Laurie's Wolves (17 page)

He ached for her. And he knew instinctively now was not the time to confront her. She needed to grieve. And he knew that was what she was doing—grieving. Grieving for a life she thought she would lead until Fate brought her family to Sojourn a week ago and changed the course she’d expected to live.

He couldn’t blame her.

From her view, the world was a mess. A week ago, she had no way of knowing she had powers that had been dormant her entire life, the powers of a long line of shaman. She hadn’t known the two men who were now her mates. She hadn’t known the kind of strife that could be caused by bigoted humans and shifters alike who refused to embrace tolerance.

His mate was hurting in a way he couldn’t fix. Only time would lessen her grief.

And Zach had all the time in the world. He just needed to be patient.

When he turned the truck around and eased back to the main road, he spotted two cars pulled off to the side of the gravel. How had he not noticed them when they pulled in?

“Shit,” Laurie said. “There’re people in that car.” She pointed to the spot where the headlights hit the windshield. “Do you think they need help?”

“Doubt it.” He chuckled. There’s an empty car behind them. More than likely they’re doing the same thing as us.”

“Hiding?”

“Yep.”

He glanced out Laurie’s window as they passed, but the windows on the other car were completely fogged over. No way to see who was inside. Besides, he wouldn’t have bothered them anyway. If they wanted privacy, just like him, who was he to impose? If they had needed help, they would have gotten out and asked for it.

The sun was coming up as Zach pulled his truck into the parking lot of his condo. He jumped down from the cab as Laurie did the same on the other side. They’d left her rental car at Corbin’s, but he figured she could drop him off at the resort if she needed a car. Or he hoped he could convince her to come with him.

Maybe she could ski or hang with Sharon or Carlie. Anything to keep her mind off looking for a job and possibly make her feel better.

A few hours of sleep first would be nice, but they barely had time for a nap at this hour.

Zach rounded the hood of the truck and took Laurie’s hand as they approached the condo.

“Wait.” She stopped dead in her tracks, her face scanning the area.

Zach looked around, seeing nothing. “What is it?”

“I don’t know, but I have a weird vibe.” She tugged her hand free of his and rubbed her hands together. She could be cold. She wasn’t wearing gloves, but Zach didn’t think it had anything to do with the temperature.

He waited.

She inched forward finally. “Someone’s been here.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know.” She continued to glance around.

Zach stepped around her, concerned about the condo. If someone had been there, perhaps with ill intent, he wanted to make sure they weren’t still there. “Wait outside.”

Laurie followed him to the door and then grabbed his arm. “Don’t open the door.”

“Why not?” He was growing frustrated, but he didn’t want to make light of her concerns. He knew better. He’d heard all the tales of his two older brothers not heeding the warnings of Melinda and Mimi. No way in hell would he not listen to Laurie.

But what harm could there be in opening the door?

Laurie tugged him away from the door. “Trust me. I can’t explain it, but don’t open the door.”

He lifted both hands in the air in defeat. “Okay. Should I call Corbin?”

She chewed on her lip a moment and then nodded. “And your brother Trace.”

Trace was a deputy at the local sheriff’s department. He still lived in Sojourn in Melinda’s tiny apartment while they waited for their home to be built on the edge of the Native American territory, near Rebecca. He probably wouldn’t arrive any faster than Corbin.

Zach felt a tingling sensation race up his spine at the same time Laurie’s eyes widened and she gasped. For the second time, he too was privileged to see the black smoke moving in. It surrounded their feet first and then coalesced between them and the door to the condo.

Zach stepped back, taking Laurie with him, his grip probably too firm on her arm.

She reached out a hand to touch the smoky substance.

It gave him the willies, but he let her. Surely the spirit meant no harm.

“It’s a warning.”

“I’m a believer, baby. You don’t have to tell me twice.” He stepped back farther, pulling on Laurie, who seemed reluctant to move away from the smoke. It was so thick, it blocked the door almost completely from view.

Zach pulled out his phone and called Trace, who answered on the first ring. “Zach?”

“Yeah. Sorry it’s so early. We seem to have a problem here.”

“What?”

“Laurie had a feeling.”

“Don’t ignore those.” Zach sounded more awake now.

“I wouldn’t. Anyway, she doesn’t feel like it’s safe to enter the condo. And I’m inclined to agree since the moment we reached the door, one of those black aura things popped up between us and the condo.”

“Shit. I’m calling the station on my other phone. Don’t hang up.”

Zach listened to the muted voice of his brother on the phone with the sheriff’s office for a minute, and then Trace was back. “They’re on their way. And I am too. It’ll take me about forty to get there though. Get away from the condo.”

Suddenly Zach was no longer listening to his brother. Melinda’s voice came over the line. “Get back. Get Laurie away from there. It’s not safe.”

Zach almost grinned. “On it.” He threaded his fingers with Laurie’s and pulled her farther away, past the truck and into the parking lot.

Trace returned. “Melinda’s in a dither. I guess she’ll be coming with me.”

“Of course.”

“We’ll be there soon. Someone from the station will get there faster.” Trace hung up.

Laurie faced the condo, but he could see she was somewhere else. She nodded subtly a few times, but her gaze was on nothing. She was undoubtedly communicating with Melinda. Of all the weird things that had happened in the last week, Laurie’s ability to speak to her sister telepathically in human form was by far the weirdest.

Zach took the opportunity to alert Corbin. “
Corbin?”

“What’s up? Did you get some sleep? It’s so early.”

“No. Long story. But we have an issue. We haven’t even been into my condo. Laurie had a premonition. We called Trace. He’s on his way. Deputies from his office are on their way.”

“I’ll leave now.”

“I hate for you to do that. It might not be necessary. Could be nothing.”

“You think it’s nothing?”

“No.”

“I’m on my way.”
Corbin broke the connection.

A sheriff’s vehicle pulled into the lot, quiet with no lights. Two men climbed out of the car. One reached for Zach’s hand. “Mark Zimmer. I work with your brother.”

The second guy introduced himself as Deputy Steve Fouler and then turned toward the condo. “What’s the problem?” He wandered closer.

“Not sure.” Zach chuckled, but not with humor. “Something’s weird. Or maybe we’re just jumpy after the night we’ve had.” At least that would explain away some of the paranormal. Neither of these deputies was a shifter.

“What happened?” Mark asked.

“Some people on the reservation thought it might be funny to throw bricks through the windows of the apartment we were in. We just got back here hoping to get some sleep before I need to be at work.”

Laurie took Zach’s hand and squeezed. “I have a weird feeling.”

Mark lifted a brow. “You have a weird feeling?”

She nodded. “Humor me,” she mumbled.

Mark nodded indulgently. “Okay. Have you been inside?”

“Not yet,” Zach said. “The closer we got to the door, the more ominous it felt. We backed off, and I called Trace.”

“Uh-huh.” Mark turned around and called to his partner. “Check out the perimeter. Let’s not open the door yet.”

The other guy nodded without looking back and sauntered toward the front of the condo.

It was early enough that no one else noticed the commotion and came outside.

Zach watched as Laurie stared at the back of Deputy Fowler. He could feel her anxiety rising.

She balled her hands into fists at her sides as she followed the deputy’s movements.

“So the events last night happened on the reservation? Near Sojourn?”

“Yes.” Zach switched his gaze back to Mark.

Mark frowned as he pulled out his notepad. “Where were you?”

“Corbin Archers’s.”

“He’s a deputy in Sojourn, right?”

“Yes.”

Mark stared at Zach for a moment and then tapped his lips with the pen. “I see.”

Yeah
. Zach figured Mark saw far more than necessary. He probably already knew the details of their arrangement from town gossip—or at least thought he knew.

A vehicle pulled into the lot, and Zach turned around to see Trace parking behind him. Damn, he got there fast.

He jumped down from his truck and took quick strides to get to Zach.

Melinda nearly ran from the other side to keep up with her mate. She went straight for Laurie and pulled her into an embrace.

Trace nodded at Mark and turned toward Zach. “What are you thinking?”

Melinda turned around and met her mate’s gaze. “I’m going to move closer.”

“Like hell you are.” Trace rolled his eyes and pushed past Zach to get to his mate.

She was small and lithe, and she managed to dodge him and jog toward the condo.

Trace followed her at a quick pace.

Zach cringed as he imagined a life of being steamrolled by his own mate. If the sisters were anything alike, there would be no stopping Laurie on any path she chose. And realistically, he wouldn’t want to hinder her in any way. He needed to learn to accept her premonitions and go with the punches.

Deputy Zimmer suddenly turned and ran in their direction, shouting at Trace and Melinda and waving his arms to get back.

Zach stepped forward, grabbing Laurie by the hand to keep her from approaching instead of retreating. It would be his life’s mission to keep her alive at this rate.

Zimmer stopped in front of them. “Just got a call from the precinct. There was an anonymous tip that your condo is filled with natural gas.”

“What?” Zach’s heart rate increased. “What do you mean? Someone intentionally did this? How?” He’d considered several possibilities where Laurie’s intuition was concerned. None of them involved malicious intent. Though he shouldn’t have been surprised, considering everything that had happened in the last few days.

Mark shrugged. “Someone called the station. Must have been feeling the guilt of association. Your condo was broken into through a rear window that wasn’t locked. The burners on the stove were all opened. The house has been filling with gas for hours.”

He turned to face Laurie. “Not sure how you knew to stay out of that condo, but good thinking.”

“What do we need to do?”

“Fire department’s on their way. They’ll go in and handle the gas. You folks need to put several more yards between you and the condo until it’s safe.”

Zach nodded and tugged Laurie with him.

Melinda and Trace joined them as Corbin pulled up and hopped out of his truck almost before he shut the engine off. He was in his uniform, his face hard and determined as he approached. “What’s happening?” He glanced around when sirens again wailed in the distance.

“Gas, apparently,” Zach filled him in.

“A leak?”

“No.” Laurie shook her head. “Intentional.”

Corbin inhaled sharply and held up a hand toward the officers heading their way. “How do we know this?”

“Anonymous caller,” Trace added.

Melinda fumed, a groan filling the air as her face turned red. “I’d like to get my hands on the ignoramuses who think they’re God’s gift to the Earth.”

“Get in line,” Laurie added.

Corbin followed Trace toward Deputy Zimmer’s car. The three of them entered a quiet heated discussion.

Zach could only imagine how irate Corbin would be. The man had to be exhausted from staying up all night, and now he’d been called to drive almost an hour to get to his mates and find out they were in even more danger than last night—though realistically Zach realized Corbin got there in closer to thirty minutes.

The fire department pulled up, sirens blaring.

And that was the end of keeping things quiet.

Neighbors on both sides of Zach’s apartment stepped outside. It was almost seven in the morning by then. The police escorted them away from their homes to a section of the parking lot.

Several people shot looks toward Zach, but he didn’t meet their gazes. He wasn’t in the mood to explain himself right then. In fact, even though he’d lived in the condo for a year and a half, he hardly knew most of the neighbors. It was possible any one of them had instigated the threat against him and his mates.

Trace returned to his side. “I’ll go explain what’s happening to the onlookers.” He patted Zach on the back. “Corbin’s going to talk to the firemen.”

Zach nodded as he watched two men from the fire department approach the front door. Corbin handed them a set of keys.

Moments later, the condo was open, the windows were being lifted, and a third fireman lugged a giant fan toward the entrance. He set it facing out and proceeded to blow the gas out of the condo.

Laurie took Zach’s hand and squeezed. “Sorry.”

He glanced down at her and then wrapped his arm around her small frame. “For what?”

“For bringing all this into your life.”

“Are you kidding?” He squeezed her against him.

“No. You didn’t ask for this. Hell, you never asked for a mate at all. If I’m completely honest, I knew in my soul what would happen when I met you. I even knew already that we would be looking for a third. I should have turned away. I’m ruining your lives. Yours and Corbin’s.”

“Woman, cut it out. That’s crazy.” He spun her around to face him and grabbed her shoulder with one hand and her chin with the other, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m certain Corbin would agree. Stop it. This is no more your fault than the weird weather.