Cool Nights, Hot Dreams: Wolves of Aurora 1

by Athena Blaez

  “That it?”

  Sean nodded numbly. “It is. Doesn’t look like it was breached. It’s anchored to the floor,” he said, anticipating the sheriff’s question.

  “Does anyone other than you have the combination?”

  “No. Not even my employee. I’m the only one with access.” Sean really needed to sit down now. His head was throbbing.

  “What happened?” And the sheriff gestured with his pen to Sean’s head.

  “Oh,” Sean touched lightly at his scalp. “Had a bit of a spill this morning heading to the bathroom.”

  “You should probably get that looked at. Just to be safe.” Sheriff Bradley closed his notebook. “As soon as you can get that video for me, the better chance we have on catching the guys who did this.”

  Sean’s lips pressed into a line. He had a very bad feeling he knew who did this.

  “What?”

  The sheriff’s question jerked Sean’s head up, which was a mistake.

  “Any information you have for me to help would be appreciated.”

  “It’s…” Sean started and trailed off. What if it wasn’t his father? Surely the man had better sense than this?

  The thought made Sean laugh. “My father is a bit of a lowlife. He called the other morning wanting to scam some money off me.”

  “What did you say to him?”

  “To fuck off.” Sean palmed at his forehead. “Probably a little nicer but not by much.”

  “Hastings,” the sheriff said. “First name?”

  “Ernie. Ernie Hastings.”

  “Do you know his last known whereabouts?”

  “Well, last I heard he was in Chicago. Then he called me out of the blue.”

  “Do you have that number?”

  Sean leaned across the desk to grab the shop phone. He thumbed through the memory until he found the number and held it up for Bradley to write the number down.

  “Thank you, Sean. If he contacts you again, give me a call. Sorry to have pulled you out of bed.”

  Sean wearily stood and followed the sheriff out of the shop. “I was up anyway. When can I get in here to start clean up?”

  “As soon as we’re done here, we’ll let you know. I’ll keep someone posted here until you can get back in the morning. Thank you for your time. And…I’m sorry.”

  With a nod, Sean followed the sheriff out. Jeremy trotted forward. “What happened?”

  “Someone broke in. Smash and grab it looks like. But from what I could tell, the trouble it took to get the grate down couldn’t possibly be worth the items they stole.” Sean turned to look at the shop. The sheriff was standing where the grates had been tossed to the side. He touched at a few of the cross supports and frowned.

  “There’s something weird about the sheriff,” Jeremy said, giving voice to Sean’s curiosity.

  His friend was right. It was more than the man was efficient, because he was. In a tourist town that was overrun with people during peak season, he managed to keep crime down to a low buzz. His cases solved was one hundred percent.

  “This is probably the most excitement many of these uniforms will have all year.” Sean squeezed his eyes shut. “Can I have you take me by the hospital?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Smaller town meant smaller hospital. Getting in and out of the ER wasn’t the trial that Sean feared it would be. Five stitches later, an X-ray that proved to Jeremy that he wasn’t concussed, repeated promises from Jeremy that he’d come to the shop to help with cleanup, Sean was back at home.

  His mother was already up, standing in front of the coffee maker, looking exhausted. “Hey, baby,” she said with a tired smile. “I just made the coffee. You look worse than I feel. Have a seat.”

  Normally, Sean would have argued but he did feel really horrible. He collapsed into the chair and buried his face in his hands.

  “You were out early this morning. What’s up?”

  “Someone broke into the shop.” Sean sighed heavily. His hands dropped to the table. “And I had another dream.”

  She knew exactly what he was referring to. Gingerly, she set the mug of coffee in front of him, then took her seat next to him. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I hate when it happens beyond my control. I saw…the body again.”

  “Did you see who this time?”

  Sean shook his head. “But this time, whoever was in the dream didn’t want me seeing more and attacked me.”

  His mother grew quiet, her hands carefully gathering his to hold. “What will you do?”

  “What can I do? Go to the sheriff and tell him I think someone’s going to be killed, if they haven’t already, and I think I know where to find the body, once the deed is done but I have no idea who it is?” He squeezed her hands before letting go to wrap them around his mug.

  Not bothering with cream and sugar, Sean drank deeply, the heat warming his body from the inside. Until that moment, he didn’t realize he’d left the house without a jacket.

  “Well…nothing has to be done at this moment.” She kissed his temple when she stood. “I’ll make us some oatmeal.”

  Oatmeal. The comfort breakfast of champions. Or at least Sean’s. Any time they were having a hard time at home when his father was around, his mother would make him oatmeal. Despite having an asshole father, his memories were fondest over damned oatmeal. “Cinnamon sugar and maple syrup?”

  “Anything for you, baby.”

  Sean watched as his mother started breakfast. If the thief…who was he kidding? He knew it was his father. He’d been at that location for years and not one break-in. Maybe attempts at it, but they had always been thwarted by the security gate.

  But if his father had actually succeeded in getting to his money? Sean hated to think about it. The selfish asshole had no concern for his seriously ill mother and Sean’s attempts to take care of her. He had a business and it was making money but every spare cent went towards her medical care.

  He hoped the man choked on the jewelry he stole.

  Between the three of them, Sean, Jeremy and Katrina, they got the majority of the shop picked up and put away. Jeremy made the calls to the local hardware store to get boards to cover the windows until the window people could get here to replace them. The security grate was their first priority to get back into place.

  Katrina worked on comparing their records to the remaining items left behind. The list was a lot longer than Sean liked. At least insurance would cover most of this.

  “Where’s Bryan?” Katrina asked as they took a donut break.

  “Shit. I totally forgot about him.” Sean dug out his phone and noticed the time. She was right. Bryan was supposed to be there by now.

  “You didn’t call to tell him not to come in?”

  Sean shook his head. “Jeremy, you?”

  Jeremy finished the last of the screws to keep the wood in place. “Nope. Didn’t think it was my place.”

  That was a little weird but Bryan was young and irresponsible.

  However, he had an arrangement with Ryder. If Bryan didn’t show up, Sean was to call him.

  Sean pulled his phone and thumbed Ryder’s contact. The call went to voice mail so Sean left a short message.

  The door opened, forcing Jeremy back to collide with the wall.

  Sean’s mouth went dry. His father stood in the doorway, hands on his hips. “Well, ain’t this a mess?”

  After the phone call where his father begged that he was in dire straits, his clothing told a different story. He was dressed rather nicely for someone who was desperate for money. “Those new shoes?” Sean asked dryly.

  Ernie Hastings looked down at his feet and lifted his toes. “They are. They still pinch a bit through my instep, though.”

  “No doubt the leather will stretch with use. Those are leather, right?” Sean said sarcastically. “So you’re probably not needing the money you called begging for the other morning?”

  “Now, Sean,” Ernie glanced over his
shoulder. Just outside the shop, a man lingered close enough to eavesdrop. He was obviously with Ernie.

  Sean narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look. The other guy picked up on that and stayed firmly out of sight. There was something that felt far too familiar about him.

  Jeremy was moving like a scared rabbit as he raced for the front of the store to stand near Sean. Sean glanced at him with a nonverbal what?

  Jeremy shook his head.

  “I wanted to come make my peace with you. You said some hard words to me, son. Hard words about your mother.”

  Talking about Sean’s mother was guaranteed to push Sean into fight mode. “You don’t give a shit about her, you fucker.”

  “That’s no way to talk to your dad, boy.”

  “I have no father,” Sean shot back. “So you need to leave. Now.”

  Off in the distance, he heard sirens growing closer. A quick glance around the shop verified that Katrina had slipped into the office. Hopefully she was the one who called the sheriff.

  The man outside Sean’s shop darted past the door with a raspy “Let’s go” to his father.

  After giving Sean an unpleasant smile, Ernie backed up to the door. “Don’t fuck with me, son. There’s a lot at work here you don’t understand. It could work to your disadvantage,” he said before taking off behind his friend.

  The sheriff’s car screeched to a halt and he was out of it like a shot. “Sean?” he asked as he braced in the door.

  “That way,” Sean said, pointing. “He’s with someone. I don’t know who.”

  Sheriff Bradley nodded. He jumped back in the car and sped off.

  Sean stared at the open door. Work to his disadvantage? What the actual fuck?

  “Sean,” Jeremy said in a hushed voice.

  Sean tore his gaze away to look at his friend. Jeremy was white as a sheet. He rushed around the counter to help Jeremy find the stool. The man was completely shaken to the core.

  “Jesus…what?”

  “Your dad is running with a very bad man.”

  Chapter 8

  Ryder could see the flashing lights before he got to them. Several vehicles crowded around the trailhead. A few of Bradley’s officers were cordoning off the area as curious onlookers gathered around just outside the tape.

  He lifted his chin in greeting to one of the younger deputies who had his ‘official’ face on. Business, then. “Leon, what’s going on? I got a call from Ted.”

  Leon lifted the tape and motioned for Ryder to pass. “Sheriff said to let you through. Best you take a look for yourself. They’re about quarter of a mile up the main trail. You’ll see them.”

  Ryder broke into a jog, only slowing when he saw the gathered men on the trail. Several uniforms milled about. Some from the sheriff’s department, a couple were from the National Park Service.

  Devan turned when he heard Ryder’s approach and met him away from the group. “Hey, how are you doing?”

  “I’m doing fine but I gather I’m not supposed to?” Ryder looked around Devan. He couldn’t see much through the thick foliage.

  “So you don’t know?” Devan placed his body between Ryder and the activity. “You haven’t heard?”

  “Shit. What’s going on, Devan?”

  “A couple of hikers found a body early this morning. We think…I think he’s one of yours.”

  Ryder’s blood drained from his face and he felt light-headed. “No. Shit…no. Who?”

  “Bryan Silva. At least, that’s what his driver’s license says. I don’t think they can make a visual ID.” Devan rested a hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. I don’t have much of the story but none of us do.”

  “What do you guys know?”

  “Bryan and a few friends were up here last night partying. There’s a fire pit further north of here.”

  Ryder nodded. “I know it. Sometimes we hold meetings there.”

  “Apparently, he didn’t go home last night. His friend, Matt, said he never showed up for school this morning. Ted ran some units by their house to check on him. You know how Kenneth can’t keep his fists to himself.”

  Ryder nodded. Yeah, he was all too familiar with that. It was the final nail in Kenneth’s bid to take over pack leadership. The rest of the pack simply didn’t trust his temper. They never doubted his ability to get stuff done, though. Only his volatility.

  “Anyway, he said Bryan never came home last night.”

  “Shit.” Ryder pulled his phone. Had he missed a call from Kenneth? Checking there were only the usual calls from his team to ask business questions. Two from his right-hand man in the pack. One voicemail from Sean. He listened to that one first.

  “Sean called to say he hadn’t come by this afternoon.” Ryder blew out a slow breath. “Any idea what happened?”

  “Two shotgun blasts. One to the chest, through the heart. I’m betting it was close range. The other?” Devan held his finger to the center of his forehead and mimicked pulling the trigger. “Took his entire face. So also, most likely close range. Until a coroner can look at him…”

  “They’re taking him to Frank Stewart?”

  Dr. Frank Stewart was another human who had close ties to the wolf packs. He was the county medical examiner. The three wolf packs depended on him to keep them all on the straight and narrow, and out of sight. Like Ted Bradley and the sheriff’s department.

  “We’re waiting on the ambulance now.”

  Ryder paced back and forth. “Does Kenneth know?”

  “Don’t think so. I’ll go get Ted and you two can hash out how to deal with that.”

  Devan disappeared in the undergrowth. A few moments later, Bradley came out to greet Ryder with a handshake. “Sorry to call you out here. We don’t have a positive ID yet, just Bryan’s wallet.”

  “Yeah. Can I see him? Maybe I can help with identification.”

  “It’s nasty business, Ryder.”

  Ryder’s eyebrow rose. “I’ve seen nasty business in my day, Ted. I appreciate the warning.”

  Bradley laughed and motioned for Ryder to follow.

  They stopped close to the body, which was already draped with a sheet. Ryder sunk to his heels and lifted the corner.

  The young teen wolf’s scent hit him like a train. Ryder rocked back, quickly dropping the sheet and rising to his feet. “Yeah, that’s Bryan.”

  “Sorry. He was one of yours?”

  Ryder nodded numbly. “Any ideas who did this?”

  “I was hoping you had something for me.”

  He racked his memories for anything out of the ordinary, anything that would help. “Not that I can think of. I know he was pretty cowed by his father. He ran into some trouble a few days ago about a break-in.”

  Bradley’s head snapped up. “Why didn’t I hear about this?”

  “We handled it internally. The woman he and his buddy stole from is a longtime friend of ours.”

  “Ours…meaning…”

  Ryder glanced around before responding. “Pack. Her family was one of the founding families of Aurora, and both mine and Devan’s packs settled quickly on terms to coexist when the city was first established.”

  “I’d like a rundown of what happened, Ryder. I know you handle your business privately but if it has any bearing…I mean…it’s going to be hard to keep this quiet. You understand?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I do. I’ll um…can I drop by later and fill you in? How the fuck am I going to break this to his father?”

  “That,” Bradley said, tapping his pen to the center of Ryder’s chest, “you’ll leave to me, got it? The police are officially involved; I have to go through proper channels now.”

  “Of course. Thanks for calling me.”

  “Alright.” Bradley shook his hand one more time, then turned back to handle the scene, and Ryder ducked back out to stand on the main trail.

  It gave Ryder time to gather his thoughts. The heads-up would give Ryder a chance to get his own game face on to face the pack with this.


  Devan appeared after a few minutes. He tapped Ryder on the shoulder and indicated for him to step back as the EMTs approached with a gurney to take Bryan’s body to the wagon. “How are you doing?”

  Ryder laughed dryly. “Now? Not so fucking good.”

  “His old man isn’t going to take this well, is he?”

  “Oh no.” Ryder went to a low rock and sat, his elbows braced on his knees.

  Devan sunk to his heels beside him. “Are you going to need outside support?”

  “No,” Ryder said. He tapped Devan lightly on the knee. “But thanks for the offer. He’ll blow and bitch, rightly so, grieve and make a huge deal but he’ll back down eventually and trust me to handle this.” That was Ryder’s hope, at any rate.

  “Alright. If you do, you have my number. And I’m expecting a full report on your night out with your pawnbroker.”

  “How the hell did you hear about that?”

  Devan blew out a breath. “As if anything in this town is a secret.”

  “I should have known.” Ryder pushed to his feet. “I’ll be in touch later. I may need a drink after all this.”

  “You know where to find me.” Devan clapped Ryder on the shoulder and gave him a good-natured shake before going back into the woods to help the sheriff.

  Back at his truck, Ryder sat in the cab for a few minutes gathering his scattered thoughts. He remembered Sean’s voice mail. Sean needed to know.

  Instead of risking the shop, Ryder called Sean’s cell. Sean answered it on the third ring.

  “Hey,” Sean said.

  “You sound out of breath. I got your voice mail.”

  “Yeah. I felt bad tattling on the kid but—”

  “Don’t,” Ryder said, cutting Sean off. “Sean…Bryan’s dead. He was killed last night.”

  The phone was silent but Ryder could hear noises in the background. “Sean?”

  “Yeah. Here. Wow. I’m just…floored. Do you know how?”

  “Killed. Someone shot him. Twice.”

  “Shot him?” More quietly, Ryder could hear the rapid-fire conversation talking around Sean.