“Okay, glad to hear it. I know it’s tough, and if you’re not interested in any of the females in the pack, that makes it tougher. But getting involved with a human is too dangerous.”
“Yeah, don’t I know it.” Allan finished his beer. “Well, I’m calling it a night. Debbie and I have an early dive tomorrow on that Van Lake investigation we’re looking into.”
“Any leads?”
“Only that it looks like a murder set up to look like an accident.”
“Okay, Allan. I’m working a case tomorrow…”
Allan couldn’t conceal his look of surprise.
“From home. Hell, I can’t dive. I can walk, but not on this damn ice without risking breaking my leg again or tearing up ligaments or something. I’ll be home.”
Allan took a relieved breath. “You’ll be as good as new soon.” They healed in half the time it took humans, so Paul must have injured himself worse than they had first thought.
“Right. I’ll be busy, but if you learn anything, let me know.”
Allan said good night and headed home. He kept watching for signs of car lights following him. It was late, the snow was still falling, and traffic was light on the lake road he took to get back to his mountain cabin. When he arrived, he headed inside, shucking his winter coat and gloves and tossing them on the sofa. He stripped off his clothes in the bedroom, then took a shower. But in the middle of the hot, steamy shower, he heard his phone ring.
Now what? He turned off the water and jerked a towel off the bar, drying himself as he went to get his phone.
The caller ID said it was Debbie. At once, he worried something was wrong. “Debbie, are you all right?”
“Rowdy called me for a date. Did you put him up to it?” She sounded pissed.
Chapter 6
Debbie felt better after showering and falling asleep on the sofa for a couple of hours. Note to self: no more drinking when out with the guys. She couldn’t imagine how her dad could drink so much and then pass out. She’d barely finished a beer.
When Rowdy had called, she couldn’t believe it. No way did she want to go out with him on a date. The problem was Allan. She had to admit he did something to her deep inside. Had her wanting to impress him on the job and as a woman. With Rowdy, she didn’t care. But with Allan, she did.
So when Rowdy called to ask her on a date and told her he had cleared it with Allan, she was ticked off. Rowdy didn’t need to get permission from Allan. Just from her.
She didn’t think there was a way to let a guy down gently either. Even though Rowdy acted as though he was fine with the rejection, she knew he wasn’t. No one liked to be turned down in the romance department. He probably thought she was hung up on Allan, who wasn’t hung up on her. She knew Allan wasn’t married or seeing anyone. She’d seen some women show interest in him when they had coffee at the local diner one morning before work. But he hadn’t shown any interest back. He just was polite and offered a casual good morning, nothing more.
“He asked me if he could ask you out. I said sure. What else was I to say? No, you can’t ask her? Sorry, Debbie, but you invited him to have pizza with us. I guess he thought you were more interested in him.” Allan almost sounded a little smug about it.
She pursed her lips. “Great.”
“Just tell him no.”
“I did. I think I hurt his ego.”
“He’ll get over it. How are you feeling?”
This was the Allan she knew. He was always so considerate. Rowdy hadn’t asked at all. But Allan? She really liked that about him. “Better. I showered and napped. I guess that’s it for drinking for me.”
He chuckled. “You’re not used to it.”
“Sorry I was kind of a party pooper.”
“No problem. We’ve got to get up tomorrow early to dive anyway.”
“Yeah. I had fun. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with pizza night next week, but Rowdy might not join us now.” She wanted to ask Allan if that would be a problem. She purposely had asked Rowdy to eat with them because of the way Allan’s family had acted about Allan “dating” her. But she hadn’t expected Rowdy to ask her out on a date.
“Well, it’s his loss. If he’s man enough, he’ll join us. Or if he’s interested enough, he’ll keep trying.”
She sighed. “I don’t want him to keep asking me for a date. Well, since we have such an early day tomorrow, I need to say good night.”
“Same here. I’ll see you in the morning.”
They ended the call and she was glad Allan hadn’t suggested to Rowdy that he date her, but she was still annoyed Rowdy would seek Allan’s permission.
Tucked under her covers in bed, she began thinking about the case of the dead man in the car. She didn’t count sheep. She counted key pieces of evidence, working them over in her mind. And then she recalled something from the police report. Two eyewitnesses had seen a black sedan leaving the scene right after the victim’s car went into the lake.
Coincidence? Or the killer?
She grabbed her phone and called Allan. Before he could even say hello, she said, “Do you remember that a couple of eyewitnesses said they saw a black sedan speed off after the victim’s car ended up in the lake?”
“Black sedan,” Allan said, his voice darker than she thought it would be.
It could mean absolutely nothing, but Allan sounded like he believed it might.
“One followed me when I was headed in to work earlier.”
“One was following you after we left the pizza parlor.” Bedcovers began to rustle. “I’m coming over.”
“What? You’re kidding. Why didn’t you arrest him?”
“He gave me the slip. Besides, I wasn’t certain he was really following either of us.”
“I’m fine,” Debbie said, not wanting to cause further speculation about why Allan would be staying the night at her place. “I’m armed and dangerous.”
For a moment, he didn’t say anything. She would have liked it if he came over, truth be told. She had a guest room, and if someone was after her next, at least she’d have backup. But Allan seemed to believe she could handle it on her own. She had wanted to give him an out, hadn’t she? Besides, she was armed.
“I’m coming over. Be there in a half hour.”
Relieved to the max, she sighed. She knew he’d be rushing if it only took him half an hour, especially in winter when it was snowing again. “Take your time. I’ll be fine.” But she truly was glad he was coming to stay the night.
“Okay, I’ll be on my way to your place in a few minutes.”
They said good-bye and ended the call.
She wondered what his log cabin on the mountain was like. The family had owned it forever, he had said, and she bet it was really nice no matter what the season.
She considered getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweater before he arrived. But it seemed silly when she was just going to put on her thermal pajamas again once he was settled in. She threw on a robe instead and slipped on a pair of boot slippers. They were pink, and so was her fluffy robe. Her pajama top sported a teddy bear wearing a ski hat with earflaps and braided ties. At least her pajamas were gray, so she didn’t look too girly.
She realized that whenever she saw anyone, she wore somber colors. She thought it made her appear more professional. But with her nightwear and underwear, she loved being frivolous. Maybe she should wear her jeans and the sweater. Then in the privacy of her bedroom, she could be herself.
She glanced around at all the pastel colors—light green, light blue with navy accents. Oh, well, there was no escaping her love of all things colorful.
She brushed out her hair again to remove all signs of having been in bed and then straightened up the place, though it was already fairly neat. Living by herself with reading as her only hobby meant she didn’t make messes often.
She checked her watch again. Twenty minutes before he would arrive. She went into the guest bedroom and checked it out. She wanted to turn down the bed, to do something to thank him for coming over to help watch her back.
He was her dive partner, she told herself. This was nothing personal; he was just concerned. She turned off all the lights in the duplex and peered out the windows, moving from one room to the next to see if she could catch sight of a black sedan. Security lights and streetlights in her complex cast a strange orange glow on the misty snow. It looked like the perfect night for a murder.
* * *
Before he hit the road, Allan called Paul, hating to wake him but needing to tell his pack leader where he was going. He knew Paul wouldn’t like it, but Debbie was his partner and he had to watch her back.
Paul answered with, “Hell, Allan.”
“Can’t be helped,” he told Paul.
“Yeah, I know, but you’re digging yourself deeper on this one.”
“I’m not turning her, and I’m not mating her. I’m just protecting her.” Allan threw his bag in the car and slammed the door.
“Yeah, you remember what happened between Hunter and Tessa?”
Their SEAL wolf team leader had gotten into a real mess with Tessa, a human with wolf roots. This was different. Debbie didn’t have any connection to the wolves. That would make it even worse if Allan turned her. Which he had no plan to do, no matter what.
“Yeah, yeah. This isn’t the same.”
“Isn’t it? Hunter had to protect Tessa and look what happened then.”
“They’re happily mated wolves,” Allan reminded Paul, pulling out his ice scraper.
“Right, but she had wolf ties. Your partner doesn’t.”
“Which I’m well aware of.”
“You need to find a mate. That would be the end of this…infatuation you have for her.”
“We mate for life, and I’m not going there with just any she-wolf so that everyone will get off my case about my partner. I’m not infatuated with her. I enjoy working with her, that’s all. Got to go. I’ll let you know if anything else happens.”
“All right, buddy. Just be careful.”
He knew Paul wasn’t talking about the driver of the black sedan. Allan couldn’t believe the sedan had also followed Debbie earlier in the day.
He called Debbie back as he scraped the snow off his windshield. “When did the black sedan follow you, and to where? Your home?”
“I picked him up somewhere around Cottage Grove. I noticed him sometime after I left your sister’s house.”
Allan swore under his breath. This was so not good. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“I didn’t think of it in relationship to our case. I figured if I saw the car again, I’d try to get his license plate number. Why didn’t you mention the guy following you?”
“Same thing. We’ll keep a watch out for the car. I’ve alerted Paul about what’s going on.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, and he suspected she wondered why he had to run this by Paul.
“How did Paul react?”
Not good. “Concerned we might have some trouble with this guy.” Allan couldn’t tell her how Paul really felt about the situation.
“Just take it easy and I’ll see you when you get here.”
Allan drove through the misty snow on the slippery roads. His vehicle was equipped with snow tires, but he still slid a bit coming down off the mountain. The roads were sanded, even though the accumulating snow was hampering road crews.
When he finally arrived at Debbie’s brick duplex, he pulled into the carport in back and got out of the vehicle. The back porch light was on, and she opened the door. Standing there in the halo of light in her pink fluffy robe and slipper boots, she looked like a pink sugar cone, sweet and soft—not an image he wanted to remember every time they were working an assignment together.
He grabbed his overnight bag. He’d need a shave in the morning—no way did he want to show up for work looking like he’d been out partying all night.
“Hey,” he said, and she opened the door wider for him.
“I’m so sorry you had to go to all this trouble.”
“No trouble at all. I didn’t see anyone suspicious around the neighborhood. If the guy is the murderer of the drowned man in the car, why would he follow you? Not both of us? At first, I thought he was following me, but then when I turned off and came back around, he was driving behind you. So I assumed he was really following you all along.”
She shook her head. “If a couple of eyewitnesses hadn’t seen him—if it’s the same vehicle—I would have thought I was being suspicious without any good reason.” She led him to a bedroom. “Here’s the guest room. Bathroom is down the hall. Make yourself at home. If you need anything in the kitchen, it’s yours.”
“Thanks. I know you felt I didn’t need to come over and stay the night, but I wouldn’t have slept a wink if I hadn’t checked the area out. Get some rest. We’ll be up and out of here before we know it.”
“Agreed. And thanks. I really appreciate it. I doubt I would have gotten much sleep either. Night, Allan. Thanks.” She padded off to the bedroom at the end of the hall.
He walked into the guest room all done in lilac and pink. He smiled a little. This was a side to Debbie he’d never known. He heard her door close, but he didn’t shut his. He wanted to be able to hear if anyone made the mistake of breaking into her home in the middle of the night.
With that final thought, he stripped down to his boxer briefs and settled into the comfy bed, pulling the purple and pink floral comforter under his chin and wondering what Paul would say if he saw him now.
Chapter 7
“Hmm,” Lori said, trying to get comfortable in Paul’s arms that night. “I think these babies are starting their martial arts lessons early. Here I thought I’d have to train them when they got to be about three or so.”
Paul wrapped his arms around her, not believing they were having their own set of twins in just a few months. But he was worried about everything that was going on: a possible killer on the loose, Franny’s possible stalker, and Allan’s fixation with Debbie. “Allan said a black sedan had been following Debbie. We need to put out the word for all of our pack members to be on the lookout.”
“Black sedan? I swore one followed me to the grocery store this morning. But when I came out, it was gone.”
Paul didn’t say anything for a minute, wondering if the guy was a werewolf killer. But if he had been spotted at Van Lake after the murder there, that confused the issue. The dead man hadn’t been a werewolf. So what was going on?
“I’ve got to let Allan know the guy tracked you. Maybe others in the pack too.”
Lori groaned. “I was just getting comfortable.”
“I’ll give you another back rub. I want Allan to know the guy has been sighted more than once.”
“If it’s the same black sedan. Grandma has one that’s similar. That’s why I noticed.”
Paul hesitated.
“It wasn’t hers.”
“Okay, I’m calling Allan.” Paul made the call.
Allan picked up right away. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“The black sedan followed Lori to the grocery store too.”
“Damn it to hell.”
“Yeah, agreed. We need to learn what he’s up to as soon as we can. If any of us see him, we need to get his license plate number and run a check on it at once.”
“Gotcha.”
Silence.
“Are…you alone?” Paul asked.
Allan hung up on him.
Paul sighed, put his cell on the table, and began to give Lori a back rub.
“Well?” Lori asked, her voice sounding sleepy.
“Well what?”
“You know Allan
better than any of us. Was he sleeping with her?”
Paul smiled and shook his head. “No, he wasn’t.”
“How do you know for sure?”
“I know Allan better than any of you. He hung up mad.”
Lori chuckled. “That’s our Allan.”
“Yeah.” But Paul still worried that Allan was getting way over his head in this situation with Debbie.
* * *
In the middle of the night, Debbie thought she heard Allan in the kitchen, opening a cabinet door. At least, she hoped it was just him. She turned on her lamp, grabbed her Glock, and headed down the hallway. She saw the guest bedroom door was open, no sign of Allan, and she sighed a little with relief. He must have just needed something from the kitchen.
She heard the water dispenser in the fridge door running. “Hey, just me,” she announced as she walked toward the kitchen.
“Got thirsty. Pizza always does that to me,” he apologized. He looked so damned sexy in a pair of black silk boxer briefs, she stared as if she was starved for a man. Which, when he looked like Allan—buff, tan, mostly naked—she had to admit she was. “Did I wake you?” he asked.
“Really light sleeper.” She realized she wasn’t wearing her robe now. In the chilly kitchen, her nipples had to be showing through her lightweight, clingy pajama top. “Just making sure it was you.”
Allan motioned to the kitchen counter behind him where he’d placed his Glock. “Better to be safe than sorry, in case anyone had tried to break in.”
“Agreed. Can you sleep now?” She glanced at the clock on her oven. Three thirty in the morning. Ugh. She’d gotten up at that time on occasion, but it wasn’t her preferred hour of waking.
He hesitated to say if he could get back to sleep.
“Feel free to…well, if you’re hungry…”
He smiled.
She felt her cheeks warm, and the heat just slid all the way down her body. “I don’t think I can. Get back to sleep, I mean.” She moved to the fridge, opened the door, and grabbed the milk jug. “Do you want some hot cocoa? That always helps me.”