Page 8 of Midnight Whispers
He did not want his dad’s employees to lie for him, but it would be great if they did.
The call was quick. Riley could tell the man who answered was used to answering calls from people he knew. He answered the phone as if he were prepared to take Riley’s order. “What can I do for you, hon?”
“I ran out of gas. I’m on…” He put the man on speaker to check what the road name was on the GPS map. “Hensley Road.”
“Are you a local or a college student?”
“I’m about to be both.”
“All right. Well, that’s pack lands out there. Just so you know. If you ain’t pack, I wouldn’t get out of the car.”
Well, that just made Riley pee himself a little. “Pack?”
“Just wait for Cass to get there before exiting the vehicle.”
“No problem.” Like he would. Dark, scary forests weren’t his thing. Add in all the pack stuff the dispatcher mentioned and leaving the car wasn’t a problem.
They ended the call.
And what the hell were pack lands, anyway? Were there wolves in Fortune Falls? A pack of them must live in the forests around Fortune Falls. But Riley wasn’t aware wolves were in Fortune Falls. He always assumed wolves were more of a western United States thing and not a mid-western animal, but maybe the government had reintroduced them to the area or something.
It would be totally neat to see one, as long as it didn’t get close to his car. He tried to see past the tree trunks and brush, deep into the forest, but couldn’t spot anything besides trees, snow, and dead leaves.
He looked up what wolf species were in Fortune Falls.
Huh. Riley found a site that said there weren’t wolves in the area and then a couple of known sightings suggested signs of them. A hunter killed one by accident, thinking it was a coyote, but that was in a county north of Fortune Falls. They could travel for miles, so it was possible.
But he didn’t think getting out of the car when the dispatcher told him specifically to stay inside would be a good way to do that. It was stupid to face a fear when the potential for that fear was very real.
So, he stayed put and decided he’d conquer another fear, like public speaking or singing in front of a crowd. Maybe Fortune Falls had a karaoke bar.
But facing down a pack of wolves. No, thank you.
Riley settled in to wait. After five minutes, he was freezing. He grabbed a blanket from the stack he’d put in the back seat and wrapped it around himself.
The blanket did the trick to ward off the cold, but it didn’t stop his imagination from taking over. The more his mind conjured images of snarling wolves with red eyes and bigger-than-normal teeth, the more he felt as if his heart would beat out of his chest.
He kept picturing wolves surrounding his car and him freezing to death before someone could save him.
All he wanted was to start a new life in Fortune Falls. One where he’d be a college student for the first time. He’d get to know his dad and connect with Griffin face-to-face instead of phone calls and video chats. They could finally have dinners as a family. They’d be able to do things together, like go fishing, not that he ever had before in his life. And maybe his brother would take him hiking. There were several trails close by. He’d have a give-and-take with his dad and brother in a way he never had with his mom.
He didn’t seem to be starting on a good note. He should have taken the money his dad offered him. It would have changed the vibe of his fresh start. But he let pride get in the way. And maybe he didn’t know how to depend on another person, not even his dad. It was something he had to learn. He needed a book.How to Rely on Your Dad. He needed to let go of the notion that he only had himself, and it was all on him. Survival mode. That’s what he needed to get rid of. He needed to start living.
But that was easier said than done.
Chapter Six
Cass printed out the information he’d found about who owned the farmhouse. He’d never heard the name before. Alice Newman sounded like an alias. Or at least that’s what his instinct was telling him. He’d find out either way soon enough.
He was just about to enter the name into the national database when Danny came around the corner. “Got a call. Some kid ran out of gas. On Hensley.”
Cass raised his eyebrows. “Not a local.”
Danny winced. “He’d said he was about to be. I thought that meant he knew about shifters, so I mentioned he was on pack land out there where he’s at. But now I’m questioning that theory.”
Cass swore and stood, grabbing his keys off the desk. “You told him not to get out of the car.”
“Yep. The pack alpha would have a field day with some stranger on pack lands.” Danny was pack and a good guy. His only issue was he assumed too much. He had a lot to learn if he wanted Iven to put him out in the field.
