“The NeverEnding Story. Have you seen it?”
“I don’t think so.”
Wyatt took off his beanie, revealing a tangle of messy brown locks. Sometimes it was easy to forget he was born in the 1800s because of his charismatic, youthful appearance. The patchy whiskers on his face, unruly hair, and casual clothes made him look like a guy who quit college to backpack through Europe. He tossed the hat on his desk and plopped down in his leather chair. “It’s about a kid who reads a book.”
“Sounds terrifying. I think the most I’ve ever seen you read is the ingredients on a Doritos bag.”
He stared at a basket of french fries on his desk, hand inside his shirt as he scratched his belly. “The characters in the book are living their life, oblivious that they’re just part of a story. The kid reading the book holds all the power to save their world.”
“And?”
He rubbed his arms. “What ifwe’rejust characters in a book? What if someone is reading about us, and we only exist on a page?”
I chuckled softly. “Seriously? I have an unsolvable case, Blue has a stalker living on the property, Hunter’s on the run from everyone trying to yank his tooth out, you see dead people all the time, and your worst fear is that you might not be real?”
He circled his finger over the trackpad on his laptop, deactivating the screen saver. “Actually, my worst fear is butterflies, but we’ll pack that up and save it for another day.”
“How many of those mushrooms have you had tonight?”
He gave me an indignant look. “That has nothing to do with it.”
“Eat your fries. If you see Blue, tell her I’m back and to call me.” I handed Wyatt her phone to charge.
Wyatt suddenly turned his head and stared into the empty room. His olive-green eyes locked on something, and he said, “If there’s anyone out there reading this, don’t kill me off. I’ve got a whole life ahead of me. I promise to be more entertaining.”
Hearing heavy boots tromping against the floor in the hallway, I turned to see who was coming. I guessed Shepherd since not even Claude walked that loudly.
Shepherd puffed on his cigarette from the doorway. “If you don’t give me some work to do, I’m going to put your ass in that vending machine with a thousand-dollar price tag.”
Wyatt scoffed as he grabbed a cluster of fries. “The joke’s on you. I’m worth atleastten.”
“I could have used some backup today,” I remarked.
Shepherd squared his shoulders. “You run into trouble?”
“Just fourteen or so bears itching for a fight.”
He chuckled darkly. “What clusterfuck did you get yourself into?”
“We took care of it.”
He flicked ashes on the floor. “I sure as hell hope so. You don’t fuck around with a family of bears. They’re vindictive little bastards. Packs and dens have a little more order and leadership, but some of those bears are wild animals. You need weapons?”
“Viktor doesn’t want us armed. We won’t be able to question anyone if we’re packing. They won’t trust us.”
Shepherd dropped his cigarette inside Wyatt’s soda can. “One ofthosecases, huh?”
Wyatt gestured to my legs. “Looks like what you really need is mosquito repellent.”
Shepherd ambled toward the sofa. “Nah. Then it might keep her boyfriend away.”
“Have you seen Blue?” I asked.
Shepherd blew a breath of smoke toward the ceiling. “She’s around.”
That was a relief.
“I’ll see you two knuckleheads later.” I stepped into the hall, my leg itching like crazy. What I needed was a stiff drink. My last assignment had reawakened old nightmares I’d just as soon forget. But I wanted to stay as clean as I could for this case. One fuckup would not only get back to my father but possibly damage his reputation.
