Officer Wolf (Sizzling Shifter BBW Romance) (With Bonus Book) (3 page)

When Lieutenant Chris got back to the police station Isaac Jones was still practically knocked out, but he was moving a little bit and fluttering his eyes open and closed as he sat handcuffed in the back seat. Chris grimaced with disgust as he stared at him in the rearview mirror and then hopped out and slammed his door before opening the back door to pull him out.

“Get out, you slime.” He said.

Isaac grunted and opened his eyes sleepily as if he’d been drugged. Little did he seem to know he’d just been knocked out, and he didn’t even make an attempt to move his feet. Chris huffed angrily and grabbed him by the sweat soaked collar of his shirt and pulled him out. He drug him angrily into the police station and tossed him in an empty cell in the back and then locked it with a grunt.

“Piece of shit.” He muttered before walking off. Suddenly, a surprisingly clear and calm voice spoke from within the cell. Chris paused and tilted his head back until he was facing it. Isaac was wide awake and he was smiling.
Had the whole thing been an act
? His eyes looked clear and awake and his lips had twisted into a big devilish grin.

“You’ll get what’s coming to you, Lieutenant,” He spoke soothingly, “Along with the
whole damn town
.”

Chris thought about his options and reconsidered. He could walk into the cell right now and wring his neck and nobody would know – but he didn’t want to do that – he was a noble officer. Instead he winked at Isaac and gave him the most sarcastic thumbs up possible.

“
Right
.” He said, and continued to stroll off.

“
You’ll see
.” Isaac murmured under his breath, too softly for Chris to hear.

Chris sat down at his desk and propped his feet on the table. He crossed his arms and took a deep breath. He should’ve been questioning Isaac, but he was exhausted and had had enough of him. He’d wait for the Sheriff to get back, which reminded him he needed to call him.

He pulled out his phone and dialed the Sheriff and waited. There was nothing but dead silence. It worried him and he slowly set the phone down before a loud scream came from the back of the cell, followed by an explosion.

Chris hopped up and ran towards the source of the commotion as he grabbed the gun from its holster. When he got back to the holding area he saw that it had been demolished to virtually nothing. The entire back half of the building looked like it had been hit by two grenades. He heard a groaning come from one of the cells at the far end and he rushed towards it.

The town drunk was lying there like he was most nights. Except at this time he was breathing hoarsely and had blood coming from his forehead. He wheezed as Chris crouched down and spoke frantically.

“What happened, Elmer?”

“Bomb. Somebody blew up the damn building, didn’t they?” Elmer asked.

Chris didn’t know what to say. The truth was, Elmer had more knowledge about what had happened than he did, and he felt lost and scared. Then Elmer’s head suddenly felt lifeless in his arms and his body relaxed.

He was dead
.

Chris rushed back out of the cell and headed towards the front where he’d been keeping Isaac. He hadn’t even bothered to check during his panic to see if he was still there, whether he was dead or alive. When he reached the cell he felt his heart begin to thump. Isaac was gone – not gone in the
lying there dead
kind of way as Elmer had been – he was just plain gone. A large hole had been blown out of the corner of his cell and he’d no doubt crawled through it and hopped onto the grass and escaped.

“Damn you Isaac Jones
!” Chris snarled and then hurried out of the station.

****

As Chris ran towards Lana’s apartment building his mind was a blurry shamble of thoughts.
Someone was working with Isaac Jones. Someone followed them to the jail and then broke him out.

Where the hell was McKinney?

Then it dawned on Chris.

No. There’s no way in hell.

Of course there’s a way. McKinney’s working with Isaac! He has been the whole time.

But he was kidnapped by Isaac – held at gunpoint and almost killed – put in his trunk for god’s sake!

You fool, Chris. McKinney and Isaac planned the whole thing out. McKinney was never kidnapped by Isaac. They just sat up on the hilltop in Isaac’s car and laughed before calling you and planning the whole thing out.

Then why didn’t they kill me right then and there?

Because they have some kind of plan. They want you to see something.

What?

Fire…. Isaac Jones was going to burn down the whole damn town.

Chris’s feet smacked frantically against the pavement as he reached Lana’s apartment building. He glanced up before hurrying through the front door to the steps and saw that the light was on. That provided him some relief, but he wouldn’t feel altogether better until he saw that she was safe and sound.

When he got to the second floor he kicked open the door and saw that it was empty. It smelled like something was burning so he rushed towards the kitchen and saw that spaghetti had been left simmering in a pot with the burner on high. The water had been steamed out of it and it had turned black. He flipped off the pilot light and tossed the pot into the sink where he poured cold water on it as the smoke rose up all around him.

Where the hell is she? Where’s the Sheriff?

Chris paced nervously around the apartment as he thought it over. It looked like twenty minutes ago she’d been preparing a meal for her and the old Sheriff. Someone had come –
yes
, someone had come and taken them both! But who? McKinney? It was the only logical explanation because he hadn’t appeared back at the jail where he said he’d meet Chris, but he still didn’t want to believe it.

McKinney was a good man, Chris thought. He’d hired him on himself and he seemed to have outstanding character and moral values. None of this made any sense and Chris was worried so much about Lana he felt like puking, but he sucked up his emotions and felt his body hardening and his mind slowing down. His panic was quickly replaced by
RAGE
, and he shifted into the wolf that he truly was.

Claws slammed down on Lana’s empty living room floor and he let out a blood curdling howl as he ran towards the door and burst down the stairs into the night. He was going to find her, and the Sheriff. He was going to find them if it meant he had to
die
.

The Sheriff tightened the rope around her mouth to silence her screams. His old wrinkled face stared blankly at her and then he suddenly smiled as he stepped out of the back seat from which he’d knelt down in as he tied her up.

Looks good
, he thought,
she won’t be going anywhere or making much noise
.

He slammed the door shut through her muffled cries and then opened the driver’s side and hopped in. He flipped on the radio and skimmed through channels until he reached the oldies station, and then he cranked up the volume and peeled off into the night. He was driving towards the old abandoned house they’d planned to meet at – him, McKinney, and… Isaac. He still felt dirty about it all, but Isaac was paying him a hefty amount of money. It would be good money for him to retire on since he’d spent most of his savings on gambling in Vegas. He didn’t have much left and he was out of luck, so he agreed to do them a little dirty favor.

Even if it meant his damn reputation
.

Lana watched him in the backseat with fear and fury in her eyes.
She was going to get out of this mess if it meant killing that bastard
. The rope had been placed between her teeth and it was thick enough to silence her screams. Besides, screaming was pointless out here in the sticks and would get her nowhere besides wasted energy.

Energy she could use for something else. Something like cutting through the rope he’d bound her wrists with. The stupid old man hadn’t bothered to check her pockets; if he had he’d have found the swiss army knife she kept hidden there.

She’d managed to pull it out of her back pocket as he was in the back seat adjusting the rope around her mouth and had already carved through a fourth of the thick brown rope. The rest would be easy, and she took her time cutting through it so the Sheriff wouldn’t see her arms moving back and forth. The radio was loud and almost deafening, but she realized the Sheriff’s hearing must not be so good.

She watched the road as he drove her forward and she realized that she had no idea where they were going. The rope only had about three more good slices until it was completely cut, and she wasn’t sure what her game plan was after that.

Should she attack him immediately as the car’s still moving? That might mean a wreck, which might mean death for them both
.

They were going about fifty miles an hour and she didn’t feel too confident about it, and yet she also felt like it might be her best chance at catching him off guard. If they’d already parked somewhere it could be too late… He could already have his gun pointed at her as he led her out of the car.

She sliced the last remaining bit of rope and felt the pressure of her hands being bound together disappear.
She was secretly free
. But what now? Lana thought of Chris and wondered if he was okay… Or if he was even alive. The thought made her feel like crying and she knew she couldn’t think of that right now. She knew she had to escape. She knew that this was perhaps her only chance, and she was going to give it her
all
to make sure that it worked.

She slid her left hand entirely free of the rope and straightened it carefully before glancing down at it. The piece she had was about two feet long and perfect for what she was planning. Lana had seen in movies a gate like structure between the front and back seats of police cars, and she was endlessly thankful that the Sheriff had chosen to take his daily driver instead of the cruiser. She wouldn’t have been able to act out her plan if she’d been locked in the back of a cop car where there was a barricade between her and the officer. At this very moment she had the perfect opportunity right in front of her – literally.

She took a deep breath and knew it was time. With cat like speed she struck her arms forward and wrapped the rope around the Sheriff’s neck as he steered them down the highway. He let out a immediate gagging noise and then the car began to swerve. Lana clenched her teeth together and screamed viciously as the car careened left and right over the old abandoned highway.

“Let me…”
The Sheriff muttered in a dying man’s voice. His face turned purple and then an entire minute later Lana felt his body relax completely. She knew that he was dead.

Oh shit
.

She looked forward with bulging eyes, only to see that the car was still moving, perhaps even faster than before. It barreled down the highway as the Sheriff’s head slumped forward and slammed against the wheel, causing the horn to blast in a continuous loop. His foot seemed to be stuck on the gas pedal. In a desperate attempt to grab the wheel, Lana realized she was too late. The car shot straight off the road and careened down a bumpy steep sloping hill.

Please… Please
… She thought.

The car smashed into the bottom of the ditch nose first and then toppled over and spun four times.

Everything went black. Lana didn’t know if she was dead or alive, but she guessed that alive was the more likely option because she was having dream like thoughts. Her eyes were dark and then she saw the deep bright redness of
blood
.

“
Ohhh
!” She screamed suddenly as she shot her eyes wide open and began to gasp for air. She was alive. She was still sitting in the backseat of the cruiser and thank heavens she hadn’t taken her seatbelt off when she’d strangled the Sheriff. Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt. His body had shot straight through the windshield – which wouldn’t have mattered much anyway, considering he was dead before they crashed.

“What have I done
?” She gasped to herself, realizing suddenly the full extent of the situation she was in.

Dead cop. Blood running down my face. Possibly a concussion, but I feel fine – just shaken as hell
.

But he was a dirty cop, she reminded herself. Although she realized it might not matter.
Whose word would they take? The respected dead Sheriff’s, or the new mysterious girl in town?

It didn’t matter, she knew, because Chris would believe her.
Oh, Chris
. She crawled up the steep hill with her hands and feet and reached the highway to try and flag down a car, but it was dark and deserted without a vehicle in sight.

She took off on shaky injured feet down the side of the road, back towards the light of town. She hoped that Chris would be there. She hoped that he would sweep her up in his arms and save the day, but she knew that sounded too good to be true…