Chapter~20~Guess who's back?

Harley~

Rae pokes me from the inside. 'Something doesn't feel right to me, Harley. I don't think this is just a case of allergies or migraines. We need to see a werewolf doctor at a pack hospital!'

'Ow, don't do that! You say that every time I get sick, there is nothing wrong with my doctor. It's just a couple of shots; you'll be fine, big baby.'

For the first time, I hope my wolf is wrong; she will be hell to live with if she's right, and I can only imagine how the crow will taste going down or coming back up. Since I was already in the bathroom, I washed my hands and splashed my face with cool water.

Now my stomach sings the song of its people, so I haul myself to the kitchen, open the fridge, and stare into the abyss. It may growl at me, but my gut turns at the thought of housing any content I see. Instead, I grab a cold can of ginger ale, pop it open, and take a sip.

'Harley, you must eat something. I am hungry!'

'Tell that to my insides, Rae.' My bare feet padded back down the hallway.

Right before I could get to the good part of my recurring dream about my Wolfman, which leads me to needing a shower. I'm rudely torn away from him as my eyes open with the alarm clock crowing at me. It's on mornings like these that I regret setting a cock as my alarm sound. My hand finds the snooze as I moan from the sudden movement and roll out of bed, make it to the kitchen, and turn on the coffeemaker while I get dressed.

The warm scent fills the apartment, beckoning me as I serve myself a cup, and that's where the magic ends. As I raise the cup to my mouth to take a sip of the brew, I gag. Not even my hazelnut blend is sitting right this morning. I fill my thermos cup anyway and head out the door. Even the damn sunlight is making me a little nauseous.

'Maybe you are turning into a vampire?' Rae teases me.

'Shut it, Rae!' I shoot back.

As I pull into the station parking lot, I see Sheila is just arriving as well. I have been avoiding being alone with her; she was one of the many witnesses who saw me flee into the night with a strange man. She headed straight for me; my eyes rolled as I braced myself.

She wasted no time. "Mystery man, spill!" Shelia had a twinkle in her eye.

My purse straps dig into my shoulder with unnecessary force, and I head towards the building. "It was nothing; he was nice; we just talked for a while." I lied like a rug! It was everything I had ever wanted!

Shelia eyed me suspiciously. "So where did he go?"

"I don't know." We enter the sliding glass doors, and I move away from Shelia toward my desk.

Before I can sit at my overloaded desk, Captain Howard comes through the squad room like a whirlwind and barks at me. "Gibson, in my office now!"

He never breaks his stride or looks to see if I'm following him. We enter, and he closes the door behind us before moving to his desk and gesturing for me to sit. Howard leveled me with a stare and exhaled, which gave me a bad feeling about what was to come. Just my luck, another piercing pain shot across my forehead.

"Harley, the brass has called the FBI in on the Stalker."

I tried to focus on his words instead of the jackhammer assaulting my brain. "Why? We are making progress."

"Apparently not enough. It's out of my hands now. Their liaison will be here this afternoon, and you are to work with the Agent."

"Captain, I do not do partners."

"You do now, Harley; it isn't a choice."

"How long before the agent gets here?" My mouth is so dry I could hack up a whole sweater!

"I don't know, maybe within the hour."

My fight-or-flight kicked into overdrive. "The impound lots have yet to be searched by us." I braced on his desk; thankfully, he didn't notice. "I will get on it."

"Wait until the Agent gets here; he has additional evidence you need to look at. And it would make a good olive branch to the Agent along."

I sank back down, defeated, as the captain's desk phone rang. He answered. "Yeah, okay. "He put down the receiver. "He just checked in downstairs."

A few moments later, I can't believe my nose but my Wolfman is here! Captain Howard rises from his desk and extends his hand to the man who has entered his office. I follow his movements and look up into his dark, dreamy eyes. He doesn't look surprised to see me. However, I am wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the sight of him.

"Agent Reins, this is Detective Gibson."

He extended his hand to me, and out of sheer stupidity, I accepted it. His touch was akin to sticking a fork into an electrical outlet. I jerked my hand away. "It's nice to meet you." I wasn't sure if the words had even left my mouth.

Nick sat beside me, placed the file in his hand on the table, and refocused on Captain Howard.

"You have some new information, Agent Reins?" Howard nods his head at Nick.

"I do, Captain." Nick opened the file and slid it between us. "This is Lenorad Luccese." He pointed to the picture on the front page. "Big time player in the Italian mafia."

"I know who he is, but how does he fit in?"

"A reliable source tells us he is the man calling the shots behind your murderers."

My eyes focus on the photo, and my entire world spins out of control. At least I am sitting down this time. My father had promised me to an Italian mafia boss as his mate. I gasped; now both are staring holes through me. Oh no, I am going to be sick!