by Terry Spear
“No,” Bella said.
Devlyn rubbed her hand. “Why is Henry so sure Volan wasn’t at the zoo earlier? What proof does he have?”
Chrissie swallowed hard. “The police arrested Volan early this morning.”
Bella sat upright, her heartbeat racing. Chrissie studied her. “He had airline tickets.” Devlyn took a steadying breath.
“The airline verified that Volan’s flight was delayed in Denver, so he couldn’t have made it to Portland in time to free Rosa, the red wolf, or to leave Bella there. He was still stuck in Denver when someone rescued Bella from the hospital. Henry wondered if perhaps Volan had an accomplice. He figures if Volan flew to Portland and then showed up at the dance club, he really had come after Bella.”
“Is Volan still in jail?” Bella asked, her voice hollow. Already her cheeks had grown as pale as the fresh fallen snow of the Great Rockies.
Chrissie shook her head. “Once he could prove he had nothing to do with the zoo or hospital incident, the police couldn’t hold him any longer.” She sat forward on the couch. “Listen, I’ve known you for a long time, and I’ve never seen you so scared. I know what you say about this Volan guy is true. Henry believes it, too. But nobody can help you if you don’t go to the police and make a statement about what he’s done to you.”
Devlyn grunted. What had happened to Bella had occurred way before Chrissie’s grandfather was even born. “Oh, and Henry knows Volan’s connected to the zoo somehow, because he’d tried to get Rosa transferred to the Denver zoo. That’s why Henry mentioned that maybe you knew of an accomplice Volan might have had working for him.”
Devlyn couldn’t think of what to say. Bella’s hand turned ice-cold, and he rubbed it, trying to warm it.
“No one gave Volan any indication where Bella lived, did they?” he fairly growled.
“Henry wouldn’t tell the police her address. He feared someone might leak it to the press, to Volan, or to his accomplice, because he must have one. Unless ...” Again she swallowed hard. “Unless, the two of you freed Rosa and ...” She shook her head. “But you wouldn’t have left Bella to freeze to death in the pen. So what really happened?”
Chapter Sixteen
BELLA GRIPPED DEVLYN’S HAND AS IF AN OCEAN current tugged her out to sea and she would drown if she let go. Her mother had always warned her to stay away from humans. They’d never accept the lupus garou’s ways. Now, so many years after her mother’s untimely death, those words haunted her.
Bella could never explain the truth to Chrissie. Yet she’d cherished her friendship with her ... until now. But protecting her mate and the lupus garous took priority.
Immediately, she wanted to return home, to the grays that had taken her in, to a life where she could run with the pack and share the bonds that made them alike as well as the differences that made them unique. She wearied of hiding who she was, wanting nothing more than to be Bella, lupus garou, free to run on the wild side on moon-filled nights and enjoy the gifts being human meant, too.
On the other hand, the notion that Volan was confirmed to be perfectly alive, searching for her, and that he would kill Devlyn filled her with dread. Hell, after she shot him, he probably wanted to kill her, too.
Chrissie wrung her hands while the silence stretched between them. Devlyn waited for Bella to answer Chrissie’s question as to what had really happened at the zoo that night when Rosa escaped and Bella was left to freeze to death in the pen.
Weaving a new story, like a black widow spider ties the silken strands together into a web full of holes and deceit ... how could she spin another lie like that?
“I don’t know what to say.” Sometimes the truth was better off said.
“Henry told me you’re hiding the truth. That you’re afraid of more than just Volan. I’ve been your friend for a long time and I want to help. So does Henry.” Chrissie looked at Devlyn and then faced Bella again. She rose from the couch. “But Henry and I can’t help if you’re not totally honest with us.”
Henry and Chrissie couldn’t help even if they were totally honest with them. Despite liking the two of them so much, Henry and Chrissie couldn’t refrain from being terrified if they knew of the real existence of lupus garou. No, Bella and her Rosa, one and the same, would have to remain a mystery to Henry, Chrissie, and any other curious human. Although Bella contemplated telling Chrissie that she feared the killer of redheaded women was after her, to give Henry and his police friends another reason why she was so concerned, she worried their interference could delay Bella and Devlyn’s locating the murderer and ending his terror.
Chrissie sighed. “All right, if you change your mind, I’ll be next door as usual. Um, do you think I could borrow some flowers from your greenhouse to make an arrangement? Henry really loved the way your house is filled with plants—like an extension of nature’s beauty. He’s genuinely into that sort of thing.”
“Take whatever you’d like. And thanks for all of your help, Chrissie. We’re just really tired, and neither of us can think straight,” Bella said.
“Yeah, all those late-night movies,” Chrissie said, winking.
Bella looked at Devlyn. He smiled back at her. “See ya.” Chrissie headed out the back door. Devlyn pulled Bella from the couch. “Now, we get some sleep. But now I’m worried things are getting too hot around here for us.”
“We have to catch the killer.” Bella had no intention of leaving the Portland area until they did. Yet Devlyn had made no mention of her going to California with his cousin again, and she wondered—although she wasn’t about to bring it up—why he had let the matter drop.
Devlyn walked with Bella to the hall and then made a detour to the front window. He peeked out and then turned and faced her.
Her heartbeat quickened when she saw the concerned look on his face. “Company?” she asked.
“Yeah. Seems we have some guard dogs on our tail.”
“The police?”
“Plainclothes stakeout. Maybe Henry’s worried that Volan’s accomplice will show up unexpectedly. Or Volan himself.”
She swallowed hard at the thought that Volan truly lived and could arrive any time on her front doorstep and that the final scene would play out between Devlyn and him ...
Devlyn crossed the floor to join her. Taking his hand, she enjoyed the strength, warmth, and size of it, knowing he’d always be there to protect her if he could. They walked toward the bedroom, their steps betraying the tiredness they both felt.
Bella yawned. “Henry must have assumed that the jeep pulled up in front of Chrissie’s house in the middle of the night meant trouble.”
“Yeah. He probably wishes he’d had someone watching us before this.”
They stripped out of their clothes, intent on getting sleep. Both considered the other’s body with interest. The knowing look they shared turned into grins.
Devlyn drew her into his arms. “Sleep. Then I’ll have something ready for you.” He rubbed his cheek against hers.
His touch triggered interest, yet she yawned again. Both chuckled. “Can’t wait to see what gifts you want to bestow on me.”
She wished, as they climbed into bed and snuggled together, that nothing else mattered. That the red who killed the women had already been caught and put out of his misery, and Volan, too. That they were again home with the pack and Devlyn now served as the leader. But none of those wishes would come true without a fight, and the fear that the one left standing might not be the right one sent a shiver down her spine.
Later that evening, Bella woke to find Devlyn gone. Lightning flashed across the darkened sky and distant thunder grumbled. A steady rain beat against the bedroom window at a slant, a perfect setting for snuggling longer under her down comforter. Listening for sounds of Devlyn in the shower, she touched her wet hair and remembered showering with him already. The memory of his large hands massaging her breasts, slippery with peach soap, heated her body. She tilted her nose up and smelled for any signs he was cooking dinner, althou
gh she vaguely remembered licking whipped cream and blueberries off his chest sometime earlier. Worried she might grow weak from lack of food, he’d enticed her to eat a bite. Heaven knows how her snack had ended up on his chest.
Domestic life with Devlyn was anything but domestic. The email butler announced a new message. The office. Slipping out of bed, she peered into the oval mirror hanging above her dresser. Her hair rested about her shoulders in a fiery-red, tangled mess. Well-loved ... that’s the way she appeared. The image sparked a secret little thrill. Her left cheek wore a faint redness ... the result of his nuzzling her with his scratchy stubble of a beard at some time or another in their bedtime romps.
A telltale hickey graced her right breast. She quirked a brow, trying to recall when he’d done that.
Without dressing, she wandered into her office. Devlyn sat at the desk, staring at her computer, intensely reading the messages.
Running her hand over his naked back, she felt his muscles instantly tighten. He turned and pulled her into his lap. “Bella honey.”
“Find anything?”
He slipped his fingers between her legs. “Hmm-hmm, nice and wet, too.”
She chuckled. “I mean about the reds, or the killer or something. You sure have a one-track mind.” She was damned thankful she’d deleted Volan’s message to her earlier.
“You distract me something fierce. But no. And I don’t think we will either until—”
“The moon appears.” She’d hoped everything would be resolved in the next few days before that happened.
But the way of the wolf would dictate the final draw. Everyone waited for the day to arrive, or the night, rather, when the moon began its sliver of an appearance. The waxing crescent that would grow until the moon swelled into a full sphere ... the phase that would send lupus garous running through the wild in their wolf pelts, anxious to feel the wind at their backs and the feral freedom their wolf forms presented them. The reds would make their final move.
Then ... Volan would seek Devlyn out to make his kill. She shivered and ran her hand over Devlyn’s. He stroked her nub, and she arched her back when he worked her hormones into a delicious frenzy.
Yet the notion still plagued her: three more days and their fate would be sealed.
The next afternoon, Bella heard kids’ laughter and looked out the front window. Like a lumbering grizzly, Thompson chased after Chrissie’s kids on the front lawn as her son, Jimmie, tossed a beach ball to her daughter. Mary missed the ball and Thompson feigned running for it. All squeals, Mary dashed after the rolling ball and grabbed it just before Thompson reached it.
Chrissie stood watching them, her face beaming. Bella took a deep breath, and Devlyn moved silently in behind her and then wrapped his arms around her. “What’s all the racket about?”
“Looks like Thompson’s as good with kids as he is with animals.”
Devlyn shook his head.
Bella turned and nipped Devlyn’s chin. “I’ve been thinking.”
“I can tell this is going to get us into some tight places.”
“Yeah, well, you know me.”
He ran his hand up her sweatshirt and cupped a breast, quickly moving to the nipple and sending a spine tingling jolt straight through her.
“Yeah, I know you. What’s brewing in that one-track mind of yours?”
She gave him a small smile and pressed her mouth against his in a lingering kiss. He responded, wrapping his arms around her in a tight squeeze, and she felt his arousal beckoning to her. He nudged her back toward the bedroom.
“I’ve been thinking,” she began again. “If the murdering red was so fond of the girl he killed, why would he have found others and killed them, too? Then Nicol’s reaction to seeing the necklace bothers me also. He really looked sick when he saw it.”
“And?”
“I want to search his place. Find out if there’s any sign of a girl murdered there. Maybe we’re dealing with two killers, not one. Or maybe he knew the girl intimately before the killer murdered her. Maybe she was at his place before she was killed. I just want to discover how connected he is to what’s happened.”
“You want the truth before I take Nicol down.” She took a deep breath and raked her fingers through Devlyn’s hair. “Yeah. I want to know that, if there was more than one killer wolf, we’ll find them both and get rid of the threat. What if we left the area after we eliminated one murderer, only to discover the killings continue?”
“Against my better judgment, I agree. Would you stay home on this one?”
She gave him a get-real look.
He shook his head and pulled her back to the bedroom. “Didn’t think so. Why did I even ask?”
“Because you always want the best for me. But what if you left me alone and someone came for me, despite your thinking that they’ll honor the agreement?”
“That’s the only reason why I’m allowing you to come with me.”
She hit him in the shoulder. “You are sooo controlling.”
“Yeah, and you love me for it.” He swept her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom.
Pleasure before business.
An hour later, Devlyn watched over Bella’s shoulder while she hacked her way into the police headquarters files.
“Do this often?” he asked, not believing how devious his little red wolf could be.
“When I need to.”
She printed out a page and pointed to the printer where five more pages rested in the tray. “Okay, we’ve got all three of the reds’ addresses, the time of the killings, and the locations where the police found the bodies. Can you think of anything else we might need?”
“We already have a police escort.”
She groaned. “They’ve been parked across the street for so long I almost forgot they were there.” But then she smiled, the look pure evil. “I’ve never attempted anything like this, but it’s worth a try.” She accessed the police station’s computers again and sent a message to the sergeant in charge of the surveillance teams watching her house.
Pull the surveillance watch on Bella Wilder’s house. We’ll reinstate it if we have further evidence that it’s needed.
She sent the message off and looked up at Devlyn, her brows raised.
“But will it work?”
“Maybe. For a while possibly. Won’t know for sometime, probably. Want to get something to eat before we go investigating the reds?”
“Why couldn’t you have gotten rid of the search warrants on us in the same way earlier?”
“Ha! This might not even work. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
In the meantime, Bella hastily made tuna fish sandwiches while Devlyn kept an eye on the SUV parked across the street.
The vehicle wasn’t moving.
Bella joined him at the window, plates of sandwiches in hand. “Didn’t work yet?”
“Nope.”
“We have another problem, too.”
He took his plate and nodded. “Thompson.”
“But, maybe, Chrissie and the kids will keep him preoccupied.” She motioned to the window. “They’ve all gone inside the house.”
“Let’s hope so.” Devlyn began working on his second sandwich when the police SUV’s engine started and the vehicle began rolling down the street away from Bella’s house.
“Let’s go,” he said, already halfway to the kitchen. Bella hastily ate her sandwich and raced after him.
“Wait! Got to get the papers with all the addresses on them.”
Devlyn shoved the empty plate onto the kitchen counter and hurried out to the car. He punched the garage door opener, jumped into the SUV, and started the engine. Bella dashed into the garage, her expression harried.
Wishing he could have sent her home to his cousin, he took a deep breath. The situation could get really hairy if they ran into any of the reds while they searched their homes.
Bella considered the Oregon map as Devlyn drove out of her residential area. “Head for Beaverton,
west of Portland. That’s where Ross lives. Nicol’s place is farther out, and Alfred’s ranch home is south of Portland.” She rifled through the papers and pulled out the one that listed their occupations. “According to a website that Nicol advertises on, he’s a professional game hunter and takes people on tours, but you found that out already when you spoke with him earlier.”
“Yeah, but not where he actually hunts.”
“Well, here’s the listing. He’s a fourth-generation big hunter game guide—”
Devlyn snorted. “As in he’s all four generations.”
“Bet you’re right. He charges fifteen hundred to thirty-five hundred dollars for hunts in northern Idaho for mountain lions, black bear, antlered deer, and elk.”
“Not too far away then.”
“Nope. But then he also schedules two trips a year to South Africa for antelope, buffalo, and kudu, for a price ranging from five thousand to ten thousand. And here’s his schedule. He’s on a hunt in Idaho for three days.” She looked over at Devlyn. “He’ll be home when the first of the moon appears.”
“In time for the fight.”
Suppressing a shiver, she ran her finger down the page to a listing for Alfred. “Okay, so Alfred owns a cattle ranch. Probably eats the cows on occasion when the moon’s out.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised. So what does Ross do for a living?”
“Owns a meat packing plant. Probably where Alfred sends his cows after fattening them up. He’s located in Woodburn, a few miles south of Portland.”
“Woodburn.”
“Yeah. According to the history of the place, men were burning the brush, clearing the area to lay railroad tracks when the fire got out of hand. They have a big tulip festival, and I’ve collected bulbs for my garden from there.”
He offered a sexy smile. “Never took much notice of flowers before, but I sure do like that greenhouse of yours. In fact, I wouldn’t mind working out with you there on a regular basis.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “My plants would all die from lack of care.”
He laughed. “So where does Alfred live?” She held up two fingers. “Two places. One’s in Portland, probably to keep closer ties to his pack in the surrounding area, and a place south of that—well, he had a place at Cottage Grove near the Row River where he initially had his cattle ranch. The river was named Row for the quarrel two men had over sheep and cattle-grazing rights. Knowing the way Alfred is and his great-grandfather’s legend, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he was the man who killed the other rancher. But he’s moved his ranch closer to Portland, near the Willamette River by Salem. That’s an hour south.”