When the Dead Speak, Bailey Bradford [new ebook reader .TXT] 📗

Todd’s cruiser was pulled up alongside Mrs. Shumaker’s house. Gabe could see the barn when he pulled up into the dirt drive, and Todd stood at the side of the building towards the back. He gestured for Gabe to drive his truck on around to where he was waiting. Putting the truck in park, Gabriel left the engine running just in case he needed to jump in and make a quick escape. He knew it was a kind of wimpy thing to do, but still. Gabe got out and walked over to Todd, looking past him to the dark, furry lump lying in a pathetic heap on the ground. He stared hard, concentrating until he finally saw the wolf’s side rise slightly with an intake of air. Still alive, that was good. The sound of an engine had Gabe glancing back to see that Adam had arrived. He turned back to the wolf, feeling an irresistible pull towards the animal.

“Look at him, Gabe. The poor thing’s barely alive.” Todd’s voice was thick with sympathy. Gabe understood; his own stomach was clenched with anxiety for the wolf. Strange that, somewhere along the drive over here, he had gotten past being leery of the wild animal. He walked around Todd, heading straight for the wounded wolf. He vaguely heard Adam yell in the background to wait, to be careful. It didn’t matter, though. Gabe’s desire to reach the wolf superceded anything else.

Eyes never leaving the wolf, he approached quietly, not wanting to startle the animal. He was barely aware of Adam a few feet behind him, as the pressing need to see to the wolf was too strong to ignore. The wolf opened his eyes, rolling them back to see who or what was approaching. A low growl rumbled from his chest, but for some reason Gabe didn’t feel it was a threat. A warning, perhaps, but not a threat-- not yet.

The wolf struggled to roll onto his belly, turning his head to look at Gabe through whisky-coloured eyes. Gabe felt the air leave his body with a whoosh-sound. Those eyes seemed to reach all the way into his soul, sparking a feeling of recognition and something else, something that made him feel warm from the inside out. Never blinking, he knelt down beside the wolf’s shoulder and extended his hand towards the muzzle.

“Gabe, don’t. He’s hurt and wild…”

Adam’s whispered command fell on deaf ears as the wolf sniffed Gabe’s outstretched hand warily, then gently licked it. Gabe threaded his fingers through the dark fur along the wolf’s nape. Eyes narrowing, he leant forward to look at the scabby wound between the wolf’s shoulder blades.

“Hey, Adam, come look at this. What the fuck?” Gabe leaned closer, peering at the jagged, days-old wound. The wolf watched him sombrely, panting rapidly now. A shuffling sound alerted Gabe to someone’s approach. He turned and spotted the hypodermic needle the vet was clutching and frowned. Another low growl came from the wolf, and Gabe immediately felt the wariness Adam’s presence was causing the animal.

“Put the damned syringe away, Adam,” he ordered, eyes narrowing in agitation.

“Gabe, that’s not reasonable. This is a wild, wounded animal. If he lashes out, anyone around could be seriously injured.” His grip on the syringe tightened.

Gabe took a calming breath, trying to impart to the wolf a feeling of tranquillity and acceptance. He figured it was worth a shot, as he had always believed many animals could pick up on and reflect a person’s emotions. The wolf lay his head down by Gabe’s knees and the growling ceased. He let out a whimper, and closed those beautiful brown eyes.

“He’s fine. Look at him; he’s too messed up do more than lay here. Just come look, I’ll stay up by his head while you get beside me on my right side, closer down to his hips. That way, if he does snap, it will be me that gets it.”

Adam looked at the wolf closely. Sighing, he slipped the syringe into his shirt pocket before coming to squat on Gabe’s right side. Gabe glanced back and saw that Todd was keeping vigil towards the front of the barn, watching just in case Sheriff Dickwad showed up. Adam bent to examine the injury Gabe had found.

“Shit.” Adam prodded the wound cautiously with his fingers. “Damn, it looks like someone creased him, probably to slow him down so they could catch him.”

He muttered something under his breath that sounded like ‘dumb fuckers’ to Gabe, but he couldn’t be sure. It was too hard to hear with the roar of anger that erupted in his head at the vet’s words. Someone had deliberately shot this creature, stunning him, injuring him, so they could capture him? For what purpose? They could have easily killed the wolf—in fact, it was a miracle they hadn’t.

Adam slid his hand around the wolf’s neck, cursing softly. If not for the look of fury in his eyes and the softly spoken curses, Gabe would have thought the man was unaffected by the situation. Every muscle in Adam’s body seemed relaxed and calm as he continued the examination. It seemed that whatever fear Adam had felt a few minutes ago was overridden by his feelings to the barbaric assault on the wolf.

“Feel here, around its neck. It’s raw all the way around.”

Gabe ran his hands around the wolf’s neck, feeling the wound left behind by some type of restraint. He was so angry by now he started to tremble, hands shaking as he brushed the dark hair. What had been done to this wolf? Who had done it? If he found out, it was a sure bet someone was going to get their ass kicked. Gabe met Adam’s gaze, seeing a reflection of his own anger there.

“So they creased it, caught it, chained or tied it up. Looks like they had the wolf for a few days, you reckon?”

Adam nodded. “Yeah, I’m thinking some dumb ass thought it would make a