Werewolf Upstairs (3 page)

“Yeah, yeah. So what job do you have for me this time? A boutique? A jewelry store? What?”

“Nope, this heist is unusual. It’s a restaurant downtown. They have a free-standing freezer plus one of those dessert display cases.”

“Crap, those weigh a ton.”

“I’m sure you can lift them. No mere mortal could, that’s for sure.”

Konrad sighed. “Fine. You’re sure they have no cameras? No alarms? Remember last time? That was close. If I hadn’t shifted and growled, scaring the damn dogs out of their minds…”

“No dogs, either. No security whatsoever. Not even a dead bolt. I’ll bet you could get in with a credit card.”

“Well, since I don’t have any, I’ll have to borrow one of yours.”

“Yeah, right. Like I’m going to hand over my credit card to my deadbeat brother.”

Thanks a lot, rude-o
. “Be nice. And exactly what am I supposed to do with these things once I get them outside?”

“Leave ’em on the sidewalk. Make it look like you were scared off. Oh, but bring me home some steaks and a Boston cream pie. You know how much I love those.”

Konrad shook his head. “Man, I’m glad I don’t have to carry the equipment far.”

“Yeah, we just want the owners inconvenienced enough to want an alarm system, and then I’ll conveniently drop in.”

“Sounds good. When do I do it?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight? Are you sure? It’s almost that time of the month. What if I get caught and locked up?”

“You won’t.”

Easy for you to say.

Nick tucked his napkin into his collar to protect his uniform. “You’re always careful.”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t want to miss a run through the Arboretum. We’re on for tomorrow at midnight, as usual?”

“Absolutely. Are you planning to go to Newton after that?”

“You know I have to keep an eye on the pack.”

“No, you really don’t. They kicked you out and replaced you with another alpha. How can you possibly feel any responsibility toward them?”

“I just do. You’ve got tomorrow evening off, don’t you?”

“Of course. It’s the full moon.”

“It’s a good thing there are so many werewolves on the Boston police force, especially the ones who arrange your schedule.”

“If you do the job tonight, you’ll be nearly at full strength.”

“True.”

“Pretend your sexy librarian is watching. Muscles get the ladies hot.”

“Yeah. That’ll work.” Konrad rested his chin on his fist and drifted off into a fantasy of Roz Wells without baggy sweats.

“Argh, this sucker weighs a ton.” Konrad’s muscles ached as he struggled under the weight of the freezer. “Shouldn’t have had that chocolate cake.”

He had propped open the back door of the restaurant using the tall, cylindrical dessert case. All that remained of the third shelf were crumbs, and his stomach hurt.

As he managed the few steps that led to the alley, he muttered, “Damn Nicholas. Why can’t he take a turn once in a while? Just because he’s a cop—”

“Hey, you! What are you doing?”

He froze. “Fuck.” Konrad tipped the freezer back enough to see who had called out. He lost his precarious balance, and the huge chest slid out of his grasp. Falling backward, he hit the curb with his hip.
Ow, damn it!
A second later, the freezer hit the street with such force, it may have cracked the pavement.

Konrad rolled to the side as quickly as he could, but the heavy ice chest pinned his leg to the ground. It held him just long enough for the witness, who looked like a homeless guy, to yell for the cops.

“Shit. I should have checked the boxes and crates in this damn alley first.”

If only the guy would move out of view, Konrad could shift and reappear as a big dog limping away, but the shift would take a couple of minutes, and who knew how fast the cops would get there? An unreliable witness might be dismissed or might not. To expose his shapeshifter capabilities might be worse than getting caught. His muscles vibrated as he tried to lift the dead weight off his leg.

Unfortunately he had to remain in human form or risk exposure, the very worst thing that could happen to a werewolf. To expose the existence of one would lead to witch hunts for others. Maybe even government experiments.
Ugh. Being dissected would really suck.

By the time he pushed the freezer aside enough to free himself, a uniformed cop on horseback came charging down the alley.

Konrad shook his head and mumbled, “Too late. Caught by the damn Mounties.”

***

While Konrad waited in his cell, he reflected on his life with a good dose of self-pity. In 1922, he and his brother had been running away from home, and while making their way through the woods at night, they happened upon a werewolf council meeting. They were turned and taken into the pack to prevent exposure—even back then it was a werewolf’s greatest fear. As long as humans didn’t believe werewolves existed, they were safe.

He had worked his way up to the alpha leader of the Newton pack. Yes, Newton, Massachusetts. He was proud of how completely he and his brother had been able to blend in, even in a pricey neighborhood. He helped found a private school for troubled boys and subsequently became the dean of students.

Life was good, until he took in a lone wolf named Petroski, who had used Konrad’s tendency toward kindness to oust him. The newcomer managed to poison the pack’s opinion of him. Petroski challenged him for alpha status, and by cheating, won.

Now Konrad sat in a jail cell for the first time in his life, without the support of his pack and without the help of his brother. With a breakfast that no matter how hungry he was, he couldn’t wolf down. He wanted to howl at the sun.

“Wolfensen, you’ve got a visitor.”

The guard startled him out of his pity party. Konrad stood and groaned, still sore from the night’s activities. He stretched as he waited for his cell door to open. He could easily overpower the guard and escape, but curiosity got the better of him. No one knew where he was, so who’d come to see him? Did Nick hear about it?

He followed the guard past the long row of occupied jail cells. It had obviously been a busy night for the Boston PD. He and the guard stopped at the end of the corridor in front of a door with a small window. The guard opened the door and told him to go ahead inside and sit on the far side of the wooden table. A woman wearing a gray suit with her brown hair twisted into a bun sat in the seat closer to the door.

“Ah, you must be the lawyer they promised me.”

She turned her head enough to see his face. And he recognized
her
.

“Roz?”
Holy crap! Way to make a good impression…

“Good morning, Konrad.” She opened the folder on the table and said, “I’d hoped there were two people with the same name. I never expected to see you here.” She waved him over to the seat on the opposite side.

Konrad gulped. He slowly made his way to the other side of the table and sat down gingerly.

“Would you prefer another attorney? Not that there are a lot of us, but if you’re uncomfortable…”

“No, I want you…um, to represent me, I mean.”
Oh, God. Of all the public defenders! But maybe…
“I really need your help, Roz. And I trust you to do your best, since I’m that rare innocent victim of the system you spoke of.”

Roz nodded to the guard, and he left them alone.

***

It figures I’d be attracted to another loser. Damn. Just my freakin’ luck. Why can’t I find a great guy like Merry did?
Roz cursed her terrible taste in men. Just one more thing to blame on her stepfather.

“You’re being charged with breaking and entering and attempted grand theft. Are you aware of the process?”

“Process?”

“The legal proceedings?”

“No. This is the first time I’ve been arrested.” He hung his head.

She saw tears welling up in his eyes, and her heart automatically constricted. What should she do? Show sympathy? Try to face it like an impartial attorney? She sighed. Until she knew the whole story, she’d have to put on her best poker face.

“Well, that should help. Give me a minute to look over the police report.” She tried to maintain a professional distance and demeanor, but the details of what she was reading sounded so ridiculous, she wanted to laugh. Either that or reach out and squeeze his hand, telling him everything would be all right. The charge was preposterous. He couldn’t have done what the witness said he did. And what a witness! A street person? He was probably drunk or hallucinating or both. She doubted the police would even be able to find him if the case went to trial, which it wouldn’t. She’d get it dismissed if it was the last thing she did.

“What were you doing in that alley late at night?”

Konrad’s expression didn’t waver. “Just taking a walk. Some people like long walks on the beach, I like long walks around the city.”

“I like long walks too, but not at three in the morning, and certainly not in back alleys.”

“There’s less traffic. I can think better when it’s quiet. And who would mug me?”

Did she imagine it, or did he just flex his pecs? Either way, she had to look down and not at the hot guy in front of her.
Christ, I’d better take some deep breaths and clear my head.
“Okay, so let’s say you were just out for a walk, and then what happened?”

He shrugged.

“Come on. Are you telling me a five-hundred pound freezer fell out of the sky and hit you? Because the police report said there was no heavy equipment nearby. No way to lift it, yet the witness said he saw you carrying it out of a restaurant on your back.”

Konrad laughed. “I was passing by and wondered what it was doing there. I
tried
to lift it, to at least get it out of the street, but it toppled over. Fortunately it was only my pants leg that got pinned.”

Roz took a deep breath. “Well, first is the arraignment. That will happen today. If the judge feels there’s a case, he’ll set bail.”

“Bail? How much do think that’ll be?”

“Well, nothing, if I can get the charges dropped, and that’s what I intend to do.”

“Really? Do you think you can?”

Roz leaned back in her chair. “You never know what will happen, but the witness claims he saw you carrying the freezer, fully loaded with frozen meats, on your back. Hang on a minute.”

Roz opened her laptop and typed in
commercial freezers
. She found one about the same size as the one Konrad had allegedly picked up and carried. “Okay, this size and type of restaurant freezer weighs about five hundred pounds empty and holds fifty-seven cubic feet of frozen food. And the police report states it was filled with frozen beef, fish, and chicken.”

“How much weight do you think that would add?”

“I can guess, since I do my own shopping and cooking. Let’s see, by my estimate, a cubic foot of equal amounts of those items weighs about twenty-five pounds. That’s fourteen hundred twenty-five pounds. Combined with the weight of the freezer itself, you would have had to pick up and carry about one ton. Is that even humanly possible?”

Konrad laughed. “It sure isn’t. No
human
could possibly accomplish that. I think the world record for weightlifting is about half that.”

Roz nodded. “Let me double check that.” She typed in
weightlifting world records.
What she read confirmed it. “Perfect, so between that and a less-than-credible witness, I think there’s a good chance of getting you off.”
Getting him off? What is wrong with me?
She felt her cheeks heat.

Konrad simply smiled.

Damn, my Freudian slip is showing, and he noticed.
Roz ruffled the papers in front of her and jotted down some notes. It had obviously been too long since she’d had sex. She noticed her panties dampening.

When she glanced up, he was still smiling at her.
Maybe planting the seed of that idea isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever done.

***

After the arraignment, Konrad asked Roz to join him for lunch. Fortunately she had no more cases, so they decided to grab takeout and enjoy a long walk home. The sunny sky held the promise of a warm, spring day.

“You were brilliant.” Konrad hoped he hadn’t blown his chances with his sexy attorney and neighbor.

“Aw, shucks. I’ll bet you say that to all the public defenders.”

His smiled faded and his gaze dropped to the sidewalk. “It really was my first and only arrest, but I know how you feel about the guys you defend. I guess you aren’t interested in me now. I was hoping to ask you out.”

She touched his arm, and the spot tingled. “This is different. You were innocent.”

If only…
Konrad hated to deceive her, but there was no way he could explain his abilities without exposing what he was, and therefore, the existence of his kind. Not to mention that he needed time to discover if she could be his mate. He had the sneaking suspicion that the beautiful lawyer might just be the one, and he had to check out that theory. If he didn’t, he could spend his whole life wondering.

She smiled up at him. “So, where do you want to eat lunch? Indoors or out?”

He contemplated her soft expression and glanced up just in time to witness a child drop his mother’s hand and dart out into traffic. The mother screamed, and Konrad dropped their bag of takeout, rushing after the child without a thought. He scooped up the little boy seconds before a car’s brakes squealed.

The car hit Konrad, but even as he staggered, he held the boy steady. The tot was untouched.

The mother cried out, “Oh, thank God!”

Even though Konrad limped to the sidewalk, it was mostly an act. The car bumper was dented, so he had to make it look good.