The Porch Wolf
911

The four left just before ten after I accepted Mike and Anita into my new Pack as my Betas. With Vicki, that left me one person short of the minimum number for recognition. Larry said he had some ideas for that.

In the meantime, they had to return home and pack up. I needed my Betas to stay at the house, which was fine with them since they were renting a small apartment. My home was sprawling walkout rambler; the main floor had the kitchen, living room, master bedroom, and two smaller bedrooms. I was using one of them as my office, the other was a guest room. They chose downstairs instead, a large bedroom with a door leading out to the pool deck and hot tub. The man cave and gym were nearby, and Anita liked one more feature of the room. “It’s farther from your room, so you won’t hear us,” she said with a smile.

I watched them drive off, then went back inside. My wolf was restless; looking at the clock, I realized that Liz would be getting off work soon. She still hadn’t responded to my text. I was trying really hard not to be that creepy stalker guy, but something told me to go to her. I poured the rest of the coffee into a travel mug, grabbed my keys, and went out to my truck.

It only took five minutes for me to drive to Wiederholt’s and park on the side of the lot. I saw the silver Lexus parked in the back; she would be there until her last tables left. I waited in the dark, my truck getting colder as I listened to classic rock on Sirius.

It was five minutes to eleven when the back door opened and I saw Liv’s blonde hair under her stocking cap as she walked out to her car. I waited until she unlocked her door, then started my truck. She let it warm up for a minute, then pulled out into the dark night.

I waited until she had exited the lot, then pulled out myself. I didn’t need to spook her by following too close since I knew where she was going. I was a good half-mile behind her the whole way home.

I saw her turning left towards her grandmother’s place. I slowed and turned myself, stopping on the road and turning off the truck. I would watch her go inside then go back home. My wolf was still on edge, and I didn’t know why.

I sipped my coffee as I watched her park the car in her space and get out. She grabbed her purse and got out, walking to the door and unlocking it. The inside was dark, and when she closed the door, I started up the truck. I was about to put it in gear when the door opened again, and my heart dropped into my stomach.

A man was pushing Liv out the door, a gun held to her back as his hand gripped the top of her jacket. Her hands were handcuffed behind her. Behind him, a woman carried a struggling Vicki over her shoulder, also handcuffed. They didn’t even bother to close the door as they moved across the lot. I had a choice; stop them or call for help.

I did both.

I got out of the truck and pulled my pistol out, moving quickly towards the turnoff to her parking lot along the ditch. As the van pulled out, I called 911 and put it on speakerphone. “911, what is your emergency,” a woman’s voice said.

“I have a child kidnapping in progress at 19087 190th street, west of Highway 61 and south of Hastings,” I said. “Two suspects, white male in his thirties with black hair, blonde female in thirties. Victims are a five-year-old girl and her mother. Both are handcuffed and are now in a white Ford cargo van.”

“Units are responding, can you see a license plate?”

“Not yet. I have to go.”

“Stay on the…” I hung up and left it in my pocket as I took a shooting position behind a tree, my pistol up and ready. The soft glow of the three dots allowed me to sight in the darkness as they approached.

The smart thing would be to wait for the cops; Hastings was only a few miles away, and it would be minutes until they got here. I couldn’t take the chance that they would evade the police; I had promised to protect them, and that is what I was going to do. “Vicki, you and your mommy, lay down on the floor and stay down until I tell you it’s all right,” I told her. I prayed that they would listen, and I prayed that my aim would be true. As the van approached me, I took aim at the driver’s side window. They were ten yards away when I squeezed the trigger.

The first shot punched a hole through the windshield at head height; two more shots quickly followed. The van veered to the left as it lost its driver, running into a snowbank and stopping. I was already moving, my pistol up and ready. I saw the woman moving up to the front, and two more shots went to the center of the windshield just before I reached the van. I kept going around to the back, pulling the door open and moving my pistol inside.

I looked past my two girls on the floor of the van as I focused on the woman. She was trying to pull the guy out of the driver’s seat. “FREEZE,” I yelled. She did. “Put your hands on your head and kneel down, facing the front.”

“I can’t lift my arm, you fucking shot me,” she said.

“Marengo Pack?” Both of them were werewolves.

“Stillwater. There’s a bounty out on the girl, and we needed the money.”

I could hear the sirens approaching, I wouldn’t get much more time before they arrived. “You’re going to prison,” I told the kidnapper as I held the gun on her. That was the worst thing for a wolf, being locked away from the Pack and the Moon.

“I can’t go to prison,” she said. “I won’t.” She twisted as she reached for the gun in the front seat, bringing it around as I sent two rounds into her chest. The third hit her in the left eye, and that was the end of that.

It was then I heard Vicki crying, Liv screaming, and sirens approaching over the ringing in my ears. “Don’t tell them anything about Packs or werewolves,” I said as I backed away. Not wanting to get shot, I moved a car length back from the van, leaving the gun on the ground underneath it, and got on my knees with my fingers interlocked on top of my head.

I was surrounded by police thirty seconds later; four covered me as another handcuffed me and pushed me face-down to the frozen pavement. Other officers were surrounding the van. “They’re dead,” I told them as they reached the back. A Sheriff’s Deputy climbed up and removed their cuffs, then handed Vicki to a waiting Hastings policeman. Liv was helped out a few seconds later.

Vickie was asking for me, while Liv was yelling at the officer holding me down. “He’s her uncle, he SAVED us,” she shouted at him. They didn’t care; the officer pulled her along to a waiting car.

“LEO, I wanna go to LEO,” Vicki cried as she was carried away.

I sent to her over the bond. “It’s going to be all right, Vicki. Help your mom, and don’t say anything about wolves. I love you, and I’ll always protect you.”

Finally, a detective showed up. “Pick him up and put him in a car,” he said.

They just finished standing me up when another officer approached from the direction of the apartments. “Detective, you need to see this. Another victim is in the apartment.”

Fuck. Not Natalie. I should have known; they must have come during the evening, grabbing Vicki and waiting for Liv to get home. Natalie would be a loose end, and wolves didn’t like leaving clues behind. “Olivia’s grandmother was watching Vicki while she worked her shift at Wiederholt’s,” I said. “Is she dead?”

He wouldn’t say; he didn’t have to, his eyes said it for him. I looked over at the detective. “I saw Liv go inside, then they came back out with the kidnappers. I was the one who called it in.”

“You shot them?”

“I have a carry permit in my wallet, and I fired in defense of others,” I said. “I’ll need to speak to my lawyer before I provide a statement.”

The detective nodded at me. “You’re being detained for questioning,” he said. “Take him to the office and put him in an interview room.” Two Deputies led me away to a waiting car, pushing me into the back seat. As we drove off, I could see Liv sitting in the back of an ambulance with Vicki in her lap, a blanket wrapped around them.

By the time I’d been processed and booked into custody, my story had checked out. They had my phone, which had dialed 911. Liv and Vicki’s both said I saved them and shot the two as they were being taken away. I had a valid concealed carry permit and no record.

I still wanted a lawyer, but at least the Detective on the case took the cuffs off while I sat in the interview room. I made a phone call to Larry, and he made a few more calls. Thirty minutes later, a man with a nice suit entered my interview room and introduced himself as my lawyer. “There are no surveillance cameras or recordings allowed while I’m in here. This is a privileged conversation between you and your lawyer. Any other time, assume you’re on Candid Camera,” he said. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened.” I went through the whole night with him, starting from how Vicki was my niece, and I was friends with her mother.

When I was done, he looked up from his notes. “Liv is lucky you’re a stalker,” he said. “Not that there was any criminal activity on her part. Hell, they should give you a medal. Those two might be dead if you hadn’t been there to stop them.”

“Natalie?”

“Suffocated in her bedroom with a pillow,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, or the ‘what-ifs’ from running through my head. If only I’d invited them over to stay with me. If only Liv had called me back. If only I’d watched over Vicki closer. “And Olivia and Vicki?”

“They were taken to the hospital; Vicki was in shock and may have hearing damage from the shooting. Your father-in-law is with them.”

“They can’t go home, it’s a crime scene. Tell Larry to take them to my house. He has a key.”

“I’ll pass that on.” He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text message. “The police want to interview you; before then, I want you to write out your statement, in your own hand. We’ll read before we answer any questions. If I stop you, you shut up and let me talk. Do you understand?”

“I understand. Give me the paper and pen.” I took ten minutes to write it all out; the only thing I didn’t mention was the conversation with the female werewolf in the van. I went from opening the door to her reaching for a gun as I shot her three more times. He looked it over, then knocked on the door and asked for the detective.

“Are you charging my client,” he asked first.

“At this time, we have no evidence of a crime on his part,” he answered. “We would like to get his statement.” It took twenty minutes to go through it and answer questions; what I said must have matched up, because after the questions were over, he reached over and shook my hand. “Officially, we do not encourage private citizens to involve themselves in situations like this,” he said. “Off the record, you did a hell of a job keeping those two alive. You’re free to go.”

“My truck and my gun?”

“You’ll have to recover your car from the impound lot tomorrow morning, it was towed away as evidence. The gun is also evidence; I’ll call you when the ballistics checks are done and you can pick it up.”

“Wonderful.” I was processed out, getting my phone, keys, and wallet back. My lawyer walked me to the exit, where Larry was waiting for me. “Where are Liv and Vicki?”

“Your house. Donna is staying with them,” he said. “Come on, they’re worried about you.”

It was almost four in the morning when I got back home, and Liv was still up waiting for me. “LEO,” she said as she ran into my arms. “Thank you,” she said.

“How is Vicki?”

“She has a ruptured eardrum, it will heal in a few weeks,” she said. “She was pretty upset you were taken away.”

“Can I see her?” My wolf had to know.

“Come on.” She took my hand and led me to the guest bedroom. Opening the door, I could hear her heartbeat and her breathing as she slept. I moved over to the bed, sitting down next to her and running my hand over her hair.

She stirred and opened her eyes. “Unky Leo?”

“Hi, Shark Bait.” She sat up and hugged me tight as I held her in my arms. “You were very brave tonight.”

“My Unky saved us,” she said.

“I will always be there to protect you,” I said, and I meant it. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt my Pack members. “Now it’s late, and you need to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up, all right?”

She nodded and then yawned. “Pwomise?”

“I promise.” I kissed her forehead and tucked the blanket up, then walked out.

I closed the door as Liv looked at me. “What now?”

“You try and sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning,” I said. “I’m sorry about your grandmother.”

“They killed her,” Liv said as she shuddered. “She wouldn’t hurt anyone, and now she’s gone.”

“I know,” I said as I walked her back to the kitchen. While Donna held her, I went back to my bedroom and found some flannel pajamas of Catherine’s that I hadn’t given away yet. “You should take a shower and go to bed,” I said. “Are you going to sleep with Vicki, or do you want your own room?”

“I’ll be with my daughter,” she said. As she walked out, she turned back to me. “That woman said there was a bounty on Vicki.”

“Yes. Until I can end the threat, you both need to stay here for your own safety. I’ll be bringing in more people to help,” I said.

“Kill the ones responsible like you did those two,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s your own brother.”

“I don’t either,” I said. “Tomorrow.”