Running from...: A Blackrock Wolf Pack Novel, page 9
I was surprised that I had managed to sleep like the dead last night. After all the drama with my car, it wouldn’t have shocked me if nightmares had plagued my sleep, but I slept like a log. It probably helped to know that Deacon had someone watching the house for me and it was a relief to know that I would be waking with a clear head after a good night’s rest. A foggy head wouldn’t have been conducive to all the phone calls I would have to face this morning.
Hitting up my contacts, I rang Ana. She picked up on the first ring.
“Ellis?”
“It’s me.”
“Oh my God, are you okay? We heard what happened.”
I thought I would wait until morning to text and let them know, but obviously, the Blackrock Grapevine worked faster than I did. At least I would know better next time, not that I was hoping that there would be a next time. “I’m fine. It’s just a car. Hopefully, the spray paint should just wash off.”
“But are you sure you’re okay?”
She sounded so worried it made me feel guilty that I didn’t text her straight away last night.
The rest of the conversation was filled with me assuring her I was okay and that I didn’t need anyone to come and sit with me. It was just a car after all. Then I called Rachel, Veronika, and Connie and had the same conversations with them.
Coffee. I was in dire need of caffeine. It wasn’t often that I had so many conversations before I had even had my first cup of coffee of the day. They were all lucky that I was able to remain civil without that nectar running through my veins.
Walking downstairs, I flicked the lights on and walked into the kitchen, turned on the coffee machine, and waited impatiently. Everything was quiet and felt normal. I almost didn’t want to look outside and see my car.
It was nothing really. A bit of vandalism. It was probably just kids or mistaken identity, nothing to worry about. Or at least that was what I was trying to convince myself. If I couldn’t see it, there was nothing to worry about. I guess you could say I was like an ostrich in that respect; burying my head in the sand while I hoped the problem would go away by itself. Pathetic, but true.
Grabbing the steaming cup of coffee, I perched on one of the stools and stared out the window at the blank, white nothingness of my back garden. I had lucked out with this house. The couple who had lived here before had moved to be closer to their son, but it was clear how much they loved the garden even if the house needed a bit of work. And I was going to have to work on keeping the garden up to standard. I didn’t exactly have green fingers or a lot of time to spend out there in the summer, but I wouldn’t let all their hard work go to waste. I could only imagine what it would look like in the spring.
A knock at the door brought me out of my thoughts. Placing the mug on the counter, I ran a hand through my hair to make sure I was somewhat presentable and walked to the front door. Peeking through the window, I saw it was Deacon.
“Morning,” I said as cheerfully as I could muster seeing as I was still half asleep and in my pajamas.
“Good morning, Ellis.” Deacon nodded at me. “Can I come in for a moment?”
“Sure, sure. Come on in.” I opened the door wider and waved a hand towards the living room. “Have you heard anything?”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We’ve asked around and no one witnessed the vandalism.”
“Okay…” I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say to that. I didn’t think he would go to all this trouble for just a bit of mindless vandalism.
“Even with a lack of evidence, I went to speak to Damon.”
The way he looked at me, I didn’t think that visit had gone well. “Oh.” As much as Connie had been inflexible on her opinion that Damon was behind it, I didn’t think it was fair to lay the blame at his door without hard evidence.
“Yeah, exactly. He was adamant that he didn’t do it, but he also didn’t appreciate me pointing the finger his way. So, basically what I’m saying is, we can’t do much about what happened with your car, but I want you to be vigilant.”
“You think whoever did it could get violent? And you still think it could be Damon?”
Deacon shook his head. “I’m just saying be careful.”
“But it might have just been kids.” Even in somewhere as quiet as Blackrock, they had to have their fair share of crime, especially with The Cabins being on their doorstep. Just because the people who stayed there were rich, it didn’t mean that they always were on the right side of the law.
“It might have, but I still want you to be careful. This is a quiet town and stuff like this doesn’t happen too often, but you can never be too careful.”
“Okay, I’ll keep my eyes open for anything unusual.”
“Good, good. Call me if you need anything.”
I put my empty coffee mug on the coffee table and ran a hand through my hair. “Will do.”
Deacon stiffened and stared at me blankly for a moment and I smiled at him awkwardly before he blinked and pushed himself up from the stool he had been perched on.
I followed him to the door and paused when he turned back to look at me. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You’re out here alone.”
Well, that didn’t make me feel much better. “Are you trying to make me nervous?” I laughed, although it sounded false even to my ears. “I’m fine. Honestly.”
“You’ve got my card if you need me, right?”
“I do and don’t forget; Connie only lives a couple of doors up. She’s scary enough to chase off anyone who wants to mess with me.”
I meant it as a joke, but clearly, Deacon did not think this was a laughing matter. “You need to take your safety seriously.”
“Sorry, sorry. I do, I promise.”
He gave me one last stern look before turning back to walk down the path to his car.
As I was shutting the door, I heard a voice call out and saw that Connie was hurrying over from her house. She paused to speak to Deacon for a moment before he drove off and then she made her way up to my door.
“Well, aren’t you going to invite me in?” she snapped as she pushed her way past me.
“It doesn’t seem like you need an invitation,” I muttered under my breath. “You want coffee?”
“A big one. Please.” Connie fell back into the cushions of my comfortable sofa and closed her eyes.
I guess that was one thing we had in common, not being able to function as polite human beings before caffeine had been ingested.
Hearing her mumble something, but not able to make out what she said, I called through to her, “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“I said, the girls are on their way here.”
Really? Why did everyone wake up so early around here? Was I the only one who enjoyed peace and quiet and lie-ins on the weekends?
Downing my coffee, the rush of liquid burned my throat as it went down. Taking in Connie’s cup, I placed it on the coffee table and told her I was going upstairs to get dressed before the others arrived. She grunted at me and grabbed her mug, clearly craving the caffeine more than she did the conversation with me.
Taking my underwear, jeans, and my favorite black cashmere sweater into the bathroom with me, I decided I didn’t care if I had enough time for a shower, I was going to have one whether the entire town was sitting in my living room or not.
As much as I love my newfound friendships and however grateful I was that they have all taken me into their circle, I appreciated my mornings alone to shower and to wake up in my own given time. But I had a feeling that this sort of home invasion was something I was going to have to get used to.
Stepping out from under the torrent of water, I felt refreshed and wide awake. As I was toweling myself off and getting my clothes on, I wished I’d had enough time to shower and make myself more presentable before Deacon had called.
Putting on a light slick of make-up and pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I grabbed my scent eliminator and sprayed it liberally from head to toe. Putting the ornate bottle back on the shelf, I froze like a statue.
Deacon had called before I had my shower.
Deacon had acted strangely.
I hadn’t topped up my scent eliminator before he came in.
Oh crap.
Chapter Seven
Charlie: True friendship is walking into a person’s house and the Wi-Fi connects automatically.
Ellis: Are you trying to tell me you forgot to pay your bills again?
Charlie: You know me so well
As grumpy as I felt fifteen minutes ago, I had to bite back the smile that my lips tried to form when I saw all the girls sitting in my living room with cups of coffee and an array of doughnuts sitting on my coffee table.
The whole situation with Deacon was something I was going to have to think about later. Perhaps he hadn’t scented that I was a wolf? He acted strangely, but surely he would have confronted me. After all, I was a wolf from another pack and I was in his territory without his permission. It was wolf law that if you were in another territory, you would seek permission from the local Alpha, which needless to say I hadn’t seeing as I was working on an investigation.
“Hey, you.” Ana stood up as soon as she saw me walk in. “We brought breakfast as an apology for dropping in unannounced.”
“We weren’t going to wait around for you to invite us over, not after it took you so long to call.” Ronnie reached forward for a doughnut.
“I didn’t want you all to worry.”
“Well, we worried more when we couldn’t get hold of you,” snapped Veronika.
“I was sleeping!” I replied with a surprised giggle.
“That’s no excuse,” Ronnie grumped.
I couldn’t be mad at them, especially seeing as they had come to make sure I was okay. Leaning over to grab a doughnut, I smiled, “Thanks, I’m starving.”
“Here, I made you a coffee.” Rachel pointed towards the full mug on the table.
Taking my coffee, I almost groaned as I bit into the doughnut. Nothing beats freshly baked doughnuts, still warm and crispy.
“So, what are you going to do about your car?” Veronika asked.
“More importantly, what are you going to do about that jerk Damon,” Connie tutted and reached for another doughnut. She looked a little less cranky now that she’d had her fill with coffee and was being fed.
“We don’t know he did it.”
Connie scoffed. “Of course, we know he did it. That’s the sort of juvenile thing he’d do.”
“Connie, ease up on Damon. You don’t know what he’s got going on in his life.” Ronnie shook her head.
“And you do.”
“I’ve got some idea,” she replied quietly.
“Well, I don’t give a shit. I think he did it,” Connie said defiantly.
“Has he done something like this before?” Although the thought had crossed my mind previously, I hadn’t come out and asked them before, but it seemed important now. I wanted to know what I was up against if indeed it was him. Perhaps this behavior spoke volumes and he was involved in the attacks? Anything was possible and it wouldn’t hurt to gather all the information I could.
The girls all looked at each other, but it was Ana who spoke up. “Well, there’s nothing that could be pinned on him. It’s all just rumor.”
“So, we can’t be sure it was him.” I would rather think it wasn’t and blame it on some unruly kids. If it was either Rob or Damon, then the situation could get infinitesimally worse.
They all stayed quiet. We ate and drank in silence, only punctuated by the occasional tut from Connie.
“Look, I know you all think he’s a pushy asshole, but I don’t think he would stoop to something like this. He wouldn’t put Harley at risk like that,” Veronika said as she kept her eyes on her coffee mug.
“I agree.” Ana nodded. “I just don’t think this would be his style.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Connie mumbled grumpily, not happy she was being outvoted.
“Give him a break, Connie,” Ronnie snapped. “He’s been through some shit and can be a bit of a loser, but he wouldn’t sink this low.”
“So, if you don’t want to talk about the car and you don’t want to talk about Damon, do you want to talk about Deacon?” Rachel said as she smirked at her lap.
“What do you mean?” I decided to play dumb.
She burst out laughing, “Come on, I’ve seen the way you look at him.”
Playing dumb didn’t get me very far. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As much as I enjoyed girl talk, talking about Deacon was off-limits. As the Alpha, he was an integral part of my investigation so I couldn’t get involved with him personally even if I wanted to. “I don’t even know him.”
“But he’s a fine hunk of man, isn’t he? I wouldn’t kick him out of bed, that’s for sure.” Connie chuckled. She may be the oldest of the group by almost half a century, but she was also the most opinionated and didn’t hold back.
“Look, I haven’t really thought about it.” I knew it was bullshit the moment the words came out of my mouth, but I didn’t want to talk about Deacon. “What are you all doing today?”
Ana smiled at me, knowing I was trying to divert the conversation. “We’re all working later but wanted to come and check on you first.”
“I’m not working later,” Connie muttered.
“But you’ll be in the bar, so it’s pretty much the same thing.” Ana smiled warmly at her, obviously not noticing the grumpiness of her words or wisely ignoring it.
“I might come down to the diner for something to eat later.”
“We’ve got our famous apple pie today.” Rachel grinned.
“Then I’ll definitely call in.”
We sat in silence for a few more minutes while they demolished the last of the doughnuts and finished off their coffees.
Standing up, Veronika led them all out with promises that they would call me later and see how I was doing. I assured them that it was just a car and they didn’t have to worry, but it seemed like this kind of thing was something out of the ordinary around here and they weren’t sure how to deal with it.
Once I had the house to myself again, I got on the phone with Charlie and brought him up to date with the details. There was no way I was going to drive my car around when it still had all that spray paint on it, especially not with the things that were on it. I wasn’t sure whether to mention if I thought Deacon was suspicious, but in the end, I did. If Deacon knew what I was, it would affect the investigation.
It took a while to reassure Charlie that I was okay. He also had always had a bad feeling about Damon Greene, and he was adamant that she thought he was behind it, too. Connie would be happy that there was someone in strong agreement with her. However, he couldn’t rule out the idea that it could be Rob and promised to send out a team to my pack to have a word with my Alpha. He would have the final say as to what would happen and I would hear in due course.
After speaking to Charlie, I felt a wave of calm rush over me. It helped to talk it through. It was one thing to fill out a report and send it through, but talking to Charlie helped put a fresh perspective on things, and actually got the ball rolling quicker. He would still expect my report A.S.A.P. but now that we had talked it through, he was ready to get working on it.
Soon enough, I would either be able to rule out Damon or Rob. And the sooner, the better as far as I was concerned. It was going to be difficult to work on the investigation when I had this dark cloud hovering over my head.
After calling Charlie, I set about finishing off planning for the next week's work, who I wanted to speak to, and where I wanted to check out, and generally pottered around the house. There wasn’t that much for me to do and before long, I was feeling bored. Although there were still some boxes to unpack and things to rearrange, I couldn’t find it in me to do it. Grabbing my coat and bag, I liberally sprayed myself just in case and I slipped on my scarf, gloves, and boots and decided to trudge into town to see Rachel in the diner.
Leaving the house, I determinedly kept my eyes averted from the eyesore which had once been my car. The sooner I could get someone to take it away to get the paintwork sorted, the better. I was already planning on seeing if they stocked some large tarp at Ronnie’s store so I could cover it up for the time being.
It didn’t take too long to get into town. I was already getting used to walking in this large amount of snow. My calf muscles were working overtime and although my breath was a little choppy by the time I got into town, I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out from overexertion.
∞∞∞
Since the snow had stopped falling so relentlessly, the streets were a little busier than I had been used to. The paths and roads were finally blissfully clear in the town proper, which made strolling the sidewalks considerably easier to maneuver.
Chuckling to myself, I could now understand why the townsfolk didn’t appreciate the tourists descending on the town. They seemed to take over the paths and looked down their noses at the quaint stores. I thought that they were a bunch of pretentious idiots who couldn’t appreciate a good thing when it was right under their noses. Blackrock was a gem and even if they couldn’t appreciate it, I did.
The ice-cream parlor was surprisingly full as I walked by, a hot spot that the tourists actually did enjoy, despite looking down on the town in general. Luckily, I wasn’t in the mood for something so icy cold or I wouldn’t have enjoyed the wait to be served.
Pushing the doors to the diner open, I made my way inside and it was another pleasant surprise to see that the place was heaving with customers. Teenagers lined the long counter, swinging on the chrome stools, and all the tables had families seated, laughing and enjoying their Saturday afternoon. This was just what I had expected when I walked into the diner that first time. It was like it had finally come to life.
“Over there!”
I looked over towards the counter, hearing Rachel’s voice. I saw her pointing to a table that one of the other waitresses was currently cleaning up. She hurried over as I sat down at the empty table.
