by Cara Adams
She nodded and said, “I half expected you’d follow me. I want to look at an apartment block I may move to.”
“But we’ve found—”
She shook her head and walked to the parking lot. He watched her climb in her car then raced for the front driveway and his car, knowing Mike would see him run past and follow him. As he’d expected, Mike’s pounding feet were heard behind him long before he reached his car.
“Where are we going?” asked Mike, buckling his seat belt.
“She’s picked an apartment she wants to see first.”
“Well, that’s good. I’m glad she’s decided to move out of her place. It wasn’t safe at all. And whatever she’s chosen won’t be as nice as Garden Acres, so it’ll be easy enough to change her mind.”
Rowan shook his head. “I’m getting the distinct impression nothing with this woman is going to be either easy or simple. She’s the most complicated person I’ve ever met. Do you realize we still know absolutely nothing at all about her?”
“That’s not true. We know she’s beautiful, determined, inscrutable, and complicated,” responded Mike, obviously reveling in the joke.
“Where the hell does she think she’s going? This is not a good neighborhood.” Rowan was getting frustrated. They’d been working their way through a million side roads for the past ten minutes and each one led into a poorer and more disreputable part of town.
“Yeah. I wonder how much Oscar pays her. Surely she can afford something better than this?”
Ellie had stopped outside a rather rundown building. It was only three stories, so at least there shouldn’t be punks hiding in the stairwell, but Rowan was certain there’d be mold on the walls and possibly drug dealers in the laundry room. “Go with her,” he ordered Mike tersely.
Obediently Mike climbed out of the car just as Ellie stepped out of hers and hitched her purse up her shoulder, tucking it in her armpit.
Where did she learn to do that? She shouldn’t be in places where she needs to know tricks like that.
Rowan watched them walk into the building and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Fortunately for his peace of mind they weren’t inside the apartment building very long.
Mike went to climb into Ellie’s car. Rowan sat and watched as Ellie was telling him to go away. He couldn’t hear a word that was said. She wasn’t raising her voice, let alone screaming like Karen would have done. When Karen was upset the entire neighborhood knew it. But Rowan could see the mulish look on Ellie’s face and Mike’s equally determined body language.
It’d be very interesting to see who won this battle.
When they got in the car they were both moving stiffly. So no victory, more a Mexican standoff.
Rowan couldn’t tell if Ellie knew this neighborhood well, or if Mike was guiding her back to the highway, but they were soon heading back to a nicer area and then into the neighborhood where the Garden Acres community was located. This was a gated community, with a mixture of single family dwellings and apartment blocks, but none more than four stories high. The two vacant apartments were both in the rear block, one on the second floor and the other on the third. Ellie pulled up in the parking space for apartment 310 so Rowan parked in 202’s spot.
He joined Ellie and Mike just in time to hear her say, “I don’t care what your Alpha said. I’m not a wolf and I don’t have to obey him. Any apartment here is going to be much too expensive for me.”
“You don’t know that,” argued Mike.
Ellie turned her back on him and folded her arms. “I’m not going in there. I’m not wasting my precious free time looking at an apartment I know I can’t afford.”
Rowan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit number one on his speed dial. It took him to the wolf pack’s help line.
“Rowan Fisher. Can you please tell Ellie Roth the weekly rent of apartments 202 and 310 at Garden Acres.” He hit speaker and waited, turning his phone to face Ellie.
“Rowan? Ellie? This is Josie. They’re both wolf pack apartments so the user must pay all consumables plus work a minimum of one hour per week for the pack. That hour can be completed in bulk lots, for example a full week of work on a special project, or the work done each week. Since Ellie already works for Dr. Thorne she can do the service for him in the course of her regular employment if she so desires.”
“You heard that Ellie?” Rowan knew she had, her jaw had dropped and then she’d looked down at the ground, her hair hiding her face, but he needed to hear her acknowledge the information.
She nodded sharply once.
“Thanks, Josie.” He clicked off the call.
“Shall we go inside now and look at the two apartments?” he handed the two keys to Ellie.
She swung on her heel and marched inside. Shrugging, he followed her, leaving Mike to bring up the rear.
* * * *
No one knew Ellie was repaying her grandmother’s debts. Debts that should never have been up to her grandma to pay in the first place. But when she’d found her grandmother in tears that day, when she’d read the letter the old lady was holding, expecting it to tell of the death of a close friend, Ellie had been outraged and sickened.
Her grandmother hadn’t wanted anyone to know about the debt, so there and then Ellie had pledged to pay all the money back. That was four years ago, and at least these days she was paying off the principle as well as the interest. If she stayed here, she’d be able to double her repayments, be out from under the cloud of debt so much sooner.
But could she do it? It was almost an abuse of hospitality. She wasn’t a wolf. Hell, she wasn’t even a fucking cat, although she should have been.
Living in a gated community appealed deeply to her. Her family could never contact her here, would never be able to do to her what they’d done to her grandmother. She was just so glad she’d left home before she was legally old enough to be embroiled in any of her father’s crazy get-rich-quick schemes.
Apartment 202 was a single large room with a small kitchen on one side, a sleeping area at the back, and most of the space an open living area. The half bath was beside the kitchen section, and it was plenty big enough for her and Kitten. Ellie stood at the window and looked out. Because this apartment block was at the back of the community the view was over the wall to rolling hills and endless green. She would be more than happy here, quite apart from the fact of saving money. If she could bring herself to accept the offer.
She locked the apartment and climbed up to the next floor. Apartment 310 had an identical floor plan to 202, and was at the very back corner of the building. Being up one floor higher her view was not obstructed by the wall at all, and she could see much farther. Everything inside her screamed to accept the apartment. To live here. To feast her eyes on the emptiness and revel in the silence. To be alone here, unnoticed and safe, so very safe at last.
But was it fair? To take an apartment away from the wolf pack? To prevent some other person from enjoying the advantages of this environment? Was she being selfish and cruel? Were her parents’ genes pushing her to take, take, take, instead of being a responsible contributing citizen?
“Why are these two apartments empty?” she asked.
“Huh?” said Mike.
“I’ll find out.” Rowan pulled out his cell phone and relayed the question to Josie. Who is Josie? Why does he talk to her?
“Ellie? You don’t need to worry. You won’t have the neighbors from Hell or anything like that. The apartments are empty because most people want a separate bedroom, not a bed-sitting room. If that’s what you want I can look around for you—”
“Thank you, Josie. One room is perfect for me. I don’t need extra space. Thanks for your help.” I won’t be keeping someone out of a home. They don’t want it. I can take it and soon Grandma can rest easier.
“Leave the key to the one you don’t want at the gate house, please,” said Josie.
That made sense. Mike had collected the keys from the gate house o
n their way in.
“Which one will you choose?” asked Mike.
“This one.”
“Right. We’ll go eat now, then we’ll borrow the big delivery van from Wolf Central and pack up your old apartment. How much longer does your lease there run, and how do we get your deposit back?” asked Rowan.
Ellie just stared at him. “You never ever get your deposit back from places like that. Even if I’d taken pictures of every mark on the walls before I moved in and cleaned the place to a perfect shine, the manager would punch a hole in the wall, say I did it, and refuse to return the deposit. It’s not even worth trying.”
“Oh, yes, it is. We’ll get your money back for you even if I have to collect half the pack to ensure it happens,” said Rowan, sounding quite determined.
“A couple of extra men would be good to help us move her out anyway,” said Mike.
“Good point. What kind of food do you want now, Ellie?”
Ellie shook her head. The speed at which the conversation had changed directions had left her breathless. But surprisingly she did feel hungry and excited and happy. It’d been a long time since she’d been excited about anything.
“Oh, anything. I don’t mind.”
And tonight she’d be sleeping here, in this beautiful, serene place. The only thing better than that would be if one—or both—of these wonderful men slept here with her. Wow! Such a naughty thought. Wherever did that come from?
* * * *
Mike had been thrilled with what wonderful company Ellie had been that evening. In some ways he almost felt as if he and Rowan were out on a date with her. Instead of the silent and wary little ghost he’d been getting used to, her big gray eyes had sparkled with fun and life from behind her glasses. She’d laughed at his jokes, had gently teased him and Rowan a few times, and had eaten a proper meal.
When it’d come time to move her furniture, she’d been right there with the four men, neatly piling her possessions into boxes, and mopping the floor behind them as each piece of furniture was carried out the truck. Not that she’d had a lot of stuff really. A bed and bedding, couch and armchair, dining table and four upright chairs, half a dozen boxes of kitchen equipment and another couple of boxes of odds and ends, her clothing, the kitten’s bed, and a television, and that was about it.
Mike, Rowan, and both the other men who’d been helping her move had accompanied her to the manager’s apartment when she’d handed in her key and asked for her deposit and a signed receipt to say she’d paid everything she owed.
The man had tried to say she’d have to come back in business hours, but when she’d stood her ground and Rowan had stepped forward, he’d changed his mind and given her the money and the receipt.
Mike smiled to himself, but wondered how often the manager had gotten away with cheating people out of their deposits. From what Ellie’d said earlier, it sounded pretty much widespread.
She’d even agreed to a fixed time for them to meet her in the morning to escort her to work and had promised to text them if she was leaving the building at all during the day, although she’d said that she had plenty of food from their trip to the grocery store and would take a brown-bag lunch with her.
Mike was driving today and thinking more about the fact he had the whole day off until they had to escort Ellie home, than actually paying attention to the journey. He followed Ellie as she turned down the road to Thorne House Clinic and just had time to brake when Rowan yelled, “Holy fucking shit, there’s metal on the road!”
Ellie swerved to the edge of the road with one wheel in the dirt and stopped, Mike followed and pulled up behind her. He felt one of his tires go but knew he could drive on the rest. Rowan jumped out of the car and waved madly at Ellie, who was sitting still in her driver’s seat. Fortunately she seemed to understand Rowan’s hand signals and climbed over the parking brake and gear shift to sit in the passenger seat as Rowan jumped into her car. Rowan backed up through the dirt and grass at the side of the road until he was clear of the mess, then drove back toward the intersection, maybe half a mile down the road.
Mike tailed them while calling Oscar to tell him about the metal on the road. “Take pictures. Lots of pictures. And don’t go alone in case there’s people hiding nearby expecting you to do that, waiting to attack you,” he said.
“I’m on it.”
Rowan had pulled Ellie’s car partway across the road. Unlike in the parking lot, Mike wasn’t sure whether it was intentional this time or simply because it was damn hard to steer a car with three flat tires. He only had one flat and that was hard enough to maneuver.
It was only about five minutes later that Danny Davies’ big white truck pulled up coming from the direction of the clinic. Danny was the clinic carpenter and he and Oscar were partnered to Ambrielle. And speaking of Ambrielle, she was right behind them on her motorcycle, with someone he couldn’t recognize riding behind her. She rode the motorbike off the road and through the trees, scattering a cloud of dust and leaves and making a lot of noise.
Four teenage boys burst out of the bushes, running fast toward the intersection.
Chapter Three
Ellie slid down into the footwell of the passenger seat so only her eyes were peering above the dashboard. On the one hand she was desperate to know what the hell was going on, but on the other, she had no ambition to be carjacked.
If Rowan hadn’t been sitting in the driver’s seat she’d be driving away from here as fast as the car would go on its rims.
Since the spikes—or whatever they were—had been spread across the road so close to the clinic, she was almost sure this was an attack on Oscar and the shape-shifter clinic. But it was strange that the perpetrators were teenagers, or young men perhaps. She couldn’t judge their age very accurately from here.
The young man who’d tried to run her down in the parking lot had been about this age, as was the punk in the stairwell. But surely they had nothing to do with the clinic. Why would they attack her at her apartment if they were really attacking Oscar? That made no sense at all. That had to have been just a coincidence. Kids stealing things happened quite often in the kind of apartment blocks she’d lived in all her life.
But this attack could have been really nasty. If she’d been driving fast, or if she’d lost control of the car, she could have rolled the car, or hit a tree. Hell, if she’d hit a tree and the gas tank had burst, the car could have exploded in flames. She might even be dead. This was much, much worse than a punk threatening her for her wallet.
Ellie gripped her fingers together tightly, her fingernails pressing into her flesh, her stomach roiling with tension.
Oscar and Danny ran after the four teenagers, along with a red-haired man. She couldn’t see his face, but the redhead would be Fergus MacLeod, the only redheaded wolf she’d ever heard of.
Ambrielle circled the boys herding them back toward the clinic and the wolves chasing them. The rear passenger, who was Quinn Johnson, the clinic handyman, jumped off the motorcycle and tackled one of the young men to the ground, handcuffing him. Danny caught another one and the final two gave themselves up.
Meanwhile someone else had climbed out of the truck and was taking pictures of the road, the metal all over it, the boys, and finally her flat tires. The photographer was a small blonde woman who walked with a slight limp. Oh yes, she was a recovering patient, a shark shape-shifter named Wynter Hall.
Ellie had been peripherally aware of Rowan talking on his cell phone to various people. That was necessary, she supposed. Someone needed to call the police.
Although it wouldn’t surprise me if those kids get off scot-free. They’ll say it was a prank. I hope someone has the brains to ask them who paid them to do it though.
Suddenly Ellie couldn’t ignore her upset stomach any longer. She clambered out of the car, ran into the bushes, and threw up her breakfast. She stood there panting, her chest heaving, still feeling ill, her face and hands all sweaty and clammy. I could have crashed my car. I could
be dead. It’s not a prank. It’s far worse than that. People could have been really badly injured!
Then Ambrielle was beside her giving her a hug and passing her a bottle of water. “Rinse your mouth out and spit, girlfriend.”
She did as Ambrielle suggested then said, “I’m sorry. I—”
“Why are you sorry? You did a great job of driving not to lose control of your car.”
“Hell yes. I’m not sure I could have done so well,” added Wynter.
Ellie managed to smile. “Thank you, both. Ambrielle, that was a nice job scaring them out of the bushes, then rounding them up again.”
“Maybe if I lose my job I could get work on a cattle ranch.”
Ellie laughed rather weakly, and the three of them walked back to the cars.
Police and tow trucks arrived. The boys protested it had just been a bit of fun, but the police loaded them into their police van anyway.
Suddenly Ellie looked around. “Where’s their car?” she asked the police officer.
“What?”
“Their car. How did they get here? Where’s their car?”
The officer stared at her for a moment, then spoke to the boys. The young men didn’t answer.
Ambrielle walked back to her motorcycle. “I feel like going for a little ride. Up the side roads perhaps.”
“I’ve always wanted to ride a motorbike. I’ll come with you,” said Wynter.
Ellie watched the faces of the young men. They were fidgeting, looking worried, but none of them said anything. That’s interesting. I wonder if they stole a car. Or perhaps just borrowed one from their parents without asking? Or maybe someone drove them here and left them to their fate. That’s a possibility, too.
* * * *
First Rowan and Mike changed Mike’s flat tire and put on the spare. Then they arranged for the tow truck to take Ellie’s car to have the tires fixed, along with Mike’s flat tire. Mike rode along with the tow-truck driver to take care of everything and bring Ellie’s car back for her. By then it was lunchtime.