Page 76 of Sparks Flying

“All vehicles along the highway are captured on camera, and the tags run through multiple databases. In this case, we have stolen rental car tags. Most of the time it’s nothing, but. . .”

“But if someone was trying to come here, like a Collector, who wanted to stay anonymous or at least difficult to track down, what better way to protect a vehicle than with the wrong license plate?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s genius. Did Archie set that up for you?”

“No. I did. I majored in cybersecurity.”

“I didn’t know that.”

It seemed weird that after all our conversations, there were still things I didn’t know about him.

Dean didn’t call right away. Instead, he set a timer on his phone and watched it count down. When the alarm went off, he frowned.

“Well, shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“If they were just driving through, I would have received a second alert. Since no alert came through, I can only assume that whoever it is stopped somewhere in Ravenden or turned off the highway.”

“The alarm was set for the time it takes to drive through town?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s sort of genius.”

He beamed back at me. “Thanks.”

I sat there listening in as he called Patrick.

“Hello?” Patrick answered.

“Patrick, it’s Dean. I just got a hit on a vehicle along the highway with stolen plates. It’s probably nothing, but Doc was by this morning and refused to lift quarantine yet, so I was wondering if maybe you could send someone out to look into it?”

I was close enough to hear their entire conversation.

“No problem. We’ll check it out. Send me the details. They could be long gone by now, though.”

“I wouldn’t bother you with this if that were the case. I monitor traffic in both directions so I know if an incoming alert goes off I give it so many minutes until I expect to see an outgoing alert following it. That would be someone just passing through. I did not receive a second notice. So, they’re definitely somewhere in Ravenden.”

“We’ll check it out right away.”

“Archie gave me access to real-time satellite feeds. I’m searching now as well. I’ve already sent you the make and model details. I’ll call in Vance as well.”

“Who’s Vance?” I asked when he was off the call.

“Vance Thornton is one of our finest Ravenden deputies. I don’t have much of a team aside from a few that assist with monitoring. I’m still working on hiring the right people on. I wasn’t kidding about giving you a job if you want it. I could really use your help.”

I had thought he was just saying that to be cute when we discussed it before. Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps there was a place for me here in Ravenden as more than just Dean’s wolf mate.

“Vance. Hey buddy. We have a suspicious vehicle along the highway. Patrick’s sending a few people out to investigate, but you know the area much better.”

He relayed the details before ending the call.

Dean blew out a breath. “It’s frustrating being stuck here and helpless. At first, when we agreed to go into quarantine atall, I was just excited to spend some time alone with you. And that part’s been great, but I know work is piling up on my desk, too.”

“Can’t your assistant send you stuff over to work from here?”

---