Downpour (Alpha Love - A Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance Book 1) (24 page)

“When will you go back?” Ashton talks sleepily into her hair, as he strokes her from her hip up to her shoulder, making her shiver.

“Tomorrow. With the site no longer viable, there’s not much more for us to do here, just wrap up a few loose ends.” Sofie thinks about the rock sample from the woods that she’s been carrying around with her since that morning. She didn’t want to run the risk of Shale knowing anything about it, and she wouldn’t put it past Luke to rummage through her room. “What do you know about the rocks in the woods at the foot of the mountain? The dark ones, like the one that you switched out on me?” Sofie looks over her shoulder at Ashton, as she feels his hold on her tighten.

“Why are you asking about that now?” Ashton tries to sound casual, but she’s gotten to know his tells, and there’s definitely something that he’s holding back.

“Nothing, it’s just not something I’ve really seen before. Thought you might know more about it than you’re saying.” She stretches lazily against him, trying to cover the hurt that she feels over the secrets he’s clearly still keeping from her.

“You’re the geologist. I’m just a knuckle-dragging redneck.” Ashton’s voice is full of sarcasm, and Sofie laughs at the memory of Luke’s eyes bulging out of their sockets in anger after Ashton had hit him.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Sofie teases and lets out a little yelp when Ashton swats her on the butt. She turns to kiss him lightly on the lips, wishing that it didn’t feel so much like a kiss goodbye. “I’d better go.”

The clock on the wall tells her that it’s time for her to get out of bed. She knows that if she has any hope of keeping her job that she’ll have to see Luke before he flies out. She asks herself if she even really wants this job that she’s so desperately trying to hold onto. She loves the work, the science, but she doesn’t love what Shale does, what it stands for. Ultimately, she sees just how low Luke is willing to stoop to get what he wants. Now that included her. But she also knows that she doesn’t have the luxury of giving up a job. The people who are expecting her to pay her father’s debts are scary, they’re not the kind of guys that you want to meet alone in a dark alley, and they’ve always made it very clear what will happen to her if the money stops flowing in their direction. No one knows how bad things are or the kind of people that her father’s gambling has got her involved in. There was no point in telling anyone, because no one could help her.

“Where are you going?” Ashton keeps hold of her, as she tries to get up from the bed.

“To go see if I still have a job.” She wades through the fear and sadness she feels, the feelings that she can’t share with Ashton and smiles at him over shoulder, kissing him softly before she starts getting dressed.

“You don’t have to go back.” Ashton says the words that she was secretly hoping he would, but simultaneously hoping that he wouldn’t.

“I do, I really do.” Sofie doesn’t add that the guys she pays off work on a cash-only basis, and they’ll be expecting to see her soon. She pushes the thought out of her mind.
One crisis at a time
, she tells herself.

“What are you hiding?” Ashton’s voice pierces through her thoughts. She opens her mouth to reply, to tell him it all because she’s so tired of carrying it all on her own. But before she can, his cell vibrates insistently on the nightstand.

“Shouldn’t you get that?” Sofie nods towards the phone, but Ashton makes no move towards it.

“If it’s important they’ll call back. Don’t avoid the question.” He fixes her with one of his signature stares that makes her feel like he’s looking straight through her, seeing everything.

His cell starts vibrating again, and Sofie looks knowingly at him. “Looks like it’s important.”

Ashton sighs in frustration, grabbing the cell and barking a hello. “No, Lindsey it’s seven in the morning, I’m not watching the news.” He flops back onto the bed, clearly wondering why he’d decided to pick up the call.

Sofie finishes dressing, but pauses when she hears the tone of his voice change.

“What do you mean?” He sounds shaken. She looks at him questioningly. “It must be a mistake. It’s not possible. Alright, Lindsey we’re turning it on now.” Ashton grabs the remote and turns on the TV, flicking until he reaches the local news channel.

Sofie sits down heavily on the bed when she sees the headline tracking along the bottom of the screen:

MUTILATED BODY FOUND IN CANYON. WOLF ATTACK SUSPECTED.

But it’s not just the words on the screen that have made her stomach churn like a washing machine, it’s the face of the person being interviewed.

“It is truly horrific. The injuries that poor man sustained were something out of a nightmare. But Shale is committed to Beaumont. We can provide protection for the good people of the town, protection from these animals that are preying on innocent people. Along with that protection, we also pledge to create hundreds of jobs in the area while we drill in the canyon. Shale has always looked after its own and we want to do the same here in Beaumont.” Luke looks down the camera, and Sofie asks herself what kind of a person he must be to be able to look so sincere and true when all he’s doing is peddling a pack of lies.

“But, Mr. Calambor, what do you say to the people who are concerned for the welfare of these wolves? They are, after all protected by the federal government.” Sofie doesn’t need to see the woman’s face to know that she’s fallen under Luke’s spell. His charm is one of his greatest weapons and here he was using it to his full advantage.

“I’m glad you made that point, Susan.” He flashes a winning smile at her, pearly whites buffed to perfection. “I am one of the staunchest defenders of all creatures, great and small, and Shale is a huge contributor to a number of wildlife charities. We see it as part of our business to protect the natural environment, but not at the cost of our citizens. How many more bodies need to be found before we do something about this wolf problem? Does it have to be your husband, your wife, your sister, your brother, your child’s body that we find next before we take steps to protect ourselves against these dangerous animals?”

The television turns black as Ashton switches it off, not wanting to hear any more and not wanting to see any more of Luke’s face.

“Well, they did a helluva job on his makeup. You can barely see the bruise.” The first words out of Ashton’s mouth aren’t exactly what Sofie was expecting.

“Don’t do that.” Sofie turns to him, concern written all over her face. “Don’t act like this is nothing. You don’t have to be the cool, calm, and collected Pack Master now. You’re with me. You can shout and scream and throw things.”

“Would that help?” Ashton looks up at her, his eyes showing just how torn up inside he is. He rolls out of bed, pulling on his jeans and grabbing his cell before heading out of the door.

Sofie sits on the bed, rubbing her temples, trying to get to grips with what she’s just seen on the news. She wonders how accurate Luke’s interpretation of the law was. If he was right and if the animals were deemed dangerous, then Sofie had just handed Shale the canyon to do with it as they pleased.

“Goddammit, Gus!” Sofie hears Ashton’s shout and hurries outside to see what’s going on. She sits on the steps, watching Ashton pace up and down, the cellphone glued to his ear. “You told me that no one would ever find him. You told me that you’d taken care of it. How could you let this happen?” He’s angrier than she has ever seen him. “So, how did they know exactly where to look? Can you tell me that, Gus? Can you explain that to me?” Ashton ends the call and, without thinking twice, launches it into the air, throwing it as hard as he can, watching as it hits a tree with a satisfying crunch.

“The body, it’s one of yours, isn’t it? It’s one of the murderers or rapists or whatever that you’ve ‘dealt with’ over the years, isn’t it?” Sofie looks at Ashton, and he doesn’t even have to reply. She can tell from the grim expression on his face that she’s right.

“Gus is there now; he checked it out. It’s Bobby—or what’s left of him anyway—the guy that you saw us with in the woods that night.” Ashton rakes his fingers through his hair, looking like he’s about to lose it.

“How did they know where he was?” Sofie asks the obvious question, but she wonders if Ashton is suspecting that the most logical answer might just be the right one. “Do you think Gus talked?”

Before Sofie even has time to react, Ashton has darted over to her, his face close to hers and his eyes burning that golden color that makes him look more animal than human. “He would never do that. Gus is loyal to the pack. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt us, and he sure as hell wouldn’t side with a man like Luke.”

Ashton sounds more certain than she thinks he really feels, but the anger that seems to be taking over him tells a different story. She remembers what he told her about moments of intense emotion making it harder to keep the wolf at bay, and she wonders if that’s what is about to happen. She realizes that she’s scared of him.

“Ash, calm down.” There’s a tremor in her voice, as she says the words, resting her hands against his chest and trying to figure out how to get him to catch his breath and take control.

Ashton looks at her and, for a moment, it’s as if he doesn’t even know her. His eyes blaze gold, and Sofie steels herself for whatever is coming next. She has never been alone with him before when he’s turned. She has no idea what to do or what he would do to her.
Ashton, please.
She says the words in her mind, but her eyes are still locked on his and, instantly, the expression on his face softens. His eyes turn from gold to bright blue, and he takes her in his arms, holding her tight against him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He crushes her to him as he whispers the words over and over into her ear. She can tell from his shaking body that he’s as scared as she is over what could have happened.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.” She repeats the words against his chest, squeezing her eyes shut at the memory of the way he looked at her, like a predator would look at its prey.

“I would never hurt you. I need you to know that. I need you to believe me.” Ashton holds her face between his hands, the truth that he’s speaking written all over his face.

“I know that. I know.” Sofie reassures him, their foreheads touching, as they both collect their thoughts. She doesn’t add that she knows that although he wouldn’t want to hurt her, can he say the same for the wolf that lives inside of him? “I should get back. After that broadcast, I’m guessing that everything is about to change.”

Ashton doesn’t reply, he just nods. “I’ll take you.” He pads back into the house, head down, looking beaten.

Sofie is about to point out that it’s probably best that she doesn’t turn up to see Luke with the guy who punched him in the face the night before. But she knows that he needs to be with her now as much as she needs to be with him. She wants to be there for him, to help him in any way that she can, even if right now that just means letting him drive her to where she needs to go.

There are news crews swarming around the motel. As soon as they drive up, they can see that Luke is holding court and clearly enjoying all the attention.

“How can you stand to work for that guy?” Ashton looks at her boss in distaste, and she wonders if she’s going to have to remind Ashton that he’s not allowed to beat anyone up today.

“Well, we’re not all lucky enough to own our businesses. Some of us are just ants in a big old anthill.” Sofie smiles wanly, trying to quiet the butterflies in her stomach that have been fluttering incessantly since she’d watched the news report.

Now that they’d actually arrived, Sofie was suddenly at a loss for what to say to Luke. The words, ‘I’m sorry my boyfriend punched you in the face’ don’t really seem to quite cover it. She and Ashton make their way through the crowd, heading straight for Luke but a hand on her shoulder stops her.

“About time.” Finn looks between her and Ashton with amusement.

“I’m guessing you heard about last night.” She breathes a sigh of relief that her friend is back and not punishing her for keeping secrets anymore.

“Oh yeah, Darwin gave me the lowdown, blow-by-blow, if you’ll pardon the pun.” Finn grins at Ashton. Ashton seems to have won the hearts of both men in doing what both of them wished they could—teach Luke a lesson. “Nice work, Sofe. I didn’t think he was quite your type, but nice work.” Finn gives her a thumbs up, as he whispers loudly at her while looking at Ashton.

“Thanks, Finn.” She feels like her face is on fire and shoots Ashton a warning look. “Don’t say anything.”

Ashton holds his hands up with an innocent look on his face, but the amusement in his eyes quickly fades when the reality of why they’ve come here returns.

“What happened?” Sofie asks, as Finn leads them away from the group of cameras and news reporters trying to get a shot of Luke as he gives another speech about what Shale can do for Beaumont.

“I’m guessing you know about as much as I do. They found a body, looks like it was attacked by wolves, Luke’s going to try to use it to get Congress to give him special permission for drilling. He figures that if it’s proven the wolves are dangerous, and he’s willing to use Shale resources to protect the people, then he’s more likely to get approval.” Finn shrugs like it’s a no-brainer, but it clearly leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

“Have they ID’d the guy yet?” Ashton jumps in.

“Not yet, but from the look of him it’ll take a little while. They’ll have to go down the dental records route. He was pretty messed up.” Finn looks a little sick, as he thinks back to the body that he had seen.

“How did Luke find it? I’m guessing he wasn’t just taking a little trek through the mountains last night and fell over it!” Sofie doesn’t want to believe that Gus would betray Ashton any more than he does, but right now it seems like the most plausible conclusion.

“Right place, right time. What can I say, Sofie? I guess I’m just lucky like that.” Luke’s voice comes from behind them, and they all stand stock still.

“Finn, I take it you’ve briefed Sofie on the new plan?” Luke looks between his employees, acting as if Ashton isn’t even there.

Sofie can feel Ashton’s breathing becoming shallower, and she puts a hand on his arm to steady him. The gesture isn’t lost on Luke, and his eyes cloud over until Sofie drops her hand.

“Umm, not exactly, I was just...” Finn looks at Sofie for help. Being tongue-tied is a first for Finn, whatever he’d seen of the body had clearly shaken him up more than he was letting on.

“He was just catching me up on some of the legal aspects of the wolf attack, how it will affect the drilling.” Sofie hopes that her judgment isn’t as loud in everyone else’s ears as it is in hers.

“Well, I take it by your presence here that you do value your employment at Shale and that you still want your job?” Luke looks at her pointedly, smiling the camera-worthy smile of his. He doesn’t make any move to touch her or to move towards her, and Sofie realizes that the presence of the cameras such a short distance away is keeping him at bay. It’s the first time she’s been grateful for a news crew.

Sofie takes a deep breath. “I do.” She locks eyes with Luke, hoping that he doesn’t see the doubt and fear in her eyes, fear over what she’s letting herself in for.

“Good, then finish up with the tests you need to do before the drilling starts, and we’ll see how...passionate you are about your role with us.” Luke smiles sickeningly at her, making her so uncomfortable she looks down at the floor.

“Don’t you dare even think about trying to touch her again.” Ashton has moved so quickly that she doesn’t have the time to hold him back. He squares up to Luke, but Luke just looks at him, amused. “If you touch her, then I’ll kill you myself.”

Finn’s eyes widen at Ashton’s words, and all Sofie wants to do is to scream at Ashton over what he’s just said, remind him that Luke isn’t someone who loses.

“Are you threatening me, Mr. Lupo?” Luke raises an eyebrow and, almost imperceptibly, nods towards the news crews behind him who are now chattering again and starting to take an interest in their little stand-off. “Lupo, such an interesting surname. Where does it come from? It’s so close to the Latin,
Lupus,
isn’t it?”

Ashton looks at Luke like he would like nothing better than to end him right there and then. But his words have struck a chord.
Lupus for wolf
, Sofie thinks.
It could just be a lucky guess, but that seems less and less likely.

“I wouldn’t know. Latin was never really a big attraction up here in Wyoming.” Ashton’s biting response elicits a giggle from Finn, who quickly tries to cover it as a cough.

Luke gives him a look that speaks volumes, and Finn takes the hint that it’s his cue to go. “I should go and check on...something.” He doesn’t even try to come up with an excuse before giving Sofie an apologetic smile, leaving her alone with these two men, who look like they might start wrestling with each other any minute.

“Well, Mr. Lupo with no Latin, if you wouldn’t mind giving Sofie and I some time, we really need to get some work done.” Luke looks at Ashton, almost challenging him.

“Ashton, it’s fine.” Sofie settles a hand on his shoulder, telling him with her eyes that he has to let her deal with this on her own.

After a few moments, he nods. “Guess I better get to work, too.” He steps forward, as if he’s going to kiss Sofie goodbye, but she shakes her head, almost imperceptibly, hoping he understands that she doesn’t want to antagonize Luke more than they already have. Ashton looks at her with hurt in his eyes, and Luke’s victorious smile—as he turns around and walks away—is burned into his mind.

“Protective, isn’t he?” Luke nods towards Ashton’s retreating figure. “I didn’t have you pegged for one of those girls who likes bad boys. Guess you’re full of surprises though.” He lets the dust settle on his words. Sofie knows that he’s trying to unsettle her, but he’s already proven that he knows more about her than she thought.

“I wanted to apologize.” Sofie has to swallow her pride as she says the words. “Ashton shouldn’t have hit you last night. It wasn’t right, and I’m sorry that it happened.”

Luke looks at her with interest, as if she’s just surprised him again. “I appreciate that, Sofie. But it wasn’t you that assaulted me. You have nothing to apologize for. What I would really like is to hear it from him. That would really go a long way to mend those broken bridges.” He looks at her seriously, knowing that the idea of Ashton doing that willingly was about as likely as a cow falling out of the sky.

Sofie is in no doubt that the ‘broken bridges’ he’s referring to have nothing to do with Ashton and everything to do with her. Luke is trying to drive a wedge between them, pushing for her to persuade Ashton to do something that will make him sick to his stomach in exchange for her job security. It wasn’t particularly subtle, but that didn’t make it any less likely to work. “I’ll see what I can do,” she says grudgingly.

“Excellent. Now, the news crews have had a great idea. They thought it would really get the locals on board if they shadowed you and the rest of the team doing the final parts of your survey before the drilling starts.” Luke looks at her, as if things couldn’t have worked out any better had he planned it all down to the last dot of the i and cross of the t.

“But, we don’t have permission yet for the drilling, do we?” The alarm bells are already starting to ring in Sofie’s head.

“Always thinking about the next step, that’s what makes you so valuable to Shale, Sofie. You look at the big picture.” Luke smiles at her indulgently. “And it just so happens that I had a very interesting conversation with a certain senator this morning. He’s as concerned as I am for the safety of the residents of this beautiful town.”

Before he even says the words, it’s clear what’s coming. The man could power a small country with the force of his confidence and self-belief. Even though he was a despicable excuse for a human being, he was exceptionally good at getting what he wanted.

“So, he’s going to give approval for Shale to start work? But that would still take weeks, months even.” Despite Sofie’s hazy understanding, this much she knows.

“Well, that’s where our dear old Dr. Franklin comes in. These particular wolves, he believes, are unusually aggressive, and he recommends that action be taken immediately. It’s his suggestion that if the drilling doesn’t scare them off, then we arrange for their relocation to a less populated area, which of course Shale would be happy to foot the bill for. So the Senator agreed to fast-track our petition. Such a forward-thinking man, don’t you think?” Luke smiles widely, marveling at his own plan.

Sofie fills in the blanks, ‘relocation’ is code for culling. The government would be all too happy for Shale to pay for moving the wolves, with the recession still hitting hard there was no way public opinion would be in favor of precious resources being used to relocate some violent animals. Shale would be able to do whatever they wanted. Luke’s deep wallets had given him carte blanche.

“When?” Sofie can barely get the word out. She feels sick to her stomach about what they’re going to do to this community, to the pack, but she doesn’t know how to stop it. It’s all gone too far out of control.

“The diggers will arrive in the next week.” Luke rubs his hands together like he can already feel the money between them. “And that’s where you come in.”

Sofie looks at him in surprise, still trying to process what she’s just heard. “Me? I’m guessing my work will be done by then.”

“Not if you don’t want it to be.” Luke looks at her earnestly. “I’d like you to be the geological consultant on the dig.”

“But, that’s Darwin’s job, he’s the senior geologist.” Sofie doesn’t like the way that this is going at all.

“Darwin has been a little...preoccupied, shall we say? He’s so wrapped up in his divorce that I’m worried he might take his eye off the ball. I want you here to support him, keeping him on the straight and narrow and telling me if anything seems off to you.” Luke touches his fingertip to the bridge of his nose, absent-mindedly and winces a little as he hits on the bruise.

“You want me to spy on Darwin?” Sofie tries to keep her voice at a normal volume, but she can barely believe what she’s hearing.

“Spy is such an ugly word, Sofie, my darling. And not only that but I think spying would be a waste of your, not inconsiderable talents, don’t you think? I want you to do your job. I just want you to look out for Darwin, as well, make sure that he’s not letting anything slip.” Luke widens his eyes in an expression of innocence that, at this juncture, is pretty laughable. “You’ll report back to me, personally, every week.”

And there’s the catch, Sofie thinks to herself, personal face time with the man that has been stalking her since she started working for the company. “But you’ll be in DC. It’s kind of a long flight for me to do every week.” Sofie feels like a climber that’s lost their footing, grappling at unstable footholds.

“Exactly right, Sofie. I’m glad you think so, too. That’s why I’ll be relocating my office up here for the start of the drill. I’ll give you all your space, obviously. I wouldn’t want to get in the way. But I think it’s important for people to see how invested I am in the project, don’t you? And that way you’ll just have to cross town to report in to me.” He smiles at the simplicity of it. He really does seem to have thought of everything.