As they lay in bed, panting after another rousing session, he rolled over toward her, tracing a single finger down the slope of her perfect breasts and looked at her.
“What have you done to me, Lucy Jameson? Is this what happens between people after traumatic events? They turn into sex fiends?”
“It means we were meant for one another,” she told him. “Didn’t you tell me that?”
‘I did and I believe that, wholeheartedly.”
The moment was shattered by his phone ringing nearby. Ryan looked at it and accepted the call.
“Whatcha got for me?”
“Not great news.”
“Tell it.”
“Is Lucy nearby? Can she hear me?” he asked.
“Um, no. Let me get a piece of paper,” Ryan said, stalling and making an excuse to get farther away in case she could hear at some point. He picked up a notepad and pen from the small counter in the kitchenette and sat down on the sofa, away from her. “Alright.”
“There are bodies in the factory. Do you know who they are?”
“No. I mean, not the ones that were there when we got there. Other than that, it was Jameson and some of his heavies.”
“Good enough. They’ll chalk it up to some sort of drug gang violence. Either one of them set off something in the warehouse or a third party banger blew them both the fuck up. You should know that they are pretty sure one of them is Jameson though. He was apparently thrown free and only partially burned. Weird burn marks though.”
Ryan knew what caused the weird burn marks. Jameson likely was caught in the explosion as a wolf and thrown free. His body returned to human form once he was out of the blaze, leaving some burn markers that would make complete sense to a wolf, but confuse any human trying to determine how they had occurred.
“Okay. I don’t know how that’s going to go over but no changing the facts. You’re sure?’
“Ninety percent.”
“What else?”
“Nothing. That’s it. I think it’s safe for the pair of you to come home. Jameson’s little enterprise will fall apart without him to head it and there is no reason for anyone else to bother Lucy with her father gone.”
“You’re certain?’
“Yep. Get back here. I need a partner. It’s rough out there, you know. Now that we know who was behind this upsurge in crime and shitty drugs, we’ve still got some cleaning up to do in our little neighborhood.”
“Alright, we’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we’ve got plans for tonight.”
Tate chuckled and ended the call without another word.
“Did I hear you say we can go home?” Lucy asked.
“Yes, but there is something else, Lucy.”
“What?”
“Your father.”
“What about him? Surely he knows better than to keep up whatever he’s been doing if it’s going to result in my being abducted. He does, doesn’t he?”
“You won’t have to worry about that anymore, Lucy. Your father is dead.”
She stood still for a moment, frozen.
“They killed him? Did they get away?”
“No one got away. I don’t know how it happened yet, but the factory blew up with people in it. No one seems to have escaped. I’m sorry.”
She pursed her lips and nodded, but there were no tears.
“Thanks for telling me.”
“Let’s get out of here. I’ll take you to a nice hotel for the night, where we can have a proper dinner and soak in a tub before we go back home.”
“That sounds divine.”
“I think so too.”
Ryan had a sinking feeling that they hadn’t seen the end of this. It just seemed too simple that everyone was dead and no one was concerned about it. These things had a way of snowballing into a much bigger thing than they needed to be. Still, he’d just have to be vigilant. His biggest concern was keeping Lucy safe, but he couldn’t hide her in an old grocery store forever.
Of course, his concerns are validated once they return home and he learns about some new developments. Tate has been working the case and dug up more information on the Jameson operation. He learns that while it appeared the rival gang had made the call on nabbing Lucy, it was actually someone involved in Jameson’s company creating a chaotic situation that he planned to scoop in and take full advantage of.
“They’re looking for Lucy and her father,” Tate told him.
“Who is?”
Jameson’s people. They think that he’s hiding out after having gotten her out. They’ve seen her and knows she is back at home.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ryan groaned. “I’ve got to get to Lucy.”
“No. I’ve got two guys keeping an eye on her.”
“Does she know?”
“No and I need you to stay away from her for a bit.”
“What? Why?”
“You’re not going to like this, but I need to flush them out. We wait until they think she’s alone and try to move in, then we take them down.”
“Nope. You’re not using her as bait. No way.”