Linda Thomas-Sundstrom - Code Wolf

Dale’s message came through loud and clear. “I wouldn’t recommend taking that next step, boss. And I think you know why.”

Well...maybe he did know why.

And maybe he didn’t have to like it.

Riley stared out the window of the police cruiser until her chills had subsided, but hadn’t gotten anywhere in terms of finding her rescuers. When she thought she saw something, it turned out to be nothing more than a passing flash of tanned flesh seen against a dark backdrop, and could have been anyone.

She didn’t speak to the two cops in the front seat. It angered her to think that she had nearly been a victim of a violent crime, and that she might have placed herself in danger by following a whim.

“Turn right, here,” she finally said as the cruiser approached the parking spot where she had left her car. “This is it.”

No longer feeling quite so weak or frightened, Riley opened the door and got out on steady legs. Her hands didn’t shake when she brushed her hair back from her face.

“You’ll be okay?” one of the officers asked.

“Yes. Thanks for your help.” She fished in the pocket of her skirt for her car key. “I’ll be fine.”

“We’ll follow you home, all the same,” the cop said.

She hated to turn down an offer like that. The only problem was that she had to. The car key wasn’t in her pocket. The damn thing was missing. Short of heading back to the site of the incident to look for it, the only way she was going to get home would be to either take a bus, or have these nice officers drive her. Then she’d have to break into her house because she had left her purse, which contained the rest of her keys, locked inside the car.

Riley blinked slowly to absorb all of that.

The alternative was to go to her office, where she kept spare keys. The building’s night watchman would let her in to get them. Although she didn’t particularly like the idea of going into that building alone after what had happened tonight, it would be all right. Plenty of people worked late, and the building was well lit and secure.

“Thanks for the offer. I need to go back to work first to pick up a few things. My office is just down the street,” Riley said.

The cop that had helped her out of the patrol car nodded as he peered into her car. “No key?”

“I seem to have lost it,” she admitted.

“I can help with that lock.”

He had it open in less than thirty seconds with a slim-jim device, and it was difficult for Riley to hide her relief. But it still didn’t help in the long run, since she couldn’t start the car without that blasted key.

After retrieving her purse, Riley glanced at the cop and shrugged. “I’ll be fine now.” She waved a hand at the street. “There are lots of people around.”

“You sure?” the cop asked.

“Positive.”

He nodded again. “Please come to the precinct tomorrow for a more formal statement. And take care.”

“I’ll do both of those things,” Riley said.

She searched the street in all directions when the patrol car drove away, knowing she had to get going, but unable to shake the feeling of being watched. More imagination?

Instead of wondering who had made those howling sounds that had kicked the night into high gear, she now wanted to punch that person for his or her part in nearly getting her killed.

Derek couldn’t help taking a closer look at the woman whose rapid steps gave away little of what she had been through tonight. His packmate’s expression was filled with sympathy, but there was only so far a Were could go in a disagreement with his alpha. And Derek had never been mistaken for stupid.

Both he and Dale were in human form again. Derek’s nerves were charged from changing back and forth so many times in a single night. Shape-shifting came with a cost, and he was experiencing that cost now. Prolonged time spent as a wolfed-up version of himself not only heightened his senses for a long time afterward, but actually also left him feeling kind of beastly.

His animal instincts were working overtime at the moment and directing him to go after the woman who had looked into his eyes not more than an hour ago. He had questions about her that needed answers. For instance...how had she seemed to have gotten past the incident so quickly? She was carrying on as if nothing had happened.

She was tough, at least on the outside.

He liked that.

Who are you? I wonder.

Dale leaned against an ivy-covered wall, content for the time being to have dealt the vampires a warning blow. But in terms of the antics brought about by a full moon, the night was still young. Hell, the hunting hadn’t even really begun.

“Happy now?” Dale asked, stripping most of the wryness from his tone.

“I wonder where she’s going,” Derek said.

“Maybe she has a hot date.”

Though Derek gave Dale a long glance, Dale persisted. “A hot human date.”

Jealousy was an ugly emotion that Derek understood all too well, having had a tough time watching his ex and her new lover together. Still, he experienced a brief pang of jealousy now for whatever lucky bastard had this woman’s attention.

“We’d better check in with the pack,” he said, ready to put his muscles to more good use. He couldn’t just follow the woman to wherever she was going because of a wayward bit of electricity that had flared between them earlier, or because of the fact that he still felt that electrical buzz when they weren’t anywhere close.

He had lost sight of her, and shrugged off the desire to follow. There were more important things to take care of in the city’s shadows. Other Weres would be out and about now, and as the alpha of a Seattle pack, he was needed for his directions.

Coming from his human throat, the growl he issued sounded downright rude. Even as his boots thudded on the asphalt and he moved in the direction of the last skirmish with the vampires, he felt the tug to turn around. It had been a long time since his allegiance had wavered between duty and a woman, and he had solemnly vowed never to let that happen again.

From several steps behind him, Derek heard Dale say, “Good choice.”

After Riley reached her office, the thought of going outside again wasn’t appealing. She had made it this far without collapsing, but wasn’t sure she could keep up the farce for much longer. Although her dad had long ago taught her about the art of the good cop face, no one was around now for her to have to pretend with.

She wasn’t all right. The shaking had started up again, so hard that Riley had to sit down. All the moments leading up to this one merged into a single thread of riotous emotion.

She had not made up any of this. Just because tonight’s events were over didn’t necessarily mean she could move forward without recriminations. She had paid dearly for her stupidity, sure, but why did she have to feel so stupid now? Why did she want to march back out there as soon as her legs were capable of carrying her and find the men who had rescued her from harm?

Hero envy was an emotion she was familiar with. In her job, she had dealt with a few cases of people who had come close to death. And though it was true that she could empathize, and invest in years of clinical-training work in order to try to help others, being affected by such a thing herself was a different ball game.

Cops had always been her heroes. Had those two guys been undercover? Maybe she’d see them tomorrow at the precinct and get a better look at them.

She rubbed her temples with cool fingers and sat back, aware of a growing ache in the spot on the back of her head where it had struck the brick. Her fingers drifted to the cheek her rescuer had touched. She remembered it all as if it had been etched on her brain.