N. Walters - Legacy Found

“Is anything wrong?” Now James could hear Joshua in the background demanding to speak to him.

Hoping to avoid causing any disharmony between his daughter and her husband, he hurried to reassure her. “Everything is fine.”

He started to tell her about Shelley, but hesitated. He heard the door to the bathroom open, but Shelley didn’t come out. He walked across the room and gently pushed the door. She stood there looking both defiant and slightly guilty.

He motioned her out. Alex’s voice filled his ear but he hadn’t heard a word she’d said. All of him was focused on Shelley. “Just a second, honey.”

He put his hand over the phone. Shelley raised her left eyebrow in question. “That’s Alex. Is it okay if I tell her about you?”

Shelley’s eyes widened and he knew he’d surprised her by asking. Normally he wouldn’t have, but Shelley was special. He wanted her to feel more in control of her situation. That was the key to keeping her happy and close to him while he untangled all the emotions and instincts she brought out in him.

“Sure.”

James put the phone back to his ear. Alex was gone and Joshua was on the line demanding answers. “Everything is fine,” he growled. “Just shut up and listen, Joshua.” He tacked on the last when Shelley’s eyes widened and she took a step away from him. She’d thought he was still talking to his daughter instead of his son-in-law. Not that she looked reassured. She sidled over to her bag, giving him a wide berth.

“Listen up, Striker.” James was going to beat his second-in-command when he got home if he didn’t close his mouth and pay attention. Thankfully, Joshua went quiet on the other end. “I got delayed and I’m bringing home a guest.”

“Who?” James could hear the caution in Joshua’s voice.

“A female I ran across working as a waitress in a roadside diner. She’s a wolf, but she has no idea where she comes from or who her family is.”

“Half-breed?”

That could be a problem with some of the pack, but not with most. Alex was a half-breed and his people had learned he would not tolerate any slight to her. “Don’t know.”

That would be the first order of business when he got back to Wolf Creek. He’d talk to Shelley. Maybe he’d have Alex talk to her. She might open up more to another female. Anything she could remember about her childhood would help them uncover her past.

“Good enough.” That’s what he liked about his son-in-law. He didn’t waste words. There was no doubt in Joshua’s mind that she’d be staying. No decent werewolf would leave a female of their species alone and undefended.

“Let me talk to Alex.” He knew Shelley was listening to every word he said. Could probably hear every word Joshua spoke too. She rooted through her paper bag and dug out an elastic band and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. James frowned. He liked it down.

He heard Joshua murmur and then his daughter was back on the phone. “You’re bringing a woman home with you?” James smiled at her tone, a mixture of amazement and curiosity. “Who is she? Where did you find her?”

“Tomorrow, Alex. You’ll meet Shelley tomorrow.”

Alex sighed. “I’ll wait, if I must.”

“You must.” He smiled, easily picturing her teasing expression. “See you tomorrow.”

“Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, honey.” He ended the call and tucked his phone back in his pocket.

Shelley was waiting for him, an expression of amazement on her face. “What?”

She shook her head and said nothing.

James shrugged. Who could understand the mind of a female? “How about we go and get some dinner?”

“Sounds good to me, but only if you let me pay.”

James shrugged. “We can talk about that after we’ve eaten.” No way was he letting her pay for his meal. He wanted to take care of her. That included making sure she didn’t go hungry.

He also needed some time away from those beds. A bead of sweat rolled down his back. Tonight was going to be tough. Sleeping near Shelley, but not able to touch her.

He wasn’t looking forward to it.

He grabbed the keycard from the dresser and swept out his arm. “After you.”

“What have you got for me, Red?” Steve Macmillan tucked his phone between his ear and his shoulder. He had a pen and a notebook ready.

“It’s registered to some sort of company. LeVeau Holdings. The company has been around about thirty years or so.”

“Do you have an address?” Impatience rang in his voice.

“Well, that’s the problem.” He could hear Red scratching his beard and knew the older man would talk in his own time. If it had been one of his own men, he’d have been yelling at him about now. But Red was an old friend of his father’s, practically an uncle. He was also one of the few people in the world that Steve respected, so he gave the man more leeway than he gave others.

“It’s registered to some fancy pants lawyers in Chicago.”

“Huh.” That in itself was interesting. There’d been a lot of werewolf activity in that city over the past year. “Get Sawyer on it.” If anyone could hack into the lawyer’s computer system it was Sawyer. “Have him do whatever needs doing. I want to find out who that guy was.” More than that, he wanted to know who his passenger was.

“I’m on it.”

“In the meantime, circulate that license plate number. I want to know if anyone sees that truck. I’m heading to North Carolina tomorrow. There have been some rumors out there. I’m going to do a bit of nosing around.”

“You want me to send anyone?”

Steve thought about it for a moment. “Yeah. Send Quinn and Mitch.” If shit went down, he wanted a front line of defense.

“Will do. You take care, boy.”

“I will, Red.” He hung up and tucked his phone away. His stomach growled. Time to get himself a good meal. He stood, grabbed his jacket and slipped it on. Maybe he’d stop into a local bar and see if he couldn’t find himself a willing woman. He was horny and tense. A night of fucking would go a long way toward alleviating both those problems.

He headed out, locking the motel room door behind him.

Quinn’s phone let out a jangle and he answered it before it could ring again. “Quinn.”

“Get your ass to North Carolina.” Red rattled off a motel address. “Steve will meet you there.” Red was the only one who called Macmillan by his first name. They went back a long way as far as Quinn could tell.

“I’m gone.” He hung up and stared out his truck window. He hadn’t even reached the apartment the hunters kept in Kentucky, where he was going to be stationed for the foreseeable future.

These guys seemed to have unlimited resources with apartments in many major cities. Quinn knew they also had isolated cabins all over the country.

“Fuck!” He slammed his hand against the steering wheel, ignoring the sharp pain radiating up his arm. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He was bone tired and sick at heart. He’d been at this for so long he could barely remember what life was like before he’d joined the bounty hunters.

“Suck it up,” he muttered. He briefly closed his eyes, reaching out mentally, searching for that indescribable link he’d always had with his twin. Nothing. But Quinn knew in his heart his other half was still alive. That was what kept him going.

Putting the truck in gear, he started driving. It was going to be a long night.

Shelley was feeling pleasantly full as she walked into their motel room almost an hour later. “That was delicious.” She knew she’d already said that three times, but it was true. She’d never eaten fettuccine alfredo before and she’d loved every mouthful of it.