Echo Falls (8 page)

“I will not run. Not this time,” she said.

She tore off the card and tossed it in the sink, pouring the entire bottle of wine on it. When the bottle had emptied, she took the soggy remains of the card and tore it into pieces. She looked down at the mess, putting the bottle in the sink on top of it. Her hand shook and she turned away, walking to the bedroom.

She only bothered to take her shoes off before pulling herself completely under the covers. Reaching under her pillow, she gripped the hilt of the knife, the feeling giving her some comfort.

Elle’s words from earlier ran through her mind as she stared at the wall, and she promised herself she could and would be strong.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Aidan nodded to the barman who gave him a fresh whiskey. “Haven’t needed to be here in a while.”

The barman nodded and moved away.

Aidan hardly ever drank and when he did, he had a damn good reason. At Bad Karma, a bar in the next largest city away from Echo Falls, they didn’t know he was a cop and left him alone with his thoughts and solace on the rocks. This night seemed more in need of solace than any other he’d ever been through.

His hand squeezed the cold glass until he thought the better of it and released it. He needed both hands if he wanted to solve this case. This case that now had his friend’s name written all over it.

Why Thomas? If the killer wanted to start somewhere in the pack, why not kill their leader? The killer had to know that they didn’t have much going on solving the case, so he’d probably be able to walk away.
Or she.
Thomas had been working on the thought someone in the pack had betrayed them and they had plenty of females. But could any of them do something like this? Get caught up in the arms of someone who killed their own kind?

He scowled down at the drink. Something told him Thomas had been onto something and that he’d been killed for it. He’d told someone or been overheard telling someone, and his line of thinking had reached the wrong ears. But whose?

At this rate, they’d all be dead before they could find out.

The bell above the front door jingled as the door opened and closed. Heavy footsteps made Aidan close his eyes and rub his temples, not wanting to think that he knew who’d just walked in.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Chief Inspector Graham, looking for all the world like just another late-night bar goer in his jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket, sat down next to Aidan and ordered a scotch and Coke. Aidan nodded to him but couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t smack of anger. Graham had discovered Aidan’s little hideout by accident the night after he’d taken away Aidan’s badge.

Graham stared forward, taking a small sip of his drink before letting out an explosive breath. “Damn it. Just damn it all.”

Aidan looked over and arched an eyebrow.

“The only reason we put ice in this crap is to stop ourselves from drinking it as fast as we want to,” he said, holding his glass up to the light. “A self-control mechanism that we don’t even think about most of the time.”

Graham put down his drink and then placed his hand with something underneath it on the bar. He then slid it over in front of Aidan. When he lifted his hand away, the shine of gold caught Aidan’s eye and he nodded at his badge.

“What does this mean?”

“This means you start finishing all your questions with ‘sir’ starting when you get back to work tomorrow.”

Aidan stared at the badge, unwilling to touch it lest it melt away in an instant. He took a deep breath and then looked at Graham.

Graham placed his hand on Aidan’s shoulder. “Thomas makes it personal. I want you back out there so long as you keep your head in check. Don’t come in the office. If having you out there in plain clothes is an advantage, then I want to take it. Now drink your whiskey and get on with it because I want you starting bright and early in the morning.”

With that, Graham stood up and tossed a twenty on the bar before leaving. Aidan looked down at his badge and ran his thumb over it before putting it in his pocket.

Now
he would start getting answers.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Phoebe woke up to a throbbing headache stomping around with great enthusiasm in her head. She groaned and rubbed her temples, wondering if she could force herself back to sleep.

She rolled onto her opposite side hoping the change of position would be the magical switch to put her back into dreamland. But the move only made her wake up completely when she painfully discovered that she’d left her phone in her pocket.

She took out the phone and saw she had two messages. She didn’t recognize either number, but then why would she? She’d bought it so she could take calls for her business – much easier to set up and get rid of than a landline phone.

She rubbed the side of it with her thumb, smiling. Her business. One more thing to stand up and fight for. Though the thought of standing up to the man who haunted her nightmares still made her breath come short, the decision had been made.

She dialed her message bank and listened.

“Phoebe… Martin? Hi! My name is Daisy and I’m…” Daisy broke down and began to cry. “I’m getting married on Saturday and – and my photographer just ditched on me! H-he’s the only photographer in town, b-but then I saw your card and I thought if it isn’t too late maybe you would photograph my wedding. Please call as soon as you can!”

She smiled, this not being the first time she’d talked to a bride-to-be in tears. The call had come late at night, which meant the poor woman was desperate. She hung up before the second message played and looked at her calendar.

The pages had been mostly blank for too long. The prospect of filling them up with client appointments felt so good that she forgot about all the chaos of the day before as she dialed Daisy’s number.

Only when she had hung up with the incredibly grateful bride – who insisted she bring a date and stay for the reception dinner as a guest as well as photographer – did she realize Saturday was the day after the full moon. She squeezed the tip of her thumb and looked at her calendar. The timing would be tight, but she could make it if she stayed close to home on the night. The wolf hated it when she confined herself on full moon nights, the only time she got to be free whether Phoebe wanted her to be or not. Phoebe could transform on other nights, but she chose not to, much to her wolf’s annoyance.

“I have to do what is necessary,” she said, scribbling in the appointment. At least the bride hadn’t been one of those so-called trendy types who liked to get married on a Friday night.

A knock at her door made her jump. She grabbed her knife and then looked through the eyehole.

Aidan?

She opened the door and peeked out into the hall. “Aidan. Hi. I didn’t expect to see you.”

He frowned, looking around and sniffing. “I called. Do you smell something familiar?”

The second voice message.
“I didn’t hear the phone.” She opened the door the rest of the way. “Come in.”

He walked in and her wolf responded stronger than it had to the thought of confinement. If she’d had a tail at that moment, it would have been wagging so hard and fast that she’d have knocked herself over. She barely stopped herself from jumping up onto him for a big hug as he put a bag of groceries next to the sink. He began taking coffee, milk, a newspaper and such out of the bag. He saw the empty wine bottle and paused for a moment but said nothing.

She bit her bottom lip and turned around to lock the door. She pressed her head against the cool wood of the door for a few moments to get her bearings. Memories of last night, so much good and then bad, flooded through her mind. And the promise she’d made. She took a calming breath and then turned to face him.

He nodded to the knife. “Trouble?”

She swallowed and put the knife aside. “I’m just nervous.”

He walked over and hugged her. “I know.”

The sudden familiarity took her by surprise, but the wolf in her couldn’t have been happier. Somehow, she’d become pack now. She didn’t need to be alone or worry about handling her problems on her own. She had someone: her pack leader.

And he had her. She could feel the need in him, the need for something real and strong. A piece of his life had been taken away and now he needed to feel something and know he had a reason to live. She knew those feelings all too well.

He cleared his throat and stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck. Without thinking, she stepped forward and put her hands on his arms.

He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. “I’ll make some coffee.”

Her lips parted slightly as she tried to think of something to say, but her mind remained blank. The wolf was no help, feeling completely content. Feeling the wolf, she blushed and clamped down on that part of her as she sat down on a stool.

She watched him grab two mugs and milk out of the refrigerator. He may have had a smile for her, but now he looked grim and tired.

I should tell you about Liam
, she thought.
I should tell you that it’s my fault Thomas died, that I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. I should ask you for your help. I should tell you everything.
She sighed and closed her eyes. No, not now. Not today when he’d already been through so much.

The jug clicked off, breaking her out of her thoughts. He poured milk and then the steaming water into the waiting mugs. He smirked at her as he stirred both with spoons at the same time.

“Such talent being wasted as a police officer,” she said.

“Naturally.”

“How does such a busy policeman have time to cook for me?”

“Who said I was cooking?” he asked.

She arched her eyebrow.

He pushed a mug toward her and then leaned forward. “About a month back, Inspector Grant said I either take a couple months leave or think of a new career. Up until last night, I was on leave.”

“Stress?”

He looked at his coffee. “I lost my temper at the first murder scene. The victim was just a teenager. A bright kid who’d only just been bitten. He died the day he was going to have his first run with the pack. I got mad. My wolf got mad. I started searching for a scent. Will and…” He swallowed. “Will and Thomas stopped me before I made a fool of myself, but not before Grant decided I needed time off.”

“But now?”

He straightened. “Now I’m back on the case. For Thomas.”

Another upsetting topic. Great. Maybe she could go three for three.

“So you aren’t meant to be working?” she asked, sitting on a stool and watching him. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all and the way he squinted in the morning light told her that at least a few of his sleepless hours had been spent drinking. She would have thought the light stubble on his face incredibly sexy if it hadn’t meant that he’d been too distracted to bother about caring for himself.

“Grant put me back on the case.” Despite the good news, he sounded cynical at best. “We’re no further on the case than we were and now Thomas is gone. Someone is taking down werewolves, and they’re starting on pack.” His lips formed a thin line as he tapped his knuckles on the counter.

“How did you get my number?” she asked, eyeing him over her mug.

He arched his eyebrow at the change of subject and then shrugged. “You gave it to me.”

“No I didn’t.”

“You gave me your card. Your card has your number on it.”

She blinked. “Oh.”

She stared back down at her mug. Foiled again. Who needed a fun stalker when you had a crazy one after you? Not that she could ever really think of Aidan as a stalker – even a ‘fun’ one. He had more important things on his mind and so should she. She wondered if she could ask him about weapons shops without arousing his suspicions. Maybe some sort of hunting and fishing place, though she might need a license to –

“Phoebe.”

She looked up. “Yeah?”

“The pack meets every full moon for a run.”

The wolf perked up and, in the absence of a tail, Phoebe began to swing her foot back and forth.

He cleared his throat. “Thomas’s funeral is on Thursday, but I don’t think it’s safe for us to meet together as a group in public. Most of us will meet early on Friday to say a few words. I’d like you to be there.”

Guilt washed over her and she lowered her gaze.

“I didn’t know him,” she said softly.

“You did. And you
are
pack. He would have wanted you there as part of us.” He studied her face. “If that’s what
you
want.”

She looked at him, silently debating. On one hand, being part of a pack had many more advantages than disadvantages. On the other, if she hadn’t come to Echo Falls, Thomas would still be alive along with three other young werewolves. She dreaded anyone finding that out – especially Mia. Mia would feel like her birthday and Christmas had come all at once if she did.

She shook her head. “I don’t think I’d be welcome.”

He reached over and held her hand. “If I welcome you, then you’re welcome. Will, Elle and I will be there. You’ll always have someone you know around you.”

She looked at their hands. In that moment, it wasn’t about the shadow of her past looming over them that bothered her. She feared losing herself to the wolf. At least by containing herself every full moon, her human side maintained a constant measure of control. As a free wolf, the situation reversed: her human self in the background wanting and wishing and the wolf ultimately deciding.

With the wolf making the decisions, she knew only one thing for sure: she couldn’t trust herself around Aidan.

“I’ll stay near you, if that’s what you want,” he said quietly.

His voice became deeper and rougher. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he struggled with his inner wolf as well. When she met his gaze, she could see flecks of yellow appearing in his eyes.

Are my eyes the same?

“I want to run with you,” she said suddenly, surprising them both. “For Thomas.” Her voice had also taken on a darker quality, making it sound slightly foreign even to her. Her heart beat a slow, intense rhythm in her chest as the world around them faded away.

He began to caress her hand with his thumb. The sensation sent shivers up her arm. With her free hand, she ran her fingertips around the rim of her mug.

Suddenly he let go of her hand and she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a small whine. He reached in his pocket, took his phone out and turned it off. Then he looked at her, a slow smile lighting up his face.

She blushed, giggles building up in her chest.
No interruptions.

He took their mugs and put them in the sink before turning toward her. She got off the stool and tried to quiet the rampaging butterflies in her stomach. He walked over to her, slowly drawing her into his arms.

“I care about you, Phoebe Martin,” he said. “Probably more than I should.”

She nodded as she looked up at him. “Probably.”

“I look at you and I see a mysterious and incredibly beautiful woman. Smart. Strong.”

She took a deep breath.
Think! Think of something logical. Say something logical. Or say something… Anything!

“Okay,” was all she could come up with.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered.

She nodded again.

He chuckled, unwrapping his arms from around her and then placing his hands lightly on her cheeks. She blushed all the more, closing her eyes as he leaned closer. His lips brushed against hers, gentle but with intention. She pressed herself against him and he responded in kind, pressing his lips strongly against hers and moving his hands back down to wrap around her.

A moan built up in her, starting deep within her chest before she finally gave it voice. Her moan urged him on as he tangled his fingers in her hair. She parted his lips with her tongue, igniting a hunger within.

He broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. His warm breath tossed around her messy hair. “Phoebe…”

She said nothing and they stood there for a while, arms around each other. Both the human and the wolf were in sync with what they wanted just then, and they could sense it about him and his wolf as well. The call of a sweet release tempted her forward.

But she couldn’t. Not yet.

Finally, she leaned back a little and looked at him. “Would you like to be my date for a wedding?”