Night of the Billionaire Wolf

by Terry Spear

  “That’s how you would use the cleanser,” Lexi said to the camera. “Once a week, use the exfoliator to refresh the skin. Doesn’t he look great?” Then she used a toner, serum, and moisturizer.

  Ryder sure hoped no one in his circles saw the video. But he did get a kick out of this.

  Then it was Don’s turn. Ryder was glad Don was on the hot seat, so to speak, for the rest of the video. He could just imagine what the bad guys in the suits were saying as they viewed the security video, observing Lexi using skincare products on two male “models.”

  Don looked relaxed when Lexi was applying moisturizer to his face, yet he appeared much more serious than Ryder had been while she was working on him.

  When she finally ended the video, she said, “That was great. You did a super job, both of you. Kate will pay you, Don.”

  “Do I get a free supply of the skin-care products?” Don asked.

  Lexi laughed. “Yes, I have free samples, if you’d like to have some.”

  “I’ll get them.” Kate went inside the cabin and returned with a gift bag, except instead of it being gold, it was silver—for the guys, Ryder figured.

  Don was delighted, which surprised Ryder. He thought Don was kidding.

  “Should we make plans about how to deal with the other guys?” Ryder said quietly to Lexi and Don while Kate carried the camera equipment into the cabin.

  “Let’s go to the back deck, since you said they don’t have a security device monitoring us in that direction,” Lexi said.

  When they moved back there, Kate served them water and tea.

  “All right, so how do you want to go about this?” Lexi asked. “You’re the expert.”

  “Thanks.” Don seemed to be pleased she would think so and not see him as trouble now. “I’m always after a story, you know. I wouldn’t mind getting Ryder’s too. I’m sure I could do an interesting angle on him being a male model.”

  Lexi smiled at Ryder.

  Ryder wanted to laugh, but he kept the secret. Ryder wondered how Don was going to take care of the bad guys.

  “I’ll go to their door and ask about doing a story on them. Hopefully, they won’t shoot me,” Don said. “Then again, danger is my middle name.”

  They all laughed.

  “I’ll go with you,” Ryder said.

  “Two male models doing a story,” Don said, chuckling.

  “I’m a bodyguard. I just do this as a side hobby,” Ryder said.

  “Hell, all right.”

  “We’ll go with you too,” Lexi said.

  “No. You stay with Kate at the cabin. You don’t need to deal with these men.” Ryder hadn’t meant to sound so in charge, but he didn’t want Lexi to have to come face-to-face with them.

  “Okay, go take care of them then,” Lexi said.

  Ryder was expecting her to disagree with him. He was glad when she didn’t.

  “Come on, let’s do this.” Ryder suspected the photojournalist would be up for this. Don lived for the thrill of adventure and danger.

  “Are you armed?” Lexi asked.

  “Yeah. I’m a bodyguard.”

  His eyes widening, Don looked over at Ryder. “Hell, that’s a good thing. Okay, let’s go.”

  Ryder and Don walked toward the men’s cabin, and when they reached it, Don knocked on the door. No one answered it right away. Then the man who had spoken to Ryder before opened the door with a jerk. “What do you want?”

  “I’m Don Morgan, a photojournalist for the Washington Post, here to do a feature on you.”

  The guy gave him a really dark smile and glanced at Ryder. “And him?”

  “My bodyguard. It’s amazing how dangerous this work can be.”

  “A male model posing as a bodyguard or the other way around? I’m not sure how tough you can be, from what I saw of the two of you getting made up so nice and pretty.”

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Ryder said, his voice dark with threat. He wasn’t about to pretend he was Mr. Nice Guy.

  The man shrugged. “I’m not sure why you would want to interview us. There’s no story here.”

  “Sure there is,” Don said. “You’ve been harassing Lexi Summerfield, and I’m the only one who’s allowed to do that.”

  “Is that so?” The man turned his attention to Ryder. “Was Lexi surprised to hear from us?”

  “Not at all. She wondered what had taken you so long,” Ryder said.

  The man snorted, then turned on Don. “Get that damned camera out of my face. We’re not doing any damned interview. Get out of here. And, you, I told you that you should listen to me when I said not to get involved in this.”

  “I’m involved. I’m her bodyguard and model.”

  “That could be real inconvenient…for you.”

  “We’re just on vacation here, so why don’t you pack up your security videos and head on out of here,” Ryder said.

  The man gave him a dark smile. “We’re just on vacation here too.”

  “Is that right? Then you won’t mind if I remove the security camera you have doing surveillance on Lexi’s cabin.”

  “Touch it and—” the other man said from inside the cabin, but the one they were talking to motioned for the other man to stop speaking.

  “You’re right. We’re only worried about Lexi getting herself into trouble. Looks like with all her little helpers, she’ll be just fine.” He motioned to the other man. “Go ahead and get it.”

  The other man left the cabin and walked in the direction of Lexi’s cabin. Ryder didn’t believe for a moment they would leave well enough alone. And he suspected they’d set up the camera in another location.

  “Now get that damned camera out of my face and get the hell out of here.” The guy shut the door in their faces.

  “Did you get anything for a story?” Ryder asked as they headed back to Lexi’s cabin.

  “Yeah, man. I provide the pictures, tell them the background, and they write up the story. This time, it’s my story to tell,” Don said.

  “As long as it doesn’t hurt Lexi.”

  Don smiled at him. “You’ve got a thing for her, don’t you?”

  “Don’t you dare print that.” Ryder could just imagine how irate Lexi would be over it.

  “Yeah, see? I have a nose for news. When I do the interview, I promise it will only be to help her business.”

  “Unlike last time?” Ryder had no idea what Don had written up before concerning her, but he knew Don was into sensationalistic crap, so it wouldn’t have been something that aided her business. Ryder didn’t trust Don would do right by her this time either.

  “Hell, I didn’t know she was so accessible.”

  “Meaning?”

  “I could have just asked her if she was getting serious about the other guys she was seeing.”

  “Well, she’s not that accessible. You just got lucky this time since you needed each other. Let her live her life in private. I’m sure you have plenty of other celebs you can hound concerning their love lives.”

  “What about you?”

  “What do you mean, what about me?”

  “You and Lexi.”

  Ryder just shook his head. “You don’t want to go there.”

  “But you’ll make sure I have a wedding invitation, right?”

  “You don’t ever let go when you’ve got a story you want to pursue, do you?”

  “Nah, it’s part of the territory. But I’d love to do a story on you.”

  “What? As a bodyguard?”

  “No. A male model. Hell, I might be in on the ground floor of discovering a real sensation.”

  Ryder laughed. “Be serious.”

  “I am. Hell, I might be the one to make you famous.”

  “In a tabloid?”

  “You never know.”

&nbs
p; When they reached Lexi’s cabin, she opened the door. “We saw the guy removing the camera. Good job.”

  “But they’re not leaving, I’m afraid,” Ryder said.

  “I’ll keep an eye on them,” Don said.

  “So you’re not leaving either?” Lexi asked. “You have your skin-care samples and I’ll do the interview, so you have no reason to stay.”

  Don smiled at her. “I have to keep after these guys until you leave. You know I never listen when someone tells me they don’t want to talk to me. Look at you. You’re finally granting me my first interview.”

  “Okay, I’m ready.” Lexi moved onto the back deck.

  Ryder suspected she didn’t want Don to take pictures of the inside of their cabin. Ryder didn’t blame her. She needed to keep her privacy as much as she could.

  He and Kate moved to the deck with her and waited while they talked.

  “What’s your real relationship with Ryder?” Don asked her.

  Lexi’s lips parted, and she appeared to be taken aback by the question.

  Don chuckled. “I don’t have to make up anything about it.”

  “Nothing is going on between us,” Lexi said. “And don’t you dare publish anything that says there is.” She gave Ryder a harsh look that told him he’d better not be feeding into Don’s fantasy.

  Ryder smiled. Don did, too, and Ryder figured that’s just what he planned to do. There was no making concessions with someone like that.

  When Don finished the interview, Ryder halfway expected Lexi to invite him for dinner, too, but she didn’t. He could understand her reluctance to get too friendly with Don. Who knew what he would actually say to the magazine he was going to sell the story to. They wouldn’t want to have to guard what they said over dinner. Ryder was relieved Don was leaving.

  But he had to talk to Don about a mission he needed to go on tonight. He didn’t want Lexi or Kate to know about it though. Ryder was certain the thugs in suits would be watching her place. They might even set up a security camera behind Lexi’s cabin. In a way, Ryder wished the ladies would leave. On the other hand, for selfish reasons, he didn’t want Lexi to go. Not that he had any chance with her, but he enjoyed her company. Plus, by his count, he was up to at least four dates with her. Wasn’t that a good sign? He’d passed the three-dates-and-you’re-out limit?

  “Are you staying at the cabins or somewhere else?” Ryder asked Don, wanting to know how close by he was staying.

  “In town at a hotel. All of the cabins were already booked.”

  Good. “But you’re parked here somewhere, right?”

  “Uh. Yeah. It’s too far to walk.”

  “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  Lexi smiled, looking appreciative that Ryder would make sure Don left the resort. Not that the guy would stay away permanently. Don could come back later.

  “Sure. That way I don’t get lost.” Dan sounded facetious.

  “See you in a few,” Ryder told Lexi.

  “All right.”

  Ryder walked outside with Don and said, “You must have a night-vision lens to be able to shoot pictures at night.”

  “I do. The damnedest thing happened to me last night. I was just playing around with my new lens to see how well it did when I saw four wolves. I began shooting them, thinking it had to be a rarity and it would make for a good story. I’ve never heard of them being in the park before.”

  “Oh?” Ryder was amused the number of wolves Don had seen had gone from three to four.

  “Yeah, hell, the four wolves attacked me. Maybe five. I was in a panic to get away, believe you me.”

  Ryder made a point to look Don’s arms and legs over. “They bit you?”

  “Well, no. I told you it was bizarre. They stole my camera and equipment. They tore the camera right out of my hands.”

  “You don’t say.” Ryder smiled at him as if to say it sounded like a tall tale to him.

  “Hey, I’m not making this stuff up. I told the park rangers, but they said they haven’t had any sightings of wolves in the park. And they said if there were that many wolves, someone else would have reported seeing them. I told them they have that many now. Then they learned who I was, and my credibility was shot to hell. They figured I made it up to sell the story to a magazine. They assumed everything I said was just a hoax.”

  “It wasn’t?”

  “No! I had pictures of them even. The wolves took off with my camera and equipment!”

  Ryder shoved his hands in his pockets. “Wolves don’t attack people, and they don’t steal stuff like that. Food maybe, if you had any on you. If they’re starving. They would avoid people. But stealing cameras and camera equipment? No.”

  “These wolves looked like they were getting plenty of meals. They were well fed. I had to drive miles to reach a reputable camera shop to replace my camera equipment. I swear it’s all true.” Don glanced at Ryder. “So why are you walking me out to my car? Are you afraid I won’t really leave?”

  “I need you to make sure those guys don’t leave their cabin tonight,” Ryder said, not answering Don’s question.

  “What are you planning to do?”

  “Something for Lexi. I’m sure, after those men removed the video camera that was set up to watch Lexi’s cabin, they moved it to a new location and they’re still observing her place.”

  “What’s in it for me?”

  Ryder shook his head. “Don’t you ever do anything nice for anyone just on principle?”

  “You get all the glory, and I get all the grief. You’re the trained bodyguard. Why don’t you keep those guys at the cabin, and I’ll do whatever it was you were going to do.”

  “It won’t work, and I can’t say why.”

  “You know how intriguing that is to a guy like me who loves to write stories about mysteries?”

  “Well, don’t be tempted to do anything about that. I just need you to watch them.”

  “Why doesn’t Kate do it?” Don sounded like he was suspicious of what was going on.

  “She needs to protect Lexi. And I don’t want either of them to know what I’m doing.”

  “Now that’s even more intriguing.” They reached Don’s yellow VW Bug, and he unlocked the car door.

  Ryder folded his arms. “By the way, I believe you about the wolves.”

  Don shook his head. “You don’t believe me one bit. What time is showtime?”

  “Two in the morning. Can you handle it?”

  “How much are you going to pay me?”

  “Two-fifty.”

  Don smiled. “You got a deal.”

  If Don kept his word and made sure the rotten thugs didn’t leave the cabin, and no one followed Ryder, he might just have a chance to find the message for Lexi. More than anything in the world, he wanted to do that for her. He realized it could be dangerous for her and her father, but he couldn’t imagine being separated from a family member she loved, when they were wolves which were usually cohesive as a family.

  Ryder watched Don drive off, then walked back through the woods to Lexi’s cabin to have dinner with the she-wolves.

  Kate let him into the cabin through the front door. “They put up two cameras. We watched them. One is around back and one out front.”

  “Okay, good to know. I’ll have to check around my place too.”

  Lexi and Kate had made spareribs. “This looks and smells great,” he said. “I guess we won’t run as wolves after it gets dark.”

  “Sure we can. We’ll have to take a hike in a direction away from where the message may be and remove our clothes and shift before we go for a run, but I’m not going to stop doing what I love to do when I come to the park,” Lexi said.

  They all sat down to eat the spareribs, corn on the cob, and a spinach and tomato salad. Ryder was glad he was able to spend more time with the la
dies. He’d really thought he was on the outs with them before the thugs had come to his cabin, threatening him concerning Lexi.

  “Thanks for making sure Don left our area.” Lexi licked the rib spices off her fingers.

  He could just imagine tangling his tongue with hers, pressing his body against hers, getting aroused all over again. Even thinking of it was making him hard. It was good the tabletop wasn’t glass.

  “You’re welcome. He told me about the wolves stealing his camera and equipment,” Ryder said, trying to get his mind back on having a normal conversation.

  Lexi and Kate laughed.

  Ryder started working on another rib, loving the spices the ladies used. “I’ll have to get your recipe for this.”

  “I’ll send it to you,” Lexi said.

  “Sounds good. So Don thought there might have been four or five of us wolves.”

  “He’s a storyteller.” Lexi buttered her corn. “I’m surprised he didn’t say there were even more of us than that.”

  “What did you say to that?” Kate added blue cheese dressing to her salad.

  “That I believed him. He told the park rangers, but they didn’t believe him once they learned who he was.” Ryder started to work on his corn.

  The ladies laughed again.

  “Serves him right for fabricating so many stories,” Lexi said. “Just like the little boy who cried wolf.”

  Ryder still wouldn’t put it past Don to continue to make up stories about Lexi’s love life, and he suspected he was going to be featured as her next made-up lover. Not that he minded, since he wasn’t currently seeing anyone. He just didn’t think that would go over big with Lexi. “The food’s great.”

  “Thanks. It’s hard coming up with something now, knowing we have a gourmet cook in our midst,” Lexi said.

  He chuckled. “This is as good as I could come up with. After dinner, I’ll return to my cabin, but I’m going to look for any security cameras they might have put up to observe my place. At least if they try to enter our cabins and leave bugs, we’ll know it, now that we have their scents. And I have equipment that will detect them too.”

  “Thanks, I do too,” Kate said.