Echo Falls

by McDougall, Jaime

  Phoebe’s eyes widened and just as she turned to shove Mia, both women stopped at the sound of Elle’s voice.

  “Mia!”

  Elle hadn’t spoken loudly, but she spoke with enough disgust to give both women pause. She walked over to them and glared at Mia.

  “Don’t you have any decency? Thomas is dead. One of your friends is dead, Mia. Murdered. And I find you here, hissing and spitting like a cat. Grow up and have some respect.”

  Mia glared right back and half-sneered, revealing her teeth. “Oh, I have respect. It’s your new best friend here who needs to learn some. She needs to learn to stay away from territory that doesn’t belong to her.”

  Elle took a step closer and lowered her voice. “Don’t fight for things that don’t belong to you.”

  Mia pursed her lips and straightened, smoothing down her dress. “Keep it up, Elle. I remember all these fun little conversations we have, and soon I’ll really let you know what I think about them.”

  Elle said nothing. She didn’t need to. As Will’s mate, she outranked Mia by far and didn’t need to waste even a word on her. Even though Phoebe didn’t know much about pack ways, she assumed Mia would find herself in a bad place quickly if she tried to take on any pack mother.

  Whatever Mia had been waiting for apparently was no longer worth the wait and she stormed off. Phoebe and Elle watched her walk over to her car, get in and drive away. They both sighed in relief and then gave each other a hug.

  “She was talking about Aidan,” Phoebe said, shaking her hands. “Her ‘territory’.”

  “Ignore her,” Elle said, holding Phoebe’s hands. “Her bark has always been much bigger than her bite. And Aidan is definitely not her territory.”

  Phoebe looked at the strain and worry apparent on her friend’s face, standing out thanks to the shadows cast by the street lights. Elle didn’t need to be worrying about petty rivalries between Phoebe and Mia, but maybe she would understand if she knew.

  She drew Elle close and spoke quietly. “I know about… the pack. Our ‘friends’. I’m a ‘friend’, too.”

  Elle took a step back then looked at her wide-eyed. Then she suddenly pulled Phoebe into a fierce hug. “I knew there was something I liked about you from the start.”

  They both chuckled and stepped back before linking their arms.

  Aidan broke off from his conversation with other officers and walked over to the pair. He easily looked ten years older, his earlier sexy five o’clock shadow now making him look weary. Phoebe’s hand twitched as she thought about touching him, but he made no move toward her so she stayed still.

  “You okay?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “I saw Mia leave.”

  Phoebe nodded.

  “We’re okay,” Elle said.

  “How are things out here?”

  Phoebe looked at him, confused, until she realized he’d addressed Elle. One more reminder I shouldn’t be here.

  Elle looked around at the diminishing crowd. “Most of us have gotten the news by now. Those here are heading home. Everyone is in shock. Thomas…” Her voice hitched and she took a deep breath. “How are things in there?”

  “The same as the others,” he said, shaking his head. “No sign. Nothing. The killer stood on the sidewalk so we can’t even be sure on a scent. He or she shot through the doorway when Thomas opened the door. We’re assuming the killer made some noise to draw him out.”

  Phoebe closed her eyes. Make it go away. Make it go away.

  “None of the neighbors saw anything.” Aidan paused and swallowed. “The only reason anyone knew it happened was because Thomas was able to call out before he died. The weapon used is the same: a silver bolt into the chest.”

  Phoebe’s eyes snapped open and pursed her lips so she wouldn’t vomit. She couldn’t have heard him correctly.

  Once she trusted her stomach enough to speak, she asked. “Like the others?”

  He nodded.

  They all died in the past month. All in the same way. No, no, no. She closed her eyes, trying to push back the thoughts, but they still came pouring into her mind. How much more evidence do you need before you’ll do something? You may as well have killed Thomas yourself.

  “Maybe you need a different nose to pick up the scent?” Elle suggested quietly.

  A silver bolt to the chest. Silver bolts. Not just regular ones.

  He shrugged. “Maybe… Phoebe?”

  She’d put her hand over her mouth and lowered her gaze, though it didn’t do much to curb the nausea.

  He stepped closer and put his arm around her shoulders. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s too soon after you were attacked. I’ll take you home.”

  “I’ll do it,” Elle said, wrapping her arm around Phoebe’s shoulders. “Charlotte needs her bed at home and River looks ready to sleep on her feet.”

  “Are you okay with that?” He pushed some of Phoebe’s hair away from her face.

  She muttered a weak ‘yeah’ while her wolf preened at the special attention from her alpha.

  He looked at Elle. “Take care of her.”

  She nodded and then looked to the dwindling group of officers. “Take care of Will for me.”

  They walked back to Elle’s car and got inside, both sighing in relief at the comfort of being away from the scene. Elle sniffed and wiped away a few tears, and Phoebe felt numb.

  I killed him. I killed Thomas. I may as well have shot the bolt myself.

  Though the night was cool, Elle turned the cool air on and faced the vents toward Phoebe. Once they were on the road with the air hitting her face, her stomach began to calm and she lowered her hand.

  “Better?” Elle whispered.

  She nodded, relaxing and slouching a little in the seat. She looked back over her shoulder to find River and Charlotte both strapped in and fast asleep.

  “It’s something I discovered with River. Whenever she gets motion sickness, I put the cool air on. Never fails. When we’re at home, it’s a cool cloth on the back of the neck.”

  Phoebe smiled faintly. “You’re really supermom, aren’t you?”

  “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to give you a curfew and make you call me whenever you want to go out with your friends after school.”

  They both smiled faintly and rode the rest of the way to Phoebe’s car in silence. Elle wanted to drive her straight home, but Phoebe didn’t like the idea of leaving her car out all night. If she didn’t already have a parking ticket, she would in the morning. She didn’t say that she needed to start packing and needed her car to put boxes in.

  “What happens now?” Phoebe asked once Elle had pulled in beside her car.

  Elle gripped the steering will and licked her lips as she stared ahead. Phoebe could see her blinking away the tears. When she finally spoke, her voice wobbled.

  “What happens now is we both go home and try to get some sleep. Because tomorrow, more than anything else, our men need us to be strong.”

  They said their goodbyes and Elle made sure Phoebe started her car with no problems before driving off. Phoebe sat there for a while with the radio turned off, trying to stop her body from shaking.

  He’d found her. Of course he’d found her. Didn’t he always? No matter how many times she’d convinced herself that he hadn’t found Echo Falls, that she had just stumbled into a bad situation, the silver bolts sealed it.

  He’d arrived in Echo Falls and he’d done so at the same time she had. Why had she spent so much time trying to run away, constantly debating about staying or going, instead of doing something for once?

  “Because you’re an idiot,” she said, resting her forehead on the steering wheel.

  She sat up, beginning to feel as if she were calling out to him right now, sitting there not doing anything with her car on. Her heart racing, she pulled out of the spot and drove back to her apartment as fast as she dared. She nearly ran to the front doors and then walked each hall from one stairwell to the other to make sure no one had followed he
r. She reached her floor with a sigh of relief.

  Yet, as if her heart hadn’t done enough racing and slowing today, she could see from the end of the hall that something waited outside her door. She approached slowly, though she didn’t know what kind of danger a bottle could prove to be. Looking around, she found no one watching her or waiting to pounce on her, so she knelt down and picked up the bottle of red wine.

  Blood Red Shiraz.

  She licked her dry lips and looked around the hall again before examining the bottle. A cream white card hung around the bottle’s neck, tied by a red ribbon strung through a hold in its corner. She opened it using just the tips of two fingers and broke out in a cold sweat when she read the message.

  I’ve missed you.

  She quickly opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. Once she’d locked all the locks, she did a thorough check of the entire apartment and all the locks on the windows. She checked the locks on the door again to be sure before leaning back against it and sliding to the floor.

  The bottle seemed to laugh at her from where she’d left it next to the sink. It said, ‘I am always watching.’ He’d killed Thomas and seen her at the crime scene. She closed her eyes. He saw me with Aidan and Elle.

  This happened every time she stopped. Sooner or later she’d get a whiff or a glimpse of him. Or he’d find her before she realized and he’d play mind games. Only this time, he’d left her a note. He never talked to her. That was part of the punishment for her… contamination.

  He’d never made so many kills in one place before, either. He would kill sometimes because someone got in his way or he felt she needed reminding of why she should let him do as he wished to her. But here? He’d declared Echo Falls his hunting ground by assassinating three werewolves before even bothering with her.

  And she hadn’t even seen it until tonight.

  ‘As long as you live in Echo falls, whether or not you choose to be a part of our pack, I will keep you safe.’

  If only Aidan knew. If only she’d known for sure before tonight. If she had, she would have never let him swear something like that. She liked Echo Falls and for the first time in a long time, she could see settling down and making a new life. But to do that, she would have to finally face up to who and what she’d been running from.

  She stood up and looked through the eyeglass on the door. Seeing no one, she then walked over to the sink. The bottle of wine looked nice. Expensive. He’d taken his time picking it out, knowing she would notice. Knowing that the message meant he’d been carefully picking out his victims all along. Nothing came randomly. Thomas had been killed to get her attention, and now that he had it, she needed to run.

  “I will not run. Not this time,” she said.

  She tore off the card and tossed it in the sink, pouring the entire bottle of wine on it. When the bottle had emptied, she took the soggy remains of the card and tore it into pieces. She looked down at the mess, putting the bottle in the sink on top of it. Her hand shook and she turned away, walking to the bedroom.

  She only bothered to take her shoes off before pulling herself completely under the covers. Reaching under her pillow, she gripped the hilt of the knife, the feeling giving her some comfort.

  Elle’s words from earlier ran through her mind as she stared at the wall, and she promised herself she could and would be strong.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

  Aidan nodded to the barman who gave him a fresh whiskey. “Haven’t needed to be here in a while.”

  The barman nodded and moved away.

  Aidan hardly ever drank and when he did, he had a damn good reason. At Bad Karma, a bar in the next largest city away from Echo Falls, they didn’t know he was a cop and left him alone with his thoughts and solace on the rocks. This night seemed more in need of solace than any other he’d ever been through.

  His hand squeezed the cold glass until he thought the better of it and released it. He needed both hands if he wanted to solve this case. This case that now had his friend’s name written all over it.

  Why Thomas? If the killer wanted to start somewhere in the pack, why not kill their leader? The killer had to know that they didn’t have much going on solving the case, so he’d probably be able to walk away. Or she. Thomas had been working on the thought someone in the pack had betrayed them and they had plenty of females. But could any of them do something like this? Get caught up in the arms of someone who killed their own kind?

  He scowled down at the drink. Something told him Thomas had been onto something and that he’d been killed for it. He’d told someone or been overheard telling someone, and his line of thinking had reached the wrong ears. But whose?

  At this rate, they’d all be dead before they could find out.

  The bell above the front door jingled as the door opened and closed. Heavy footsteps made Aidan close his eyes and rub his temples, not wanting to think that he knew who’d just walked in.

  “I thought I might find you here.”

  Chief Inspector Graham, looking for all the world like just another late-night bar goer in his jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket, sat down next to Aidan and ordered a scotch and Coke. Aidan nodded to him but couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t smack of anger. Graham had discovered Aidan’s little hideout by accident the night after he’d taken away Aidan’s badge.

  Graham stared forward, taking a small sip of his drink before letting out an explosive breath. “Damn it. Just damn it all.”

  Aidan looked over and arched an eyebrow.

  “The only reason we put ice in this crap is to stop ourselves from drinking it as fast as we want to,” he said, holding his glass up to the light. “A self-control mechanism that we don’t even think about most of the time.”

  Graham put down his drink and then placed his hand with something underneath it on the bar. He then slid it over in front of Aidan. When he lifted his hand away, the shine of gold caught Aidan’s eye and he nodded at his badge.

  “What does this mean?”

  “This means you start finishing all your questions with ‘sir’ starting when you get back to work tomorrow.”

  Aidan stared at the badge, unwilling to touch it lest it melt away in an instant. He took a deep breath and then looked at Graham.

  Graham placed his hand on Aidan’s shoulder. “Thomas makes it personal. I want you back out there so long as you keep your head in check. Don’t come in the office. If having you out there in plain clothes is an advantage, then I want to take it. Now drink your whiskey and get on with it because I want you starting bright and early in the morning.”

  With that, Graham stood up and tossed a twenty on the bar before leaving. Aidan looked down at his badge and ran his thumb over it before putting it in his pocket.

  Now he would start getting answers.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Phoebe woke up to a throbbing headache stomping around with great enthusiasm in her head. She groaned and rubbed her temples, wondering if she could force herself back to sleep.

  She rolled onto her opposite side hoping the change of position would be the magical switch to put her back into dreamland. But the move only made her wake up completely when she painfully discovered that she’d left her phone in her pocket.

  She took out the phone and saw she had two messages. She didn’t recognize either number, but then why would she? She’d bought it so she could take calls for her business – much easier to set up and get rid of than a landline phone.

  She rubbed the side of it with her thumb, smiling. Her business. One more thing to stand up and fight for. Though the thought of standing up to the man who haunted her nightmares still made her breath come short, the decision had been made.

  She dialed her message bank and listened.

  “Phoebe… Martin? Hi! My name is Daisy and I’m…” Daisy broke down and began to cry. “I’m getting married on Saturday and – and my photographer just ditched on me! H-he’s the only
photographer in town, b-but then I saw your card and I thought if it isn’t too late maybe you would photograph my wedding. Please call as soon as you can!”

  She smiled, this not being the first time she’d talked to a bride-to-be in tears. The call had come late at night, which meant the poor woman was desperate. She hung up before the second message played and looked at her calendar.

  The pages had been mostly blank for too long. The prospect of filling them up with client appointments felt so good that she forgot about all the chaos of the day before as she dialed Daisy’s number.

  Only when she had hung up with the incredibly grateful bride – who insisted she bring a date and stay for the reception dinner as a guest as well as photographer – did she realize Saturday was the day after the full moon. She squeezed the tip of her thumb and looked at her calendar. The timing would be tight, but she could make it if she stayed close to home on the night. The wolf hated it when she confined herself on full moon nights, the only time she got to be free whether Phoebe wanted her to be or not. Phoebe could transform on other nights, but she chose not to, much to her wolf’s annoyance.

  “I have to do what is necessary,” she said, scribbling in the appointment. At least the bride hadn’t been one of those so-called trendy types who liked to get married on a Friday night.

  A knock at her door made her jump. She grabbed her knife and then looked through the eyehole.

  Aidan?

  She opened the door and peeked out into the hall. “Aidan. Hi. I didn’t expect to see you.”

  He frowned, looking around and sniffing. “I called. Do you smell something familiar?”

  The second voice message. “I didn’t hear the phone.” She opened the door the rest of the way. “Come in.”

  He walked in and her wolf responded stronger than it had to the thought of confinement. If she’d had a tail at that moment, it would have been wagging so hard and fast that she’d have knocked herself over. She barely stopped herself from jumping up onto him for a big hug as he put a bag of groceries next to the sink. He began taking coffee, milk, a newspaper and such out of the bag. He saw the empty wine bottle and paused for a moment but said nothing.