Almost immediately the phone rang again. She handed it to him, rolling her eyes in disgust. “That has to be Mike again. Charlie said he saw him at the Middlemarch Bed-and-Breakfast. I thought he’d given up on me. Evidently not.”
“Middlemarch Police,” Jonno said.
“You a cop now, Jonno? We’re doing a great business taking over the police force,” Isabella said with a chuckle before settling to business. “Terry is on the move. I think she’s heading to the campground. She’ll pass the station soon.”
“Ramsay?”
“He went to Storm in a Teacup and is busy talking to Emily. When I poked my head into the café they were deep into a conversation of different styles of cuisine. Jeez, give me a good steak and I’m happy,” Isabella said. “Who wants this fancy stuff?”
Jonno barked a laugh as he squinted through the window and down the road. In his peripheral vision he caught a flash of navy blue. He tapped Laura on the shoulder, pointing with his finger. She gave a clipped nod.
“She’s coming this way,” Jonno said. “Talk to you soon. Can we turn this off?”
Laura took the phone from him and switched it off.
“Just Terry,” Jonno murmured as she sidled past the station. “Ramsay is with Emily.”
“Damn, do you think Terry learned about our plan and has gone to warn them? Or do you think she intends to rejoin them and has lied to us all along?”
“We’ll soon find out,” Jonno said. “Let’s go.”
They followed on foot until the campground came into sight.
“I wonder if we can get closer without them noticing?”
“Not too close. Terry will scent us,” Jonno warned as Terry ducked through a fence.
“I wish I could arrest their asses even though it’d be better to catch them in the middle of a crime.” Laura waited until Terry darted past a row of tents, then followed.
Jonno trailed a determined Laura. A few minutes later, they spotted Terry with several males and crept closer in order to eavesdrop.
Jonno sympathized while surveying the campervan and the four occupants who lounged outside. They sat on deckchairs arranged around a flimsy table, drinking beer. Quite a bit of beer, judging by the pile of empty cans and drunken laughter.
A wiry male dressed in a black T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off noticed Terry first. “Where the fuck have you been?” He stood and strutted over to her, reminding Jonno of a rooster.
“Max,” Terry cried out, flinging herself at the scruffy male. He curled his arms around her and ground their mouths together.
“I hope I do a better job of swapping spit,” Jonno murmured.
Laura snorted. “Don’t worry. You take spit-swapping to a new level. At least we’ve found the owner of the driver’s license. It puts him at the scene of the crime.”
They watched while the other teens made ribald comments. Finally the couple parted and moved away from the others. Terry talked in earnest.
Jonno cursed. “Damn, we’re not close enough. I can’t hear.”
“No problem. We can assume those two are involved and she’ll tell him everything. He’d better not be sleeping with her. She’s underage, and he must know it. Let’s go back and lean on Ramsay. See what he says when he learns his sister has met with suspected thieves.”
“Good idea,” Jonno said. “Besides, Isabella has followed and will watch them. She’s better at this stuff.”
“She wasn’t truly an assassin.”
“The rumors say yes.”
“Nah, she’s winding us up.” Laura chewed on her bottom lip. “She’s…intense at times.”
“Scary is the word you want. Sometimes it’s hard to know if she’s teasing.”
“My point,” Laura said, her tone dry.
They backed away from the campervan and left the caravan park. The Middlemarch pub was doing a brisk trade and as they passed the railway station, the train departed, its mournful whistle sending a shiver along his spine.
Jonno paused, studying the passengers who had disembarked. None were out of the ordinary. A group of five all wheeled bicycles while a young couple pushed a pram down the road. Their toddler didn’t sound too happy, bawling and attracting attention.
“I need to check in with Charlie at the station,” she said. “See you later?”
“Sure thing. Do you want me to talk to Ramsay?”
Laura hesitated before releasing a sigh of acquiescence. “Yeah. Tag team with Emily since she’s gained his trust.”
“Will do.” Jonno pressed a swift kiss to her lips, intending to keep things light until she responded. Damn. Desire roared through him and he sank into the kiss. She smelled of his soap, a fact he liked very much. He wondered how much longer it would take until she surrendered and admitted they were mates.
When they parted, they were both breathing harder. Laura’s lips appeared swollen and his cock pressed painfully against his zipper. Instead of frustrating him, the response made him long for the coming evening. It was also an incentive to catch the thieves so he and Laura could have a few uninterrupted days together.
“Later,” he said, brushing the backs of his fingers over her cheek. With a last wave, he strode toward Storm in a Teacup.
Emily and Ramsay were still deep in discussion when he arrived. Tomasine hovered, serving customers and bearing an anxious expression on her face.
Two elderly women sat at the table near the door.
“Have you heard about the ring Saber gave Emily? I haven’t seen it yet but from Emily’s description it’s gorgeous,” one said.
The gossip vine grew alive and well in Middlemarch. Good job, Emily. Satisfaction filled Jonno when he strode to the counter to check in with Tomasine.
“Jonno, have you seen Terry? I can’t find her.”
“Yeah. Isabella is watching her. Can you look after things for Emily while we have a word with Ramsay?”
“Sure.” Although she obviously wanted to ask questions, she smiled at a smartly dressed female who approached the counter and took her order.
“Do Ramsay and Terry know this is a setup?” he asked in a low voice, mindful of wagging ears.
“No, we kept it from them. We discussed Saber buying the ring for Emily. That’s all. Terry has been sulky and said little. Today was the first day she’s showed spark.” Tomasine acknowledged a customer and walked over to serve them.
Jonno strode to the table where Emily and Ramsay sat. “Emily, can we talk out the back?”
Emily seemed surprised but agreed, standing and letting him go first.
“You too, Ramsay,” Jonno said.
The teenager tensed and glanced around the café. “Where’s Terry?”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Jonno said. “Out the back.”
Emily and Ramsay followed him to the kitchen. Jonno scanned the work surfaces and the stack of dirty plates by the dishwasher. The scent of cinnamon and apples came from a pot simmering on the stove. No point sugarcoating this.
“Terry has gone to the campground to meet up with a group of males—late teens, early twenties,” he said.
The color faded from Ramsay’s face, leaving it white as the flour clinging to the board Emily had used for pastry making. “She promised me they’d finished. She promised.”
“Who are they?” Emily asked. “It’s time to talk and tell us the truth.”
“I…” His shoulders slumped. “Okay. The truth. Terry met them in Dunedin. She ran away from the foster home we were in to go with them. They’re thieves. I know they break into houses. I followed Terry and found her with them. She’s close to Max, the leader. Damn, she promised me they’d finished. She said she intended to sit in the garden until Tomasine returned. I swear I thought she was still there. I should have watched her…” He trailed off, his face a picture of misery. “If they’re still here in Middlemarch, it means they will rob someone’s house. Tell the police.”
His expression and slumped defeat made Jonno believe him,
which meant everything Terry had told them was a lie.
“That’s not what Terry told us,” Emily said, exchanging a glance with Jonno. “She implied you were part of the gang.”
Ramsay bit his lip, looking incredibly young. “No. Well, sort of…” He trailed off, subsiding into an uncomfortable silence.
“Tell us,” Emily prompted.
“Don’t worry,” Jonno said. “It’s being taken care of. Someone is watching Terry right now. Does she know about the robberies?”
“Yes, Terry has helped. I’ve told her it’s wrong. She won’t listen, and Max is such an arse.” Unable to stay still a second longer, he paced. Because of his gunshot injury he held his body stiffly, listing to one side like a sinking boat. “She ran away with him. I caught up with them in Cromwell and joined them. I had to—I couldn’t see any alternative if I wanted to protect Terry. No way did I want to help them.”
Alarm stomped in Jonno’s gut. “Does he know you’re both shifters?” Hell, that could mean problems for them and for Terry if Max sold her out for a nefarious purpose. Jonno wondered if Ramsay realized the danger Max presented to him and his sister.
Ramsay stumbled back past Jonno, a strained set to his mouth. He leaned against a stainless workbench, a pained groan squeezing past his tight lips. “Terry told me Max didn’t know. She wouldn’t listen when I tried to tell her he’s dangerous to us. Max keeps tight control of the money. Bastard stole my wallet, which is why we had to resort to stealing food. A man needs more than beer to survive.”
“And especially a feline shifter,” Emily said, understanding in her voice. “As long as you’re with us you need not go hungry.”
Ramsay squeezed his eyes shut for an instant, his throat working. Once he opened them again they glinted with unshed tears. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but if Terry moves on with them…” His shoulders hunched into a helpless shrug. “She’s my sister. I have no one else. I promised her after our parents died we’d stay together.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll work something out, but you have to remember your sister is responsible for her own actions. You can’t protect her all the time,” Emily said, squeezing his arm. “She has to be accountable.”
Jonno hoped like hell Emily could keep her word because from where he stood Terry was on the road to trouble.
Chapter Thirteen
“They kept the plans from Ramsay and Terry. Tomasine confirmed it when I checked with her,” Jonno said to Laura and Charlie on entering the police station. “Tomasine rang my cell just before I got here. Terry turned up. Said she went for a walk for some fresh air.”
Laura snorted at that. “Interesting.”
“I thought so,” Jonno agreed.
“Good. We’re on for tonight then,” Charlie said.
“Yeah. I hope they strike this time,” Laura said, her face contorted in a huge yawn. She raised her arms above her head and leaned back in her chair. “I need my sleep.”
Charlie smirked and stood to place a document in the scanner. He tapped the controls and waited for the device to scan to his computer. “Tell Jonno to let you sleep.”
A growl erupted from Jonno, rattling his throat. Charlie didn’t even flinch, laughing at them instead. The two human cops had accepted the felines and nothing fazed them. “Some people have no respect.”
“What are we going to do about Terry?” Laura asked, tapping her pen on the desktop.
“It looks as if she’s lied. We can’t trust her,” Jonno said, after filling them in on his conversation with Ramsay.
Charlie’s chair squeaked as he settled his weight. “I guess it depends on what she does next. We might use her to feed information. We assume they’ve cased the Mitchell homestead. It’s a matter of waiting, shaking the cage and seeing what falls out.”
A sense of restlessness plagued Jonno. He stalked past their two desks, doing his best to pace in the crammed police station. His upper thigh caught a stack of folders, sending them flying. Cursing, he crouched to gather the papers.
“Haven’t you got work to do on the farm?” Laura asked, her eyes rolling in clear exasperation. Her chair squeaked a protest when she rose to join him. “We need to wait. That’s what the police do. It’s all haste with long intervals in between.”
“In other words, go away and let us do our job.” Charlie’s mouth wreathed in a smirk while he delivered the verbal jab.
They were right. He had tasks to complete on the farm, but Jonno’s gut writhed with uncharacteristic nerves. Instinct warned him of danger. The need to protect his mate simmered in him while his feline fought for release, tearing at the polite strands of civility.
Another growl rattled his throat, low and frustrated. Jonno picked up the last piece of paper and slapped it into Laura’s hands. He stood with a jerky movement, inhaling while fighting another growl. “I’m going. I’ll see you later tonight.” Unable to resist, he pressed a quick kiss to Laura’s lips and stalked from the police station. Somehow he needed to quicken the pace of his courtship and mark Laura. Patience didn’t come easy to him. He snorted. The truth—this mating shit was gonna be the death of him.
* * * * *
“There they are,” Laura murmured, her low voice carrying to Jonno. “I see two.”
Jonno scanned the surrounding of the house, the deep shadows cast by the mature trees and larger bushes. “I see them. They’re going through the window we left open for them.”
“Good of them to wait until a fine night with an almost full moon,” Charlie whispered.
“Definitely two,” Isabella said, appearing from near the road. “They left their vehicle off the road, near the gate to the hill paddock.”
“I say take them down,” Laura said.
Leo appeared beside Isabella. “I’m with Laura. At least this way we have part of the group.”
“Let’s do it,” Charlie said.
Adrenaline flowed through Laura as she stood and crept to the section of the house allocated to her. The others moved into position. They’d staked out the doors as well since they didn’t have deadlocks. It’d be a simple matter for the thieves to leave via one of the doors rather than crawling back through the window.
She crouched in the shadows, listening for the slightest hint the thieves were heading her way. A breeze blew, rattling the leaves of a tree. She had no idea what type of tree it was—the noise reminded her of gentle breakers running to shore at the beach. A click sounded, not a loud one, although enough to raise her awareness. Heart pounding, she stared at the door and watched it open.
Showtime.
Laura stood, her hand closing over the butt of her gun.
Two figures exited the house, the one in the rear pausing to close the door.
“That was easy,” one of them said.
“Good haul,” the other agreed.
The gloating smugness in the males’ voices prodded Laura to action. “Police,” she said in a firm tone. “Put your hands up in the air where I can see them.”
“We haven’t done anything. This is our house,” one male said.
“Think again.” Isabella came up beside her. “This is the Mitchell homestead and you’re guilty of breaking and entering.”
Without warning, the two males sprinted in opposite directions. Laura leapt at one as he passed her. She grabbed his T-shirt. He jerked free. With a curse, she sprinted after him.
A feminine snarl told her Isabella had taken off in pursuit of the other.
Damn, the little prick ran fast. He scooped up a rock, firing it at her without breaking speed. It hit her on the shoulder. Laura swore at the solid thump of pain, slowing. Then someone—either Leo or Jonno—sprang at him with a snarl. They fell in a tangle of limbs. The thief fought but was no match in size or strength for the fully grown feline. Jonno, she saw, as she neared the two.
Breathing heavily, pulse hammering in her ears, Laura handed Jonno the cuffs. Now that she’d stopped running, her shoulder ached like hell. She moved it ginge
rly and decided the stone had broken no bones.
Charlie trotted over to them. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Laura said, forcing aside the throb of pain. She was fine. “Did we get the other one as well?”
“Isabella got him. He’s not going anywhere. I’ll get the car.” Without waiting for her reply, Charlie sped off.
Isabella dragged over the other teen. Laura scanned his face, pleased when she saw they’d caught the leader. Good. That would put a crimp in the rest of the group’s plans because, according to Ramsay, they were thick.
“We weren’t doing anything,” the leader protested.
Laura moved closer, checking his jacket packets and doing a brisk search for both concealed weapons and contraband. “Bingo,” she said, pulling out a ring and a necklace. “These belong to Emily Mitchell. You’re under arrest for theft and breaking and entering.” A further search revealed a knife strapped to his thigh. The other youth possessed a similar weapon plus money and credit cards belonging to Emily. The added evidence of the driver’s license put Max at the other robbery. Laura rattled off their rights, relieved when Charlie arrived with the car and placed the pair of sullen males into the rear of the police vehicle. Her jaw cracked in a wide yawn. The last couple of nights had taken their toll. At least they’d caught them.
Crime solved. Good job done.
After settling the two males in the holding cells, she, Charlie and Jonno stumbled from the station, ready to hit their beds.
“Sleep in tomorrow morning, Charlie,” Laura said.
“What about our prisoners?”
Laura shrugged. “I’ll check on them, get them a meal.”
“I’m so tired I’m not going to argue,” Charlie said. “Thanks.”
Soon, Laura and Jonno were on their way to his house. In Jonno’s bedroom, they stripped and crawled into bed.
“How’s your shoulder?” Jonno asked, probing it with skilled fingers.
“It will be fine.” Despite her words, Laura couldn’t stop the wince of pain at his touch.
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