Free Wanted By The Alpha Lion (Heroes of Shifter Creek 2) by Clara Moore Page A

hollering at those coyotes. They took off running then.” Janelle laughed. “Of course, I wanted to follow them. I’d never seen animals like that. I didn’t know that wild things lived in my neighborhood. One thing led to another, and, well. Here I am today.”
    “The Bat Woman.”
    “The Bat Woman,” Janelle agreed with a laugh. “I should have a superhero costume to go with that title.”
    Danny looked like he had a reply to that comment, but Luis returned with their food just in time to keep him from saying it aloud.
    “Green enchiladas, beans, some nice rice,” he said. “Would you like sweet tea, or do you want a real drink?”
    “Sweet tea is fine,” Janelle said. “It’s a long drive home.”
    “For me too,” Danny said. “Well, not the long drive part. But I’ll have tea just the same.”
    People started filtering into Rosalee’s, first in pairs, and then in groups of four or five who lined up in front of the counter. “What’s going on?” Janelle asked.
    “It’s five o’clock,” Danny explained. “That’s when Mama starts cooking for real. We were lucky enough to beat the rush.” He nodded toward Janelle’s plate. “Try it. You’ll see why in just one bite.”
    Janelle poked at the enchiladas with her fork. “This is chicken?”
    Danny nodded. “With a green chili sauce on top.”
    She took a bite, and her eyes widened. “Wow!”
    “I know, right?” Danny began to eat in earnest. “This is the best meal to be had in Loma Rita.”
    “Well, thank you for bringing me here,” Janelle said. She took a few more bites, smiling the whole time. “I never would have found it on my own, and I’m glad I didn’t miss this.”
    Danny’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and frowned. “Excuse me. I need to get this.”
    Janelle nodded. “Go ahead.”
    “You’ve got Danny Russell,” he said. Then Danny’s eyes flickered up toward Janelle. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” His expression was so strange that Janelle set down her fork and watched him closely. Danny bit his bottom lip and listened intently. “No, no, she’s with me. So we don’t have to worry about that. Who’s on scene?” He nodded. “All right. We’ll be right there.”
    He hung up the phone, pushed back his chair and said, “We’ve got to go.”
    Janelle stood up. “Is everything all right?”
    Danny surprised her by taking her by the hand and heading for the door. “No, not at all.”
    “Wait,” she said. “What about the bill?”
    “I’ll take care of it later,” he said. “We’ve got to get back to town.” They were out of the car and up in Danny’s truck before Janelle knew what was happening. Danny was in third gear before they left the parking lot. He turned his head toward her only briefly to explain, “That was Jorge. Someone set your car on fire.”
    “What?!” Janelle sputtered. “What do you mean set my car on fire? Who would do that?” She answered her own question. “Somebody needs to get their hands on that Roger Wilson before I do. I just got that car.”
    “A unit’s been dispatched to look for him,” Danny said. “That’s all I know at this point. Finding you was actually the top priority – EMS wasn’t sure if you’d been in the car.”
    “Oh, god,” Janelle said. “This doesn’t sound good at all.”
    When they pulled up in front of the town hall, Loma Rita’s volunteer fire squad had already extinguished the flames. Janelle’s car was a steaming snarl of blackened metal. The air smelled strongly of charred electronics and gasoline.
    Janelle stood, staring at the smoking remnants of her car. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, hugging herself and rocking back and forth on her heels.
    “I am so sorry,” Danny said.
    “I should have had that drink after all,” Janelle replied, with a half-sob, half-laugh. “Because I’m sure not going to be driving anywhere for a while.”
    Jorge approached, with a short, stout Latina woman