Page 4 of Wolf

“I’m not going to fucking like anyone at the moment,” I growled, registering the concern etched onto Pipe’s younger face. I threw my hands in the air, my eyes straying to Lamb’s face, who flashed me a smirk before looking over to where Pipe was still standing stiff as a board. Newbie hadn’t seen many visitors in the year of prospecting he’d done so far; he would probably be concerned over our delivery guy. Then again, Pipe was a sturdy fucker and it took a lot tounsettlehim.

I turned toward my vice president. Lamb’s eyes scoured him, cataloging his tense behavior, before setting down whatever bottle of booze he’d been reorganizing. Not a goodsign. “Who?”

“Charon.”

Chapter Two

Anna

“Fucking bastard,”I grumbled, still feeling the sore ache across my back that the bar and his heavy ass had left. I grabbed the wallet out of my passenger seat and stepped out of my car, locking itbehindme.

I walked up to the county jail, pawing my way through the wallet. I took whatever money was left and slipped it in my back pocket, calling it damage compensation for my wrist, before taking out the platinum credit card. I scoffed at the name written on it—Nikolay Nosov—knowing it wasn’t his real name. It was a children’s author in Russia, a famous one, too. Any idiot would know if they googled it. But Wolf was a simple man and wasn’t the type to think too much into afakename.

“Good evening, Miss Anna,” a rough, aged voice greeted, causing me tolookup.

An older man stood with the door opened wide. His light sandy-brown hair was beginning to thin around the crown of his head, and dark rings hung heavily under his eyes. His uniform was ironed and his tie loose around his neck, the collar undone by only one button; and his shoes, although black and recently polished, had a dusting of dirt on the top. His badge straight, but his pocket was weighed down by a pack of nicotine gum peeking out the top. “Sheriff Jennings,” I returned withagrin.

“Please,” he scoffed. “With the amount of time you’re here, you might as well call meJerimiah.”

“Does that mean you’ve finally warmed to me, Sheriff?” I gave him my most charming smile, ignoring his comment about his name. I never called him by his name, no matter how many times he told me to. I didn’t want to become too friendly and do things in front of an officer that I really shouldn’t do. Stuff I otherwise didregularly.

“Sure. If you stop hanging around those troublesome boys,” he grumbled, also brushing over my use of histitle.

“You know I can’t do that," I said on a laugh. “Those boys fill my pockets as much as they do thistown’s.”

The sheriff chose not to acknowledge that comment, living to interfere with those boys’ lives as much as his pride would allow. They didn’t mind, though; it reminded them that just because they belonged to this town, it didn’t mean they owned it. Well, most of them. “Now, get inside, I ain’t gonna stand around like a doorstop all day. I got placestobe.”

“Yes, sir.” I took his offer with a mock salute, earning me a playful eye roll, and stepped through the open doorway, where I spotted June, the fed-up, fifty-something receptionist, waiting for me with a tired look on her face, as usual. Sheriff Jennings was just about to close the door when I called out, “Best hide the smell of those cigarettes before you go see your wife,Sheriff.”

“And you stop stealing Wolf’s card before he finds out,” he threw back, letting the door shut behind him, chuckling ashewent.

“It’s not like I ever try to hide it from him,” I scoffed at the closed door before turning on my heels and walking over to the desk. June held out her hand to me, not bothering with a conversation we both couldn’t give a shit about, and I handed her Wolf’s card before heading towardthegate.

It was left open. The quick whispering ended as I came to a stop in front of the boys’ jail cell. “Gotta say, I’m tempted to leave you in here this time, my selfless and bravemusketeers.”

Jax pulled out a huge grin, his face a mask of mischievousness and completely absent of guilt. His body was covered in all sorts of tattoos from the neck down that peeked through several holes in his shirt, and his dark, normally mussed hair had upgradedtowild.

Pretty groaned, looking more ragged than I’d ever seen him, a defeated look on his beautiful model-hot face, his pale blond hair dyed with a tint of... was thatblood?

And poor, little newbie Mint kept his lovely pale green eyes behind pinched lids as he stayed curled up and groaning on the metal detention bench. I think it was Mint’s first real night out with the infamous party animal we called Jax, and I had to feel sorry for him. Not everyone could drink his moonshine and live to tellthetale.

“Should’ve come out with us.” Jax laughed, rising and stretching from his bench seat. “Itwasfun.”

“Fun isn’t the word I’d use,” I scoffed, still staring at the new recruit and spotting the tiny bald patch on the back ofhishead.

“Fucking nightmare is the word I’d use,” Mint snapped, taking his sweet time sitting up on his bench, only to groan and drop his head in his hand at the movement. “Not that I can remember a fuckingthing.”

Pretty just sighed, rising from his seat on the opposite bench next to Jax, and came up to the bars. I looked him up and down, noting the tears in his shirt, a few scratch marks faint on his cheek, and the missing belt. All in all, he was in his normal state after a nightwithJax.

“I don’t know why you haven’t learned your lesson yet,” I said, despite knowing how much of a charming and persuasive bastard Jaxcouldbe.

“Just get me out of here. Please,” he pretty-pleaded, and I could read in his eyes that he had all but given up fighting Jax. Pretty had just turned twenty-four, which had been their excuse for celebrating last night, and of course, gave Jax a reason to break out the moonshine. He had become a new recruit when Lamb brought him in like some ragged stray when he was nineteen, and since then, he’d had enough time to learn that no matter how many times he said “never again,” there would always be anagain.

I shook my head, taking pity on the poor man, and waved my hand down to June, who pressed the buzzer to open the door. It gave a horrifying screech as I swung it open, and even Jax recoiled at thesound.

Recovering from it quickly, the tall, inked, and tanned southern boy swaggered out the door with Pretty limping behind him. It took Mint a minute or so longer to gather himself before he got up to walkpastme.

“Don’t think your old military superiors would be happy to know their soldiers can’t keep track of their shoes.” I laughed as I saw his feet, his toes poking out the holes in his socks, covered in grit and dirt. Mint looked down at them, only just noticing, and sighed, unable to bring himself to respond. He just walked out the door and into thecarlot.

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