Page 34 of Fastlander Fallen

Corey tipped her head to Hallie. “Mate of Gunner.”

“Holy fuck.” He laughed and backed away a couple paces. “He’s claimed you?” he asked.

“He’s my man.” Hallie stood and offered her hand for a shake.

The man looked at her hand, then back to her face, and then to the door behind her. “You tamed the beast?”

“That man ain’t tame, and you and I both know it.”

A sly smile took his lips. “Good answer. Means you know what you’re into.” He stepped forward and quickly shook her hand, then backed away again. “I’m Wreck.”

“Like shipwreck?” Corey asked.

“Just Wreck.” He twitched his chin toward the door. “Those boys will know me.”

“What Crew are you with?”

“Fuck,” he murmured, shaking his head. “No way would I be caught in a Crew.”

“Lone wolf?”

“Lone somethin’,” he said with a wicked smile. “I’m not a wolf though.” He lifted his chin and looked at Corey. “Who are you with? Who is the big one?”

“A friend.”

A slow smile stretched his lips, and he dropped his gaze to the flames. “With shifters, there are specific looks they give. Hungry looks when they’re wanting a hook-up. A hook-up takes the edge off the animal. It’s a reset button. A suspicious look says they don’t trust someone completely, but they’re interested. There’s anger, and that’s trouble. The dominant ones can’t control their reactions, unless you’re the blue dragon. He never slips, right?” He lifted glowing gold eyes to Hallie. “Say if someone’s ex-boyfriend won’t stop stalking them, and he dies, the blue dragon would never be involved with something so risky, right? Or would he, if the reward was big enough.”

“What are you talking about?” Hallie asked. Corey could feel her tension now.

The shifter blinked slowly and dragged his attention back to Corey. “I saw the way the big one was looking at you. It isn’t anger. It isn’t suspicion. It isn’t looking for a hook-up.”

“How does he look at me?”

He dropped his gaze to the fire, and then back up to her, and a small smile took the very corner of his lips. “Like you’re his. Careful with that one. You’re fragile.” He tilted his head toward the door. “You’ve got company.”

She checked the door, and it opened. Gunner led the way, followed by a couple of the others, and then Ace came out. When she turned, the shifter was gone. Just…vanished like he had never been there.

She could see the change on Ace’s face as the smile drifted from his lips, and he lifted his nose to the air and scented the breeze. His gaze turned hard and he locked eyes with her. “You okay?” he asked.

“Of course.”

He scanned the other deck full of people eating and hanging out, then slowly made his way to her and sank down beside her. “Interesting conversation?” he asked.

“Illuminating conversation,” she corrected him. “Do you know someone named Wreck?”

The expression on his face froze into something unreadable.

“You talked to Wreck?” one of the other guys asked from where he was talking to a waitress who had followed them out here.

“Yep.”

Gunner was leaning back against the bench with his arm draped around Hallie’s shoulders, but he was staring thoughtfully at Corey with that striking, bi-colored gaze of his. He stood suddenly and sauntered over to the railing, scanned the crowd on the adjacent deck, and then the woods behind the bar. “If he’s back in town, why didn’t he apply for the Fastlanders?” he asked aloud.

No one seemed to have an answer, so Corey spoke up in hopes of being helpful. “He sounded like he wasn’t interested in a Crew.”

“Mmm,” Ace said from beside her. He was staring at Gunner’s back. “Want me to go find him?”

“You won’t find him,” one of the others—she thought she remembered his name was Owen—said. “He’s a ghost.”

---