by Spear, Terry
“I have a bathing suit, though this is not a vacation,” she reminded him. “What about you?” Swimming in the surf total appealed, if they could swing it.
“Absolutely. Sunscreen. Flip flops. Board shorts. Sunglasses. We’ll need to look the part of tourists. ACP—an automatic Colt pistol, just for backup. I’ll get in close to where they’re staying to do surveillance. We’ll rent a car. You can wait for me at the bungalow since Harold knows you. I can scope out the situation and then we can make plans.”
“All right. Sounds like that will work.” As soon as she finished eating breakfast, she hurried to repack her suitcases, so she had her laptop and camera in a carry-on, and her clothes and other essentials in a midsize bag.
Tanner had already packed and the guys were waiting for her to finish, then Shawn carried out her bags to Shawn’s SUV.
The three brothers gave Serena hugs and wished her luck, slapped Tanner on the back, and then she and Tanner headed out. “I wish we could have reached my sister before we left,” she said.
“I agree. She’ll be glad to hear from you as soon as she’s able.”
Serena was feeling much better, both physically and mentally, about everything. Their faster healing abilities really were a godsend. And with the support of a pack, she felt she could manage anything. Even letting this go, if she had to. Family and friends were more important than anything, but she still had to give this her best shot or she’d forever regret that she’d let Harold get away with it.
She was certain Tanner could convince Harold to give up her money if she couldn’t access his accounts covertly. And she felt good about getting to know the brothers better, even though she hadn’t met the rest of the pack yet. Would she have trouble with any of them? No sense in borrowing trouble.
With her sister having triplets, she was excited about being part of that. Wolves naturally helped take care of other wolves’ pups, and she was thrilled to be there for her sister. She couldn’t wait to see her.
“I made reservations at a resort down the beach from Harold. Their place was full, but I thought it was better for us to have a little distance between us anyway; this way we can do some surveillance before we confront them.”
“Sounds good. You won’t be in trouble for taking off like this when your pack leader left you in charge at the leather goods factory, will you?”
“I don’t believe Devlyn will fault me too much. Your sister is a different story. I can just imagine her being irritated with me for taking you with me in the event this guy fights back. What kind of a wolf is he? Alpha? Beta? Omega? A lone wolf?”
“He’s a lone wolf, no pack. He’s alpha, except when he did his cowardly, beta act of stealing my money and slipping away like a thief in the night.”
“What about the woman?”
“I never met her. I have no idea where he picked her up. It makes me wonder if he’d planned this all along.”
“Wolves don’t have sexual relations unless they agree to mate because we make a lifetime commitment to one another. Had he led you to believe that he wanted that with you?”
“No. Neither of us had. For the time being, we just needed each other to share the cost of a furnished rental house. I couldn’t afford a place of my own in Omaha, not on a library clerk’s hourly wage. Renting an apartment would have cost more than splitting the cost of a rental house. I couldn’t live in an apartment anyway. You know how it is with our enhanced hearing. Since he was a wolf, he was more compatible as a roommate than a human. I couldn’t find any female wolves to room with. And Harold and I became friends. With us, there was more of a friendly vibe rather than anything physical.” She shrugged. “I hadn’t been around wolves for eons, and when I met him, it was the first time since the fire. I didn’t know what it was like to feel anything like…” She hesitated.
“Carnal pleasure between wolves?”
She smiled at him. “Yeah.”
“How long were you together?”
“Three months. Which makes me wonder if he planned this or if it was something that just happened. He met another she-wolf, decided to mate with her, and help himself to my savings before they left? Or maybe she’s a relation.”
“So, the plane reservations were for two.”
“They were. The woman’s name is Velvet Jamison. Different last names, but that could be for any number of reasons.”
“Velvet?”
“That was the name on the reservation. One male, one female.”
* * *
After arriving at the airport, Serena and Tanner checked their bags and hauled their carry-ons onto the plane. She and Tanner had both taken laptops. Thankfully, Harold hadn’t stolen that.
They finally settled in their seats on the plane, but they’d have two stops and would have to change planes both times before reaching their destination.
“What if he says he didn’t take any of my money?” she asked Tanner.
“Why would you travel all the way to Colorado to look for a buried treasure in your parents’ basement if you hadn’t been robbed of all your savings?”
“I can show the account was closed, but he could just say I did that. I don’t have any hard evidence it was him.”
“Bastard.”
Serena glanced out the window. “Makes me feel like doing what I initially wanted to do.”
“Take ’em out permanently.”
She squeezed his hand. “I know I shouldn’t feel that way, but—”
“Not only did he take all your money, he hooked up with another she-wolf to pull it off.”
“Right.” She let out her breath on a heavy sigh. “I was angry. Then you and your brothers treated me so nicely, and it helped me to feel a little better.”
“To know you weren’t the only wolf left in the world with no one to watch your back?”
“I admit, I was feeling that way. You think you know somebody, and then you learn just how much that isn’t so.”
“Well, one thing about the pack, if anyone did that to another pack member, there would be hell to pay.”
“I never thought there’d be a pack in the area where we’d lived. Not a shifter pack. And that gray wolves would be living in my home, or that my own sister would be alive and mated to the pack leader. It’s all still a shock.”
“All good, right?” He leaned over and pulled her against his shoulder so she could rest.
She smiled, then frowned. “Until we get to the island.” Yet, this was nice, she thought. Resting her head on the hot wolf’s shoulder, she breathed in his spicy, male wolf scent, listening to his steady heartbeat, feeling his warm touch. Really nice.
Chapter 4
From the flight schedule Serena had found for Harold and Velvet in the email, they had only arrived the night before, and their return flight was scheduled ten days from then, but they were traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, instead of returning to Omaha. Tanner was surprised Harold hadn’t changed his identity, probably figuring Serena wouldn’t catch him because she wouldn’t have any money to do anything about it. He couldn’t go to jail as a wolf, because it was too dangerous for their kind if he needed to shift during the phase of the full moon. Not to mention that taking on two gray wolves when she was a smaller red wouldn’t have been a good idea.
Harold would never suspect an Army Ranger wolf shifter would be hot on his tail.
Tanner and Serena had lunch between flights. When they arrived at the island, they picked up their luggage, got their rental car, and, before they went to their lodging, Serena directed him to go to a bank. There, she opened an account. If Harold could do it, Tanner figured, she could do it too. Then they headed for their lodging. In retrospect, he probably should have asked her if she wanted a separate place. He’d reserved a two-bedroom bungalow on the beach so that they’d be together, share meals, and he could watch over her. Not only was it somethin
g he’d do for any she-wolf who was part of the pack, but he also wanted to get to know her better. Plus, Harold might just want to try and scare her off, or worse.
He might have been sneaky about running off with her money, but no telling what might happen if she began stalking him to get it back.
When they walked into the bungalow, she took a deep breath and looked around. There was a cute little kitchen with sunshiny decor, and stairs leading to the bedrooms and one bathroom.
She set her bags down on the tile floor.
Tanner set his bags by the stairs.
“What if Harold had done this before to women he’s hooked up with?” Serena asked.
“I was thinking the same thing. There’s a good bet that he has.”
“And that he’ll do it again. Easy money.”
“I agree.”
She walked over to the living room window that looked out on the beach. “That makes me want to wring his neck again.”
“Wait until we get your money back from him first. It would be different if he had some charitable reason why he took the money. Coming to the island to have fun with some new she-wolf? I don’t think so. I need to run out and pick up some groceries and some dinner for us. Unless you want to have something delivered?”
“Go ahead and order something for us, then you can get some groceries and the takeout. Anything’s fine with me.”
He pulled out his phone and searched for a restaurant close by that served takeout. “Chinese?” He joined her and showed her the menu.
“Sure. The spicy broccoli and beef for me.”
“All right. I’d take you with me, but…”
“We might run into them. I feel like I’m on house arrest.”
“Because of me?” He didn’t want her to feel as though he was calling all the shots. He just wanted to make sure they didn’t tip off Harold unless she had to.
“No. Because of them. I suspect she knows what I look like if she had to disguise herself as me when she went to the bank. Though it was a big bank, and I didn’t know anyone personally. I didn’t go in very much, just used the drive-through or made automatic deposits.”
“Why don’t we take a run tonight when it gets nice and dark?”
“As wolves?”
“Yeah. What do you think?”
“I’d like that. I’m glad you’re with me. I was so mad, I was ready to tear into the two of them all by myself. I wasn’t concerned about my own well-being. I didn’t figure I had anything to lose at that point.”
“I don’t blame you. And I’m glad to help you in any way that I can. All right. I’ll call in the order and pick it up when it’s ready.”
“I hope trying to get the money doesn’t take more than a couple of days.”
He hoped it did. Then he’d be able to spend more time alone with her on a tropical island without his brothers or anyone else’s interference. He carried her bags up the stairs, then he called in the order to the Chinese restaurant. Afterward, he carried his bags up and put them in his room.
He heard her setting the table for dinner. “View of the beach up there?”
“Yep. Both bedrooms. Food’s ordered.” He headed back down the stairs. “What are you going to do?”
She opened her laptop on the kitchen table and turned it on. “I’m looking for the layout of their cabana. I’m checking his email also. Okay, he received a confirmation for dinner for two at a Chinese restaurant for tonight—like now.”
“Not the same one we’re getting takeout from though, correct?”
“It’s the same one. It’s the closest one to both our places. If they see you, they won’t know you anyway.”
“But if they smell me, they might be able to smell you on me.”
“Oh. Sorry. No more hugs for you.”
“Hell, I’ll kill the SOB for all he’s done to you myself. I’ll have them deliver the food here and I’ll run to the grocery store while they’re at the restaurant.”
“Thanks for doing this and for everything you’ve already done for me.”
He thought she was going to give him a hug for stepping in to be her hero. He must have looked hopeful, or eager, or something.
She smiled broadly, closed the distance between them, and gave him a warm hug. Warmer than she’d given his brothers when they’d said goodbye. And that told him she just might be interested in something more between them. He meant to give her a simple, sweet kiss; as much as he was craving something wilder, more passionate, wolfish even.
She began to kiss him back, as if searching for the truth. Was she just as passionate a wolf as he hoped she would be? Hell yeah.
He gave into the moment, holding her tight, kissing her soft lips, enjoying the heat of her body, the softness of her curves, and the sweet scent of the human and she-wolf combined. Her kisses became more insistent, needier, more passionate.
When they broke free of the kiss, they were breathing harder and their heartbeats were drumming. Her eyes darkened and she appeared dazed. Her arms were still wrapped around his back, and he was holding her close, the two of them gazing into each other’s eyes. He knew by the way their pheromones were singing to each other that she had been affected by the intimacy just as much as he had. Not to mention he was fully aroused.
There was something between them, a connection between wolves they could build on.
“I’d tell you I shouldn’t have done that with you because I don’t really know you, but…I have to admit I’ve never felt that way with anyone I’ve ever kissed,” Serena said.
“The heat? The desire?” He smiled. “Ditto for me.”
Then she sighed and released him. “I’m going to unpack and change into something a little cooler.”
“Save a swim date. We can go swimming and running after that long flight. I’ll get the groceries and be right back.”
“I would love to go swimming and unwind a bit before we take care of business.” She gave him a short list of what she’d like to eat—oatmeal for breakfast, dark-brown sugar, tea, and sandwich fixings.
When Tanner left, Serena unpacked her bags, and then changed into shorts, sandals, and a halter top. Returning to the kitchen, she opened up her laptop to try to learn anything more about Harold from his emails.
She still couldn’t believe the way she’d felt when she had kissed Tanner. She’d had a few flings with humans over the years, which were fine as long as she wasn’t mated to a wolf. But the craving to make a human hers? Or to take this all the way with a wolf like Harold?
Never.
Back in Omaha, she’d observed a male blue jay courting a female in spring, fluffing out his chest, his wings spread, trying to impress her. The female had been watching him, interested. Appreciative of all his hard work. In Tanner’s case, he’d stayed near her when he was a wolf, had tried to warn her of danger, and had taken care of her after she’d hurt herself.
He didn’t have wings to spread, but he was definitely in courtship mode, showing how protective he could be, and helping in any way to take case of this business too.
Drawn to him, she tried to tell herself she only kissed him to see if all wolves were the same as humans. Nothing to write home about. She had quickly learned that wasn’t the case with Tanner. If she’d had someone to write home to, she would have told her she had found one hot wolf.
She checked more of Harold’s emails. She kept thinking he’d remember she had used it once, and he would have changed his password. Maybe he didn’t think she was that bright. He would never suspect she was just down the road from him, a beach’s run from his cabana.
Then she saw another couple of email confirmations.
Harold and Velvet had paid for a stingray snorkeling excursion tomorrow afternoon and were going on a sunset catamaran cruise tomorrow night. They would be gone for five hours for the snorkeling trip. The catamara
n cruise would take about three hours. She and Tanner should be able to… Shoot. She was thinking they could sneak into their place, find his laptop to see if she could hack into it and learn about his bank accounts, but Harold would smell their scent. Even if only Tanner went, Harold would wonder why a male wolf had been there.
The food arrived and she tipped the delivery man, then carried the food into the kitchen to serve it. She received a text from Tanner: Did the food arrive?
She texted back: It did.
She told him about Harold and his girlfriend going out on the two trips.
Tanner texted back: Why don’t we eat out for lunch and dinner tomorrow since they’ll be gone for so many hours?
She texted back: We could.
She really didn’t plan to stay on the island long. They could have a quick lunch, then break into the cabana. Or Tanner could. He could find the laptop and bring it out to the rental car where she could learn what she could on it. They’d still have the problem with leaving Tanner’s scent behind. She suspected they might have to just threaten Harold to force him to give up her money.
Tanner texted: I’ll be right there. The grocery store is nearby.
She replied: See you.
She fixed them glasses of ice water, then looked out at the beach. She was a take-charge person, and sitting here doing nothing was driving her nuts. While Harold and Velvet were at the Chinese restaurant, she wanted to check them out and learn what the woman looked like. Was she similar in coloring and build, or just the opposite? Serena wanted to see how the two of them reacted to each other—intimate or just getting to know each other? Hotly craving each other?
She should have been angry that he’d used another she-wolf to help steal from her, but his actions had forced her into new circumstances—learning about her sister and finding a whole pack of eligible male wolves to choose from—which thrilled her. Harold had done her a favor.
Even though the Greystoke brothers said they’d take care of her and she didn’t have to worry about money, she couldn’t allow Harold and the she-wolf to get away with stealing her savings. Only an omega or beta wolf would let another wolf abuse her trust and do nothing about it.