Savage Sanctuary: A Dire Wolves Mission (The Devil's Dires Book 2) (3 page)

“I didn’t ask you if you needed help, and I’m not assuming it either. Mr. Klaus
needs
you to make sure he doesn’t end up back in the hospital because of his allergies. He’s old and he’s stubborn and he hates that his diet has had to change so much in the past year. He relies on you to help him. Go. I’ve got this.”

Amy sighed and released the bowl, knowing he was right. “Thanks, Abel.”

He shrugged and started mashing the potatoes. “We’re family. It’s what we do. But don’t expect me to leave until you close the door after the last customer. I’m walking you home tonight, missy.”

“Fine. But only if we get to stop for ice cream. Your treat.”

Abel gave her a grin and a wink, something that probably would have melted a woman not related to him. “You know it.”

Amy popped up to kiss his cheek before heading back to the dining room, ready to tackle Mr. Klaus and his ridiculous refusal to listen to his doctors. Another day, another restaurant full of diners. Another dream come true.

H
ope Ridge sat
dark and almost deserted when Levi rolled down Main Street. Closed up for the night—typical of just about any small town, really. In places like this one, the sidewalks practically rolled themselves up at five o’clock.

The Alpha of the local pack wasn’t expecting him until the morning. When Levi realized what time he’d actually hit the little town at the base of a mountain, he’d contacted the Alpha and tried setting up a night meeting. Tried…and failed. The man had been adamant that daylight was better—something about mountain roads and darkness not mixing. Still, as much as he wanted to get to work, Levi didn’t complain. That delay gave him an evening to explore the snow-covered forests, something his wolf was really looking forward to after so long in Texas.

But first, he needed to find something to eat.

He passed a restaurant on the main strip, but it was definitely closed. Figuring there had to be more than just the one diner, he circled the few streets that made up what must have been considered “downtown.” No luck. Every business was closed for the night.

“Not even a damn bar to grab a beer.” Levi drove for a bit, heading farther out of town. Shops and homes blended into fields and woods, which gave way to a factory or two. Then a truck stop and…

What do you know?

Johnnie’s Tap Room sat on the side of the road, a dark building with fluorescent lights in the windows calling out some solid American beer choices. There was even a sign advertising their burgers.

“Finally.” Levi swung his truck into a parking spot and hopped out. The scent of burnt something permeated the air, thick enough for him to recoil from it even in his human form. Probably some sort of pollution from the manufacturing facilities, though he couldn’t be sure. But as he took a step around his truck, Levi also caught the smell of shifter. Wolf shifter, to be exact. That piqued his interest. If the local pack hung out here, he might be able to get a little early recon in before tomorrow’s meeting.

As Levi approached the bar, his relief at finding someplace open turned to something closer to disgust. The lot was littered with garbage and broken glass, at least the spots that weren’t rutted and cracked. The windows were blacked out, the paint peeling from the walls, and the door halfway off its hinges. The place was a total dive. Inside the building wasn’t much better than out—beat-up bar, chipped tables, and worn-out chairs furnished the single room. Not even a pool table or dart board to be seen. Levi didn’t normally need much in the way of ambiance, but Johnnie’s Tap Room pushed that fact hard.

“What can I get ya?” the old man behind the bar asked, not even bothering to look up at the newcomer.

“Burger and a beer.”

“Regular or unleaded?”

Levi didn’t answer at first, not until the guy waved at the taps in front of him. Two types of beer. Same brand, one a lower-calorie version. Guess those lights in the windows lied a bit.

“Regular.”

The man nodded as Levi took a seat. A beer appeared before him before the bartender headed to the back. Levi figured he was probably off to microwave something that would possibly resemble meat. If he was lucky.

“New blood in town, I see.”

The smell of shifter hit him just before a man took the seat next to his. Tall but wiry, the stranger had the look of a nomad. A rogue, if you would. A lone wolf without a pack or a place to call home. Levi wasn’t the biggest fan of true nomads—something about not being in a stable pack messed with their minds. True, he tended to live a nomadic life himself, hopping from place to place and town to town, always on the move, but he had a pack. He had the other Dires. He was stable. True nomads had none of that—but the guy appeared harmless enough.

“Just driving through.” Levi took a sip of his beer, nearly hissing at the warm swill. “Shit.”

The guy chuckled. “Yeah, should have warned you. That whole cold beer thing is a fallacy.” He shook his glass, one filled with beer…and ice.

Levi pushed his beer aside. No beer was better than beer on ice. “You part of the pack around here?”

“Nope.” The guy shook his head and chuckled darkly. “I’m not really a big fan of group events.”

Levi grunted. He’d been right—nomad. Unable to resist, he slipped his phone out of his pocket. If he held it just so, angled it just right, he could get a pretty good profile shot. He needed a picture in case the guy ever ended up the focus of a mission.

Nomads tended to lose control of their humanity over time. The Dires had seen it time and again, but they didn’t act unless the nomad became a threat to their world. This guy wasn’t a threat as far as he could see—not yet, at least—but he liked to be prepared.

As he fiddled with his phone as if texting someone, Levi was able to grab a good five shots of the nomad from a couple of angles. His team would be pleased. He was the group photographer, had been since he stuck two boxes together and used mercury vapor to develop images more than a century before he walked into Johnnie’s. He had a whole collection consisting of pictures of the shifters he’d met over time. Pack leaders, regional heads, important men and women who helped push wolf shifter politics and lifestyle. Taking the pictures had started as a hobby to him. But over the last few decades, his photos had become important to the Dires, so he focused mostly on nomads. The fuckers were dangerous, and having an image of a suspect helped his teammate, Bez, track them down.

Done with his picture sneaking, Levi was about to toss a twenty on the counter and head back for his truck when a pretty woman with a big smile walked up and pressed herself into his side. Definitely human, by the smell of her.

“You order the burger, honey?”

Now that was more his speed. Nice curves, pretty face, and a look in her eye that said she was hungry. Plus, she was bringing him food. Total win. “That’s me. Do I get a piece of you on the side?”

Her giggle scraped at his nerves, but he smiled through it. A full belly and a little naked time with a pretty woman seemed like one hell of a way to relax before he started his mission tomorrow.

The waitress set a full plate in front of him, making sure to rub her ample chest against his arm. “I’m Ashley, and I’m here if you need anything.”

Yeah, he needed something all right. “I’m Levi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She gave him a solid eye-fuck before squeezing his wrist. “You come find me when you’re through.”

Jackpot. “Sure thing, Ashley.”

His shifter friend on the stool chuckled softly, but Levi ignored him. He had food, bad beer, and the chance at some pussy. What more could he ask for? Almost bouncing in his seat, he took a big bite of his burger.

And immediately regretted it.

The guy next to him straight up guffawed. “Could have told you that was a bad idea, too.”

Levi spat the definitely-not-food into a napkin. “Burgers and pizza are like sex—even when they’re bad, they’re good. How can something that should be good be so very bad?”

“Bar owner can’t cook for shit but thinks he’s fucking Guy Fieri. Now, the diner in town? Pure heaven.” His eyes got a dreamy sort of look in them, and he shook his head. “Man. Best food I’ve ever had.”

Levi scowled at the thing that was supposed to be a burger. “It looked closed when I drove through.”

“Yeah, only breakfast and lunch.”

“Figures.” Levi shoved the food away and glared at his warm, pisslike beer. The night had gone from bland to horrible in a sip and a bite; not even the promise of a little attention from Ashley could save it. He was done. He’d rather go wolf, do a little hunting on four legs, and jack off in the shower than try to choke down that piece of not-food just to get into a chick’s pants.

“Heading out?” the shifter next to him asked as Levi stood up.

He held a hand out to the man. “Definitely. I’d rather chase a few rabbits than suffer this shit.”

“There’s plenty of those up in these hills.” The man shook his hand, his eyes roaming the bar. Before he let go, he leaned in and lowered his voice. “Watch yourself leaving here, all right?”

Great. Just what Levi needed…a cryptic warning from a nomad. “Yeah. Sure. You, too. Have a good night.”

The shifter turned back to his beer and nodded, but he offered nothing more. Levi left without another thought, striding through the door into the nasty-smelling air outside. Maybe that stench wasn’t from the factories as he’d originally thought. Maybe it was from the owner’s attempts at cooking. He could see that since his mouth pretty much tasted as foul as the air after that bite of not-a-hamburger.

“Hey, handsome,” Ashley called, appearing like some sort of dream girl in one of his fantasies…or nightmares, really. Could go either way. “Think you can come here and give me a hand with something?”

Levi sighed. His truck was right there, just a few cars down. The last thing he wanted to do was have to jump her dead battery or fix something on her car. But he was a gentleman and had been trained to be helpful and work as a team. Ashley didn’t seem to have a team, and who knew what would happen to her if he walked away.

“Sure. Of course.” Levi trudged across the broken parking lot cement, hoping whatever she needed help with could be quick. He was no longer in the mood for anything she could offer him.

Ashley was tucked between a car and a larger truck, looking nervous and almost shy. That sent Levi’s hackles flying. The chick had practically given him a rubdown. She was definitely not shy.

“What’s up, Ashley?”

She shrugged. “Want me to suck your cock?”

Normally, Levi would probably categorize that as the stupidest question ever. Lips on cock was a definite yes. But her placement between the vehicles, the way she was acting, the fact that he couldn’t smell anything past the stench of burnt food in the air…all put his guard up. “No, I don’t.”

Her face fell, and she glanced toward the truck for a split second. Got it…the threat would come from there. Levi edged back, leaving room so he couldn’t be taken by surprise from the side or back.

“C’mon,” Ashley said, beginning to appear almost manic. “I won’t even charge ya nothing.”

Oh, fuck.
Levi sighed and slid his fingers over the hilt of the knife he always carried, just to make sure it was there. This was definitely about to get ugly. “I’m not interested in what you’re selling, Ashley. And if your pimp is around here somewhere, waiting to pull some sort of beatdown on me for turning you down, he’d better make his ass known now. I’m not waiting around all night.”

Her face went pale, too pale, and she glanced at the truck again. Levi rolled his eyes and headed for his own truck, swinging wide around the tailgate of the one where he expected a man was sitting in wait. Ashley wasn’t a true pro; she’d probably never completed any sort of sexual act with a so-called customer. She was a pawn in a bigger scheme. Drunk men offered blow jobs in the parking lot? Their pants would be on the concrete faster than a flicked cigarette butt. And that’s when the guy would hit, probably roughing the johns up, maybe stealing a wallet. A little cash for basically no work.

But Levi wasn’t about to be their next victim.

“Have a good night, Ashley.”

“Wait,” she screeched, staying behind the bed of that truck but waving wildly. “I can give you what you need, handsome. I do everything.”

Levi shook his head and continued walking. What he needed? That was a good meal and an even better lay, followed by some serious running as a wolf. He doubted he’d get any of that in the parking lot of a dive like this one.

“Not interested.”

The sound of a truck door opening behind him was enough to pull Levi up short.
And so it begins…

“The lady’s offering you her wares.”

Levi didn’t even bother turning around. Not yet. “I said I’m not interested.”

The click of a gun being cocked changed his mind, though.
This motherfucker…

Levi turned and dropped his hand to where his knife hung, ready to pull it out at a moment’s notice. Phego had customized every pair of Levi’s cargo pants so he could carry his combat knife without others seeing it. A tough job to do considering the size of the thing.

“I think maybe you should toss me your wallet,” the guy said with an actual smirk on his ugly face. As if he’d already won. As if Levi were some sort of scared little bunny because Smirker there could load a handgun. It would take a perfect headshot to take a shifter down, and Levi was too quick and too agile to give anyone a chance at a shot like that.

The guy had seriously misjudged his prey.

“I think you should take your last chance to walk the fuck away.”

The guy’s smirk faltered, but he didn’t lower the gun. “What’d you say?”

Levi pulled his SOG from his holster, gripping the handle loosely. Over a foot long from tip to pommel, his SOG SEAL Knife 2000 was his most cherished weapon. Sharp, deadly, and well-balanced, it was a tool made for fighting in close quarters. Some guys preferred guns, some explosives. Levi liked blades. He liked fighting up close and personal. And right then, he really liked the idea of taking this motherfucker down. Gun or no gun.

The guy made another misjudgment when he saw the knife, choosing to laugh instead of run. “Wait. Did you really bring a knife to a gun fight? That’s fucking rich, man.”

Levi just smiled, waiting. Ready.

When Levi didn’t respond, choosing instead to hold the man in a predatory stare, the guy grew antsy. He fidgeted more, the hand holding the gun dropping then coming back up. His feet shuffling a bit. He had no idea how to deal with a man like Levi, which was a pretty normal response. Not a lot of human men would have any idea how to handle a fight with a wolf shifter, let alone a Dire Wolf.

But dumb men made dumb decisions. The guy must have run out of patience, because he glowered at Levi and raised the gun again, looking ready to kill. Levi shook his head and pounced, closing the gap between them in a single bound. That threw his opponent off-balance, which made him drop his arm. The one holding the gun. Again.

This guy had no clue how to actually fight.