“I don’t care. I can’t separate a mother and her children.”
“I don’t want to do it either.” Noah thought about it for minute. “Okay. We take them. I’ll tell him she’s more manageable knowing we have possession of her sons.”
Wade nodded and retrieved their clothes.
They were far outside the town limits, and they had a long walk ahead of them to the
Black
Wolf
Inn
. Noah would have preferred living in the rough, but Wade convinced him it would be more dangerous than living in town. If they were spotted as wolves, every hunter in the area would be looking for them. Now he was afraid that would come to pass anyway.
And staying in town was starting to look even riskier. They’d never expected Janis to be here. They had false IDs, but what if she spotted them in their human forms? How could they explain their presence in the small town? They needed to complete their business fast and get back to
New Mexico
. At least they were both in agreement about that.
With their long muscular legs and powerful strides they made good time on the return trip, and before long, they had the inn in their sights. Built in the early nineteen hundreds with hand-hewn logs, it presented an imposing façade.
A tin roof sheltered a porch lined with rockers. The men stepped up, and Noah tried the front door, half afraid they’d been locked out. The door opened easily, and they walked inside.
Noah had hoped that the combination lobby and great room would be empty. No such luck.
Two men sat in front of the massive stone fireplace where embers still smoldered in the hearth. A bottle of whiskey and a checkerboard sat on the long wood plank table between them. The innkeeper looked up from his game and scowled at them.
His suspicious nature didn’t surprise Noah. People in small towns were always wary of strangers. He just hoped the man hadn’t found evidence of Wade sleeping in his room. The Black Wolf Lodge had ten sparsely furnished but impeccably clean rooms. They had booked two, but only used one.
Tongues wagged freely in a small community. If people knew they were lovers, it would only make them more conspicuous.
Noah nodded and kept walking, but the innkeeper’s grim face and cool stare followed them. They’d almost reached the staircase when the man’s question stopped them in their tracks.
“You boys taking in a little night air?”
“Just a walk.” No sense lying. The only place still open was the tavern, and it would be easy enough to find out they hadn’t been in there.
“Best stay indoors. It’s safer.”
Had they just been threatened? No. His imagination was getting the best of him. This whole mission freaked him out. He just wanted it over and done.
Chapter Eight
“Are you sure you don’t need me?” Jude must have asked Sable the same question six times.
“I always need you, baby.” Sable batted her eyes at him. “Now go take care of your horses.”
“Blech!” Janis pretended to stick a finger down her throat and gag. “How do you stand him?”
“He’s cute,” Sable said.
Jude made a face at Janis. He walked over to Sable and put his arms around her. “You sure? I’ll stick around if you want me to.”
Sable hugged him, and Janis watched them suck face. A tiny pang of regret pierced her heart. She wondered if Noah and Wade had concluded their business at home and returned to the apartment. Or had she really seen the last of them.
Jude came up for air and wiggled his hips against Sable’s.
Sable gave him a little shove. “Down, boy. Now I know why you want to hang around here.”
He laughed and swatted her butt.
“Wow. That was some kiss.” Janis fanned her face with her hand. “Sable, I swear you put my brothers under a magic spell.”
Sable laughed. “Horndogs! Both of them.” She winked at Jude. “Use up some of that energy on the horses. Go on. Don’t you have enough to do without worrying
about me?”
“How many horses do you have stabled?” Janis asked, curious.
“Too many,” Sable said. “Eleven horses are too much for one man to take care of.”
“One man?” Janis echoed. Her brothers offered boarding and stud service in addition to taking care of their own animals. They’d always hired extra help if they needed it.
“Jonas is busy in his lab.” Jude’s voice took on a defensive tone. “He’s working on selective breeding. He says eventually we’ll have the best horses in the state.”
“If you live that long.” Sable’s brow furrowed.
“So why not hire some help?” Janis asked.
“I like doing things my own way.” Jude got that bulldog expression on his face, and Janis knew there was no changing his mind.
She suspected her brother’s desire for privacy had a lot to do with their unusual marriage. She was sure they didn’t want their business all over town. Gossip ran wild in Black Wolf, and her brothers wouldn’t want Sable or the boys harassed.
“I’ll help you.” The words were out of Janis’s mouth before she even realized she’d said them.
Jude looked at her like she was crazy. “You never liked working in the stable when you lived here.”
“But I did it when I had to. I know how to take care of horses.”
Jude shook his head adamantly. “Stay here and help Sable.”
Sable put her hands on her hips. “I don’t need any help. You do. If Janis doesn’t mind, I think it’s a great idea.”
“Okay you’re outvoted here,” Janis said. “Let’s do it. We’ll get finished twice as fast.”
Jude hesitated then shrugged. “Okay then.” His eyes locked on Sable. “I’ll have my cell. If you need me, call.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Sable started to wipe down the kitchen table.
Janis and Jude stopped in the den to take a peek at the babies in their crib. The boys were sound asleep, so cute in their matching jammies that Janis was tempted to wake them for some playtime. But Jude shushed her. There’d be plenty of time to play later. They headed for the stables.
* * * *
The wolves crouched among the densely packed pine trees and kept their eyes trained on the house. When Janis exited with one of the men, they exchanged looks of understanding. Noah watched the two humans disappear in the direction of the stable, and he nodded.
Only the she-wolf and her other mate remained in the house. They might not get another chance like this. It was now or never.
Noah picked up a small canvas bag with his teeth and tore off. Wade followed close on his heels. They made for a copse at the back of the house and shifted. Wade stretched and gave Noah a dark look. Noah didn’t like this anymore than his lover, but they couldn’t back out now.
The padlock on the unused back gate had been cut two nights ago. Noah gripped the bag in his hand, and they slipped through the gate and around the house. Their point of entry would be a low window in the den.
Noah took his tools out of the bag. Using a diamond glass cutter and a suction cup, he made a fist-sized hole in the glass. Then he reached inside and unlatched the window.
As stealthy in their human bodies as their animal ones, they climbed through the window. Noah looked at Wade. He held a finger to his lips and pointed first to the sleeping babies and then to the window. Wade nodded in understanding, and Noah removed a chloroform-soaked cloth from the canvas bag and moved toward the arched entry that led to the foyer.
Across the foyer, the living room was empty. So was the adjoining dining room. But he spied the black-haired she-wolf in the kitchen. She stood at the sink with her back to him.
Knowing she’d smell him as well as the anesthetic, Noah moved in on her fast. He knew the moment she sensed him. Her back went rigid. As quick as he was, she’d already turned, snarling and snapping as he reached her.
Noah slammed her body back against the sink. Her face contorted, her fangs already extending. Panting like a rabid dog, she raked her lengthening claws across his cheek. Noah bent her back and slammed the chloroformed rag over her face. She fought like the devil, but finally, her hold loosened, her hands flopped at her sides, and the claws receded.
Noah kept her body anchored to the sink with his and removed the cloth from her face. Her head wobbled on her neck while her eyes, heavy-lidded and glazed, tried to focus on him. Her chin hit her chest, then her head jerked back, and she remained motionless. Noah lifted her effortlessly and carried her to the den.
Wade was already gone. Evidently the twins had been a handful. The tools were still where he’d left them. Noah put everything in the bag and climbed through the window, the she-wolf in his arms.
He followed Wade’s trail, smiling when he saw his lover trying to calm two angry babies. “Not much of a mother, are you?”
Wade scowled. “Want to trade?”
Noah laid Sable on the grass. “Give them here.” He reached out for the twins and set them down next to their mother for a few minutes. It calmed them down. He looked up at Wade and smirked. “You carry the she-wolf.”
The men moved swiftly, and the babies seemed to enjoy their trip through the woods. The chill didn’t seem to bother the little half-breeds. They might be blond and blue-eyed, but they definitely had a wolfish side to them.
The men reached the spot where they’d left their clothes and an ATV. Noah gave each boy a bottle to suck on while they dressed. Sable remained limp and unconscious. Wade sat with her and the babies while Noah took the wheel. He drove through water wherever he could to hide their trail.
When they were miles away, he finally allowed himself a sigh of relief. “Call
Roy
,” he said to Wade. “Tell him we have the cargo.”
Wade’s side of the short conversation was a series of yeses and nos. “There’s a small private plane waiting for us at Hangar D,” he told Noah. “And the Alpha will have a car waiting at the airport when we arrive home.” He hesitated. “If we get home.”
“We will,” Noah assured him. “We move a lot faster than they do, and if we’re lucky, they won’t discover she’s gone for hours. We already have a big head start, and I’m covering our trail as best I can. Hopefully, it will go cold by the time they start looking, and we’ll already be home.”
Chapter Nine
Janis remembered why she hated working in the stable. The smell of hay and horseshit clung to her, and she hadn’t been this tired in a long time. They’d been at it for hours. The horses were groomed and checked for cuts, swelling and loose horseshoes. Their hooves were picked to remove rocks and mud from the soles. They were fed and watered. And then Jude had the nerve to ask if she wanted to ride.
“Hell no!”
“Just kidding.” Jude laughed, and she started to laugh too.
“All I want is a hot bath and a nap.”
“Go back then. We’re almost done here.”
“Well, if you’re sure you don’t need me anymore.” Janis started backing away before he could change his mind.
“City living made a wimp out of you.” Jude’s laugh followed her out of the stable.
Janis could barely put one foot in front of the other. The walk to the house seemed much longer than it had that morning. Feeling like a zombie moving in slow motion, she pulled a key out of the pocket of her jeans and unlocked the front door.
It would be nice to see the boys, but not smelling like a horse. She threw off her old sheepskin jacket and headed for the stairs, already imagining the hot water cascading over her aching body.
She took two steps and sniffed. A strange new smell overpowered the stink of horseshit. Curious, she descended the steps and followed the sickly sweet odor to the kitchen.
The smell was stronger. Dirty breakfast dishes were still in the sink. Janis frowned. Sable never left the kitchen dirty.
She walked into the den. The boys were not in the crib, and she turned away. A chill blew into the room. She knew Sable was hot-blooded, but this was ridiculous. She turned back to shut the window.
It wasn’t open. She looked closer, and a chill that had nothing to do with the weather ran down her spine. She let out a cry and ran for the stairs to find Jonas.
* * * *
By the time Jude got back to the house, she and Jonas had already gone through every floor. They were back in the den when Jude ran in, wild-eyed. Janis pointed at the window.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Jude bent over, hands on knees, and took big gulping breaths of air. “This is my fault. I should have stayed in.”
“What could you have done?” Jonas asked tightly. “They used chloroform. They would have knocked you out. Maybe even killed you.”