Half Truths (A Helheim Wolf Pack Tale) (11 page)

The woman,
Aaron’s mother presumably, was the same height as Grey. Her hair was tied up in
a tight ponytail, adding to the fitness fanatic vibe she was giving out. When
he looked at her hard enough, he could see Aaron had had her eyes.

‘Mrs Mills?’
Grey asked politely. Mrs Mills nodded. ‘I’m Larissa Grey from Buxton P.D., and
this is my partner, Detective Wolfe. May we come in?’

While Grey had
been speaking, Vaile could see the understanding dawning in Mrs Mills’ hazel
eyes. She knew exactly why they were there. Nodding in a dazed way, she stepped
back and showed them into the living room, sinking down into the plush blue
sofa after offering them both a seat.

‘Mrs Mills,
we’re—’

‘Lucy,’ she said
with a cracked voice. She cleared her throat before trying again. ‘Call me
Lucy, please.’

Grey nodded.
‘Lucy, we’re here because I’m afraid we have some terrible news for you.’ Grey
paused, waiting for some kind of signal from Lucy before continuing. Lucy
nodded, tears already filling her eyes. ‘Early this morning, my partner and I
were called out to a night club in Buxton to investigate a murder.
Unfortunately, we have since found out the identity of the victim. And Lucy,
I’m so sorry, but it’s your son, Aaron.’

Aaron’s mother
just sat there for a moment before she began to shake and sob. Vaile felt
completely ill-equipped to deal with sobbing women. In fact, he avoided it at
all costs. Luckily for him, Grey stood up, walked around the expensive glass
coffee table sitting in the middle of an equally expensive rug, and sank down
next to Lucy. It was a small gesture, but it was somehow the one Mrs Mills
needed because the next moment, she was clutching Grey while her body shook
with ragged gasps.

Vaile took the
opportunity of female bonding to have a look around the living room. There was
a bookshelf filled with books about sports training and sports psychology.
Scattered on the shelves were family photographs of Aaron with his mother, and
a man Vaile assumed to be his father.

‘H-h-how?’ Mrs
Mills managed to sob.

‘He was found in
the men’s room of the club “The Imp and Impaler”, dead.’

‘What happened
to him?’

‘It appears that
he bled to death.’ Vaile spoke over Grey, giving her a look to tell her not to
say anything about the symbol carved into her son’s chest.

‘But how did he
bleed to death?’ Mrs Mills asked, lifting her eyes to meet Vaile’s.

‘His throat was slashed,’
Vaile replied, his gaze unwavering. She was looking for the truth in his eyes,
and he was sure she was seeing it then. ‘We’d like for you to come down to
confirm it’s your son if you don’t mind.’

Anger suddenly
darkened her features. ‘If you aren’t sure, why did you just tell me it was my
son?’

Grey pulled the
autopsy photo from her file and showed it to Mrs Mills. ‘Is this your son?’ she
asked gently. The living room filled with more sobs and a wailing that cut
Vaile down to his heart. He looked away.

They finally
left Mrs Mills, agreeing to meet her down at the morgue to officially ID her
son in an hour. She thanked them when they left, but Vaile didn’t know why.
Grey and he had only just delivered the most heart-wrenching news they could
ever give to a mother, and he stood back to watch her fall apart. He didn’t
know where this sudden concern was coming from, but he was starting to think
that maybe Grey was responsible for it.

Since they had a
bit of time, Vaile stopped at the diner for a cup of coffee before hitting the
morgue again. Twice in a day was hard for his wolf to deal with. While Grey
went to the bathroom, he ordered them each a coffee and got a slice of cherry
pie for Grey since she didn’t get to enjoy it last time. By the time she slid
back into the booth with her rose-smelling skin, the pie and coffees were
already there, waiting.

‘Did you order
this for me?’ she asked, looking down at the plate.

‘Yeah. I thought
I’d get you a slice since I put you off your food last time,’ he grunted,
stretching his legs out under the table and sinking down lower into the vinyl
seat to watch her.

She looked up at
him and smiled. ‘Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you.’ He broke away
from her stare first, glaring out the window at the snow-draped car park. He
grunted wordlessly at her and took a sip from his mug.

‘Why did you
volunteer to work with me Grey?’ he asked suddenly, unable to stop himself. It
was a question that had been at the back of his mind ever since he first met
her. It was still unanswered, and maybe if she told him she was just doing her
time to get promoted early, or maybe she thought it was a personal test to
survive working with him for longer than a day. But her answer wasn’t anything
like that.

‘I … I like you,
Vaile,’ she admitted softly, looking down and pushing a mouthful of pie around
with her fork. He watched her; his eyes hard, his jaw tense.

‘What?’ he
hissed. He went with anger and irritation because at least that way if he had
misheard her, he wouldn’t feel like such an asshole afterwards.

She looked up at
him, taking in his expression and putting her fork down. She sat a little
straighter in the booth, her chin jutting out like she meant business. ‘I like
you, Vaile, but clearly that’s a one-sided thing.’ Her voice was steady; sure.
‘And that’s fine. I never expected you to find me attractive. I also realise
that our working relationship would suffer should we explore it. So, for the
sake of the case and my career, I will simply say that I like you, but will
take it no further.’ Dropping her eyes to the pie again, she took two mouthfuls
while Vaile could only stare. She
liked
him? Nobody liked him. He was an
asshole.

Grey refused to
look at him again until she drained the rest of her coffee from her mug and
stood up, clutching her bag to her shoulder. ‘We should leave now if we are to
meet Mrs Mills at the morgue.’ And with that declaration, she stormed out of
the diner.

Vaile pulled
some notes from his pocket and left them on the table. Outside, Grey was
already waiting next to the passenger side. He unlocked it, and they both got
in. She was silent as she buckled up, staring pointedly out the passenger
window. He’d wanted to tell her that she was wrong. He
did
find her
attractive, but their relationship could never work. He was a completely
different species to her. And even if she did want a fling, he couldn’t give
that to her either. Vaile’s belief that wolves mated for life was so deeply
rooted in his psyche that he couldn’t break free from it. And to make matters
worse, Grey was human. He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with a human.

Vaile shuddered
at even thinking those words. He wasn’t supposed to
fall in love
with a
human. Where the
fuck
had that come from? He was losing his goddamn
mind. With a growl on his lips, he put the car into gear and drove to the
morgue, hating himself for being so naïve—for thinking that he could just work
with her without there being any other repercussions.

Vaile stalked
into the building ahead of Grey. Mrs Mills was waiting for them in the
reception area. She wasn’t wearing her sports gear now. She’d changed into an
expensive looking skirt with matching jacket.

‘Mrs Mills,’
Vaile said. The woman jumped at his voice, spinning around with wide eyes and
her hand over her heart like she was experiencing a heart attack.

‘Detective
Wolfe, I didn’t hear you come in. I’m sorry.’

He ignored the
apology. ‘Are you ready?’ He didn’t even wait for her answer. He just turned to
walk down the hall. Waiting at a door about halfway down the hall, he opened it
and ushered her in. Grey had finally caught up, slipping into the viewing room
after them quickly.

The lights were
on in the morgue; Aaron’s sheeted body laid out no more than a foot from the
glass they were all standing behind now. Mrs Mills began sobbing right away.
Grey took her hand in hers and whispered something into her ear. When she
nodded her head, Grey’s eyes met Vaile’s telling him Lucy was ready.

Vaile went to the
intercom at the wall, speaking to Doctor Lee’s assistant in the other room. 
Briggs nodded then approached the slab, folding the sheet down to the top of
Aaron’s shoulders, carefully hiding the cuts in his chest. Mrs Mills didn’t
have to say anything to confirm the identity. Her wail was more than enough of
a confirmation. Vaile punched the button on the intercom once more.

‘Cover him up.’

‘I’m so very
sorry Lucy,’ Grey spoke softly into the grieving woman’s ear.

Lucy shook her
head. ‘I appreciate your concern Constable Grey, but your words don’t mean
anything to me right now. What I need you to do is find out who did this to my
baby. And what I need to do right now is to get home to my husband. Excuse me,’
she said, pulling out of Grey’s hand and making her way to the door.

‘Let me walk you
out,’ Grey offered, following her through the door and into the hallway.

‘No, I’m fine.
Thank you,’ Mrs Mills replied; her words clipped. ‘Good bye.’

Grey turned back
to Vaile and sighed. ‘I tried.’

‘Let’s just get
back to the office.’

Rhett’s head was still filled with
what his uncle had told him. Somehow he had to get Indi to agree to come back
to the farm house with him, which would—no doubt—be incredibly difficult. The
other thing his uncle had said was also lapping his head: Marcus would be
trying to take Indi at every opportunity.

By taking Eaton,
Marcus had created one of the only diversions short of abducting Antain himself
that would take everyone’s eyes off the prize. The time was ripe for him to
just take Indi from under their noses. His wolf growled. He refused to let it
happen. 

‘So where were
you while I was working?’ Indi asked, brushing a loose strand of hair behind
her ear.

Indi knew
nothing of what had happened to Eaton, and that was just the way he was going
to keep it. She didn’t need to deal with pack business, not yet. ‘Just back
home for a while to see my uncle.’

‘Is everything
okay?’

He glanced back
over at her, shoving his hands into his pockets. ‘Sure it is. Why would you say
that?’

Indi shook her
head slowly. ‘I don’t know how to explain it—just a feeling I have.’

Rhett forced a
smile onto his lips. ‘Everything is fine. Come on,’ he grinned, and without
thinking, he took her hand in his and pulled her closer to his body. She
stiffened, and Rhett took a step away, apologising. She waved his apology away,
refusing to look at him until they reached her apartment building.

He opened the
door for Indi, still swimming in the frigid waters of his anger. He was so lost
in it that he almost missed the slightly musky odour in the lobby of her grimy
apartment building. Unease prickled over Rhett’s skin instantly. It was the
scent of another wolf. His own wolf bucked violently under his skin, clawing at
him to let it out. Drawing in a deep breath, he let his wolf guide him to where
the scent originated from.

‘Rhett?’ Indi
asked. ‘Rhett, what’s wrong?’

He looked back at
her knowing his wolf was peeking through his eyes. ‘Wait here,’ he said, a hard
growl morphing his voice.

He approached
the stairs, stopping when something tugged at his arm. He spun around quickly;
his wolf scratching against his ribs impatiently. Indi was eyeballing him, her
eyes glowing.

‘No,’ she replied
in a voice as hard and dark as obsidian. ‘I’m not staying down here.’

‘Indi,’ he
groaned, exasperated. ‘Can’t you just do what I ask?’

She barked a
humourless laugh at him. ‘How’s that worked out for you so far, Rhett?’ Her
smile disappeared. ‘I’m coming with you,’ she said in a flat tone that left no
room for discussion.

‘Fine,’ he spat.
‘But stay close behind me.’ He turned to stalk up the stairs, allowing his wolf
to surface to pick up scents and smells his human senses wouldn’t have been
able to. He climbed all three flights of stairs; the musky smell getting
stronger and stronger with each step. Panic was constricting his heart with
every step he took too because suddenly his uncle’s words had weight.

When he reached
Indi’s third floor apartment, he found the door slightly ajar. Bending into a
squat, he waved at Indi to do the same. If the wolf that had broken into her
place was still in there, there was a chance he’d be armed. Indi flashed him a
questioning look, to which he pressed his index finger against his lips in the
universal sign for “Shhh”.

Easing inside
the apartment, he stayed low, his wolf surveying the place. After a few tense
minutes, Rhett realised the apartment was clear, except for the small bathroom
in the corner. His heart was pounding so loudly in his ear now that he couldn’t
even hear his breathing anymore. Sucking in a mouthful of air, he pulled on the
handle and pushed open the bathroom door. It opened with a squeak. Rhett nudged
it open a little wider, revealing the cramped, empty bathroom.

‘Rhett? Can I
come in now?’ Indi called from the hallway where he’d left her.

He exhaled,
standing up from his crouch and running his hands roughly through his hair
until it was standing on end. ‘Yeah. It’s clear. Lock the door behind you, but
don’t come any further inside.’

He heard her
come into the apartment and shut the door; the bolt sliding home with a sharp
snick. He looked around her dingy bathroom to see if anything had been taken,
but the general untidiness of Indi’s apartment meant it was hard to do.

When both he and
his wolf were satisfied that the bathroom was safe, he stalked around the rest
of the small apartment, leaving Indi standing with her back to the door while
he searched. When he turned back to Indi, her eyes were glued to something
across the room. He turned to see what she was staring at.