Page 30 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

She opened her mouth, but she just shook her head and sighed. “It’s complicated. Don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t make you any promises on that,” Hayden replied gruffly. His wolf instincts told him to protect his mate from anything that might harm her, and that included worry. “Whatever this is, it’s weighing heavily on your mind. I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with us or with what you might think I’m expecting. I don’t regret what happened between us, but I know we’ll have to be a little more careful.”

There was that flash of a smile again, but it only lasted for an instant. “Thank you. I was a little worried about that, but I’ve had something else come up.”

“Is it anything I can help with?”

“No.” She turned her head to the side, staring out the window for a moment before sighing again and reaching under the neckline of her scrub top. This caught him by surprise, as did the heavy, crimson stone pendant she pulled out. “It’s this.”

“What is it?” Hayden had never seen anything quite like it before. “I’m no expert, but it looks like it’s hand-forged.”

“Probably, since it’s freaking ancient.” She lifted it over her head and looked glumly down at it in her hand. “It’s Verna’s. She gave me a big backstory about how it’s an ancient amulet made by fire elementals. It can absorb negative energy but can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”

Hayden squeezed his tongue between his teeth for a moment. “That’s hard to answer.”

“Exactly. And the part that’s even more crazy is she insists I keep it. She says that’s the only way to keep it safe from her niece, Darcy.” Jessica shook her head again as she rolled the amulet around on her fingers. “It’s been bugging the hell out of me. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, but I’m not supposed to have things like this from patients.”

That explained why she was reading the standard operating procedures. “Wait a second, did you say Darcy?”

“Yeah.” That tension began to build up in her again, and Hayden could sense it like a wall. “Do you know her?”

“Only sort of. She just came to the fire station to find me. She told me you were poisoning Verna to take advantage of her, trying to get her money and assets.” He frowned at the chunky necklace in Jessica’s hand. “It looks like she’s doing a damn good job of setting you up.”

“That bitch!” Jessica snarled, her fingers tightening around the amulet. “She’s the one who’s been poisoning Verna! She asked me to help her get power of attorney over her so she could get her into a nursing home, and then she showed up at my house and threatened me. Now she’s badmouthing me to you? I don’t think I even want to know what she said!”

“Probably not,” Hayden agreed. He knew he shouldn’t find it attractive to see her so angry, and he definitely didn’t want her to be upset, but there was a certain energy that’d risen up in her that was driving Hayden’s wolf wild. He could certainly find a good way for her to channel that anger.

No, damn it. That has to wait.

Through his distracted thoughts, he finally realized what Jessica had said. “Darcy is poisoning Verna?”

“She was, anyway. Verna got it all figured out, and she stopped taking the medication that Darcy had tricked doctors into prescribing for her.” She wrapped her fist around the stone as she talked. “This is so crazy, Hayden. I’m all worried about having this necklace because I don’t want it to look like I’m tricking an old lady, and that’s exactly what Darcy is doing!”

Jessica flung out her hand on the last word, still holding the amulet. A bolt of fire shot from it, hitting the tiles behind the stove.

“Eesh!” Jessica quickly let go of the amulet, dangling it carefully from its chain. “Did that just happen?”

Hayden could hardly believe it himself. He was still trying to keep track of this story, but that fire bolt was certainly an attention grabber. Walking over to the stove, he examined the scorch marks on the tile. “It definitely did.”

“I’m so sorry.” Jessica held up the stone, the line in her forehead deepening. “I don’t even know how that happened. I’ve got to get this thing back to Verna.”

“Actually, I think there might be someone else we should talk to first. One of my packmates teaches American folklore over at the university. Verna has told you everything from her perspective, but he might be able to fill in more details. We have to figure out exactly what we’re dealing with before we figure out how to act.” We. He’d made this his problem simply because it was hers, and he wasn’t inclined to shy away from it. Hayden wanted to help, and he’d do so in whatever way he could.

“Okay,” Jessica said quietly, still examining the necklace. “I guess we at least know this thing is real.”

Hayden pushed open the kitchen door. “Jack, Jessica and I have to run an errand.”

“Oh, really?” Jack arched an eyebrow.

“Seriously, Jack. I can’t explain it all now, but this is serious business. I’m going to call your mom and have her come here and stay with you.” Hayden pulled his phone out of his pocket, wondering how he was going to explain this. Yeah, I just need you to come hang out with Jack while I take off with his nurse. That sounded great.

“Where are you going?” Jack flicked back the light blanket and slid out of bed. “I want to come.”

“Jack, I don’t think that’s a good idea. This might be dangerous. It’s a lot to explain.” He hesitated as he pulled up Maura’s number.

“Then you can tell me on the way,” Jack insisted. He grabbed his crutch and steadied it against the floor. It took him a moment to get balanced since he was dealing with both a broken arm and a broken leg, not to mention broken ribs, but he was soon making his way to the front door.

“We’re just going to the university,” Hayden protested.

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