The Werewolf Whoops

by Amanda M. Lee

  The Werewolf Whoops

  A Charlie Rhodes Cozy Mystery Book 3

  Amanda M. Lee

  WinchesterShaw Publications

  Copyright © 2017 by Amanda M. Lee

  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.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. One

  2. Two

  3. Three

  4. Four

  5. Five

  6. Six

  7. Seven

  8. Eight

  9. Nine

  10. Ten

  11. Eleven

  12. Twelve

  13. Thirteen

  14. Fourteen

  15. Fifteen

  16. Sixteen

  17. Seventeen

  18. Eighteen

  19. Nineteen

  20. Twenty

  21. Twenty-One

  22. Twenty-Two

  23. Twenty-Three

  24. Twenty-Four

  25. Twenty-Five

  26. Twenty-Six

  27. Twenty-Seven

  28. Twenty-Eight

  29. Twenty-Nine

  Mailing List

  About the Author

  Books by Amanda M. Lee

  1

  One

  “I love you more than life itself.”

  Millie Watson, her cheeks flushed with color, gave our co-worker Jack Hanson a poke in the side before grabbing the video game controller out of his hands and practically dancing with glee.

  Jack merely shook his head and offered a hint of a smile as the gregarious woman mimed disco dancing with the precious item in her hand. He ran a hand through his dark hair – it was so black it almost looked as if stars twinkled between the strands when the light hit it the right way – and shifted from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable being the source of Millie’s unrequited love. “You don’t have to thank me.”

  “Oh, but I do.” Millie was adamant, her eyes sparkling as she met Jack’s reticent gaze. “You fixed my controller. That means I can play the new Resident Evil game as soon as it arrives. That means you’re my hero. In fact … come here, I want to give you a kiss.”

  Jack’s eyebrows flew up his forehead and he looked as if he was going to jump out of Millie’s reach. She was too fast for him, though, and grabbed his arm before planting a noisy kiss on the side of his face.

  Jack’s cheeks turned crimson to the point he almost appeared sunburned, but he accepted the affection. I wanted to laugh at his response, but the warning look he shot me clearly expressed exactly how bad an idea that would be.

  Once she was finished fawning over him, Millie offered up a half wave and disappeared toward her office. She was the only person on the basement level of The Legacy Foundation – the place where we all worked – who could get away with playing video games rather than conducting research or looking for a new case. Because her former husband was co-owner of the company – and appreciated not having to pay huge amounts in alimony to make Millie happy – Millie was essentially allowed to do whatever she wanted, and say whatever came to mind, while complaining bitterly when something she didn’t like arose.

  I was only mildly jealous of her situation. Yeah, it surprised me, too. Millie was so likable that I couldn’t even muster legitimate envy. It was something of a modern miracle.

  Charlie Rhodes – that’s me, for the record – absolutely loved Millie and her motor mouth. I didn’t see it coming, but I would never regret bonding with the woman. I didn’t have a grandmother (and Millie would melt down if she realized I thought of her in that manner, because she thought she was too young to be anybody’s grandmother) but Millie was the first person I bonded with when I joined the crew at The Legacy Foundation several weeks ago.

  Sadly, the other person I bonded with was the only one who remained once Millie scampered off to play her zombie game. Jack blessed me with a shaky smile as he smoothed his hair. Our bond was much more tenuous and fraught with unexplained feelings and considerations. I had no idea what to make of it, so I chose to ignore the situation entirely.

  “How are you feeling?”

  The question was out of Jack’s mouth before I had time to warn him to steer clear of the subject. Two weeks ago I’d been injured when a case we were working went sideways. I fell down a flight of stairs, saw the Chupacabra before I passed out from the pain, and somehow managed to survive the machinations of two evil individuals looking for a payday they didn’t earn. The events were fresh in my mind, as was the sense of calm and happiness I’d felt when I woke in the hospital to find Jack sitting at my bedside.

  He wasn’t calm, of course. I tumbled hard and fast and hit my head … and back … and twisted my knee. I was essentially a black-and-blue mess who fought terrible headaches for several days and hobbled around for another week. Jack was close for the convalescence period – something that mortified me. I was pleased about his actions, but once he was sure I was on my way to recovery he took a pronounced step back.

  That hurt almost worse than the fall.

  The truth is, I didn’t want to like Jack. He was often rude and surly, he didn’t believe in the paranormal – and we were a group of paranormal monster hunters, for crying out loud – and he treated me as if I were a child. Sure, I was the youngest member of the group. I was fresh out of college when I joined and I had a lot to learn. That didn’t mean Jack, who was only a few years older than me, was so much more knowledgeable about … well, everything. That’s how he treated me, though.

  I was furious when he backed away after being so sweet and attentive while I was in the hospital. That fury switched from him to me when I realized exactly why I was so angry … and even a little hurt. I can be brutally honest when searching my own motivations, and I didn’t let myself off the hook when it came to Jack. No, instead I debated the source of my emotional upheaval and explored exactly why I felt the way I did. That’s when I realized I liked him. Er, well, maybe it was more apt to say that I had a crush on him. Either way, I didn’t like the answer, so it turned me belligerent. That reaction only magnified on the rare occasions when Jack asked me how I was doing.

  I fought to bite back a sigh and forced a smile for Jack’s benefit. “I’m fine.”

  “You keep saying that, but you’re still a little pale for my liking,” Jack noted, folding his arms across his chest. It had been weeks since we had a new assignment – I wasn’t the only one who needed to recover, after all – and everyone was getting antsy. “You should get some sun.”

  “Does a tanning salon count? If I suddenly come in bronzed and pretty – maybe add some sun streaks to my hair – will you stop asking me how I’m feeling?”

  Jack’s expression was hard to read, but annoyance clearly seemed to be one of the emotions he grappled with. “I’m not trying to irritate you.”

  I didn’t believe that. I was convinced he’d been trying to irritate me from the start. Sure, I was brutally honest with myself when I tried to ascertain exactly what I was feeling when it came to Jack, but I was also happy to put the blame firmly on his shoulders when I finished the round of self-examination. He shouldn’t have spent so much time with me when I was in the hospital. He shouldn’t have checked on me repeatedly when we returned home and I was supposed to be taking it easy. He certainly shouldn’t have disappeared without a word the second he decided I was better. I was angry with him for all of those things. So angry, in fact, I wasn’t sure which one agitated me most.

  Okay, fine. I knew exactly which one bothered me the most.
No one needs to dwell on it, though. No, really. What? I just said I don’t want to think about it. Wait … what were we talking about again?

  “I know you’re not trying to irritate me.” I kept my voice level and met Jack’s steady gaze even though I wanted to look anywhere but his dark eyes. “You’re checking on your fellow co-worker because you’re head of security and you feel that’s your job. But I’m fine.”

  Jack’s expression was unreadable. “When was your last doctor’s appointment?”

  “Five days ago. He cleared me then.”

  “And you have full range of motion?” Jack didn’t wait for me to respond, instead moving closer and grabbing my arm so he could lift it over my head. He rested one hand on my hip and the other wrapped around my wrist as he stretched and contorted my body.

  “What are you doing?” I tried to yank my arm away from him – and it wasn’t simply because his proximity made my head go fuzzy – but he ignored my attempts. “I just said I was fine.”

  “Does that hurt?” Jack lifted my wrist higher. “You bruised your ribs when you fell. I want to make sure you’re at one-hundred percent before we go on another assignment.”

  I was furious when I jerked away. “I’m fine!” The words came out shriller than I expected. “Why can’t you get that through your thick head?”

  “Because you were hurt.” Jack’s response was simple. “You fell down a flight of stairs. You knocked your head. You thought you saw the Chupacabra.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I did see the Chupacabra.”

  “The Chupacabra isn’t real.”

  Oh, it’s real. I saw it. I’ll never forget the vision of the magical beast that smelled like garbage while reminding me of a mutant rat that grew to the size of the one in those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Yeah, the Chupacabra would definitely be cuter if it had hair.

  “Whatever.” Jack rolled his eyes. “I know what you think you saw – and I honestly don’t blame you for believing that, because your adrenaline was pumping and you were hurt – but it’s time to put that story to rest.”

  “I’ll never put that story to rest.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I saw the freaking Chupacabra and it was the coolest thing ever!”

  Jack rolled his eyes and heaved out a sigh. “You are so much work.”

  “You have no idea.” I grinned as I took a step away from him. Moments like this were rare between us. Actually, that wasn’t quite true. They were actually frequent. What was also frequent was Jack’s insistence on pulling away and creating a tense situation the second he realized we were engaging in a moment that could be construed as intimate.

  The thing is, I get it. He doesn’t want a personal relationship between us. He’s torn because I’m the youngest member and he’s the head of security. He feels he has to take care of me even though I irritate him on almost every level. That simple fact strains our relationship. I could only hope things didn’t stretch so far that they’d break. No one wanted that.

  I stared hard into Jack’s eyes for a beat as he regrouped. I could tell he was debating pushing the Chupacabra issue with me, which would turn disastrous (like always). He didn’t get the chance, though, because one of our co-workers picked that moment to join the party.

  “What are you guys talking about?”

  Laura Chapman, she of the auburn hair and the body that models would covet, glanced between faces as she tried to gauge the temperature of the room. She was something of a pain – okay, she was essentially the kidney stone wedged in the bladder of our operation – and she knew which buttons to push when she wanted to irritate someone. Unfortunately for us, Laura always wanted to irritate someone. Jack was a frequent target, mostly, I believe, because they’d had a fling of sorts that went south before I joined the group. That meant I was a frequent target, too, because she didn’t like knowing Jack was spending time with me (even if he was playing overprotective big brother and nursemaid at the time).

  “We’re not talking about anything,” Jack answered smoothly.

  “We’re talking about the Chupacabra,” I countered at the same time.

  Laura arched an eyebrow, clearly amused. “I see. So, basically, you guys are having the same discussion you’ve been having for the past three weeks.” She rubbed her hand over her narrow chin. “Doesn’t that get boring?”

  “You tell us,” Jack drawled, his expression going lazy. “You’ve been having the same conversation for much longer – you know, the one where you’re center of the universe and everyone should fall at your feet – and you don’t seem bored.”

  Laura clearly wasn’t in the mood for a fight because all she did was shrug. “I was simply trying to have a conversation with you. I wasn’t trying to do … whatever it is you think I was doing. We’re all a little agitated when it comes to the job. We want to head out and we can’t help but wonder when that will happen. You’re not alone, so … chill.”

  Jack had the grace to look abashed. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

  “You always mean to snap at me.” Laura folded her arms over her chest and adopted an aggressive stance. “I don’t see why we have to constantly be enemies. We could be friends. Stranger things have happened.”

  “I think that sounds like a good idea,” I offered, smiling. “We should all start over and be friends.”

  The corners of Laura’s mouth curved down. “Oh, honey, I can’t be friends with you. I was talking to Jack – and only Jack – because you’re far too annoying to be friends with. I simply don’t want to keep fighting with him. I don’t mind fighting with you.”

  I made a face. “Oh, well … .”

  “Don’t say things like that to her,” Jack admonished, his temper flaring. “She might be too nice to call you on your crap, but I’m not. You’re only over here because you’re bored and want someone to mess with. Charlie is always an appealing target because you feel threatened by her. I’m not going to sit back and watch it happen.”

  I glanced between Jack and Laura, nervousness forcing me to shift from one foot to the other, and briefly wondered who would win if it came down to a physical fight between the two. Jack was clearly stronger and boasted a muscular frame, but he wasn’t the type to hurt a woman. That gave Laura the advantage. There was no rule she wasn’t likely to obliterate in her attempts to win at life.

  “You’re a complete and total killjoy,” Laura said after a beat, making a tsking sound with her tongue as she shook her head. “You realize that, right?”

  “I’m considering adding it to my business cards,” Jack deadpanned. “I’m thinking ‘Jack Hanson, security specialist and killjoy extraordinaire’ has a nice ring to it.”

  Jack had a very dry sense of a humor that he rarely let out to play when we were in the office. I couldn’t stop myself from barking out a loud laugh as Laura frowned.

  “You’re really starting to annoy me,” Laura snapped. “Do you even care about that?”

  I shook my head. “I’m over it.”

  Laura shot me a withering look. “I was talking to Jack.”

  “Oh, I care.” Jack patted her shoulder in an exaggerated gesture. “Why do you think I work so hard at it? I want to be the absolute best at everything I do.”

  “Oh, whatever.” Laura didn’t stomp away – her normal mode of retreat – and instead focused her attention on the small area in front of the elevator. Our boss, Chris Biggs, had disappeared to the top floor almost an hour before. Whispers spread fast that we were finally getting a new assignment and everyone excitedly waited for his return. I wouldn’t believe it until I heard the words come out of his mouth, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming. “Where do you think they’re going to send us?”

  Jack shrugged. “I don’t really care. I just know I’m sick of being in the office.”

  “You and me both,” Laura said. “I don’t see why the whole group needed to be sidelined while Chris, Millie and Charlie recovered. They should’ve sent the rest of us ou
t while they were laid up. That would’ve been the smart thing to do.”

  I balked. “Chris is our leader. You can’t go on a job without him.”

  Laura snorted derisively. “Chris has his head in the clouds. The only reason people like him is because he’s a relatively easy boss. He’s hardly the end all and be all of this company.”

  “I disagree,” Jack countered, licking his lips. “Chris is the heart of this operation.”

  “I agree,” I added. “He’s the reason we’re all here.”

  “He’s an idiot who believes you actually saw the Chupacabra during our last case,” Laura fired back. “I mean … he actually believes your story. That proves he’s mentally unbalanced.”

  “No, it proves that he’s convinced Charlie saw something in that basement,” Jack argued. “There were footprints all over that place, prints no one could identify. Just because the Chupacabra didn’t kill someone and it turned out humans did doesn’t mean Charlie didn’t see exactly what she said she saw.”

  I cast him a keen look, dumbfounded. “But you said … .”

  Jack cut me off with a wave. “Stop attacking her, Laura. Stop attacking Chris while you’re at it. If you don’t want to be here you’re free to leave. In fact, I think if we took a vote the rest of the group would be happier if you weren’t here. Why don’t you take a hint and find another job?”

  Laura’s glare turned hot. “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “I believe that’s what I just said.”

  “Well, it’s not going to happen.” Laura planted her hands on her hips and bobbed her head in a manner that reminded me of an angry chicken. “I’m part of this team and you can’t get rid of me. It’s not going to happen.”