“Heaven won’t have me and I’m banished from Hell. Purgatory is Earth. So here I am, trapped, until my dad calms down and welcomes me home. It’s shitty to be me and I don’t want others to try and put me in a lab or cell somewhere. I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just want to find my way home and avoid killing the natives.” He put on his sunglasses.
Those words made her curious. “How do you know Heaven won’t have you?”
He pulled his sunglasses down to the tip of his nose to give her an are-you-serious stare over the top of them.
“Okay. Okay. Stupid question, maybe. But are you sure?”
“Yes. To get in, I’d have to repent and I regret nothing…other than this conversation and the one time I tried a knock-off brand of Coke.” He pushed the glasses back into place, then picked up his phone, dialed a number and put it on speaker.
After several seconds, a woman answered in what had to be the thickest Southern drawl in history.
“Hey, Laura. How you doing, hon?” Luke asked.
“Everything’s just peachy, peachy, tall, dark and mysterious. But I know you didn’t call to check in on little ole me, Mr. Luke. What is it you need?”
“Oh,” he feigned being hurt. “You wound me with your suspicion.”
“Not suspicion, sug, when it’s true. You never call unless someone’s seen a wolf, and no, it wasn’t me. I wasn’t there.”
“How do you know it wasn’t you? I haven’t even told you where.”
“Don’t matter where ’cause I know I haven’t been flaunting myself lately. Ain’t no one seen my birthday suit unless they’ve been peeking in my windows—and if they have, then that’s a whole other crime. So I know I wasn’t there and didn’t do it. Whoever they seen was probably just having a bad day or someone saw a neighbor’s dog and panicked.”
Sorcha bit back a laugh. The picture David gave them was definitely not a dog.
“You have any friends or family in Peachtree City?” Luke asked.
“None that I know of and I’m sure they’d tell me if they came that close to my town. Be rude if they didn’t.”
Luke stroked his chin. “Anyone turn anyone?”
“No. Definitely not. This is my territory. I’d have the throat of anyone who trespassed and did such a thing. Not to mention, it’d be just plain rude.”
Luke passed a grimace to Sorcha. “Then we might have a problem.”
“How so?” Laura asked.
“I’m in Peachtree City and there is definitely a Dire on the prowl. If it’s not you, it’s a close relative.”
She went silent for several seconds before she spoke again. “Text me the address and I’ll be there as quick as I can.” Laura hung up.
Luke shifted through the papers and then texted Laura the location of the last sighting.
“Where are we going?” Sorcha asked.
“Whitlock Family Cemetery on Northlake Drive. It’s less than five minutes from here.” He turned the car on and headed out of the parking lot.
Interesting. Sorcha looked over the files they’d been given.
David was right. All of them were within a narrow geographic area. “Why do you think the wolf’s staying in one place and not moving on?”
“Not a clue. That’s not normal Dire behavior. They’re usually very careful and avoid populated areas when roaming. When they do settle, they do like Laura and rarely shift. It brings too much heat, and they’d rather not be seen. One going up to a stranger’s door and smiling for the camera…not what they’re about.”
“Know a lot of them, do you?”
He shrugged. “My mother’s a hellhound. Being canines, they tend to run in the same circles. Have a lot of shared behaviors and…friends.”
Interesting to know. Sorcha looked over her shoulder at Helly who was using her hand to swim in the air flow as they drove. “For real? His mother’s a hellhound?”
