Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“Did you put make-up on?” I have to choke back my laugh.
“No,” she says defensively. “I always look like this.”
“No, you don’t.”
Her shoulders drop and she rolls her eyes. “Did you scare them away? You have to stop doing that or you’re going to get fired.”
“I didn’t!” I tilt my head. “At least I don’t think I did. They just left.”
She looks disappointed, but at least she still has Mr. Frowny Face and Mr. Snooty in a Suity to gawk at before she leaves.
“Hey,” I say to her. “Do you know an Aylwin?”
“Aylwin Kirk?” she says as her eyes light up. “He ran a criminal business outside of town and the whole building burnt down. A girl almost died.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Actually, that guy Ethan saved her. They’re a couple now. Her name is Chloe. Sweet girl.”
My mind is spinning as I glance over at them. So, they’re looking for their criminal brother who disappeared under mysterious circumstances…
This boring little mountain town is more exciting than I gave it credit for.
Just the kind of excitement I needed.
Chapter Two
Westin
I pull up to Carl’s diner in my pickup truck and look around for any sports cars with out of state license plates. I sigh when I find nothing but one mud-covered truck after another.
Blake and Ethan were here for breakfast yesterday and found two dragon shifters who might be up to some trouble. I came to check it out.
“There were two of them?” I asked after Blake and Ethan told us what they had seen.
Blake nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Two dragon shifters and Aylwin was their brother.”
Carter, Rylan, and I were listening to them very carefully. It was the five of us who disposed of Aylwin when he tried to kill Ethan’s mate, Chloe. His brothers won’t find him anywhere unless they look six feet underground on the side of one of Blackcloud Point’s many mountains.
I came back to see if they were still hanging around the town, but from the looks of the beat-up cars in this parking lot, they don’t seem to be here.
My stomach starts rumbling when I smell the eggs cooking inside. I hop out of the truck and wince when my throat starts to tingle. It’s fresh mountain air all around me, but there’s something blowing around that’s making each breath burn.
I clear my throat and head into Carl’s Diner. It’s a small place, which gets even smaller when the huge shifters in town stuff their giant bodies into it. I don’t think Carl has changed a single thing since his father opened it decades ago. It’s the same lime green metal stools at the counter and the same carved up tables in the faded yellow booths. Names of couples long broken up or long dead are carved into the tables where Carl and his staff serve cheap food at even cheaper prices.
The bell rings as I open the door and step inside. I’m greeted by Debbie’s big smile and by a smell that nearly buckles me. The fiery scent burns its way through my nose and down my throat making my eyes start to water.
“Hi, Westin!” Debbie says as she comes around the counter with her cheeks blushing. “Is it just you or are the rest of the boys coming?”
I try to speak, but I end up coughing instead.
“Are you okay?” she asks with concern.
I shake my head and swallow. “Can I get a glass of water?”
She pours me a cup and I down the entire thing in one gulp. It does nothing for the burning. I guess I’m getting a cold… but shifters don’t get colds… I don’t get it…
“Thanks,” I say as I hand her the empty glass back. “It’s just me today.”
“Sit wherever you’d like,” she says as she hands me a menu.
The place is busy today and there are only a few booths available. I head to one behind a group of four wolf shifters. The biggest one, Lincoln, is Ethan’s neighbor and they’re friendly with each other. I’ve seen the four of them around, although I’m not friends with any of them.
My bear has been extra antsy since I walked into the diner, pacing around and growling inside of me like he’s lost his mind. Now I know what’s gotten into him—he doesn’t like the smell of these four wolf shifters. That must be it.
“Settle down,” I whisper to him as I look over the menu.
My chest is still burning with every breath as Debbie comes over with another glass of water. I down this one too in one long gulp.
“What’s that smell?” I ask her. “It’s like breathing in lit gasoline.”
She shrugs like it’s nothing. “It always stinks in here.”
“Not like this.”
She just shrugs again. “What are you having?”
“I’ll take a Hungry Man Breakfast,” I say as I hand her the menu back. “And a coffee.”