Night of the Billionaire Wolf

by Terry Spear

  Mike holstered his gun and yanked off his shirt, then wrapped it around Kate’s wound to stop the bleeding.

  Ryder nuzzled Lexi in greeting, glad she wasn’t hurt and praying Kate would be all right. None of them said anything, not wanting to give themselves away to the men climbing the cliff.

  Being his protective self, Ryder charged forward as soon as the first man crested the bluff. He heard Lexi’s sharp intake of breath as she rushed to keep him from getting hurt. He still didn’t bark or growl, but when the guy saw him, Ryder smelled the man’s adrenaline-laced fear. Ryder leapt forward, meaning to startle the guy enough that he’d think twice about attacking them and return the way he’d come. Despite his wide-eyed appearance, as if he were in shock to see the wolf so close, the man grabbed Ryder’s leg and pulled him toward the cliff’s edge.

  Lexi rushed forward, growling and snapping viciously at the man, nearly slipping off the edge herself. His heart in his throat, Ryder bit the guy, but the thug still managed to pull him partway over the cliff. Ryder snapped and snarled and bit again, until Lexi made another lunge at the guy, and he lost his grip on Ryder’s leg. He plummeted to the rocks below, screaming until he hit the bottom, the other man looking on in horror as he stared at the wolves above, and then at his cohort down below.

  Ryder scrambled to safety, but Lexi had been hanging too far forward when she bit at the man, and now she couldn’t get enough traction to back up. She looked and smelled as terrified as Ryder was. He moved far enough away from the ledge so that when he shifted, the other man couldn’t see him. Then Ryder hurried to reach his mate, leaning out and wrapping his arms around Lexi’s waist. He quickly pulled her back to safety. For long moments, he held her in his arms. His wolf. Just as much as he was hers, and he couldn’t imagine losing her.

  The other man secured himself well enough to the rocks that he could get his gun out and began firing shots at Ryder and Lexi, but he couldn’t hit them because of the angle of the rocks, though splinters of rock from where the rounds hit shot upward. But Ryder couldn’t get to him either. He didn’t want him getting away. Ryder shifted back to his wolf.

  Mike hurried to join him. “Kate told me Tremaine is dead. So are the rest of these bastards.” He said it loud enough for the man hanging from the cliff to hear him. “If this last guy tries to come up here, he’s dead.”

  The guy didn’t move. Weighing his options? His boss was dead. The grudge over.

  Then they heard him rappelling back down to the bottom of the cliff.

  “What the hell happened?” another man asked him from down below.

  Ryder hadn’t realized there were any more of them down there. A rock overhang was hiding them now, though it didn’t impede their wolf hearing.

  “Tremaine’s dead. Let’s go.”

  “What about Egbert?”

  “Leave him. He’s dead. Let them deal with it.”

  “That’s it? We don’t get paid?”

  “Kingston will have taken over. So no. He doesn’t care anything about Tremaine’s vendetta. Only Tremaine did. He’s dead. All right? Let’s get the hell out of here before we are too. We could have been far away from here by now if we hadn’t done what Tremaine ordered us to do.”

  “He only helped free us from prison because we agreed to do this. You know he would have come after us if we hadn’t done what he’d told us to do.” The guy scrambled over the rocks, then fell and cursed. “It’s done. Once we get outta here, you go your way and I’ll go mine.”

  Mike was on his phone already. “We had a home invasion—Joe Tremaine and the other escaped convicts are either dead or escaping by boat.” He gave the 911 operator the address and everything else he needed to mention about the situation.

  Ryder went to see what the blue and white boat looked like, still bobbing in the water. These guys had to have come from that boat, and he wanted to be able to describe it in detail. The name on the boat was Flossy, and unless the thugs repainted the boat, at least the authorities had that to go by.

  Suddenly, two men in a yellow rubber dinghy came into his view in the rough water. They were trying to motor through the breakers and miss the rocks. A rogue wave headed straight for them, and Ryder sure hoped it would capsize them. Their dinghy hit the rough water wrong and flipped over. He wanted to pump his fist. Instead, he howled. He figured the men would swim back to the rocky beach and the police could apprehend them. Both men went under, the raft carried off by the current. He thought maybe the prison escapees would be under the raft, but then they both bobbed up from the frothy waves, hands flailing, gasping for air, swallowing water.

  Neither of the men were swimming for shore, which Ryder would have done. Instead, one grabbed hold of a jagged rock poking out of the foam, only to be ripped away when another wave surged. The other man was still flailing, going under more than he was staying afloat, panicked. Both men disappeared in the rough water, and Ryder didn’t see them come up for air again.

  Lexi nudged Kate to go back inside the house, and Ryder went with the two ladies so he could shift and dress before the police got there. Mike called Edward after that. “Yeah, we took care of it. The police, and I’m sure the FBI, are on their way because these guys are fugitives. We need medical support for Kate too. You’re sending a helicopter. Good. A couple of men tried to make their escape. They’re in the water, but the boat that probably was supposed to pick them up left them and took off. It looked like the two men drowned. I know. Karma, right?”

  Then Ryder didn’t hear any more as he barged into the house and found Lexi dressed in shorts and a T-shirt while she rebandaged Kate’s arm with real bandages, Mike’s bloodied shirt sitting beside her.

  “What happens now?” Lexi asked as Ryder ran past them to the master bedroom to shift and dress.

  “The police will probably get the FBI involved, since these guys all broke out of a federal prison. We’ll all need to give statements while they’re doing a criminal investigation here, and we’ll want to try to make up a story about what had happened with the dog that bit several of them.” Ryder joined them and looked down at the thug’s mangled right hand.

  “The guy was ambidextrous and came after me with a knife after I took care of his gun hand,” Lexi said.

  “Then I had to finish him off.” Kate winced.

  “The two of you work well together. How are you doing?” Ryder crouched down to feel Kate’s pulse.

  “Fading.”

  “A helicopter’s coming for you,” Ryder said, trying to reassure Kate.

  “What about Lexi?” Kate sounded more concerned about her welfare.

  “Kate, you’re the one who was injured! I’m fine. The bastard who was out to get me is dead. The others who didn’t die are already fleeing. Unless they drowned.” Lexi held her hand. “Don’t you dare die on me. I’ll never forgive you.”

  “Not…going to die. Just want to sleep.”

  “Don’t. You have to stay awake until the EMT tells you that you can sleep,” Lexi said.

  They heard a helicopter land in the grass out back and sirens out front headed their way.

  Doctors Aidan and Holly Denali rushed out of the helicopter, heads down, and dashed for the house. “Edward said you needed us.”

  “I’m so glad to see you,” Lexi said with relief, surprised Edward had called their friends instead of just regular emergency services. She loved them for dropping everything to come to Kate’s aid.

  “Me too.” Kate’s voice was pained and tired.

  “Kate’s the only one wounded?” Holly asked Ryder.

  “Yeah,” Ryder said. “She might need a blood transfusion. Police are on their way, but she needs to leave now. I don’t want them to take Kate to a regular hospital.”

  “We’ll get her out of here,” Aidan said.

  The police sirens were near the driveway now. “I’ll let the police in,” Lex
i said. “Kate, I’ll see you as soon as I can. Oh, and the story is that my dog bit the men but was injured and the Denalis helicoptered him along with Kate.”

  “Okay. I’ll be fine, once I get some blood in me,” Kate said.

  “You’re definitely getting a pay raise,” Lexi promised her.

  Kate smiled. “Things are looking up already.”

  Holly and Aidan stabilized Kate.

  “Okay, let’s get her out of here,” Holly said.

  Mike and Ryder carried Kate to the helicopter on a stretcher. The doctors climbed into the helicopter with her and took off. By the time Mike and Ryder returned to the house, Lexi was opening the door for the police and a couple of FBI agents.

  Then Mike, Lexi, and Ryder gave statements about what had gone down, leaving out the part about them being wolves, of course. That was the problem with being in their wolf coats when they had to fight humans.

  “We’ll need to speak with your personal assistant, Ms. Summerfield,” the agent said to Lexi. He was middle-aged, stern-looking, his hair thinning at the temple, his gray eyes not missing anything. “Why would Tremaine and the other escaped convicts come here? We’ve been looking for them everywhere, but we wouldn’t have expected them to come here.”

  “He was still trying to discover where my father was so he could kill him for testifying against him and helping to send him to prison.”

  “Dr. Summerfield. I thought he had died. He must have gone into witness protection.” The agent scribbled down some more notes. “What’s the kind of dog you own?”

  “German shepherd.” Lexi offered some tears and hurriedly wiped them away.

  The agent paused to observe her.

  Ryder said, “She’ll come through okay, Lexi.”

  “And you’re Ms. Summerfield’s bodyguard too?” the agent asked, directing his question to Ryder.

  “Yes. I’ve only been working for her for a short while. I worked for Doctor Aidan Denali before this. Both Mike and I did.”

  The agent smiled a little.

  “She needed more protection because of the business with Tremaine, as you can see,” Ryder said.

  The agent flipped through his notes. “I see the reports about the Redwood Cabins and his hired assassins staying at the cabin near hers.”

  “Correct. That’s where I met her.”

  “I think we’ve got enough information. Oh, just one other question, why didn’t you fire your weapon, Mr. Gallagher?” the agent asked.

  “I didn’t have it with me first thing this morning. I was enjoying the sunrise with Lexi.” Not as a wolf.

  “We’re getting married,” Lexi said. “We were discussing wedding plans. But you know the rest.”

  The agent closed his book. “All right. You’re all free to go. We’ll let you know when you can return to the house. Don’t leave the state in the meantime.”

  “We’ll be staying with Drs. Aidan and Holly Denali until we can return here,” Ryder said.

  “That’ll work.”

  Lexi and Ryder went to her room to each pack a bag while Mike went upstairs to get some things. Then Lexi packed a bag for Kate. She hoped the agent didn’t notice they had no dog bed, toys, or water and food dishes for the dog. But he didn’t seem to notice. Ryder drove them to the Denalis’ place a little north of their place in the woods on a lake. “Holly’s parents have built a home there, too, so she has her family close by. Both her sister and brother are away at college now and come home on weekends to run in the woods as wolves and play in the swimming pool.”

  “I’ve never been to their home, just Rafe’s since he always has the big parties,” Lexi said. “I’m calling to check on Kate, and I’ll put it on speaker so you can hear what’s being said.” A few minutes later, she said, “Kate, how are you doing?”

  “You mentioned a pay raise?”

  “The pay raise?” Lexi smiled. “You must be doing all right. We’re on our way there now. It’ll take us another half hour. And I promise we’re not going to bring any bad guys with us.”

  “Good. Aidan said they haven’t had any breakfast. And Mike and Ryder will be right on time to make it.”

  The guys both laughed. But Ryder was thankful the business with Tremaine was over. He never thought he’d be back in the business of cooking meals for the Denalis.

  Chapter 29

  While Ryder and Mike fixed breakfast, Lexi was on the phone telling her family Tremaine was dead. She began to cry, and Ryder handed the spatula he was using to flip the omelets to Mike and said, “I’ll be right back.” Ryder felt bad he hadn’t been more sensitive to how Lexi had to be feeling after all the fighting. He joined her and wrapped her in his arms, kissed the top of her head, then kissed her cheek.

  “Yeah, Ryder’s here with me with his arms wrapped lovingly around me as we speak. It was just upsetting. The whole thing. I haven’t had time to process any of it. Kate’s going to be fine, but I nearly died when I saw that she’d been shot. And when the thug nearly pulled Ryder off the cliff, I was frantic to save him.”

  When the thug had nearly pulled his mate off the cliff, Ryder had felt the same way. He still hadn’t processed that either. He knew he’d have nightmares about that. She probably would too. He couldn’t believe she had managed to get so close to the edge to save him when he knew how terrified she’d been. First chance he got, he was building a wrought-iron fence on that one area, with a gate and a stone path cut into the rocks that would lead to the rocky beach so she could enjoy it. He suspected she’d like to take pictures down there when it was built. His wedding present to her.

  “But the good news is we can see each other as a family whenever we want.” Lexi smiled and wiped away her tears. “About the wedding plans. I thought we’d still have two weddings. One for the public here, and one in Silver Town, since you’ve made it your home and we’ll be part of the family there too. Ryder’s parents want to come to both. What do you want to do?” Lexi smiled. “Okay, that would be great. Dad can walk me down the aisle twice. I’ll be like a bad penny. Dad can’t give me away only once.” She laughed and Ryder kissed her again.

  As long as her father was only giving Lexi away to Ryder, she could have as many weddings as she wanted.

  “I have to have the one for the public because I’d promised, and it’ll let any male wolf know I’m no longer available. It’s all about promotion and goodwill. Otherwise, I’d just have the one in Silver Town. I love you too. We’re having breakfast, so I have to go. I’ll call you later. Love you.”

  When she pocketed her phone, she wrapped her arms around Ryder and hugged him tight.

  “I’m sorry about everything, honey,” Ryder said.

  “It’s not your fault. We were just having fun as wolves and watching the sunset. Tremaine was the trouble. As usual.”

  “No more.” Ryder took her to the table where Holly, Mike, and Aidan were setting out the food and dishes.

  They all sat down to eat their late breakfast and talked about the tea party and dinner at Rafe’s house.

  “Jade called and said we’d have it later, after Kate’s feeling better,” Holly said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Kate said.

  “Same here,” Lexi said.

  “I guess you won’t be needing as many bodyguards now.” Mike cut into his ham.

  “Are you kidding? Just think when we have little ones.” Lexi sipped some of her coffee. “You can have babysitting duty too.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Little ones made Ryder think about the safety of the bluff for wolf cubs and children. And for Lexi’s dogs, too, when they picked them out. He definitely thought that putting up a wrought-iron fence around the bluff would be his number one priority.

  Then Lexi got a call from Silky Spring and put it on speakerphone. “Yeah, Silky?”

  “Okay, I know I’m not supposed to c
all anyone from my past, even if you aren’t all that much in the past, but the U.S. Marshals told me you killed Tremaine and that’s the end of me testifying against him. But they have all the stuff my mom had on him, and they might be able to make a case against the others who were on his payroll. So that means I’m out of the Witness Protection Program. Oh, and before I forget, Don called me and said Tremaine wasn’t my dad. Murphy was. So you were right.”

  “You suspected it, didn’t you?” Lexi asked.

  “Yeah. I was just pissed off at Murphy because he didn’t take Mom somewhere safe and protect her if he really loved her.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “So I’m back in the business of selling cosmetics. And Don said my interview will be in a magazine in two weeks. If you want to give me more tips, I’d be grateful,” Silky said.

  “We sure will. Tremaine shot Kate in the arm, so she’s recovering, but once she’s feeling one hundred percent, we’ll get with you about it.”

  “Oh, no. He was such a bastard. Tell her to get better. And thanks. I’ve got to go. Don’s still here, and he’s going to tell me about the wolves that stole his camera and equipment in the redwoods. Have you ever heard of wolves running around in the park? I think he likes to make up stories. Anyway, thanks for asking Don to learn who my father truly was. Catch up with you later… Oh, and tell Kate I’m sorry. Tremaine deserved what he got in the end.”

  “He did, thanks, Silky.” Lexi took a deep breath and put her phone on the table.

  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m so tired, I could sleep the rest of the day away,” Kate said, and Lexi helped her up from the table.

  Lexi took hold of Ryder’s hand after that. “If you don’t mind having a bunch of houseguests who are all going to bed before it’s even noon, Ryder and I are going to slip away for a while.”

  Ryder was all for it.