Wolf’s Heart (3 page)

“Exactly what is it that makes you special, Special Agent?”

Laughing as he ran his tongue across his lips was not the reaction she was expecting. G started coming to her lab right after she started with the bureau. He’d been hanging around ever since. It wasn’t like she was planning on keeping him around. Of course, having him around did make for a nice view across the breakfast table. Greek God material with dark hair, olive skin and strong masculine features. She called him G for short. Screaming out
‘Achilles’
or
‘Giannopolous’
in the throes of passion was kind of like trying to recite the alphabet backwards.

 G grasped her arm, forcing her to face him as his dark eyes narrowed in on her. “You know exactly what makes me special. What’s your problem? Did someone put decaf in your cup this morning?”

In no mood for the caveman routine, Carlee pulled away from his grip. While she might have G in her bed, he knew her feelings about running her life. It just wasn’t going to happen. The last thing she needed was G getting in her way today.

“No problem. I’m just in a hurry to pick up a box of new evidence and take it to my lab. I’m really close to solving this case. Oh, and the pic of my brother is missing from my desk. That reminds me, I saw you outside my lab with someone. Who was that? He seemed familiar.” 

G gave her an annoying smirk. “Classified intel. I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” Carlee stuck out her tongue as he continued. “Sucks you don’t have the security clearance. I will ask around about the picture but you probably just misplaced it.”

 She was already moving in the direction of the evidence room when he stopped her again. “Don’t forget we have plans for this evening. I have everything set up for your big surprise.”

She squeezed her eyes closed. The last thing she really wanted tonight was to have to leave early. The new evidence was sure to keep her busy in her lab for days. She stiffened. “Don’t even think it, Carlee. This has been planned for weeks. I will be at your house at six.” He paused as though reconsidering. “Screw that. I know how you are once you get into your work. I will pick you up at the lab at five-thirty.”

She knew there was no getting out of this one. She had promised, and one thing she was good for was keeping her word. “I know, but I hadn’t counted on a new vic coming in today. If I’m going to be ready, go away so I can get some work done before then.”

When she turned and walked away, her mind was back on the evidence room and back on the case. Even so, she could have sworn she heard G mumble under his breath, “Frigid bitch.”

Okay, well, that was rude considering
she
was allowing him into
her
bed. But he was probably right. She couldn’t make her family happy, couldn’t cure Kyle, and couldn’t keep the man she loved in her bed. Three strikes were enough for her to decide to sit on the bench as far as love and relationships went. There just wasn’t going to be an emotional attachment again, ever.

After a fitful night’s sleep, Ryden woke up at the crack of dawn and packed his few belongings. As soon as he grabbed breakfast in the hotel lobby, he checked out and hailed a cab to take him to the storage facility where he kept his prize possession, a black ’65 Ford Mustang in mint condition. He could remember pictures of his real father owning one almost exactly like it, and when Ryden found this one, he couldn’t pass it up. It was one of the few good memories he had of the time before it all went to hell and his mother turned to alcohol and drugs.

Opening the wide bay doors, Ryden dropped his bag just inside and walked to the covered car, removing the tarp and tossing it into the back corner of the room. He paid the owner of the storage facility well to make sure the sleek beauty was always gassed up, and running at peak performance so that whenever Ryden was back home, he could just get in and drive.

Running his fingers across the glass-like surface, he appreciated yet again the beauty of the car. Eagerly, he grabbed the key from inside the door, tossed his bags in the back, started the classic car, and immediately heard the rumble of American muscle under the hood.

A broad smile spread across Ryden’s face as he felt the steady vibration of the car beneath him. He put it in drive and left the bay without even bothering to close and lock the door. There was nothing else in the bay, so it didn’t matter. All Ryden owned was the car and the few personal belongings, meager as they were, tossed in the back seat.

As he drove out of the city, making his way north on I-95 for the forty-five minute drive to Baltimore, his thoughts once again turned to his past and what he’d had to leave behind. There were too many memories he wished he could forget, but knew would be a part of him for the rest of his life, a life that could turn out to be much longer than that of the average man driving down the interstate alongside him.

Had it not been for two men in particular who helped pull him back from the brink and put him on the right path at the age of sixteen, Ryden wondered how much worse it could have been. Now, many years later and on his way to see those two very same men, both retired and living the peaceful life, he hoped they were proud of the man he had become.

Grant Holloway had once owned a store in town that sold CDs and DVDs, along with various electronics and prepaid cell phones. Ryden often wandered in there, always just looking and never buying since he rarely had money to spend. If he did, it was usually spent on food or necessary clothing, not frivolous things, no matter how much he wanted them.

On one particular day, Ryden was there on a mission, one he wasn’t too keen on, but he felt he had no choice. The gang he wanted to join insisted on it, telling him he had to steal something; it was part of being initiated into the group of street thugs. After bouncing from foster home to foster home and never feeling like he belonged anywhere, Ryden wanted to be a part of this gang. He wanted a family and this was the next best thing. Or so he thought.

Careful not to be seen, he picked up a couple of music CDs. Pretending to look them over, he then put them back and chose a couple more to peruse, until he finally tucked one of them in his coat pocket. He was desperately trying to stay cool about the whole thing. He was sure that would work as he looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Just as he pulled his hand out of the pocket and turned, Ryden saw Mr. Holloway standing at the end of the aisle with an exasperated look. Ryden swallowed hard hoping Mr. Holloway hadn’t seen what he had just done.

When he got closer, Mr. Holloway stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Ryden, this won’t work. Go put it back, son.”

Ryden’s heart sank, and he knew this was it for him. He’d teetered on the edge of the law for years, often in trouble at school and just being trouble all around. Now, sixteen and having been caught shoplifting, he knew he wasn’t getting off easy this time.

Instead of calling the cops, he called a friend who dealt with wayward boys. Grant Holloway recognized Ryden’s need for someone to care instead of kicking him farther down into the gutter. Never before had anyone cared about him this much. It was a new experience, one Ryden hadn’t been sure how to deal with at the time.

Shaking himself from his memories, he took the exit into a residential part of Baltimore and saw the tree-lined streets of his home town. Grant lived on Hawthorne Road while the other man Ryden was there to visit, Justin Walters, lived across town. As he pulled up into Grant’s drive, he saw both men sitting on the porch, each with a cold brew in hand.

“Damn, this early, guys?” Ryden gave a genuine smile at both men as he got out of his car.

“Yes, this early. Don’t know when I’ll take my last breath, so I might as well enjoy it,” Grant said as he clinked the long necked bottle to Justin’s raised one.

“Yeah, what he said.” Justin chuckled as he took a drink of his beer and sat the now-empty bottle on the table beside him. “’Bout time you got here. Took you long enough.”

Grabbing Ryden in a tight hug, he patted him on the back and turned him to the porch where Grant struggled to get out of his chair.

“Hold up, Grant. Let me help you.” Ryden quickly ran up the porch steps and helped his old friend to his feet, giving him a gentle hug. The years had not been kind to Grant. Ryden could see the gray hair had thinned, and his weathered face was drawn and pale. Time wasn’t on Grant’s side, hence one of the reasons for this visit. Justin had told him in their last phone conversation that Grant’s cancer was back, and the doctors had given him no hope.

Helping his old friend back to his comfortable chair, Ryden sat on the top step and leaned against the porch columns of the old home.

“How’re you feeling Grant? Your daughter been by today?”

“Aw, I’m alright. Everyone’s gonna die sometime. Just might be today for me. Cathy was here yesterday, said she’d bring some groceries by later. Not much an old man needs, but she makes sure I got it.”

He lifted his beer and took another swallow. Obviously, it wasn’t the best thing for Grant to be drinking, but why take away anything he loved when he might not live to see another day? And as frail as he looked, Ryden had a sinking feeling this might be the last time he saw his friend.

“How’s things been for you, Ry?” Justin asked. “Army still treatin’ you right? Keepin’ your nose clean?”

“Yes, sir.” Ryden smiled at the man who’d been more like a father to him than anyone he’d known, including the many foster parents he’d had as a kid. If not for Grant calling Justin when Ryden attempted to steal that CD from his store, he’d most likely have ended up in juvie or prison.

Justin had a way of taking young boys who had been in trouble and turning them down the right path to success. Ryden was one of many he’d helped over the years, and for that, he’d never be able to thank him enough.

“Things have been crazy as you can imagine. War’s war…it is what it is.” Ryden shrugged as if to make light of it, but both Justin and Grant gave him a look that said they knew better. He’d never been able to hide much from those two.

“You been by to see Carlee yet?” Grant asked.

And there it was.

Growling at these two was unacceptable. With JT, he could say what he wanted. These two men were a different story. Biting back his retort, he looked down, picking at some nonexistent lint from his jeans.

“No, we broke it off, remember?” He knew he’d told them, but left out the reasons. Neither would let it go any more than JT would.

“Sure, but she’s still your friend.”

Justin was silent, knowing it was a sore subject with Ryden. He didn’t agree with the break-up and he’d certainly let Ryden know often enough.

“Grant, I’ve not seen her in more than three years. We just weren’t meant to be. I wouldn’t even know what to say to her if I saw her again. I’m sure she’d most likely deck me and I’d deserve it. Army life is no life for a woman like her.”

At least that’s what he’d told them. Only Ryden and JT knew the truth of why he’d broken things off; it had nothing to do with the Army and everything to do with that fateful night in the desert.

Changing the subject, Ryden asked both of them about their families, and what all had been going on in his home town. Hours seemed to drift by, and before any of them knew it, the afternoon was gone, shared over a few drinks, a meal cooked by Justin in Grant’s kitchen, and lots of laughs about some of the antics pulled by the boys Justin had dealt with over the years, a few of which Ryden himself had instigated. It had certainly been a good afternoon with his two friends.

As he said his goodbyes, Grant took him aside, hugged him tightly and said, “Don’t waste your life, son. Don’t live with regrets. Time passes too quickly, then you wonder why you waited.”

Ryden swallowed the lump in his throat and hugged the old man, knowing in his heart it would be the last time he saw him.

“Thanks, Grant, for everything.”

He nodded to Justin and crawled in the Mustang, waving to the two men as he pulled away.

It had been a good day.

Now, if he could just get Carlee off his mind.

“Carlee, come on, it’s time to head home.”

G’s voice broke through the silence as he pushed through the door. Carlee spun in her chair as she waited for the last set of comparison slides to finish. She still had ten minutes before it was time to go but, as usual, G was early. She hid her smile knowing he would be early. She had already synced her latest notes on the case to the cloud and was waiting.

“Geesh, G, knock much? You scared the crap outta me. You wanna go home? As in now home? Like right now? Are you crazy! I need to go and see the chief; I’m close, really close. I think I almost have it figured out. When those slides come through, I will have the proof that someone is roaming the country, drugging people and stealing their organs.”

She was pacing, talking with her hands as she always did when she was excited. She came to a stop as the computer beeped to signal the slide comparison had finished. Before she could walk to her desk she was spun sharply around as G grabbed her arms.

“Carlee, it can wait until tomorrow. The chief is already gone for the day, and you’ve been here since five a.m. Plus, I have a surprise for you tonight. Remember? We talked about this earlier?”

G placed his hand gently over her mouth each time she tried to interrupt. She smirked, “Gotcha! I was ready five minutes ago.”

He guided her toward the door, grabbing her jacket from the hook and leading her out. She should have told him she hated surprises. Of course, his last one was pretty good. It involved her lying naked across the dining room table as his own private sushi bar.

She knew he was right. The slides could wait until morning. Or, she could come back after he fell asleep. She had all the other aspects of the case in her head, and she could go over them later. When a gorgeous man says he has a surprise waiting at home, you don’t argue. Carlee babbled all the way home about the case although G already knew what she had been working on and more; his clearance was higher than hers.