When a Pack Dies Read Online Free PDF Page A

She fished her keys out of her pocket with one hand and reached for Ryan’s hand with the other. “I’ll go get them.”
    The huge cop had tugged the keys out of her hand even before she realized he was pulling on them. “Allow me, Miss...?”
    Sheriff Powell gave the spitfire his best friendly-guy smile. She and the boy were werewolves. Natural born too from the smell of them, probably from somewhere back east. His instincts told him the minute he let her walk out the door, she’d simply drive off and never come back. He just couldn’t let something that smelled like forever get away. Even if her scent did confuse the hell out of him.
    “Whitesage,” Fina replied without thinking. She was in for it now. But they were in Wyoming. News of a murder-suicide in a tiny community in Eastfield, Tennessee, and the ensuing emotional distress that had sent seven local families off on extended vacations hadn’t made it farther west than the Central Plains. At least the police officer didn’t react when he heard her name. His smile just widened and he touched the brim of his big, straw hat.
    “Miss Whitesage,” Cutler murmured politely and turned back to the door.
    “It’s the—“
    “One with the out-of-state plates? Just a hunch,” Cutler added with a grin when her brow furrowed. “If it isn’t an intrusion, I’d be honored to buy you and your young man lunch.”
    It was phrased as a request but Fina knew it wasn’t. She and Ryan would be joining him for lunch whether she wanted to or not. Nodding resignedly, Fina picked up Ryan and followed the waitress into the café.
    *
    “So what brings a beautiful woman from Tennessee all the way out here?” Cutler asked conversationally. He speared a forkful of fried chicken into his mouth. It hadn’t escaped his notice that the woman—Fina Whitesage—was pushing her food around her plate but not actually eating much of it. The boy on the other hand seemed to have a good appetite.
    “Fina’s my sister,” Ryan said and Cutler could tell right away from the cadence of the kid’s speech that the story was memorized and rehearsed. “We’re going west for our cousin’s wedding. I’m the r-ring bearer.”
    “Is that so.” Cutler nodded slowly. He took a sip of his iced tea and watched the two of them. A quick search of the woman’s vehicle hadn’t told him much. There were two new suitcases inside. One was black, plain and clearly belonged to an adult. The other was a garish blue, smaller and turned out to be the kid’s. A map, a laptop case and a cooler with juice, water and some fruit were the only other things he’d found. On the surface nothing seemed amiss but he didn’t rise to the office of sheriff—or get to be his pack’s Alpha—by accepting everything at face value.
    By then, Ryan had cleaned off his plate, drank his milk and pulled out an electronic gizmo from his backpack. Cutler caught the eye of one of his pack members seated nearby, one who had a child about Ryan’s age sitting with him. At his parents’ prompting, the boy left their table, walked up to theirs and stood beside Ryan’s chair.
    “Um, hi,” the new boy said, watching Ryan’s game with rapt interest. “I’m Koby. You wanna play?” He jerked his head toward a play area at the back of the café.
    Ryan looked up at Fina. She brushed his hair back from his eyes. The place seemed to make entertaining children a priority because there was an indoor play area as well as an outside one. The indoor one wasn’t as big—just a slide, some hanging ropes and a ball pit—but it was colorful and clean.
    “Go play if you want,” she said and smiled for his benefit. “Stay where I can see you.”
    “Sure,” Ryan replied absently, tucked his game into his backpack and trotted off with the other boy. Even though she couldn’t help saying it, Fina knew she didn’t have to remind him to stay within her sight. Ryan never let her get out of his.
    “So what level can you get up to?”