Wolf Shield Investigations: Boxset

by Dee Bridgnorth

  She sniffed the air, wondering if she was only imagining things. For a second there, she could’ve sworn something was burning.

  There it was again, stronger this time, and a sick certainty settled in Jenna’s heart as she darted from the kitchen to the rear of the house. It wasn’t a long run—the single-story home only included two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, and living room—but it might as well have been a marathon as dozens of ugly thoughts raced through her head all at once.

  The backyard was on fire. At least, something in it was—a pile of leaves, dry kindling dangerously close to the house.

  For one single second, she panicked. She had never felt so helpless in her life. What was she supposed to do? Save her father? Try to put the fire out? Had it happened accidentally, completely by itself? Or had somebody set it?

  Thankfully, that uncertainty passed quickly. She ran for the hose, unfurling it and turning the water on before focusing the nozzles spray on the flames which had started licking the side of the house. She tried not to think too hard about what would’ve happened had she been sleeping as she fought back the flames, soaking the debris until she felt reasonably sure the fire was completely out.

  Rather than sticking around to be sure, however, she darted back into the house and locked the door before running to her room. She thrust her hand under her pillow, withdrawing the semiautomatic she kept there as an extra insurance policy.

  That fire hadn’t started on its own. There was absolutely no reason for it to. It had rained earlier in the day. The ground was wet, along with any leaves or wood on the ground. Somebody had taken pains to arrange it to look like an accident, but there was no way.

  She held her breath, creeping along in the darkness. Now, she wished she had never turned the TV on—she turned the volume down, using the light from the screen to see by.

  The front door was still locked, the windows in place. The only room she hadn’t examined was her father’s, and panic threatened to sweep over her again when she considered what might’ve happened if somebody had been able to break in through his window. Would he put up a fight? Or would he even wake up?

  She tried to remember everything he’d taught her about self-defense, about protecting herself, but it was impossible with so many other warnings ringing out in her head—warning her against opening the bedroom door, warning her that she might not like what she found inside.

  The only alternative, though, was to leave him in there by himself. She wouldn’t do that. If the situation was reversed, he would never do it to her.

  She turned the knob slowly, holding her breath again, then eased the door one inch at a time. Lifting it a little made the hinges practically silent—she’d learned that little trick over the years when she’d checked on him in the night.

  Relief washed over her at the sight of him in bed, lying on his back like he normally did. His chest rose and fell evenly, and the window at the foot of his bed hadn’t been tampered with.

  That relief was short-lived, however, as the sound of footfalls just outside caught her attention.

  Rather than waiting to see who would appear, she darted to the front door and flung it open, sprinting around the house in hopes of catching the intruder before they had the chance to run away.

  He was just in the act of trying to open the bedroom window when Jenna found him, and he didn’t have time to say a word before she put a bullet between his eyes. He hit the ground with a thud, dead instantly.

  She leaned against the house, the cold stucco startling in contrast to her overheated skin. She was losing her mind. She was going to fall to pieces right there, in the side garden, beneath her father’s bedroom window. The place where she’d killed a man without even asking what his name was or why he was there.

  It didn’t matter. She knew why he was there. The only question was had he been alone?

  Even in her frantic state, she knew the chances were slim. There wasn’t another sound coming from anywhere around them except for the singing of frogs and the screeching of cicadas. No footfalls, no voices, no breaking of glass. Just her.

  And a dead man.

  Her hand shook as she reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. There was only one number she had in mind, one she would never have programmed into the phone’s memory. She’d memorized it herself, just in case she ever needed him.

  “Logan? It’s me. Sorry to call so late, but…” Her gaze wandered to the dead man lying on his back under the window. “I think you need to come over here. I had an unwanted guest a few minutes ago who I took care of, but now I need help cleaning up after him.”

  He didn’t bother asking what she meant. “Give me the address.”

  For once, she didn’t hesitate before telling the truth.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “This is their MO. This is how they operate.” Logan scrubbed a hand over his hair, torn between fury and relief.

  “You’ve seen this before?” Jenna looked up at him from the sofa where she sat wrapped in a blanket. While it wasn’t particularly cold in the house, she couldn’t stop shivering. Shock, he guessed. She’d never killed anyone before.

  He nodded. “Recently, in fact. Some goon set a fire to flush Aimee and Zane out of our safe house. That is, they didn’t know which house the two of them were staying in, so they just started a bunch of fires and crossed their fingers. The point is arson is one of their tricks.”

  “Yeah, now I wonder if the fire was just a way to get me out of the house. He could’ve killed me then and there. I wonder why he didn’t.”

  “Sometimes it’s easier not to question these things. Maybe he wanted you to feel safe so you’d think the threat was taken care of and you could rest easy. Or maybe the fire was only ever intended as a distraction—while you were out there fighting it, he could break into your father’s room. You took care of it quickly, though, instead of panicking. He probably counted on you panicking.”

  “I did panic,” she admitted with a shaky laugh. “But that didn’t stop me from moving.”

  “Then you’re unique because a lot of people freeze solid when they encounter something like that, especially while they’re alone in the middle of the night. You did well.” It came out a little rough, maybe a little brusque, but he had to do something to conceal how proud he was of her. She’d done so well, had been so brave.

  Clearly, she didn’t agree. “I shouldn’t have killed him right away. I should’ve incapacitated him or something so I could ask questions. I wasn’t thinking. I reacted before I could think.”

  “Do you really think it would be necessary to question him?” Logan shook his head, still pacing the living room. He had to move, had to do something to burn off even a fraction of the burning rage racing through him. His wolf longed to be free, to investigate the area surrounding the secluded little house, the sort of house a person could pass by a hundred times and never even notice.

  “I might’ve learned something.”

  “What do you really need to learn? We know what we need to know. You know the names of the people involved in this. One of them sent him just like they sent the guy who set fire to the safe house. Now, at least, we know it wasn’t Lydia this time. That makes sense, too—why would she tell somebody to set fire to a house her daughter might’ve been in? The woman wasn’t playing with a full deck, but I don’t think she would’ve taken the chance of Aimee burning up.”

  “Whoever came up with his needs a little more imagination.”

  “Among a lot of other things.” He thought fast, weighing the options. “Is there anywhere else he can go? Your father?”

  She shrugged. “No. This is where we live. We used to have a vacation home, but I wouldn’t take him there even if he still owned it. Too dangerous.”

  “Good thinking.” Not only that, but she’d managed to stir an idea in his head.

  Moments later, the sound of tires crunching over gravel filled the air. Jenna leaped to her feet, dropping the blanket. He stopped her, hands
on her shoulders. “Don’t worry. It’s the guys. I called them in.”

  He hadn’t expected her to be angry at this. “Called them in?” she demanded, shaking herself free of his hands. “What gave you the right? I never asked you to bring them in. I called you, you alone.”

  This wasn’t the time for him to be angry with her, especially when her nerves were frayed and she probably wasn’t thinking clearly. Knowing something and being able to do it were two different things, however.

  “Let’s get one thing straight.” He folded his arms, relishing for a moment the fact that he towered over her. This wasn’t the first time he’d taken note of the difference in their sizes—was that all he thought he had over her? His size, his strength? It was pretty pathetic if that was true.

  Regardless, he pushed forward. “If you’re going to be working with us, it’s a package deal. You don’t get to pick and choose who you trust and who you would rather leave out of things. I asked them to come back me up. They’re going to patrol the area around the house as their wolves.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Somebody might see them!”

  “We’re practically in the middle of nowhere,” he reminded her as gently as he could. “As wolves, they’ll be able to smell trouble much sooner than they can in human form, and they can move more quickly, too.”

  “But they’ll be unarmed.” She followed him, fretting. “What are they supposed to do if somebody pulls a gun?”

  “Did you forget how quickly we heal?” he asked, but that still didn’t convince her. He relented. “Normally, when somebody takes a look at one of us in wolf form, they tend to forget themselves in favor of pissing their pants. This isn’t the first time we’ve done something like this, Jenna. My decisions come from experience.”

  He peered out into the darkness, just able to make out the shape of Jace and Braxton as they stripped down beside the truck, leaving their clothes inside. A moment later, they shifted, one moving east while the other moved west. “If they get into any trouble, they’ll let me know,” he assured her when it was clear she didn’t believe this to be the best course of action.

  Instead of arguing further, she turned away, arms wrapped around herself. She shook like a leaf, and he was starting to wonder if there was more than shock causing her to do it. “How did they find us? I was so careful! All this time, I told myself that at least they couldn’t find us. I tried to do my best for him. I thought of everything. Didn’t I?”

  It occurred to him she wasn’t asking him these questions but rather herself, blaming herself, beating herself up. “That sort of thinking isn’t going to get you anywhere,” he reminded her as gently as possible. “And it’s not going to help your father. You’re starting to learn what we already knew.”

  “And what’s that?” she snapped, whirling on him. That was natural too, and he told himself not to rise to the bait. She was lashing out at him for lack of anyone else to lash out at.

  “They’re ruthless. They have resources at their disposal. They won’t stop until they get what they want, these people, which is why we need the names and the addresses, and we need to start taking them out. One by one, if need be. But it’s got to be done.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” she snickered. There was an edge of hysteria in her voice, taking his assessment of her and turning it on its head. What did he expect, though? Somebody completely unaffected by an emergency like this? Did he expect her to be cold, calculated, all business?

  She wouldn’t be human if she didn’t react this way.

  “So you’ll share the information?”

  “Of course, I will. But on one condition.” She stopped shaking, her eyes hardening.

  “How did I know there would be a condition?” He asked, his heart sinking.

  “I’m going with you or whoever it is who decides to do this. I’m going too. I want to look these people in the face. I want to tell them who I am. I want to tell them they didn’t manage to kill my father. I want them to know that I’ve thought of them every single day. Every time I see him, I think of them.”

  “I can’t let you do that,” he whispered. “We’re not going in to kill anybody. This is just a stakeout. I need to know their routines, who they live with, when we’ll be able to get them alone. I’m not trying to kill anybody’s family or raise a ton of suspicion. Once we have an idea of how to attack, I’ll bring you home and take the team out to clear things up.”

  “No!” she cried out, heartbroken. “No, I want to do it! You can’t ask me to sit back and let you do all the work while I… while he…”

  Her voice broke, she turned her face to the side like that would hide the tears which had already started to roll down her cheeks. He could practically smell the anguish, the desperation, the stark fear seeping through her pores. The rapid drumbeat of her heart played out in his head, audible even from a distance.

  “Are you sure you want to take that sort of chance?” When she didn’t answer right away, he continued. “What about him? What would happen to him if anything happened to you?”

  “I either have to trust you to keep me alive, or I have to trust you to do the right thing for him when I’m gone. You’re not going to change my mind.”

  He didn’t know if he wanted to shake her or hold her as he crossed the living room, his arms aching to wrap around her, to offer any sort of comfort he could, as pointless as it was. There was nothing he could say or do to make it better for her, at least not while they stood in her living room with the stench of burnt leaves still hanging in the air and the scent of blood playing on Logan’s senses.

  She looked up at him, eyes darting over his face. What was she looking for? What question did she need answered? Maybe it wasn’t a question at all but rather the need for what he wanted so badly to give. There had been no one in her life to comfort her since her father’s deliberate overdose.

  When he reached for her, she didn’t back away. Before he knew it, she was tight against him, his arms around her back. So warm, soft, but strong too. There was a core of steel running through her, the sort of courage that made a person shoot first and ask questions later—after saving their home from fire, at that.

  “We’re going to end this,” he murmured, his lips close to her hair. It smelled like coconut and pineapple, like she’d washed it in some tropical drink. “We’re going to make them pay—for all of us, your father included. They’re going to pay for what they’ve done.”

  “And what then?” She raised her head, searching him again. Her eyes were even bluer now, filled with tears. It was a challenge separating her from memories of someone else. He reminded himself that the woman in his arms was not the woman he lost, that she was someone else completely—someone with her own fears, her own dreams, dreams that had been deferred for far too long.

  He brushed away a tear with one thumb, indulging himself in the feel of her cheek, the smoothness of her skin. “Then? We all get back to the business of living, and we live our best lives, as the saying goes, if only to prove they didn’t win. We will win. Do you believe me?”

  Her chin quivered, her mouth moving like there was so much she wanted to say even though nothing came out but breath that for some reason wrapped itself around him, drawing him closer as she stood on tiptoe to press her lips to his, one hand curling around the back of his neck.

  It was like a dam had burst open, and everything he’d been holding back in favor of being a professional and protecting himself came pouring out. What had been a gentle embrace turned into something much more as he crushed her against him, hungry and thirsty for her, for touch, for sensation, for intimacy.

  She was just as starved as he, practically clawing at him she pulled his head further down, groaning when he thrust his tongue between her lips and touched it to hers. He growled, the animal inside rising to the surface and demanding satisfaction. He wanted to take her, to mark her, to pour out the years of frustration and uncertainty and longing while absorbing hers as well. He wanted to heal
and to be healed.

  The only thing that could have stopped them was the very thing that occurred. Hinges creaked down the hall, the sound of the door opening, and it was as good as a bomb going off between them. They flew apart, ending up on opposite sides of the room, both of their heads turning to find Jenna’s father shuffling out into the living room.

  He looked Logan up and down, but nothing flickered behind his dim, dull eyes. His pajamas were too big, hanging on him like clothes on a scarecrow. He might’ve been a powerful man once, fit and strong, but now? He was a man old before his time.

  Jenna ran her hands over her hair, smoothing down her rumpled clothes. “Dad, are you okay? Do you need anything?”

  Of course, the man didn’t speak. Jenna had already described him that way, wordless. His hands trembled; his feet shuffled. He was agitated.

  She went to him, rubbing his back as she turned him in place. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay. Something sparked a fire out back, but I put it out. Everything’s fine. Go back to bed, okay?” She was so sweet, so protective, but even Logan could hear the note of fatigue in her voice. It called out to him, cutting through even the lust she’d stirred to life like that fire in her backyard.

  Yes, they would all start living when this was all over.

  He’d see to it even if it was the last thing he ever did.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Let me get this straight.” Jenna stood in front of him, tapping her foot on the floor. “You’re going to take my father to some hunting cabin your family owns?”

  He frowned, which only infuriated her more. “You make that sound like a terrible thing.”

  She waved a hand in front of his face. Not many people could get away with that gesture, she guessed, but he managed not to slap the hand away. “Hello. If it’s in your father’s name, they might be able to find it. They probably already know where it is, they might even have somebody stay around there all the time. Now they’ve destroyed all your safe houses, they’ll know there has to be someplace for you to stash people.”