by Pamela Clare
Owooooo!
It was closer now, probably standing just outside the circle of light shining from the cabin’s windows and porch lights.
“One… two… three.”
Winona rose out of the water, followed Jason up the stairs, hurrying toward the door, Jason right behind her, shielding her body with his, one strong arm around her waist. She pushed open the door, stepped inside.
“Get dressed.” Jason shut and locked the door and drew the blinds. “Stay away from the windows.”
Owooooo!
She ran into her room, grabbed her bag, and hurried into the bathroom, where she stripped off her wet bikini, dried off, and dressed, questions chasing one after another through her mind. What was the wolf doing here? Why would the poacher come to the cabin? Was he just out trolling for beef?
When she walked to the doorway of her room, she found Jason standing in the kitchen, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, pistol in its holster, phone in hand.
“It sounded like it was twenty or thirty feet away at most. If your poacher is traveling with the wolf, then he’s likely here, too, and he’s almost certainly armed. Thanks. We’ll see you shortly.” He ended the call. “Nate will be here in about thirty minutes. He’s bringing a group of men to get us. He’ll take us back to the main house for the night. You’ll be safe there.”
But Winona wasn’t sure she’d feel safe anywhere tonight. “Do you think the poacher followed us?”
Jason considered that. “I don’t know. Maybe seeing the armed riders in the other pastures drove him this way in search of steers. Or maybe the wolf is out for a run. I won’t know until I can get a look at the tracks.”
She nodded, crossed her arms over her chest, and sat, her back to the wall outside her bedroom door where she wasn’t in line with any windows.
Jason crossed the room, knelt before her. “I’m sorry, Winona. I know this is scary, but I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Jason wanted to kick his own ass. He’d gotten so caught up in his need for Winona that he’d let his guard down. He’d let his dick do the thinking—and it could have gotten both of them killed. If the poacher was here, he could have opened up on them with that rifle and killed them both.
Owooooo!
“It’s farther away now. They’re leaving.”
Jason blamed himself for the fear on Winona’s face. “Why don’t you come sit at the table in the kitchen? It’s a lot more comfortable than the floor.”
He took her hand, helped her up, and walked with her to the kitchen. “Would someone just let their wolf run free?”
“I let Shota run off-leash on Forest Service land, but I never just turned him out to roam by himself. I was too afraid something would happen if…” Her words trailed off, a look of comprehension on her face. “The poacher has to be here. Either that, or he lives nearby. I don’t know how the wolf could get here otherwise.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Wild wolves lope along at no more than five or six miles an hour, and they don’t travel more than thirty miles in a day. Either the poacher brought the wolf with him like he did when he killed the steers—or he lives a lot closer than you all think.”
Jason thought through what Winona had said, images from the day moving through his mind. The two cut sections of fence line. The four-wheeler tracks disappearing at the creek. The creek flowing onto Forest Service land.
Jack had turned back at that point, so Jason hadn’t gotten a look at the creek or its banks. It was entirely possible that the poacher had turned off the road at that point and driven up the creek.
We get squatters on Forest Service land sometimes. I’ve helped rangers clear off more than a few.
Jason needed to get back up there while there was still snow on the ground.
Winona sat at the table. “Sorry to act like such a chicken.”
He sat across from her. “Hey, don’t apologize. It was a scary situation. I think most people would be a little freaked out to discover that a criminal with a wolf had crept up on them, and most people don’t have your history.”
She didn’t look convinced.
Jason tried to shift the conversation. “What was it like raising a wolf pup?”
“I had to be available around the clock. I lost a lot of sleep, but he was so adorable that I didn’t mind.” She pulled out her phone. “I have photos and video.”
“Show me.”
She handed the phone to him. “Just scroll.”
Winona feeding a tiny gray fluffball from a small bottle. A short video of the tiny gray fluffball, eyes now open, doing its best to howl like one of the big boys. The pup now several months old and asleep on Winona’s lap. Winona outdoors with her arm around an enormous, fully grown wolf’s neck, its yellow eyes looking into the camera.
“Whoa. He grew up to be huge.” Jason could see how much she loved the animal in every image. “You had shorter hair then.”
She ran her fingers through her long, damp strands. “I cut it after my grandmother made the journey. It’s one of the ways we mourn.”
“Right.” He handed the phone back, heard the sound of approaching truck engines. “I think they’re here.”
They grabbed their bags and were at the door when Jack and Nate knocked.
Jack wasn’t happy. “I’m awfully sorry about this. We’ll get you back to the house so you can enjoy the rest of the evening. I’ve asked my men to stay close to the truck, so they don’t step on sign.”
Jason was glad to hear it. “Thanks. Got a flashlight?”
“In the glove box of my truck.”
Jason got Winona safely into the cab of Jack’s truck, but he didn’t climb in after her. He grabbed the flashlight. “I’m going to have a quick look around.”
Nate climbed out of his truck, rifle in hand. “I’m coming with you. Someone has to watch your six.”
Shining the flashlight onto the snow, Jason walked to the rear of the cabin and then toward the line of the forest in the direction of the wolf’s howls. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps into the trees when he found the tracks—those of a wolf and a man’s boots, size ten or eleven, with deep tread that had a circle in the heel.
Jason swore under his breath. “The bastard was here—tonight. It scared the hell out of Winona.”
“I bet it did.”
Jason turned, looked back toward the deck. Whoever this asshole was, he’d had a clear view of the hot tub and anyone in it. He’d probably watched them kissing. Worse, he’d also had a clear shot. “We need to get up to the old road tomorrow while the snow is fresh. I want to see what we find if we follow that creek.”
Chapter 12
Fighting a sense of dread, Winona sat in front of the fire with Megan, the two of them sipping hot chocolate and talking about what had happened. Winona left out the intimate parts, of course. The house was quiet, the children asleep, the men and Janet talking in Jack’s office. “Then came this howl. The wolf couldn’t have been more than twenty or thirty feet away from us.”
Megan shivered. “That sends chills down my spine. I would have jumped out of my skin.”
“It’s not the wolf that scares me.”
Megan laughed at that. “You’re braver than I am.”
Winona wanted to cry. “I’m not brave at all. I’m overreacting.”
She was safe now. What was wrong with her that she still felt afraid?
“No, you’re not overreacting at all. That guy doesn’t care that he’s breaking the law. He’s a poacher, an armed trespasser, and he’s got a big wolf with him. That’s pretty disturbing.”
Winona had to smile. “When you put it that way…”
Megan’s eyes were warm with understanding. “This isn’t the first time you’ve felt threatened. Experiences like that—they’re cumulative.”
“You’re right. Thanks.” Winona felt the truth of Megan’s words down to her DNA, as images from today dredged up memories of what that bastard John Charles Ready had
done to her.
Megan gave her a rueful smile. “I’ve got experience, unfortunately.”
Winona didn’t know Megan well, but she’d heard that Megan had suffered from heroin addiction and had served time in prison. There were even rumors that she’d killed a man. Whatever her past, she had overcome it and made a good life for herself. She was a mother, a wife, and an attorney.
“How do you get past it?”
“I suppose it’s different for everyone. I had to get help. It took lots of counseling and medication. Nate’s love made the biggest difference. He accepted me as I was, and that gave me room to heal.”
Is that what Winona needed to do—ask for help?
Megan changed the subject. “Nate tells me that you’re a climber and part of the Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue Team.”
“My brother, Chaska, is the climber. I’m not nearly as good as he and the others are. Mostly, I help with rescues that involve animals.”
“You rescue animals?”
She shared rescue stories with Megan until her hot chocolate was gone and Janet and the men reappeared. She could tell from the resolve on Jason’s face that they’d decided on a course of action.
“Morning comes early,” Jack said. “Time to put these old bones to bed. Have the two of you been shown your rooms?”
Winona got to her feet, empty mug in hand. “Yes. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“I’m awful sorry about what happened tonight, Winona, but you’re safe under our roof.” Jack’s eyes held no reproach, only concern. “I hope you rest easy tonight.”
“Thank you, Jack.”
Nate helped Megan to her feet. “We’ve got a state-of-the-art security system, not to mention two ex-military men and a federal agent here. And that bunkhouse we passed? It’s full of men, a few of them ex-military, who know how to deal with trouble.”
Winona willed herself to smile. “I’ll remember not to cause any trouble then.”
“I hope you’ll sleep well.” Janet slipped an arm around her husband’s waist. “We’re just down the hall from you if you need anything. Goodnight!”
“Goodnight.”
Megan took Winona’s empty mug. “I’m glad we got a chance to talk, Winona. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thanks, Megan.”
“Of course.”
Winona walked with Jason upstairs and down the hallway to their adjoining rooms. She stopped outside her door. She didn’t want to be alone, and there was so much to say to him. Be brave. “Goodnight.”
“Hey.” He caught her hand, looked into her eyes. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, lied. “I’m fine.”
“Nate and I will be heading out early tomorrow with some of their men to cut sign and see if we can’t find this bastard.”
He didn’t ask her to join them this time.
He probably thinks you’re not up for it.
Maybe she wasn’t. “Please be careful.”
“We will. Thanks. Goodnight, Win.” He bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Our rooms have adjoining doors. Just knock if you need me.”
“Thanks.” Winona walked into her room, closed the door behind her.
Her room was beautiful, with a queen-sized poster bed, a fireplace, a velvet chaise, and a huge flat-screen TV on one wall. Best of all, the bathroom floor was heated, something she’d never experienced before.
Relax and go to bed. Nothing bad happened. You’ll be fine in the morning.
She took a quick shower to wash away the chlorine from the hot tub. Then she dried her hair with a towel and brushed her teeth. She pulled down the duvet on the queen-sized poster bed, then crawled beneath the covers and turned out the light. She closed her eyes, drew deep breaths, willed herself to relax.
But she couldn’t sleep.
Her mind jumped from one thing to another, a jumble of images and emotions. Jason cutting sign in the forest. The howl of the wolf. Jack and Nate arriving at the cabin, armed. The jerk near the road who’d called her “pretty little Indian gal.”
If you so much as make a peep, I’ll put an extra hole in your pretty little head.
She sat up, John Charles Ready’s voice echoing in her mind. Then she noticed light coming from beneath the door that separated her room from Jason’s. He was still awake. She hopped out of bed, turned on her bedside lamp, and walked to the door, hesitating for a moment. Was she truly so desperate?
Ask for help.
She knocked—and immediately felt stupid.
He opened the door wearing only a towel, his hair damp. “Hey.”
“I-I can’t sleep.”
Jason could tell that Winona was on the edge. Fear was written in every feature of her pretty face, her arms wrapped protectively around her, her breathing a little too rapid. “Let me get dressed, and we’ll talk. I’ll leave the door open.”
“Okay.”
“What happened tonight was pretty scary.” Doing his best to keep her talking, he walked over to his bed, dropped the towel, and grabbed his flannel pajama bottoms.
“It all runs together—tonight, that guy today, what happened at my clinic.”
“That makes sense to me.” He stepped into his pajamas, grabbed a condom, and slipped it into his pocket.
What the hell are you doing? She doesn’t need your dick.
He took it out and then put it back—just in case.
“But nothing really happened today.” She sounded angry at herself, ashamed.
“That’s not true, Winona.” He walked to the doorway, found her sitting on her bed, arms still hugged around her middle. “Some asshole singled you out and said he recognized you. Then this armed trespasser showed up with a wolf. I can see how what happened today would awaken memories from five years ago.”
“You can?”
“Yes.”
Then it hit him.
Winona was trapped in a trauma loop. Nothing was real for her now except the fear churning inside her.
Jason didn’t have a lot of experience with post-traumatic stress, but he had buddies who did, Wolves who’d suffered in the line of duty or who’d served in the military. Too bad he hadn’t learned anything that could help Winona now. Should he try to distract her, urge her to talk about it, tell her she was safe until she actually felt safe? Hell, he didn’t know.
He wasn’t used to feeling helpless.
He took a throw off the chaise, wrapped it around her shoulders, and sat close beside her. “I know you’re scared, Win, and I understand why. I’m listening if you want to talk about it. If not, then we’ll just get through tonight, one moment at a time.”
“Thanks.” She looked up at him, a wobbly smile on her face and tears in her eyes. “Tell me about your home.”
So, he told her about life in the desert. Harvesting saguaro fruit and cooking them down to syrup. Going on Salt Pilgrimage with other young O’odham men. Playing basketball with boys from the local youth club every Friday night. Growing tepary beans and corn with his grandfather. Watching his grandmother weave baskets. Learning the hard way not to get stuck by the spines of a cholla cactus.
“Those are painful—let me tell you. They’ll make you bleed.”
“Ouch.” Winona scooted back until she was sitting with her back against the headboard. She seemed more relaxed and less afraid now. “I bet that’s a mistake you don’t make twice.”
“Truth.” He sat beside her. “The fruit is tasty, but you have to get the spines off first. My grandmother made it look easy, but it isn’t.”
“Why did it end—your relationship with your fiancée?”
The question took Jason by surprise. So, too, did the realization that he didn’t mind talking about it with Winona.
She mistook his silence for something else. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“No, it’s okay. I was just surprised.” Jason took a breath, wondering where to start. “Elena is O’odham, too. We met in high school.”
Jason told her how
he’d lost track of Elena while he was away at college and then the training academy and how they’d gotten reacquainted one night at a party that his friends had hosted to welcome him back to Sells.
“We started dating. She had a hair salon and wanted to make life better for our people—or so I thought.” Jason saw it all differently now—her love of nice things, her constant talk about money, her focus on appearances. She’d only wanted to make life better for herself. “Every weekend when I was working, she went to visit her auntie in Tucson, taking her food, picking up her medicine for her, doing her hair and nails.”
“That was kind of her.”
Jason had to laugh. “That’s what I thought.”
“I don’t understand.”
“A little more than six months ago, I was working, cutting sign along the border. I got a text from my boss to come to his office. A DEA officer was waiting for me there. He told me that they had just arrested Elena for trafficking cocaine—part of a long investigation. They recorded her bragging about how she was engaged to a Shadow Wolf and how she’d learned by listening to him how to avoid feds.”
It had felt like a physical blow—a bullet through his chest.
“Oh, Jason!”
“When prosecutors questioned her, she told them how drug runners dropped off cocaine at her salon in shampoo boxes and how she transported it to a house in Tucson for five grand per trip every time she visited her auntie. She’d gotten away with it for years, right under my nose. She just didn’t want to live on my salary.”
Winona shifted so that she faced him. “I’m so sorry. That must have hurt. You trusted her. You loved her.”
“I’m grateful I found out when I did and not a few months later when we would have been married.” He’d have had a divorce to contend with then. “But, yes, it hurt.”
“You broke up with her?”
“The same day.” Elena’s tear-stained face flashed through Jason’s mind. “I went to the jail. I needed to hear from her why she’d done it. She expected me to bail her out and help her pay for an attorney. Instead, I ended things. She knew drug runners had murdered my parents. She knew I’d spent my entire adult life busting people who did what she’d done, that I’d lost fellow Wolves, that I’d been shot. Still, she’d gone to work for the enemy. That’s what hurt the most. It felt like a betrayal of everything I am.”
