Turbulence by Elaina John

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counter. She was a frail thing. Looked like she’d blow away if he even sneezed
in her vicinity.
    Greyson rubbed his neck, feeling uncomfortable. “Um, yeah.
That book that’s on the poster in the window. Do you have it?”
    She smiled. It was warm, wrapping around him like a thick
blanket. “Yes, dear. Follow me.”
    It took the woman forever to get to the side of the store
that shelved the books. But Greyson slowed his strides as to not run over the
old lady.
    There was a stack of the books on a table. She picked one up
and handed it to him. “Here you go. I don’t suppose that’s for you.”
    “No. It’s for, um, someone.”
    “Well, it’s a popular book. I’m sure your someone will love
it. You’re a sweet young man.”
    Greyson snorted. Yeah, sweet wasn’t a word anybody
ever used to describe him. “Can I just pay for this?”
    “By all means. Follow me.” At her slow pace, she led Greyson
to the register. When she got behind the counter she asked, “Are you one of the
folks that moved on the Malloy land?”
    Malloy was Lily’s last name or at least it used to be before
she mated Dex. “Yep. Heard crazy stuff about us, I bet.”
    “Sure did,” she said as she took his money. “I’ve been
around a long time. I know when to take rumors with a grain of salt.”
    Greyson wanted to know what the new rumors were that she
heard, but decided it would only make him upset to hear the lies the humans
were saying about them. The old woman handed him a bag with the book inside.
    “Have a nice day,” he told her.
    “You too, dear. I hope your lady friend likes the book. Any
man who courts a woman by bringing her books is a keeper.”
    He wasn’t courting Avalon. He merely thought she’d like the
book. Nothing else. He would have told the woman that if his phone hadn’t rang.
He walked out of the bookstore before answering.
    “What?”
    “It’s Ross. I might have something. Come to the fire
station.” He hung up.
    The fire station? Why would Davie have gone to the fire
station? Greyson got back inside his truck and drove to meet Ross. He could
have walked the five or so blocks it took to get there, but then he wouldn’t
have been able to hide the book bag. He didn’t want anybody knowing what he
just did. They would undoubtedly catch the wrong idea, especially Ross.
    Greyson didn’t need a nosy brother snooping around in his
stuff, asking why he bought a book when Ross knew better than anybody that
Greyson would never go into a bookstore unless he was forced. And he wasn’t
forced.
    There was no time to allow that to sink in. He pulled up to
the firehouse. Ross and a firefighter dressed in a blue uniform met him as he
walked up the driveway. The man, although fit for a human, was dwarfed by Ross
and since Greyson was bigger than Ross in all facets, he made the man look like
a shrimp too.
    The fireman held out his hand. “Don Rust. Nice to meet you.”
    He shook Don’s hand. “Greyson Kane.”
    “Don here says he thinks he saw Davie,” Ross said. Judging
from his tone of voice, it wasn’t a good thing.
    “Where?”
    “Well,” Don started, “there was a fire the other day. You
might have heard about it. The old shoe factory on Kent Drive.”
    “Davie was in the fire?” Dread skated along Greyson’s skin
like a thousand mosquitoes.
    “No. But afterward we got a call about an accident a few
blocks away. While we were there, a few residents were complaining about this
terrible smell. The terrible smell turned out to be a body stuffed in a garbage
can.” He shook his head. “Bad shape, man.”
    “You believe it was Davie? What makes you think that?”
    “The hair, dude. It matched the picture Ross showed us here.”
Davie had a strip of white in his hair like a skunk. “The body was taken to the
morgue. As far as I know, no one’s claimed it. You should go over there and see
if it’s him for sure.”
    “Damn,” he muttered. He looked at Ross whose face was as
grim as