Pack Balance (3 page)

Her brother worked at one of the fire stations and had put in a good word for her. It had been nice spending so much time together and they’d grown closer than ever. Garrett had never met Cooper, although her parents had when they’d visited Clear Creek for the previous Christmas. That had been two weeks before she’d run away.

The health scare had brought the entire Sullivan family closer. Luckily they’d caught the small tumor in her dad’s stomach early and after twelve treatments, he was on the road to recovery.

She’d been so relieved that her father was going to be okay. She’d even debated about staying in Kermit, but she couldn’t get her mind off Cooper or the events that had sent her running.

They’d been on a date when her entire world was rocked. Cooper had held the door open for her as they’d left her favorite Italian restaurant. She’d heard a muffled scream, not really placing it for what it was until later. Cooper had pushed her back into the restaurant yelling at her to call nine-one-one. She had, but she’d also followed him into the alley. There, what she’d seen still gave her nightmares. Two giant wolves had cornered a woman at the end of the dark alley.

Julie had watched in horror as Cooper ran at the two animals, yelling at them. She’d wanted to shout at him to shoot them, but she hadn’t been able to make a sound. The woman who’d been screaming had remained cowering as the two wolves stalked toward Cooper.

In an instant, Cooper had been howling and his body had started to change. It had been both horrible and frightening to watch as his clothes had torn and his body had reshaped itself. She’d wanted to close her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to watch anymore. Instead, she’d witnessed Cooper’s full transformation from human into a wolf shifter.

Of course, she hadn’t known that was what they called themselves back then. It wasn’t until a month later when the announcement had come from the Wolf Council and other shifter organizations that they were real, did she start to understand that what Cooper could turn into wasn’t just a fairy tale. No, the man she loved was half animal. And she was a horrible person who had darted into the alley as Cooper had fought two beasts and ended up running from him. The only thing she’d done right that night was when she had grabbed the young woman to take her to safety.

As she’d yanked her to her feet, Julie’s gaze had met Cooper’s. Eyes that were so familiar to her had widened in surprise. She’d run then, sprinted out of the alley with her hand wrapped around a stranger. Police lights and sirens in front of the restaurant had been all she could see. She’d collapsed into the arms of the first uniformed officer she’d seen. There was no way to explain what had taken place.

Lucky for her, she hadn’t had to. Josiah had shown up and taken over the scene. Julie hadn’t talked to him, but she’d been able to see the worry on his face every time he’d glanced her way. By the time Cooper had stepped out of the alley, Julie had thought she’d lost her mind. If only things had been that simple.

Chapter Two

Cooper rubbed his fingers over his forehead. The headache that had started a little while ago was now pounding and making him sick. He paused outside the room where Jordan was being held.

“We don’t have to do this now,” Josiah said.

They did though. Cooper couldn’t let this hot lead in the case go just because he felt like his entire world was falling apart, again. “I’m fine,” he lied.

Josiah shook his head. “At least take some aspirin, you stubborn fool.” He held out a packet to Cooper.

Grateful, Cooper took them and tore open the package with his teeth. He popped two pills in his mouth and used his coffee to wash them down. At least that took care of one of his problems. He didn’t even want to think about what the reappearance of Julie into his life meant—not that he expected to see much of her. Julie had obviously returned home and hadn’t gotten in touch with him. He’d tried. God, he’d tried so hard to explain things after he’d shifted that night. If he could do things over again, he would share his secret with her as soon as he realized that he was in love with her. Instead, he’d done what he’d always done and kept the other part of him hidden. Only his partner had known he could shift into a wolf, since that had been before the shifters had gone public. And Josiah had figured it out after them working together for a year, catching small signs that Cooper hadn’t known he was showing his partner.

“She’s back.” Josiah leaned closer as he lowered his voice. “That has to count for something.”

Cooper snorted. “Does it?” It was the question he kept asking himself and now that he’d said it out loud, Cooper felt like an idiot.

“She didn’t have to come back,” Josiah pointed out.

“Her home is here, her job. That’s why she returned,” Cooper said.

“I think you’re wrong. You were so shocked from seeing her that you didn’t really see her,” Josiah told him.

Cooper frowned. “That doesn’t even make sense.” He relaxed against the wall and took another drink of his coffee. It was bitter and scorched but he didn’t expect anything different at the police house.

“She watched you,” Josiah said. “As you walked away, she didn’t take her eyes off you. And there was longing, regret and a spark of hope. You know I can read people, and Julie is not over you.”

The ache in his heart seemed to grow bigger. He wanted to believe his partner, but he wasn’t sure he could make it through another heart break. “Fuck, I need to shift.”

Josiah laughed. “Well, let’s get our interrogations started so you can do that.”

Cooper drained the last of his coffee then tossed the paper cup into the nearby trash can. “Okay.” He pushed himself away from the wall and strolled to the door. He opened it and saw Jordan with his arms folded on the table and his head down. Jordan didn’t even look up when they entered. Cooper slammed his hand down right next to Jordan’s head.

Jordan popped up and if he hadn’t been handcuffed to the metal ring in the table, he’d probably have fallen.

“You’re sleeping?” Cooper asked with disgust. “Really?” Did this kid not know how much trouble he was in?

Jordan scowled back at him. “Can’t say your place is very entertaining, so there’s not much more to do.”

Cooper had to give Jordan credit for trying to remain tough. The punk didn’t have a decent bone in his body. He was probably proud to have been arrested—something to add to his street cred. Cooper shook his head and sat directly in front of Jordan. As he’d discussed earlier with his partner, Josiah stayed back against one wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I hate for you to tell others I’m not a good host, so why don’t we get started,” Cooper said. “You’re facing some very serious charges.”

“And you’ll fix them for me?” Jordan sneered.

Cooper shrugged. “You help me and I help you.” He leaned forward. “You’re in serious shit, Jordan. There is no one here to help you. We’ve got your buddy Kade. Kenny is under police guard at the hospital. One of them will talk. So why don’t you do yourself a favor and don’t waste my time.”

“Talk to you? I’m not a narc!” Jordan exclaimed.

“Assault on an officer,” Cooper reminded him. “You’ll do time for that. Is that what you want? Go to prison when all you have to do is answer some questions?”

“I’m not telling you anything,” Jordan said. “I’ll be a hero in jail and you know it. You will just help my reputation.”

Cooper glanced over his shoulder at his partner. “Guess I owe you a hundred bucks.”

“Yep, and don’t try to get out of it this time.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t talk,” Cooper stated as he stood.

Josiah stepped closer.

“Of course,” Cooper continued. “That doesn’t mean I can’t make the others think he did. I wonder what Kade will give me if he thinks Jordan rolled.”

Josiah laughed. “I’m not taking that bet.”

It was the oldest trick in the book. Cooper was taking a chance, but he figured Jordan really didn’t want to be known as a snitch. “We’ll let Kade leave first, if he cooperates. That way he can start the rumors about Jordan before Jordan even gets out.”

“Fuck you!” Jordan yelled. “No one will believe I ratted.”

Cooper had been making his way to the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Jordan with his best surprised expression. “Sorry. I forgot you were here.”

“You’re such a dick,” Jordan said.

“Well…yeah,” Cooper agreed easily. “Now, what were you saying?”

“I’m not saying shit,” Jordan replied.

Cooper grinned. “That’s not what I’m going to tell Kade—or Kenny, when we talk to him. I hear that he’s almost ready to be released from the hospital. Maybe Kade won’t give you up to the neighborhood but Kenny doesn’t have any loyalty to you.” Cooper mixed enough truth in to cover his lie. And he could lie to a suspect. He had no idea how Kenny was doing. He’d asked Grant to check into Kenny’s condition and hadn’t gotten word back yet. He did know that if Kenny survived, he wasn’t Jordan’s lackey like Kade. He’d have no problem spreading rumors where Jordan was concerned. Kenny was only friends with the person who could get him drugs at that moment. He only looked out for himself.

“You can’t tell people I talked to you. You’ll get me killed,” Jordan told him. His voice wavered slightly.

Perfect.

Cooper shrugged. “The thing is, I don’t really see that as a bad thing. You’re a drug pusher and I’ve spent a lot of years putting people like you in jail. But you just get out again.” He turned to his partner. “This idea is sounding better and better.”

“I’m going to hurt you one day,” Jordan spat at him. “You think you’re so tough. Well you won’t be when me and my boys get done with you. You’ve been making lots of enemies on the streets. I won’t even have to pay to have you messed up. The boys will do it for free.”

Oh yeah, he had Jordan scared. The only way he’d be so stupid as to say that to Cooper while in custody was if he was about to shit himself in fear. Well, Cooper wasn’t going to put up with that crap. He was a damn good detective and he would
not
back down, especially not to some punk who needed a good ass whooping.

Cooper used his shifter speed to hurl himself at Jordan. He picked Jordan up by his neck. The chain attached to the cuffs made it impossible for Jordan to fight back. Although, even if he hadn’t been restrained, Jordan stood no chance of hurting Cooper.

“I told you before not to threaten me!”

“You can’t put your hands on me,” Jordan shouted. “I’ll sue you and this entire city.”

Cooper snarled but released Jordan. Jordan fell, missing his chair, and landed on the floor. The chain rattled.

“Try it,” Cooper dared. He whirled around and knew that his eyes were glowing. His wolf was close. Too much had happened and he was hanging on to his control by a thread. At normal times he could bring portions of his wolf out and use the animal side of him to intimidate others but at that moment, his wolf was surfacing on his own. After the night he’d had, his wolf was itching to be released. He needed to shift soon.

“Let’s go see what Kade has to say,” Josiah said.

He followed his partner to the door, but paused to glare over his shoulder. Jordan had climbed back in his chair but the young man was pale and shaking. Cooper narrowed his eyes. “You’d better pray Kade doesn’t roll over and we still need something from you.”

Jordan didn’t respond, but Cooper saw him swallow hard. They’d let Jordan sit and think about his future while they tried their hand at breaking Kade. Cooper truly did hope that Kade wanted to talk. The longer the interrogations took, the bigger chance that a shifter was out there digesting a drug that would kill them.

Cooper let the door slam behind him before he leaned back against it.

“You have to get yourself under control,” Josiah told him.

He nodded. “I know.” A few more hours and he’d be able to go home and spend some time as his wolf. He just needed to catch a damn break in the case.

“I’m going to grab us some cold drinks,” Josiah said. “Why don’t you take a few minutes? I’ll meet you in front of Kade’s door. He’s in C.”

“Thanks, man.” Cooper patted his partner’s shoulder.

Josiah walked off, heading toward the break room. Cooper watched him go. He was lucky that they’d been assigned to one another. Josiah was more than his work partner. He was Cooper’s best friend. He pushed himself off the door and strolled down the hall. When he reached the men’s room, he passed another officer and nodded in greeting. He didn’t want to talk to anyone just then, so he hurried by.

Lucky for him, the restroom was empty as he walked up to the sink. He braced his hands on the cold porcelain while leaning close to peer into the mirror. His eyes had returned to normal but he had dark circles under them. His dark hair was shaggy and he really needed to get it cut. Basically, he looked like crap. The long hours he’d been putting in showed on his face. Not the best time to run into Julie again. He snorted. God, he couldn’t believe he’d seen her after all this time. She’d looked so good too. Why couldn’t he get past his attraction to her? He knew it was more than physical and that what he felt for Julie was true. A part of him wanted to rejoice at her return. If she was close enough maybe he could win her back. The other side of him was terrified. Cooper couldn’t go through another heartbreak if Julie didn’t want him. But now was not the time to worry about his love life. He had to stop thinking about her. He had work to do.

He turned on the cold faucet before lowering his face. He cupped some water and splashed himself. The chill felt great against his heated flesh. He repeated this action several times before turning off the water. He grabbed a paper towel from the holder on the wall and patted his face dry, feeling better. He just needed to keep his attention where it belonged. It shouldn’t be too hard. Julie had left him. Found out what he was and ran. He needed to remember that.

With new resolve, he turned and strolled from the restroom. Josiah stood outside the interrogation room on his cell phone. When he spotted Cooper coming, he said a few more words then hung up.

“Anything on the case?” Cooper asked as he joined his partner.