Free Wolf Hunt (Book 2) by Jeff Strand Page B

no room for them in the freezer, so I might as well grill 'em all up and share 'em with the neighbors. I've got plenty if you want to come over. Bring your girlfriend."
    "I'll ask her," Shane lied.
    His cell phone began to vibrate. He slid it out of his pocket and checked the display. Robyn.
    "Speak of the devil?" asked Patrick.
    "Excuse me?"
    "Is it your girlfriend?"
    "Yeah." Employees weren't supposed to use their cell phones except when they were on break, and Robyn knew that, so she wouldn't be calling him unless it was important. The rule wasn't strictly enforced, but Shane stood up without answering the call and walked away from his cubicle, just to be on the safe side. He'd call her right back as soon as he got outside.
    By the time he'd left the building, she'd sent him two text messages: U there? and Call me .
    "What's going on?" he asked, when Robyn answered.
    "Have you heard?"
    "If I'd heard, I'd know why you called. Don't be cryptic."
    "Ally didn't come home from school."
    Shane immediately felt sick to his stomach. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking. "Okay...but it's only a quarter after four. So she's, what, an hour late?"
    "Uh-huh."
    "Is today band practice? Couldn't that have run long?"
    "It's orchestra, not band. And she's not in it this year."
    That was news to Shane, since he'd insisted that his daughter devote at least one more year to that violin he'd bought for her. "How do you know she didn't come home? Did Peggy call you?"
    "No, I called her."
    "Why the hell would you call her?"
    "Are you alone?"
    "I'm outside. Why?"
    "Is anybody around?"
    "There are some people smoking. Tell me what's going on, Robyn."
    "You're going to be really upset. I think you should make sure you're somewhere that nobody can see you."
    "I'm going to be really upset if you don't start giving me some fucking answers."
    "Please don't curse at me."
    Shane wanted to crush the phone in his fist, or at least fling it against the building. He didn't.
    "I apologize. Now tell me what you know about the situation."
    "Peggy still won't let Ally have a cell phone, so it's possible that she just went out with friends after school, lost track of time. But..."
    "But...?"
    "But the police are investigating a hit-and-run—"
    " What ?"
    "No, no, not Ally. Just a car crash. A van smashed into a couple of other cars, and then it smashed into another car parked in somebody's driveway. And, basically, a few witnesses say that a wolf jumped out of the van and ran into the woods, but it wasn't really moving like a wolf, it was running like a human, sort of, and then the driver of the car ran into the woods, and he dragged the wolf back into the van and drove away."
    "Okay. All right." Shane's hand was trembling. "All we have to go on is that Ally is late coming home from school, and some people claim they saw an unusual wolf, right?"
    "There are pictures online. None of them are any good, but to me it looks a lot like George Orton. And one person said that there was also a big unconscious guy with a black beard in the van."
    Shane closed his eyes and said nothing.
    "Honey?" Robyn sounded desperate. "Please tell me that you're not where anybody can see you."
    "I can control myself."
    "But honey—!"
    "Stop acting like I'm incompetent! I said I can control it!" A couple of the nicotine addicts glanced over at him and Shane lowered his voice. "I'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen here."
    George Orton. Louis Flynn. The thugs who'd murdered Ivan Spinner.
    Ivan was no great loss. Shane had never even met him. Still, their kind had to stick together, if only from the perspective of hating those who would take a werewolf's life.
    "Has Peggy made any connection?" he asked.
    "Between Ally and the wolf? No. Of course not."
    "I have to ask, because you said you fucking called her right after hearing that George and Lou were dragging around a wolf."
    "Stop cursing at me, Shane. I mean it. Why would Peggy ever think that?"
    "Was the wolf