Wolf Untamed

by Paige Tyler

  That was where Rich Newell came in. Dark-haired with a youthful face and wire-rimmed glasses, he was a twenty-five-year-old mall cop who wanted to go to the police academy. Diego and Trey offered to help him get in.

  “You have three years of military service, an honorable discharge, and a clean driving record,” Trey told him. “Plus, you have some college credits on top of that. The truth is, you don’t need our help to get into the academy, but if you want a letter of recommendation, we’ll give you one.”

  Rich nodded, his face still unsure. “In return for showing you the security footage from several days ago?”

  Diego leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “Rich, we’re not trying to use you. We’re trying to figure out why three college kids did something as crazy as trying to rob a bank. If this is going to get you into trouble or if you feel like you have to give up your integrity for this, don’t do it.”

  Rich’s gaze went back to the monitor, clicking through various folders that carried no recognizable pattern Diego could see. “I want to. I’m helping you guys stop this delirium thing. Nobody is gonna fire me for that, right?”

  Diego wasn’t too sure of that but didn’t say anything.

  It seemed to take forever to find the right date and time frame for the video footage they were looking for. Diego tuned out as Rich began explaining about the hundreds of cameras positioned around the mall, how they were all constantly downloading to a centralized server, and how difficult it would be to find a particular group of people when you didn’t know which entrance they’d come in or which stores they visited.

  After what felt like a lifetime of scanning through footage, they finally picked up the three men Diego recognized from the bank robbery coming in one of the mall’s side doors.

  “That’s them,” he told Rich.

  They were forced to jump from view to view and monitor to monitor, following the trio all over the place when it was clear they had no real destination in mind. The guys looked nothing like the three he and his pack mates had gone up against in the bank. They were laughing and joking, obviously having a good time. Nothing like the nearly catatonic men they’d been only a short time later.

  “If you guys could tell me what you’re looking for, I might be able to help,” Rich said, glancing over his shoulder at Diego.

  “Unfortunately, we’re not sure,” Diego admitted. “We’re hoping watching them in the hours and minutes right before they tried to rob the bank might help us understand why they did it.”

  The three college kids stopped by a bakery to get some muffins and coffee, then sat at a table for almost an hour talking. When they were done eating, they tossed their trash, then disappeared down a long hallway.

  “What’s down there?” Trey asked, sitting up in his seat.

  “The restrooms,” Rich said. “We don’t have any cameras in that hallway.”

  Diego cursed silently.

  The clock on the bottom of the video continued to run until even Rich frowned.

  “They’ve been in there a long time,” he said.

  “Tell me about it,” Diego muttered.

  When the three guys finally emerged from the hallway, what Diego saw on the screen sent a shiver down his back. The demeanor of the men had changed. Instead of being relaxed and chill, talking and laughing like before, they walked through the mall like robots, devoid of expression. Like the life had been sucked out of them.

  “Is there anything else down that hallway?” Diego asked, looking from one monitor to the next as the three college kids headed for the nearest exit. The time stamp on the video showed that they’d left the mall twenty minutes before the bank job.

  Rich shook his head. “Just the restrooms. Do you think they were taking that delirium drug in there? Is that why they looked so spaced out?”

  Diego exchanged looks with Trey and knew his pack mate was wondering the same thing. “I don’t know.”

  He looked at the monitor that covered the entrance to the restrooms again, wishing they’d been able to see what those three guys had been up to, when he caught a glimpse of a man who’d just walked out of the hallway.

  “Rewind the video of the restroom area,” he said, then waiting impatiently while Rich did as he asked. “Stop there.”

  Diego stared at the image of the tall man in a dark suit. Unlike the three college kids who’d walked out of the hallway a few moments before him, the guy was grinning like he’d won the lottery.

  Son of a bitch.

  Beside him, Trey leaned forward in his chair. “Is that Bree’s ex-husband?”

  “Yeah.”

  Diego’s inner wolf stirred, telling him something seriously weird was going on and that Dave was involved. He just wasn’t quite sure how yet.

  He looked at Rich. “Can we get a copy of the video footage from the time those guys walked down that hallway until this guy came out?”

  “Sure.”

  Opening a drawer, Rich grabbed a CD, then copied the footage. Promising they’d write letters of recommendation to the police academy, Diego thanked the kid, then he and Trey were out the door.

  “Do you think Dave put those guys up to robbing the bank?” Trey asked as they headed toward their SUV.

  “I don’t know. He might be prone to violence, but this seems totally out of his wheelhouse. Bree told me he already has money, so why have a bunch of amateurs rob a bank for him? And how does the delirium drug fit in? Is he a dealer?”

  Diego was starting the engine of the SUV when his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and immediately put it on speaker when he saw Hale’s name on the screen.

  “You guys find anything worthwhile?” Diego asked.

  “Maybe,” Hale said. “Talking to anyone at the construction company was a waste, so we decided to check the traffic cams in the area where those guys were working. You’ll never guess what we found.”

  “You’re right,” Trey said. “So tell us.”

  “Footage of those four construction workers standing on the sidewalk having coffee when a BMW pulls up and a guy in a nice suit gets out and gives them a box of doughnuts, shakes their hands, then leaves.”

  “That’s it?” Diego asked, confused. “A good Samaritan handing out doughnuts?”

  “That Good Samaritan was your girlfriend’s ex,” Connor said. “And less than a minute after he left, those guys dropped everything—including the doughnuts—then got in their work truck like a bunch of frigging zombies and took off.”

  Diego exchanged looks with Trey. If Dave had simply shown up at the mall, that was one thing, but interacting with the construction workers before they tried to jack that armored truck was too much of a coincidence.

  “What about you guys?” Hale asked. “Did you get anything?”

  Diego told them what he and Trey had learned, saying Dave had been at the mall and mentioning the way those three college kids had acted after coming into contact with him.

  “What’s our next move?” Connor asked.

  Diego didn’t even have to think about it. “We figure out what the hell Dave is up to. Something tells me he’s a whole lot more than an investment advisor.”

  Chapter 10

  “I thought everyone on the team had the day off for the baby shower. Unless they have to go on a call, I mean,” Bree said as Diego led her and Brandon through the SWAT compound toward the huge, open-sided tent set off to one side and filled with people. “Are they doing training or something?”

  Diego followed her gaze to where a group of people were rappelling off a tall structure that looked like a building but without windows or doors.

  “They aren’t training,” he said with a laugh. “Rappelling is something we do for fun at parties.”

  She caught sight of movement at the top of the wall, watching with dread as Trey and a teenage boy moved to the edge and b
egan to bounce down the wall like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her stomach plummeted right along with them. And she wasn’t even the one up there!

  She quickly looked away as Trey and the boy covered the last ten feet in a single big leap that made her think they were both going to smash themselves into the ground up to their necks. “You and your friends have a strange idea of what fun is.”

  Diego chuckled again, guiding Bree and Brandon to the tent, nodding and smiling at people and stopping in between so they could pet the adorable dogs milling around wagging their tails before leading them over to a tall, muscular man who simply had to be another alpha and a pretty, dark-haired, pregnant woman, introducing them as Landry and Everly Cooper. Everly smiled and warmly hugged Bree like they were longtime friends, then eagerly opened the gifts she’d brought—a gift card to a store that sold everything you could ever need for babies and a big plush wolf.

  After another round of hugs and a promise to swing by to talk more later, Diego introduced Bree and Brandon to the rest of the SWAT team and their significant others, as well as everyone else who’d come to help Everly and Cooper celebrate. Her head was spinning with names and faces by the time they came to a tall, blond woman and an even taller man with dark hair. Bree could tell right away that they were werewolves simply from the way they carried themselves.

  “Bree, Brandon, this is Rachel Bennett and her mate, Knox Lawson,” Diego said. “Rachel is on the SWAT team, and Knox runs his own private security company. Believe it or not, they met right here on the SWAT compound.”

  Bree smiled and was reaching out to shake Rachel’s hand when Diego made a funny strangled sound, pointing at his teammate’s left hand. More specifically, the diamond ring sitting there.

  “When the hell did that happen?” he asked, his voice revealing his astonishment even more than his question. “And why didn’t I know about it?”

  “It happened last night,” Rachel said with a smile, giving her fiancé an adoring look. “Today is all about Everly and Cooper, which means our announcement can wait, so try and keep your voice down, huh?”

  Diego snorted. “Good luck keeping that rock under wraps.” Stepping forward, he hugged Rachel, then did the man-hug thing with Knox. “I knew you guys were perfect for each other the moment I saw you together.”

  Rachel seemed a little dubious about that. “Really? Because I tend to remember you hating the idea of Knox and me working together. You didn’t trust him to watch my back. You flat out called him a player. And when you thought he was a hunter, you kicked in the door of my apartment and threatened to shoot him.”

  “Well…yeah,” Diego admitted. “But other than that, I thought you two were perfect for each other.”

  Bree couldn’t help but think that was the lamest thing she’d ever heard. From the look on Rachel’s face, it was obvious she thought the same thing. Something told Bree the two of them would get along perfectly.

  While Diego ran off to grab something to drink for her and Brandon, Bree congratulated Rachel and Knox as her son watched people rappel on the far side of the compound.

  “Diego said you and Knox met here,” Bree said. “Were you working on the same case or something?”

  Rachel laughed as if the idea was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. Knox, on the other hand, looked rather sheepish. “Not even close. Knox was hanging out with some seriously bad dudes who were here trying to kill us because they didn’t like werewolves.”

  Bree thought for a moment that Rachel was kidding. Then she realized the other woman wasn’t laughing.

  “But don’t worry,” Rachel added. “He made up for it later by saving my life twice—first from his buddies, then from a psychotic killer clown.”

  Sure Rachel was definitely messing with them, Bree glanced at her son to see Brandon staring at the couple with eyes as wide as saucers.

  “Um…you’re making up that stuff about the killer clown, right?” she asked, suddenly not so sure.

  Both Rachel and Knox shook their heads.

  “I wish she was making it up,” Knox said. “Unfortunately, it’s all true. There really was a clown. He really was psychotic. And he really tried to kill us. Then again, I’m not sure the thing could be called a clown since it wasn’t even human.”

  Bree wasn’t sure what to say to that.

  “You’ll get used to all the weird stuff that goes on around here,” Rachel said, giving her a smile. “I promise.”

  Diego came back with their drinks then, bottles of iced tea for him and Bree and soda for Brandon. The conversation went from how Rachel and Knox had met to how their teammates had met their significant others. Except for Gage and a few of the other guys, everyone else had met their mates—as Diego called them—in some kind of crazy situation. Not unlike how she and Diego had met, she supposed.

  While Bree was having a great time laughing and talking about how people stumbled their way into relationships, one glance at her son told her he was bored out of his mind as he gazed longingly at a group of teens and young adults standing by the rappelling wall. Even though Brandon would much rather hang out with people closer to his age, she knew he wouldn’t simply walk over there and introduce himself. Her son hadn’t been shy and reserved like that when he was little, but after Dave and everything that had happened, he’d changed.

  Diego must have picked up on that, too, because he motioned toward the teens. “How about I take you over there and introduce you to the beta pack, Brandon? I know they’ve been waiting to meet you.”

  Bree could have kissed Diego. But from the way Brandon stood there indecisively, it was probably going to take a little more urging than that.

  “And after I introduce you, I can take you up on the wall and teach you to rappel, if you want,” Diego added.

  Brandon’s eyes filled with excitement at that. She, however, had to admit she was terrified at the thought of her son so high in the air, held up by nothing but a thin rope. But when Brandon looked her way with an eager expression on his face, Bree didn’t have the heart to say he couldn’t do it.

  She looked at Diego. “You’re sure it’s safe?”

  “I’ll be right there beside him the whole time,” Diego promised. “He’ll be fine.”

  She was still nervous, but nodded. Grinning, Diego leaned over to give her a quick kiss, then asked Knox if he wanted to do some rappelling, too, before he and Brandon took off. Knox kissed Rachel, then followed, leaving Bree and the female werewolf alone.

  “Brandon fits right in with them,” Rachel said as they watched him chatting with the group of young people Diego and Knox introduced him to. “That’s the way it works with betas. Five minutes from now, they’ll all be friends for life.”

  Bree silently agreed. Within moments, Brandon was smiling and laughing, a sure sign he was comfortable with them.

  She let out a sigh of relief. “I know Diego said your pack would accept Brandon right away, but I was a little nervous anyway.”

  “You’re part of the Pack now, too, by the way,” Rachel said. “Both because you’re Brandon’s mom and because of your connection to Diego.”

  Bree opened her mouth to say she and Diego hadn’t been dating long enough to have a connection yet, but then closed it again. Regardless of the fact that they’d just met, there was definitely something between her and Diego, even if she didn’t quite know what it was yet.

  “You like him a lot, don’t you?” Rachel asked, her dark eyes thoughtful, like she was reading Bree’s mind. “Diego, I mean. You haven’t taken your eyes off him since you two arrived.”

  Bree smiled and sipped her iced tea, unable to resist glancing at him. “Yeah, I guess I do. Even if things are happening crazy fast.”

  Rachel’s lips curved. “I wouldn’t worry too much about how fast it’s happening. Diego is worth the rush.”

  “You and Diego seem like good fr
iends,” Bree said, running her hand down the back of the pit-bull mix named Tuffie who’d come over to visit. “Have you known each other long?”

  “Since I moved here and joined the Pack in December. He’s been like an older brother to me since the day we met.” Rachel lifted her bottle of beer and took a sip. “I was having a hard time dealing with my change when I first got here. Diego helped me through it by being there for me to talk to, but also by looking out for me. He’s very protective of everyone.”

  “I kind of got that impression,” Bree said, thinking about the three women he’d saved the night he’d gone through his own change.

  Rachel looked out across the compound. “Now that y’all are together, there’s nothing he won’t do for you and Brandon.”

  Hand still caressing Tuffie’s fur, Bree followed Rachel’s gaze to see that Diego and Brandon were already at the top of the rappelling tower. Her heart nearly seized in her chest as they slowly worked their way over the edge, leaning out with their backs to the ground until there seemed no way they couldn’t fall. But as high up in the air as they were, no matter how incredibly dangerous it seemed, Brandon was more relaxed than she’d ever seen. He completely trusted Diego. That was when Bree abruptly realized she trusted him, too. It was difficult to describe how amazing it felt to be able to believe in a man again.

  Bree dragged her gaze away from Diego and Brandon. Watching them slowly move down the wall was making her dizzy. She didn’t want to imagine what it would be like looking down from that high.

  “How long were you and Knox together before you knew it was real?” she asked Rachel. “I’ve only been in one relationship in my life, and it was a total disaster. I don’t want to move too fast with this one and mess it up.”

  Rachel smiled at she looked over at Knox, who’d already rappelled down the wall and was at the bottom, talking to one of Diego’s teammates. The big werewolf lifted his head and gazed at her as though he could feel his fiancée’s eyes on him. After a long, heated glance, he went back to the conversation he’d been having.