by Terry Spear
“What I don’t understand is why you intended to murder Gavin Summerfield. The poor guy was nearly killed in the first plane crash that your thieving crew took up, and then you hired Heaton to crash the plane carrying Gavin to investigate me in the Boundary Waters? Oh, don’t look so surprised. You don’t think he would have switched his focus from investigating me to investigating you? Hell, he’s already spoken with the police about you and Red. If you don’t recall, he used to be a cop on the force here, and he’s still friends with a lot of them.”
The other police officer shook his head. The first groaned.
Gavin was frowning, but he didn’t appear overly anxious or annoyed that Conrad was ruining any chance they might have of getting the truth out of Eleanor.
“I didn’t have anything to do with any of it.”
“All except for one thing. The guy who set up the heist? Clayton Drummer? You learned his girlfriend was Amelia White. He took Amelia hostage to fly the plane. Except while he was in pain and dying in the woods, he told her how much he really loved her and how much he wanted to make it right with her. Which meant he told her who had masterminded the whole setup. You.
“So guess who was flying the plane over the Boundary Waters? None other than Amelia. You had learned who she was and where she was located. She wasn’t flying the plane that was tampered with. Her father was. And you had to fix that. So one of your burglars, Red, was there to ensure the right people were in the right place, and he refused to fly with Amelia. She switched planes with her dad, and the rest is history.”
Gavin rubbed Amelia’s back.
“This is all preposterous.”
“The police have Red down at the station now. He doesn’t want to go back to prison. He’s giving you up, dear wife. Oh, and I know all about you paying Lee and Cheryl to try to seduce me. Then you’d have dirt on me and wouldn’t have to pay me any money in a divorce settlement. What did I ever do to deserve you?”
“Why, you ungrateful—” Something crashed.
Everyone in the surveillance van was on their feet in an instant.
“Temper, temper. I imagine when you learned the robbers didn’t get away with any of your jewels, you were devastated. Just think of how much money you could have had, from the insurance payment on the jewelry that had been stolen and the reselling of it at retail—marked up, of course. Then again, you did get a hefty sum for some of the jewelry that wasn’t recovered. It was recovered, wasn’t it?”
“You’re crazy.”
“To have trusted you? Yes. Oh, and Heaton was arrested for tampering with the plane. He’s spilling his guts. Asher Michaels has been picked up for questioning concerning the next job you want them to do. I’ll tell you what though. I’ll give you an airtight alibi if you’ll agree to a divorce with a full settlement like you agreed upon in the prenuptials. If I’m not in the wrong and you are, you’ll pay me a tidy sum.”
Gavin and Amelia smiled at his words. They’d told him what to say because of what they’d overheard Eleanor talking about, and the police had kept a tight lid on the story with regard to Asher and Heaton.
“I haven’t done anything wrong. So I don’t need an alibi.”
“Have it your way. I won’t offer again.” Conrad started to walk off.
“Ah hell,” one of the police officers said.
“We know it’s always a gamble,” the other said.
“All right, Conrad,” Eleanor said.
Everyone was quiet in the van, waiting with expectant breaths.
“Why in the world would you even do something so risky?” Conrad asked. “You can’t need the money.”
“How do you think I have so much money? Do you think the inheritance I had would last forever? Not all my investments have turned a profit.”
“Now he’s got her,” the one officer said.
“I was making enough,” Conrad said, sounding annoyed.
“You can never have enough.”
“Didn’t you worry about working with these guys? They’re hardened criminals. They would just as soon slit your throat if you crossed them than give up the money.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic. Clayton Drummer came up with the idea. He’d never been in jail, but he knew some great thieves.”
“How in the world did you meet him?”
Eleanor didn’t say anything.
“Aw hell, you were lovers?”
“Like you would really care! We’ve barely had sex for years!”
Gavin glanced at Amelia and squeezed her hand. She couldn’t believe it! Her boyfriend had been screwing Eleanor and then pretending to want to be a wolf mate with Amelia someday in the future? Amelia knew Clayton had been using her, but she really hadn’t expected to learn this. She didn’t think he would have turned Eleanor. He must have been just using her too.
“That’s why you wanted to get rid of Amelia. It wasn’t just because she could implicate you in the crime. You learned he was having intimate relations with her too. And you couldn’t deal with it.”
Eleanor didn’t say anything. Then she finally said, “She took the rest of the jewels!”
“So it was not only vengeance, but you were afraid Amelia would be able to identify you. She never has,” Conrad said to his wife.
“I’ve been trying to locate her and the former cop all this time. They were loose ends. I couldn’t rely on them never coming forth with whatever they knew. I had to get them together to take care of them at the same time. I really didn’t think you were having an affair, or I would have divorced you. I just had to have a really good excuse for Gavin to take the plane trip to the Boundary Waters. Heaton was just a blessing because he’d gotten fired from his job and was eager to earn some extra cash. I still couldn’t believe you wouldn’t have an affair when two women were so eager to be with you.”
“What time frame do you need to have an alibi for?” Conrad asked.
“I’ll give you the times, and we’ll have to work something out,” Eleanor said.
“Come on, let’s give the guy a break.” One cop headed for the van door.
“Her lawyers will be all over this,” the other said.
“If he’s right, we’ve got her testimony on video, so that should be good enough. Let’s make the arrest, get the search warrant, and go from there.”
“You must feel as used as I did,” Amelia told Gavin as he drew her into his arms.
“All that matters is that it brought us together again. Only this time, we’re staying together.”
“Even if I’m flying us somewhere.”
“Hell, yeah.”
Conrad turned over the video to the police, Eleanor was arrested, and the Minnesota police investigated Heaton’s new employer, who revealed that the manager of Flying Right Adventure Tours had also paid Heaton to sabotage the plane. Heaton had gotten plenty of money out of the deal: an advance from Eleanor, one from his new boss, and one from Asher Michaels. Too bad he didn’t live to spend any of it.
“We miss having you on the force,” one officer said to Gavin.
“You were always good at getting your man,” the other said, winking at Amelia, “or in this case…woman.”
But they had one more job to do. Gavin contacted Orwell and learned where his wife lived. And then Gavin and Amelia set up surveillance to learn what they could about any guys Orwell’s wife was seeing. Before long, they were able to document that she was actually dating three men. They shared the information with Orwell so he could use it in his defense when he had to go to court over the divorce. And then Gavin and Amelia were all set to go home and start living as a mated couple, though they were thinking of a small gathering of the pack and her family for a wedding too.
* * *
When they returned to Minnesota, Amelia learned that her dad had bought her a new plane. Her brother told her, “So that’s how y
ou get a new plane around here.”
“Be my guest to go through what I did to get it, Slade.”
“Yeah, but you got a mate out of the deal too.”
She only smiled. Now that was totally worth it.
When they arrived at Gavin’s home, Amelia was so ready to move in. What really surprised her was the meeting the pack had set up to discuss leadership with her at Cameron and Faith’s lakeside home in the woods. Amelia supposed she should have remembered about it, but she’d been so busy with Gavin and his investigations that she’d forgotten.
Winston was eager to greet them and welcome them home. Amelia gave him a big hug, and so did Gavin.
All the pack members’ homes were within walking distance of each other, and Amelia loved how Gavin’s place was situated on the water like the other homes. That meant she’d have ample opportunity to learn to swim better.
Before they had breakfast, Cameron started by saying, “We’re so glad to have you in our pack, Amelia. We mentioned before that we really haven’t had a pack where we had true leaders. Everyone just kind of assumed Faith and I were running things. We’ve always done everything democratically. With Amelia joining us, I’d like to officially extend an offer to her parents and brother to join us, so we can offer our protection and for all the fun we can have with it. Since Henry and Lolita and their offspring are royals, I wanted to ask one last time if anyone objects to having them run the pack. This would be up to them as well. I don’t see things changing much, but with their age and wisdom, and their ability to shift whenever they want, I think it would be a viable option.”
“I’m sure my parents would be honored,” Amelia said. “Surprised too. If everyone agrees with this, I’ll ask them.”
Gavin nodded, then reached down and scratched Winston’s head. “I agree. As long as we still have a democratic voice in matters, we can all help each other out.”
Owen said, “That works for me.”
“And me,” Candice said.
“I’m all for it,” David said. “Though it would have been better if I’d gotten the girl.” He winked at Amelia.
She laughed.
Faith got them refills on their coffee. “We’re all behind this, if your parents and brother agree.”
After breakfast, Amelia called her parents, still surprised the wolf pack would trust them to run the pack. It was such an honor, but her mother and father might believe it was too much work. “Mom, I need to ask you and Dad a question. Is he there?”
“Yes, dear. I’ll put this on speaker.”
“Gavin’s pack wants you to join us. Not just join as pack members. The group unanimously voted to have you and Dad run the pack as the pack leaders, if you agree.”
Her mother snuffled, and her father cleared his suddenly gravelly throat.
Amelia blinked back tears. She knew they were overwhelmed by the offer, yet she knew they would make great pack leaders.
“They run it democratically, just like you have with us since we’ve become adults. They don’t expect a lot of changes, but since you’re older and wiser, and you’re royals, they thought it would work out great.”
“We would be honored,” her father said, his voice just as emotional.
Her mom was sniffling in the background. “We would,” her mother said, her voice tearful.
Tears spilled down Amelia’s cheeks, and she quickly brushed them away, but everyone was watching to see what her parents had to say. She hadn’t put it on speaker, so she could give them some privacy in coming to a decision. She smiled at the group to let the pack know it was good news.
They all clapped and cheered, telling her parents in no uncertain terms this was a good thing, a new beginning for them, and a cause for celebration.
Winston jumped up and woofed, and Amelia laughed and hugged him. She put the phone on speaker and told her parents, “You can tell the pack the news yourself.”
And then they set a date for the celebration and ended the call with her parents. Then everyone wanted to learn about the case Gavin and Amelia had just finished, and they explained everything that had happened.
“What about the bag of jewels that was never found in the woods?” Cameron asked.
“Someday, I was thinking we might take a trip there and check it out,” Amelia said. “Of course, we’ll have to turn it in. On the other hand, what if the police thought I had hidden it there and came back for it?”
“If that was the case, you wouldn’t be turning it in,” Gavin said to Amelia. “I think that would be the best thing to do and finally find closure in the case. In the meantime, are you ready to take a swim in the lake?”
The water was warm, the sun shining, the day was beautiful, and he wanted to spend the rest of it and the night with Amelia, soaking up every bit of her until they had to return to work.
“Yeah, let’s go. Thanks to everyone,” Amelia said.
They all said their goodbyes, reaffirming how thrilled they were to have more Arctic wolves in the pack.
As Amelia and Gavin walked back to his house, his arm draped over her shoulder, Winston running beside them, she said, “I told you it was a conspiracy. Eleanor, Asher, and the manager of the competitor airplane service were all in on it, albeit with their own agendas.”
“And one dead wolf was at the root of it.”
“Yeah, between Heaton and Clayton, I sure knew how to pick ’em. What are we going to tell our kids someday about how we met? My parents met on the ice floe, and Dad saved her. It was so romantic.”
“You saved me during a jewelry heist. Here I thought my fellow police officers would come to my rescue. A beautiful she-wolf did instead. One that I love and adore.”
“And to think you were only a human back then, and now see where we are? I love you, you sexy old wolf, you. Race you home and into the water!”
“I’ll do one better.” And with that, Gavin swept her into his arms and jogged home with her and Winston.
“You are such a show-off.”
“I didn’t want you to beat me.”
She laughed, loving him—the cop, the PI, and the wolf that he was. She was glad she could be there for him, sharing every blessed moment as wolf or woman, whatever he needed.
Gavin couldn’t have been more ecstatic to find the right wolf for him. She was everything he could have asked for in a mate and more. He had worried she might change her mind when the full moon was out and he wouldn’t know when the need to shift would occur, or when the new moon was here and he couldn’t shift. She had assured him she would love him no matter what and had proved it to him while they spent time in the hotel, watching movies together as wolves. For the first time, he’d faced the uncertainty during the changing moon, knowing he’d have his wolf mate by his side. He couldn’t love her more.
The Arctic pack was officially a wolf pack, still called the MacPherson Pack in honor of Cameron, who had been the first of them turned against his will. The pack was now led by royal Arctic wolf leaders and had increased in number by four more pack members, with more sure to be on their way whenever little ones began to come onto the scene.
Slade swore he’d have to return to Alaska to find a mate, and David said if they had more Arctic she-wolves up there, he was tagging along for the ride.
For now, Gavin was happy to have Amelia as his mate after she’d kept dropping into his life. He knew it was karma. Just like she knew that it was with him and couldn’t be happier with her wolf mate. And Winston? He was in dog heaven with all kinds of wolves and wolf pups and humans to play with.
“Ready to go for a ride?” Amelia asked Gavin. Only she wasn’t flying this time. Her brother was. She and Gavin were returning to their special alcove to make new memories, just like they’d said they would when this was all said and done.
“Yeah, and lots of swimming.”
“And fishing.”
>
“And stargazing.”
“And loving.”
“And loving.” For a lifetime—and for a wolf shifter, that was a very long time.
For more Terry Spear check out
the Silver Town Wolf series
All’s Fair in Love and Wolf
On sale May 2018
Read on for a sneak peek at book 8 in Terry Spear’s Silver Town Wolf series
Coming soon from Sourcebooks Casablanca
“We’ll capture the fugitive, Mom. I’ll find him.” Jenna St. James was eager to locate Sarandon Silver, promptly arrest him, and turn him over to the police before her mom had to forfeit the bond she’d put up to ensure he’d appear in court. He’d been charged with numerous counts of identity theft, mail fraud, and possessing stolen property in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the judge had let him out of jail on bond. Afterward, the suspect cut off his ankle GPS monitor and ran. It was time for him to return to jail and stay there until his trial date. Jenna just hoped she—or the police—could catch him before her mother had to pay the bond in full.
She considered Sarandon’s driver’s license photo again and thought it was a shame he was a crook—or at least a suspected crook. He was a handsome guy, his hair dark brown and wavy, his dark-brown eyes smiling, his manly lips curved up just a hint, and his jaw sturdy and square. She imagined that his good looks and smooth moves could manipulate just about anyone. Good thing he wasn’t a wolf like her and her family, because she was going to enjoy bringing him down.
“I don’t want you to take any risks with this guy,” her mom said. Victoria St. James had taken over as bail bondswoman from her dad when he’d died, and she’d run the business successfully for decades.
Jenna’s triplet sisters, Crystal and Suzanne, and their father, Logan, were all in other parts of the state on fugitive recovery jobs so Jenna had to do this on her own.
“I’ll be careful, Mom. No problem.” She continued to pack a couple of bags. “Piece of cake. He’s never committed any crimes before this… Well, at least that we know of. His current charges aren’t for violent crimes, just sneaky and despicable ones. I’ll wear a bulletproof vest, just in case. I’ll take my 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, rifle, Taser, boot knife, and pepper spray. I’ll be ready.” She figured Sarandon couldn’t be all that dangerous, or her father would have insisted on handling the case.