by Terry Spear
“You own a house and an SUV, no mortgages. Everything was easy to check. The suspect paid for the bond himself. When I arrived at the home in Silver Town listed on your driver’s license, I found you weren’t there. A man saw me returning to my car, pulled into the driveway, and told me where I could find you. Here. At the family cabin…the Elk’s Horn cabin.”
“A man? A wolf, you mean?” Sarandon asked.
“I didn’t smell his scent, but the way the breeze was blowing, he might have smelled mine and known I was a wolf.” She smiled a little. “Maybe he thought you had a new girlfriend. Hope it doesn’t get you in trouble with a real one.”
“Hell.” Sarandon didn’t believe Jenna was all that worried she might have caused trouble for him with a girlfriend. He also couldn’t believe one of his pack members had sicced her on him. The guy probably thought Sarandon’s stay at the cabin had something to do with meeting the beautiful she-wolf up there.
“Since he doesn’t have a girlfriend, that will sure start some tongues wagging,” Jake said, amused. “I wonder who you spoke with.”
“Hell, it’ll probably be in tomorrow’s paper,” Sarandon said. “It makes me wonder when the person stole my identity. What did he have of mine, exactly? You said my driver’s license. Anything else?”
“A credit card.”
“And the police didn’t suspect that all the identities he had on him were someone else’s? That the real Sarandon Silver’s ID wasn’t his own?”
“His mug shot looks so much like you that I’m sure the police didn’t give it a second thought.” The more Jenna talked to Sarandon, the more her suspicions were raised that he really was a victim of identity theft. She finished her beer and said, “Okay, let’s go to see your pack leaders. I’ll call my…uh, boss, and learn if the man they incarcerated was a wolf.”
“I’m not missing any credit cards. I only have one and have never applied for more.” Sarandon pulled out his wallet. “And my driver’s license is good.” He showed her both.
She examined each of them. “That doesn’t mean you don’t have any more credit cards or a duplicate driver’s license. The police have the others as evidence, so I don’t have them to show you, but they said the items were legitimate.”
“Let’s go then. I have my name to clear.” Sarandon went to the gun cabinet to retrieve the weapons, but he gave them to Jake to carry in her car.
Then Sarandon drove his car, with Jenna in the passenger seat, to Lelandi and Darien’s house. Sarandon didn’t confine her wrists this time. He suspected she realized she might have the wrong man after all. At least he hoped so.
“So your mom is really the boss, eh?”
“Uh, yeah. We don’t usually reveal that to bail jumpers. It’s a family affair.”
“Makes sense with you being wolves. Do you live in Colorado Springs?”
“Outside it. So we have room to run in the forests. Have you always lived here?”
“Always. And I wasn’t in Colorado Springs recently. The last time I was there, it was a few years ago. I went with Jake when he had a new photography exhibit at an art gallery in Colorado Springs.”
Jenna assumed Sarandon would let her call her mother as soon as she could get a signal on her phone. “When will I get a cell signal?”
“Could be anytime now. Don’t call the cops.”
“Just my mom.” Jenna kept calling, trying to get ahold of her mother until they were finally closer to town and she was able to reach her. “Mom, listen… Yes, I’m on my way to Silver Town. I have to know, did you send either Suzanne or Crystal, or Dad even, to the jail to pick up the bail bond forms from Sarandon Silver?”
“No, he emailed the forms to me. Why? What difference would this make? Have you located him?”
“I’ve located Sarandon Silver. And he’s all wolf.”
Sarandon smiled.
Chapter 3
Sarandon thought Jenna looked a little rattled when she ended the call with her mother as they headed to his pack leader’s home. “Well?”
“Sarandon Silver emailed the forms to my mother from the jail and wired the money to her. Which means none of us met him.”
“Which means you can’t use my scent to determine if I’m him, so you have no way to identify him. Except for my forged ID. And no one knows if he’s a wolf. What did your mom say about me being a wolf? There was such a long pause after you told her that either she was doing a lot of talking, or she was doing a lot of thinking.”
“Both. She warned me that could be why you’re so good at evasion—”
“Until this time.”
“Yeah, like something threw you off your game. A woman, maybe? My mother said not to let you con me,” Jenna continued.
Sarandon smiled at her. “Good to know you’re not worried about me.” Then he called Darien on his Bluetooth, in case Jake hadn’t reached him yet. “Hey, it’s Sarandon. Have you heard the news?”
“Jake just got reception on his cell phone and was able to reach me. I’m on my way back to the house. Lelandi canceled her afternoon patient sessions, and I asked CJ to listen in. He can report back to Peter so they can start an investigation into this guy pronto.”
“Good show.”
“Jake says you’ve got the bounty hunter with you.”
“Yeah, Jenna St. James.”
“Lelandi is eager to meet her. Jake said Jenna has met his wife before. Alicia called a sitter for the kids, and she’s coming over to see Jenna too. I’ll meet up with you in a bit.”
“All right, Darien. Out here.” So that Jenna knew all the players Darien was talking about, Sarandon told her, “Darien and Lelandi are our pack leaders. CJ’s my youngest quadruplet brother, and he’s a deputy sheriff. Peter Jorgenson is the sheriff.”
“I still can’t believe your whole town’s wolf-run.”
“Including our judge.”
“Oh, okay. So, you’re telling me you have a judge to back you.” Jenna sounded like she realized taking him in was a lost cause.
“No. I’m just saying we have a judge in case we need one—not for our kind. We take care of our own. For humans who cause trouble in our jurisdiction, we needed a judge.”
“I suspect if you needed his help, he’d back you up in this case. You’re still going to have to return with me. To clear your name. You can’t hide in your wolf pack in this town forever for protection.”
“Hide?” Sarandon shook his head. “Hell, Jenna, I live here. And I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not hiding from anyone.”
“Okay, so you say, and I’m sure half your pack or more would give you alibis for the time frame.”
He couldn’t believe she still thought he could be guilty of identity theft. “In other words, I’m guilty until proven innocent.”
“You’ve already been arrested for the crimes, so yeah.”
“And I’ve told you it wasn’t me. Wait. You must have seen a picture of the guy.”
“Yep. Your driver’s license. Mine looks like crap. Yours is the perfect likeness of you.”
“Hot, huh?” He smiled at her. He knew she was interested in him. “What about his booking photo?”
Jenna let out her breath. “Just a minute.” She made another phone call. “Mom? It’s me again. Jenna. Did you get a look at Sarandon’s mug shot?”
Sarandon pulled into the pack leader’s long country drive.
“You’ve got a copy of his driver’s license. See if you can get a copy of his mug shot and determine how well they match. Then email it to me. If it’s not really Sarandon, I need to find the right guy, and who knows what his name really is or where he’s run off to.” She glanced at Sarandon. “We’re meeting at the pack leader’s house. You know they’ll cover for him, even if he’s guilty.”
Sarandon parked the SUV.
“Right. I don’t know how big
the pack is, but they run all of Silver Town. I know. Big surprise. They even have a judge. Exactly… Yes, I’ll be careful… Okay, talk later.” She ended the call. “Nope. She only has your driver’s license, and it’s the same as the one you have now. So, who could have stolen your credit card and your driver’s license without you knowing it? And has anyone else in the community been targeted?”
“Not that I know of. Then again, I didn’t know I had been either. Like I said, I only have the one credit card I showed you.”
“Do you get credit card offers in the mail?”
“Hell yeah. All the time.”
“Do you shred them?”
“No. We live in a wolf community. No one would pull crap like that here.”
“The trash goes to a public dump site? That means anyone could go there and search for anything that would aid them in committing financial fraud.”
“Okay, I’ll have to admit you’re right. What about my driver’s license?”
“Did you renew it online? And did you shred the old one?”
“It was expired. It wouldn’t be good to anyone.”
Jenna cocked her head to the side a little, telling him his driver’s license had worked for someone.
“Except for whoever needed to show an ID to get my credit card. Gotcha. Come on. Let’s go inside and meet with Lelandi until Darien and CJ get here.”
Jake pulled up behind them, and they all went to the front door. Opening the door before they had a chance to knock, Lelandi smiled at Jenna. She was a red wolf, unlike the Silver brothers and cousins who were gray wolves. She must have just had her hair cut, because she was wearing a short bob that framed her face instead of her usual long, red curls. Her green eyes were smiling as she greeted Jenna, while barely taking notice of Sarandon or Jake. “You must be Jenna St. James. How exciting that you’re a bounty hunter! Come in and tell us all about yourself. Jake’s wife is one too. She’s on her way over.”
Sarandon should have warned Jenna that Lelandi was always into matchmaking. Then again, Jenna was more interested in arresting him than mating him, so he knew that despite her psychology training, Lelandi wouldn’t have any effect on Jenna. He suspected Jenna would be suspicious of Alicia joining them, as if she could convince a fellow bounty hunter that Sarandon was innocent of any charges.
Lelandi escorted Jenna into the high-ceilinged living room where twenty or more pack members could comfortably sit and visit on the velour couches and chairs. Lelandi offered to take Jenna’s jacket.
“Thanks, I’ll keep it.” Jenna pulled it off and carried it over her arm.
Lelandi suddenly turned to Sarandon. “I guess this kind of messes up your vacation plans.”
“For the moment, yeah.” Sarandon had a group booked for a butterfly tour after his two-week vacation, so if he didn’t get this straightened out pronto, he might waste his whole vacation trying to clear his name.
“Tell us about your pack,” Lelandi said, seating Jenna next to her on a sofa, as if to show she would protect Jenna from all the men when they gathered. Lelandi was usually really good at making people feel comfortable around her.
Sarandon was glad for that, because Jenna was definitely uncomfortable. Her stiff posture and the way she was trying to put more distance between her and Lelandi indicated she didn’t want to be influenced by the she-wolf leader.
“We don’t belong to a pack,” Jenna said. “My mother runs the bail bond office. My dad and my two sisters and I work for her as fugitive recovery agents.” She glanced in Sarandon’s direction as if to say he was currently her job.
“Oh my, I’m sure you have quite a few stories to share,” Lelandi said.
Sarandon fought to keep from smiling at her, not sure Jenna was falling for the welcome-to-the-pack routine.
* * *
“Like Alicia does?” Jenna just smiled. She did have lots of fascinating stories to tell, but this wasn’t the time to share them. She felt claustrophobic. The room was huge and comfortable for pack gatherings, but she felt like she was the center of all the wolf scrutiny, when Sarandon should have been instead.
They heard two cars pull up, and Jenna wondered what Darien would be like. A hard-nosed pack leader? Or more like Lelandi? Jenna didn’t altogether trust her. She knew Lelandi was trying to make her feel welcome, part of the pack, as if she should have no reason to suspect Sarandon had done anything wrong.
“That’s Darien’s car and CJ’s. Darien will have picked up Alicia. So, it looks like everyone’s here.” Lelandi smiled at Sarandon.
“I’ll get everyone something to drink,” Jake said. “What would you like, Jenna?”
“Water would be fine. Thank you.”
“Tea, Jake, if you don’t mind,” Lelandi said.
“I’ll take a beer,” a sable-haired man said as he and another man headed into the living room to join them. “I’m Darien.” He offered his hand to Jenna, and she stood and shook it, then sat back down. His dark-brown eyes studied her for a moment like a pack leader would, determining her strengths and weaknesses, seeing if she was easily intimidated. Which she wasn’t. “And this is CJ.”
CJ removed his deputy cowboy-style gray hat. He was wearing a denim jacket and cowboy boots and had a badge affixed to his belt. His hair was as dark brown as Sarandon’s, but less wavy. His eyes were a lighter brown, but there was an obvious similarity between the two brothers. And Jake and Darien, for that matter.
Like Darien, CJ was unsmiling, but unlike the pack leader, CJ didn’t offer to shake Jenna’s hand. She suspected CJ was looking out for his older brother, and as far as the deputy was concerned, she was the enemy wolf, ready to arrest Sarandon. CJ wasn’t going to pretend friendship, which she appreciated. She much preferred meeting everyone at face value. Otherwise, she felt like she’d stepped into a Stepford Wolves town.
Alicia hurried into the living room wearing jeans and a T-shirt and sandals. She had dark-brown curls hanging to her shoulders, and her dark-brown eyes widened when she saw Jenna. “Sorry, I had to take a call from the sitter. It’s so good to see you again, Jenna. I’m Alicia, now Jake’s mate.”
“And a wolf.” Jenna didn’t know Alicia well, although she’d heard rumors the bounty hunter was going after a mob boss single-handedly. Jenna’s family had talked about how they’d never take on a mob boss. They’d thought Alicia was either the bravest woman in the business or a little bit crazy. Jenna had met her at the El Paso County Jail and Criminal Justice Center in Colorado Springs when they were bringing in a couple of bail jumpers, but Alicia had been human then.
“Yeah, big changes in my life. I never suspected you were a wolf either.”
“I was born a wolf.” Jenna couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to not only have the issues with shifting while raising kids, but also those related to working a job. She could see the benefits of living in a wolf-run town if the wolf was newly turned.
“Don’t you find that makes you see someone differently? When you learn the person you’re talking to is a wolf and not just human? Like you have a secret you can share with him that you can’t with others?” Alicia asked.
Jenna glanced at Sarandon. He smiled a little. “Yeah, but not as far as doing my job.” She returned his smile.
His smile only grew. He was so cocky.
In truth, Alicia was right. Knowing he was a wolf made a lot of difference—but only because of the way he’d pinned her down and the physical interest they’d shown in each other. She was beginning to think he was innocent, and that meant she was even more intrigued with him.
“Honey, what would you like to drink?” Jake asked his mate.
“I’ll have what Lelandi’s drinking,” Alicia said.
“I’m good,” CJ said to Jake as he brought in the other drinks.
“Sarandon?”
“A beer.”
Jake smiled at
Sarandon. “Yeah, me too.”
After Jake finished getting drinks for everyone, they all took their seats, except for CJ. He stood near the fireplace, arms folded across his chest, looking like he was ready to arrest her! He towered over everyone who was sitting, making him king of the forum. It was an act of intimidation any good deputy sheriff would use to ensure he had the upper hand. If he’d wanted to give the impression he was treating Jenna as an equal, he would have joined them on one of the couches.
From what she could tell, Lelandi was the easygoing pack leader, and Darien played the role of the tough pack leader.
She wondered if Lelandi was a family physician, since she had canceled on her patients. Jenna guessed none of the cases needed immediate care, or Lelandi would have taken care of them. It went to show how important Sarandon was to her. Jenna couldn’t help but admire the pack for that.
“Okay, so what makes you think Sarandon has committed any crime?” Darien asked, getting the matter on the table.
To CJ’s credit, he pulled out a notepad and began taking notes. Jenna had thought he might be totally arrogant and dismiss her concern completely, as if she had no say in any of it and they would take care of it.
She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and began listing all the acts of fraud the perp had committed.
“So, let me get this straight,” CJ said.
She knew he was going to be a hard-ass. Mostly because he was Sarandon’s brother, but also because he was the law. And this was his jurisdiction. “Ask away.”
“An identity thief uses one of the identities he has on him, and everyone believes that’s his true identity. Why?”
“That’s all the police have to go by until they can prove otherwise.” She got a wolf’s howl on her cell—letting her know her mother was calling—and pulled out her phone, noticing a few smiles. Her mother had insisted Jenna and her sisters use the wolf howl sound for her calls so they’d know the call was important. Their mom normally wasn’t one to call just to chitchat. “Okay, my mom’s sending the mug shot of the guy they’ve taken into custody.” Since Jenna had already told Sarandon that her mom was the bondswoman, she didn’t need to keep it secret from the rest of them. Being wolves and family-oriented, she assumed they understood why hers was a family-run business.