Wolfish

Chapter 9 #2

“I would love that. Sugar and cream with the coffee, please. I’ll be right out.” Once Selena showered and dressed, she felt great.

When she reached the first floor, Meghan had fixed a cup of coffee and placed a cinnamon roll on a plate for her.

“I’ll have another cup of coffee with you.”

Peter was still talking in another room.

Meghan explained, “He’s getting the latest information on the shooters.

They collected the rounds, including those that Daniel had fired.

Sixty rounds were fired in all. Luckily, the wolves who came to his aid weren’t hurt.

They were the ones who had discovered the car, and when they realized Dainel was alone, they stayed near their car to be his backup in case he needed them.

They’re the ones who called in that he’d been wounded. ”

“It was a good thing they were there.”

“Yeah, when they heard all the gunfire, they knew he was outmatched in firepower.”

Selena shivered, thinking Daniel could have been hit several times and not lived through the barrage. But she was glad that the wolves were fine and had bravely taken on the gun-wielding assailants, chasing them off so they could get help for Daniel.

“Now the police just need to find the guns and match the shell casings with them,” Meghan said.

Selena took a sip of her coffee. “Here, we thought the father had killed the women. But these men have killer instincts too.”

“Their father still might have killed the women, but when Daniel saw the car, they thought they could get rid of him and then move the car. Now they’re stranded until they can steal another vehicle.

And they’ve been caught transporting two skeletons across state lines, if the first one has anything to do with the brothers. ”

“True. Maybe they’ll catch them then. How did they steal the Mazda in the first place?” Selena took a bite of her cinnamon roll.

“The owner left the car running at a service station convenience store. She ran inside to grab a soda, and the men took off with her car.” Meghan drank some more of her coffee.

“That will teach her to leave her car running and unattended.”

“For sure.”

Selena finished her coffee and cinnamon roll. “Thanks, that was really good.”

“You’re welcome.”

Peter ended his call and left the room. “Are you ready to head back to the hospital?”

“I am.” Then Selena thanked Meghan again and rode with Peter to the hospital.

“Trevor will be on duty watching over the two of you there tonight. The men who were driving the Mazda left fingerprints in the car. They weren’t expecting us to find it like that so they hadn’t wiped anything down.”

“That’s good, more evidence against them.”

Peter left Selena off at Daniel’s hospital room and headed home.

Daniel was sound asleep when she entered the room, and she didn’t want to wake him.

She climbed onto the couch bed, pulled the sheet and blanket over her, and closed her eyes, but it took her forever to fall asleep while she thought of the danger that Daniel had been in.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Daniel said as Selena woke on the couch. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah, sure. What about you? How is your arm?” She sat up on the couch.

“Much better.”

“I’m glad for it.”

“I’m ordering breakfast. What would you like to have?”

She walked over and sat on his bed to look at the menu with him. “Hmm, the ham, cheese, and vegetable omelet looks good. Orange juice. And that’s it.”

“I’ll have the same thing.” Then he filled it out on his chart. “All right. Should be here in about a quarter of an hour.” He set the menu on the table.

Then he cuddled with her and they kissed. “I can’t wait to go home with you and continue having a good time.”

“Me too. I hate the brothers for one of them shooting you and delaying things between us.”

“A mating?” He was so hopeful that’s what she meant.

“Yes.” She smiled.

“Hell, yeah.”

She laughed. “We’re soulmates, don’t you know?”

“Absolutely.”

When they finished their breakfast, Peter came by to pick Selena up to take her to the shop. She kissed Daniel goodbye. “See you at lunch.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Once Selena and Peter arrived at the store, she was busy putting merchandise on the shelves while Peter fielded calls from work. “Yeah, Daniel is all right. I’m certain he would like you to drop by and check on him. No, she’s at the shop.”

That made her wonder how others would feel about her abandoning Daniel at the hospital.

Then she opened the shop and already had a couple of customers. “Come in. Is there anything you’re looking for?”

“Those little skeletons in all the shops. They said you carry them.”

She was thrilled that the other ladies were helping her to sell her merchandise by displaying it in their shops.

After the customers bought several items and left the store, Selena called Daniel. “How are you doing?”

“Just lying around, sleeping some. How’s the shop going?”

“I’ve been selling. But I wanted to make sure you are okay.”

“The staff is taking good care of me. I’m glad you’re at the shop making some sales. I’ve just been sleeping a lot.”

“You’re not too lonely, are you?”

“Nah. I’m looking forward to having lunch with you.”

“What would you like to have for lunch?”

“A hamburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake.”

She laughed. “You got it. Do you want me to drop by at eleven or twelve?”

“Eleven. I can’t wait to see you.”

“All right, I’ll see you then.” She ended the call, glad to be meeting with him soon. “So, Peter, who has the best burgers in town?”

“I make the best ones on the grill at home, but both the tavern and Wolff restaurant have great ones too.”

“I guess we’ll go to the tavern since it’s closer to the hospital.”

“I’ll call in an order for eleven or twelve?”

“Eleven.” She didn’t want Daniel to have to wait to eat if he was hungry, and she wanted to be with him. She wondered who had called to see if he was accepting visitors.

“Okay.” Peter placed the order. “It will be ready when we are.”

“Sounds good.” She hung up a clock in the store, then went back to unpacking boxes. But she couldn’t stop watching the clock.

“Ready to go?” Peter finally said.

“Yes.” She grabbed her bag, locked the door, and headed out with Peter.

They dropped by the tavern, and Peter and Selena went inside to get the food. She was going to run in by herself, but Peter seemed to want to be her shadow even though the tavern allowed only shifters entry.

She paid for the meals, and then she and Peter drove to the hospital.

He went inside with her and checked on Daniel before he left them alone. “Hey, bud, how are you doing?”

“Good. I’m ready to go home.”

“Not until the doctor approves that you can go home,” Peter said.

Dr. Summerfield dropped by and smiled. “Tomorrow morning. You’re healing well, and you’ll have to do light duties until your arm heals up more, but you should be good otherwise.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

“All right, well, your nurse will keep me posted, and I’ll check on you later. Keep up the good work.” Then Dr. Summerfield left the room.

“I’m going home to have lunch with Meghan. Trevor is on duty in the meantime.” Peter said. “I’ll come back in an hour to take you back to the shop.”

“Okay, sounds good.” She put their food on a table and sat next to Daniel on the bed. “I hope you’re hungry. This smells delicious.”

“I’m hungry. It’s just my arm that hurts.”

“I hope it feels better soon.”

He sat up a bit straighter. “With you being here and the great food, I feel better already.”

“Do you want me to stay here and just keep the shop closed for the afternoon?” She took a bite of her burger.

“No. You’re selling at the shop, aren’t you?”

“Yes. But I don’t want you to be bored.”

“I’m going to sleep, and I’ll see you for dinner. Besides, some of the men have been coming by and bugging me.”

Not the women? Single women? That’s what she had thought was happening.

All the single she-wolves were dropping by to comfort him.

She was glad to hear that wasn’t so. She realized he handled single men approaching her better than she did, even though she had been thinking that single women would go after Daniel.

Just then, a man walked in the room who looked just like Daniel, surprising her.

“Selena, this is my twin brother, Michael. And, Michael, this is Selena Rivers, the new shopkeeper of the Howling Wolf.”

Michael hugged her. “I heard Daniel had laid claim to you as soon as he could.”

“You better believe it,” Daniel said, sounding proud of himself for doing so.

Selena laughed.

“We’ll have you and Carmela over for dinner as soon as we can.” Daniel reached for Selena’s hand and squeezed in an intimate touch.

“I had to check on you to see how you are doing, but Carmela also wanted me to tell you we’ll have you over for dinner. She would have come, but she’s still working. She’s dying to meet you, Selena. And by the way, she’s a distant cousin to Lelandi.”

“A red wolf then,” Selena said. “That’s so cool.”

“Yes. She and I were in the army, retired. I’m a Green Beret. Daniel decided to retire to Silver Town after we did also.”

“Are you both Green Berets?”

“Yeah,” the brothers both said at the same time.

“That’s so cool. Okay, well, I’ll get out of your hair so you can enjoy your visit. Get better quickly, brother,” Michael said.

“Thanks for dropping by,” Daniel said.

“Good to meet you,” Selena said, thinking that he would be her brother-in-law. She wanted to meet his mate too.

Then Peter called her. “Are you ready to return to the shop?”

She realized then that an hour had already passed. “Yeah, sure.” Though she really wanted to stay with Daniel longer.

“Okay, I’m on my way to pick you up.”

“See you in a few minutes.” Then she ended the call and said to Daniel, “Let me know what you want for dinner, and I’ll bring it around six.”

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll call you before then.”

He looked tired, and she figured he would sleep for a while. She kissed him just as Peter arrived. “Rest.”

“I will.”

Then she left with Peter, but he got a call on Bluetooth. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“We had a Blue Ford Mustang stolen, belonging to Mrs. Hastings. We put out a BOLO on it.”

“Have the alert roster notified that the brothers who shot Daniel are most likely responsible for the theft of Mrs. Hasting’s car. They’re armed and dangerous. Do not approach them without backup if you see her car,” Peter said.

When he finished the call, Selena asked, “Do you think they’ll leave town now?”

“They might. But they may just stay here because they don’t think we have the force to apprehend them. Everyone will be looking for them. They don’t realize it’s not just our sheriff’s department, but all of us in Silver Town. They’ll get caught.”

She didn’t know why they would stay in the area though. They’d already threatened her and looked for the file, but hadn’t found their father’s. So they could still be after that.

“What if I give them the file?” she asked Peter.

“What?”

“The brothers want their dad’s file. What if I leave it for them somewhere so they can take the file with them? I’ve also got it in the Cloud. The information isn’t going to help them with their father’s case.”

“We can’t let them go after they’d tried to kill Daniel and after they had transported a couple of skeletons in their vehicle, stolen vehicles, and everything else.”

“Of course not. The file will be the bait. If they destroy the files, I have a backup. But they need to be caught and charged with multiple crimes.”

“How would we get the word out to them? We’ve tried tracking their phones, but they must have them turned off.” Peter parked in front of her shop.

They both got out of his vehicle, she unlocked the shop, and they went inside.

“Besides, though they’re amateurs at all of this, if you were able to tell them you would give them the file, I’m sure they’ll suspect it’s a setup.”

“True. I just wondered if offering to give them the file would be the end of it.” Selena put the open sign out for customers.

Then she made a sign for the window listing the shop's hours.

She would need to have lunch coverage and someone at the shop when she needed to leave for any reason.

If she had an active following, she had to have reliable hours.

Peter was in the back of the shop on his phone, coordinating efforts to pursue the three brothers.

Selena called Silva. “Hey, it’s me, Selena. Do you know of anyone who could cover my shop when I have to leave?”

“I used a lady named Trish Walker, but she didn’t want to work full-time, so I ended up hiring a couple of other ladies. Trish likes part-time jobs, and she’s an excellent employee. If she isn’t available, post an ad in the paper about what you’re looking for. Part-time help?”

“Right. Okay, thanks.”

“Brett will help you with an ad if she doesn’t work out.” Silva gave her Trish’s phone number and email address.

Selena got some customers. “Thanks, got to go.” They ended the call. “Can I help you with anything?”

“We’re just looking to see what you have at the new shop.” The woman and her friends looked like they’d been hiking, wearing hiking boots and cargo pants, sweaters and jackets, and must have come into town to shop a bit. They were human, so they were not local.

Then some more customers arrived, same thing, human, probably enjoying the fall scenery around Silver Town and the hiking trails.

“Have you had trouble here?” one of the women asked, pointing toward Peter, wearing his sheriff’s uniform.