Page 4 of In The Shadow of The Wolf

“I’m on my way.” Lance quickly hung up and headed for his car. The Manor house was located twenty minutes from town, but he knew he would make it in record time. He was elated by the knowledge that his Fated mate was waiting for him at the Black Bean. “Ronan,” he rolled the name off his tongue several times and loved how it sounded.

. . .

“That was fortunate,” Ronan said at last.

“What?”

“We were rescued by a mechanic. Maybe our luck is improving.” He grinned.

“Do you think he knew we were lying?” Molly asked, embarrassed by her inability to spin a good lie.

“Absolutely, but hopefully, he doesn’t care enough to . . . care.” Ronan picked up one of the sugar packets, opened it, and poured it into his coffee. The pie arrived, and it looked like it was the best in the county. Ronan wasn’t aware that he was hungry until his eyes landed on that scrumptious piece of pie.

“Did you notice how buff that guy was? I’ve never known faded denim and a t-shirt to look so damn good.” Molly winked at Ronan as they continued to scarf down their pie.

“I’m not dead, so yes, I noticed.” He smiled. “I’ve never seen you so smitten, Miss Molly. If we weren’t on the run, I bet you would want to hang out in this town for the next few days just to get your fill of Mr. Aaron Beaumont.” They both laughed and teased, forgetting for the moment their dire circumstances.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Aaron came back into the coffee shop and slid into the booth next to Molly. “Well, I have good news, and I have not-so-good news.”

“Give us the good news,” Molly said while shifting in her seat to see him better.

“I have all the parts necessary to fix your car.” Aaron reached over and patted Molly’s hand where it rested on the tabletop.

“Now, the not-so-good news.” Ronan prompted.

“It’s a time-consuming repair.” He went into a long explanation of what he needed to do which neither Ronan nor Molly understood. “I won’t have the car finished until late tomorrow. You will have to get a room for a couple of nights.” His glance went from one to the other, gauging their acceptance.

“Can you recommend a place that is comfortable and cheap?” Molly asked.

While Molly and Aaron discussed possible accommodations, Ronan noticed two uniformed officers enter the shop and start to pay them way too much attention. “Maybe we should be going.” Ronan blurted abruptly and began to get out of the booth while grabbing at his sister’s hand. Molly caught on immediately when her gaze fell on the police near the door.

“Thank you, Aaron, for all your help,” Molly stuttered as she began to pull away, “but we’ll just look around town on our own, and I am sure we’ll find something suitable.” Aaron stood there bewildered by their behavior, but once he saw the police, he understood and followed them to the door.

Before Molly and Ronan could get out of the coffee shop, the two cops stopped them by stepping in front of the door and blocking their escape. They placed their hands on their hips with fingers hovering near the firearms strapped there and looked down their noses at them. It was a typical cop stance engineered for intimidation.

“Are you Molly and Ronan James from Traverse City, Michigan?” The tall cop with blond hair spoke while the other one with red hair and freckles continued to stare.

Ronan pulled his sister close, and neither spoke. They noticed that Aaron was standing behind them. The tall cop abruptly reached out and grabbed Molly by the upper arm. “Both of you are coming to the station.” His words were harsh, and suddenly Molly began to cry and pulled back from the Officer’s grip.

Ronan wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it, but he thought he heard a growl from behind them, and then the cop let go of Molly’s arm so fast it was as if he had received an electric shock. Aaron moved to position himself in front of Molly and glared at the two officers.

“What’s the problem, boys?” Aaron asked sharply. The two cops looked suddenly less intimidating and more like two ‘boys’ being reprimanded.

“They’re wanted for questioning regarding a crime back in Michigan.” The red head explained. “We received an APB on these two this morning from a D.A. in Michigan.”

Ronan cringed when he heard the news. Jordan was obviously carrying through with his threat to accuse them of burglary. A part of him had wished that Jordan was just posturing in hopes of neither of them accusing him of assault, but it looked as if Jordan was not giving up on the desire to have him physically. The thought sickened him to the point that suddenly, he felt like he needed to throw up.

“I’m going to be sick,” Ronan announced as he rushed to the bathroom, which was located off to the right of the front counter. No one tried to stop him, but he heard his sister yell to him, ‘everything will be okay, Ro’ it was an assurance he wasn’t buying at the moment. Once he emptied his stomach and cleaned up, he gathered his nerve and headed back to the fiasco that had suddenly become his life.

Upon entering the room, all eyes were on him. “Feel better?” Molly inquired, and he nodded but remained silent. He noticed that Aaron had moved to drape a protective arm around Molly’s mid section, and apparently, she liked it, because she was not objecting.

Ronan walked up to her side, and she reached for his hand and held it tightly. Once again, he thought he heard a faint growl, must be a dog in the room somewhere, he thought. The two officers backed up so quickly that they nearly stumbled over each other. This was a very strange scene.

“Come to the station with us, and we can probably clear this right up.” They urged, and Aaron motioned for the Officers to go, and they did. ‘Wow, that man has some serious clout for an auto mechanic,’ Ronan considered as he watched the action play out in front of him.

“Let’s go to the police station, and you can explain your situation in more private surroundings. Please don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you or your brother. You have my word.” Aaron spoke directly to Molly, who let out a slight whimper and squeezed Ronan’s hand.

Aaron's expression grew more intense at the sound of Molly’s distress, and he pulled her closer to him. His familiarity concerned Ronan, but Molly seemed to be eating it up, and he appeared to be a comfort to her, so Ronan let it pass.

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