by Tasha Black
“That’s true,” he allowed. “We could go together.”
“Why would that towing company take the truck?” Spenser asked sensibly.
“Cars often get towed when they’re parked illegally, like in a hospital zone,” Jana said. “And it’s such a monstrosity that it would definitely take a flatbed truck to move it. And we know Stargazer Bill’s is only shop for miles that has one of those.”
“So you will park the truck in a hospital zone, and I will call the police to report it,” Spenser offered quickly. “Perhaps Officer West will answer.”
“Maybe,” Jana agreed, giving him a funny look.
Maybe Jana had not noticed the way Spenser regarded the stern officer of the Stargazer police force, but Fletcher had.
“What is a hospital zone?” Fletcher asked.
“It’s the area near a hospital, so parking there could prevent someone very sick from being seen by a doctor as quickly as possible,” Jana said. “Which is why I think we’d better not do it. Not to mention that if we’re breaking the law, the truck would be towed to an impound lot, not to Stargazer Bill’s. And the whole point is for us to be sure we get into that shop.”
“So we should smash the truck?” Fletcher asked. “Then he would bring it in to be repaired?”
“That would work,” Jana nodded. “But it’s too extreme. It’s not even my truck. Vi would be pretty upset if we made her insurance costs go up.”
“Insurance costs?” Spenser asked.
“Too complicated, I’ll explain it later,” Jana said. “Long and short of it is, we can’t crash the car. I guess we just need something to go wrong with it mechanically, so that it needs to go into the shop.”
Fletcher had a sudden revelation. Maybe he could help after all.
“What if the steering wheel disappeared?” he asked.
“What?” Jana asked.
“It would reappear again before Vi returned,” Fletcher explained. “But would it work?”
“Well, uh yeah, but how do we get the steering wheel out?” Jana asked. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
Fletcher hesitated.
Dr. Bhimani had told the men not to reveal their gifts to humans, except for their mates.
Jana was surely his mate, but she did not intend to accept him. He was sure he was not supposed to show her what he could do with his talents.
“Don’t worry,” he told her instead. “Just leave it to me.”
She studied his face for a moment, and must have liked what she saw in his eyes.
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Let’s do it.”
8
Jana
An hour later, the plan was underway.
Jana drove through the village and into the farmland again, heading for the country road near the towing company. Fletcher kept watch from the passenger seat.
Spenser had stayed at home, with his eye on the clock. When twenty minutes had passed, he would call the Stargazer Police Department. Jana had offered to just do it from her mobile phone, but he had been very insistent.
“This looks perfect,” Jana said, pulling over onto the shoulder in a place wide enough that the flatbed could safely tow them away.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Fletcher asked.
“Very sure,” Jana said. “I think we might be able to get real information this way.”
Fletcher nodded, though he looked concerned.
“So, what are you going to do to the steering wheel?” Jana asked, hoping he wasn’t going to wrench it off the dash. He looked like he might actually be strong enough to do that.
“I promise this will not ruin the truck,” Fletcher told her.
She nodded.
Fletcher touched the steering wheel and before Jana’s eyes it seemed to disappear.
“H-how did you do that?” she asked.
“It is my gift,” he said simply.
“What do you mean? Where did it go?” she asked.
“It went… somewhere else,” he said. “A place I can retrieve it from later.”
“Where?” she asked.
“It may be hard to believe,” he said. “But it is on Aerie, a tiny spot on Aerie, where I can place something if I need to.”
“Can everyone from Aerie do that?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. “Just me, as far I know. Each of us is blessed with a unique gift. This is mine.”
“Is it very difficult to do?” she asked, still amazed by what she had just witnessed.
“No,” he told her, shaking his head. “It is very easy and practical. Like putting something in your pocket and taking it out again.”
He made a movement as if he were grabbing something out of the air and the steering wheel reappeared. Then he vanished it once more.
She opened her mouth and closed it again. She wasn’t sure why anything about this man should surprise her.
“That’s amazing,” she said at last. “And it’s especially perfect for this situation.”
His worried expression melted into a sunny smile. “I am glad you are pleased, Jana Watson.”
“And if this doesn’t work out,” she joked, “you have a fabulous career ahead of you as a stage magician.”
They shared a laugh, but it was cut short when Jana remembered their mission.
“Shoot, we should get hidden,” she told him. “Spenser will have already called it in at this point.”
They climbed into the back area of the truck.
Jana had built them a sort of fort out of empty boxes to make it easy for them to hide. She doubted that Bill would check out the cargo area, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
She curled up in the corner of the construction, and Fletcher joined her.
“It won’t be long now,” she told him, glancing at the time on her phone.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
Jana was hyper aware of Fletcher’s big body beside her, and she wondered if he felt the same shimmering waves of attraction in the air between them.
Focus, Jana, she scolded herself.
But it was very hard to focus.
The sound of an approaching engine mercifully distracted her from her thoughts exploring his big body the way her hands yearned to do.
“Is that Stargazer Bill?” Fletcher whispered.
“Probably,” Jana whispered back.
There were crunching footsteps in the gravel leading up to the truck.
Jana had just enough time to realize all the holes in her plan, primarily that they had left the truck unlocked on the side of the road and anyone could have come upon it.
The driver’s side door opened with a bang.
Jana jumped slightly and Fletcher grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Instantly she felt a wave of endorphins rush through her.
“Damn,” a masculine voice muttered. “How’d he even do that?”
Jana breathed a sigh of relief. It was obviously Bill.
They listened as the man went through the process of getting the truck prepared to go on the flatbed.
When the bumps and screeches of the truck’s ascent began, Jana closed her eyes and clung harder to Fletcher’s hand.
At last they were moving again.
Though she knew they were only a few minutes away from the shop, the drive seemed to take forever.
Fletcher, seeming to divine her nervousness, let go of her hand and put his arm around her.
She leaned into him, imbibing his masculine scent, feeling more at peace in spite of herself.
At last they stopped.
There was movement outside, and the sound of something opening, hopefully the door to the shop.
Then they were moving again, but very slowly.
When they came to a stop, there was the sound of a vehicle door closing.
Then there was the louder echo of a larger door closing.
In the darkness Jana, couldn’t see Fletcher, but she felt him waiting in anticipati
on, just as she was. She didn’t dare use the flashlight on her phone for fear that it would give them away if Bill was still inside the shop with them.
“Five minutes,” she whispered in his ear.
She slid her phone out and even just the light from the screen was almost blinding in the total darkness. She set a timer to go off on vibrate and then put it back in her pocket.
Fletcher pulled her in close again and she allowed herself to relax against his big chest.
If they waited like this for five minutes and didn’t hear another sound, they could be fairly certain that Bill had gone back to his house for the night.
Then they could look for clues.
Assuming that Jana could restrain her desire to kiss the big alien.
He was so huge and so warm, his muscles firm against her.
She felt as if her own heartbeat had assimilated to the rhythm of his.
He let out a long, slow breath, as if he was also having a hard time staying in control.
After what felt like an eternity, the phone buzzed in her pocket.
“Okay,” she whispered, turning it off.
Fletcher got up first and moved the boxes away, placing them carefully so that they could hide again in a hurry if they needed to.
Then he offered her a hand so she could scramble over them.
She headed for the front of the truck, where she rolled down the old, manually cranked window, then climbed onto the seat and lowered herself out the window, completely forgetting that the truck was still on the flatbed.
She hung in the air for a moment, legs dangling a few feet off the concrete floor of the shop. There was really nowhere else to go, so she released her grip and braced herself for the impact. Somehow, she landed on the hard surface without making too much noise, and without hurting herself.
She breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she hadn’t used up all her luck for the night.
“You’re up pretty high,” she whispered to Fletcher.
He hopped out gracefully behind her, landing in a crouch like a cat or a superhero.
“Nice,” she whispered to him.
She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight mode.
“Keep it low,” Fletcher whispered. “So the light isn’t noticeable from outside.”
“Good thinking,” she whispered back.
“What are we looking for?” he asked.
“Something out of place,” she said, turning back to the flat bed.
Straps held the ice cream truck’s wheels in place, and they rubbed the body of the truck in one spot.
She lifted the flashlight to get a better look at the straps.
They appeared to be pretty scuffed up and soiled. It made sense, it wasn’t like you washed your car in preparation for a tow truck to pick it up.
She walked around the whole truck and on the last strap she saw something out of place.
“Wow,” she murmured.
“What is it?” Fletcher asked.
“Look,” she said. “Purple paint. The old Corvette that was stolen was purple.”
“Are a lot of cars purple?” Fletcher asked.
“No,” Jana said. “And this must have been from a recent tow or it would be covered over in dirt. This is the truck that moved that car.”
She snapped a picture with her phone, then a longer shot that showed the whole truck, including the logo on the door.
“Now what?” Fletcher asked.
“We still don’t know if he stole the cars himself, or if someone hired him,” Jana pointed out.
“Like the dognapper and the trainer,” Fletcher said.
“Exactly,” Jana agreed. “We need to find out whether someone hired him the night the cars disappeared. He must keep some records around here somewhere.”
They scanned the shop.
In one corner there was a desk covered in papers and folders as well as a small lamp.
Jana strode over with Fletcher by her side.
A light blue canvas bound book with the word Schedule embossed on the cover sat on the top of the desk.
Jana stared at it in amazement, unable to believe her luck.
Could it really be that easy?
She reached for it, but before she had a chance to pick it up, the door to the shop opened with a bang and she was blinded by the incoming beam of a powerful flashlight.
9
Fletcher
Fletcher moved swiftly toward the desk, and then put his big body between Jana and the light coming from the doorway.
“Stop right there,” a commanding female voice shouted. “Hands where I can see them.”
He lifted his hands instinctively.
Suddenly, the overhead lights came on and the whole shop was illuminated.
He spotted Officer West, her dark eyes glaring at him suspiciously.
She lowered her flashlight and strode over, shaking her head.
“Why did I know exactly who I was going to find in here?” she asked. “It’s bad enough you can’t keep yourselves out of police business. Now you’re breaking and entering?”
Stargazer Bill stood behind her, a furious expression on his face.
“I left something in the van,” Jana blurted. “I had to come back and get it.”
“Why didn’t you just call me, lady?” Bill demanded.
“It was so late at night,” Jana said. “I felt terrible about bothering you in the first place about the breakdown. I thought I could just slip in and grab my wallet and go.”
“I just parked this thing five minutes ago,” Bill said. “Then two seconds later you tripped my silent alarm.”
“I didn’t know that,” she replied. “A friend called the breakdown in for me. He must not have called you right away.”
Bill just grumbled in response.
“Come on,” Officer West said. “You can explain it down at the station.”
Fletcher allowed her to cuff his wrists.
It was harder to watch her cuff Jana’s.
Officer West led them out to her police car. The lights were flashing red, white, and blue.
“Get in,” she said.
Fletcher got in first and then Jana followed. It was more difficult to get into a car without his hands than he expected.
The officer closed and locked the door, then headed back to the doorway of the shop to talk with Bill.
“I’m so sorry, Jana,” Fletcher told her. “I will not allow them to imprison you. I will find a way to get you out.”
“I don’t think we’re going to prison for this,” Jana said uncertainly. “But whatever happens, just stay calm and be polite. Don’t worry about me, and please don’t try to break us out. That kind of thing is just for the movies.”
“Very well,” Fletcher agreed, hoping she was right.
Officer West reappeared and opened the door.
“Get out,” she said.
Jana slipped out and Fletcher followed her.
“You’re very lucky the owner decided not to press charges,” Officer West said, unlocking Jana’s handcuffs. “But the two of you need to stay out of trouble from here on in.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jana said.
Officer West glared at her and then turned to Fletcher to remove his cuffs.
“Thank you,” he said politely.
“You’re welcome,” she said. “Now get out of here before Bill changes his mind.”
“Um, quick question,” Jana said. “Any way you can give us a ride home? We’re not too far from the station.”
Officer West looked back and forth between them.
“How did you get here?” she asked.
“We took the bus,” Jana said.
“We walked,” Fletcher said at the same time.
Officer’s West’s eyes widened.
“We walked to the bus stop,” Jana clarified. “Then we took the bus and walked here from the nearest stop. But the bus isn’t running anymore.”
“Just get back in,” Officer West said,
rolling her eyes.
The ride home seemed to go on forever. Fletcher watched the scenery pass by outside the window, eager to get home and show Jana his surprise.
At last they pulled up out front of 221B.
Spenser stood on the sidewalk, looking serious as ever as the police car pulled up.
His face brightened, however, when Officer West hopped out.
Fletcher and Jana slunk quietly out of the car.
“Hello,” Spenser said a little too loudly.
“Are you,” Officer West glanced at her notepad, “Spenser?”
“I am,” he said.
“You called the towing company about the ice cream truck?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“Next time, just call again if something gets left in the truck,” Officer West scolded him. “Don’t let your friend do something stupid, like break into private property.”
“I will, and I will not,” he said politely.
She opened her mouth as if to yell at him some more and then she closed it again.
In the circle of light from the streetlamp, Fletcher could see the exact moment her features softened while gazing up at his brother’s face. He’d thought Spenser’s interest in the officer had been misplaced, but now he wasn’t so sure.
“Come on,” he whispered to Jana, taking her hand.
They slipped inside and headed up the stairs.
“What was that about?” Jana whispered.
“I think Spenser may have met his mate,” Fletcher said happily.
“If that’s the case, I feel sorry for him,” Jana said. “I’m pretty sure she hates all of us.”
“Not for long,” Fletcher predicted.
“That’s a nice thought,” Jana said. “You want to come up and have a snack? I’m famished after all that excitement.”
“Yes, please,” Fletcher replied. “And I have a surprise for you.”
“When could you possibly have had time to do anything to surprise me?” Jana asked. “We’ve been together all night.”
“Just wait and see,” Fletcher said.
They passed the landing for the second floor and continued up to Jana and Vi’s apartment.