Call of the Cougar

  "Hell, yeah."

  He laughed. "I guess I should have asked one question or the other. Which is it?"

  "I love you." She pulled out her phone. "Okay, when do you want to do this?"

  "I'd like to clear this mess up with Mooney first, but on the other hand, if it takes too long, I really don't want to wait."

  "In two weeks?"

  He grinned. "Yeah, it works for me."

  She sighed dramatically. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

  "It's for a good cause."

  She laughed. "You're perfect for me. You know."

  "Ditto, Tracey."

  She called her mom, who answered without hesitation. "You're all right, aren't you?"

  "Oh, yeah, Mom. We're fine. But you might want to pencil in a wedding cake on the calendar for next Saturday. If you have time."

  "For you?"

  "Yeah, Mom. I guess Dad already told you?"

  "He did, and all his retired friends from the agency, your sister, and everyone's coming, no matter what their other plans are. Though your dad was hoping Hal would talk you into becoming a ranch lady and give up this life of danger."

  "Later. When we have kids or we have to retire from our positions."

  "Hal said Mick approved his working with you."

  "Yeah. But he has to pass all the training."

  Hal smiled at her.

  "Okay, so nothing really fancy. We have too much work to do and—"

  "You're my first daughter to get married. We're doing the wedding gown, the whole business."

  "Oh, Mom…"

  "Don't oh-mom me. We're doing this right. So pick out a day that you can go shopping, and we'll do this together."

  "We're in the middle of a case."

  Silence.

  Tracey let out her breath. "All right. Monday. I'll pick you up at ten."

  "And Jessie too."

  "Of course. That goes without saying."

  "Any bridesmaids besides your sister being the maid of honor?"

  "No. I want to keep this simple."

  "And Hal? Will he want his Special Forces buddies to all be groomsmen?"

  Tracey growled. "All right, all right. I'll ask some others to be my bridesmaids. Got to go, Mom. We're still running an investigation here."

  "Certainly, dear. I'll let everyone know you're taking us shopping on Monday."

  When she ended the call, Tracey glanced in the direction of the old bunkhouse and corrals as Hal was driving by it on the road up to the main house. "Hal, don't slow down, but does Ted ever go into the original bunkhouse for any reason?"

  Chapter 17

  Hal couldn't believe someone would be hiding out in the old bunkhouse. "No, it's not all that stable. In the summer, no telling what might have taken refuge in there. What did you see?"

  "Either a ghost or a shadow of someone moving around in there. I might be wrong though," Tracey said.

  "Okay, I'm going to stop, we switch places, and you drive the rest of the way to the ranch house. I'll check it out."

  "No. If he hears you stop, he's going to assume one of us got out when he hears the truck start up again."

  "If we both go up to the house, we might be too late to return to the bunkhouse before he disappears."

  "Okay, back up the truck and we both go after him."

  "Good call." Hal stopped and put the truck in reverse and headed back to the bunkhouse.

  Twisted around in her seat, Tracey kept an eye on the bunkhouse while Hal watched the road and his driving. "No one's leaving it. He can't think he can hide from us in there."

  "No. It's more like he'll shoot it out with us." Hal pulled in as close to the bunkhouse as he could get. "Are you ready?"

  "Yeah." She had her Glock out and was ready to take care of the threat. "I'll go east."

  "Okay, going west. He can't shoot us both at the same time. Stay low."

  They climbed out of the truck through the driver's side to use the vehicle as cover. Whoever was inside could hear their footfalls on the dry brush.

  But no one fired at them. Maybe he was waiting for them to poke their heads into the doorway or through a window.

  "We won't hurt you. Come out where we can see you, hands up in the air," Tracey called out. Hal was already around the other side of the bunkhouse. "Come on. We don't have any reason to hurt you."

  "Don't shoot," a man said. "I'm coming out." The floor began to creak as he walked across it, heading toward the front door. Slowly.

  Tracey moved back behind the truck, using it as a shield in case the man started firing.

  She noticed Hal waiting behind the corner of the bunkhouse as backup.

  "I'm armed, but I'm not shooting anyone."

  "Come on out," Tracey said.

  The man stepped into the morning sunlight, his one hand on his waist, his fingers bloodied, his other hand in the air, holding a gun.

  "Put the gun down on the ground," Hal shouted.

  The blond-haired guy jumped a little. Hell, Tracey jumped a little at the sound of Hal's commanding voice.

  "I'm putting it down. I was planning to protect myself until you arrived." He slowly put the gun on the ground, wobbled a little, and nearly fell.

  "How are you wounded?" Tracey asked.

  He groaned in pain. She headed for him.

  "Move away from the gun," Hal said.

  Doing as he was told, the man backed away from his gun and stumbled a little.

  "Who are you and who were you planning to protect yourself from?" Tracey asked as she closed in on him.

  "I'm Kolby. Ricky's brother."

  Both Hal and Tracey stared at him for a moment. She could see the family resemblance, though this man was blonder and his eyes were blue. But he was supposed to be dead. At Ricky’s hand. At least, that's what Ricky had said.

  Hal hurried to reach him first and tied his wrists together behind his back with plastic ties. Tracey pulled up Kolby's T-shirt. "We've got to get him to the clinic. It’s a gunshot wound."

  The thing that worried her most was that Kolby didn't smell like he was a cougar. And now Ricky was one. She got the medical kit and bandaged Kolby, then Hal helped him to the truck. "So who did Ricky kill?"

  "Teagan, probably. The guy's been badgering Benny to kill my brother because Ricky's been working for you. In the beginning, I didn't know Ricky was. Until Benny and I overheard him talking to you. I tried to warn you to go somewhere safe—"

  So Teagan and Benny were cougars, but Kolby wasn't. Nor was Ricky, until now.

  "You thought I would be safe at Anderson where I was ambushed?" She bagged Kolby's gun.

  "No. I mean, yeah, I said to go there because they were talking about taking you out at your place. I didn't figure they'd ever believe you'd end up in Anderson. So I figured it would be safe. They must have bugged my phone, or overheard me or something."

  "Why didn't you call me and tell me what was going on?" she asked, as she and Hal helped Kolby into the back seat of his pickup, then both climbed in and Hal drove back to Yuma Town’s clinic.

  "Hell, I figured they had my damn phone bugged."

  She raised her brows at him as Hal called in the emergency.

  "It has to be. How else would they know to keep intercepting my calls? And learn where you were going?" Kolby asked.

  "What about the ambush at the mine?"

  "I didn't know anything about that. I…I was going to meet my brother there."

  "At the saloon in Anderson, Ricky said he killed you. He must have been protecting you, saying you were dead so that you could get away. Why did you tell him you'd meet him there and then he was ambushed?"

  Kolby's blue eyes watered. "Is he all right?"

  "Not on account of you." She narrowed her eyes at Kolby. "He said you told him you were going to talk with him. Where were you?"

  Kolby collapsed in the back seat of the truck. "Benny shot me and left me for dead. I was going to meet with Ricky and tell him to go someplace far away. I had a wad of cash
to give him, but Benny stole it from me and then shot me. I tried calling Ricky to warn him, but he must have already been in the town, and I couldn't reach him. Is…is Ricky going to live?"

  "Yes. He's out of surgery and recovering. So what do you know about Mooney's operation?"

  Kolby closed his eyes and didn't respond. Her gut clenching, Tracey worried he'd died on them. "I'm climbing into the back seat to check on him."

  "Is he okay?"

  "I think he passed out or he doesn't want to answer my questions." Tracey crawled into the backseat and felt his pulse. "Pulse is thready. He might not make it, Hal."

  "Ambulance is on its way. The guys asked if you were involved in the action again."

  "Like you don't have any trouble when I'm not around."

  "Here they come." Hal pulled over as the ambulance parked in front of them.

  To Tracey’s relief, the EMTs hurried to carry Kolby into the ambulance.

  Once they were on their way, Hal followed them to the clinic. "What do you think? Is he telling the truth?"

  "He could be. Ricky said he thought they might have bugged his phone. I figured that was too high tech for these guys, but Mooney's got the money and the resources to do something like that. I just never thought he might."

  "Why would Ricky have lied to us?"

  "To save his brother. He thought if we believed Kolby was dead, we wouldn't hunt him down. Maybe he planned to leave the area also."

  Hal called Dan. "We'll need some more backup at the clinic." He explained the situation with Kolby and the dead man. "He thinks it might be a man called Teagan. We saw a picture of Benny and that wasn't him. We're heading back to the clinic to talk with Ricky."

  When they reached the clinic, the EMTs were wheeling Kolby into surgery.

  Hal and Tracey went in to speak with Ricky, and Tracey stood next to his bed. He was sleeping.

  Tracey said, "We have good news." She was truly glad Ricky hadn’t killed his own brother but she was pissed off that he’d lied to them and that he’d faked being so upset over it. She had to give him credit for being really great at giving her a snow job.

  Ricky opened his eyes, but he still looked the worse for wear.

  "Your brother is alive. But he's going into surgery for a gunshot wound."

  His eyes filling with tears, Ricky started to get out of bed.

  She put her hand on his shoulder. "No, stay, Ricky. Dr. Parker's taking care of him."

  "You—you didn't tell him what happened to me, did you?"

  "That you're one of us now? No. And he can't be told. You can't tell him. So who was it that you killed?"

  "Teagan. I didn't know it was him when I shot him. I swear it. It's like I said. The cougar came after me, and I killed it, only he turned into Teagan. I couldn't believe it. I thought when the cougar bit me, he somehow made me hallucinate. But he was just lying there. Teagan was."

  "Why did you tell us it was your brother?"

  "I thought I'd killed him because I’d agreed to see him at Anderson. When Teagan and whoever else came instead, I thought they'd murdered him. And that meant I'd done it. I was responsible. He was going to talk to me about where he was going and—"

  "He was going to give you money to run away."

  "I wouldn't have. I told him he could ask you if he could stay with you, but he said we'd both be a target there."

  "You said neither you nor Kolby hunted, yet both of you have guns and know how to use them."

  "Yeah, for protection. We don't go out and hunt animals. I told you that already.” Ricky’s eyes rounded. “But then I know you remember that. It's a police tactic, isn't it? To repeat questions and see if you get a different answer.” Then he paused. “Is…is he going to be okay?"

  "We'll let you know. He's in surgery. Most likely he’ll need a blood transfusion, and—"

  "I can give him some of my blood."

  "You just had a blood transfusion so you can't be giving any blood."

  "Would…would it change him?"

  "No. It's the saliva in the blood stream that makes the change. But not always. How are you feeling?"

  "Like hell."

  Tracey squeezed his hand. "Did the doctor say anything about how well the bite is healing?"

  "She said it's looking good. But I still feel like hell. Are you going to stay with me again tonight?"

  "No," Hal said. "We'll wait until your brother is out of surgery before we leave, and then you can see him. But after that, we've got business to take care of."

  "What's going to happen to my brother?"

  "We need to know what his involvement has been in all this business, and what he knows. We'll take it from there," Hal said. “Get your rest and no more lying to us.”

  Ricky nodded, but he still looked so worried.

  "I’m certain your brother will be fine. We’ll let your guard know to allow you to see him as soon as he’s out of the recovery room,” Hal said.

  Ricky nodded.

  They left Ricky’s room and once Doc was out of surgery, she met with Hal and Tracey.

  "He's going to make it. We don't usually keep humans here because of the cougar situation. But because his brother is here, and he needs to be watched as far as his shifting business and both brothers need to be in protective custody, which Dan is providing, we'll make an exception this time." She smiled at Tracey and shook her hand. "I'm Kate Parker and glad to meet you. I gave Dan hell when you were knifed and taken to a different hospital. He should have insisted you come here, but he said it was out of his hands."

  Tracey smiled at the doctor. "Next time I need doctoring, I'll be sure to call ahead for a room."

  "There's not going to be any next time." As far as Hal was concerned.

  Chapter 18

  After showering and dressing, Hal and Tracey headed over to Kolby's apartment. Some of Tracey's fellow agents were there, checking everything out. The place was a mess. It looked like someone had trashed it, unless he usually lived like this. The agents greeted her, and she introduced Hal to them.

  "Did you find anything related to the crimes this time?" she asked one of the men.

  He shook his head. "The place was trashed. It was much neater the last time we checked it out. We've dug around in all this mess and couldn't find any evidence of anything he's done wrong. You still have the lead on the case." He winked at her.

  Hal remembered too late that she wasn't supposed to even be on the case. He appreciated that the agent would give her the lead anyway.

  She smiled warmly at the agent, and Hal was glad they treated her with so much respect. "Thanks."

  He and Tracey searched through the place, but she didn't find anything.

  Hal was about to give up the search when he felt a floorboard, half hidden under the couch, tip underneath the weight of his boot. It sounded like there might be a hollow space beneath it. He crouched down and tried to pry it up with his fingers, but he couldn't. Tracey joined him. "What did you find?"

  She was pressed up against him, thigh to thigh, and he paused to look into her green eyes and thought of how much he would love to be doing this with her fulltime.

  "Might be a loose floorboard like at the schoolhouse in Anderson with a hollow space for hiding things."

  Two other agents joined them, one with a flathead screwdriver. "Will this work?" He handed the screwdriver to Hal.

  He pried the board loose and found a chip of a bone fragment. "Tusk?"

  One of the agents reached down with gloved hands and extracted it. "Appears to be. We'll have it analyzed and let you know."

  Hal really hoped that Kolby hadn't been involved in this. But this didn't look good.

  When they couldn't locate anything else, they headed back to the clinic. First, they went to see Kolby, but when they reached his room where he was sleeping, they discovered Ricky in there, sitting in a chair.

  "You've got to go back to bed," Tracey said. "I'll take you."

  "Why can't they move me in here with my brot
her? You'd only have to safeguard one room then."

  "And when you have this other issue?" She help him out of the room, though Hal didn't believe he looked like he needed to use her strength to return to his room. Only that he enjoyed getting close to her.

  Hal tamped down his alpha, and very much primal, nature, and sat down next to Kolby's bed. Kolby stirred and opened his eyes. Then they widened. He glanced around the room. "Where's Ricky?" He almost sounded panicked.

  Hal realized then how much the brothers sounded alike. He wished they could stay in the same room together. But if Ricky shifted again, that would be a disaster.

  "Tracey, Special Agent Whittington, took him back to his room. You've been read your rights, but I have a question, if you choose to answer it. When did you store ivory beneath your floorboard in the apartment?"

  "You're kidding, right?"

  Hal continued to keep his expression stern, and in no way did he sound or look like he was kidding.

  "Where?"

  "Beneath the couch."

  "No. I don't know anything about it. I didn't know there was a hiding spot beneath the floorboards. Ivory? No way. They only paid me to pretend to be Ricky that one time. I never knew what they were doing."

  "Would it have mattered?"

  "Hell yeah! That they were trying to murder my brother? And the agent?"

  "Agents."

  Kolby held Hal's gaze, not flinching, not turning away as if he had nothing to hide. Or he was a habitual liar.

  "Did you know that Ricky was an informant?"

  "Yeah. I knew he was. He didn't tell me, but he always hangs around me, and I knew he was making money somehow. I work at a grocery store, but Ricky wasn't doing anything. So I listened in on a conversation he was having once. I questioned him, thinking he was dealing in drugs. Our mom died of a drug overdose. I didn't want to see him get into that business. Then these guys offered me good money just to make a call to the agent. When I saw what had happened—heard the news about Tracey Whittington being in a shootout and another agent was wounded—in Anderson, the same place I had sent her, I knew I'd get arrested and charged as an accessory for attempted murder."

  "Had you asked them why you were to make the call?"

  Kolby lowered his head and looked at his hands clasped together on his lap. "I asked, but they told me they'd already said too much. Either I agreed to do it, or they'd kill Ricky, and then I'd agree to do it. Or I was next. So I made the call."