Lone Wolf by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory

Author:J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory [Rain, J.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rain Press
Published: 2021-04-07T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

It was full-on snowing by the time we got outside. I was also full-on buzzed, probably bordering on drunk, owing to the three glasses of wine and the third of Alex’s beer. Yes, we’d both finished our meals and each one of us had licked our plates clean. Alex had tried to pay for my dinner but I’d flatly refused. Instead, I’d taken care of the bill—I didn’t want to feel like I owed him anything because I didn’t. As far as I was concerned, he was still a possible suspect in his brother’s… er death wasn’t exactly the right word now—disappearance.

The alley behind the bar was deserted, which wasn’t a big surprise since most of the town was tucked away, asleep in their beds. Calling this an alley was a stretch, though. It wasn’t much more than a crumbled, snow-dusted dirt road that stretched from behind the bar down to the post office. No Dumpsters or fire escapes or nefarious types lurking around here. Unless I counted the big orange tomcat watching us with glowing yellow eyes from under a flatbed truck that sported four flat tires. The cat was a permanent resident here—he lived inside Mo’s Tavern.

Although it was technically the end of winter, it might as well have been the very middle, considering how thickly the snow was falling, how hard the wind was blowing and how cold I was, through and through.

Alex wore only a light jacket and jeans. Not even a beanie cap. He seemed, if anything, to relish the cold. Or, maybe, it was just that he relished being outside. I noticed he lifted his face to the wind and elements more than a few times, a small smile on his sumptuous lips.

Sumptuous lips? I thought to myself snidely. What’s gotten into you? This guy is still a suspect!

“Thanks for the compliment.” Alex glanced down at me with a smirk. A second or so later, the smile disappeared. “Do you really think I’m still a suspect?”

“Of course you are!”

With the cat still watching us and the snow falling even harder, Alex stopped me in front of a row of trash cans. “This’ll do.”

“Heaven forbid you go full werewolf, you know, somewhere warm.”

He grinned and faced me, taking my hand and steadying me as I berated my inability to hold my liquor. I was a lightweight and always had been. Snow slanted diagonally on the wind, and his longish black hair whipped across his face at nearly the same angle.

“Do you always complain this much?”

“Only when I’m cold.”

“And buzzed,” he added.

“Tipsy,” I corrected. “Chiefs of police don’t get buzzed.”

He chuckled at that, and stretched his neck a little, moving it in a circle around those wide shoulders. I heard something crack. Jesus, was that his neck?

“It was,” he answered my unasked question.

“Is it starting?” I was a little apprehensive. I even took a step back because I wasn’t sure if he required more space to complete his, um, metamorphosis.

“No,” Alex announced as he gripped my arm when I started to slip on the ice.

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