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Audrey Greenthorne was a big no. Our last two interactions had been…unpleasant, to say the least. On top of it, she’d accused me of being the killer, so I knew I wouldn’t get any direct answers from her. Talking to her would be a waste of time.
I headed back to the manor. Parking the car in the massive garage with all the other fancy vehicles, I decided to stop stressing about detective work for the rest of the night. I needed a good night’s sleep to decompress, then I could get gung-ho about it again tomorrow.
I shouldered my pack and dangled the keys in my hand as I tried to find my way around the mansion. I kept getting lost, which started to irritate me—seriously, I’d need a map of this place—until I finally happened upon Ridge’s office. Thankfully, the door was wide open, so I didn’t miss him.
He sat behind his desk, frowning as he rifled through stacks of papers. I leaned against the doorframe and took the opportunity to really study him while he didn’t know I was there. The guy looked exhausted. He hunched over the desk instead of sitting. His hair was tousled from running his hands through it too many times in every direction.
Not wanting to get caught watching him, I made a noise and stepped into the room, tossing the keys on the desk. “You should sleep. You’ve been up for way too long. You can’t keep going like this.”
His head popped up, and his whole demeanor changed when he looked at me. His piercing grin caught me off-guard. “I didn’t realize I was going to be hosting such a caring guest.”
I rolled my eyes at Ridge again; it seemed that was my primary way of communicating with the man. “It’s more like nagging. I’d hate to see you drop dead of exhaustion when there’s a lot we need to do.”
His grin got more prominent, and fuck if it wasn’t sexy.
“You need to rest to be better equipped to deal with people, especially if there are others like Zander in town.”
I winced at the tension straightening Ridge’s back. I could have bitten my tongue and not made any comment about it. He was already in the throes of turmoil, and the last thing he needed was this new aggravation from another pest complicating matters.
“You ran into Zander?” His voice had a grit to it, which I’d started to realize was him trying to control his growling. My wolf and I found it enticing.
“Mateo and Audrey were arguing in the town square,” I reported in a monotone. “Audrey stormed off in a perfected snit when they finished, and Mateo returned to the bar. So, I headed over there to tell him I’d get his clothes back to him. Then Zander showed up, acting all alpha-ish.”
“Zander is hardly the prime example of the average alpha. Although alpha wolves are dominant and territorial, we’re also leaders who are fiercely protective of our own. Zander is far more interested in dick-measuring competitions and posturing than he is in actually helping anyone. I don’t think he’s lifted a finger for a single soul if it didn’t benefit him. He doesn’t know how to back down from a fight and sometimes snaps and does reckless things that his old man has to clean up.”
I perked up at that last bit. “Could that then make Zander a suspect if he got butt-hurt about losing the brawl? Maybe he took it out on the deputy?”
Ridge leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. “Nah. As problematic as Zander is, I doubt he’d outright murder a human without a real motive.”
I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought over what he’d said. I was tempted to ask if he had any ideas of anyone else in town who might’ve had a motive to kill Deputy Hill. But Ridge tried to hide a yawn, so I’d let it go for now. We could talk about it tomorrow.
“Ridge, go to bed.”
He laughed as he stood up. “Are you sure this is you nagging and not caring? Because it sounds an awful lot like you feel bad for me.”
He walked closer to me, and the temperature in the room went up a few notches.
I snorted as I stepped back. “I’m incapable of feeling bad for a rich alpha mayor with a hero complex.”
With Ridge’s laughter trailing behind me, I walked out of the room and hunted down a guest room that would be my home for the next couple of weeks. With any luck, we’d find out who had murdered Deputy Hill so I could be gone sooner.
Chapter16
Ridge
The alarm blasted me awake far earlier than I wanted. I hadn’t been able to grab more than a few hours of sleep, but with everything going on, a good night’s rest wouldn’t be in the cards for me for some time.
I managed not only my family’s much-older financial portfolio but also my two successful financial brokerages, alongside my roles as the town mayor and the local shifters’ alpha. My workload required me to burn the candle at both ends most of the time.
This exhaustion wasn’t anything new, but I was especially tired this morning and just wanted to go back to sleep. Yesterday’s shocking murder had made my life even harder. Add on the sexy little wolf living right down the hall from me, and I hadn’t been able to fall asleep last night. Real or imagined, her intoxicating scent reached me wherever I walked through the manor. Lustful fantasies and memories of our night together ravaged my mind and had me aching for her.
I’d tried to ignore the temptation, but to no avail. Finally, I reasoned with myself that if I got it out of my system, I would sleep. So, I closed my eyes and wrapped my hand around my demanding cock. I stroked myself from base to tip, fast and hard, to my fantasies of her exploring hands, demanding tongue, and tight wet sheath. I ejaculated faster than a teenage virgin. If I’d been with Tori, I would have embarrassed myself with how quickly I came. I would have fought it off, but since I didn’t have her beneath me, I came with a growl.
Still, sleep eluded me, my cock hardening again as her scent drifted down the hallway. I resigned myself to the knowledge that while Tori was around, I’d be in a permanent state of near-arousal. I’d better get used to it. Her scent haunted me and had my wolf and me on edge. We wanted to take care of the neediness that sometimes emanated from her. No matter how hard she fought her attraction to me, I was well-aware of it—unlike words, a scent never lied. If I wasn’t a stronger man, I’d take her rejection of her arousal for me as a personal slight.
Slamming my hand on the alarm clock, I sat up in my bed. I was big on positive habits and self-discipline. My uncle had believed in structure, and I found implementing it in my daily life helped immensely. I couldn’t afford to let the days get away from me when I had so many responsibilities. If I got behind on one thing, then I’d get behind on everything, and trying to get caught up would be a nightmare.
I dropped to the floor, did my one-hundred-and-fifty pushups, then dressed to go for a run. Running wasn’t as fun and freeing as it was in wolf form, but it gave me an outlet to keep myself balanced. Exercise helped me get my head on straight and keep my sanity in check.
