Page 85 of Spark
She turned tail and tried to run, but Chris could see that she wasn’t going to get far. The waves of hot rage rolling off Matt told him that his friend wasn’t going to let his prey escape.
The police car’s speaker blared. “Everyone hold it right there!”
Matt froze. So did the gray wolf.
The SUV’s doors opened, and officers Annika Tringstad and Kenny Jacobsen both emerged from the vehicle, their weapons drawn.
“Aunt Molly?” Annika asked, incredulously.“Youattacked Sophie?
The gray wolf whined softly. She lowered her head and tucked her tail between her legs. Her fur began to ripple as she started to shift back to her human shape.
“Isn’t that Astrid?” Kenny pointed his gun at the black wolf, who was staggering in their direction.
“And that’s my Great-Uncle Sven,” Annika said, her tone disgusted now. “All of you, shift back to humans.Now.”
Once they were all back in their human shapes, naked, bloodied, and panting from the effort, Sophie rushed into Chris’s embrace, hugging him with her good arm. “Thank you!”
He bent to kiss her. He couldn’t help himself. He’d come so close to losing her just now.
Then she turned to Matt, and repeated the hug. Matt, too, kissed her, his expression dissolving from fierce to tender as their lips met.
Sven was the first to speak.
“Thank God you arrived here when you did,” he said to Annika. “This young lady lured me here, and then her two friends ambushed me! Thank God that my girls were here to protect me!”
“That’s not what happened!” Sophie said. “He asked me to come here because he had some photos of Laura’s wedding, and then he tried to kill me to stop me from finding out who really killed Laura.”
“Who are you going to believe, Annika Tringstad? A member of your own pack or some Ordinary human who’s been poking her nose into our business and stirring up trouble?” Sven demanded.
“I’m going to believe the people telling the truth here,” Annika said, her eyes glittering with anger. “And you stink oflies, Uncle Sven.”
He put his hands on his hips and glared at the two officers. “And how about you, Kenny—areyougoing to do the right thing and stick with your pack, like your grandfather Kenneth did?”
“Always,” the tall, golden-haired police officer said calmly. “As long as my pack doesn’t break the law.” He unclipped a pair of handcuffs from his belt and looked over at Annika. “You want to do the honors, or should I?”
“If you wouldn’t mind…” she said, indicating Sven, who lay sprawled on the ground, his wrinkled ass and thighs torn up and covered in fresh blood, glaring furiously at all of them. "I'll call an ambulance. That looks pretty serious."
Chris noticed that she wasn't rushing for a first aid kit, though.
She turned her attention to Matt and Chris. “You two okay?”
Matt nodded. “Just a few scratches,” he said, despite the fact that his right calf was bleeding copiously.
“I’m fine” said Chris. Sven hadn’t managed to land a single bite. “But they hurt Sophie.” That last part emerged as a growl. “You got a first aid kit I could use?”
Annika nodded. “In the trunk. Let me get it for you.”
She opened the back of the police SUV and tossed him a soft-sided case.
She went over to the two, naked middle-aged women sitting on the ground, cuffed them, and began reading them their rights. Both of the women were bleeding profusely and Sven was groaning loudly as Kenny cuffed him then lifted him and carried him to the back of the police vehicle.
“Sophie, what’s up with your arm?” Chris asked, as he unzipped the case.
All the volunteer firefighters were trained in first aid, and he didn’t like the way that she was cradling her right arm against her generous chest.
At a glance, he guessed that Matt’s calf would need stitches.
“I t-think my wrist is sprained,” she stammered. “And I have some bruises where they ran into me.”
