“I guess,” Fiona said uncertainly. “So where do you want to go?”
“How about we go out for lunch? Maybe hit a few shops while we’re out. Or catch a film. Anything other than sitting here staring at the walls.” Or thinking about a certain wolf.
“Fine,” Fiona capitulated. “I guess you're right. But we stay together and only go to public places.”
Grabbing her coat, Dana opened the door and found Katie standing on the doorstep, hand raised to knock.
“Where are we going?” Katie asked, looking at the coat in Dana's hands.
“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Dana asked, shrugging on her coat.
“The office got closed for the afternoon,” Katie shrugged. “There’s a power cut and it’s not expected to be fixed for a while. So, I thought I’d come and see what you’re up to.”
“Apparently we’re going for lunch,” Fiona chimed in, pulling on her own coat and shooting a look at Dana.
“Cool, I’m so hungry I could eat a zebra. We can take my car,” Katie turned and walked back down the path.
Dana couldn’t help but feel better with Katie coming along. Her lioness gave her extra strength and she was always fiercely protective of her friends. Of course, Dana’s moose wasn’t to be sniffed at either. Moose were not exactly the shy, trembling sort of deer. Her aunt Matilda had once taken on a bear shifter who had slapped her ass. Startled, she’d beaten him senseless before realizing that he was her mate and then she’d had to nurse him back to health. Poor Uncle Bob still flinched whenever his wife raised her voice.
Nodding to the female cop stationed outside the house, they piled into Katie’s car and headed to the town centre. The car felt warm and safe but once out in public, Dana felt decidedly twitchy and a lot less brave than when she’d planned the outing. Walking to the café, she kept her head down but cast glances around her.
They had chosen a cheap and cheerful café, not the one she worked at. It was well lit, bright, and colourful. They ordered their food and sat at a vacant table.
“So, are we going to talk about The Jerk’s little outburst yesterday?” Katie asked, leaning forwards. She was never one to shy away from difficult topics. Unfortunately.
“I don’t get it.” Dana frowned. “What were they fighting about?”
Fiona looked puzzled. “What did I miss?”
Katie snorted. “The Jerk and Leo throwing punches in front of Dana’s house yesterday.” She leaned back so that the waitress could deliver their food, before continuing. “Then the Jerk bellows that Dana is his. Half the street probably heard it.”
“You’re kidding!” Fiona’s eyes were wide. “So he’s changed his mind, then? About being Dana’s mate?”
“Hardly,” Dana said sadly. “He left after that and I haven’t seen him since. Besides, I don’t think I want a mate who is so adamant that he doesn’t want me.” She deserved better than that. She wouldn't spend her life feeling like a burden. With a mate who was only with her because nature forced him into it. She wanted to be... well, wanted.
“He does want you, sweetie,” Katie waved a chip around, one she’d stolen from Dana’s bowl. Grrrr. “He’s just being an idiot. Leo says his family life was all kinds of messed up and now he has commitment issues. He just needs to sort it out. He’ll come around.”
Dana just shrugged. She was attracted to Ethan and her moose was urging her to mate with him. She was also a person though and she wanted more from a partner than just mating hormones. At the very least, she wanted someone who wasn’t reluctant to be with her. His reasons, while understandable, didn’t change how she felt. Obsessed with him or not, she barely knew him and his behaviour did not exactly endear him to her.
Munching on her chips, she listened to her friends chatter. Her thoughts were never far from Ethan. It was like the old ‘Don’t think about a polar bear’ scenario. Where, of course, you immediately start thinking of a polar bear and can’t stop. Except, in her case, it was ‘Don’t think about the wolf.’ Her moose was not helping. She mooed mournfully in Dana’s head, demanding that Dana fix this. If only she could.
Not really in the mood to prolong the outing after lunch, they climbed back into Katie’s car and headed for home. Dana settled into the back seat, letting Fiona take the front passenger seat. She stared out of the window, barely noticing the scenery.
About half way there, Dana heard a car’s engine revving and then felt the impact as Katie’s car was rammed from behind. The whole world span as Katie fought for control. She could hear Fiona scream as they were all tossed about, saved only by their seatbelts. She could make little sense of what was happening. It was chaos and everything happened so fast. With a sickening crunch, the car came to a halt, demolishing part of a small wall.
Dana groaned. Nausea overwhelmed her and her neck and head hurt. A throbbing came from her leg too. Forcing her head up, ouch... she grasped the back of her neck, she could see Katie slumped over the wheel, not moving.
“Katie?” she asked, her voice high with panic. Please let her be okay.
A groan was her answer. “Give me a minute.”
Fiona was slumped against the car door, quiet and still. Katie pushed herself upright with a groan and reached across the car, feeling for Fiona’s pulse.
“Thank God,” Katie breathed. “She’s alive but she’s out cold.”
Dana breathed her own sigh of relief. “How about you? How badly are you hurt?”
Katie turned to look back at her, wincing and grabbing her neck, just as Dana had a few minutes earlier. “Whiplash, apparently. I think my right arm is broken. And my face hurts from the bloody airbag. You?”
“My leg hurts. I don’t think it’s broken. My head is killing me and I think I’m going to throw up,” Dana answered. “What the hell happened?”
“Some maniac deliberately rammed my car!” Katie growled. “I saw him speeding but I thought he was just going to pass us.”
“Did you see him?” Dana groaned as she tried to reach her phone.
“No. It was a red Volvo,” Katie sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest. “That’s all I know. When he hit us, I was too busy to pay attention.”
Finally reaching her phone, she dropped it in shock when it buzzed. Managing to unbuckle her seatbelt, she reached down to retrieve her phone, freezing for a moment to allow the nausea and pain to subside. Flipping it open, she found a new text message.
“Your friends are paying for your sins.”
“Oh,” she gasped, staring at the message.
“What is it?” Katie asked, her hand came back reaching blindly for the phone without turning around. Dana handed it to her. Katie read the message and swore. “I’m calling Leo.”
Too hurt and queasy to argue, Dana laid her head back on the head rest and closed her eyes. Right now, she didn't even care if he brought The Jerk with him.
“He’s on his way,” Katie said. “And he called an ambulance for Fiona.”
Several people had arrived and opened the doors, asking if they were okay. Katie assured them that an ambulance and the police were on their way. Dana tried to get out of the car but her leg was too painful to put much weight on. She wasn’t too worried about her injuries. They hurt, yes. Man did they hurt! However, as a shifter, she’d heal pretty quickly so she knew she’d be back to normal pretty quickly. Fiona, though, was human and Dana was worried about her friend. Looking over, she saw that Fiona still hadn’t moved.
Closing her eyes against the nausea, she waited for help to arrive.
Chapter 17
In the end, they hadn’t had to track down Andy Woods, Becca’s admirer from the bar. Instead, he had turned up at the station around mid-morning, volunteering to help.
“My sister told me that you were looking for me,” Andy explained. “I would never have hurt Becca.”
“You liked her, huh?” Leo asked, handing over a mug of coffee.
“Yeah, I liked her a lot,” Andy said quietl
y, taking the mug, his eyes bright. “I never had the nerve to ask her out. She seemed out of my league, you know. I’d go to the bar sometimes and she’d be nice to me but I could just never ask.”
“So what happened that last night?” Ethan asked. Leo hadn't brought him coffee.
Andy looked down at the mug grasped between his hands. “She actually asked me out. I was so surprised. We arranged to go on a date a few nights later but she never showed up. I thought maybe she’d changed her mind. But then I saw the local newspaper and I realized she’d disappeared that night at the bar.”
“You didn’t come forward then?” Leo asked, frowning.
Andy looked up, surprised. “I did. I gave a statement and then they told me to go. I never heard anything else from them.”
Ethan and Leo exchanged a glance. There had been no report of Andy's interview. What was going on here?
“Who did you speak to?” Leo asked.
Andy frowned in concentration. “I don’t remember the name. A male policeman. In his twenties or thirties. Dark hair. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”
“You’ve been plenty helpful,” Leo assured him.
Once Andy was gone, Ethan turned to Leo. “I don’t like this. Either the original investigation into the disappearance was seriously sloppy or…”
“Or it was deliberately fudged,” Leo finished, running his hand through his mane of hair. “Which is worse. There is no mention of Andy’s statement in the file.”
“Assuming Andy is telling the truth,” Ethan pointed out. “But I have to admit, I believe him.”
“Yeah, me too,” Leo agreed. “Then there’s also the fact that nobody checked the identity of the taxi driver’s fare that night.”
“You think that a cop might be involved?” Ethan asked. He was certainly starting to consider it, himself.
“I don’t know,” Leo sighed. “But we have to look into it. Very carefully. We can’t go around accusing policemen without proof.”
“Well, we know that the Shifter Stalker moves around,” Ethan pointed out. “So which human cops are new?”
Leo shrugged. “Several. There is often a quiet period when he moves, so we can’t be sure of exactly when he arrived. I can think of six right off and that's without even trying. Several people transferred or retired and were replaced by new faces.”
“Shit,” Ethan growled.
“And we don’t even know that we’re looking for the man himself,” Leo pointed out. “He might have a friend on the force covering up for him.”
“Still,” Ethan said. “Finding the cop is our best lead right now. It’ll either get us the Stalker himself or at least one step closer to finding him. If the cop isn't the Stalker, then at the very least he knows who is.”
“I think we should talk to Alex,” Leo suggested. “He can check out the backgrounds of those six without ruffling any feathers.”
“Who is ruffling feathers?” came Alex’s voice from behind them. Ethan barely repressed the urge to jump ten feet in the air and squeal like a little girl. Damn bear was ridiculously light on his feet for such a big man.
“We need to talk. In private,” Leo said, shooting Ethan an amused look. So, maybe he had actually squeaked, just a little. Alex’s gaze lingered a little on the remains of bruises on Ethan’s face. His shifter genes had healed much of it but some evidence remained. He'd have healed completely if he'd shifted but he hadn't bothered. The boss then turned his gaze to Leo and his bruises, raising an eyebrow in question.
“My office. Now.” Alex grunted and walked off, leaving them to follow.
Closing the door behind them, Ethan filled the boss in on their thoughts. Alex remained quiet until they were done.
“It’s pretty thin,” Alex said. “There’s no real reason to assume that we have a serial killer cop.” He raised a hand to stop Leo’s objection. “But, I agree that there has been some sloppiness, which is worrying in itself. It does demand investigating and I agree that I’m in the best position to do that. I’m not saying you’re wrong. Just that it’s only a theory at this point. I’ll look into it and let you know what I find.”
Dismissed, they returned to their own desks to look over what they had so far. Lunch was a sandwich eaten at their desks. Forensics called at one point to confirm that they had found nothing from the box delivered to Dana. They had expected that but it was still frustrating.
Ethan’s thoughts returned to Dana once more. His fight with Leo yesterday had forced him to be honest with himself. He did consider Dana his and, screwed up or not, he was not going to be able to walk away. Not now, not ever. He craved her like a drug, already addicted and desperate for his next fix. The threat to her had spun him for a loop, his wolf demanding that they eliminate the threat to their mate’s safety.
The problem was that if he wanted Dana, and he had to admit that he did, he had no idea how to apologise for his earlier behaviour. He couldn’t send her flowers or any kind of gift, not under the current circumstances. The poor woman had probably been sent enough gifts to last her a life time. He wanted to inspire forgiveness, not fear. He hadn’t had many relationships, preferring to keep his contact with women on a more casual basis. A couple of women had been more like girlfriends but it had been a long time. He had no clue what to do in this situation. His wolf rolled his eyes at him. At least his wolf appeared to be speaking to him again. Mostly.
Lost in thought, he was startled when Leo’s phone rang.
“Katie. What’s up?” Leo asked. Ethan sat up straighter and watched his partner. Was it about Dana?
There was silence for a minute as Ethan listened to the reply. Ethan’s wolf hearing only caught a few words, not enough to make sense of the call.
“Are you okay?” Leo demanded, shooting a look at Ethan. “I’ll have someone call an ambulance. Where are you?” He waited for an answer. “I’m on my way,” he growled.
“What is it?” Ethan demanded as Leo finished the call. “Is it Dana?”
“Someone rammed Katie’s car. Dana and their friend Fiona were there too.” Leo stopped to bark at someone to call an ambulance.
“Are they okay?” Ethan demanded, springing to his feet. Dana had to be alright. She just had to.
“Dana and Katie are hurt but they’ll be fine,” Leo answered, standing up and grabbing his car keys. “Fiona is unconscious. I don’t know how bad it is.” Leo paused.
“What is it?” Ethan asked him, barely suppressing a growl.
Leo looked at him, eyes narrowed. “Do not lose your shit. You’re no good to anyone, especially Dana, unless you stay in control.”
“What. Is. It?” Ethan ground out.
“Right after the crash, Dana got a text from her stalker,” Leo said. “It implied that he ran them off the road.”
Ethan swore and grabbed his jacket. First he had to get to his mate and make sure she was safe. Then he had a sick bastard to track down and rip into tiny little pieces.
Chapter 18
“Katie!” Dana could hear Leo’s bellow before he reached the car. They weren’t too far from the police station so it hadn’t taken him long to arrive. Thankfully.
“Dana!” yelled another voice. A moment later, Ethan was leaning down into the car to look at her. “Where are you hurt?”
Too tired to care about their personal dramas, she answered him. “My leg won’t take my weight but I don't think it's broken. My head and neck hurt and I feel sick. Otherwise, I’m fine. It’s nothing serious, just painful.”
“Let’s get you out,” Ethan said, backing out a little to give her room and reaching out his hand to help her.
Taking his hand, Dana gingerly extracted herself from the car, keeping her weight off her left leg. As soon as she was clear of the car, Ethan let go of her hand and swung her up into his arms, causing her to squeak in surprise.
“Relax, sweetheart,” Ethan murmured to her, cradling her close. “I’ve got you. Lets get you into my c
ar and we’ll get you to a doctor.” Since her injuries were not too serious, it was better to avoid the hospital and see a shifter-friendly doctor instead. It avoided awkward questions for shifters about why they healed much faster than normal. There tended to be shifters working in the hospitals too, making sure shifter patients were referred to them, but generally it was easier to avoid the whole situation when possible.
Dana tried to see her friends but the movement hurt her neck and another wave of nausea washed over her. She groaned and closed her eyes.
“Dana?”
She opened her eyes and saw Ethan looking at her, face creased in concern.
“I'm fine,” she whispered. “Just have to remember to not move my head.” She really, really, had to remember that.
“Stay still,” Ethan said, frowning. “The ambulance is here and the paramedics are helping Fiona. Leo is looking after Katie. You just concentrate on yourself.”
Even in her current state, Dana felt herself thawing in regards to Ethan. This was not The Jerk. This felt more like the real man underneath the nonsense. Why couldn't he be like this all the time? He held her gently but securely, placing her carefully into his car. A moment later, Katie joined her in the back seat.
“How are you doing?” Dana asked, her eyes scanning her friend.
“About the same as you, I think” Katie answered with a rueful smile. “Walking wounded. I just want to get patched up and get to the hospital to be with Fiona.”
“Yeah, me too,” Dana agreed. If anything happened to Fiona because of her... well, she'd never forgive herself.
Ethan got into the driver’s seat. “Leo is staying with your friend. He’ll keep us updated. Let’s get you two sorted out.”
Dana closed her eyes, concentrating on keeping her head as still as possible, the movement of the car making her queasy. She was relieved when they arrived at the doctor’s office and she could get out of the car. By the time she got the car door open, Ethan was there to help her out. Again, he simply picked her up without saying a word. Beside him, Katie smirked at her.
Don't Moose With Her (Bearbank Book 1) Page 6