SEAL Wolf In Too Deep(17)

“Yeah, sure, whatever everyone else wants.” Allan really tried not to show his growlier wolf nature, but he was having a hard time keeping his feelings hidden. He figured at this rate, they might as well sit at one of the long tables, but Rowdy steered them to a booth and maneuvered it so that he was sitting next to Debbie on one side.

She didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Allan thought she looked pleased with the arrangement. Was she miffed at Allan because he had wanted to take separate vehicles? He’d wanted to be able to leave at a moment’s notice if any of his family called to tell him there was more trouble. And he didn’t want it to look like he was dating her if a werewolf killer was on the loose.

“So, what do you make of this latest case?” Rowdy asked.

“I’d say the person was crazy,” Debbie said. “Who traps a naked woman like that and then shoots her several times?”

The waitress came and took their orders. She brought back a pitcher of beer and mugs, then headed for another table.

“The only thing I can come up with is some lunatic thought the woman was a werewolf. I thought of vampires, but hunters kill them with wooden stakes.” Rowdy poured everyone a mug of beer.

Allan had heard Rowdy watched the TV series Supernatural and several other paranormal series, so he wasn’t surprised when Rowdy came up with that scenario as a lighthearted approach to his ongoing murder investigations.

“Werewolf? Right.” Debbie sipped her beer.

As far as Allan knew, Debbie loved the epic, more historical kind of fantasy, but wasn’t into the urban fantasy stuff—like vampires and werewolves.

“We still don’t have a clue who she was?” Allan wasn’t about to get pulled into a discussion about werewolves or any other paranormal creatures.

“No word yet,” Rowdy said. “And the victim didn’t have any wolf DNA.”

Debbie rolled her eyes. “They did not test for wolf DNA.”

Rowdy smiled and winked at her. “I asked the county coroner to look for it, and she said she always checked blood work, as a matter of course. No wolf DNA. Just plain old human blood.”

“She did not check for wolf DNA,” Debbie said.

Rowdy laughed. “If she’d found some when she did the other tests, wouldn’t you have been surprised?”

Allan couldn’t help but be amused at the way the conversation was going. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Rowdy had asked the coroner to check the blood for wolf DNA.

Thankfully, lupus garous were all wolf in appearance, DNA included, when in wolf form and totally human when they were in human form. So if anyone ran any kind of tests on them, they wouldn’t show both in any of their systems.

The three of them finally got on to other subjects, and despite disliking that Rowdy was here with Debbie to begin with, Allan liked the guy and found his company agreeable. He was a good homicide detective with a sterling reputation and a great success rate in solving murder cases and getting convictions. If Allan hadn’t loved diving so much, he wouldn’t have minded working with Rowdy in his field of expertise.

Debbie sipped more of her beer, then set her mug down. “I have a confession to make. You guys are a lot of fun.” Her eyes were bright and glistened a bit in the ambient lights in the restaurant.

Allan raised his brows a little. Was she slightly…drunk? After only a beer?

Rowdy smiled.

“No, really. You know I’ve been working with Allan for nearly five months and I’ve known you, Rowdy, for what? About the same? Maybe a little less. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to just”—she pulled off the clasp holding her hair up, and the dark-brown curls cascaded over her shoulders—“let my hair down a bit.”

Allan had never seen her hair loose. Silky, rich, and thick. He could just imagine running his hands through the soft strands.

Rowdy saluted her, still smiling. “Here’s to letting your hair down.”

She looked like she was feeling a bit tipsy. But after one beer? Granted, the mugs were big, but… He frowned. She’d told him her dad had been an alcoholic. Had she never taken a drink before?

“Do you want a soda? Water? Coffee?” Allan asked.

“Nah, I’m fine.” She pointed a slice of pizza at him. “I dropped by your sister’s place to offer my shoulder if she ever needs it.”

“I heard.”

She frowned at him. “I don’t think they—your mom and sister—liked that we were going out on a date.”

He opened his mouth to object, but she quickly added, “Oh, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t say we were going on a date. But for whatever reason, I believe that’s what they concluded. Should I have repeated that this wasn’t a date? That’s why I asked old Rowdy here if he’d like to join us—because we aren’t on a date.” She grinned, then took a bite of the cheese pizza.

Rowdy laughed. “How often do you go out drinking?”

“Me?” Debbie’s eyes were wide. “Oh, heavens. Never. It’s just been a rough day, and I thought for a date…well, not a date, just a pizza get-together where everyone drinks beer…well, it would seem antisocial of me if I didn’t join in on the fun.” She finished her pizza and looked from Allan to Rowdy. “What?”

“Do you think you can drive home okay?” Allan asked. He wasn’t going to let her, but it was better if she thought it was her idea. “If not, we’ll drop you off at home, and we can leave your car at your place.”