Gone In The Dark: Gray Wolf Security Shifters New Mexico, #5

By Glenna Sinclair

This is the fifth and final book of the second series of Gray Wolf Security Shifters and contains over 50,000 words of paranormal romantic suspense. For the best reading experience, it is highly recommended to start from the beginning with Pack of Misfits, Gray Wolf Security Shifters.

 

Dibe Haskies is thrust into the center of a mystery when her former lover, Denton Isaacs, shows up on her doorstep beaten and stabbed, a warning on his lips. "They're coming for you. Run."

 

She has no idea where the warning is coming from or who might have wanted to harm him. And Denton dies before he can tell her. Creed tells her to run, but she refuses, determined to find out what happened to Denton. He might have cheated her and betrayed her, but he was still her friend. And friends do whatever it takes for one another.

 

With Creed's help, Dibe dives into the mystery, finding herself in a mess that only Denton could have created. Is Creed the only one who can save her now, or is Denton's mess just too big for them to overcome?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Glenna Sinclair
• Release date: Feb 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224586820

Glenna Sinclair

Experience the heart-racing novels of Glenna Sinclair, the master of romantic suspense. Sinclair's books feature strong male protagonists, many with a military background, who face real-world challenges that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Books2read.com/GlennaSinclair Facebook.com/AuthorGlennaSinclair GlennaSinclairAuthor at Gmail dot com

Book preview

Chapter 1: Dibe

Sleep was almost a relief.

What a long few months it had been! And a roller coaster if I’d ever seen one.

I thought my life had been turned upside down when my lover, Denton Isaacs, stole half my technology and left me, left my business, left everything to go start his own security firm, Firebrand Security. But that was just the beginning.

Business had never been my strong point. I could talk to clients, calm frustrated parents of missing children, and soothe the nerves of executives plagued by stalkers. I could run an operation as cleanly as any of my commanding officers in the navy. But balance a ledger? Ask a former client to honor a due date? Remember to look at projected expenses before jumping to buy a new fleet of SUVs? That wasn’t my thing.

My business lasted two and a half years before I began to realize I was going bankrupt. To save my security firm, I had to find a buyer. Denton had made an offer, the best offer I could have hoped to receive, but there was no way in hell I was going to sell out to someone who’d betrayed me so completely.

And then came Ashford Grayson and Gray Wolf Security.

At first it seemed like a godsend. Ash not only bought the business, but he paid off all our debts and offered an influx of money that seemed too good to be true. He even allowed me to remain in charge. At least he allowed me the pretense of remaining in charge.

And then Creed Jones arrived.

I hated him on sight, more due to the idea of him than anything he’d said or done. At the same time, there was this animal attraction that... I put it down to the fact that he was a shifter, like me, but he was a lion. I’d only ever known shifters of my own kind, the dragons that populate this hot, arid desert where I’ve made my home. But now?

Creed Jones was a complication I thought I didn’t need in my life. He’d marched in here to tell us how to report to Ash every mistake I made, every little thing that wasn’t in line with expectations. And then he took it upon himself to fix things he believed I was doing wrong. When I’d learned he was collecting past due fees from clients, I was livid. It was quite humbling to learn that most of my clients were almost grateful to put the responsibility behind them.

He shook things up.

He shook me up.

And now... I didn’t even have to close my eyes to relive the past two or three hours in his arms. I’d never felt half of what he’d made me feel tonight, and there was this little piece of me that was afraid I’d never feel it again. All I could do was lie here in my bed—the same bed where I’d loved, lost, and grieved Denton—and enjoy these moments before reality barged back in again.

I pressed my body against his, loving how perfectly we fit together. Sleep was just beginning to envelop me, a rest I could acknowledge I truly deserved. So when the knock came on the door, far away and dim, I thought it was part of my dream.

Is someone at the door? his deep, equally sleep-confused voice asked very close to my ear.

I groaned. Ignore it.

Creed ran his hand slowly along my hip, drawing me even closer to him as he began to settle back into sleep. But then that annoying sound came again. I was awake enough this time to realize it was a real knock.

Who the hell could that be?

Creed sighed. It is, unfortunately, the middle of a workday. Could be about one of the active cases. I should go check it out.

A boss’s work is never done.

He smacked my hip lightly, but then he was gone, leaving a cold space behind him. I heard him pull on his jeans, a spark of regret blooming in my chest as I imagined that beautiful body covering itself again. And then the sound of his feet leaving the bedroom.

I was drifting again, my body warm and comfortable, still floating on that lovely wave of pleasure. I smiled softly at the memory of his touch, hot and tender all at the same time, wondering what Joshua might think of the direction of my thoughts. I knew it was possible he was close by. I also knew that if he was, he could hear my every thought. I hoped, for his sake, that he wasn’t.

Dibe, Creed called from the doorway, you better come.

Something in his voice had changed. There was no longer that sleepy element, and the sexy deepness had gone. This voice was more his business voice, the one that had always irritated me when he first came into my life.

Is it important? I had to ask. I was so comfortable in bed that ignoring what was clearly a developing situation seemed like the best avenue of response. Really important?

It’s pretty important.

I grunted, regret again burning through every inch of my body. I didn’t want to leave the warm bed, didn’t want to leave the cocoon of pleasure that was still wrapped around each and every one of my singing nerves. I wanted nothing more than to pull the covers over my head and pretend I wasn’t a business manager, wasn’t the lady in charge—or with the semblance of authority, anyway—the one everyone disturbed when they didn’t know what else to do. For the first time since beginning this business, I wanted it to disappear for a few hours. Just long enough for me to cement this night in my memory and allow me a few hours of good, solid, undisturbed sleep.

But then I caught a glance of Creed, standing just inside the room, his arms crossed over his chest. There was blood smeared on his shoulder and he had this dark look in his eyes, a look that I couldn’t read.

I sat up, quickly forgetting everything but the dread that rushed through me at the sight of that smear of blood.

What is it?

You have to come see for yourself.

I got off the bed and grabbed a bathrobe from a hook on the bathroom door. I followed him out into the living room, taking hold of his arm for support. It wasn’t really physical support I needed. Something inside of me knew I was about to be crushed by whatever he so desperately needed to show me. It was emotional support I craved. Maybe even a delay to the inevitable, a way to avoid the spectacle sitting at my dining-room table.

Denton, blood covering his face, his shirt, his pants, half sat, half reclined in a dining-room chair, his breathing fast and irregular.

What the hell?

He opened his eyes at the sound of my voice, but only one fully opened.

They’re coming for you, he mumbled. Run.

I pulled away from my new lover to fall to my knees in front of my former lover, my hands immediately tugging at blood-soaked clothing to find the source of his wounds. There were many—far too many!—bullet wounds and stab wounds, cuts and bruises, broken bones and what appeared to be symptoms of a collapsed lung. There was enough damage to have killed a human three times over. The only thing keeping him alive was his shifter nature, his ability to heal. But even that ability had been weakened by his injuries.

Who did this to you?

His eyes were closed and I couldn’t be sure he’d actually heard me.

We need to get him to the bed. I stood and tugged at his arm. Help me, Creed!

He hesitated, but then came, lifting Denton more easily than I’d thought possible. I followed as Creed carried him to the bed we’d just vacated, laying him on the bright-green sheets, his blood immediately leaving a quickly spreading stain. I rushed to the bathroom and searched through the cabinets for the first-aid kit I kept there. I cursed under my breath several times as I came up empty, slamming one door before wrenching open another.

Creed came into the room and immediately spotted the kit in a high cabinet I’d just opened, sliding it out.

He’s in bad shape, Dibe.

He’s a shifter. He’ll heal.

I turned, trying to push past him, but he blocked my way, determination and pure strength refusing me passage.

Get out of the way!

Did you hear what he said? Whoever did this to him is coming for you!

I can’t think about that right now! I have to help him.

He’s not going to survive this, Dibe. You have to think about yourself now!

I shook my head, glaring up at Creed. I couldn’t believe he was being so selfish!

How can you say that? What if it was you lying there, bleeding to death?

I’d expect you to get the hell out of here and leave me to my fate!

Bullshit! You’d want me to do everything I could to help you!

Listen to me! He pushed me backward as he took my face in his hands, forcing me to look up at him. This last case, the kidnapped girl being held at your grandfather’s store, that was personal. That was a threat against you. And now Denton showing up like this... Clearly his crew is out to hurt you—for reasons only that man bleeding to death on your bed probably knows. And he’s not talking, except to tell you to run. I think you should run! I think you should run as far and as fast as you can!

And just leave him, leave everything I’ve fought for these past three years?

Leave everything in my hands. In Joshua’s. We’ll get him help, take care of things here.

I jerked my head away from his touch. I’m not going to run. That’s what they’ll expect me to do and I can’t just give them what they want.

He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. You stubborn woman! Don’t you understand what they did to him? Don’t you see how they made sure he wouldn’t survive for long?

Why didn’t they just kill him? I pushed at his chest. You’re the one who doesn’t understand.

Don’t you see? They knew he would warn you. They wanted to frighten you!

"Then running is the first thing they’d expect me to do. Don’t you see?"

He hesitated, giving me a window to dive through. I ducked around him, snatching the first-aid kit from where he’d set it on the counter. Denton wasn’t moving as I approached the bed, my footsteps slowing the closer I got to him. The puddle of blood underneath him seemed to have stopped spreading. That had to be a good sign—right?

It took a lot to kill a shifter. Cutting off the head worked. Removing the heart also did the job. But anything short of those things was often foiled by a shifter’s natural ability to heal quickly. Some could heal faster than others. Some needed days, others only hours. I supposed there were some out there that didn’t have the ability at all, but all the dragons I’d ever known could heal themselves quite quickly compared to human standards. But the wounds Denton had suffered were devastating. There were so many! His body couldn’t possibly heal them all at once.

But I had to believe.

My hands shook as I opened the first-aid kit and removed the thick bandages. I pressed one to the first wound I could see, the stab wound in the center of his chest that had been spurting blood with each beat of his heart. It wasn’t spurting anymore.

I tore tape from a roll and secured the bandage, pressing another to a wound on his side. Blood soaked everything. My fingers were sticky with it, the tape roll covered in perfect fingerprints made from the blood. I didn’t care. I kept working, carefully covering every wound I could find. There were more than thirty in all, some tiny, some large, some so gaping that it seemed almost impossible they would ever heal. But there were signs of healing in a few places, evidence that his body had tried to knit his flesh back together.

Dibe, Creed said softly, coming up behind me and resting a hand on my shoulder, it’s a waste of time.

I jerked my body away from his touch. He’s hurt! He needs help!

There were too many.

I shook my head even as my eyes moved to Denton’s face, noticing for the first time the thinness of his cheeks, the sunken look of his eyes. He’d looked so good the last time I saw him, so full of life. But now... he seemed weakened, like someone had deprived him of simple necessities. He seemed dehydrated, thinner, starved. Abused. Tortured.

How long did they hold him? When was the last time we saw him?

Just a day or two ago.

But he looks... He seems so...

He’s died, Dibe.

No. He’s just hurt. He’s got so many wounds!

He’s lost too much blood. Even with his healing abilities, he couldn’t keep up with the blood loss. Creed took hold of my upper arms and pulled me away from the bed. He’s gone.

No. I shook my head, my thoughts spinning, memories of moments I’d shared with Denton dancing in my head, all the times he’d made me so angry, all the times he’d made me feel so good. It was all mixed together, but the dominant memory was just the humor on his face, the laughter that had always been so easy for him. He’s not. He can’t be. Denton is a force of nature!

He was. Creed turned me away from the bed and forced me to look at him. He’s gone now. Now we have to focus on you, on the danger he came here to warn you about.

I began to shake, not just my hands, but every inch of my body. My knees went weak, my legs refusing to hold me up, my heart shuddering in my chest. I fell forward and Creed caught me, such a wave of grief rushing through me that all I could do was open my mouth and release a silent scream.

Creed swung me up into his arms and carried me into the living room. He’d just laid me on the couch, his hand smoothing the hair from my brow, when Joshua suddenly burst through the door.

What the hell? he demanded.

Creed simply pointed toward the bedroom. There was nothing else that needed to be said.

Chapter 2: Joshua

The thoughts were overwhelming. I’d never known it to be quite like this.

I was supposed to spend the night with Annie. We had plans for