancakes,” I answered.

  She scribbled the order on a waitress pad. “Give me ten minutes, but I’ll be right back with the coffee.”

  I nodded as she took off with the plastic menu.

  I scrolled through my phone, but I couldn’t refresh my inbox, or make a call. I scowled. How could there be no service in the heart of downtown?

  Marcie arrived with a hot cup of coffee. She placed a full pot next to it. “Just in case you want a refill,” she added, as she started to turn.

  “I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

  She stopped. I saw her eyes close then blink open.

  “Just a quick question. It won’t take long.”

  She faced me. “Look, I don’t want to get in the middle of anything. Okay? I bring the coffee. The pancakes. But I don’t want anything to do with this investigation.”

  “Who said anything about an investigation?” I winked.

  “I know who you are. Big shot cop from Hunter’s Lake.”

  “Is that so?” I took a sip of coffee. “Then you also probably know I’m not interested in interviewing Thunder Pike residents?”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re not?”

  I shook my head. “No. I’m not here to hurt anyone you’re close to, Marcie. But I was thinking you might be able to help me with something else. Someone else.”

  Her eyes shot to the cash register. I saw a man snarling at her. There he was. The wolf.

  “It’s okay,” I assured her. “Not about him either.” I smiled.

  “I don’t know how I can help you.”

  “There’s a woman I need to find. She’s here for the spring, maybe through the summer. She’s not from here,” I reinforced I wasn’t interested in anyone Marcie had an attachment to.

  “Okay?”

  “Her name is Ava Lance. I think she’s renting a cottage. But unless I go one by one through every rental property in the county, it’s hard to narrow it down.”

  I saw Marcie’s lips twist.

  “You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?” I eyed her.

  “Maybe.”

  I shook my head. “Look, I need to find her. There are other ways, but I’d like to talk to her and leave Thunder Pike before it gets dark. Can you help me, Marcie?”

  I saw her glance at the wolf shifter at the register and then at me.

  “I think she’s renting one of Norma’s places.”

  “That narrows it down a little. Do you know which one?”

  I had read Rawlings’s case files about his last trip to Thunder Pike. I had seen the notes on Norma, the shifter who helped him from time to time.

  Marcie bit her lip. “It’s out of town. You know past the mill and on the other side of the old Schooner place.”

  “Sounds remote.”

  The waitress nodded. “It is. I’ve only seen her a few times. She’s quiet. Seems nice. I heard she’s a teacher or college professor here for a break. Someone told me she’s writing something. I don’t know. I just took her orders. Small chat about the weather, that’s about it. Is she in some kind of trouble?”

  “Not trouble. I’m hoping she has some answers.” I smiled. “I appreciate this, Marcie. This is exactly what I needed. You’re helping a lot of people today. I know you don’t realize it, but this a huge help.”

  She wiped her hands on her aprons, and pulled out her waitress pad from the front pouch of her apron. I watched as she scribbled across the top and then placed the carbon paper face down on the table.

  I waited until she walked away before I flipped it over. I smiled when I read the curly handwriting. Marcie had given me the name of the street and the cottage. Sweet Willow Lane.

  Three

  Ava

  I wasn’t sure if I was on my third of fourth cup of coffee. I lost count. I couldn’t fall back asleep after my call with Hannah. Instead, I dove deeper into the stories about the latest missing woman.

  I opened the front door and moved to the porch. I stretched onto the swing and looked out on the forest that surrounded the house. It was one of the things I loved about renting the place. The sound of the birds. The way the sunlight filtered through the trees. The buds on the branches, and the new shoots springing up through the forest floor.

  But when the sun went down, the charming allure faded. Instead of sweet birds chirping, I thought I heard howls. Instead of new flowers blooming, every branch looked like it held talons or claws. I was sure when I peered into the distance those weren’t new green limbs, but instead green glowing eyes watching me. Stalking me. Waiting for me to let my guard down.

  I groaned. Maybe Hannah was right. I needed to go to London and put things in perspective. Everything here made me focus on the wrong thing. The deadly thing.

  I looked up when I heard tires kicking up gravel on the driveway. I didn’t recognize the truck. Cautiously, I walked to the railing. I hadn’t ordered anything recently. Online shopping was my one guilty pleasure, but having deliveries arrive at Sweet Willow Lane cost extra.

  I wasn’t prepared for who I saw step out of the truck.

  I swallowed as my eyes traveled up his long solid body. He strolled toward me and I wanted to blink, but it seemed impossible. He had a square cut jaw and dark broody eyes to match. Holy hell. Where did he come from?

  I had my answer quickly. The man held up a badge.

  “Detective Bryson from Hunter’s Lake. And you must be Ava Lance?”

  “Is-is something wrong? Oh my God is it, Hannah?” I clasped the railing, my knees rattled. Before I crumpled the detective jogged to the top step and wrapped a protective arm around me. He held my waist, suspending me from thumping to the floor.

  “It’s not Hannah.” He shook his head. “I don’t know Hannah. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

  I tried to catch my breath. “The last time a cop showed up at my door it was to tell me my parents had died in a car accident.” I pushed off his chest, regaining my composure. “I guess I’m still dealing with that.” My eyes hit the long boards of the deck. “Sorry,” I mumbled. My cheeks flushed as he extracted his large hands from my waist.

  “Shit. I’m sorry to hear that.” He rubbed the side of his stubble.

  I exhaled. “I’m o
kay. A little embarrassed, but fine.” I faked a smile. “What can I do for you, detective?”

  He leaned against the railing. His frame was so overbearing, I wondered if it would crack the railing under the pressure of his body.

  “I have a few questions for you about Allied. I’m hoping you can help me piece some things together.”

  “Allied?” I shook my head. “I’m not sure what that is.”

  He smirked. “Dr. Lance?”

  “Yes. I’m a professor at the university. I’m here on sabbatical.”

  He nodded. “I’ve heard that story once today.”

  “You have?” I took a step backward. I didn’t like his tone or the implication.

  “The cover seems to have worked for you.”

  I glared at him. “Cover? I really don’t know what you’re talking about. And I’m starting to think there’s nothing I can help you with.”

  I picked up my half-empty mug of coffee and started toward the door.

  The detective’s palm landed on the door frame. “Come on. There’s no one else out here. Just you and me. You could help me with a serious case. And I know who you are.”

  My eyes flashed to his. “I told you exactly who I am.” I gritted my teeth. “If you don’t move, detective, I will call your precinct and report you for harassment.”

  He didn’t budge. His chest seized and I saw a flicker in his eyes. Fuck. I knew then what he was. A shifter. Judging from his size, most likely a bear.

  “Considering they sent me and told me not to drive back without your statement, I’d say they don’t give a shit if you call.”

  I jerked on the door. “Fine. Do you want to come in for some coffee then?” Mine was already cold.

  He grinned. “If you’re inviting me in?”