Finding the Texas Wolf

by Karen Whiddon

  She cried out, a guttural sound, a cross between a moan and a scream. Determined not to be the first to lose control, he tried to focus on other things, anything but how amazing he felt inside her.

  But when she climaxed, her body clenching around him, his self-control shattered. He let himself go, riding the waves of pleasure right alongside her.

  They clutched each other close until their breathing slowed. He would have bet a million bucks that Carmen wasn’t the type to cuddle after sex. But when she burrowed into his side, snuggling up against him, he gladly held her. He’d never really thought about what a Vampire’s body would feel like, but Carmen felt warm-blooded, just like a human or Shifter. Weird, but great.

  “What am I going to do about you?” she mused, her lips against his chest. “I don’t want to lose you. I really like you.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh. “I like you, too. And we’ll figure out something. What matters more than anything is you figuring out an antidote.”

  When she didn’t respond, he looked down at her. She’d fallen asleep. Astounded, he studied her, memorizing her exquisite features with his gaze. He couldn’t really afford to let himself go soft. Allowing that sort of weakness could get him into trouble.

  Still holding Carmen, he let himself doze.

  Somehow, morning arrived without either of them moving apart.

  * * *

  Now that she and Rick had allowed themselves to do what both had been circling around for days, the air should have been much clearer. When she woke to realize that she’d somehow managed to have fallen asleep in his arms, she nearly pushed him away and leaped out of the bed. But something about the serene look on his handsome face as he slept stopped her.

  Usually, she wasn’t a big fan of Shape-shifters. But Rick wasn’t an ordinary Shifter. And there was no way in hell she was going to let him endanger himself by acting as a Shifter guinea pig for a deadly new virus.

  She needed to have Rick ask his boss if he could send her the CDC’s notes. It would be extremely helpful to know what they’d tried and failed. This would save her tons of time.

  “Hey.” Rick’s voice, gravelly from sleep, drew her attention.

  She shifted, twisting herself slightly toward him.

  “Hey yourself.” Immediately, she realized he was magnificently, spectacularly aroused.

  And of course, they indulged themselves in a replay of last night’s lovemaking. This time, they were much more leisurely about it, allowing each other the luxury of a slower, less urgent exploration.

  After each taking another quick shower, they packed up and got back into Rick’s vehicle. He ran through the drive-thru next door, ordering a breakfast sandwich and coffee after asking her if she wanted anything. She brandished another shelf-stable bag of imitation blood and declined.

  When she asked him about getting records from the CDC, he liked the idea and sent off a quick text to his boss. He got an immediate response, confirming that his request would be met ASAP.

  “Perfect.” Carmen sat back, wrinkling her nose at the smell of grease and cheese. “I don’t know how you can eat that,” she said. “It smells terrible.”

  “To each their own.” He nodded toward her blood. “Next up, I need to call Gus and tell him we’re on our way back with Ted. The special team delivering it to us will meet us near Kemah.”

  “It’s going to be interesting to see how they react once they learn Ted’s been infected with the virus.”

  He glanced at her and grimaced. “I imagine they’ll stay clear. Or they will if they have any sense at all.”

  Making the call while he drove, after the initial greeting, he didn’t say much. Finally, when Gus apparently took a breath, Rick explained he’d be bringing back an infected Ted. “He’s terminal,” he said. “Just like everyone else who’s contracted this virus. You need to take steps to make sure no one else gets infected. We’ll be taking him back into the lab.”

  Rick listened a moment long before ending the call. He glanced at Carmen and shook his head. “They’ve brought in another biologist.”

  Her heart sank. “Did he say who?”

  “No, he never mentioned the name or anything about credentials. Just that we’d have someone else helping us work with the virus.”

  “I don’t like that,” she murmured. “Not at all. But since we weren’t given a choice, I hope at least they found someone with excellent qualifications.”

  The exchange in Kemah went off without a hitch. Rick pulled over down a winding country road. A few minutes later, a black Ford Expedition pulled up. Two men wearing full hazmat gear got out, went to the back and opened the hatch. Rick did the same with his vehicle.

  They transferred what looked like a large plastic cocoon and had Rick sign off. Then they drove away.

  “That was weirdly efficient,” she commented.

  “Yeah.” Now Rick seemed fidgety, uncomfortable. He made no move to get back in the driver’s seat and she couldn’t say she blamed him.

  “He’s sealed up tight,” she told him. “Besides, this virus isn’t airborne. You’d have to touch him or have him cough on you to become infected. It’s safe.”

  He nodded, eyeing Ted’s body. “How can he breathe in there?”

  Pointing at a loop of plastic tubing, she gave a short explanation of the air circulation system. “It’s enough to keep him alive. Even though we’re not sure how long he actually has to live.”

  When he winced, she apologized for sounding callous. “I’ve already shifted into my scientist mode.”

  Finally, he climbed into the vehicle. Once she’d done the same, they took off, heading for the Sons of Darkness compound.

  They arrived in the early afternoon. Only Landers came out initially to greet them. Rifle at the ready, he circled around their vehicle as if he expected them to start throwing out vials of the deadly virus.

  After he’d made two complete circles, he gestured for Carmen and Rick to get out. Slowly, keeping their hands where he could see them, they did.

  Carmen stared at Landers, fantasizing about how easy it would be for her to snatch that rifle away from him. But of course she didn’t.

  A moment later, Gus and another man—one she didn’t recognize—emerged from the house.

  Gus grinned as he made the introductions. Landers stood off to the side, glowering at all of them.

  The new biologist’s name was Scott. He smelled of cigarette smoke, perspiration and rotgut whiskey.

  While she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the human man, she kept her doubts hidden. She’d been able to sum him up in one look—or smell. His hands shook and his bloodshot eyes were far too bleary. Drugs or alcohol, probably both, and that answered her other question. Why he was here instead of at another, more reputable lab.

  “Carmen here has a reputation as one of the top biologists in the country,” Gus said. “The two of you working together should be able to replicate the virus.”

  “I worked for the CDC for twenty-seven years,” Scott bragged. “It wasn’t my fault they let me go.”

  Right. Wisely, she didn’t voice this thought out loud. He’d been caught drinking or doing drugs on the job, had failed a random drug test or had made the kind of mistake that could have been disastrous while under the influence.

  She glanced at Rick, who stared straight ahead, distaste plain on his handsome face. This nearly made her laugh, but she throttled that, instead resolving to speak to him later about perfecting a better poker face. Of course, since he was a seasoned undercover operative, the possibility existed that he wanted Scott to know how he felt about him.

  “Considering that the virus has broken out in West Latvia,” Carmen interjected, “is it possible someone obtained a blood sample or tissue sample? That would definitely help us get quicker identification.”

  Scott laughed, a bit maniacally, she thought. “I managed to snag a test vial from the CDC lab before I left. They have several, all locked in high-security areas. When
I found out they intended to let me go, I took it while my clearance was still good.”

  Finally, the man had said something interesting. And judging from the rapt expression on both Gus’s and Landers’s faces, they were enthralled.

  “That should help,” Rick commented, his voice level. A quick glance at him revealed he’d managed to once again mask his feelings.

  “Definitely,” Carmen drawled. “As long as you’re careful and don’t allow yourself to get infected. That would be unfortunate. And deadly.”

  For a brief second, Scott appeared uncomfortable. “Yeah, that’s true. But that’s what he’s for.” And he pointed to Rick.

  Carmen froze. “What do you mean by that?” she asked, her voice ice. What did he know? And how?

  Scott grinned, malice shining in his small eyes. “They promised me a living test subject.” He turned to face Gus and Landers. “Am I wrong in thinking it’s him?”

  Carmen turned. The glare she directed toward Gus left no doubt how she felt about that possibility.

  “One of my men will do it,” Gus finally answered. “For now, Rick is going to act as your assistant.”

  Careful to hide the relief that flooded through her, Carmen nodded. “That’s what I thought.” Though she now had a sneaking suspicion that Gus might be lying. She couldn’t imagine any of his men willingly stepping in.

  “I’ll send someone along shortly,” Gus continued. “Right now, why don’t you all get to work. We’ve got to get this right before the CDC comes up with an antidote. Whoever does that first holds all the cards.”

  “They aren’t even close,” Scott said confidently.

  “What about replicating the virus?” Carmen wanted to know. “What’s their progress on that front?”

  Scott shrugged. “They’re still working on that, too. Pretty frantically, let me tell you. Once that thing crosses the ocean to other continents...”

  The thought made her shudder. The human population would be swiftly decimated. And since no one yet knew if Shape-shifters and Merfolk were immune, the virus could possibly ravage the paranormal community, as well. This would leave Vampires. And the thought of a world full of only Vamps sounded like a grim place indeed.

  “We’ve got to figure this out,” she declared, allowing eagerness to leak into her tone. “Let’s get started immediately. We need to move Ted from the vehicle to the lab.”

  Though Scott appeared appalled at the idea, Gus nodded enthusiastically. “My thoughts exactly. You two, get to work right now. And Rick, your job is to find them whatever they need.”

  Rick nodded. Only the way his jaw tightened gave away how much he hated being ordered around by Gus.

  As for herself, Carmen had to carefully mask her excitement. Finally, the brand-new lab would be used. Add to that the fact that she would be able to get her hands on the actual virus and things couldn’t have been better.

  Scott grunted and began shuffling off toward the barn. Following, she wondered if he’d been working in the lab alone and unsupervised. Originally, she’d planned on trying to work around him. Now, though, she’d begun to reconsider. He might seem incompetent, but he had been working at the CDC and had access to the latest developments. She’d pick his brain for those. And who knew? Maybe they could actually work together and solve this puzzle.

  However, if either of them succeeded in developing an antidote, there was no way she’d be turning that over to the Sons of Darkness. Not only would that make them the most powerful group on earth, but it would be a betrayal of all humanity.

  Chapter 15

  The next morning, Maddie puttered around her apartment while waiting for Jake to call. Knowing him, he’d stayed up late doing research on the internet and had slept in. If she didn’t hear from him by nine, she planned to call and wake him up. She wanted company for a late breakfast.

  On her third cup of coffee, and a bit jittery, she watched the clock. Out of necessity, she’d made herself a single piece of toast and slathered it with peanut butter since she’d needed something to settle her stomach.

  At five until nine, she gave in and called him. His phone rang and rang and rang, finally going to voice mail. Which meant he was most likely still asleep.

  Her conscience warred with her grumbling stomach. She could be nice and let him sleep, or she could continue to dial his number until his ringing phone finally woke him.

  Having no choice, she went with choice number two.

  Again just ringing and no answer. She hung up and immediately called again. This time, someone picked up on the third ring.

  “Maddie?” a familiar voice asked. “As least that’s what shows on caller ID.”

  Stunned, at first Maddie couldn’t find the right words. Instead of Jake, her brother Colton had answered. “What are you doing with Jake’s phone?” she asked, even as a horrible realization dawned on her. “Please tell me Jake’s not in Protector custody.”

  “I can’t tell you that, because he is,” Colton replied. “Sort of. Actually, he’s in my custody. Which is, as you know, much safer for him than if he’d been taken in to headquarters.”

  While he did have a point, this still worried her. She swallowed. “Why? What did he do?”

  Her brother sighed. “As you know, we’ve been keeping an eye on him for a while.”

  “Right, but I thought you were backing off once I told you I was handling him.”

  “I always have a backup plan,” he chided. “You know that. So we’ve been watching him. Turns out he was seen meeting with one of our other operatives, a guy who’s been working deeply undercover.”

  “Rick Fallin?” she asked.

  Either because he liked her to think he knew everything, or because he already knew the answer, he didn’t ask her to elaborate. “He refuses to tell me what he’s doing with him or, for that matter, you.”

  Poor Jake. She grimaced, keeping her thoughts to herself. Colton could be formidable when he wanted to be. She was impressed that Jake had resisted giving anything up.

  “You aren’t torturing him, are you?” She put a threatening note in her question. “Because so help me, if you touch one hair on his head...”

  Colton chuckled. “No torture. Come on, Maddie. I’m not a savage. This human hasn’t broken any laws. Yet. He’s just come onto our radar one too many times. We need to find out what he knows.”

  “I think you should ask Rick Fallin. He’s one of your own, plus he’s fully briefed on everything.” It dawned on her that this entire situation might be a bit above her brother’s pay grade. No doubt Jake had reached the same conclusion and that was why he’d gone silent.

  “You know,” Colton mused, “that’s exactly what Jake said. How are you involved in this, little sister? You’ve been seen with him numerous times and you were spotted with him and Rick and another, unknown woman yesterday.”

  Now she went silent. And then, she tried to salvage everything the best way she could think of. “Jake is my...boyfriend,” she said, wincing internally at the actual term. “He might even be my mate.”

  “He’s human,” her brother protested immediately. “Please tell me you aren’t serious.”

  “Since when did you decide to be against Shifters mating with humans?” she asked, honestly perplexed since such a thing was very common. The children who resulted from such unions were termed Halflings. While not as invulnerable as full-blooded Shifters, Halflings were much more resilient than humans. They healed much faster, for one thing.

  “I’m not, but this is you,” Colton responded. “My baby sister. I’ve been hoping you’d meet another Pack Protector.”

  Disappointment warred with anger. “Let’s cut to the chase. You need to let Jake go.”

  “Really?” His icy tone matched hers. “Let me remind you that I don’t take orders from you.”

  “Maybe not. But this could be a matter of not just national security, but Pack security. I’d suggest you contact Rick Fallin or his superior and clear this through them. I have a
feeling that you’re going to have to put Jake back where you found him.”

  “That won’t be so easy,” he grumbled. “Since that was at the scene of an automobile accident.”

  Her stomach clenched. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine.” Colton paused. “His vehicle isn’t. I believe the police department towed it.”

  “Tell me where he is and I’ll come pick him up.” Though she felt frantic, she kept her voice calm and cool.

  “Not yet. I’m not quite done talking to him. This new info you’ve given me has brought up totally different questions.”

  “Like what?” Though she still sounded collected, an edge had crept into her tone.

  “I’m going to find out what his intentions are toward my baby sister.” And Colton laughed, the exact same way he used to when they were just kids and he’d managed to pull one over on her.

  “Don’t you dare,” she began, and then realized her brother had already ended the call.

  Next, she did what she had to do. She dialed Rick.

  Of course, he didn’t pick up. Most likely since he was back undercover.

  Then she tried Carmen, just in case. The call went straight to voice mail. Of course. But it had been worth a shot.

  Her doorbell rang. She froze. These apartments enforced a strict no solicitation rule, so she doubted it was someone selling something.

  She rushed over to the peephole and peered out. And silently groaned. It was that same Protector who’d been staking out Jake’s house.

  She decided not to open the door. Colton hadn’t said anything about sending someone over. She had the uncomfortable feeling that this guy might be acting on his own. For whatever reason.

  He rang the bell again, once, twice, and a third press in rapid succession. Judging by that, she thought he seemed agitated. Not a good thing.

  Running for her phone, she punched Redial, praying Colton would pick up again. Instead, it rang and rang before going to voice mail.

  She cursed. Her apartment was on the second floor, so the only other exit would be the balcony. While she could probably figure out a way to get herself down, she wasn’t nuts about leaving her apartment available for that man to rummage through and trash.