by Diane Leyne
So she’d done what she had to do. She’d gotten the idea from Samantha and how she’d taught Gabe a lesson when he’d spied on her in wolf-dog form before he knew she knew all about shifters. Everyone had found it pretty amusing, even Gabe, once he’d cooled off.
Sully, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t be so understanding. Hell, he was going to be furious, but Ginger wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. She would start as she meant to go on. She was not going to be the little woman sitting at home taking orders from Sully even if he was their Alpha.
She was mad at his brothers, too. They wouldn’t even listen to her ideas about the case, but she wanted to help. It was her town and her friends and family at risk. She knew she could help figure out where the bad guy was making his devices or bombs or whatever a person wanted to call them.
Her men had insisted that they had access to all the information she did, more even. All she had to do was keep out of the way and let the menfolk take care of things. She bristled at the memory. That was not acceptable, not at all. Hell, she’d never deliberately place herself in danger. She had no interest in that. But she could help, damn it. It was her friend whose clinic had been burned down. She was going to help despite Sully and his brothers.
One day when they were off on one of their jaunts, she’d headed over to the police station. There was nothing, no computer, no genius from out of town that could beat having connections. She’d needed to get close enough to get a good whiff of the scent of the device. She knew that there was no scent of the bomb-maker him or herself. They’d clearly been aware of how scent transferred and taken care. Plus the fire had taken care of any residual scent. However, nothing could get rid of the scent of the accelerant used or the explosive material.
That was what she wanted to sniff and she’d gotten it after showing up at the station with home-baked cookies. It ended up being easier than she expected. Tim was alone on duty, and he’d taken pride in discussing the case with her, even showing her photos and the remains of the device used on Lena’s clinic. She felt bad using him this way. She knew he liked her and she did something she was a bit ashamed off and flirted shamelessly with him, but thanks to her wolves, that was the only way to get information.
Now she was on the same footing as the guys, and the real problem was figuring out where to look. She knew the area and the people. They had over fifty possibilities in a hundred-mile radius. It would take days to check them all, especially since they were checking on the distant locations as a pair, while the third stayed behind in Harmony doing who knew what since they wouldn’t share with her. She’d suggested she could pair up with one of them and they’d get through the list twice as fact, but they’d brushed her off.
Her research had paid off. She had three good possibilities to check out.
She thought about heading back to tell Sully, but he probably wouldn’t be in the mood to listen. She should be perfectly safe in checking these places out. If the perp did own one of them, he’d probably still be driving back from his latest crime in Portland. It was almost three hours in decent traffic. If she hurried, she could check them all out and be home before the sun was set. And it wasn’t like she was going to beat people up or anything. She was going to go out and sniff around. Literally. She probably wouldn’t even have to get out of the car. She’d just had to get Sully out of her way.
But in the meantime, she had to get moving. She checked her watch. Ben and Nate wouldn’t be back for a good long while, but it was possible that Sully might free himself. Ginger giggled. Even in wolf-dog form, the outrage in his expression was priceless. Sam was right. Shifters had trouble changing back when they were collared. Samantha didn’t know why, but she’d observed it growing up with three shape-shifting brothers and had used that technique to teach her Alpha Gabe a lesson by leading him through town on a leash. Ginger knew she’d pay for what she did, but Sully had asked for it.
* * * *
Sully heard the wood break, finally. He was free, more or less. He was still trapped in his wolf-dog form. He looked around and howled again.
Then a sound got his attention. It was their SUV. Why were his brothers back so soon? Who cared? He bounded off the porch toward them.
He watched as Nate and Ben doubled over with laughter at his plight. He waited patiently for a couple of seconds before he started growling. No one had ever accused him of being patient. Then he rushed Nate and knocked him to the ground.
That seemed to get their attention. Ben reached over and undid the collar.
“I can’t believe you let her do that to you!” Nate chuckled from flat on his back. “After all the times Sam did it to us, you should know better.”
“Ha-ha. Ginger’s gone to town. She’s investigating on her own. She said she was coming back with information that would help us. Wait, why are you two here? Shouldn’t you be halfway to Portland?”
“Hutch got there first. It was a decoy. The guy who set it had been paid a hundred bucks to drop off the bag with the bomb. He didn’t know what was in it. In fact, he nearly blew himself up. I think someone was trying to get us out of town.”
“Let me get some pants and call her. I think Ginger said she was going to her office. That was almost an hour ago. I’m getting worried.”
Standing in the living room, they all waited as Sully dialled. The call rang and went straight to voice mail. She was obviously not taking their calls.
* * * *
The first two places were a bust. The owners were there, and not happy to see her. She just took a quick sniff and went on to the next location. She didn’t expect any success at the first two stops, but she wanted to be thorough.
She thought the third place held more promise. It was the most remote of the three places and hadn’t been occupied for a number of years. So she was surprised, or maybe not, to see tire tracks. Clearly someone was using the place. Looking around, Ginger didn’t think anyone was around there now. There was no vehicle and no lights.
Slowly she stepped out of her car, leaving the door open in case she had to make a quick exit. She called out, and when there was no answer, she felt emboldened and approached the dilapidated structure. It had once been a beautiful home, but it had clearly been neglected for years if not decades. Slowly she circled it. At the back, there was a smaller building, almost a shed. She caught a whiff of something. Stepping closer, she sniffed again. The odor was faint, but it was there.
She walked toward the shed and was just about to try the door when she heard a noise. A car! Her heart started pounding. Quickly she headed back to her car. Just as she was sliding in, she saw the police cruiser pull up behind her car.
She sagged with relief as Tim exited.
“Ginger, I knew you would figure it out and come to me.”
Tim beamed at her. Ginger was confused by his words. Did he know that this was the perp’s headquarters? She almost blurted everything out, but something made her hold back. She remembered what Sully said. The bad guy could be connected to the police force, and one wrong word to the wrong person would give away their investigation. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Tim, but there was always the chance he could inadvertently give something away, so she kept quiet.
“Oh, Tim. I, I got an inquiry from a potential client. They wondered if the owner was willing to sell or lease. I didn’t know how to get in touch with the owner, so I thought I’d take a chance and drive over here. Do you know who the owner is, by any chance?”
“I am.”
“What?”
“It belonged to my grandfather, my mother’s father. He left it to her, and when she died, it became mine. Only my dad and I ever come out here. There’s a shed around back where he keeps some stuff of his. I don’t know what. I let him use it. It doesn’t matter to me what for. He’s my dad.”
Ginger had to hold back a gasp. Was Chief Ramsay their arsonist? It was starting to look like it.
“Oh, I had no idea it was in your family. Would you, would you be in
terested in selling or maybe leasing?”
“’Fraid not, Ginger. This place has been in my family for generations. It doesn’t look like much, but someday I hope to fix it up to bring my bride here and raise our family.”
“Oh, Tim. That’s nice. The location is wonderful, and with some TLC, I can see this place being beautiful, a great place for a family. Is there a special someone? Will I be dancing at your wedding someday soon?”
Tim smiled shyly. “I hope so. Nothing’s settled yet, but maybe someday soon.”
“Well, good luck.” She checked her watch and checked the horizon. It would be completely dark soon. “I have to be going now. Nice running into you, Tim.”
“Don’t run off, Ginger. In fact, why don’t you come in and look around?” He smiled, and this time Ginger shivered. There was something off about that smile. “I’d love to get your opinion.”
“Maybe some other time, Tim. I have to get home.”
“I insist. I’m doing this for you, Ginger. The renovations, I mean.” He laughed without mirth. “Not the other thing.” He held out his hand. Reluctantly, she put her hand in his and let him lead her up the front stairs.
“I know the place needs a lot of work, but I haven’t been able to afford it before now. But I finally did it, Ginger. My ship’s coming, and I’m going to be rich, rich enough to fix this place up any way you like!”
“Me? Ship? I don’t understand.”
“I understand now, Ginger. You don’t have to worry. You couldn’t be with me before because I wasn’t successful. Now I am, or I will be soon. And we can be together. You won’t have to work ever again. It will be just you and me in our little piece of heaven.”
“Tim, I care for you, too, but only as a friend. You know that. It has nothing to do with money.”
“We were so good together, Ginger. If you only give me another chance! I’ll prove it to you. I’ve grown up a lot since we dated.”
“Tim, that was almost ten years ago. I’ve moved on. I thought you had, too.”
“I did. I’m not Tim the screwup anymore. I have a job, an important one.”
“Yes. I know you do. You are a police officer now. There’s nothing more important than protecting the public. I’m very proud of you, Tim, but I’m in love with someone else.”
“You mean something else, don’t you? You love those animals!” He almost spit the word out! Ginger looked at Tim, almost more puzzled than shocked. Sure his dad didn’t care much for shifters, but Chief Ramsay had never hated them, did he? Is that where Tim learned to hate?
“Tim!”
“I’m sorry, Ginger, but it is true. Those dirty wolves are using you. I can barely stand to think about it, the three of them pawing you, using you. Tell me, do they ever do you in shifted form?”
“That’s a terrible thing to say, Tim. I–I guess I never really knew you!”
“No you didn’t. If you did, you’d love me instead of those animals. All of my life, I’ve lost everything, everyone I’ve ever wanted to wolves. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, I was never good enough. Even my own mother preferred to run off with a shifter and leave me behind rather than take me with her. All through school, the shifters were stronger, faster, and smarter. I was never good enough. Even my own dad loves his kids with Octavia better than he loves me!”
“I’m sure that’s not true, Tim. The chief loves you very much! Why else would he hire you for such a responsible position and give you a gun to carry? I…”
“You know nothing, Ginger. I write parking tickets and answer the phone two days a week. He doesn’t let me work on anything that matters. And he refuses to listen to me when I tell him that the shifters are taking over. They are everywhere. But I’ll show him, I’ll show everyone! My book’s almost done. I just have to write the last chapter. The same way the Pied Piper drove the rats out of Hamelin, I’m going to drive the wolves out of Harmony. Permanently. And then people will have to believe me and my book will be a bestseller, and then everyone will look up to me. Forget Jack the Giant Slayer, I’ll be Tim the Wolf Killer!”
Ginger looked at Tim with growing terror. He was crazy, and he was dangerous. And she was alone with him. Her men were on their way home, but would they arrive in time? And Tim was armed. She glanced at the window. Damn. The good and the bad of this place was the privacy. Being set so far back from the road ensured privacy, but right now, that was the opposite of what she needed. She had to stall. Her men were due home in a few minutes.
“Tim, I don’t understand. How could you hate shifters? Does that mean you hate me?”
“Oh, no, Ginger. I love you.”
“But I have shifter blood.”
“It only affects the males, you know that, Ginger. We can get married and make girl babies.”
“I don’t think you get a choice…”
His voice cut her off. “If you have boys and they are wolves, then I’ll just drown them like the mongrels they are. But you won’t. I’ll make sure of it. We’ll have beautiful little girls with red hair, just like their mother.”
Ginger thought the most terrifying part of the whole thing was just how calm and reasonable his tone was. If a person couldn’t hear his actual words, they might think he was talking about the weather or what he was having for lunch. He didn’t seem to understand what was wrong with the idea of killing innocent children or the revulsion she felt at the thought of making babies with him.
“No, Tim. Don’t say such things. You aren’t a killer. I know you. You are so sweet and kind. You wouldn’t deliberately hurt anyone, not even a shifter.”
Tim laughed, sending shivers down her spine.
“How little you know me. I never set out to hurt anyone, not at first. I just wanted a little payback, but then things went wrong. I didn’t mean to kill that vagrant, but he was really no loss to society, even less than one of your precious shifters. He was lesser like the non-humans are. And once he died, I realized how easy it was to get rid of these lessers, these drains on society, parasites who are taking from those of us who matter.”
Ginger listened with growing comprehension and horror.
“You? You are the one who has been targeting shifters!”
Chapter Fifteen
Sully drove like a madman. They’d visited the first two locations on the list that Ginger had left on her desk in an envelope marked “Anderson File.” He’d almost overlooked it at first as it had been too obvious. He’d been worried that they would have to waste time searching her computer and had actually yelled at Ben to get going when Nate had picked the envelop off her desk and waved it in his face.
Sully’d been surprised that she’d made it easy for then, but maybe she wanted them to follow her? Or maybe it was just her following the hide in plain sight principal. Hell, they’d almost overlooked it.
The first two weren’t total busts. Both homeowners had confirmed that she’d come by, but that she had only stayed a moment and then left.
“She’s probably fine, you know. We’re driving around, and when we get home, she’ll be there waiting for us, wondering where we went.” Ben tried to sound optimistic, but Sully could tell he was worried, too. Maybe it was the connection that Mates felt, but Sully just knew in his bones that something was wrong.
“It’s got to be the last place. We should be there in fifteen minutes. Call Hutch and see what he can find about it.”
* * * *
“But, Tim, those attacks started on the East Coast!”
“Do you think I’m working alone? I met people in the military, like-minded people who were also kept down by the shifters. Together we made this plan. I helped build the bombs, but the one in Harmony was the first I ever planted myself. When I realized that Dr. Shifter-lover was almost caught in the fire, I felt a surge of power like I never felt before. I’d been so close to taking out one of them!”
“But Oliver was human and a doctor. He helped people.”
“He also helped them! And now he’s one of the
m. He did the change, and now he’s a wolf, too. And he’s Mated to that wolf-loving vet.” Tim practically spit out the word Mated. “I’ll get rid of both of them this time and all the dirty wolves in town. When I’m done, they won’t be able to get far enough away from Harmony.”
“You can’t kill them all, Tim. You can’t!”
“Who said anything about killing them? I’m going to out them all! When my book comes out, the world will know about wolves amongst us, and they’ll turn on them, drive them out of this country!”
“You can’t mean that!”
“Oh, Ginger, I’ll be the one in front of the mob, carrying the pitchfork! But don’t you worry, Ginger. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll save you. I know a doctor back east. He’s been researching wolves. He can fix you. Drain your tainted blood and replace it with healthy human blood. You’ll be human, Ginger. And you’ll be all mine forever.”
Ginger heard a sound and glanced toward the window. Was that a car?
“You can stop looking out the window. Your animals aren’t coming back. Ever.”
Ginger looked at Tim. His expression was gloating, and it scared her even more than his words had.
“What did you do, Tim?” Her voice was wary. Tim was clearly unstable, and she didn’t want to set him off.
“One of the few things I learned in the army was demolitions. I put a little surprise under their car. By now, they’ll be a hundred miles from here on that wild goose chase I sent them on.” He checked his watch. “Hmm. And as of five minutes ago, I have three less wolves to worry about.”