by Terry Spear
“Gotta have wine with pizza. Or beer,” Kittie said as if everyone should know that.
Natalie turned on her heel and left without another word before she blew her top.
When she reached her house, she went inside but decided everyone would have water. What if she gave everyone wine and the guys got too talkative instead?
She returned with the bottles of water and saw Shawn walking toward her on the connecting path with pizza boxes in hand. She was glad the pizzas had come so quickly so they all could eat, learn what they could from Kittie, and send the woman packing. “Hmm, smells great. All meat for me,” Natalie said.
“I’m an oddball. I love the cheese deluxe. Just in case, I ended up ordering a large meat one and half cheese and half meat on the second one.”
“Thanks.” She smiled up at him. “I would have paid. I wasn’t thinking about it at the time.”
“No problem. You had other things on your mind.”
Yeah, like one she-wolf who was annoying the hell out of her.
When they brought the food and drinks to the table, Kittie frowned. “Oh, such a shame you don’t have any wine.” Then she said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you could have a…well…drinking problem. I just never think of that. Forgive me.”
The woman was a consummate actress.
Brock managed a smile. Shawn chuckled.
“Not me,” Natalie managed to say. Brock was awfully quiet, and Natalie wondered why he wasn’t giving Kittie the third degree.
Instead, everyone ate the pizza and drank their water, not offering much in conversation at all.
It wasn’t long before Kittie said, “Do you mind if I use your restroom?”
Natalie thought there was a pattern here. Kittie kept wanting to explore one of the houses. Luckily, they had a restroom out here for both customers and staff. “Sure, I’ll show you the way.”
“Brock sure is sexy,” Kittie said as Natalie led the way to the garden shop. “Oh, it’s not a porta-potty, is it? I can’t handle those.”
“It’s a regular restroom, and you’re right about Brock. Shawn is too. So what is Marek to you?”
“What?”
Hadn’t Brock asked her about him? “The guy whose car you were driving? Marek Jones, who’s creating counterfeit money. Who knows what else he’s into that’s illegal.”
Kittie didn’t say anything. Trying to come up with a quick story to explain it all?
“I thought you said you didn’t know any other wolves. Just your mom here,” Natalie said.
Kittie shrugged. “He just moved out near where I live, so I didn’t… Well, I didn’t want to mention him in case Brock and I…” She gave a wicked smile. “You know. I’m not interested in Marek. He might be interested in me. I don’t know. My car broke down and is in the shop. He loaned me his. He’s a nice wolf. How do you know he’s making counterfeit money? I haven’t heard a thing about it.”
“Really? What about Dexter Cartwright? Did he just move into the area too? And he’s a nice wolf?”
Kittie’s jaw dropped a little, but then she recovered with a smile. “I don’t know any Dexter Cartwright. Is he a friend of Marek’s?”
“Not sure if they’re friends, but they’re in on the counterfeiting business.” As if Kittie wasn’t taking part in all this. Natalie led her into the store and motioned to the restroom. “You know it’s not safe to be around wolves who commit criminal acts.”
Kittie looked at the restroom for a moment, then said, “Yeah, I know that. I can find my way back.”
Sure she could. But Natalie wasn’t leaving her to do whatever she planned to do. “Sure.”
Natalie left the shop and walked off, but then sneakily checked to see what Kittie intended to do. Kittie had entered the restroom, used the facilities, and then stayed in there awhile. Texting her cohorts in crime?
Kittie finally left the restroom and wandered around the shop. She’d better not even think of stealing from them, though Natalie suspected the woman wasn’t the least bit interested in gardening.
Then Kittie headed back to the path to the picnic area, and Natalie slipped down another path to beat her there. Natalie frowned at Brock, who was talking to Shawn about gardening when he needed to focus on questioning Kittie!
He gave her a brilliant smile as if he was truly happy to see her arrive. That sexy smile of his nearly made Natalie forget her annoyance about him and Kittie, but then Kittie rejoined them and that was all Natalie could focus on.
* * *
Once they sat down, Brock continued to question Kittie, aware that Natalie thought he was falling for the she-wolf’s ploy with her fluttering eyelashes and constant moves into his space. Which worked damn well for him. He suspected Kittie would keep her distance, so he was surprised when she moved in so close to him. He was astute enough to realize how fake she was, but it afforded him the opportunity to slip a bug into the open side pocket on her purse. He just didn’t know how to let Natalie in on what he was up to, or what he’d already questioned the woman about, without clueing in Kittie.
He’d figured having a nice dinner would make everyone relax bit. Now he was ready to ask Kittie more direct questions and not beat around the bush as much. He was certain Natalie would have questioned her, too, when she took her to the restroom, which could have helped them to unravel the mystery. Natalie had already proved she did well with dealing with a woman under suspicion after questioning Lettie.
He couldn’t believe the woman had stayed for dinner. He suspected she hoped to see the layout of one of the homes, and that was why she kept wanting to go inside.
“So why did you really come here?” Brock asked Kittie.
Natalie took a deep breath and let it out, as if she realized he had this under control.
“I told you. I was looking for a special rosebush for my mom to replace the one she lost, but then I realized you were all wolf, and that sidetracked me.” Kittie smiled sweetly at him.
“Yet you didn’t buy a replacement rosebush for her,” Natalie said, her tone of voice annoyed.
“You didn’t have any that were special enough.” Kittie gave her a simpering smile, then turned to Brock. “But your manager was so nice with all the special care he gave me while trying to find the right one.” She shrugged. “Too bad you didn’t have anything that worked out.”
Shawn was quietly eating more pizza, listening, smiling a little.
Brock was thinking the woman was pure poison. “You said your mother’s name is Elizabeth, but I looked and I didn’t see her listed anywhere on the internet. You know how it is. You can look up anyone and find their name, address, and phone number sometimes. It’s amazing what’s out there.”
“Why would you look her up?” Kittie asked, feigning surprise.
“I’ve been burned before on wolf relationships. I like to know if everything’s on the level. So you said you live with her.”
“I do. Well, I guess if that’s the way you treat a new wolf friend…”
“What do you know of Marek’s counterfeiting operation?” Brock asked, not about to let her go.
“I don’t know anything about that. Are you sure he’s caught up in something like that? I just can’t believe he is.”
“Yeah, I’m certain. Since you’re driving his car, I can only assume you know something about it.”
“Listen, the pizza was great, and I want to thank you for having me to dinner,” she said to Brock, “but it’s getting late and I need to leave.” She rose from the table.
Brock and Natalie followed suit.
“Yeah, to return his car. Hope you find the rosebush you’re looking for and aren’t part of this counterfeiting business. You know criminal rogue wolves need to be dealt with,” Natalie said.
Kittie smiled at Natalie. “Of course. I’m sure one of the bigger garden centers will
have what I’m looking for.” She ignored the rest of Natalie’s comment. She didn’t look worried about Natalie’s threat either.
Brock had expected her to defend herself or ask who was planning on taking the counterfeiters out, but she acted as though they had no worries from Brock and the others here.
Brock escorted Kittie to her car while Natalie and Shawn cleaned up.
“You never did explain the reason I couldn’t find your mom’s name anywhere in the Canyon area,” Brock said to the woman.
“She goes by Smith, not Canton. That’s probably why you couldn’t find it,” Kittie said.
“Smith,” he said. There were probably tons of Elizabeth Smiths in the area. He was surprised Kittie hadn’t used that as her last name too. “I didn’t see your name listed either.”
She shrugged. “Can’t help that. What’s your interest in Marek anyway? You’re not a wolf cop, are you? I mean, you’re working at a garden center.”
“Nope, not a cop, but if I know of a wolf who’s pursuing criminal activities in my territory, I have an obligation to handle it.”
Kittie’s lips parted a little, and she appeared to be surprised. “The Lone Ranger, eh? Think you can handle the criminal element? With what? A garden shovel?”
He just smiled.
“What about the others?” Kittie asked.
“Natalie and Shawn? They aren’t into all that.”
“So you’re the alpha.”
He raised his brows. “All the way.”
She ran her finger down his chest. “What if you learned I was in on any of it? You wouldn’t hurt a she-wolf, now, would you?”
“Just don’t let me learn you are in any of this, or you’ll have to face the consequences. We can’t afford to have our kind go to jail.”
She chuckled. “What I wouldn’t give to have a wolf like you on my side.” Then she got into the car, and he opened the gate for her. She drove off in a hurry.
Once he’d locked the gate, Brock headed for the picnic area to help clean up, but Shawn and Natalie had already left.
He suspected Natalie was riled over the whole Kittie business. He hoped she wouldn’t be this way if he was working on an undercover case. He wouldn’t sleep with a human woman that he was investigating. With a she-wolf, it was a given—no sleeping with her in any shape or form. He just didn’t want to worry Natalie would be all out of sorts if he smelled of a woman when he came back from a mission.
Chapter 15
“Night, Shawn. I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast,” Natalie said, the drawer of cash in hand as she walked toward the gate that led to her house while Brock was sending off their “guest.”
“Do you want to wait for Brock to walk you to the house?” Shawn asked.
“No need.” Natalie still couldn’t help feeling annoyed about the woman. Would she have felt the same way if Shawn had been the one Kittie was making all the moves on? No.
“Then I will.”
“I’m sure it’s not necessary, but thanks.”
“Brock knows what he’s doing with the woman,” Shawn said, walking Natalie through her gate. He shut it behind them. He wasn’t letting her walk to her house alone, and she appreciated his concern.
“I’m sure he does.” It still didn’t lessen her annoyance.
“Did you see him being…rather intimate with Kittie?” Shawn was so sweet, seemingly worried about her feelings.
“Is that how he solves his cases? Gets intimate with female strangers? Softens them up?” Natalie didn’t like it, but she guessed if it worked for him and he wasn’t into the woman for real, it shouldn’t be a big deal. She suspected the reason she was feeling out of sorts about it was because Brock and she weren’t formally mated wolves.
“He was planting a bug somewhere on her clothes, or maybe her purse. I’d bet my salary on it.”
Natalie frowned at Shawn as he led her to her front porch, not having suspected that was what it was all about. She should have though.
“Yep. I suspect he’ll want to follow her and see where she ends up once she leaves here.”
Natalie glanced back at her gate. She wanted to go with him. He might not even want to bring her with after she’d acted so annoyed with him. “Okay, thanks, Shawn. You did a great job today. Everyone loves you.”
“I enjoyed it. This is just the kind of place where I need to work.”
She got a call and thought it would be Brock, but it was her dad. “Hi, Dad, did you and Mom get in all right?”
Shawn stuck around to hear what her dad had to say.
“Yes, this afternoon. We didn’t want to bother you earlier while you were managing things at the center, but we figured you would be closed now and have had dinner already. Did any of the rogue wolves show up?”
“A human male, possibly, who might have been casing the place. Brock questioned him. And a she-wolf, but she denies any involvement. She was driving Marek’s car though.”
“Sounds like she’s taking part in it if she’s at the center and knows Marek.”
“I agree. Too much of a coincidence. The man said he was interested in writing a book about carriage houses and wanted to include mine, but he seemed like a phony. Since he was human, I’m not sure about him though. How are things going there for you and Mom?” Natalie hoped they loved the pack.
“It’s been unbelievable. Bella and Devlyn put on a full-pack welcoming, nothing like we’ve ever had before. They gave us a tour of the leather goods factory and the doctor’s clinic. We went for a wolf run around the acres of woodlands and across a number of streams to see what all the wolves owned. It’s really impressive and beautiful. Aaron’s horse ranch was great too. We’re going horseback riding, just like in the old days.
“We’ve met most of the wolves in the pack already. They told us where we could establish a garden center and are eager to help us in any way that they can. Several of the wolves expressed an interest in you giving classes to the younger wolves about plants. I told them you give classes like that now for all ages. Some of the wolves are even interested in growing a community garden, if we could mentor them.”
“That sounds wonderful. So you’re liking the pack?”
“Yes, very much. Your mom found several women around her age who have crochet and knitting circles. She’s in heaven. I’ve been talking to Vaughn and Jillian about some of the USF work they’ve been doing and some of their former PI cases. They’ve been just as interested in the murder cases I’ve investigated. It’s really great talking with other wolves about getting rid of the bad guys.”
Natalie was thrilled. She loved the idea of moving closer to Angie and her mate. “Are you going to do it?”
“We want to, but we have agreed we’ll wait until we’re done with our visit here and then make the decision.”
“Okay, sounds good, Dad. We’re doing well here, and Shawn has introduced some nice changes. He’s a real asset to the business.”
“We knew he would be. What about Brock?”
“Doing great. He’s been getting lots of tips too.”
Her dad laughed. “Well, we have a dinner to go to. We’ll talk again tomorrow after you’re closed for the night. Let us know if you have any trouble with these counterfeiters in the meantime.”
“I will. Have fun!” She was thrilled the pack was treating her parents so well and that they were enjoying their time there. “Night, Dad.” When she ended the call, she told Shawn, “My parents are loving your pack. I’ve never heard them praise a pack like that.”
“Hot damn. What about you and Brock?”
She saw Brock heading toward them.
“We’re good,” Brock said, and she wondered how much he’d overheard. He smiled at her in a way that said he had good news for her.
She felt some of the tension leave her.
He drew close, retrie
ved his phone, and punched in something, then handed his cell to her. “Kittie’s talking to Dexter.”
Ohmigod! Natalie could hug Brock. She slipped her arm around his waist as she put his cell on speakerphone.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me they knew what car Marek was driving?” Kittie said to Dexter. It sounded as if she was still driving and on the Bluetooth.
“Why the hell didn’t you drive your own car, Kittie?”
“It was in the shop!”
So that much was true.
Brock wrapped his arm around Natalie’s waist and smiled down at her. He was good at his job. And he was still hers. She leaned in to him to show she appreciated the intimacy.
Shawn was smiling at them. Yeah, he knew Brock and Natalie were the ones for each other.
“Marek wanted me to get this done tonight. Hell, you wanted me to get this done tonight. So two male wolves are there, the owners were gone, and their daughter is there running things,” Kittie said.
“Did you get into either of the houses?”
“No. I tried several times, but the one wolf followed me around. I tried to make a play for him, to see if he’d fall for it, but I think he’s hooked on the she-wolf.”
Brock nodded. Natalie smiled at him. She should have known he was just working the job.
“The one named Brock said he’d take you down,” Kittie said to Dexter.
So Brock had talked to Kittie about the whole business already.
“No damn way. How the hell did he know my name? I was using a different one when he tried to kill me, unsuccessfully, the last time. Though I sure as hell thought I’d killed him.”
“Brock didn’t say how he knew you were doing the counterfeiting.”
“And you didn’t ask? He’s signed his own death warrant. What about the others?”
“He said the others won’t be doing anything about it. He said he’s the only alpha of the bunch.”
Shawn and Natalie chuckled.
“You’ll have to break into their places on your own to learn what you need to. I don’t know who lives at which place or if they have security alarms on the houses. The two males didn’t appear to be leaving the center, like they lived somewhere else. So they’re probably staying there. I didn’t see any other vehicles there. They’ve got security cameras at the garden center and the motion-detector lights that you discovered yourself. They may not have any on the houses. Or they might, if they’re that security-conscious,” Kittie said to Dexter.