Chapter Twenty-One
Glenn
Glenn grit his teeth. Playing dumb had never been a strong suit of his, except this time, it had been too good of a plan to pass up. He'd been disappointed to discover Foster wasn't there when he'd arrived at his distillery. It had been a long shot to assume Foster manufactured the alcohol on the same property where his house was. The man was just arrogant and stupid enough to think he could get away with anything.
Glenn had sensed the other coyote's presence there soon after he'd double-checked that Foster's truck wasn't there. He could have captured the coyote, but it was too perfect of a chance for him to get some more information regarding the state of Parker's pack. In Glenn's experience, people were more honest when they thought they were winning so Glenn had loudly broken in to the distillery, waited a ridiculous amount of time for the coyote to realize he was there, and stood still, waiting for the coyote to capture him.
Since then, he hadn't learned a lot about Parker's pack that he didn't already know. Glenn hated those words, Parker's pack. That group of coyotes didn't deserve a man like Parker. They certainly didn't deserve to have him as their alpha and they wouldn't, if Glenn had any say in it.
Which he did.
Parker was still his mate, despite the deception. He'd simply demand that Parker stay by his side. Glenn frowned. He already realized that plan was shit.
"What's wrong, wolf? Did I hurt your feelings?" the coyote asked without any actual empathy. He'd mistakenly assumed Glenn's frown had anything to do with him. In reality, the knot the coyote had tied was so sloppy, Glenn could have slipped out of it the moment after it was tied. This time with the coyote had only cemented what Glenn already thought of him. He was a horrible excuse of a shifter and was also possibly intoxicated. Glenn would hold out and wait for a few more minutes to see if the coyote knew anything, then he'd break free and follow his original plan which was to blow up the distillery and deliver a bound coyote to the police station. Surely, they would be able to find some reason to detain him.
That was about when he felt it, that extra tingly sense that told him one or both of his mates were near. Glenn groaned.
"Don't worry, wolf, you don't have much longer to suffer."
Glenn didn't think the coyote was talking about setting him free. "I'm not worried," Glenn replied loudly. "In fact, I'm fine. Don't need rescuing, that is for sure."
The coyote just stared at him. He grabbed a bottle from one of the wooden shelves next to him and twisted it open. He took a long slug of the clear liquid inside. "You're finished." He reached back and pulled something out of the waistband of his pants. "You are far from fine," the coyote said like a threat.
Glenn hinted a whiff of gunpowder from when Clyde had discharged the shiny pistol earlier. Knowing the coyotes were having problems with shifting made the guns make more sense. They'd lost their biggest weapon. Glenn wasn't sure what he would do if he couldn't shift.
"Stop, Clyde," Parker said, walking through the doorway with his hands up in surrender.
Glenn was going to paddle his ass later. There was no way Parker had missed him saying he was fine and didn't need saving.
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Because you aren't a complete idiot?"
Glenn disagreed. He wondered where Brady was, knowing his human mate well enough to realize if Parker was here, Brady was near. Hopefully he'd come to his senses and turned back to return to the clinic. He wasn't escaping a paddling either.
"I told your uncle you were too soft, that the mission needed someone tougher. You're a pussy, Parker, and always have been. I'd be doing the pack a favor by getting rid of you now so we wouldn't have to worry about you ever leading us."
Glenn growled loudly and slipped his wrists free. "Get the fuck out of here, Parker."
The coyote startled at Glenn getting free so quickly. He looked between Glenn and Parker like he was watching a tennis match. Abruptly, he began to laugh. "I don't believe it. You fell in with the enemy. I thought you'd been plowing the human for sure, but you've fucking fallen in with a wolf? Never mind, I don't need to kill you, the pack will do it for me when they find out."
"Just stop, Clyde. It doesn't have to be like this. Don't you remember a time when our pack was healthy? When we were happy? Relatively. I mean, you were still a shit-head back then, but at least all of our family and friends were alive. We could go back to that."
"We will have that again. When we take over this town." Clyde tightened his hold on the gun and swung it back in Glenn's direction as if remembering he was there again. "Say goodbye to your boyfriend."
There was a loud bang from the doorway Parker had entered through. Moos and neighs sounded in the distance as the animals made a ruckus. Clyde looked away long enough for Parker to surge forward, knocking the gun out of his hand a split second before he fired. The bullet slammed into a barrel to the right of Glenn, a stream of clear liquid pouring out, filling the room with the sharp, cloying scent of alcohol. Parker went to Glenn's side and Glenn pushed him back behind him. The only injury on his mate were the ones Glenn had given him. He frowned at that thought.
"C'mon man," Parker said, misinterpreting his expression. "I didn't realize you weren't really tied up. I thought he was going to shoot you!"
"You should have trusted me," Glenn murmured. "Where is Brady?"
"He was with me in the hallway but I told him to wait on the property line after he got the animals free. He should be safe and—" Parker stopped as Brady rushed in the room. He looked unharmed except now there was one very dangerous problem. Clyde rushed toward him, much closer in distance than either Parker or Glenn.
Parker soared through the air, shifting completely before landing on Clyde's back. Clyde screamed as he fell forward against a shelf of bottles that went crashing on top of the two coyotes and then against the floor.
The bottles broke, mixing together to create a disgusting cocktail of smells that made Glenn's stomach roll. "Parker!" Glenn yelled, running toward his motionless mate, still on top of Clyde's back.
Parker crawled off of the coyote, shifting back into his human form as he did. "I thought he was going to hurt Brady," Parker said a little dazed. "I didn't realize that was there."
Glenn looked past him to Clyde who was completely still. He moaned and Glenn closed his eyes in relief. He didn't care about the coyote but knew that his death would weigh heavily on Parker. "He's alive. Brady!"
"Here," Brady squeaked.
"Call the sheriff, tell her to get out here. We'll drag him out and make it look like he fell running away."
"He's covered in alcohol," Parker said.
"Whose case does that help? Hurry, you and Brady drag him out while I take care of things here." He double checked with Brady that all the animals had gotten out before grabbing his bag. He'd save the bottles of rubbing alcohol he'd brought, so much had already spilled over the floor. He struck a match and watched it soar, landing gracefully in an ever-growing pool of moonshine. It lit up like a flash. Glenn ran out as the fire was spreading to the other equipment.
Parker and Brady waited for him at the end of the driveway like he'd told them to.
"We need to get out of here."
"Won't he talk?" Brady asked, indicating Clyde who was now laying on the ground in a convincing position. It wouldn't pass a forensic examination, but from first glance it looked like he'd fallen after running. "Foster was mad that I lost his pig, imagine how he'll be if he finds out I had a hand in destroying his side business?"
"I'll call the pack. I need to get them prepared anyway. Talk to Conner and Felix. It might help when we waltz into The Den if people are expecting me with a coyote mate. If the sheriff doesn't take the bait, the pack can handle it from there." As he spoke, he pulled items out of his duffel and planted them on Clyde's person. He would have felt bad if this coyote hadn't threatened his life and his mates' lives moments before.
"Hold up, what are you talking about? Why would I be in The Den?" Parker asked.
"Because, you'll be by my side," Glenn said, knowing he was sounding like a controlling asshole but not really caring if it meant that Parker would be safe and cared for.
"Guys, we don't have time for this," Brady said. "They are slow out here, but not that slow."
Glenn grabbed Brady's hand and tucked Parker under his arm. Together, they went into the forest, bringing with them every trace that they'd been there, other than the bits they'd planted. The sheriff would have a heck of a time rounding up some of the animals, but they were already congregating in the field next door to Foster's land.
Glenn spotted Brady, slipping a jar of something in the bag. "What is that?" he asked.
"A bottle of moonshine," Brady replied.
Both Parker and Glenn gave him an incredulous expression. Brady made an exacerbated noise. "Not for me. For research. I have a hunch."