Pack Investigator (3 page)

“Ye…yeah,” Nick spoke as he continued to cry. “But what if there’s another fire and you’re not there? I don’t want you to leave, though.”

Garrett glared at her for a second before he sat on the bed and held Nick to his chest. “I’m not on shift anymore. It’s already ended. There’s plenty of guys at the station that will be there in case of another fire. I promise it’ll be okay that I stay with you. My boss already said so.”

Nick sniffled before he wiped his nose with his hand.

Lily grabbed some napkins and wiped his face then hands. “I’m sorry I upset you,” she said. “If Mr.—uh, I mean Garrett, wants to stay with you he can.” She didn’t know how she was going to explain it to her office but she’d find a way. It was obvious that Garrett planned on sticking around.

“You’re not mad?” Nick asked peering up at her.

“At you?” she asked, shocked. “Of course not! I think you’re being very brave but you feel comfortable with Garrett and that’s okay.”

Nick sighed before he laid his head on Garrett’s chest. The picture the two of them made was heartwarming. The huge fireman holding the tiny scared boy in his arms, offering him comfort. It was a moment she’d have loved to photograph.

“Excuse me.”

Lily spun around and saw Dr. Hernandez at the door. “Hey, Doc,” she greeted. She’d gotten to know the older doctor well over the years.

“Miss Harper.” Dr. Hernandez smiled at her. “I’m happy to see you with our little patient here.”

Nick didn’t lift his head from Garrett’s chest but he did wave at the doctor. “He gave me a candy bar,” Nick told her.

“Well,” Lily laughed. “If it was doctor-ordered I’d say that you must have been a really good boy.”

“Yes he has,” Dr. Hernandez agreed. “Do you have a moment?” He gestured toward the hall.

Lily patted Nick’s arm. “I’m going to talk to the doctor. I’ll be right back.”

“You’ll see if I can help the police?” Nick sounded eager.

“You bet,” she answered.

She followed the doc out but didn’t close the door. “How is he?”

“He’s very well. He had some slight smoke inhalation but between fluids, oxygen and his shifter abilities he’s almost back to normal.”

Lily relaxed a little. “That’s great. The cops want to talk to him but I told them I’d have to check with you first.”

“I’ll leave that decision up to you,” Hernandez said. “Physically he’s fine. I don’t know what toll this took on him emotionally or mentally so watch out for signs of stress. You know what to look for.”

She nodded. The child’s welfare was always her first priority. “Thanks.”

“I want to keep him overnight but as long as he gets some sleep he should be released in the morning,” Hernandez said.

Lily offered her hand. “Sounds good.” She would have to decide what to do with him, but for the night he was safe in the hospital.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Hernandez said before he walked farther down the hall.

She turned back toward the room and almost bumped into Garrett. He stood blocking the entrance. While she wanted to go to him and place her hand on his big solid chest and rub him down, marking him with her scent, Lily had enough control to resist. But barely.

“Now what?” he asked. When he wasn’t glaring at her she could get lost in his eyes. The disapproval earlier had actually made her hands start to sweat and her stomach tighten. There was just something about him that called to the wolf inside.

Lily shook her head. This was ridiculous. She had a job to do!

“I’ll let the officers know they can interview him. He needs to get some sleep and then we’ll see what happens next,” she said. She didn’t mean to sound so sharp but Garrett was affecting her way too much.

His eyes narrowed but he didn’t say anything. He just spun on his heel and headed back to Nick’s side. She had to stop herself from bowing her head and running after him. She closed her palms tightly, making fists. The bite of her nails into her flesh helped clear the fog from her brain. Lily shuddered. Garrett might be a human but he had dominance radiating off him. It was a turn-on for her but she couldn’t fantasize about what she would like him to do to her. Not until Nick was safe and she was home alone.

She rolled her shoulders back and strolled into the room, preparing to take care of Nick and ignore her attraction to Garrett. It didn’t help when she spotted him sitting on Nick’s bed, stroking the boy’s hair as they spoke softly.

Nick looked up and smiled at her. “Garrett said he’d get some games for us to play, are you going to stay?”

Lily nodded. She could play a few games before she got back to working on Nick’s case. “Of course,” she said with false cheer. The boy needed normalcy, and Lily was a big girl. She wasn’t a slave to her hormones. She wasn’t sixteen again, for heaven’s sake. Garrett was only a man, yes an extremely attractive man, but Lily was in control, she tried to assure herself.

Chapter Two

Garrett lifted his head from the back of the chair he’d fallen asleep in and yawned. Bleary eyed, he peered at his surroundings. Nick was curled into a ball at the top of the bed. Lily was in a chair and had it up against the side of the bed with her arms crossed on the mattress, pillowing her head. The night before, or more accurately the early morning, had found them watching cartoons and playing several games that one of the nurses had brought up to them.

The activities had helped keep Nick’s mind off his dad and the events from earlier. They’d played until Nick had nodded off. Nick hadn’t even woken when the two officers from missing persons had shown up. Lily had sent them away, asking them to come back later this morning.

He hated to admit it, under the circumstances that had brought the three of them together, but he’d enjoyed sitting around with Lily and Nick. He’d felt just a little guilty laughing as he’d teased Nick about how Nick kept winning. The boy’s dad was missing, possibly dead in the worst case scenario, and he’d had a better night then he could remember in a very long time.

Garrett stretched his arms over his head and bit back a groan as his back popped. He didn’t regret spending the night in Nick’s hospital room but his body was letting him know that he wasn’t as young as he used to be. Hell, he was pushing forty and he was much too old to sleep in a chair.

He rose to his feet but made sure that he remained quiet so he didn’t wake Nick or Lily. He wanted them to get as much rest as they could. There was a busy day ahead for both of them. He didn’t know what Lily had planned for Nick but he was going to insist he had a say in things. He went into the attached bathroom first to take a piss, then he washed his face and rinsed out his mouth. He had his bag from earlier but he needed coffee before he really cleaned up good. He exited the bathroom and saw Lieutenant Haas hovering at the door. The lieutenant spotted him and gestured back toward the hall. Garrett nodded before he followed Haas out of the room.

“I’m not surprised to see you still here,” Haas said as a way of greeting. “We haven’t met officially but I’ve seen you around. I heard all about the boy and how he’s connected with you. I was hoping I could use that to help get him to talk to me.”

“I’m happy to help,” Garrett told him. “Can you tell me anything about your investigation?”

“I can actually.” Haas motioned to the elevator. “Do you have time for a cup of coffee? There is a small café downstairs instead of the main cafeteria. I’ve had the pleasure of picking up a cup or two in the past.”

“That’d be fantastic,” he replied.

Haas led the way to the elevator and they took it down to the ground level, then walked over to the entrance of Café Cantata. The scents flowing out made Garrett’s mouth water and his stomach rumble. He needed sustenance. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d eaten—a late lunch, he thought, before the two fires had kept him out all night.

“Why don’t you grab a table? I’ll get our order. Large coffee sound good?” Lieutenant Haas asked.

“Yes please.” He headed to the back of the café where they would have some quiet and could talk. He peered out of the window, was surprised to see the sun shining and it appearing to be a beautiful day. It was crazy how being inside the hospital made time seem to stand still. While those on the outside went about their days the few inside the cold, sterile building were praying to get out.

Garrett shook himself out of his weird thoughts as Haas headed toward him with a tray. There were two large cups of coffee, a couple of muffins, a breakfast sandwich and a container of creamer on it.

“I wasn’t sure how you took it,” Haas stated as he set the tray down. “I also suspected that you’d need some food.”

“Appreciate it.” Garrett reached for the cup first as he needed the caffeine fix. He took several sips, even as it burned his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He finally set it down so he could add a spoonful of sugar and a dash of cream.

Haas chuckled. “Here, eat the sandwich too.” He pushed the food toward Garrett.

“Thanks.” He dug in and they spent a few minutes in silence as Garrett polished off his entire coffee and the sandwich plus one of the muffins.

“Refill?”

He looked up to the young lady who held up a pot.

“House blend, right?” she asked.

Garrett nodded. He didn’t know or care. He just wanted more of whatever wonderful brew they’d created. Now that he’d gotten some sustenance he could think more clearly. He fixed up his second cup before he sat back while the waitress poured more coffee for Haas also. “You said you could tell me something about the case?”

Lieutenant Haas stirred his own coffee before he took his spoon out and set it aside. “I looked into you. You almost completed all the schooling to become an investigator. You put in the time, had top grades before dropping it all to move here. Why?”

This wasn’t where he’d thought the conversation would be headed but he didn’t have any issues sharing his past. It shouldn’t be hard for Haas to figure out his story. He shrugged. “My sister came to stay with me for a while. She had some things to figure out. We became close again and when she moved back here she invited me to visit. I did, and decided I wanted to start over here. It’s a good town and my sister and her partner are here.”

“It seems like a strange time to start over, when you were just about finished with your training,” Haas commented.

Leaving Kermit hadn’t been an easy decision, especially when he’d almost accomplished one of his goals. But he knew after he’d become friends with Tom and Steve, as well as the other shifters, that he’d never move up in the ranks of the KFD. There was still too much hatred and fear between the human authorities and the shifters. He’d chosen the shifters’ side and that hadn’t been the right move for his career in Kermit.

He was still struggling with the feelings of failure for not standing up for shifter rights. Instead he had talked his two best friends into moving to Clear Creek with him. They’d passed on the trouble to someone else. He had to live with that decision—to know that he was selfish enough that he’d picked his own survival over what he believed in. “I wasn’t going anywhere there,” Garrett said honestly. “Here I can become someone I’m proud of.”

Haas smiled. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

“Why’s that?” Garrett questioned.

“My partner just retired. Bad timing for it, since this is the first serial arsonist case this city has ever seen,” Haas responded.

“Serial arsonist?” Garrett asked. “So it’s confirmed? All these fires are connected.”

Haas nodded. “It gets worse.”

“What?”

“All the buildings belonged to shifters,” Haas told him quietly.

“You’re shitting me.” Garrett had to work to keep his voice down.

Haas leaned forward. “Residential, commercial, all of them were owned by shifters. That is the only connection that I can find.”

“Unbelievable.” Garrett’s stomach dropped and he wished he hadn’t eaten all that food.

“From what I’ve learned about you from your co-workers and captain, you’ll have no problem working hard for shifters,” Haas said.

“Of course not, my friends as well as my sister’s boyfriend are shifters,” Garrett said.

“That’s why I want you,” Haas stated.

“For what?” Garrett had a suspicion but he didn’t see how it could work. “I’m not an investigator.”

“Your captain has approved you to work as my assistant for the time being,” Haas told him. “Provided you wouldn’t mind, of course.”

Garrett had to tamp down his excitement. Having this opportunity was something he’d only dreamed of, especially with his training not being complete. But he had his hands full and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Nick. Plus this chance came at the expense of who he’d left behind in Kermit. “I’d like to but…”

“I’ll work with anything you currently have going on. I know you’re watching over the boy you rescued and I understand.”

Relief washed over him. “That’s very kind of you. Can I ask, why me?” Garrett knew other firefighters who would jump at the experience Haas was offering.

“I’m a shifter,” Haas said.

Garrett waited for more information. When Haas didn’t continue, Garrett nodded. “I didn’t know that but pardon my asking, what does that have to do with anything?”

Haas grinned. “Your answer was what I expected from you. Cooper Grainger contacted me to help with how the fire departments in Kermit are run. While we work on this case I’d like to get more details from you. I knew you wouldn’t have a problem working closely with me because my shifter status.”

He was surprised to hear that Cooper had asked Haas for help. When Garrett had first brought it up, Cooper hadn’t been sure how to help but had promised to try. Still, Garrett had imagined that Cooper would use his police connections.

“Do you normally work with the officials in Kermit?” Garrett questioned.

“No,” Haas replied. “But I have made a lot of contacts in the years I’ve done this job. I think Cooper is hoping I can use those and my own experiences to see where the biggest problems are.”

Garrett was starting to understand. “I really would be open to working this case with you. I’d like to help the shifters still in Kermit as well,” he admitted.