Page 46 of How to Hack a Hellhound
“I would have helped,” I muttered instead.
Atlas just shrugged, then he sat on the first step leading up to the door of the cabin. It was really a nice place—not a small place, like I had been thinking of building. It had a porch and looked like it would probably hold two bedrooms pretty easily. It would be a good place for Atlas—nearby, but far enough away to give him privacy.
“You’re gonna get splinters in your ass,” I commented. I was used to Atlas walking around naked, but no one wanted splinters, and this was new construction. “And I’m not pulling them out, either.”
Atlas just laughed at me.
I sighed. “You’re going to need clothes if you want to hunt. We have a ring of human traffickers to bring down. You want in?”
Atlas perked up and nodded. He walked inside, and I followed. I explained who his targets were going to be while he got dressed. The inside was covered in sawdust, tools, and construction equipment, but it was coming along nicely. They already had the floors in and the framework for cabinets done. Atlas kept some clothes in a garbage bag, probably so they didn’t get filthy from the construction.
When I was done debriefing him, I turned to head out the front door. I didn’t expect conversation from Atlas, and I was ready to go find the manager.
“The humans?” he asked before I could go.
I turned back around, confused. “What humans?”
“The ones living here. They can’t be left alone.”
Aww, Atlas was worried about our human packmates. That was nice, if unexpected. “Jude is taking the first shift, then he’s heading out when Dexter gets back.”
Atlas nodded, and I headed out, swiftly jogging towards the houses. I was aiming for the cars, but somehow my feet took a detour of their own, and I ended up at the back house. I could hear Toby, Jude, Aiden, and Quinton all inside, and it sounded like they were all fine.
I hesitated outside the front door until Jude yelled, “Q, Liam’s looking for you.”
Of course Jude knew I was there. A minute later Quinton came out the front door, shutting it behind him. He was smirking. “Did you come for a good luck kiss, my sexy stalker?”
“Yes,” I answered. I hadn’t realized that was what I needed, but I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.
He leaned up, grabbed my face, and pulled me down for a kiss. He tasted delicious, and I had to resist the urge to deepen the kiss even more.
“Hurry back with our guy,” he muttered. “Toby keeps looking at me funny, and I swear he’s trying to get me alone for some reason. I don’t know what kind of freaky questions he’s going to ask. Or, god forbid, what sort of weird plans he has for us to become better friends.” Quinton rolled his eyes at that, and I laughed.
“I will. Be safe, hellcat,” I murmured. I probably would have stood there staring at him, but Quinton turned around and went back in the house, shutting the door in my face.
He was mine. I nodded my head once. Yes, he was definitely mine. My mate. My pack. Dexter had said something about mating humans, and I’d have to find out the details. I’d ask Quinton if he wanted that, of course, because humans liked to be asked that sort of thing, but I figured I had a few decades to convince him if he said no.
I was his sexy stalker. I’d wear him down until he agreed. My hellhound grumbled in satisfaction. We were going on a hunt, and Quinton was ours—life was a beautiful thing.
It didn’t take long to hunt down the manager. He was working a shift at a club, and a text message from one of his current lovers was easy enough to fake to get him out the back alley door. When he walked out, I incapacitated him and gave him a light sedative since I knew Quinton wouldn’t want to wait to interrogate him. I put him in the trunk and headed back to Paradise Falls, excited to bring Quinton his gift.
Of course, it wasn’t quite that easy. When I got back into town, lights and sirens flashed behind me. I looked at the speedometer. Yup, I’d been speeding. I sighed in frustration at myself; I was usually so careful.
I really hated getting pulled over when there was a body in the trunk, especially if the owner of the body was still alive. At least dead bodies wouldn’t wake up and make noise.
I pulled over to the side of the road and reached over to shut the computer on the passenger seat that had the cameras in Quinton’s apartment on screen. I didn’t think that would be easy to explain either.
Maybe the cop would be a crooked one and I could deal with him and move on. I opened my window, but no scent of rot filled my nose. In fact, the cop smelled like sunshine—just my luck. He walked up, and yup, he was definitely a good soul.
Hopefully Dev would stay unconscious. I didn’t want to have to incapacitate the cop or figure out what to do with him, and I really didn’t want to be shot. Bullets sucked. I looked at his badge and blinked in surprise. Not even just a patrolman; it was the sheriff. He must’ve been relatively new, because I didn’t recognize him, and I’d done research on everyone of importance in the town.
“Good evening, sheriff,” I said. “I just realized how fast I was going, and I’m so sorry about that. Would you like my license and registration?”
He looked a little surprised, then answered, “Yes, about twenty miles over the speed limit. I’ll take your insurance card as well.”
I pulled out my wallet and grabbed the documents, handing them over. “Will the ticket take long to write?” I asked.
He looked even more surprised at that. “Most people aren’t so willing to get a ticket. What’s the rush?” he asked.
