He returned to his SUV and immediately called Damien. Tech Bear answered the phone on the third ring with and anxious hello.
“Damien, I need you to do some research for me. I have new information on the jewel theft case. Find out if there is any connection between Zoe Bright and Dimitri Ivanov.”
“You suspect Zoe in this case?”
“I have a theory about what is going on here, and Zoe is part of it. I don’t have anything concrete yet. Just get me the information I need. And keep it quiet for now, Tech Bear,” Rollo said.
“On it, sir,” Damien said before he hung up the phone.
While he waited for Damien to return his call, he pulled out his cell phone and began researching Zoe himself. He looked up social media pages and scrolled through her feeds. He wanted to know what she had been doing before she arrived on Fate Mountain. Zoe had obviously been traveling for a long time, but where exactly had she been, just before arriving at the Bright Institute?
Rollo was disappointed to find that Zoe really wasn’t very active on social media and had only posted intermittently at best on her one social media page. In the timeframe he was most interested in, there was one picture of her in a bikini on what looked like a Mediterranean beach. He growled to himself, appreciating the sight of her curves under the bright blue sky. It only redoubled his determination to get to the bottom of her connection to Ivanov. Several minutes later, Damien called and Rollo answered.
“I’ve looked into Zoe Bright’s connection to Dimitri Ivanov. What I can find is that they were definitely in the south of France at the same time in the last three years. I’ve been able to trace several images of them together in what appears to be a romantic relationship.”
Rollo bristled at the thought of Zoe with a man like Ivanov. Or any man but him. He clenched his teeth and asked Damien to go on.
“It is unclear if Zoe Bright was ever involved with any criminal activity connected to Ivanov. I can’t find any criminal charges or any suggestion of criminal dealings in her past.”
“Thank you, Damien, that was exactly what I needed to know,” Rollo said.
“Anytime, sir,” Damien said.
Rollo was more convinced than ever that Zoe was the one who had broken into Caitlin Somerset’s mansion and stolen her jewels. What Rollo wasn’t convinced of was that Zoe was doing it on her own. He knew there had to be some other reason for his mate to be stealing jewels for a notorious mobster. She didn’t need the money because her brother had been financing her for years. Zoe might be a thrill seeker, but she wasn’t a bad person. She was not a thief at heart, and Rollo could feel that in his gut as clearly as any other thing he had ever known by instinct.
He had to protect her from Ivanov and from herself.
Rollo pulled out of the parking lot in front of the dormitory and circled around the back of the Bright Institute, parking on a ridge above the grounds. He took his binoculars out of his glove compartment. He knew something was up, and he doubted she’d be sleeping tonight. With Ivanov in town, she had to make a move. He was counting on it.
An hour later, his instinct proved to be correct. A dark figure emerged from the glass doors of the dormitory building and hurried down the steps into the parking lot. The tiny figure disappeared into the forest, but Rollo knew exactly who it was. He got back in his car, determined to cut her off at the pass.
Rollo drove down the road and turned onto the highway where he knew Zoe would soon emerge from the forest. He parked the car, turned off the headlights, and waited for long minutes, watching the stretch of highway in front of the Institute. Sure enough, a small figure crept from the woods not too long after.
Rollo turned on his SUV and flipped on his siren, catching her in his headlights. She stood up straight, her mouth dropping open. She abruptly turned and darted into the woods. Rollo jumped out of the car and took chase. He wasn’t going to let her get away. His strong legs heaved as he sprinted down the highway and dove into the forest. His heightened shifter eyesight could make out the form of her body darting between the tree trunks. Zoe was lithe and quick, but could not outrun him.
He caught up with her, grabbing her arm as she screamed to be let go. He forcefully twisted her around to face him in the darkness. His animal senses allowing him to see an infrared like picture of her face. She was panting and the waves of anxiety were rolling off of her as her heart crashed in her chest.
“Why are you chasing me, Rollo?” she said, feigning innocence.
“Zoe Bright, you are under arrest for grand theft and breaking and entering,” Rollo stated, turning her around and pressing her chest against a tree trunk.
“There has to be a mistake,” she whimpered.
He pulled her hands behind her back and cinched the metal handcuffs around her wrists.
“There’s no mistake, little kitty,” he said patting her down.
He felt a bulge in her jacket pocket and unzipped it, pulling out a velvet bag. It was tied with a drawstring which he quickly opened before dipping his hand inside. He felt the cool smooth surface of diamonds, pearls, and gold. It was exactly the same as the jewelry that had been taken from Caitlin Somerset.
“What do we have here?” Rollo said, shaking the bag of jewels near her ear.
“It’s not what you think,” she insisted.
“So why do you have Caitlin Somerset’s jewelry?” he asked.
“Please, you have to let me go. You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
“Enlighten me,” he said, gripping her arm to pull her away from the tree trunk.
“I’m dead. Don’t you get it? I’m dead.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Zoe,” he growled into the top of her head.
“Please don’t do this.”
“Tell me why you took the jewels.”
“Just let me go, Rollo. If you feel anything for me at all, just let me go.”
“Tell me what’s going on, Zoe,” Rollo demanded.
“I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”
“Then you are going to have to come with me.”
“Where are you taking me?”
He led her through the dark, dense forest, gripping her bicep. He wasn’t about to let her go and deal with Ivanov on her own. But he wasn’t going to take her down to the jailhouse either until she had come clean with him. They were mates and they needed to be on the same side. Zoe was being stubborn and refused to trust him. The only solution was to take her somewhere safe and get her to spill the beans for her own sake.
“Wherever I damn well please, little kitty,” he said.
He chuckled inwardly as she gasped at his words. One way or another, he would have to hold her against her will. But at least if he kept it private, he would have a chance to help her. If he took her down to the station and booked her, then she’d be in the system. She’d have a much worse chance of getting out of this situation without serving jail time. If he could get her to confess to him before they got the system involved, then he could book her with a lesser charge.
But right now, he needed Zoe to believe that she was in trouble. If he was too soft on her, she would continue to hold back, and he would never be able to help her. He led her by the arm down the highway, helped her into the front seat of the SUV, and buckled her seatbelt.
Leaving her alone inside the car, he pulled out his cell phone and called Deputy Bear. Thankfully, Knox answered the phone.
“Knox, I’m going to be gone for a few days on urgent business. I need you to take over for me at the station.”
“What’s going on, commander?” Knox asked.
“I’m in the middle of an undercover investigation, I can’t divulge any further information.”
“Understood,” Knox said. “You can count on me, sir.”
Rollo hung up the phone, got behind the wheel, and he turned on the car before making a U-turn on the empty highway.
“This is a mistake,” Zoe whimpered, stamping her foot.
?
??I don’t make mistakes, darlin’,” Rollo said, speeding through the dark night.
Chapter 9
Zoe grew more frantic with every passing moment. Rollo had ruined everything. If he had just minded his own business, she could have taken the jewels to Dimitri and paid off her debt. She would finally be free and then she and Rollo could have had a fresh start together. Now he had jeopardized everything. Not only had he put their future relationship in danger, he had endangered her life.
Dimitri had contacted her, telling her that he wanted her to bring him the jewels tonight or else. She was supposed to meet him back at the lodge where she would give him the jewels, finally paying off her debt. But stupid Rollo had intercepted her right at the last moment.
“Please let me go, Rollo,” she pleaded. “I need those jewels.”
“Tell me what’s going on here, Zoe,” he insisted.
It would be so much easier if she could just tell him the truth. But she couldn’t. He already knew she was a jewel thief, and that was bad enough. But what would he think of her if he knew she had been involved with the Mafia for three years? Catching her and arresting her had effectively destroyed any hope for a relationship. Zoe knew that a police commander could never love a thief. Now she was fighting for her own life. If she didn’t get those jewels to Dimitri, she was dead. She knew that for a fact.
If she was in police custody or not, her life was in danger every moment she didn’t deliver those jewels. Ivanov did not look favorably upon employees who failed him. She had already well-versed in the vile things he did to people who didn’t come through for him.
She had the scar along her side from where he’d cut her the last time they’d made love. If you could call what he’d done to her “making love”. While he was doing it, he detailed what he had done to employees who had failed him. He cut her while he drove himself inside her.
After that, he never touched her again. He treated her like some kind of diseased garbage, and never missed an opportunity to remind her that she needed to pay him back. Every day she continued to owe him, racked up more debt. Then six months ago, he had given her the assignment to come to Fate Mountain and take Caitlin Somerset’s jewels.
She had seen it as a chance to be free, but she had never expected to fall in love with the town, and the people, or Rollo. But she had, and now that Rollo had arrested her, she knew she could never have any of it. If all she got out of this was her life, then that would have to be enough. Rollo had the jewels in his pocket. She had to find a way to get them back and get away from him.
She knew she would spend the rest of her life yearning for his touch, but she would have to travel to the other side of the world and never see him again. That’s what she had decided on by the time they pulled up in front of an extremely rustic cabin several hours later. They had spent the entire drive climbing up steep gravel roads, gaining elevation to where the summer air was cooler. She felt a chill on her face as Rollo pulled her out of the SUV.
“Where the hell are we?” she insisted.
“Somewhere no one can find you,” he said in a gravelly voice.
He pulled her toward the cabin door and unlocked it with an old key. Once inside, the musty smell told her the cabin was quite old. Rollo directed her to sit on an ancient loveseat from the nineteen eighties while he went to the fireplace mantel and lit a kerosene lantern. The light illuminating the cabin allowed Zoe to see the details of her prison.
It was a one-room cabin with a fireplace, a hand-hewn log table, and a rustic queen-size bed. The couch was under the front window, right next to the fireplace and across from the table. The bed was shoved against the wall and the other corner.
“I hope the accommodations are up to your standards,” he said, lighting a second kerosene lantern.
“I’ve seen worse,” she said.
One year, she had lived in a surf shack on the beach in Mexico. But being kidnapped by her cop mate and taken to a crappy cabin was actually far worse than not having indoor plumbing on the beach.
“I’m glad you approve,” he said, kneeling in front of the fireplace to arrange the logs and hearth.
Zoe fidgeted in her seat, her hands still bound behind her back. If she could just angle her hand the right way, she could use her claw to pick the lock. Rollo had a fire going several moments later, stood up, and walked toward her. He gazed down at her, his blue eyes radiant in the firelight. She could smell his desire, and she could see his arousal bulge in front of her as he looked down at her.
“You can’t hold me like this,” she said, her throat dry.
“Why not?” he taunted.
“You and I both know this is all kinds of illegal,” she said.
“By whose standards?” he asked, kneeling in front of her so that they were looking right into each other’s eyes.
“By the standards of the government you work for, jackass,” she taunted back.
“Oh, little kitty, how wrong you are. For one thing, you are obviously guilty of the crime I arrested you for. You yourself told me that you were in danger. I’m protecting you from whatever dangers are out there. Let’s call it a witness protection program.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. You haven’t even booked me. I’m not even in the system,” she growled.
“That’s exactly the way I wanted it. One more thing, kitty cat, I’ll do with you what I please. You are mine.”
“What makes you think I would want to mate with someone who would treat me like that?” she said, his words sending a hot thrill through her core.
The argument had ceased to be about the law and was now about the power dynamic between them. Hot lust rolled off both of them, and the scent of their pheromones filled the room. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. But she refused to give in to his demands.
No matter how much she wanted Rollo, and how much she was enjoying their little game, she knew she had to get away from here and away from him.
Dimitri Ivanov was waiting for the jewels. He would find her and Rollo. Dimitri would end them both. Human or not, Dimitri Ivanov was a badass motherfucker who had killed his fair share of shifters and humans alike. Zoe did not underestimate his reach or his potential for destruction.
“I’ve got the feeling that’s exactly the kind of mate you want,” he growled into her ear as he stood above her.
“You couldn’t be more wrong, Rollo,” she said.
“Then why can I smell the sweet scent of your cunt, calling out to me?” he said, his massive erection only a foot away from her face.
She bit her lip, he was right. She wanted him now more than anything she had ever wanted in her life. Resisting the urge to spread her legs and invite him on top of her, was killing her. Her jaguar was practically manic with lust. She could almost hear the sound of Rollo’s grizzly growling as well. It all collided in a cacophony of sound that would only drive her madder the longer she resisted it.
“Is this how you get off, Rollo? Arresting women and then holding them hostage until you get what you want? If that’s the case, then why don’t you just take it,” she dared him.
He leaned down to speak in her ear, his voice low and gravelly. “Because I want you to beg for it,” he said.
“We’ll both die waiting for the day I beg for you, Rollo Morris,” she spat back.
“We shall see, little kitty, we shall see.”
Chapter 10
Zoe Bright was a tough nut to crack. After only twenty minutes of holding her in the cabin, Rollo already felt exhausted. He had to pace himself, she obviously wasn’t going to give up any information that easily. She was protecting something. Perhaps she was still under the misguided impression that the only way to ensure her safety and freedom was to deliver the jewels to Ivanov.
If he gave her the jewels, he would be an accomplice in the crime. If she somehow managed to take the jewels and slip away, he would never see her again. He couldn’t allow either to happen. Rollo loved his job and he loved the law. But he loved
Zoe even more. The revelation that he was already in love with her hit him in the chest. He had to turn away from her and stand beside the flickering fire in the hearth.
“What’s the matter?” Zoe asked from behind him. “Guilty conscience getting to you?”
Rollo let out a long breath and grabbed one of the rustic chairs from the dining set and pulled it across the floor to sit in front of Zoe on the couch. They sat only a foot and a half from each other, the energy and heat of their bodies mingling in the space between them.
“Why don’t you tell me about your connection to Dimitri Ivanov?” Rollo asked.
“What gives you the idea that I have any connection to whoever the fuck that is?” she spat.
Rollo pulled out his cell phone and brought up the photographs that Damien had sent him. He brought up one of Zoe and Dimitri kissing under the cypress trees of southern France. It sickened his bear, but he pressed his eyes together and brought his inner beast under control.
“Does this look at all familiar to you?” he asked her, showing her the image.
“Are you jealous?”
“The man in this picture is Dimitri Ivanov. How do you explain that?”
“Maybe I met him at a party once,” she mused.
“Well, how about this one from a year later?” he said showing her a second picture that showed the couple climbing into a limousine together in Paris.
“What is your point?”
“My point is that you seem to be awfully cozy with the head of a Russian mafia group,” Rollo said.
“I had no idea that Dima was involved in criminal activity. He was just fun to hang out with. He’s actually a really good dancer. You would be surprised.”
“Spare me,” Rollo growled.