by Terry Spear
“Two years ago.”
“That’s about the time that she hooked up with Marek. At least she wasn’t with him while she was seeing you.”
“She would have had a hard time keeping me from smelling him on her. I hope you didn’t tell her you wanted to do the bathroom in a new paper.”
Natalie finished her mocha. “Nope. I told her my mate had to agree, and I’d get back with her. But that we were having a baby—or more—and would get in touch with her later on that.” Natalie explained everything they’d said. “Of course, my first question is, if her brother was caught up in criminal activities, and her subsequent boyfriend is too, does she just hang out with wolves mixed up in crime? Or is she participating in some of this stuff too? Wait, I have an idea. Let’s go back. I’ll text her and tell her I sent you a picture of the wallpaper, and you agreed it would work for you.”
“But it doesn’t.”
She chuckled. “Right, but we’re not going to actually have her wallpaper anything. I’ll tell her I just couldn’t wait a moment longer to arrange to have it redone.”
“You really don’t like it that much?”
She laughed. “I’ll say I’m going to put a deposit on the job. I’ll give her one of those fake hundred-dollar bills you kept. If she’s on the team—”
“She could try to hurt you if she thought you were going to turn her over to the pack for her criminal activities.”
“I’ll keep my phone line open. You can come to my rescue if I need it.”
Brock grunted, but he turned the Humvee around and parked where he had before so they weren’t in sight of Lettie’s shop.
“If she’s not implicated, she’ll just accept the money.”
Brock frowned at Natalie. “Unless she suspects it’s fake because she runs a business and she would be cautious about accepting that large a bill.”
“If she figured out the bill was fake because she was more observant, she wouldn’t call the police because we’re both wolves. I’m not getting change back or free goods that could be returned for real cash, which would be a counterfeiter’s goal. Or free meals, or whatever. It’s going to be so long before she wallpapers the room that I wouldn’t benefit from it. For me to intend to defraud her would be silly, because once she tried to deposit the bill at the bank, she’d know and have my name and everything. So if she’s not participating in any of this, she would probably ask me where I got the bill, if she realizes it’s counterfeit.”
“What address would you give her?”
“What if I give the ranch house as the address? If anyone shows up there, they have ranch hands who can deal with the person or people. Wolves.”
“If you use Aaron’s last name, it’s the same as mine. Same with the pack leader. Lettie will know it has something to do with me.”
“If she knows my last name, she might be able to verify I don’t have a home here, if she investigates this on her own. I just want to see her reaction, smell her scent, see if she gives herself away.”
“One thing to know about Lettie… She has manipulation down to a science. I wouldn’t be surprised if she took the money and pretended it was real, if she recognized it wasn’t, and then got in touch with her cohorts, if she’s involved. If she asks you where you got the money, feigning concern you were duped, what would you say? From your garden shop? But then you’d have to make up a garden shop that you don’t own in Denver, and she could investigate that and learn you’re a fraud.”
“Okay, so I just make up a garden shop, make up a home address, show her the bill, and pretend I’m clueless, just to see her reaction.” Natalie grabbed for the door handle.
“I’m your bodyguard for now, and a SEAL and a PI, and I don’t like this plan.”
“Stand near her shop, just out of view of the windows. And I’ll scream if anything bad happens.”
“I still don’t like the plan, but let’s do this.”
“I’ll go first. You stay some distance back.” Then Natalie texted Lettie: Douglas agreed to the wallpaper, sight unseen. I can have whatever I want. He’s the greatest. I’ll come in and make the deposit. Be there soon.
“Douglas?” Brock said, looking over at her phone.
She smiled.
As soon as they reached the shop, Brock stayed out of sight of the windows while Natalie went to the door. She heard people talking inside and opened the door. A couple was speaking with Lettie, and Natalie waved at her in acknowledgment.
“I’ll be with you in just a second,” Lettie said.
Her palms growing sweaty, Natalie felt guilty that she intended to give the fake hundred-dollar bill to the woman. Then again, Lettie had used Brock in an effort to protect her rogue brother, so she wasn’t all that innocent. And she could very well be implicated in all of this. Still, Natalie was taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nervousness. She realized how much she didn’t like handling the money herself. She definitely wasn’t cut out to pursue a life of crime.
“Just look at those designs, and I’ll be right back with you.” Lettie turned and joined Natalie. “Yeah, so you wanted to get that blue paper you were looking at?”
“Yeah. Douglas said it didn’t really matter to him. That I could do whatever I wanted. I knew there was a reason why I married him. Is a hundred-dollar bill okay for a deposit?”
Natalie fished the bill out of her pocket, her stomach muscles tense, ready to pounce if the woman tried anything physical with her. Then again, with customers in the shop, Lettie would probably play it cool.
“Uh, yeah, sure. I’ll need to schedule an appointment to come out and measure the bathroom.” Lettie pulled up a tablet.
Natalie wanted to get this over with, so she quickly handed Lettie the bill before she gave her an address.
Lettie stared at the bill for a moment, and then she ran it under a scanner, and her face turned dark with anger. “Where did you get this? Marek put you up to this.” She was trying to keep her voice low, but she was angry.
Lettie knew Marek was into this business! If Lettie was engaged in it, Natalie didn’t think she would have said what she did. But now what was Natalie to say?
“Take the money and get out of here,” Lettie said, her voice low so her real customers wouldn’t hear them.
“We…need to talk,” Natalie said, relieving her of the bill.
Lettie glowered at her, and after what seemed like an interminable time, she finally nodded. “After my clients leave. Go to the coffee shop around the corner, and I’ll let you know when to come back.”
“Sure.” Maybe they’d get some good intel on Marek. Natalie was really hoping that Lettie wasn’t conning her. Natalie headed outside and joined up with Brock.
“You look pale. I heard what happened,” Brock said.
“Yeah, it was nerve-racking, giving her the fake money. And she was plenty angry about the money. But she implicated Marek right away. Do you want to go to the coffee shop with me, and we’ll wait for her call after her clients leave?”
“I want you to go to the coffee shop and wait for her to contact you. I’ll watch the door of her shop and make sure she doesn’t run off.”
“Okay. But if she sees you?”
“I’ll be in the grocery shop across the street. They have a café there.”
Natalie glanced at the store to see how far it was. It was close by. “Are you going to join us? She might not speak to me if you’re there.”
“I don’t like the idea of you alone with her after she’s learned this wasn’t about a real wallpapering job.”
“I’ll keep the phone line open again. I’ll scream bloody murder. You can come and rescue me. I’ll see you in a little bit.” Natalie hurried off to the coffee shop to wait for word from Lettie so that they wouldn’t blow their cover, or Brock wouldn’t change his mind about her going it alone.
Natalie hope
d this didn’t go sideways.
Chapter 7
Brock sure hoped getting involved wasn’t going to cause more problems for Natalie.
A half hour later while he was watching out the café window in the grocery store, he got a call from her. “Lettie’s finished with her clients and wants me to go back to the shop. She doesn’t have any more clients this afternoon. I’m leaving my phone open so you can hear us talking.”
“Okay, good. I’ll leave the grocery store and stand on the corner where she can’t see me.” He watched as the couple Lettie had been speaking with left her shop.
Then Natalie walked around the corner and entered the shop. Brock was glad she was keeping the phone line open again so he could hear if she had any trouble.
“Hi, Lettie. Yeah, we need to talk,” Natalie said to her.
Once Natalie closed the door, Brock left the grocery store and walked to a location closer to the wallpaper shop instead, just in case Natalie needed his bodyguard services in a hurry.
He heard a crinkling noise that he suspected was the money she was removing from her pocket. “You knew this was a fake right away,” Natalie said.
Pause. Brock’s muscles tightened in anticipation of making a whirlwind dash for the store.
“How did you get this money?” Lettie was irate. She waited for a response, but Natalie didn’t say anything. “You’re from Denver, and you’re a wolf. You got it from Marek, didn’t you? And he told you to come here and pay me for a job? The bastard. I knew he’d been seeing someone else behind my back. So why the hell are you here harassing me?”
Natalie didn’t answer Lettie’s question. Brock wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle an investigative job without some training.
“Did you know he was making counterfeit money?” Natalie finally asked, sounding sympathetic, as if she was offering Lettie a shoulder to cry on, not as though she was accusing her of being in on the illicit business.
Once Natalie began questioning Lettie, Brock thought she was surprisingly good in the way she was handling it.
Lettie didn’t answer Natalie at first. Brock was still ready to sprint for the door. He didn’t like long periods of silence, afraid something bad was going to happen.
Lettie snorted. “Not that I knew of at first. Marek talked about creating the money, but I never believed he’d really have the brains to do it. Or the gumption.” Again, another pause. “Are you his new girlfriend? Old girlfriend?” This time Lettie wasn’t as hostile, as if the way Natalie was handling this had changed her tune.
Brock was glad for that.
“Hardly,” Natalie said.
Another significant pause.
“Wait a minute,” Lettie said. “Let me see that bill again.”
Brock wondered what Lettie intended to do with it. He heard Natalie hand it over, but then he realized their whole cover was a bust.
“Ohmigod,” Lettie said, smelling the bill and noticing Brock’s scent on it.
Neither of them had considered that.
“It’s Marek’s money, but Brock’s scent is on it too! Don’t tell me you’re a PI and you hooked up with Brock Greystoke.” Now Lettie was angry again.
Hell. Lettie was smart. If Marek wasn’t the brains of the operation, Brock could see where Lettie might have been.
“I should have known it! So what does he think? Brock can pin this on me now? Is he still mad at me for leading him on so I could save my brother? You know he killed him, don’t you?”
“Your brother killed a woman and her child in a bank robbery. What did you think would happen to him? He was a dead wolf walking. Someone was bound to catch up to him eventually. Our kind couldn’t let the human police capture him and have him tried for the murders. You know that.”
“I loved my brother. You don’t know anything about him. He would never have killed them on purpose. He wouldn’t have!” A drawer slammed.
Brock started to move closer to the shop.
“Well, he did kill them during the commission of a federal crime. And you knew about it. Which makes you an accessory. You’re as guilty as he was.” Natalie was no longer Miss Congeniality.
Hell, Natalie. Brock bolted for the shop, worried she was going to push Lettie too far, and who knew how the woman might retaliate.
“I wasn’t part of his business. I just loved him was all. And that’s not a crime.”
“Then you’re shacking up with a wolf who’s making counterfeit money? How much of the profits did he give you to set up your wallpaper business?” Natalie asked, really accusing Lettie now.
No, no, no! Brock was near the shop. Just a few steps, and he’d barge in.
“Marek bragged about making the money. I told you I didn’t think he would be able to create it. I didn’t have a thing to do with it. After losing my brother, I wasn’t about to be with anyone who is implicated in criminal pursuits. Once I learned Marek really did make some of the money, I moved out. I have a legitimate business here, and I make an honest living at it. I didn’t want to be caught up in all his shenanigans. Don’t you dare accuse me of doing anything with that damn money!”
“When you left Denver, why did he leave too? Seems to me if he left the area, you wouldn’t have any reason to.”
Brock hesitated at the door. Natalie seemed to be okay, and she was getting information out of Lettie. Probably more than he would if he tried to question her because of the animosity between them.
“Marek said he loved me. Always had. He said he couldn’t stay in Denver any longer. There were too many memories,” Lettie said.
“Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m sure the people he works with are in Denver, so it seems like living so far away would be an issue for him. Unless he’s going into business with someone else located in Amarillo.”
“What about how you treated Brock—lying to him, pretending to want something real with him? It could very well be that you are lying to me now.”
Hell. Don’t bring me into the picture, Natalie!
“No, I’m not lying. What do I have to gain from it? Oh, and don’t worry, sweetie. That bastard’s all yours, if that’s what you’re really worried about.” Another pause. “So what did Brock do? Send you to do his dirty work because he was afraid to see me himself?”
“He didn’t have any idea you were Lettie.”
Time to be part of this. Brock switched off his phone and barged into the shop.
When he threw the door open, Lettie shrieked. Natalie jumped, folded her arms, and rolled her eyes at him. Lettie grabbed a wallpaper sample book and threw it at him.
Which was just what he’d hoped for. He easily caught the heavy book, slipped a listening bug into the plastic holder on the front, and dropped the book on a table. “As long as you aren’t mixed up with what Marek’s doing, you’re off the hook,” he said, all growly. “But if you’ve lied, I’ll be back for you. On the subject of your brother, when I dug deeper, I learned he had killed three more people during the commission of other armed robberies. He just didn’t seem to give a damn. Kill the witnesses, seize the money, and run. You were informing him of any leads I had on him. When he got tired of trying to keep out of my reach, he and two other men ambushed me. He was bad news. The sooner you learn to live with that, the better.”
Brock felt only animosity for the woman. Sure, the guy had been her brother. But pretending to be Brock’s girlfriend to keep her brother safe was something Brock could never forgive because the guy was a killer. Brock suspected he felt so much hostility toward her because he couldn’t believe she’d pulled the wool over his eyes so completely. He was also sick of hearing how her brother had only accidentally killed the woman and her child. DJ had been a killer. He’d wanted the money, sure, and he hadn’t cared who died while he was in pursuit of it.
Lettie snapped her gaping mouth shut. May
be she hadn’t known her brother had killed other people. Those were the only other murders that he had committed, as far as Brock knew. There could very well have been more.
“Do you know who else Marek might have been working with, who helped create the money?” Natalie asked, getting back to the real business at hand.
“No, but if I did, why would I tell you?” Lettie folded her arms, her face red, her brow furrowed with anger.
“You would because if they realize you knew about the operation through Marek, they may want to kill you, now that you and he aren’t together any longer. They might think you’d want to tell someone what you know to get back at Marek. Who knows?” Natalie said. “These guys are making too much money to let anyone stand in their way. That means someone like you could be an easy target. No pack to back you up. You’re all on your own. It would benefit you if we took care of them first.”
“I told you already I didn’t know he was really doing it. Until he showed me a fake bill.” Lettie shrugged and began shelving her wallpaper books on a tall shelf. “I told him if he really was doing anything criminal, I wouldn’t stay with him. He knew how I felt about my brother and the mess he got himself into. I wasn’t about to go through that with a boyfriend. And I certainly didn’t want to be accused of being part of it. I told him I was leaving and setting up shop away from all that. Away from Brock too. Even though I hadn’t run into him in Denver, I knew he lived in Greystoke, and that was too close for comfort.”
“Took you long enough.” Brock couldn’t help it. After what she had pulled, he couldn’t believe she’d stayed in the area, or that he was the reason for her finally leaving two years later.
Lettie scowled at Brock. “I was seeing Marek then. Of course, I wouldn’t have left. Not even when you were living nearby. Once I ended things with Marek, there wasn’t any reason to stay.”
Natalie let out her breath. “You met Marek in the wallpapering business?”
“Yeah, but he was friends with my brother before that. I had known him for a long time. We were all friends over the years. Maybe my brother talked him into doing something ‘easier’ to earn some money.” Lettie threw up her hands. “This is all speculation. I didn’t know, all right? If he’d been in on the armed robberies with my brother, Brock would have learned of it.” She turned to Brock. “Right?”