“I found a gun on the ground,” Chief Charlie said. “Some weed in the car and on the guy with his pants down. They stink of booze too.”
“Yeah, I smell that,” Lucas said.
“If they were just… cut… that would be one thing. This is an attack. An obvious attack.”
“Tell people to keep their asses away from the mountains then,” Lucas said. “Tell them there’s a predator on the loose.”
Chief Charlie laughed. “Yeah, and what would that do for the town?”
Lucas looked up at the Chief. Darkness had almost completely arrived. They would need to get a plan together, fast, and then act upon it. This mess had to be cleaned up and out of the sight and mind of anyone within Mercy, and anyone outside of it. Whoever did this would expect some kind of statement or revenge. Lucas learned that fists and weapons spoke loud, but sometimes silence spoke even louder. Sometimes doing nothing would allow things to get to a breaking point where mistakes were made on the other end of things.
“I guess the last thing we need is crazies coming up here looking for something to kill,” Lucas said. “That would be a bloodbath.”
“I don’t know what this is,” Chief Charlie said, “and to be honest, I don’t want to know. You guys have to figure it out.”
“This is a mess,” Lucas said.
“Figure it out. I’m going to have a smoke.”
Chief Charlie walked away, a slight limp in his left leg. Lucas then whistled, calling for the other guys. They came and assessed the scene as Lucas figured they would. There wasn’t much that could be done to gross them out, even though this came pretty damn close to it. That if you looked hard enough you could see the pearly white of the first victim’s spine. Or maybe seeing the second guy with his pants down, missing his face.
“Who did this?” Cooper asked. “I can think of three crews…”
“Not worth the time,” Lucas said. “We have to get this cleaned up and out of sight.”
“What about Vince?” Ian asked. “Should we call him?”
“Don’t bother,” Lucas said. “He wanted us here. Let’s take care of it.”
“How?”
“We’re not digging,” Lucas said. “If we dig, they’ll come back and make a scene out of this. We need to burn them. Ash them and spread it along the line.” Lucas’s eyes went to the tree. His lip curled. “Let them find the ash and get the point.”
“And the car?” Zayne asked. “Burn that?”
“No,” Lucas said. “Let me talk to Chief.”
Lucas ran down to Chief Charlie. He leaned against his cruiser, inhaling on a cigarette as though it were his last one. Lucas understood it, all this stuff bothered the Chief. Of course it did, though, right? It could be anyone who could get attacked, ripped apart, eaten… or changed. Chief Charlie came from a long life of dealing with shifters, and his blood was perhaps a sought after item.
Lucas took out a smoke and joined the Chief. He jumped up and sat on the trunk of the cruiser. He lit his smoke and took a drag.
“It’s not that bad,” Lucas said.
“No? Two guys ripped open like that…”
“The guys are taking care of that part,” Lucas said. “But I need you to take care of the vehicle.”
“Take care of it?”
“Yeah. You got a call about an abandoned car. You came up here to check it out and found nothing out of the ordinary. Someone must have broken down or something, called a friend for a ride. Not a big deal, right? You can call for a tow.”
Lucas smiled and Chief Charlie began to laugh. “Call for a tow.”
Lucas continued to enjoy his smoke, no need to keep conversing with the Chief. One of the many friends Full Moon Mercy had made in and around town included what were true necessities to survival for the town, the club, and the pack. That meant it included a good friend who had his own tow truck, junkyard, and plenty of acreage to make problems disappear.
When the Chief finished his cigarette, he pushed from his cruiser and quickly turned to face Lucas. He pointed at Lucas and had a defiant stare to him.
“Listen to me,” he said. “You and Vincent are the ones to figure out what this all means. I’ll do my job, you do yours.”
“You’re the Police Chief,” Lucas said. “Isn’t it your job to solve crimes?”
Lucas smiled, knowing he was being nothing but a big pain in the ass.
Chief Charlie growled and said, “I solve crimes that involve humans to humans… you take care of the rest.”
That was enough talking with Chief Charlie for now. Lucas enjoyed the rest of his smoke and then joined the rest of the guys to prepare what to do next. He looked at the bodies again, still able to see them clearly in the darkness. In the background he heard Chief Charlie on his radio, spilling a story of an abandoned car. Nobody around. Nothing to worry about. He would take care of it all… run the plates, check for clues, call a truck to come. That would keep trouble at bay and the town of Mercy safe.
“Are we really going to burn them?” Ian asked.
“No choice,” Lucas said and patted Ian’s back. “Nobody’s around here now. Nobody will be. Drag them into the woods and…”
Lucas’s sense picked up a sound and a smell that stopped him dead in his sentence. His eyes squinted and he scanned the woods. His nose moved fast, wanting to smell deeper into the woods.
“You okay?” Zayne asked.
Lucas put a hand out and touched Zayne’s chest. He sniffed harder and faster.
“I got something,” Lucas whispered.
Everyone began to smell. Before anyone said anything else, a faint scream echoed through the woods.
“Fuck,” Cooper said.
“Someone’s close,” Zayne said. “We can’t burn the bodies.”
“Someone’s in trouble,” Lucas said.
Maybe it was the same assholes who killed the two bodies here. They wanted to send a bigger message, or just keep Full Moon Mercy on their toes.
The scream echoed again and Lucas jumped forward and into the air. His clothing fell from his body as he did, piling to the ground. He knew he shouldn’t have shifted anywhere close to the Chief because he hated it, but this wasn’t a matter of being nice or friendly to the Police Chief. This was a matter of finding out what the hell was going on and it intrigued Lucas because it was the sound of a woman screaming.
4
Richie was a dick. Leah knew that the second he walked up to her in a club and began to buy her drinks, hit on her, and follow her around until she finally just went home with him to shut him up. That was months ago, after a long shift working at an old folks home, doing her best to care for all those who were barely holding on to life. Most days were long, some longer than others, especially when she left work with less people alive than when she arrived. She was never really sure how many people went to their job fully intended to accept that some people were going to die, but she knew it wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world. The feeling sucked because there was nothing Leah could do about it. It was life. It was fate. Everyone would die someday.
Being with Richie was like being on the complete end of her own life. He liked to party and he had plenty of money from an inheritance from a rich uncle. That meant he had no concern for life other than doing what he wanted, when he wanted. That sometimes included throwing a fist or two… at Leah.
The first time he slapped Leah, she slapped him back. Like hell she would ever let a man hit her. Like hell. But then Richie took her by the neck and froced her to the floor and just looked at her. The way his eyes looked in that moment - big and bloodshot - Leah knew just why sometimes it was hard for women to walk away from it. Because she didn’t walk away from it that night. In fact, before the end of that night, she was on top of Richie, trying to make herself and him forget about what had happened. All it did was leave the deep-seeded feeling in her body that she would be with Richie for the rest of her life. They weren’t even a real couple. Leah had found a schedule in Richie’s
phone with all the different women and plans he had. It bothered her but it actually ended up making Leah want him more. Just to compete. Just to win at something. Going to work everyday was like a losing battle; she couldn’t keep people from getting sick, growing sicker, or dying.
She spent whatever nights with Richie that he told her to spend with him. She did whatever he wanted, when he wanted. He liked to drink. He liked to drive. He liked to sometimes sink himself in a darkness that was scary. But it always seemed that it was in those really dark moments when he came to her. There was no emotion between Leah and Richie, something she knew for a long time, yet she couldn’t break away. Part of her almost wanted to be saved.
Tonight Richie had shown up to her apartment drunk. He pounded on the door with thundering fists and when Leah opened the door, he grabbed her and lifted her off her feet, hugging her.
“Let’s go out,” he said.
Leah stepped back and looked at herself. “I’m in jeans and a hoodie… I’m not ready…”
“Let’s move,” he commanded.
Leah opened her mouth but stopped. She could see the rage already building in Richie’s eyes. He was ready to slap her. With her hair down and feeling like a rat’s nest of a mess, in an old black hoodie, and a comfy pair of jeans, Leah left with Richie. She knew getting into a car with a drunk guy was a terrible thing to do, but Leah had seen the end of a life lived good. She’d seen enough people who never drank, smoke, broke the law, ones who stay committed in marriage, worked forty years with the same company, saved, and retired, only to end up with cancer, Alzheimer’s, widowed, waiting alone in a room no bigger than the size of a decent hotel room to simply die.
That was the excuse Leah lived with and it was the excuse she held onto as Richie drove like a drunk fool. She didn’t dare speak of his driving, even when he ran a stop sign, bounced off a curb and spent more time riding the yellow line in the middle of the road than his side.
The drive lasted about fifteen minutes but it could have been fifteen hours for the way Leah’s body felt when Richie finally pulled over. They were up and out of the main part of town. Next to the woods on a road that wasn’t traveled very much and rarely traveled at night.
Leah figured Richie wanted to get in the backseat and have sex. Richie kept the car running and slid back his seat. That was a cue for something he wanted. Leah licked her lips and swallowed. She wasn’t in the mood for that. There was no pleasure for herself to gain from that. Tasting Richie like that, wondering if anyone else had already been there, it made her feel like a whore. But wasn’t she that already? Hanging out with a guy like Richie, enjoying his money, giving him sexual favors in return.
It made her stomach turn.
Leah began to lean, figuring it was best to just get it all over with, when Richie started to talk.
“That fucking town has nothing for me,” he said. “Nothing for us.”
“Like what?” Leah asked. “What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know. Something. I have this money and this time on my hands but all I can think about is my old man taking off on me. My mother setting across the country with guy after freaking guy, ending up beat and dead somewhere. You know?”
Richie looked at Leah. His eyes were a little bit sincere. It was scary to see.
“Everyone has their story,” Leah said. “I do. You do. At least we have each other.”
“That’s what I mean,” Richie said and smiled. “That’s exactly what I mean. We have each other. Together. Right now.”
Richie touched Leah’s face gently. She wasn’t used to this at all. She just stared, in shock, not sure what to do or what Richie planned to do. He just looked at her, not blinking. With each breath he exhaled, Leah could smell the stink of booze.
“Richie, it’s going to be okay,” Leah said. She wasn’t sure if Richie wanted to be consoled or not, but it couldn’t hurt to try to help.
“It is going to be okay,” Richie said. “Because you’re with me. We can do this together.”
“Do what together?”
“Have it all together,” Richie said.
He nodded and then reached down along the side of his seat. For a split second, Leah thought Richie was going to pull out a diamond ring and ask her hand in marriage. That would have created a weird scene; Leah would have had no idea what to do.
It wasn’t a ring that Richie pulled from the side of his seat.
It was a gun.
When Leah saw the gun, she took a deep breath, hoping to keep her heart from racing. That was impossible to do though. The sight of the gun made her uneasy, even if it wasn’t the first time she saw Richie with a gun. He had pulled the gun a few times before, only to impress Leah. To Richie the gun meant power and Richie liked power. But with him right now, Leah was well aware that the last thing on Richie’s mind was impressing her or showing off power. Something was very wrong with him.
“What are you doing with that?” Leah asked. “Put that away. Let’s have fun.”
“I am,” Richie said. He smiled. “I’m going to save us. I’m going to make everything perfect and forever.”
“With a gun?” Leah asked.
Was Richie going to kill someone? Worse yet, was he going to do it with Leah in the car? She could handle a lot of things…
“Do you love me?” Richie asked.
It was the first time Leah ever heard that question from Richie. He had never been interested in love before. He never spoke the word and the thought never crossed Leah’s mind. How could she love Richie? Why would she love Richie? Richie was something to pass time by and to take away the fear and hurt of Leah’s regular life. All those people she had to care for… all of them just waiting to die.
Leah’s silence became that of an answer to Richie. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve failed, again.”
“No, you haven’t,” Leah said. “It’s me. I swear, Richie. I’m not the kind of person who should love anyone or be loved.”
“Well, maybe I love you,” Richie said.
His eyes were wide again. They were a deeper bloodshot look now. It looked like Richie hadn’t slept in days. That could have been quite a reality.
“Oh, Richie,” Leah said. She touched his face, knowing her hand was shaking as she did so. “What are you going to do with that gun? There’s no need for it, not right here, not right now.”
“There is,” Richie said. He moved away from Leah and put a hand to her shoulder. “We’re going to die together, tonight. Just you and me.”
Leah looked at the gun. Things had just gotten very serious, as if they weren’t already.
“Richie…”
“No, I’ve thought about it,” Richie said. “We can go out together, right now. We’ll never have what we want. We’ll never have what we need. It’s not meant for us. So let me just…”
Richie started to move the gun. Leah’s body could have froze, and maybe for some people they would have done just that, but instead, Leah slapped at Richie’s hand. The gun fell and thankfully didn’t go off. She pushed at Richie. He then came at Leah, his hand attempting to slap her but instead hit her shoulder. She cried out in pain and then hit the button to roll down the window.
That’s when she let out a much needed scream.
Chances were not a soul would be around, but Leah knew if she didn’t at least try to scream, she’d end up dying without effort to survive. Even the people she took care of tried to live, right?
“You stupid bitch,” Richie said. He fumbled, looking for the gun.
Leah started to move out the window and screamed again. Richie brought a fist down to Leah’s lower back. Pain swirled through her lower back but she kept kicking and screaming, clawing her way out of the car. When she fell to the side of the road, a sense of freedom threatened to creep over her. But it quickly went away when she realized Richie was in the car, with a gun. She was miles from her apartment down in Mercy, and quite honestly, it was scary to be in the dark and all alone.
That’s when Leah looked up and swore she saw something with a yellowish glow staring back at her. When she heard the sound of a growl, a thought came to her.
Whatever that is, it’s big…
5
Lucas stopped himself short of running straight into the car. His eyes picked up on everything. The make and model of the car. The condition of the tires. A chip in the rear backseat window. A man looking for something, then lifting a gun. Finally, a woman falling from the car to the ground. A quick sniff of the air told Lucas she wasn’t bleeding. Her sense of fear was thick like a fog. Under different circumstances the sense of fear was appetizing, but Lucas had done his best these days to control his wildest urges, both as man and beast.
Sometimes it was easier to control those urges as a beast than a man.
If Lucas had kept running, he could have easily toppled the car to its side. In doing so, however, he would have trampled and killed the woman who had screamed, calling his attention.
After seeing the gun, Lucas knew this wasn’t going to be a simple negotiation in the situation. The man opened the car door and climbed from the car, gun in hand. The woman rested on her hands and knees, staring straight at him. She’d seen his eyes, heard him exhale a soft growl.
There was no turning back.
He couldn’t stand there and watch a woman get murdered in cold blood, could he? Then again, it wasn’t his problem. He wasn’t set to be a vigilante and save damsels in distress. There were already enough problems around, including the mess half a mile away. This was just some woman about to get done in by some guy. Maybe she was a hooker and didn’t perform well enough. Maybe she was a girlfriend who just got caught cheating. Maybe she was just an unlucky woman with the wrong guy at the wrong time.
Oh well, right?
The guy with the gun started to walk around the back of the car. He looked woozy and Lucas didn’t need to smell the booze to know he was drunk.
The Secret Wolf (A Full Moon Mercy Novel) (shifter / MC romance) Page 2