Crashing into Fate (Maple Grove #25) - Lynn Hagen Page 0,7

doing?” Mike asked as he exited his office, watching as the firemen loaded their equipment, the fire out, leaving behind a burnt-out room. The room would have to be checked to make sure it was structurally sound, but Lewis didn’t think the damage had compromised the integrity of the building.

Then again, what the hell did he know about that? He’d carried a dead body out, and now he wanted answers. He looked back toward his mate’s door and shook his head.

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No matter what Arlan had done, that guy had been killed, and the only good to come out of this was the fact that Arlan had acted quickly and the building was saved from the fire causing more damage.

His mate hadn’t even seen the killer’s face.

“He’s shaken,” Lewis admitted. “I think he wishes he would have stayed in bed.”

“I’m glad he didn’t, or I might have lost more than just one room.” As Mike spoke, Lewis noticed the curtains in Arlan’s room move a little. Was his mate watching him? The human seemed a little flaky, but Lewis could deal with that.

What he couldn’t deal with was being rejected. They didn’t know each other, and why should Arlan even trust him? Still, the rejection hurt.

“You never told me why you came by.” Mike walked toward the destroyed room. Lewis followed at his side. He wanted to see the extent of the damage, as well.

“It’s not important right now, Mike.” He gave his friend a tight smile. They’d known each other a few decades, and with the problem he was having, Lewis had sought out help, but now just didn’t seem the time to talk to Mike about it.

“Jesus.” Mike stood outside the motel room door and peered inside. “I just remodeled not too long ago. What sick fuck would start a fire knowing there were other guests?” Mike waved at the parking lot behind him. “You can clearly see other vehicles.”

“What about footage?” Lewis asked. “Do you have exterior cameras?”

“That’s what I was looking at when I went to get Arlan a new keycard. I already sent Sheriff Copache what I had, but…” Mike placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. “You can’t see the person’s face. Either they knew the cameras were there and avoided them or he just got fucking lucky.”

As they talked, Lewis noticed a dark sedan sitting on the road, watching them. “You see the car to your right?”

“I noticed it a moment ago,” Mike said without looking toward the road. “I can’t make out its plate, though.”

“Returning to the scene of the crime?”

Mike shrugged. “Maybe.”

The firetruck was gone, as well as the cops. It was just Lewis and Mike, which should be enough considering Mike was a wolf shifter and Lewis was a Bengal tiger shifter.

But that wouldn’t help if the person had a weapon and fired it from his car. Lewis didn’t think the person would. They were there to observe, to try and figure out what Mike and Lewis knew.

Or that was the line of thinking Lewis was entertaining. He wasn’t a cop and was only speculating. Still, he wanted the license plate number.

“I’m gonna walk to my truck. Maybe I can get a closer look.” Lewis strode away as casually as he could, sneaking glimpses so he could get as many details as possible.

He’d parked by the office, and even that far away from the room, Lewis still smelled the smoke and soot. He wasn’t sure what the extent of the damage was, but he would offer his services if Mike needed help repairing the damages.

As Lewis approached his truck, he saw Arlan’s curtains fall back into place.

Arlan had to feel the pull. It was a deep instinct to be near your mate, even if you didn’t know the person was your mate. Arlan wouldn’t know, but he felt it.

Lewis was sure of that.

He would work on Arlan trusting him, but until then, he had to get that license plate number.

Lewis opened the passenger door and pretended to root around, but he was really looking through the back window. There weren’t any streetlights out this far, and he had to depend on the moon for lighting.

Unfortunately the moon picked the moment to hide behind the clouds, making it impossible to see anything clearly. Even with Lewis’s superior vision, all he could make out was a Q before the car drove away.

He cursed as he closed his truck door