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Kadenburg

Book two
of The Kadenburg Shifters Series

By

T.E. Ridener

Copyright
©T.E. Ridener, 2014

Author’s
Note

These
stories are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are
either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This book contains material protected under
International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint
or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system
without express written permission from the author.

There are so many people I wish to thank for
their support and encouragement during the making of the Kadenburg Shifters
Series. Please forgive me if your name is left out, and know that I’m still
thanking you from the bottom of my heart.

To my double J’s, always. You are my inspiration
every single day and you make my life more joyous than you can ever know. I
love you so much.

To Barb and James, for always supporting me and
allowing me to chase my dreams. You are seriously some of the best people in
the world and I hope I make you proud.

To Steve, for always being a huge fan of the
characters I create and for being so much of the inspiration behind Dimitri. I
don’t think he would’ve turned out as lovable without having your witty sarcasm.

To Lauren, for everything you’ve done to help
this book along the way. I cannot express how much you mean to me!

To my street team, you guys are seriously the
best. Ever. Thank you for loving Presley and the gang, and for always pushing
me to get that next chapter out. Without you, I fear I would’ve hit the
dreaded creative wall long ago.

To my fans and readers, I will always write and I
hope you will always read. Thank you for being with me on this journey. Xx

One

W
hy was he coming back after all this time?

29 year old Rutley Holter was still trying to find a
sufficient answer to that question as he watched the aged buildings slowly pass
by. Kadenburg, the one horse town where dreams were diminished daily, was the
last place he ever thought he’d see again.

Yet here I am,
he thought as he pulled into the
parking lot of the sheriff’s department and killed the engine on his Subaru
Impreza. That car was his baby. He’d worked so many hours of overtime just to
make the down payment, and it was
almost
paid off; almost.

He allowed his baby blues to gaze around the small
town, taking in every last boring brick and mundane window sign as he exhaled
softly. “I have not missed you,” he stated as he shut the car door and made
his way towards the front entrance of Kadenburg’s finest.

He pulled it open, listening to the small
ding
signaling his arrival as the warmth of the office enveloped him. He shivered,
frowning. Yeah, he totally didn’t miss the cold weather. He was longing for
the sandy beaches of Florida already.

Yeah, no. It’s best to stay away from Florida for a
bit, don’t you think?
He asked himself as he stepped up to the empty
receptionist’s desk. There wasn’t a soul to be seen, which wasn’t all that
surprising considering this was the Kadenburg Sheriff’s Department. People in
this town seriously had no idea what a good worth ethic consisted of.

If he had his guess, the person that was supposed to be
sitting there was probably out back, enjoying some nicotine.

“Hello?” He called out.

He drummed his knuckles against the countertop as a
muffled conversation sounded over the police scanner nearby. It sounded like
two deputies talking back and forth, but he could barely make out anything they
were saying.

“No trace of them” and “headed back to the station” was
the only parts he could understand before the static became so unbearable he
had no choice but to tune it out.

“Can I help you?”

Rutley lifted his gaze to the young deputy standing in
the doorway of the hall. He had a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, and a
pack of Marlboro Reds in the other. He was around the same age as Rutley.

What a poor soul, stuck here in Kadenburg,
he
thought with a small grin. “Uh yeah, I’m here to see the sheriff.”

The young man snickered, giving a roll of his eyes as
he slid down into the squeaky office chair behind the counter. “Get in line,
pal,” he stated as he sipped at his coffee. “He’s not back yet.”

“I had no idea,” Rutley countered as he lifted a brow.
“I mean, it’s not like I didn’t notice the cruiser missing outside,” he leaned
over the counter and narrowed his eyes on the young deputy. “Get on that
little radio you’ve got there and tell him he’s got a visitor.”

The deputy scoffed as he leaned back in his seat,
crossing his arms over his chest. “You think you get special privileges around
here just because you drive that shiny little car out there? I don’t think so,
buddy. You can sit your ass down right over there and wait for him to get
back.”

Rutley fought to keep a grin at bay as he glanced in
the direction the deputy was pointing. “Over there?” He asked, nodding to the
small waiting area. “Sure thing.”

He sank down into one of the old, leather chairs,
rubbing at the back of his neck as he glanced at the clock. 4:35.

“Will he be back soon?” Rutley questioned after a few
beats of silence.

The deputy sighed audibly before peering over the top
of the counter. Rutley didn’t have to see his whole face to know he was
scowling. He could see the irritation in his eyes. “Hell if I know,” he
replied. “He’ll be here when he gets here, okay?”

“Okay,” Rutley nodded, sinking back into silence as his
eyes wandered over the wallpaper. It was definitely in need of a modern
touch. Who even used faded green flower designs anymore? Geez.

It was only a few minutes later that he heard a car
pulling up outside. Something on that vehicle needed fixed, he could hear the
rattle growing louder before it suddenly died away. Then the door was opening
and the sheriff walked inside.

The older male pulled his hat off, wiping the sweat from
his brow with the back of his hand as he made his way towards the counter.
“Have you heard anything?”

The deputy seemed to be much more hospitable as he
stood from his chair, rummaging through various papers on the desk before he
shook his head. “No, Sir,” he replied. “The only thing that’s changed since
you were here is that fancy pants snot head over in the corner,” he nodded in
Rutley’s direction. “Apparently he wants to talk to you something awful.”

Rutley’s eyes met the sheriff’s as the aged man turned
to look at him. Rutley grinned. “Long time no see, Dad.”

The deputy’s face immediately fell, and he might’ve
gotten a little pale as he realized the strong resemblance between the two men.

“Hi, Son,” Sheriff Holter said with a nod. “Want to
step into my office?”

Rutley pushed himself up from the chair he’d been
warming for the last few minutes, giving another grin to the deputy as he
strolled past him. “Don’t mind if I do,” he said, walking into the office and
slumping into a chair as his father closed the door.

“Some staff you’ve got there,” he commented as he
watched his father ease into his office chair. “He seems nice.”

“He’s a punk kid,” Sheriff Holter muttered as he pulled
open a folder and glanced up to meet his son’s gaze. “That’s Roy Helton’s
son. He needed a job. What was I supposed to do?”

“That’s Randy?” Rutley asked in surprise. “No shit.”

“No shit,” his dad replied as he started flipping
through pages, sighing. “Thanks for coming on such short notice, Rut. I half
expected you to say no.”

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Rutley replied as
he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling momentarily. “I mean,
obviously I must be crazy to come back after you called me a sinful little
heathen and told me I was going to hell.”

The sheriff’s jaw went slack as he stared at Rutley,
and then the muscle tensed as he straightened up in his seat. The paperwork
was seemingly forgotten as he cleared his throat. “Listen, son, I’m sorry
about how things ended back then. I realize I don’t deserve the father of the
year award, but you know I love you, don’t you?”

Rutley rolled his eyes. He didn’t come back to
Kadenburg to make his dad feel guilty over how things played out nearly ten
years ago. He came back because he heard the urgency in his voice and he knew
he needed help. It was purely professional, and he intended to keep it that
way.

“I’m over it,” Rutley replied as he leaned forward in
his seat, reaching across the desk to grab the file his father had been looking
at. “What’ve we got?”

“Four missing persons and none of the witnesses will
talk,” Sheriff Holter frowned. “It’s been five days and I have zero leads. I
needed another set of eyes, and another brain to help me out.”

“Uh huh,” Rutley nodded, his eyes scanning over the
pictures of the missing persons. “Not just any brain, huh?”

He lifted his eyes to meet his father’s gaze, noting
the concern etched on his face. Sheriff Holter shook his head slowly. “None
of my deputies will ever be able to make heads or tails of the situation, Rut.
I need
your
help. You’re the only other person who’s been…trained for
this type of thing.”

Rutley heaved an exaggerated sigh as his eyes lingered
on the snapshot of a pretty blond with bright green eyes. He remembered her.
He
knew
her. In fact, he knew two of the others as well; Presley Goult,
Gregory Kress, and Lorcan Bamey. They were all missing?

“Who’s this guy?” He asked, flipping the page to read
more information about the case. “Dimitri Fridolf? What do we know about
him?”

“Not much,” his father responded as he tapped a
fingertip against the desk. “But some of the stuff I’ve found leads me to
believe he’ll be the easiest one to find.”

Rutley licked his lips as his brows lowered on his
forehead. “Are you seriously insinuating that we’re dealing with werewolves?”
He asked. “Dad, we’ve not had any issues with wolves since back in the
eighties. We chased them all off, remember?”

“Did we?” His father asked as he scratched at the
scruff on his chin. “I’m not so sure, Rut. There’s been an awful lot of
questionable activity going on lately,” he stood from his desk and moved to the
filing cabinet. He tugged it open and removed another folder, tossing it onto
the desk for his son to see.

“I’m retired,” Rutley commented as he leaned forward,
flipping the folder open without a second thought. He immediately regretted
his decision.

“Shit,” he whispered as his lips anchored into a
frown. “Is that Liam Bamey?”

“Uh huh,” the sheriff nodded. “I told his parents a
damn mountain lion killed him. They didn’t really believe me, I don’t think…”

“A mountain lion?” Rutley repeated as he glared up at
the other male. “Dad, this is…this isn’t just some random body you can show me,”
he felt his throat closing in on him as he closed the folder and pushed it away
from himself. “Why didn’t you call and tell me?”

“Because I reckon I didn’t want to bother you with work
stuff.”

“Work stuff,” Rutley repeated bitterly. “He was my
childhood best friend, Dad. You couldn’t even pick up a damn phone and call
me? Did they have a funeral for him? Did you even bother to tell his parents
you didn’t call me? God almighty, Dad. You’re a real piece of work.”

“The Bameys have been dealing with a lot lately,”
Sheriff Holter frowned. “Trust me, Rut. I’m sure they were more than
understanding on why you didn’t come back. Nobody ever comes back to
Kadenburg.”

“Yeah, well I’m here,” Rutley replied as he stood from
his chair and glowered down at his father. “And I want to find the son of a
bitch that killed Liam.”

“You’re not the only one,” his father stated as he
stood from his desk and moved to the window. He pulled the blinds back to peer
outside. “I’ve got a feeling that Lorcan and his friends had a similar goal,”
he glanced back at his son again. “And if we don’t find them soon, there’s a
good chance they’ll end up dead, too.”

Rutley felt the anger boiling within. His nostrils
flared as his hands balled into fists. “Consider me reinstated,” he muttered.