Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Missoula, Montana
(One week after the fire)
Panthera Building Supply occupied a sprawling warehouse on the industrial edge of Missoula. As Gabriel pulled into the parking lot, Kymberlie turned to him.
“What if they don’t have everything we need?”
“They do. I talked to the assistant manager yesterday, and he promised they have all the components in stock.” Kymberlie still looked skeptical, so Gabriel added, “And if they don’t, we’ll figure something else out.
I swear to you we won’t leave Missoula until we have what we need to bring your fire suppression system up to code. ”
“For a reasonable price,” Kymberlie said firmly.
“Of course.”
Inside the cavernous space, Gabriel spotted Allan Panthera and immediately identified him by scent. He was a broad-shouldered man in his early seventies with gray-streaked brown hair and the fluid grace all sabertooth shifters possessed.
“Gabriel, nice to meet ya!” Allan’s booming voice carried across the warehouse. He strode over, clasping Gabriel’s hand in a firm handshake. “Jerry told me you called us yesterday. Heard you’re the new fire marshal down in Lemhi County.”
“News travels fast,” Gabriel said, then introduced Kymberlie.
Allan nodded. “Hi there, Kymberlie. I hear you need a new sprinkler system for your club.” He clapped Gabriel on the shoulder. “Jerry mentioned Swanson Construction would be installing it. Always good to see a pride member looking out for their employer.”
Gabriel stiffened, sudden rage flowing hot through his veins. “That’s not—”
“No judgment here,” Allan lowered his voice conspiratorially. “We all know how it works. In small towns, everybody scratches everybody else’s back.” He winked at Kymberlie, who frowned at him.
“Yeah, I work for Tyler Swanson,” Gabriel said firmly. “But he’s a member of Kymberlie’s pack, and she’s the one who hired him to remediate her place. I’m simply helping her meet fire code requirements for her establishment.”
Allan’s smile faltered. “Uh, okay. My mistake.” He glanced around, then leaned closer. “Listen, Gabriel, while you’re here… some of the pride members have been asking questions about what really happened at Electric Blue.”
The words hit Gabriel like a physical blow. His pulse jumped, and he fought to keep his expression neutral. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kymberlie’s head tilt with curiosity.
Fuck.
“Electric Blue is old news,” Gabriel said curtly, his voice rougher than he intended. “We need to focus on this order. Kymberlie’s business needs to get up and running again ASAP.”
He unrolled the blueprints he’d brought for the new sprinkler system and thrust them at Allan.
Allan looked away as if embarrassed, then quickly surveyed the plans. “Yeah, we’ve got what you need. Let me show you the options we have in stock.”
As they followed Allan toward the fire suppression aisle, Gabriel felt Kymberlie’s questioning gaze. But she said nothing, and he was grateful for the reprieve.
The last thing he wanted to do right now was to explain the darkest chapter of his life to a woman he barely knew but whose opinion of him mattered more than he wanted to admit.
“What’s Electric Blue?” she finally asked when Allan disappeared into his office to check his inventory records for the required number of sprinkler heads.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Gabriel lied, focusing intently on the sprinkler system specs in his hand. “Right now, let’s focus on getting you what you need.”
Later, as they were loading his truck with bundles of steel sprinkler pipe, boxes of shiny brass fittings, and a heavy red control valve stamped “System Main,” Gabriel could see Kymberlie’s thoughtful expression. He knew it was just a matter of time before she asked him about Electric Blue again.
If only he could outrun his past as easily as he’d deflected her initial question.
∞∞∞
Two hours later, they were on the road home. Kymberlie stared out the passenger window, painfully aware of Gabriel’s profile in her peripheral vision. His jaw was set, his golden-amber eyes fixed on the road ahead.
The easy banter they’d shared earlier had evaporated, leaving a tension that made the cab of the truck feel too small, too intimate. Her wolf paced restlessly beneath her skin.
The loaded truck bed rattled behind them with the parts that would save her business. Not only that, but Gabriel’s buddy Allan had given her a big discount.
She sneaked another glance at Gabriel. His large hands gripped the steering wheel with unnecessary force, knuckles whitening beneath his tanned skin.
Whatever warmth he’d shown her during their shopping trip had disappeared the moment Allan mentioned “Electric Blue.” Gabriel’s expression had shuttered, his shoulders tensing as if bracing for a blow.
Her wolf nudged insistently, wanting to comfort him. Kymberlie pushed the urge down. Whatever was happening between them, things were complicated enough without letting her wolf take the lead.
“Weather report says snow’s coming in earlier than expected,” she said, just to break the silence.
Gabriel nodded once, a clipped acknowledgment. “We’ll make it through the pass before the worst hits.”
His voice sounded the same as when he’d slapped that closure notice on the club’s door last Friday. As if this morning’s laughing, talking, and sharing music had never happened.
Fine. If he wants to pretend nothing changed between us, I can match his energy. Kymberlie turned back to the window.
Halfway up the snaking switchbacks to the pass, the first snowflakes appeared as delicate, sporadic dots against the windshield. Within minutes, they multiplied. Gabriel scowled and flicked the wipers to a faster setting without comment.
“Doesn’t look too bad,” she offered, hating the silence but keeping her voice neutral.
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly. “We’ll make it back before the worst hits.”
As if he’d just jinxed them, the wind picked up, howling around the truck’s frame. The snow thickened, no longer falling but driving sideways across their path. By the time they reached the top of the pass, visibility had shrunk to a swirling white wall that made Kymberlie’s stomach clench.
“Maybe we should pull over,” she suggested, unable to keep the tension from her voice.
Gabriel shook his head. “No shoulders along this stretch. Stopping would make us a target for anyone coming up behind us.”
Wind buffeted the truck, shoving it toward the guardrail. Gabriel corrected smoothly, not even flinching. They continued their cautious crawl forward.
“Almost to the summit,” he said, voice low and controlled. “Downhill should be easier.”
Fifteen minutes later, his headlights illuminated a massive shape lying across the road ahead. Gabriel swore, easing his truck to a stop on the side of the road.
“Downed tree,” he said, already reaching for his phone. “Perfect.”
As he called 911 to report the incident, Kymberlie peered through the thickening snow. The tree blocked the entire roadway. It would take heavy equipment to move it. “How far are we from town?”
“About thirty miles. Too far to walk in this weather, even in our beast shapes.” Gabriel drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, thinking. “There are vacation cabins all around here. Let’s find one and wait out the storm there.”
He executed a careful three-point turn and backtracked slowly until a narrow dirt drive appeared on their right. The truck lurched up the driveway, headlights cutting through swirling white to reveal a tiny wooden cabin, dark and silent.
Gabriel pulled up close to the porch. “Wait here.”
Before she could protest, he was out in the storm, snow immediately coating his shoulders and hair as he trudged to the cabin’s door.
Kymberlie watched as he tried the knob, then disappeared around the side of the building.
Moments later, he returned, flakes clinging to his eyelashes as he yanked open the passenger-side door, letting in a blast of freezing wind and swirling snow.
“It’s unlocked. There’s firewood stacked under the eaves.”
From experience, Kymberlie knew that nearly everyone in this area left their cabins stocked and unlocked in case someone needed shelter in the middle of winter. Some people even set up their wood stoves so that a person with frozen hands or numb fingers could easily start a fire.
Her wolf perked up at the prospect of spending the night with Gabriel, but Kymberlie squashed the reaction. Don’t get any ideas, she warned it.
“I’ve got some cash on me,” she offered. “We can leave it, plus a thank-you note, for the owners.”
They hurried inside, where it was cold and drafty, but dry. Gabriel’s flashlight beam swept across a simple, rustic space: a main room with a wood stove, a small kitchenette, a basic bathroom, and a double bed tucked into a corner opposite the kitchenette.
“Power’s out. I guess that tree took down some lines. Start checking cupboards for candles or lamps,” Gabriel instructed, already moving to the wood stove. “I’ll get a fire going.”
Kymberlie found a box of matches and several thick emergency candles in a kitchen drawer. Even better, she spotted a battery-powered camping lantern sitting in plain sight on the counter.
Meanwhile, Gabriel arranged kindling and logs in the stove with practiced hands. Within minutes, a small flame flickered, then grew in the stove’s belly.
The flames illuminated the planes of his face, softening the hard edges that had been there during their drive.
The storm roared outside, rattling windows and whistling through the cabin’s old frame. They’d be here all night, maybe longer.
Suddenly the questions that had been building inside her couldn’t be contained anymore.
“Gabriel,” she said quietly, settling next to him on a worn sofa next to the stove. “What’s Electric Blue? And what happened in Granite Gap?”
He stiffened. When he finally turned to face her, his expression was guarded, pain visible in the tightness around his eyes.