by Chant, Zoe
Even if Luke wanted to help them, he’d have to fight his instincts the whole way. That kind of internal warfare could leave a young wolf’s psychology in tatters.
And against all odds, Colby actually liked this kid. He thought that away from Eli Hebbert’s bullshit, Luke would be just fine.
But he had to poke around a little. His mate’s safety could depend on it.
“How does Eli like to operate?”
Some of the color bled out of Luke’s face, making him look pinched and even younger than before, and he shook his head silently.
Colby kept his voice low and calm. “Anything would help.”
“Please,” Aria said.
Luke glanced at her. His guilt warred with his fear and his most primal instincts and, unbelievably, his guilt won—at least a little. The words tumbled out of him in a rush, like he needed to say them before his better judgment interfered.
“He learned everything from his dad—my uncle Isaac. He used to lead us, but he died last year.”
Colby felt an unwanted stab of empathy at that. He and Eli Hebbert had that experience in common.
Of course, he hadn’t channeled it into killing people and terrifying innocent women.
“Uncle Isaac taught us to move around a lot,” Luke continued. “We’ve been all over the map. Eli would go anywhere with a good hunting ground, and Weston would follow him anywhere.”
Colby remembered that detail from Eli’s file. Weston was Eli Hebbert’s brother: younger and dumber, but just as vicious.
“Is it just Eli and Weston?”
“Now that they’ve dropped me,” Luke said morosely.
“Is there anyone they’d go to? Close family? Friends?” He paused. “Connections?”
Colby had been out of the loop since his dad had died, and he barely knew the local wolf packs. But he knew they were there. They’d been his dad’s card-playing buddies.
And thanks to all the fresh venison they’d left on his doorstep after the funeral, he hadn’t had to buy meat for a month. It was the werewolf equivalent of bringing over casseroles.
It had been a gesture—one he’d been too grief-stricken back then to acknowledge.
Had Eli picked up the pack connections Colby had ignored?
But Luke was shaking his head. “Friends aren’t part of the plan.”
“What plan?’
“Nature’s plan.”
Colby had had it up to here with all the back-to-nature horseshit this kid’s cousins had loaded him down with. He’d already seen the kind of damage and loneliness that kind of snobby, more-shifter-than-thou attitude had caused in Theo, and Theo’s family had at least let him grow up with indoor plumbing and polo ponies and basically every other material advantage a kid could have.
Luke had gotten bullied into thinking that a limp and a likely need for glasses meant that he was defective, and that being a werewolf meant it was dumb and childish and weak for him to want friends.
He at least had some idea on how to start fixing some of that. But he wanted to make sure they were done here first.
“Girlfriend? I know he’s had those.”
Luke made a face. “If you want to call them that. He’s not really nice to them.”
“I’d go a little further than that,” Colby said quietly, “considering one of them died.”
“What?” The kid seemed genuinely startled. “One of them died?”
He had looked through the file, so he thankfully didn’t have to just rely on Wilson’s “podunk town” description. “Amanda Briar, in East Newton.”
Luke looked like he was going to be sick. “I didn’t know that. I swear. I never knew he did anything to her. He just likes getting laid, you know? He says he likes to find women who are like rabbits—all cute and jumpy. But they like him. I’ve met some of them before, and it’s true.”
“They probably think he’s just your classic bad boy,” Aria said. “A little rough around the edges. A safe kind of being scared, like a rollercoaster.” She swallowed. “Except it wasn’t too safe for Amanda, was it?”
“She was nice,” Luke said. “She was—she was really nice.”
“Is there anyone nice here?” Colby said. He needed to press the advantage while he had it. “Does he have a new girlfriend?”
“No! He’s been laying low. He’s barely done anything.”
He must have been afraid Amanda’s murder would make a big splash. In Eli’s warped mind, that was even more of a reason to want Aria dead: never mind IDing him as a shifter, she could have—and had—led the cops right to him. Right when he’d just made his record even worse.
Colby said, “There’s no one he and Weston might go to?”
Luke opened his mouth and then shut it. A muscle twitched wildly in his cheek.
“They know people. But they wouldn’t go to anybody for help. And there’s no girlfriend. You shouldn’t go around bothering people just because they’ve met Eli and West.”
He wondered who the kid was trying to protect. It didn’t sound like it was his cousins, oddly enough. That made it better, but he wanted to double-check.
Colby chose his next words carefully. “Are you sure about that?”
Luke nodded. “I’d tell you.”
It sounded like he was telling the truth. And he’d been genuinely shaken by the truth about Amanda Briar.
“So all we know,” Aria said, “is that Eli’s after me.”
Luke looked down. He was apparently coming up dry on things to say to comfort her.
Aria’s voice trembled as she said, “My family. Would your cousins go after my family?”
Luke, thank God, shook his head at once, very adamantly. He looked horrified.
“W—we don’t do that. Eli and West, they only ever take out people they think are threats.”
“I’m not a threat! I was just on a walk!”
“You saw him,” Luke said.
Like obviously the only thing any self-respecting werewolf or self-respecting fugitive could do, if they got spotted, was try to kill an innocent woman. There were plenty of murderers, and for sure plenty of werewolves, who somehow managed to not take that leap every time they ran into someone.
But he did understand what Luke meant.
Eli was more wolf than man—or at least he liked to think that about himself—and no wolf was Hannibal Lecter. Eli’s ruthlessness was a hell of a lot more straightforward and clearly motivated. He wouldn’t go after Aria’s kids to lure her in—he’d think that was too human, and in a sad way, it was. It was a serial killer kind of evil.
Eli Hebbert was just a hunter. Cruel, brutal, and relentless—but not interested in playing mind games. It was a small favor, but one Colby was thankful for nonetheless.
“Well, knowing my family is safe means a lot,” Aria said. She took a deep breath. “Is there anything else you can tell us?”
Colby thought for sure that Luke would say no. He seemed to have already hit the wall in terms of how much he could give away about his alpha.
But he’d underestimated the sway Aria would have over a kid like Luke, who didn’t seem to have had a mom or sisters or even a girlfriend. Men were threatening to him; women weren’t.
So Luke tentatively said, “He’ll stay on the hunt.” He shot Aria an apologetic look. “It doesn’t matter that she’s already talked to the cops. He knows the damage is already done, but he just—”
“Still wants me out of the way,” Aria said. “On general principle. Okay. Anything else?”
“I’m not sure, but... I think he’ll stay close.”
“In the woods?” Colby said.
Luke snorted. “No, he’s not that much of an idiot. Even West isn’t that much of an idiot. But he might stay in town. We’ve never stayed in one place this long before. Eli likes it here. It’s weird.”
That reminded him of something Wilson had mentioned. He’d said that they were all lucky that Eli hadn’t caused more carnage around town.
“How long h
ave you been here?” Colby asked.
“Six months. We usually only stay somewhere a month, max.”
That had to mean something. It was a huge break in the pattern, if nothing else.
He did some quick counting-back in his head and realized that if they’d arrived in Sterling six months ago, it must have been right after the murder of Amanda Briar. So that was when the pattern had been broken, really. Somehow, that was what all this turned on.
“Thank you,” Colby said.
He made sure to meet Luke’s eyes. He wanted the kid to know that he meant it; he wanted Luke to know he had worth.
“Are you going to arrest me?” Luke said.
“Of course not!” Aria said hotly, and then she cast a guilty look at Colby. “You’re not, are you? He’s not a bad kid, he just has some bad cousins.”
“I’m not going to arrest him,” Colby said. “I was a punk kid once too.”
“In Beverly Hills?”
“Dude,” Luke said, “you’re from Beverly Hills?”
“I could arrest you,” Colby offered. “If you’re going to be a jerk. But I’d rather see you turn your life around. Getting free of Eli and Weston could be the best thing to ever happen to you.”
Luke shook his head. “I don’t know how to make it on my own. Eli always looked out for me.”
Too bad he didn’t do a better job of it.
It was the perfect in for what he wanted to do, at least. Colby dug around in his wallet and came up with Jillian’s business card; he always liked to keep some of those around in case they ran into exactly this kind of situation. He borrowed a pen from Aria and wrote his cell phone number on the back.
“Here,” he said, passing the card over to Luke. “My number’s on the back.” He hesitated and then added, “My dad died a few years ago. I know what it’s like to suddenly not have your family around. Call me if you need anything.”
“You mean if I want to roll over on Eli.”
“I mean if you need anything,” Colby repeated. “And the address on the front is a community center where a friend of mine works. They’re good with weird situations. And Jillian—my friend—is easy to talk to. She can help you sort out what to do next.” He smiled. “She even knows something about dogs.”
Or at least something about giant, fire-breathing lizards. Close enough.
“And clear out of the woods,” he added. “This place is going to be crawling with cops by nightfall.”
*
It was late afternoon by the time they got back to the parking lot. Their walk back to the car had been much, much quieter than their walk to Eli’s Happy Hiding Spot.
His wolf, of course, hadn’t known how to read the room. Far from being quiet, it had been about as loud as it ever got.
Talk to her. Talk to her. Talk to her. Tell her the truth.
It was starting to give him a headache. And it wasn’t like he could complain to that many people about a wolf nagging up a storm in his head.
He had replied, about eight hundred times, I’m trying to figure out how to protect her, you idiot.
The mutt appeared unmoved by this information.
The truth could protect her, it suggested.
Colby rubbed his forehead hard—and pointedly, like the mutt would finally take a hint—and said, “I think we should get you out of town for a few days.”
That was the truth, even if it wasn’t the one his wolf wanted him to cough up.
Aria must have been lost in thought, because she blinked at him like she’d just woken up.
It was a gesture that highlighted her long, gorgeous eyelashes, and Colby thought wistfully of how incredible it would be to really wake up next to her and see her dark curls tumbled across her pillow.
“Why?” Aria said.
He wanted to phrase it as delicately as possible.
“I think Luke’s right: Eli and his brother aren’t going to target your family or try to use them against you. But if they’re looking for you, and you’re with your family, I don’t think they’ll have that many scruples about busting the door down and saying to hell with the collateral damage.”
That hadn’t been delicate at all.
Maybe it would be easier to concentrate, Colby hissed at his wolf, if you would shut up for two seconds.
But he was forgetting that Aria was a woman who made her living off photographing nature—and nature was anything but cute and cuddly, no matter how many bunnies and sloths and baby goats it tried to distract you with. Colby owned all her books, and he knew for a fact that she’d seen—and recorded—some pretty grisly acts of predators against prey.
It hit closer to home when it was happening to her, of course, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t as tough as nails. She took his lack of tact without even flinching.
“Right,” she said. “Good thinking. But I don’t have to get all the way out of town for that to work. I just have to send Mattie to stay with my mom and dad for a few days. Then I can keep helping you.”
Colby shook his head. “I can’t keep risking you like this.”
“You’re not risking me,” she said firmly. “You’re protecting me.”
“I followed your logic on how you’d be my nature guide. But the part where I protect you by letting you chase after a fugitive is a little fuzzy to me.”
“If the Hebberts are hunting me, then wherever I go, they’ll try to tail me there. That means the easiest way to find them is to stick with me.”
“I’m not using you as bait!”
“You wouldn’t be. You’d be combining tracking your fugitive with protecting your witness.” She smiled. “I know those are two of any US Marshal’s favorite things.”
“Aria—”
“And...” Her mouth wobbled a little. “I don’t think I’ll feel as safe anywhere else as I do with you. I don’t think I’ll be as safe anywhere else as I am with you.”
His instincts were tearing him in two. Now he knew exactly how Luke had felt trying to fight with his own.
On the one hand, he didn’t want Aria to be in the kind of danger he faced on a daily basis.
On the other hand, every cell in his body hated the idea of leaving her alone and unprotected—or even alone and protected by someone else.
She could spend the next week sitting in a locked-down panic room with all his coworkers stationed outside, and it would probably still give him the jitters to know that Eli was gunning for her. And while chasing after the full story of Amanda Briar might get him answers, it wouldn’t necessarily get him what he needed most: Eli Hebbert safely in custody.
No one else can protect her like we can, his wolf said. Now it just sounded quiet and intense. And she is a worthy partner in the hunt.
There were probably a hundred reasons to say no to this. And part of him was worried that he was saying yes just because he was lonely and in love.
But yes, apparently it was exactly what he was going to say. And by the funny, dazzling smile spreading across her face right now, Aria already knew it.
“All right,” Colby said. He took her hand in his. “I guess I’m moving in with you for a few days.”
She laced her fingers in with his, holding onto him tightly.
“Excellent,” Aria said.
7
The bad part about having a surprise US Marshal houseguest was that Aria was suddenly remembering the dirty dishes she’d left in the sink that morning. And the messy spreads of nature and photography magazines. And all the kid-related clutter of Legos and art supplies.
She cleared her throat.
“I didn’t really have time to clean this morning,” she said sheepishly.
He laughed. “I’m not going to judge you. Besides... not to lean into stereotypes, but I shared an apartment with three other guys in college. I don’t think you could show me any level of mess I haven’t already seen.”
“Towers of beer cans?”
“And a fridge with intelligent life growing in the back.”
&
nbsp; She shuddered. “No, not that bad, thankfully.”
But she knew she had to be really hungry, because her stomach had growled at him mentioning the fridge even with the mental image of it being totally disgusting. It occurred to her that they would wind up having their first dinner together tonight.
Sort of like a date. If you could call it a date when they’d both probably have their gun on the table next to their silverware.
Funnily enough, Aria had had plenty of nights of solo campfire dinners where any rustling in the bushes or snapping of twigs could mean a massive predator was creeping up on her. If she thought about Eli Hebbert as just one more animal ready to pounce out of the shadows, she found her fear ebbing back a little. She knew how to deal with that. She trusted her skills and her reflexes.
And she trusted Colby.
No matter how weird the circumstances were, she liked the idea of having her first date with him tonight. She actually had a champagne-like fizz of sweet expectation running through her when she thought about it.
“What do you want for dinner?” she said lightly.
His eyes met hers in the rearview mirror, and she could see that his mind had jumped onto the same track hers had.
He kept his voice casual too. “Anything. I’m starved.”
“Too bad we’re in your car. If we were in mine, we’d have trail mix. I make the best trail mix.”
“I don’t doubt it. Please tell me you really load up on the M&Ms.”
“In some of them, definitely. I do a bunch of variations. So the one with wasabi peas doesn’t have M&Ms, but there’s a sugar rush one with M&Ms and butterscotch chips and a s’mores one with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. I figure the hiking itself is healthy enough that I can indulge.”
“Maybe we could indulge together sometime,” Colby said.
Aria wondered if he had any idea the effect someone like him saying something like that had on her—and probably on any straight woman in a hundred-mile radius. It was a good thing he was driving, because otherwise they’d be risking some serious lust-related car accidents.