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Taking in Malcolm’s half-nude form and untied shoes, Nathan frowned as unease filled him. “Uh, Malcolm, what are you doing?”
Twisting his shirt in his hands for a second, Malcolm cleared his throat. “Um.” He seemed to catch himself, for he shook out the fabric, revealing a nice polo shirt. “My car’s in the shop, so I figured I’d just, uh, jog to work,” Malcolm told him before tugging on the shirt.
Nathan crossed his arms over his chest as he arched a brow at the young man. “That doesn’t explain your state of dress, Malcolm. You were almost at a point where I could write you a ticket for indecent exposure.” While Nathan wouldn’t do it, the man who worked as a cook atSpiron’sneeded to give him a little better explanation.
Malcolm gulped audibly, his eyes growing wide. “Please don’t do that, sir,” he cried. “I didn’t think anyone would see me change back here.” Shoving a hand through his thick black hair, Malcolm continued, “I didn’t want to be all sweaty at work. The kitchen’s hot enough as it is, so I brought clean clothes in my duffle bag.” He waved a hand toward the bag he’d pulled the shirt from. “That way they’d be clean.”
Nathan could see the tense lines in Malcolm’s neck and the way his attention flickered past him toward the restaurant. Nibbling his bottom lip, he shifted from foot to foot. Nathan could easily see that Malcolm was hiding something.
More is going on here.
Over the last few years, Nathan had seen his fair share ofodditiesaround Stone Ridge... and in the forest. Things he couldn’t really explain and had never talked to anyone about and never planned to. Many of the people there were secretive. They would rather handle things themselves instead of involving the law. On many occasions, Nathan felt certain they went to the park rangers as opposed to the police.
Considering how douchy the prior sheriff was, Nathan could understand the sentiment. He’d noticed that attitude had begun to change, slowly, now that there were new faces in office. Sheriff Anthony had hired a few new people, since a couple had expressed their desire to retire.
Nathan couldn’t imagine the department without Markus, Grady, or Lyle, but all three intended to leave soon. Markus already had his last day set for the end of the month. Grady and Lyle would probably be with them for another year, giving Anthony plenty of time to settle in and find their replacements.
When Malcolm shifted his weight once more, Nathan realized the young man was still waiting.
Blowing out a breath, Nathan rested his hands on his hips. “Well, I guess I didn’t actuallyseeyou naked, now did I?” he drawled with a smirk. Seeing Malcolm duck his head, he chuckled. “Use the restaurant’s restroom next time, Malcolm,” he ordered with a shake of his head. “No nudity in town. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Malcolm immediately replied while nodding.
Nathan patted Malcolm on the shoulder before turning away. Hearing the roar of more than a couple of motorcycles, he headed toward the front of the restaurant. While he knew the youngster was hiding something, there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
Besides, just as Nathan had told him, he hadn’t actuallyseenhim nude.
Arriving at the street, Nathan took in the sight before him. There were nearly a dozen motorcycles just parking at the restaurant. He spotted a couple more with trailers continuing up the Main Street leading out of town and deeper into the forest.
“Damn,” Nathan murmured, admiring the large assortment of motorcycles. “Nice collection.”
Nathan saw a couple of the motorcycles had sidecars, and a smile teased his lips at the sight. One of those sidecars contained a big dog with a helmet and goggle set on its head. He found himself taking a couple of steps toward the group, wanting a closer look at the bikes, before he caught himself.
“All right, Khan.” After removing his own helmet, the big brown-haired man who’d been driving that motorcycle leaned over and eased the headgear off the dog’s head. “Let’s see what this place has that’ll interest you. Hmmm?”
The dog woofed softly, then jumped from the sidecar. It paused and shook out its light gray fur. Then it began walking beside a couple of the other riders toward the bar.
That was when it hit Nathan. The animal that he’d at first thought was a sort of German shepherd hybrid, was in fact, a wolf. While Nathan didn’t think Russell—the restaurant’s owner—had a hard policy against pets in the bar, as long as they were well-behaved, Nathan wondered what he would think about a wolf.
Wait. Wolves require special permits to own.
Realizing Nathan had to verify that they owned the animal legally—Khan, the big man had called him—he started toward the group. “Excuse me,” he called.
The big man with the wolf turned to face him. As the guy swept his attention over Nathan, the scar over his left cheek pulled oddly as he offered him a slight smile. He even dipped his chin in a slight nod.
“Deputy,” the man greeted, his voice deep. Lifting his hands in placation, he added, “I know we look a little rough, but we won’t cause any trouble.”
Nathan smiled and rested his hands on his hips. “Didn’t think you would,” he assured the guy. “I’m Deputy Nathan.” Waving a hand toward the wolf, he stated, “And I need to ask you about your wolf.”
“This is Khan. Had him since he was a pup,” the guy claimed. He rested his hand on Khan’s furred head. “He’s perfectly safe.”
A guy with pale skin and red hair scoffed and rolled his eyes. The black-haired man standing beside him whapped him on the stomach with the back of his hand. The redhead immediately slung his arm around that guy’s waist and kissed his temple.
The big scarred man sighed. “Really.” He seemed to be trying to reassure Nathan. “Khan is fine.”
Suddenly, Khan stepped forward, his nose sniffing deeply.
Nathan instinctively took a step back while lifting his hands away from his body when the big animal nuzzled his hip. The wolf whined softly while moving his nose to Nathan’s stomach. Finally, it licked at Nathan’s hand before slipping his head under his fingers as if asking to be pet.
