Heart of the Wolf (31 page)

Domestic life with Devlyn was anything but domestic.

The email butler announced a new message.
The office.

Slipping out of bed, she peered into the oval mirror hanging above her dresser. Her hair rested about her shoulders in a fiery-red, tangled mess. Well-loved... that’s the way she appeared. The image sparked a secret little thrill. Her left cheek wore a faint redness... the result of his nuzzling her with his scratchy stubble of a beard at sometime or another in their bedtime romps.

A telltale hickey graced her right breast. She quirked a brow, trying to recall when he’d done that.

Without dressing, she wandered into her office. Devlyn sat at the desk, staring at her computer, intensely reading the messages.

Running her hand over his naked back, she felt his muscles instantly tighten. He turned and pulled her into his lap. “Bella honey.”

“Find anything?”

He slipped his fingers between her legs. “Hmm-hmm, nice and wet, too.”

She chuckled. “I mean about the reds, or the killer or something. You sure have a one-track mind.” She was damned thankful she’d deleted Volan’s message to her earlier.

“You distract me something fierce. But no. And I don’t think we will either until — “

“The moon appears.” She’d hoped everything would be resolved in the next few days before that happened.

But the way of the wolf would dictate the final draw. Everyone waited for the day to arrive, or the night, rather, when the moon began its sliver of an appearance. The waxing crescent that would grow until the moon swelled into a full sphere... the phase that would send
lupus garous
running through the wild in their wolf pelts, anxious to feel the wind at their backs and the feral freedom their wolf forms presented them. The reds would make their final move.

Then... Volan would seek Devlyn out to make his kill. She shivered and ran her hand over Devlyn’s. He stroked her nub, and she arched her back when he worked her hormones into a delicious frenzy.

Yet the notion still plagued her: three more days and their fate would be sealed.

The next afternoon, Bella heard kids’ laughter and looked out the front window. Like a lumbering grizzly, Thompson chased after Chrissie’s kids on the front lawn as her son, Jimmie, tossed a beach ball to her daughter. Mary missed the ball and Thompson feigned running for it. All squeals, Mary dashed after the rolling ball and grabbed it just before Thompson reached it.

Chrissie stood watching them, her face beaming.

Bella took a deep breath, and Devlyn moved silently in behind her and then wrapped his arms around her.

“What’s all the racket about?”

“Looks like Thompson’s as good with kids as he is with animals.”

Devlyn shook his head.

Bella turned and nipped Devlyn’s chin. “I’ve been thinking.”

“I can tell this is going to get us into some tight places.” “Yeah, well, you know me.”

He ran his hand up her sweatshirt and cupped a breast, quickly moving to the nipple and sending a spine-tingling jolt straight through her.

“Yeah, I know you. What’s brewing in that one-track mind of
yours?”

She gave him a small smile and pressed her mouth against his in a lingering kiss. He responded, wrapping his arms around her in a tight squeeze, and she felt his arousal beckoning to her. He nudged her back toward the bedroom.

“I’ve been thinking,” she began again. “If the murdering red was so fond of the girl he killed, why would he have found others and killed them, too? Then Nicol’s reaction to seeing the necklace bothers me also. He really looked sick when he saw it.”

“And?”

“I want to search his place. Find out if there’s any sign of a girl murdered there. Maybe we’re dealing with two killers, not one. Or maybe he knew the girl intimately before the killer murdered her. Maybe she was at his place before she was killed. I just want to discover how connected he is to what’s happened.”

“You want the truth before I take Nicol down.”

She took a deep breath and raked her fingers through Devlyn’s hair. “Yeah. I want to know that, if there was more than one killer wolf, we’ll find them both and get rid of the threat. What if we left the area after we eliminated one murderer, only to discover the killings continue?”

“Against my better judgment, I agree. Would you stay home on this one?”

She gave him a get-real look.

He shook his head and pulled her back to the bedroom. “Didn’t think so. Why did I even ask?”

“Because you always want the best for me. But what if you left me alone and someone came for me, despite your thinking that they’ll honor the agreement?”

“That’s the
only
reason why I’m allowing you to come with me.”

She hit him in the shoulder. “You are
sooo
controlling.”

“Yeah, and you love me for it.” He swept her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom.

Pleasure before business.

An hour later, shoulder while she headquarters files.

Devlyn watched over Bella’s hacked her way into the police.

“Do this often?” he asked, not believing how devious his little red wolf could be. “When I need to.”

She printed out a page and pointed to the printer where five more pages rested in the tray. “Okay, we’ve got all three of the reds’ addresses, the time of the killings, and the locations where the police found the bodies. Can you think of anything else we might need?”

“We already have a police escort.”

She groaned. “They’ve been parked across the street for so long I almost forgot they were there.” But then she smiled, the look pure evil. “I’ve never attempted anything like this, but it’s worth a try.” She accessed the police station’s computers again and sent a message to the sergeant in charge of the surveillance teams watching her house.

Pull the surveillance watch on Bella Wilder’s house. We’ll reinstate it if we have further evidence that it’s needed.

She sent the message off and looked up at Devlyn, her brows raised.

“But will it work?”

“Maybe. For a while possibly. Won’t know for sometime, probably. Want to get something to eat before we go investigating the reds?”

“Why couldn’t you have gotten rid of the search warrants on us in the same way earlier?”

“Ha! This might not even work. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

In the meantime, Bella hastily made tuna fish sandwiches while Devlyn kept an eye on the SUV parked across the street.

The vehicle wasn’t moving.

Bella joined him at the window, plates of sandwiches in hand. “Didn’t work yet?”

“Nope.”

“We have another problem, too.”

He took his plate and nodded. “Thompson.”

“But, maybe, Chrissie and the kids will keep him preoccupied.” She motioned to the window. “They’ve all gone inside the house.”

“Let’s hope so.” Devlyn began working on his second sandwich when the police SUV’s engine started and the vehicle began rolling down the street away from Bella’s house.

“Let’s go,” he said, already halfway to the kitchen.

Bella hastily ate her sandwich and raced after him. “Wait! Got to get the papers with all the addresses on them.”

Devlyn shoved the empty plate onto the kitchen counter and hurried out to the car. He punched the garage door opener, jumped into the SUV, and started the engine. Bella dashed into the garage, her expression harried.

Wishing he could have sent her home to his cousin, he took a deep breath. The situation could get really hairy if they ran into any of the reds while they searched their homes.

Bella considered the Oregon map as Devlyn drove out of her residential area. “Head for Beaverton, west of Portland. That’s where Ross lives. Nicol’s place is farther out, and Alfred’s ranch home is south of Portland.” She rifled through the papers and pulled out the one that listed their occupations. “According to a website that Nicol advertises on, he’s a professional game hunter and takes people on tours, but you found that out already when you spoke with him earlier.”

“Yeah, but not where he actually hunts.”

“Well, here’s the listing. He’s a fourth-generation big hunter game guide — “

Devlyn snorted. “As in he’s all four generations.”

“Bet you’re right. He charges fifteen hundred to thirty-five hundred dollars for hunts in northern Idaho for mountain lions, black bear, antlered deer, and elk.”

“Not too far away then.”

“Nope. But then he also schedules two trips a year to South Africa for antelope, buffalo, and kudu, for a price ranging from five thousand to ten thousand. And here’s his schedule. He’s on a hunt in Idaho for three days.” She looked over at Devlyn. “He’ll be home when the first of the moon appears.”

“In time for the fight.”

Suppressing a shiver, she ran her finger down the page to a listing for Alfred. “Okay, so Alfred owns a cattle ranch. Probably eats the cows on occasion when the moon’s out.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised. So what does Ross do for a living?”

“Owns a meat packing plant. Probably where Alfred sends his cows after fattening them up. He’s located in Woodburn, a few miles south of Portland.”

“Woodburn.”

“Yeah. According to the history of the place, men were burning the brush, clearing the area to lay railroad tracks when the fire got out of hand. They have a big tulip festival, and I’ve collected bulbs for my garden from there.”

He offered a sexy smile. “Never took much notice of flowers before, but I sure do like that greenhouse of yours. In fact, I wouldn’t mind working out with you there on a regular basis.”

Bella rolled her eyes. “My plants would all die from lack of care.”

He laughed. “So where does Alfred live?”

She held up two fingers. “Two places. One’s in Portland, probably to keep closer ties to his pack in the surrounding area, and a place south of that — well, he had a place at Cottage Grove near the Row River where he initially had his cattle ranch. The river was named Row for the quarrel two men had over sheep-and cattle-grazing rights. Knowing the way Alfred is and his great-grandfather’s legend, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he was the man who killed the other rancher. But he’s moved his ranch closer to Portland, near the Willamette River by Salem. That’s an hour south.”

Devlyn shook his head. “So, Ross is probably at the meat packing plant, running things. And who knows where Alfred is.”

“Turn down that street there,” Bella advised, pointing right. “Cross four more street intersections; the second house on the left is Nicol’s.”

When they reached the red brick home, Bella said, “Problem is, after we’ve checked out Nicol’s place and taken the drive to Ross’s, it might be close to closing time at the meat packing plant. If he’s even at work at all today because of his injured arm. Heck, Nicol might not have even gone on his hunting expedition.”

Devlyn parked the SUV in Nicol’s driveway and considered the house. “No lights on, unless he’s sleeping. Wonder if any of the rest of the pack live in the vicinity. Next-door neighbors, even.”

He climbed out of the SUV and Bella joined him. “Gray-haired lady peeking through her blinds across the street is watching every move we make,” she said.

At a leisurely pace, Devlyn checked the mailbox and pulled out a flyer. Then he headed straight for the front door as if he were a regular visitor. “No sounds inside the house. Won’t take long for us to check out the place, sense any signs of blood, see if either the murdering red or the girl were here before. We’ll be gone long before anyone can get here.”