by Spear, Terry
She heard Tanner park the rental car out front, and she hurried to help him with the groceries. He only had a couple sacks of groceries and took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her, bags still in hand, and kiss her as if she’d come outside to welcome him back home after he’d been away for eons.
She laughed and kissed him back, and did something so uncharacteristic for her when it came to a man—but he was all wolf. She rubbed her body against him in a way that said she was interested in being more than just one of his pack mates. That got him smiling in a hot, sexy way. After the official greeting, they entered the bungalow and shut and locked the door.
“Okay, I didn’t want to text about all this stuff, but I was thinking we could search his place for any clues about where he might be keeping my money and how to access it. But then he’d smell that we’d been in his place.”
“I have hunter’s spray I brought with me.”
Her jaw dropped, then she frowned at him as he put the groceries away. “Do you often use it to conceal your scent?”
“Only when necessary.”
“Okay, then good. They’re going to be gone for about eight hours on excursions tomorrow, so I figure we’ll be able to slip into his place one of those times.” She began to serve the Chinese food.
“I’ve got lock picks we can use. Standard lupus garou issue.”
“What if we run into them when we’re running or swimming?”
“I’ll tear into him and make him wish he hadn’t taken your money and your car.”
That made her worry. She didn’t want Tanner injured. And for what? Money? His life was too important. But she didn’t want to emasculate Tanner by mentioning it, reminding herself that he was an Army Ranger. She’d jump in and fight the bastard though, if Harold got a lucky strike and Tanner needed her help.
After eating and washing up, they stripped out of their clothes, opened the door to the patio on the beach, and shifted, intending to enjoy the beach and ocean that night, the sun already having set. The dark was perfect for their night vision, but humans wouldn’t be able to make them out.
They ran as wolves, then shifted and ran into the water as humans. She never imagined skinny dipping as a human with a wolf. She and Tanner swam, the full moon shining on the waves. She’d never been in the Caribbean or even to a beach before—lakes, ponds, rivers, yes—but this was beyond beautiful, and she loved it here. Too bad she wasn’t on a vacation with the handsome wolf, not worrying about getting her money back from a crook.
Tanner took hold of her arm, pulled her close, and kissed her. Now this she’d never tried before—kissing a naked man in the ocean, the warm swell of water lapping at their waists, the sultry breeze ruffling their hair, the silky sand under their feet. It made her nearly forget her purpose here.
He nuzzled her cheek. “Are you ready to run past the cabana and check it out?”
“Yeah, let’s go. I wish we could check out their place early, but they might—”
They saw movement on the beach, two gray wolves racing down the white sandy beach, and Tanner quickly turned Serena away from their view. Since he was half a foot taller than her at six feet tall, he sufficiently blocked their view of her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her then, as if that was part of the charade. Though she had to admit Harold would never suspect she would be here with one hot wolf.
She kissed him back, her arms wrapping around his waist, her wet body pressed against his, and felt his cock stirring to life. For the moment, she didn’t give a damn about Harold and the she-wolf.
But then Tanner pulled his hot lips away from hers and said, “Can you access his computer if he has it at their cabana?”
“I can.”
“The Grand Cayman account would be new, wouldn’t it?”
“He might have had it for a while. He uses the same three passwords for everything. He had them written down on a slip of paper in a drawer. I came across it one day while looking for a pen in his desk drawer.”
“What if he’s changed the passwords?”
“I can try to hack into the account.”
“You’re a hacker?” Tanner looked amused.
“Just a hobby. It came in handy when my coworkers at the library forgot their passwords on their computers. It was hush-hush, and we never breathed a word of it to management. If that doesn’t work, we’ll go to plan B: force him to tell us to give up the money.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “We’ll have time to search for his laptop when they go on the snorkeling trip. They’re gone now and way down the beach. We should return to the bungalow. I don’t want to run into them as wolves on the beach.”
“Agreed. Let’s go.” She glanced down the beach and didn’t see any sign of them. “Should we make a run for it as naked humans or furry wolves?”
“Wolves. We’ll reach the bungalow faster. If we can’t see them, they can’t see us from this distance either.”
They moved through the waves to get closer to shore, then shifted and ran for the bungalow’s porch. Tanner shifted again, opened the door, and then Serena shifted and walked inside with him. He shut and locked the door.
“Now what?” he asked.
Her phone rang then, and she wondered who would be calling her. “Gotta get that.” She grabbed her phone and saw that it was Bella; she was glad Tanner had added her name and number into her list of contacts for her. “It’s my sister.” She felt overjoyed at once. Not wanting to try and dress while talking to her sister on the phone, she climbed the stairs to the bedroom. “Omigod, Bella!” Tears filled Serena’s eyes. “I can’t believe you’re alive! Or mated to a gray wolf.” She slipped under the covers. “Or that you’re having triplets!”
“I can’t believe you’re alive either, and now you’re risking your neck, trying to get your money back from your ex-roommate?” Bella sounded annoyed with her, but she was sniffling too.
“In my place, you would have done the same thing.” Serena knew her sister would have. She was too stubborn not to.
“I don’t want you to risk your life over the money. We have plenty in the pack, and you don’t have any concerns in that respect.”
“At first, I felt I didn’t have a choice. But it didn’t change my feelings about him stealing my savings. It’s mine. I worked hard for it. And I don’t want him to feel he got away with what he did.”
“Okay, I understand. I’m glad Tanner’s with you. Devlyn is ready to send more than half the pack there to take the wolf down.”
“We’re fine. For now. If we have trouble, we’ll be sure to call you.” Serena heard Tanner talking on his phone downstairs and wondered if he was still naked like she was.
“I can’t believe I’m really talking to you. Everyone’s been trying to reach us. We finally arrived at a location where we had cell phone reception. You don’t know how thrilled I am.” Bella began to cry.
So did Serena. “I can’t wait to see you, Sis. We’ll”—Serena sniffled—“be home soon. I can’t wait to hear all about your life.”
“Same here. Don’t do anything that will get you killed over there. I will never forgive you.”
Serena smiled. “We’ll be there soon. And I promise I’ll be careful.” But she’d also promised herself she was getting her money back, and she always kept her promises.
Still, they talked for two hours straight, and when they finally hung up, Serena felt as though they had barely been apart all those years. She wanted to know more, but it was time to call it a night. Though she was certain Tanner understood her need to reconnect with her sister, she didn’t want him to feel neglected either. Not when he was willing to help her like this.
She threw on some shorts and a T-shirt and headed downstairs. He was dressed in shorts, watching out the window. “See anything?” she asked.
“I saw them return as wolves headed in the direction
of their cabana. Did you have a nice talk with your sister?”
“I did. But we need to talk about so much more.”
“I’m not surprised. Devlyn called me.”
She’d wondered who Tanner had been speaking with. “Checking to see if we’re all right?”
“Giving me hell.”
Her lips parted. She was surprised Devlyn was angry with his cousin. “Because you didn’t ask his permission first?”
Tanner closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. “Because I brought you here, risking your life without a solid plan and no backup.”
“We’re going to get the money by accessing his account.”
“He wants us to wait. He’s sending two of my brothers and our cousins Vaughn and Brock.”
She didn’t want to delay what she and Tanner intended to do while Harold and his girlfriend were on the stingray feeding excursion, especially when Serena only knew about that trip and the night cruise for certain. This was their best opportunity to grab the money surreptitiously.
She let out her breath. “When are they arriving?”
“Two days from now. The flight in was booked. They’re going to try flying standby in the meantime.”
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. We have Harold’s itinerary for most of tomorrow. Beyond that, we have no idea when they’re going to leave the cabana, or when they’re going to return. To do this as covertly as possible, this is the best shot we have. If we get the money, the guys don’t have to fly out here, unless they want to. And we can return to Colorado.”
He smiled down at her. “You and Bella will really keep Devlyn on his toes.”
She smiled up at Tanner. “Are you going to call him and tell him the plan?”
“Nope. If we’re successful tomorrow, we’ll tell him then. If we’re not, we’ll go with a new plan B. Wolf pack muscle.”
“Okay, it’s a deal. Thanks, Tanner. I hope you won’t get into too much trouble.”
“I’ll just tell him you made me do it.”
She laughed. “I doubt he’ll believe that.”
“He will. He’ll know I’m trying to persuade a wolf to court me, and I’ll do whatever it takes, within reason. As long as your life isn’t on the line.”
Chapter 5
The next morning, Tanner and Serena prepared breakfast at the bungalow. Tanner made the works—omelets, bacon, hash browns, toast, and coffee. She had her oatmeal. But all he could think of as he prepared breakfast was that he hoped Harold and the she-wolf wouldn’t cancel their plans so he and Serena had time to do what they needed to do.
“You said his laptop was in the shop.” Tanner took his seat at the kitchen table with Serena to eat.
“It was. He picked it up two days before he left.”
Tanner had a nightmare last night that he and Serena would arrive at the cabana and the wolves would be there. If it did happen, it just meant they’d have to force the truth out of them.
Movement outside the kitchen window caught his eye, and he noticed the palm tree fronds were flapping wildly in the wind and the waves were covered in white caps, larger than they were last night. He checked the weather app on his phone. “Hell.” A tropical storm was approaching the islands.
“What’s wrong?” Serena asked.
“Storm’s coming in with gale-force winds of up to sixty miles per hour. It might veer off, but it might not.”
“Oh great.” She checked Harold’s emails. “Damn it. The tour group has cancelled the excursions for both this afternoon and their catamaran dinner cruise. It’s understandable, just not something I wanted to hear.”
“Have they rescheduled for a later date?”
“No. They’ll have to wait out the storm. If the docks are torn up, it might be canceled for the duration of their stay here.” Serena sounded disappointed.
Tanner hoped they didn’t have more trouble than that. “Says here, no flights in or out of the islands until further notice. So the guys will be delayed coming here to back us up also.”
“What will we do?” She looked so disappointed that she couldn’t just take care of this and be done with it. He reached across the table and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“We’ll get it done.” Though Tanner couldn’t be sure how. If the storm destroyed their lodging, and Harold’s laptop with it, then what? Not to mention a real risk to themselves if the storm was bad enough. “The tropical storm has developed about thirty miles offshore. We’ve got some food, but I need to return to the grocery store and pick up some more items just in case we lose electricity.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“What if Harold and the she-wolf have the same idea?” Tanner really didn’t want Harold to see Serena. Harold couldn’t leave the island right away, but he might leave as soon as he could if he saw Serena was here, before she could get her hands on the money.
“All right. Get plenty of water, some spare gallons for cooking and washing up, and canned goods.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll clean up our breakfast dishes. You go before everyone cleans out the grocery store.”
“All right.” He carried his dishes and coffee mug into the kitchen, then pulled her in for a warm hug and kissed her, already feeling possessive and needing her to know he was there for her.
She kissed him back in a way that said she appreciated it, their mouths open to each other, their tongues sliding against each other’s. He groaned when she pulled away. “More later,” she assured him.
“Then I’d better hurry.”
It took him only ten minutes to get to the grocery store, and Serena was right; the place was packed. People, mostly locals, were stocking up. He smelled the panic, everyone in a rush to grab what they could.
Wheeling a cart in front of him, he picked up a couple of camp lanterns, flashlights, candles, several packs of bottled spring water, several extra gallons of water, canned goods, other nonperishable food items, a radio, and a propane stove. Tanner smelled a male wolf had just been down the aisle where he was picking up some chips, and he didn’t believe there would be a lot of wolves vacationing on the island. He rolled his cart around the corner and saw a man and a woman clinging to him. Covertly, Tanner snapped a quick photo of them to show to Serena, wanting to know if she had ever seen the woman before, and he sent it to his brothers and cousins.
The guy had sandy, dishwater-colored hair; the woman, mousy brown hair. She pulled free from him and began wringing her hands, looking worried. He was laid back, smirking, his hand rubbing her back underneath her shirt. From the picture Serena had shown Tanner, that was Harold.
“I think we should leave,” the woman said, most likely Velvet. She was about the same petite build as Serena.
“All flights have been cancelled because of the storm. We’ll be fine. I’ve been through two of these here already. No big deal.” Harold pulled her in for a kiss.
Tanner thought they’d known each other for a while. Or maybe the two of them felt something for each other that Harold hadn’t felt for Serena and vice versa. Something that went deeper than just a physical attraction between wolves. Still, Harold hadn’t needed to steal Serena’s money or leave without telling her he’d found a she-wolf who meant everything to him. Which made Tanner suspect Harold was a scam artist and had planned this out in advance. And that the woman meant something more to him than someone he just used to grab Serena’s money.
Tanner was glad Serena wasn’t here to witness their display of affection.
He stayed out of the wolves’ way, grabbing what he needed, hoping they wouldn’t notice his wolf scent.
As wary as wolves were, he hoped they didn’t catch sight of him halfway watching them. Though if they did, they’d probably believe he was just curious about them because he was a wolf too.
They finally c
hecked out and left, not noticing Tanner, thankfully. Then he waited until their headlights turned on and they backed out of their parking space. Already the blue morning skies filled with white fluffy clouds had turned ominously dark gray, and spatters of raindrops began to fall as Tanner hurried to load the groceries in the car, then returned the cart to the store.
He received a call from Serena. “Headed back, just getting into the car,” he said.
“Okay, I was worried. It’s fixing to let loose at any moment. I looked into the emergency shelters. We’d have to bring our passports, ID, money, nonperishable food for three days, and three gallons of water per person. They take children, the sick, and the elderly as priority. They don’t have room for a lot of people, so I figure we’ll just stick it out here. I already closed all the outdoor shutters.”
The winds were blowing him all over the road, and the rain was coming down in a torrent, so he was glad when he finally pulled into their parking space and cut the engine. “Okay, why don’t you fill the bathtub with water? We can boil it if we need it. I picked up a small battery-operated radio and extra batteries in case the electricity goes out.”
“I’ve been filling the tub. I’ve got the TV on and am watching the weather channel. Good idea on the radio.”
“I’m here. I’ll grab our stuff and be inside in a minute.”
She headed outside to help him. “I never expected this.” Neither of them had brought rain gear, so they were getting soaked as they hurried to carry the bags into the bungalow. “But I should have. We’re in Hurricane Alley. The program I was just watching said this island has been hit or brushed by a tropical storm or hurricane every year and a half or so.”
“I checked the weather report before we came, just to see if we had any bad weather coming. It showed nothing.”
“I guess they pop up without warning sometimes. Suddenly there’s a tropical depression that worsens, and then if you’re in its path, watch out. We won’t have to take a shower.” She set the wet plastic bags on the counter and hurried after him to get the rest of the stuff.