Hell, he was game.
“I’m Nicole Grayson, and you’re my fiancé. For the moment. My life depends on it.”
Blake frowned, worrying she was really in trouble, though she didn’t seem overly anxious—not in her facial expression, and certainly not in the way she’d been so easily intimate with him. “Do we need to call the sheriff?” He should have already had his phone out, but he didn’t want to let go of her if there wasn’t any need. This was just too damn nice.
“No, I’ve got a handle on this.”
He wanted to laugh at her choice of words since Landon had said the same thing about Blake. “All right, good show. By the way, I’m Blake Wolff.”
“Wolf? I’ll say.”
He smiled. He liked her easy banter and didn’t think she could be in any real danger. He would have smelled her anxiety for one thing, instead of her enticing arousal that was fueling his own. “I’d shake your hand, but I think we’re beyond that.”
“For this to be believable, yes.” She smiled up at him as if she truly adored him. “I saw all the trouble you were having with the snowblower earlier.”
“Uh, yeah.” That kind of blew his macho image, he was afraid. He had hoped she wouldn’t bring it up. “I’ve never used that kind before.”
“I kind of figured that. I haven’t either, or I would have tried to help.”
He smiled. “You watched instead.”
Her cheeks pinkened. “You were entertaining.”
“You saw everything?”
“You mean the spill you took too? Yeah, you should have seen me hit a patch of ice on the slope this morning. I was sprawled every which way.”
He chuckled, not feeling as bad now. He liked how she could make him feel better about it. “I was just going to ski. Did you want to come with me?” He thought that would be fun if it was in line with the ruse she was playing and because they would both be dressed for it once he put on some ski boots. Besides, he hadn’t been this interested in a she-wolf since he and Susie Northrop ended things between them. She’d been so pissed off that he and his brother and sisters were moving to the “wilds” of Colorado, the Wild West, she said, that she broke it off with him a year before he left. Good thing for that.
“I just came in from out-of-doors. Take me to your room instead,” Nicole said.
He raised a brow. He hadn’t quite expected that. Then again, he hadn’t expected any of this—the hug, the kiss, now this. He wasn’t letting go of her though. “Because your life depends on it.”
“It would seem more realistic. If we’re lovers. And we can talk.”
None of this seemed real to Blake. Well, the kiss sure did, but the rest? No.
He rubbed her arm, his other arm still keeping her locked against his body. His was hot and aroused, to be sure. He couldn’t believe how much he didn’t want to let her go. Then again, she was the one who had tackled him first.
He glanced around the lobby, looking to see if anyone was eyeing them with speculation. Their guests all seemed to be enjoying visiting with friends or were on their way somewhere—to the restaurant, restrooms, seating by the big center fireplace, out-of-doors to ski, or to their rooms. “Okay, we have a little problem with going to ‘my’ room.”
“Don’t tell me your roommate won’t go along with it.” She sighed.
“I’m not staying here.”
“Okay, you can come to my room. But my partner has high-altitude sickness and might be sleeping.”
“Partner. Male?” As in a real boyfriend? That could be awkward. Then again, he couldn’t be, since Blake didn’t smell a male’s scent on her except his own. Blake hadn’t met her before, but he was definitely showing any other eligible wolf bachelors here that he had a real interest in her. Was she part of the Silver Town pack, and he just hadn’t met her yet? He didn’t think so, or she wouldn’t be staying at the lodge.
“Yes, he’s a he. So you live in Silver Town? And are just up here for the day skiing?”
“I’m part owner of the ski lodge and restaurant, along with my brother and two sisters.” He normally wouldn’t have mentioned that to a she-wolf he’d just met who wasn’t a member of the pack, feeling like it was bragging a little.
Her brows rose this time. “Oh, Wolff as in two f’s. Okay, this won’t do. I need to find somebody else.” She started to pull away from him.
He held on tight. “No. Wait.”
She smiled up at him again. Then she frowned. “I shouldn’t involve you. You seem like a nice guy.”
“I’m already involved. And I can be a not-so-nice guy if you need me to. Ask my brother and sisters.”
She chuckled, but then she grew serious again. “Okay, here the two men come. Make this look good. You can be my lover, and Larry is my brother.”
“Larry, as in your partner?”
“Yes.” She didn’t give Blake a chance to ask any more questions as she kissed him again.
She didn’t smell like she’d been around another male, so he didn’t think the guy was really her partner as in mated. Instead, Nicole was wearing Blake’s scent and he was cloaked in her sweet fragrance, making it seem, to other wolves, that they were together.
Blake had every intention of making it look real, but he wanted to see who she was worried about. He wanted to ask her who she was and who her “partner” was.
For now, he concentrated on the workout they were having, his mouth pressed hungrily against hers, and that was not faked in the least. She kissed him back just as greedily, her olive-green eyes feral as she gazed up at him, and then closed them again to concentrate on the kiss.
He could feel her pulling her mouth away finally, and he reluctantly went along with the plan. Her cheeks were flushed with heat, her gaze still on his mouth, as if she was thinking of kissing him again.
He smiled. She was hot and interesting, and he could have kissed her all day long.
She sighed. “Let’s go.”
Blake glanced back to see if his brother was busy working. Landon was standing near the fireplace, arms folded across his chest, watching them, smiling. Which was normal for a family member and a wolf who was curious how this would play out.
“Wow, we leave you guys alone for a couple of months, and what do we come home to?” Blake’s sister Roxie asked. He turned to see her and their sister Kayla openmouthed and staring at him in surprise.
Chapter 2
Blake realized Roxie and Kayla had entered the lobby, and instead of greeting him after their long trip, they had been watching the situation between him and Nicole unfold, just as Landon had.
“Ohmigod, you!” Roxie said to Nicole, finally really looking at her.
“Roxie…um…Wolff? You’re related to Blake?” Nicole asked, sounding surprised.
Roxie folded her arms. “Yeah. I’m his sister. And this is our sister, Kayla, and our brother Landon.”
“You two know each other?” Blake suspected from his sister’s aggravated tone and posture that she did, and it wasn’t in a good way.
Roxie turned to Blake. “Unfortunately, yes. I know her. Remember me telling you about that worthless CID investigation concerning the MP who threatened me with a gun, ordering me to hand over my coin collection?”
Blake looked at Nicole, waiting for her to confirm.
“You can’t be here!” Nicole said to Roxie, panic in her voice.
“What?” Roxie wore a growly expression as she glowered at Nicole.
“Can we talk about this in private? Please?” Nicole asked, pleading with Roxie and Blake.
Blake knew from the change in Nicole’s scent from interested in him to highly anxious that something really was wrong. “Yeah, we can go to the office,” he said, worried Roxie might be in some kind of trouble.
“I just got here, and I fully intend to see everything and do my job. You can get lost.�
�� Roxie glanced at the restaurant, and her face brightened. “I love the decor. I know we helped plan it, and you sent us pictures, but it’s even nicer than I had envisioned.”
“If you haven’t had lunch, you ought to check it out,” Blake said.
“No!” Nicole said, even more anxious now.
Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.
“Can we please move this to someplace private? To your office, like you mentioned?” Nicole said.
“Sure. Come on.” Blake led the way, and his sisters and Nicole followed him to the office.
As soon as they were all inside, he saw Landon give someone a quick word, then shake his hand and stalk across the floor to join them. Blake was glad they could all meet together to learn what Nicole thought was wrong. Landon hugged their sisters, and then Blake realized he should have too when he first saw them, but he’d been wrapped up in Nicole and the kiss and whatever the trouble seemed to be. He began to make introductions, explaining to his brother about Nicole having been with CID and investigating the unsolved crime against Roxie.
“Hey, I’m Kayla,” his other sister said, stepping in to shake Nicole’s hand. “So you’re a member of the Silver Town pack?”
“Uh, no.” Nicole smiled and shook Kayla’s hand. “The town has a wolf pack then?”
“Yeah. Are you still with the CID?” Kayla asked.
“No. I left the army.”
“Did you have too many unsolved cases?” Roxie arched a brow, her arms folded across her chest.
“That was my first case, and my first unsolved case, true. I had a few more, but I solved a lot more than I lost. That wasn’t the reason I left the service. Okay, listen. Not all cases can be solved. I couldn’t find any hard evidence to charge the MP with the crime, though I believed your story in its entirety. I even learned who the MP was.”
Roxie’s eyes widened. “And still you did nothing?”
“I smelled his scent, then found his desk and his nameplate sitting on his desk, so I knew he was the one who had held your driver’s license. But you know we can’t use our ability to recognize scents in a court of law. If I’d had a security video of him accosting you or one of him getting into his car and the license plate number, I could have nailed him. I even did surveillance on him until he left the service, whenever I had any free time, though I was often working seventy-hour weeks on cases. I was trying to pin him down on a different crime, to find a pattern of criminal behavior. At the time, I thought either he had never committed a crime before or he was lying low, afraid someone might realize what he’d done. But I never caught him doing anything illegal the rest of the time he was on active duty.”
Her eyes narrowed, Roxie still looked miffed, but Blake understood Nicole’s situation. With nothing to go on, she couldn’t have done anything more. Wisely, he didn’t comment and take Nicole’s side though.
“What are you doing here if you’re not part of the pack?” Roxie asked. “Besides kissing my brother like he’s your long-lost mate. And why don’t you want anyone to see me?”
“He’s here, the MP, and I’m here to do surveillance on him with a partner who unfortunately has high-altitude sickness.”
“Partner?” Roxie and Kayla both glanced at Blake, as if expecting him to look surprised, especially after all the kissing that had been going on between the two of them.
Roxie eyed Nicole again, then said to Blake, “I’d sure check out this ‘partner’ before I got much more involved with the former special agent. So the MP is here? And you’re doing what? Looking to finally make this right? If you’re no longer in the service, I don’t see that you can. Unless you’re FBI or something now and he’s committed another crime, one you can do a better job solving.”
Wanting to explain Roxie’s animosity about the case to Nicole, Blake said, “Roxie was afraid she’d run into the MP at some other time while she was on active duty. She’s not afraid of much, but that really spooked her. Especially since he had a badge and a gun. When she called us about it, Landon and I were there in a heartbeat and stayed with her for a couple of weeks at her apartment, just in case the bastard returned. We were running the ski lodge in Vermont at the time. We were glad when she got out of the service and joined us to help with the lodge. Had you seen him here, and that’s why you kissed me?” He suspected she was a PI or undercover cop, FBI maybe.
“Larry and I are investigating a case of insurance fraud. We’re independent private investigators working for an insurance company. I need to check on my partner and make sure he’s all right. He’s from Kansas and can’t take this high altitude. He’s human, not one of us. But the situation is this: we’re looking for two men—Rhys Hanover and William Kovac. They’re cousins, and Rhys is dead. Supposedly dead. Rhys’s real name is Oscar Kovac. He was the MP who tried to steal from you, Roxie.”
“Hell. I’ll kill the bastard. So what are they doing? Looking for a big insurance payoff and this is a case of pseudocide?” Blake asked.
“Yes, that’s exactly what it is,” Nicole said.
“I don’t believe this,” Roxie said.
“We’re talking about a five-million-dollar life insurance policy. The problem is that he could see you here and realize you’d know who he is. He could worry you’d heard of his death but realize he is alive, and the gig is up. I know he’d run. Trying to track him down again could be impossible. Even though we couldn’t get him for the earlier crime perpetrated against you, we want to get him for this one. Right now, he thinks no one knows him here and that he’s perfectly safe.”
“What about you? Wouldn’t he recognize you if he sees you?” Roxie asked. “You said you’d seen him at the police department.”
Blake was thinking the same thing. Nicole must have dealt with the police from time to time while handling her CID cases.
“I never had any dealings with him directly. He was never at the police department when I was there after the one time I saw him. He didn’t see me. Thankfully, he’s not a wolf or he might recognize me by scent.”
Roxie’s whole posture changed from highly irritated to excited. “I want to help catch him.”
“No,” both Blake and Landon said. Blake knew his sister would get involved if she could. Now he wished she had stayed in Vermont until this situation was resolved with Rhys, when before this, Blake had been hoping she and Kayla would hurry up and arrive in Colorado. Not only were they a great help to one another, but the family was close and enjoyed doing things together. Their new life was here.
“Nicole’s right. If he sees you, even if he believes you don’t know that he faked his death, he could still worry you might recognize him from the time he stopped you for your expired safety-inspection sticker,” Blake said.
Roxie bit her lip. “Okay, but I want to do something.” She eyed Nicole as if she thought she might be able to give Roxie a job that would help Nicole catch the bastard.
Blake knew his sister wouldn’t be able to sit still when she wanted to help run the lodge, see the sights, visit with her new pack members, and adjust to her new home. He could see Kayla hiding away in the office, busy creating all kinds of plans for holiday specials, like a website that would feature all the fun folks could have at the lodge. They had to dig her out of the office just to get her out to socialize a bit. But Roxie? She was always out and about, greeting people, making everyone feel welcome, social to the max. If she was sick or needed to sleep, that was when she went home. Otherwise, she loved being with others. Confine her to house arrest? She’d go batty.
“I know it might seem boring, but if you could watch the security monitors and alert me where he is when you see him, that would help,” Nicole said.
Roxie scoffed.
Blake knew Roxie wanted to be a whole lot more active than that.
“What are your email addresses? I’ll send everyone a picture of what Oscar looked like before he h
ad some plastic surgery done, grew his hair and beard out, dyed his hair, and started calling himself Rhys. I also have some pictures of him and his cousin now and what they’ve been wearing for skiing while here.”
Once Nicole had their emails, she sent them all the photos.
Blake was amazed at how different Rhys looked from Oscar’s earlier photo. He didn’t think he would have made the connection if he’d only met the man once before, when his hair was dark brown and cut short, military style, as a military police officer.
“Wow,” Roxie said. “If you had a close-up photo of his eyes, I would have recognized him. But I wouldn’t have known him if I’d seen him wearing the long, blond hair and the brown beard. I can’t tell about the plastic surgery. I think his nose looks a little different. But the hair and the bushy beard really would have thrown me off.”
“It appears he staged his death for the insurance money. Did he really have the accident and then hatch the idea? Or had he planned it all along? It really doesn’t matter how it all came about. He didn’t die, his cousin received the money from the life insurance payout, and that makes it a crime. Since they’re together, I have to assume they both got part of the proceeds,” Nicole said.
“And you think they’re dangerous.” Unless Nicole was being melodramatic… She had mentioned it could mean her life if Blake didn’t pretend to be her lover. Rhys had threatened his sister with a gun when they were in the army, so he could understand Nicole’s concern.
“Yes, if the men had anything to do with the last investigator’s disappearance—which is why they sent two of us as a team this time. And knowing Oscar was armed the time he confronted Roxie, we have to assume Rhys is armed now.”
“They killed the other investigator?” Roxie asked, sounding horrified.
“He vanished. We have no idea if he met with foul play. He told the insurance company that hired him that he had a lead on Oscar Kovac. He gave the insurance company Oscar’s last known address, though he didn’t have his new name. Rhys hadn’t yet hooked up with William, the cousin, and that was the last anyone heard of the private investigator.”
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