Wolf Unbound: Aspen Valley Wolf Pack (5 page)

Autumn looked around the room. “I’d rather stay here than risk getting struck by lightning. Question is, will you be okay out in that storm?”

“The wounds aren’t healing quick enough.” He pointed to his midsection. “Would you rather me shift inside?”

“Do what you’ve gotta do. I’ll be here. And when you get back, we can talk more about this plan of yours to take down Simon and how it can help me too,” she said.

He grinned. “Are you always this demanding?”

She smiled. “Only with strangers.”

He paused for a moment to study her, but didn’t say a word. In fact, he didn’t make any moves to leave until his partner knocked a second time. He then stuffed his cell phone down into his back pocket and slipped outside, leaving her alone to thank God that she was still alive and out of Simon's grasp.

“
W
ho is she
?” Joshua asked.

Garrett had traveled in wolf form with Joshua to an abandoned bridge just under a mile from the motel. The rain had stopped, but the skies were still overcast which meant the storm was bigger than expected. The knife wound to his gut had partially healed, for the most part. What hadn’t gone away was his driving urge to hunt and kill.

“Her name’s Autumn. She was promised to the Cross City Beta by her father,” he said.

Joshua’s eyes widened. “Jeez man, do they still do that type of stuff around here?”

“Arranged pairings are becoming less frequent these days, now that our existence is out,” he said. “It’s still pretty common with higher ranking wolves though. It takes a lot more than just the title to run a Pack these days.”

Joshua nodded. “Kind of like what your brother Dane did with Trina to get his land back.”

“Yeah, kind of like that. The difference is my brother cared for Trina even before he found out that she was his true mate. This is a little different. I don’t suspect that any true mating will result from Simon and Autumn.”

“Have they…?”

“No. She bears no markings or imprints at all.”

“So once the storm lets up, she’ll take us to Simon then?”

Garrett shook his head. “She’s innocent, man. Truthfully, I don’t want her involved in this anymore than she already is.”

“You trust her?”

Garrett nodded.

“Seriously man? You just met her. What if this is all a front?”

“I know she’s not lying,” he said. “I saw her before I knew who she was. Simon is trying to force her into it. She knows about him and the things he’s done, and she’s been trying to flee him. Her and her sister.”

“Force her? But her father signed a contract. Didn’t she know about this?”

Garrett rubbed at his chin. “Her circumstances are complicated. There was more than her life on the line. That tavern back there belonged to her family before Simon took control of it. By the way, have you seen Edward? He hasn't reported in since the meeting with Benjamin Sr."

"Naw, but I can guess where he is right about now," Joshua replied. "He was getting pretty comfy with two of those chicks down by the strip joint. He goes there nightly to fuck one of them. Probably both of them."

Garrett shook his head. "This isn't the time for him to put his dipstick into every broad he sees."

"Right. But then again, the guy hasn't been on a road trip like this in over a month. He's probably gotten bored with the broads back home. I'll call him again and tell him to report in."

"If we don't hear anything from him, he's not getting his entire cut. And that’s my final word.”

“I hear ya. Did you talk to Dane?”

“Yeah, he says he’ll think about the old man’s offer.”

“The offer was certainly generous. Do you know how much we could grow with hundreds of miles of territory added to our Pack?”

“Yes. My dad understood the value when he talked about this with Benjamin all those years ago. But I understand Dane’s hesitation. He’d be inheriting an unstable Pack as well as the threat that is Simon.”

“Our Pack was just as unstable when Dane stepped in. He turned it all around. If it weren’t for a few select humans causing trouble in our town, we’d be living in peace,” Joshua said.

“Ain’t that the truth?” Garrett agreed. “It’s my brother’s call and I’ll leave it at that. But I already know one thing is certain. I’ve been paid to hand Simon over and anyone who has ever hired me knows that I always get the job done.”

“If you succeed, you’ll eliminate the real threat. Our Alpha will benefit, you’ll keep your perfect track record, and can go back to living your life on the road.”

Garrett pushed off of the brick wall. “It’s not a matter of if, but just a matter of when. The Pack’s livelihood isn’t the only thing that Simon has threatened.”

A flawless vision of Autumn came into view. It was a memory of her that first night when she walked out from the back of the tavern. Looking back on it now, he realized that her entrance had blinded him like a bright ray of sunshine. But then Simon's mere presence and existence had ruined that. He wanted to crush Simon for treating her like a secondhand ploy to escalate to the Alpha position and secure his wealth. She deserved better. Way better. A man with a better past—not a criminal one—and a brighter future.

And although Garrett wanted Autumn for himself, his own past was anything but squeaky clean.

“
O
h my God
! So that bastard tried to kidnap you?” Hope screamed into the phone.

Autumn paced the motel room floor clutching the cell phone in her palm. As soon as Garrett left the room, she quickly lost her shit again and panic set in again. The only person she could think to call was Hope, but she wasn’t helping with staying cool and calm in the least bit.

“Calm down, Hope. I’m okay. Tell Melisandra that I’m fine too. I don’t want you or her doing anything drastic. Definitely don’t come back here under any circumstances. Simon is a slick, dirty dog.”

“Did you find the old deed for the restaurant? The one that the Montagues altered?”

Her gaze swept over to her handbag where she had stuffed the legal documents. “I’ve got it. It looks like a photocopy though and not the original. And get this?”

“What?”

“The check from dad’s life insurance policy was gone.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’m certain I left it in there last week when the mail guy brought it in,” Autumn said. “I was going to drive out to the bank to cash it before all this shit starting happening with the Alpha being found dead and all.”

“Well, it’s not like Simon will be able to cash it. It’s made out to you.”

Autumn groaned. “That’s the thing, Hope. The tavern’s checking account is in my name. What’s stopping Simon from depositing the check there into an account that he has full access to.”

“We’ll get through this. The greedier Simon gets, the more mistakes he makes. He’ll get what’s coming to him,” she said. “Who is this other guy anyway? The one that saved you.”

“His name is Garrett. He’s a shifter from Aspen Valley. His brother is the Alpha there.”

“But how do you know this Garrett person isn’t conspiring together with Simon?”

“I seriously doubt that. He’s a stranger, I know, but nothing is worse than being kidnapped by that self-righteous idiot. I told Simon to give me twenty-four hours before he came for me again and he reneged on that. I’m not sure who tipped him off that I was at the restaurant, but the men who grabbed me asked me where I thought I was going and said I wasn’t allowed to leave town.”

“So you think he knows you were planning to leave?”

“Maybe…”

“That bastard…I’ll send you some cash by Western Union and you can buy another ticket. Can you get to the convenience store across the street from Jackie’s Laundromat?”

“I’m going to stay put for now. Garrett offered his protection until I get out of town, so don’t worry about it. Simon is such a coward; it’s unlikely he’ll come when he knows what he’s up against. On top of that, the Cross City leaders are onto Simon. Garrett’s been hired to track him down. I might not have to run in the meantime.”

“So you’re betting on this guy, this shifter, to find Simon and turn him over before he gets to you? I don’t know, Autumn. This all sounds so risky. If the Cross City leaders believed that Simon could be stopped, why don’t they just stop him themselves, like right now?”

“Something tells me that they’ve tried that already,” she said. “Simon has turned more than half of the Pack against the Alpha family. Remember what Melisandra told us? If Simon steps into the position, there’ll be nothing stopping him from the unlimited resources of the Pack, including loads of money and a whole lot of property. He has a mass mob mentally. He just takes what he wants and damns everyone else.”

“So the Alpha family has called for outside help? This Garrett person…what’s in it for him anyway? And what does he want from the Alpha family in exchange for his help?”

“Money.”

“Money? What about you? What does he want in exchange for helping you? We can’t possibly pay him too.”

“He didn’t ask me for money,” Autumn said. “This job he’s on is ongoing and top secret. If this information gets out…”

“Right. I know. My lips are sealed. Besides, I’m halfway across the country and I’m not coming back. There’s nothing for me there now. Dad’s gone.”

“Dad may be gone physically, but what he lived for is still in Cross City. I don’t know about you, but I fear losing everything our family has build more than I fear an encounter with Simon again. Remember how we promised Dad that we’d keep up the restaurant no matter what? He did what he had to keep the business. I can’t hate him for it. And if I run, we won’t have a family business. Dad made a mistake and he died not knowing it. I have to fix this. I have to find a way out of this contract and a way to get our tavern back.”

“All right. I just hope that guy knows what he’s doing as far as Simon is concerned,” Hope said. “Before I left there were rumors going around that he doesn’t care about getting his hands bloody.”

Autumn shook her head, thinking about what happened earlier that evening. If Garrett hadn’t come, she’d have probably been the one with the knife wound. She owed him big.

“Unfortunately, it’s true,” Autumn agreed.

“Just stay safe and away from Simon,” she said.

“I feel safe with Garrett, and luckily I won’t be stuck in this city in the meantime. Sometime tomorrow I should be in Aspen Valley. Remember we used to go there on business runs with date.”

“Yeah.”

“Garrett knows a lawyer I can talk to. I’ll call you when I get there.”

“Okay…I’ll be up all night probably. My insomnia is back. If you need me for anything, call me.”

“I will.”

A
utumn stopped pacing
the room when she heard the floorboards leading to the door creak. She didn’t know what it was, maybe keen instincts or something else, but she predicted that the heavy footsteps belonged to Garrett. Or maybe, she just really wanted it to be him. Sure enough, the door handle rattled and Garrett opened the door, stepping across the threshold with two large paper bags.

“Hey,” he greeted her. “I got some food.”

She smiled. “How thoughtful. Thanks.”

She released a contented sigh, happy to see him back after what seemed like hours. In actuality, he’d only been gone under an hour. The sun had set only a half an hour ago, but her eyes ached and her body was riddled with fatigue. Usually, she stayed up late or worked the third shift at the tavern, but today’s events had her feeling useless and tired.

“Hope you like pizza. The deep dish kind,” he said, holding up one of the paper bags. “But if you don’t, I also got a few sub sandwiches.” He moved near the small desk to the right of the bed and began un-bagging the items. It looked like he had purchased enough food for a party of six.

“I’m not picky. Not when I’m hungry anyway. I talked to my sister and told her what happened at the tavern. She was worried as usual,” Autumn said.

“Is she safe?”

“Yes, but she wants an end to this just like we all do.” She rubbed at her brow, trying to ward her headache away. “This all seems so surreal. I’m just honestly glad that this is happening to me and not her. My sister is having enough problems as it is dealing with her insomnia. Not to mention she’s had heart issues since she was a newborn.”

“It’s stressful, I know. For both you and your sister.”

“Thanks for everything,” she said, at the risk of sounding like a broken record.

“You’ve been through enough today. Let’s refuel…eat. Rest. I’ll sleep outside tonight or get you another room if you’d feel more comfortable. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll call the family lawyer. He’s a shifter like me, so he knows what we’re dealing with and would be willing to help you get your tavern back, free and clear, from Simon. I’ll get one of the guys to take you out to Aspen Valley to meet with him while I corner that bastard here before he takes off.”

“I don’t mind taking the couch tonight. You’ve done enough for me.”

“It’s not a problem. You take the bed. I’ll have room service bring over some fresh sheets.”

They turned to the food in front of them. “This is a lot. Do you really eat this much?”

He laughed. “I could eat all of this in about an hour. My food expenses are always sky high. It’s mostly why I do what I do to make a living. A man’s gotta eat.”

“What exactly do you do for a living?” she asked, slipping into a chair.

He pulled up a chair and sat right alongside her. “Outlaw-ish stuff.”

“Oh, come on. Do you think I know what an outlaw does?”

“An outlaw does whatever it takes. We do more than cause trouble.”

“Makes sense, considering what you have planned,” she commented.

“Exactly. Only thing about this job is that I’m certain a positive change will come from it,” he said.

“You didn’t look like a bad guy anyway.”

“That’s the thing, sweetheart. I can convey myself in any way I choose to get a job done.”

She rested back in her chair and tilted her head “Are you saying that I shouldn’t trust you?”

“You can trust me to get a job done. Besides that, I’m just a lone wolf.”