“Good luck with that. Chicks are drama, Shifter, Outsider, or whatever category they fall into. And the drama’s kinda nice every now and then.”
Wolf grinned behind his helmet as he recalled the drama that went down in his bedroom. He thought he wanted something uncomplicated whenever he thought about finding his old lady. Like MD, Wolf assumed he’d settle down with a Shifter, since relationships were hard enough without adding their odd nature as a barrier. Thank god, fate had given him what he needed, and not what he thought he wanted.
Ella incited a passion in him that had never seen the light of day, or the dark of night. She was porn star sexy with a sweet innocence that overheated him in nothing flat. She challenged him in ways no female shifter dared to challenge the alpha, and he loved it. Wolf was certain he’d never get bored with Ella in his life.
“Yeah, they all are, aren’t they?” MD huffed into the mic, sounding like he needed to get laid.
“The first few times I met Ella she looked like a librarian.”
“Uh, okay,” MD sounded skeptical about how that could be attractive.
“Man, you have no clue. I instantly had a hard-on for book learning.” Wolf groaned thinking about Ella with her long auburn hair, bound up tight, begging to be set free. “Just when I thought I had Little-Miss-Straight-Laced figured out, Ella flipped the tables on me. I caught her rocking a pair of tight jeans and some shit-kicking boots, wielding a drill. Aw hell, so fucking sexy. It blew my damn mind.”
“You sure you’ve got a real girlfriend and you’re not just describing the last few DVD’s you watched?” MD chuckled.
“Shut the fuck up. So, tell me, what are the details of this job? Like I told Cain, I didn’t have a chance to look into it. It’s been a long night already.”
“Trip tracked the bastard’s last cell call to a shitty neighborhood on the east side of St. Louis. Except that still leaves us a few mile radius. That’s where your nose comes in my friend.”
“There are benefits to being canine. He’s probably holed up in some flop house,” Wolf commented.
“Ray demanded Amy bring a thousand bucks to make the exchange. She’s supposed to meet him by tomorrow noon, or Ray threatened the kid.”
“So how much H did this prick accuse her of stealing?”
“Ray claims she stole five K’s worth, when Amy moved out of his ratty apartment with Keith. I’m thinking the tweaker used more product than he was pushing, and now he’s got to pay the piper.”
“There’s no way his supplier’s going to settle for a thousand,” Wolf growled. “How much you wanna bet Ray’s planning on trafficking more than heroin?”
“That’s what we thought too. The bastard’s using Keith to lure Amy. I’m betting, either way, both of them would’ve disappeared.”
“Sick asshole. Do we know if the kid is okay?”
“We had Ray put the boy on the phone, as proof of life. The child was distraught, but alive, as of eleven o’clock. Amy was able to calm Keith down, so hopefully the bastard doesn’t rough him up.”
“So, any clue how many people we’re dealing with?” Wolf asked.
“Over the phone, we heard at least two people talking in the background.”
“Cain must be thrilled with this.”
“Amy’s not really good at picking men. It took the lecture of a life time from Penny, Iris and Marisol just to get her to leave that prick.”
“She know about us?”
“Nah, she just works at the club, and occasionally comes to the bigger parties. But she’s trustworthy. And you know Cain, he takes care of his own.”
“He’s a solid, loyal brother. You sure he’s not part canine?” Wolf taunted.
Wolf laughed when he heard MD’s indignant rumbling growl in the earpiece.
Wolf and MD rode the rest of the way to St. Louis in relative silence, just enjoying the ride. It was a clear warm night. There were straight barren stretches of Illinois road, where most drivers nodded off from boredom, but not on a Harley, not with the view Wolf had. The quarter moon hung huge in the sky. Millions of stars shone brighter than they ever did in the city, with its light pollution. Wolf stared at the twinkling dusty swath that banded the midnight sky.
What a night. What a glorious fucking night.
It was still a few hours till sun up when they reached the area where Ray was holding the boy, and stashed their bikes.
“I got a few things for you.”
MD pulled a couple plastic bags out of his saddlebags. One held a stuffed toy, that looked like a giant yellow pill, with one eyeball. The other bag held a ratty t-shirt. Wolf grabbed the child’s toy and cracked open the bag, taking a big whiff.