“Right behind ye,” an Irish voice whispered in return.
Slowly the trio made their way to the entrance, pausing to listen at the opening to the narrow tunnel.
“Have either of you ever been in there?” Jade asked.
“I went exploring a few times as a kid,” Harlan answered. “The mouth is narrow, but it opens up into a really large cavern maybe thirty feet in.”
“I’m going first then, with the shotgun.” Jade waved the men behind her. “I cannot believe I’m doing this without backup,” she sighed.
“Oh, ye got backup.” Conall pointed toward the ring of wolves crouched around them in the darkness. As if to emphasize his point, a barely audible growl rumbled out from the throat of the nearest wolf.
Jade raised an eyebrow, “So we do.” Silently, she began creeping down the tunnel-like entrance into the mine. Soon, she could hear the familiar twang of Jim Lassiter’s voice, a voice she associated with humorous anecdotes, or political editorializing. But tonight, his voice had an edge of urgency and desperation as he simultaneously threatened and pleaded with Nicolette.
“Don’t be stubborn Nicolette. With your brains and good reputation, we could make a fortune together—have a wonderful life. We’ve made a great team at the Gazette, how is this any different? One way or another, it’s just making money off people’s boredom.”
“I’ve never known a newspaper story to kill anyone,” Nicolette spat back.
“I have to admit, it’s your feistiness I’ve always loved…well, that and that sweet little booty of yours. It doesn’t have to be this hard. You know Nate never cared about you. I’m the one. I’m the one that’s always wanted to give you the best of everything—a nice home, pretty clothes, a cabin out on the lake to go with our boat.”
“That’s your boat, and I can buy my own clothes, thanks very much.”
Jade could hear Lassiter pacing, his voice and movement becoming increasingly agitated. She began to wonder if he’d been sampling his own illicit product.
Lassiter’s voice snarled with a building rage, “You’re an ungrateful little minx! I did all of this for you!”
The unmistakably sound of a hand hitting flesh made Jade wince. It was go time. She signaled to Conall and Harlan that she was moving in. She gathered her energy and steadied her nerve, wanting to take advantage of the element of surprise.
“Back off, Lassiter!” Jade yelled as she burst into the cavern, pumping the shotgun as she did to make sure he knew she meant business. Then she saw the pistol in his hand, and canisters of black powder and rolls of fuse cord lined up on a shelf. There were pieces of pipe and an open container of powder on a workbench. The back of the cavern had been converted into a sophisticated-looking drug laboratory. Guns going off could ignite the gunpowder, and who knew what other flammable chemicals might be in the poorly-ventilated space.
“Holy fuck,” Jade murmured as she lowered the gun.
“Get out of here Jade, he’s gone completely nuts,” Nicolette warned. Nicky’s hands were tied behind her back, and one ankle was chained to an old eyebolt fixed into the rock wall. Her cheek was red and her eye was starting to puff up from where Lassiter had hit her.
Conall and Harlan were fast on Jade’s heels, and just as rapidly accessed the volatile nature of the situation—literally, as well as figuratively.
Lassiter waved his pistol in the air. “Quite the party…the only problem is that I don’t remember inviting any of you.” He studied the new arrivals thoughtfully. “Go stand over there by my darling Nicolette while I think about what I’m going to do with you. You’ve really managed to complicate things.”
Jade squeezed Nicolette’s hand and whispered, “We figured out that he was in the drug business, and that you must have gotten too close to the truth, but…”
“You didn’t know he’d gone full psycho?” Nicky whispered back, as she tried to stop her teeth from chattering. Jade wanted to give her shivering friend her coat, but that would mean putting down the shotgun, and somehow that didn't seem like a good idea. But even as Jade thought it, Harlan was wrapping his jacket around Nicolette.
“So chivalrous,” Lassiter sneered at Harlan. “I would have given Nicolette a fur coat—if only she weren’t so obstinate. But pigheaded girls don’t get to be warm.” Lassiter ripped Harlan’s jacket off of Nicolette and as Harlan stepped forward to get between them, the sociopathic newspaperman pressed the barrel of his pistol to Harlan’s forehead.
“Harlan don’t!” Nicolette pleaded, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. Relenting, he stepped back from Lassiter, putting a protective arm around Nicolette, as he tried to warm her.
Jade considered tackling Lassiter, knowing that if she knocked him down, the others could dog pile on. The only worry was what might happen if his gun went off accidentally or intentionally. Even if nothing exploded right away, there could be a delay, or toxic fumes released, and they might not be able to free Nicolette in time.
Deciding it was time to play good cop, Jade changed her tone. “Jim,” she smiled at him, “Com’on, we’re friends here. This has all been some kind of big misunderstanding. I know Nicolette cares for you. Things have just gotten confused.” She stepped a little on Nicolette’s foot, signaling her to play along.
“Jade’s right, Jim. Maybe, I just need to calm down a little. I’m sorry if I’ve misunderstood. You’ve always treated me wonderfully.” Bravely, she pushed out a smile.
Lassiter lowered the gun and smiled back. Thrusting Harlan aside, he kissed Nicolette on the forehead and smoothed her hair back. “I knew you wanted to be with me.” Sliding his arm around Nicolette’s waist, he regarded the rest of the group. “But your friends, they’re…a bit of a problem. With Carson and Harlan out of the way, then I can have their whole damn ranch, and Jade, she knows way too much for someone in law enforcement, and this stupid wolf-man, well, he’s just a pain in the ass in general.”
Jade observed Lassiter as he moved restlessly, his speech was abnormally fast and he seemed increasingly irrational. She wondered how long it had been since he slept, and knew that a tweaking meth addict could easily get violent.
Spinning around, Lassiter started to laugh, as if suddenly everything was clear to him. “Apparently, this little gathering is a good-bye party.” He tapped his foot impatiently, “As soon as my talented chemist and explosives expert shows up, we can really get this party started.” He glanced at his watch, “He probably had to fuck one of his groupies. God, are they gullible! If they had any initiative, they could figure out that the real Nate Vanderville…
Nicolette finished the sentence for him, “Is working on trading national debt for habitat preservation in Madagascar.” She looked helplessly at Jade, “I fell for a total fraud, but I didn’t want to believe it. I figured it out earlier today, but I was too embarrassed—and too hurt—to tell you.”
They could sort out their friendship later, Jade thought, the mission at hand was to make sure there was a “later.” Lassiter continued to wave the pistol about, apparently unconcerned about all the black powder and chemicals around them. She knew Harlan had also been looking for an opportunity to safely disarm Lassiter, but Conall had been quiet and still the entire time. Jade could feel his energy; no longer did it seem to be radiating outward, but rather, it felt increasingly more contained, like it was somehow compressing and shifting. He looked at her and tilted his head in a way that Jade could only interpret as “follow my lead,” and she returned his look with a single sharp nod of her head. Intuitively, she knew she could trust him.
There was a shimmering in the air around them, a feeling of rippling waves, and in less than the time of a heartbeat, a huge wolf with amber eyes stood in the chamber. And in the next instant, the wolf’s powerful jaws latched around the forearm of Lassiter’s gun hand. As the editor’s musculature reacted to the painful shock, Jade plucked the pistol from his hand, clicked the safety on, and stuck it in the back of her pants. Harlan dove at Lassiter’s knees in a m
ove remembered from high school football, bringing him to the ground. Pouncing quickly, Jade pinned him with a knee to the chest, and with a few expert moves flipped him over and handcuffed him. Letting go, the wolf loped out of the chamber.
Nicolette’s eyes were wide with disbelief. Finding the key to her steel tether in Lassiter’s pocket, Harlan quickly freed her and hugged her to his chest. Jade stood there, trying to process what had just happened before grabbing the chain to secure Lassiter’s handcuffs to the wall. The one thing that was clear was that Conall was no longer with them, and she could hear the faint sounds of another vehicle arriving. It had to be the Nate Vanderville imposter.
“Get her warmed up,” Jade instructed Harlan. “And don’t take any guff from that asshole.” She kicked Lassiter’s foot a little before running up the tunnel to reach the outside.
Vanderville had indeed arrived, but he wasn’t going to be any trouble. As soon as he had stepped from his vehicle, the wolves had formed a menacing circle around him. He stood cowering in the middle, begging Jade to shoot the wolves when he saw her, but Jade simply pointed the shotgun at him with a smile. “The jig is up, whoever you really are.”
Then she looked around for Conall, or the alpha wolf with the amber eyes, but neither was anywhere to be found.
***
Dougie scratched his head a little, “I’m not sure if Wilson is going to be mad that he missed all the excitement, or mad at you for going it alone.”
“All’s well that ends well, right?” Jade looked around. The old mine was a beehive of activity. Boomer was beginning to remove the explosive materials, and the forensic guys from Cheyenne pitched in to document everything. A special regional team had come in to safely dispose of the toxic materials, and a couple of BLM rangers were coordinating logistics. With most everyone in bright orange hazmat suits, the scene seemed more than a little surreal.
“So…the part about the wolves…are you putting that in your official report?” Dougie raised a questioning eyebrow.
“And what? Sound like I’m as big a nut job as Lassiter? No way. ‘Suspects were apprehended with the assistance of Mr. Winters and Mr. O’Faolán.’ End of story.” A twinge of sadness rolled through Jade, what had happened to Conall? Had she really seen what she thought she had seen? Or was it truly some kind of hallucination caused by noxious chemicals in a poorly ventilated space? That was the story she’d fed to Nicolette and Harlan, although they had questioned how it was possible for all of them to imagine the same thing. She’d left out the part about Conall turning into a wolf when she told Dougie the whole story.
Dougie put a brotherly arm around Jade’s shoulders, “Look, you have to be exhausted after being up all night. Go home and sleep for a few hours. I can manage things until Wilson gets here. You’re going to need your strength to deal with him.” He grinned, “He’s not going to know whether to kiss you or spank you.”
Jade smiled; having your surrogate father as a boss did complicate things, especially when the evening’s activities involved rescuing his daughter from a lunatic. “Yeah, okay.”
Boomer waved to her as she headed toward the Bronco. “Don’t forget to eat something,” he called cheerfully.
As Jade pulled up to her house, she noticed wisps of smoked coming from her chimney. How could that be? It had been five months since she had last laid a fire. Then, as she pushed the door open, a wonderful series of sensations hit her. The house was warm; soft Irish music was playing; and the aroma of some kind of wonderful stew filled the air. Then strong arms encircled her, and she felt the softness of lips brushing down her neck.
“I thought ye might be hungry.”
Jade hugged Conall’s arms tighter around her and leaned her weight back against him. There were so many questions swirling in her mind, but it seemed more important to simply appreciate the moment.
“Aye, that’s right,” Conall murmured in answer to her thoughts as he stripped her jacket off. “Are ye hungry?”
“Yes,” Jade murmured back, “But food will have to wait.”
“Hungry for other things, then?” He nibbled a little at the lobe of one of her ears. “I’m powerfully hungry me self.” He reached over and clicked off the stove, then picked up Jade in one quick swooping movement, cradling her head against his neck, his other arm under her knees. She began to nibble along his collarbone. Conall laughed, “Keep that up and I might very well drop ye.”
Making his way to Jade’s bedroom, he set her on the bed very gently. She lay there, looking at him, wondering how she could so easily give herself to this man. Standing before her, he pulled his shirt off over his head, exposing his powerful chest and slim waist, and a terrible scar that started in his side and crossed over to his flat belly. Then he began to unlace her boots, pulling first one, then the other off. Her socks followed suit, and after carefully unzipping her jeans, he peeled her out of both pants and panties in one fluid movement. Her shirt and bra quickly followed, and as she had envisioned so many times, she lay there naked and vulnerable, his eyes taking her in.
“You’re beautiful, Jade Lundgren, strong and smart.” Stretching out beside her, one of his strong arms cradled her gently, as his other hand explored the velvety softness between her legs. Her body tightened with the pleasure, his finger slowly circling. Carefully, without losing his rhythm, he shifted her to lie back between his legs as he leaned against her headboard. She could feel his cock hardening against her and his free hand traced across her breasts. The whispery motion was almost a tickle, juxtaposed against the firmness of his hand between her legs, now slipping inside her, testing her readiness. Her hands clutched at the muscles of his thighs on either side of her, and his fingers began to tease her nipples, pinching first one, then the other as they hardened with her excitement.
“I want you…in me, now!” Jade breathed with urgency, pulling away from his hands to pillow her head on her arms, her shapely backside thrust into the air. “There’s no need to worry, I have an IUD.”
Obligingly, Conall caressed her back, and then leaned down to kiss it as he reached around to tweak her nipples again. Jade’s breathing told him everything he needed to know, and he straightened up, sinking his shaft into her. His movement was slow and steady, and Jade felt like she was riding some kind of delicious wave, then as his pleasure built, his thrusts became deeper and quicker. Jade could feel her own pleasure racing to climax, as she pushed back to meet him, murmuring an insistent, “Yes! Yes!” and in the next instant, they both came.
Conall slumped on her back for a moment, gently stroking her hair, then rolled to the side, pulling her on top of them as they stared into each other eyes. Jade’s fingertips traced lines on Conall’s face and the thousand questions she had wanted to ask him all seemed irrelevant now as Conall cuddled her to him.
“Sleep, beauty, sleep,” Conall whispered into her ear. And she did.
***
Jade yawned as she rolled over, suddenly sensing the emptiness of the bed. The sheets were cool to the touch where Conall had been, and a kind of panicked feeling rolled through her.
Throwing on her robe, she called his name as she stumbled through the house, but every room was empty. Dejected, she sat down at her kitchen table, and found there, on a piece of paper, the short note he had written, “Beautiful Jade—I’m sorry. The wolves were calling.”
***
“Jade!”
Sheriff Wilson Page’s raspy baritone bounced off the faded red brick walls of the Broken Wheel Sheriff’s Department.
“I’m right here, Wilson.” Jade spun her desk chair in the direction of Wilson’s open door, knowing he had probably noticed she was spending a lot of time staring out the window. She should be pleased. Everything seemed to be returning to normal. Carson was out of the hospital and happy as a clam that Harlan was engaged and getting ready to settle down. Nicolette was now editor of the Broken Wheel Gazette, and busy planning a wedding with her mom, Peggie, in which Jade would be the maid of honor. Jim Lassiter an
d Jeffrey Loggans aka “Nate Vanderville” had been transferred to Federal custody while they awaited trial, and the W.O.L.F. group dissolved with the revelation of Vanderville’s true identity. Boomer dynamited the old mine to permanently close it off. And Biggie and Frank seemed—at least temporarily—off the hook and staying out of trouble. The one person unaccounted for was the one Jade most cared about: Conall O’Faolán. Just her luck, Jade thought. She has the most amazing experience of her life with the man of her dreams and then he just goes “poof!” What was it Conall had said, “luck of the Irish”? Perhaps, Jade thought, the saying should be “The luck with the Irish”, which seemed to be no luck at all.
“Mrs. Dean’s mailbox is down again,” Wilson sighed.
“Good lord, Wilson, I’m going home to get a posthole digger. Can I charge a bag of concrete mix to the department? It’ll be cheaper than sending one of us every time some sixteen-year old hooligan knocks it down. They only do it ’cause they know it gets a rise out of her.”
Wilson chuckled and extracted a $5 bill from his wallet. “Here, that ought to be enough for a sixty pound bag of quick cement at Earl’s Hardware. Take Tim, he’s bored. Just don't tell anybody that the Broken Wheel Sheriff’s Department is in the business of sinking mailbox posts or we’ll be overrun!”
A couple of stops later, Jade and Tim pulled up at Mrs. Dean’s house on County Road 19. Sure enough, her aluminum mailbox was on its side. The box itself was covered in dents that had been painstakingly hammered out. Tim picked up the box, inspecting it. “Mrs. Dean should just get a PO Box at the post office in town, don’t you think?”
“Too cheap to pay rent,” Jade smiled, “But I’m heck on a posthole digger! Wanna mix up the cement?”
The pair of deputies industriously set about repairing the mailbox. Jade felt relieved to have a project to distract her from her brooding. Tim was good company, despite being the youngest in their department at twenty-four, and Jade didn’t have to put much effort into the conversation. He was a huge movie buff, and chattered about some new releases.
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