by Spear, Terry
“Or a distant cousin,” Tanner warned, her head sitting squarely on his crotch, heating him up. “We don’t want Bella to rush home thinking we’ve found her twin sister when we haven’t.”
“You don’t want her rushing home so she can say no to you having the red,” Shawn said.
As if Bella would have any say in it, or would even be inclined to say no. The choice was strictly the she-wolf’s.
“We called Devlyn,” Heath said, “as soon as we saw the lady here. Either they have no reception or they’re doing their usual thing and they have their phones turned off.”
Shawn shook his head. “Knowing them, they’re at it again.”
The she-wolf finally roused enough to speak. “Where are you taking me?”
“To my clinic,” Heath said. “I’m the doctor for the Greystoke wolf pack. Are you related to Bella Wilder? You’re the spitting image of her, except your hair is a little lighter red, and your eyes are bluer. If you’re not her twin sister, I’d venture to say you’re a first cousin.”
She tried to sit up and groaned.
“Where are you hurt?” Tanner asked, half holding her up, half wanting her to lie back down.
“My ribs. I think I bruised them.”
“And your head? You passed out,” Heath said.
“I don’t remember.”
Tanner wanted her to rest, but she struggled to sit up. He helped her, and then was going to buckle her seat belt, but as soon as he tried to lock the shoulder strap over her chest, she cried out. “Hell, sorry,” he said, hating that he’d hurt her.
“Kill her before we get to the clinic, will you?” Shawn asked, sounding annoyed.
“I’m just bruised,” she said, as if defending Tanner.
“What’s your name?” Tanner held her hand to protect her if Shawn had to suddenly stop the car. Deer ran through the woods and sometimes they had to make sudden stops.
“Serena Wilder. You say my sister is alive?” Tears had filled her eyes and she looked as though she was fighting to hold them back.
“Hot damn!” Fisher said. “Bella’s going to be ecstatic to hear the news.”
“Yeah, our gray pack raised her. Devlyn rescued her when they were both pups, and she mated him when they grew up,” Tanner said.
Serena sobbed. “A gray wolf?” She sounded like she couldn’t believe her sister would do something so crazy.
Maybe getting to know the she-wolf would be harder than Tanner suspected. She hadn’t grown up with them. She didn’t know them. Had she even been raised by wolves after she left the area?
“Yeah, gray wolf. Why didn’t you return before this?” Tanner figured she probably believed everyone in her family had died, just like Bella had believed, and had never wanted to return and relive the horrific memories. He rubbed her shoulder gently, trying to calm her.
“I made it to the river and managed to survive while buried under wet branches of a dam. My dad had said beavers had built part of it. A rainstorm put the rest of the fire out, and when I couldn’t find any of my family, I finally made it to the dirt trail. A couple of days later, a human family passing through in a covered wagon picked me up. They took me back east and cared for me until I was old enough to be on my own.”
“So you felt nostalgic and came back to the old homestead,” Tanner said. “We’re eager to have you in the pack. Bella will be thrilled to learn you are alive and well.”
“I…” She frowned and wiped tears away. Heath handed her a tissue box from the console. “How come you’re living in our home?” she asked, still sniffling.
“Bella inherited the…” Shawn paused. “Uhm, well, she thought she was the only one who had survived. She gave the home to us.”
“She found the deed?” Her eyes widened, still filled with tears.
“Yes, in the basement. And the will, too.” Tanner realized then that Serena must have been shocked to learn gray wolves had taken over her home. “We can move out. It’s yours, Serena.” Tanner wasn’t going to get a consensus from his brothers on the issue. The house had belonged to both Bella and her sister. Serena had every right to live there now.
* * *
Trying to get her emotions under control, Serena couldn’t believe how nice the gray wolves were—at least Tanner. She wasn’t sure if his brothers would agree to give the house to her, making them all have to move. She was so shocked her sister had been alive all these years, and furious with herself that she had never come to learn that until now, missing all the time they could have been together.
One by one, the other gray wolf brothers agreed. “Hell yeah,” Fisher said. “It’s yours. We can stay with others in the pack until we build a place of our own.”
“Agreed,” the doctor said. “I’ve been meaning to build a place next to the clinic so I’ll be right there if we have any injuries or sickness I need to take care of.”
Shawn cleared his throat. “But if you need anyone to stay around and protect you—”
“I’m volunteering,” Tanner said.
She smiled through her tears. “Thanks. I have to admit I thought I’d have to get growly with all of you to chase you out of the house.”
They laughed, but Tanner suspected she wasn’t joking.
Shawn pulled into the parking lot of the clinic, built all of stone, the roof metal like her home’s. Tanner hurried out of the car to help lift Serena out, but Heath was right there for her. His light-amber eyes looked worried.
“It’s nothing major, Doctor,” she said, taking his hand, but holding her ribs lightly with the other and groaning when she got out of the car. “Where is Bella?”
“She and Devlyn went to a friend’s wedding. It’s in Oregon and out in the country. They might not have reception,” Tanner said. “We’ll keep trying to reach them.”
“I…need money.”
Tanner frowned, looking like he was afraid that meant she intended to leave again soon. “I’d be happy to give you however much money you need.”
“All of us would,” Fisher hastily said.
She couldn’t have appreciated them more for their offer. “Someone stole mine.”
Tanner was now dressed in jeans, hiking boots, and a black T-shirt that molded to his sculpted muscles—the perfect balance, not the overdone kind. She recalled in vivid detail all those muscles she had gotten an eyeful of when he’d been naked, before he carried her to the house. His package was just as noteworthy, though she’d never admit she’d been peeking. He reminded her of hot baked buns, his wolfish scent woodsy, wet, and wild. And totally appealing.
Heath helped her to the front door of the clinic, while Shawn hurried to unlock it and turn on the lights inside.
“Who stole your money?” Tanner was immediately a growly wolf, and she thought he would tear into the man who did this if he could.
Hmm, that gave her an idea. She had thought she’d be dealing with this all on her own. But what if she had a male wolf to back her? She could pretend he was her new roommate and he could be there to lend some male muscle. Even better was that he seemed so eager to please.
Heath helped her to an exam room, but the brothers all crowded in at the door.
“Do you mind?” Heath asked.
“Tanner can stay,” she said, wanting to talk further to him about Harold. If he was willing to pay for her trip and even come with her, she would go along with it.
Fisher and Shawn slapped him good-naturedly on the back. “Hell, he has her hoodwinked already,” Shawn said, and he and his brother walked off toward the waiting area.
Tanner folded his arms. “Okay, tell me what this is all about.”
Heath examined her ribs. “They feel okay, nothing broken. Let’s take some X-rays.”
He moved her into the X-ray room, set her on a table, and took the photos. While he developed them, Tanner came in and held he
r hand, his amber eyes concerned. “What’s going on? Why did you return here?”
“I needed money to go after my roommate who was sharing a rental house with me. He took all my savings. Over one hundred and sixty thousand dollars’ worth. He had grabbed my wallet that had my driver’s license and debit card in it when I went running. He must have used a girlfriend to take out the money and even took off in my car. I’d just lost my job due to layoffs at the library where I’d worked. Luckily, I had some cash stuffed in a sock for emergencies, and kept my passport in there too. I used some of the cash on taxi fare to get to the airport, and then finally found my car. Between gas, meals, and lodging on the way out here, I used most of the money I had left.” She sighed. “I didn’t know if the house would still be standing, or if the basement was still there. I thought my dad hid some cash in a strongbox in the basement.”
“You were headed to the car parked in the woods like you were planning to leave, but didn’t. Why?” Tanner asked.
She ground her teeth. “I dropped the damn keys somewhere in the woods.”
He smiled.
She growled.
He laughed. “We’ll find them. We’ll take care of you so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“I want to get my money back. I worked hard for all that money over the years.”
“I understand. Do you have a photo of him?”
“I do. I kept one so I could show it to people while I try to find him.” She pulled out her phone and located one. They’d taken a road trip a month after they began rooming together a few months ago and he was standing close to the edge of a cliff. She should have had him step back a little bit when she took that picture of him.
They’d met at a diner, realized they were both wolves, and began to talk. What a mistake that was.
“Okay, so square jaw, small black eyes, sandy-colored hair, cleft chin, and looks like a wily wolf.” Tanner gave her phone back to her. “We have cousins, Vaughn and his brother, Brock, who are Navy SEALs turned PIs. My brothers and I are Army Rangers, now working at our pack’s leather good factory. As PIs, our cousins can help us locate Harold, if we can’t.”
“Oh, I know where he is. He’s on Grand Cayman Island. I want to fly out there and get my money. Now. I don’t want him spending it all before I can catch up to him and make him give it back.”
Heath returned and showed her the X-rays. “Good news. No breaks. No hairline fractures even. It appears you have a couple of bruised ribs. With our faster healing abilities, you should be good in a couple of days.”
“Thanks, Doctor.”
“Heath. If you don’t mind.”
“Thanks, Heath.”
“What do you plan to do when you catch up to this guy?” Tanner asked.
She snorted. “I’d love to end his miserable life. But he just took all my money, didn’t injure me or anything. If I can get all he took from me, plus enough money to pay for the trip out there, then I’d be satisfied.”
“You’re sure he’s on Grand Cayman Island?”
“I am.” She reached down to pull out the confirmation paper from her jeans pocket, but her ribs hurt every time she moved.
“Here. Let me.” Tanner helped her down off the table.
He reached in her pocket—she tried not to squirm at the way his heated touch was doing amazing things to her body—and pulled out the folded piece of paper showing the resort Harold was staying at and the flight he was taking. “Looks like we don’t need to use Vaughn and Brock’s services. If you want, when we return to the house, we can book a flight out first thing.”
Things were definitely looking up! She couldn’t wait to see Bella, but she didn’t want to ruin her sister’s chance to celebrate her friend’s wedding. In the meantime, Serena had to get her money back before this scumbag ex-roommate spent all of it.
More than that, she wondered just what it would be like to kiss the hot wolf who was signing on for this mission. An Army Ranger? Beat that Harold, the telephone line repairman.
Chapter 3
Tanner was ready to rip Serena’s ex-roommate to shreds for stealing her money, though he was thankful Harold’s actions had caused her to leave wherever she’d been living and return home. “Do you want to show Harold’s picture to my brothers and cousins?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” She handed her phone to Tanner and he leaned forward and handed it to Heath. “Everyone can stay at the house until we resolve this money situation with my ex-roommate,” she told the brothers as they drove her home.
“Are you sure you don’t need more muscle?” Fisher asked. “Four of us should be able to convince the bastard what a mistake he’d made.”
“Who would be left to run the factory?” Shawn asked. “Tanner’s in charge there.”
“I’ll leave you in charge,” Tanner said.
The brothers smiled. Never in a millennium would he think to give up his position as the manager of the facility to one of his brothers for anything other than being near death.
“I’ve got to stay in case we have any medical emergencies,” Heath said, handing the phone back to Tanner.
He passed it back to Fisher.
Fisher gave an exaggerated sigh. “The plant needs me. Unless Devlyn declared a holiday for the staff and we could shut down for a few days.”
“We have too many outstanding orders to do that,” Tanner warned.
“Okay, so you’re it. But if you need any help, we’ll be out there in a heartbeat,” Fisher said.
“Deal.” Tanner got the phone back from Fisher. “Do you mind if I share the photo in a text to some members of the pack?”
“Sure. And thanks,” Serena said, and for the first time, she seemed to relax.
“Are you sure you don’t mind us staying at the house longer?” Fisher asked.
“We’ll be gone and when we get back, we’ll see what happens then.”
“You can’t mean to leave the pack after you return,” Shawn said. “Bella would be devastated.”
“I don’t want to leave my sister. We need to catch up on everything that’s happened over the years. Has she had any kids yet?”
Heath said, “I wasn’t sure if she wanted to be the one to give you the news first. But since you asked, she’s due to have triplets in a few months.”
“Ohmigod, that’s wonderful. Well, that decides it. I’m not leaving.”
Everyone whooped and hollered, and she laughed.
The whole pack would be damned glad she was sticking around. They’d all make her feel welcome.
“Are you sure you’re all right with us staying at the house tonight?” Shawn asked.
“I’d like the company.”
“And you need to be watched in case you’re in further pain or have any complications from your fall,” Heath said.
Tanner and his brothers agreed.
As soon as they arrived back at the house, all the brothers coddled her—setting her up on one of the brown velvet couches with pillows and blankets and providing a steak dinner for two that Tanner prepared himself, since they’d both missed out on the beer and pizza. She seemed to appreciate that he’d fixed it for her, though she’d said she didn’t want him to go to all the trouble.
He wanted to. What better way to prove he could be the right wolf for her? “Tell us all about this ex-roommate. Is he a wolf?”
“He is. And so is the woman he took off with. I smelled her scent in the house when I returned from the library, my last day after they gave me my layoff notice. I suspect he waited until the last minute to leave because he was always that way. He knew he didn’t have any time left. Once I was home, I could have caught him at whatever he was up to. I’d asked him if he wanted to go for a run, but he hadn’t. When I returned, I saw he’d taken my car without my permission. And I smelled the unfamiliar she-wolf who had been in the house. I t
ried calling him, then texting him, but he didn’t answer. I assumed he took my car because his truck was in the shop and I was without a job. But I felt something was off. He would have told me he needed to borrow the car and asked me for permission to use it. That’s when I checked the closet and realized he’d taken his clothes and a couple of suitcases. I started checking his email and learned where he’d gone. Grand Cayman Island. The bastard.”
“And the woman?”
She hmpfed. “A gray wolf like him.”
The brothers exchanged looks.
She sighed. “Okay, yeah, after the experience I had with him, gray wolves were on my blacklist. But you all have been great and I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me already.”
Tanner showed her his phone. “The earliest flight out for us here tomorrow is at 8:30 a.m., arriving there at 3:27 p.m. It’ll take us an hour and a half to get to the airport from here.”
“Okay, I’m game.”
“Do you want us to drive you?” Fisher asked.
“No. That’s a three-hour round trip for you. We’ll just leave the car in long-term parking in case it takes a while,” Tanner said.
His brothers smiled at him, sure that he wanted her all to himself. Which he did.
* * *
Early the next morning, Shawn handed Serena her car keys while she and Tanner had breakfast before they left for the airport. “We all looked for the keys last night so we could move the car and carry your bags into the house,” Shawn said.
“Oh, thanks so much for all your help.”
“How are you feeling?” Heath asked.
“Much, much better, thanks.”
“We’ll have to look the part when we get there. Do you have anything that you can wear there?” Tanner asked.
“Sure. I had to vacate my rental house. I brought everything I owned.”
“You can leave what you don’t need here and just pack up what you need for a summer vacation. Do you have a bathing suit?”
She smiled at him.
“If you don’t have one, I’ll have to buy you one.”