by Jayne Ripley
Detective Carpenter climbed out of his sedan, looking unconcerned by the loud departure of the motorcycle gang.
“We’re certainly popular today,” the chief said.
“What do we do?” Rick asked, moving up alongside Luke and Chief Smith. “The cops would never get a warrant based on Gerig’s crazy claims.”
“The chief of police would never cross Ainsworth anyway,” Luke added, feeling disgusted with the whole thing. “That’s if Gerig is actually telling the truth. He could just be trying to set us against Ainsworth.”
Chief Smith nodded. “Could be. What we need is to keep this information in mind. All we can do is keep vigilant and protect our own and those dear to us. Now let’s see what the good detective wants.”
The three of them walked over to Detective Carpenter. The bear shifter detective opened the back of his sedan and helped Cameron McGee out. Cameron was handcuffed and stood there staring at the pavement. Luke knew Cameron had been arrested before for public drunkenness, but he’d never seen the man in handcuffs. His mind immediately jumped back to the night Gabriela had been attacked. A witness had spotted Cameron in the area...
“Howdy, detective,” Chief Smith said. “What brings you around today?”
The detective nodded to each of them in turn. “We were driving by and Mr. McGee here asked if I could stop. Said he has something important to tell you.” The detective glanced after the Sturmwulfen. “Did you have a bit of trouble with those motorcycle boys?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Luke said, and glanced at the human in handcuffs. “Did you do something, Cameron?”
“I’m arrested. I…I’m sorry. For everything. That’s what I had to say. I’m sorry.”
Chief Smith’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean, Cameron?”
But Cameron wouldn’t answer. Instead, Detective Carpenter answered for him. “I’m bringing him in for the arsons.”
“What?” Luke said, staggered by the news. “He’s got some problems, but he’s never hurt or threatened anybody.”
Chief Smith held up a hand. “What Luke said is true. Besides, the Sturmwulfen just told us they tracked the arsonist to Roger Ainsworth’s home.”
The detective’s eyes widened theatrically, but his smile was sour. “Now that’s some claim. Unfortunately, we have a reliable witness that spotted Mr. McGee in the area on the night of the fire. Mr. McGee can’t account for his whereabouts on the night Cindy Breller’s house burned down either.”
“That true, Cameron?” Luke demanded.
Cameron shrank away from their stares. “I don’t remember. I was drinking. I don’t remember hurting anybody. I wanted to be a firefighter.”
“That’s not a lot to go on for an arrest,” Chief Smith said.
“Forensics found some beer bottles in the forest behind Nicole’s house, near the crime scene with his prints on them and DNA. We also found some lighter fluid and vinegar at Mr. McGee’s current place of residence. It’s enough.”
“That’s still pretty weak,” Rick added.
Detective Carpenter looked uncomfortable. “The police chief wants the case closed. Mr. McGee’s the best suspect we have. I certainly can’t go to the chief claiming that a motorcycle gang believes the richest man in town is hiding the arsonist in his forty million dollar mansion.”
“I understand,” Chief Smith said. His expression was one of sadness and regret.
The detective helped Cameron back into the sedan. They drove away. The three of them stood and watched the car vanish down the road.
“This feels wrong,” Luke said.
The fire chief shrugged. “We aren’t the police. We put out fires. Cameron will get a lawyer and his day in court. Right now, I guess we’d all just be happy if the fires stopped.” He glanced at Luke. “Now, didn’t you have a lovely lady you needed to go set thing right with?”
Luke nodded, pushing away all other concerns except Gabriela. He walked back to his truck, unable to keep from smiling as he shrugged off the taunts, jokes, and friendly insults from his Fire Station Six buddies, especially from Rick. He was already looking forward to seeing Gabriela again and letting her know exactly how he felt about her.
He had to make her understand how much he needed her.
How much he loved her.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Gabriela leaned her head back in her lawn chair and focused on enjoying the feel of sun on her skin. Nicole was still at the school, teaching her kindergarten class. The Miller family was away, the kids at their various schools, and Mr. and Mrs. Miller off to work.
She’d taken a beat up old lawn chair into a small sunlit clearing behind the guesthouse for some sunbathing and a chance at some fresh air. It was very quiet and peaceful. Maybe too quiet and peaceful. It was hard to ignore her tumbling thoughts without any distractions to divert her. She kept thinking about her sudden change of luck with the winning ticket. The drama with the packs in town. The fire. Luke.
Luke most of all. How she missed him. How she wanted him.
Her pain had lingered, even deepened, because even with her joy at being able to finally start her pet care business, she’d kept wanting to snatch up her cell phone and call Luke and tell him the news. Or better yet, tell him in person.
But then she would immediately begin to doubt whether he’d be happy for her or not. He’d dismissed her work as something like a paper route, and nothing against paper routes, but there was a whole lot of work involved in keeping pets healthy and cared for. She’d been shocked he’d been so dismissive. And then he’d started to pry into why she’d left Philly. She was very grateful for all he’d done, but she just couldn’t handle being controlled and manipulated any more. She wasn’t property. She might want an alpha in bed, but she wasn’t going to roll over for anyone, even someone she loved…
A cold tear traced its way down her cheek. The pain tightened inside her. She felt so empty and alone now. She’d had such high hopes for returning here, and those hopes weren’t lost, but without Luke…
“Gabriela,” a warm baritone said from nearby.
Her eyelids jerked open and she jumped, startled out of her thoughts, and she let out a surprised gasp. Luke stood a dozen or so feet away, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, watching her with a serious expression on his face. His eyes were sad, and he looked very tired, as if he’d been up all night without any sleep.
“Oh, you startled me,” she said, her heart pounding hard and her mouth suddenly dry. She licked her lips, a nervous dread in her stomach warring with the joy in her mind at seeing him again.
“I didn’t mean to,” he replied. “May I talk with you? I’d like a chance to say a few words.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice not to shake.
He walked toward where she sat in her lawn chair. She started to get up, but he motioned for her to stay put.
“Please, don’t get up,” he said, squatting down beside her. Not too close, but near enough to be intimate. “I’ll get straight to the point.”
But instead of continuing, he stopped talking. He stared off into the trees, his eyes far away, his expression troubled. She didn’t know what to do next, waiting for him to say what he needed to say.
He turned back to her, looking her straight in the eyes, his expression defiant, almost angry.
“I love you,” he said.
She closed her eyes so he wouldn’t see them tear up. She wanted to be angry with him. She wanted to tell him she was going to achieve her dream, and if he couldn’t find it in him to be proud of her, then he could go to hell. But his words had hit her so hard she was breathless, unable to respond.
He reached out and took her hand in his. He held her gently in his warm hands. She kept her eyes closed and turned her head away from him, afraid to look at him. It didn’t matter. He kept on speaking, his soothing baritone washing over her like cool water.
“I love you, and it made me stupid,” he continued. “Because damn it, I love you so much. I was
so afraid I’d lost you in that fire. I can’t even describe how I felt when we rolled up on Nicole’s house and I thought you were still inside. I think I died a little. Some part of me died. Even though you were okay, that innocent part of me that thought all the people I loved would always be safe from harm…that part died that night.”
She opened her eyes, blinking rapidly, her tears starting down her cheeks. So much emotion was compressed inside her that it felt as if her throat was constricting, painfully choking her. She couldn’t have responded even if she’d had a mind as to what to say.
He smiled at her, but it was a sad, pained smile, nothing like his usual one. “So when I found out Ainsworth had some kind of interest in you, it drove my wolf mad. No, it drove me mad. I wanted to protect you. I wanted to build a castle around you and a moat and never let anything dangerous near you again. I wanted to own you. I did.” He shook his head, still cradling her hand in both of his, squatting there beside her. The sunlight highlighted his hair, but shadowed his face as he looked away again for a moment. Then he met her gaze again, and some of the pain she’d seen seemed to have lessened. “I was wrong. I was an ass in so many ways. Jealous. Controlling. Running roughshod all over you. I told my alpha that I was leaving the pack—”
She gasped, cutting him off. “Oh, God, you didn’t!”
“I told him I was leaving if they made me choose between you and them. You’re my pack. You’re my mate. My wolf doesn’t want anyone else. I don’t want anyone else. Only you.”
She touched his face, overwhelmed by his words, the depth of emotion in his voice and in his eyes. “I love you, Luke Taylor. I love you so much.”
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed it out unsteadily. “You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say that, but I’m not done saying what needs to be said. I haven’t apologized yet.”
“You don’t need to. I know.”
“I do need to,” he said, his expression set and stubborn. “I do because I didn’t show you the love you needed when you needed it most. Now I can’t get that moment back, when I’d give anything to have another chance. I can only swear to you that, going forward and from here on out, I’ll be by your side supporting you however you need. However you want. You don’t need to be pressured to join my pack. That doesn’t matter. I’m with you either way. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to help you get your new business off the ground. I can do a little electrical and some plumbing work, and I haul weight like a mule.”
The realization that he didn’t yet know about her winning the lottery exploded into her mind all at once. Her face must’ve lit up like a spotlight because his eyebrows shot up in surprise as she drew in a big breath to talk as fast as she could.
“You’re not going to believe this, but remember that lottery ticket I bought? Randomly? Because I’m crazy. And then…I can’t even…I won! I won sixty grand! I mean, they’re going to take half of it in taxes, but I still have enough money to shoestring my business off the ground. I don’t need anybody else.” She placed her hands on each side of his face and kissed him. “Except you. I need you.”
He kissed her back with passion. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the kiss. But she was the one to break it first. She looked into his eyes, forcing herself to be serious again and to get a grip on all the wild joyful emotion crashing through her.
“I want to tell you why I left Philly,” she said quietly.
“You don’t have to. It was wrong of me to demand answers like that. You can tell me when you’re ready to tell me, or you don’t have to ever tell me.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I know. I’m trying to tell you, so shut up and let me tell you.”
He nodded and for once he shut up.
“Things were going bad for me there,” she said. “I was trapped in a dead-end job in a bad part of town. I thought I had to be part of a pack for protection. So I got involved with a strong pack, but they treated the women members like crap. As if we were nothing more than property. They ordered us around, told us who we could date, where we could work, who we could see outside of the pack. I was promised off to one of the alpha’s favorites…” She gritted her teeth and shook her head at the horrible memories. “I’d had enough. My parents were both gone. I was on my own, but I remembered how much I’d loved this town when I’d been growing up. I’d been happy here. So I dropped everything, cleaned out my bank accounts and came here. I risked everything. And then I found you.”
He took her hands and pulled her, gently but insistently, to her feet. Then he wrapped her in his arms. His strong embrace felt so good, so comforting and safe that she never wanted to leave it.
“And you’ll have me for as long as you want,” he said. “I understand why you’re hesitant to join any other pack. We’re nothing like that, but I’m confident we can prove it.” He shrugged. “But like I said, if you never want to join, it doesn’t matter, as long as you’re with me, I’m happy.”
“I’m happy too,” she said. “Coming here was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
He kissed her. “And you’re going to open a kick-ass pet care facility and be wildly successful. You’re going to have so much business you’ll be up to your ears in poodles.”
She laughed. “I’ll settle for being able to pay the electric bill.”
“You watch, babe,” he said, picking her up effortlessly in a hug and swinging her around as she gasped and laughed. “Everything’s going to be perfect for us from here on.”
“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” she replied. “If we have each other, that’s all we’ll ever need.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” he said and gave her the most tender, most loving kiss.
EPILOGUE
Love. It was the most perfect thing in the universe. Gabriela wouldn’t trade it for all the power and the money in the world. All the changes since she’d moved in with Luke had only served to deepen her love for him.
She was leaning against the window frame in their barn loft bedroom, looking at a perfect frost-frozen morning across the fields and to the trees. Autumn was coming to an end and winter was on the way. But she was safe and warm here.
So much had changed. Her new dog care business had started to gain some real traction. She’d had to take on a few loans in addition to her small lottery winning, but the banks were more willing to front some money when they learned she had her own seed money to invest. She’d been saving some money to pay off her father’s debt to Ainsworth. Things were going great, but she knew that even if they hadn’t been, the two of them would’ve still been together. Their love bound them together. Lovers. Soul mates. She would give up everything for him, and she knew he would do the same in an instant. She wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Luke moved up behind her and slipped his arms around her. He pulled her in tight against his body and kissed her on the neck. She laughed as the kiss sent a shiver of delight and desire through her.
“What do you see out there, baby?” he murmured against her neck. “It looks cold. Why don’t you come to bed. I’ll keep you warm.”
“I bet you will.” But even though her body was already responding to his, to his heat and his need, she hesitated a moment longer at the window, caught up in the tranquil scene.
Their four-week-old puppy, a golden lab named Tato, pranced around their feet, wagging his tail like mad with his tongue hanging out. She picked him up and cuddled him to her chest. Luke embraced her again after giving a loving pat to the puppy, who was so excited at the attention he was shaking like a windup toy given one too many turns.
She kissed the puppy on his nose and closed her eyes when the puppy attacked her with licks. Things were as perfect as she could’ve ever hoped now. She’d been able to rent and renovate a business downtown, opening her pet care service and kennel only to find there was even more demand than she’d anticipated. She had two employees, and if business kept up, she’d be hiring another by mind-winter
. She and Luke were already talking about getting a bigger place—their own place, with dog runs and a big garage for him and a garden for her. She was crossing her fingers that it would be a log-cabin style house. Big, but rustic. North Western-y. She was excited to start a new life with him.
Speaking of new lives…
“Why do I have to say my pledge to the pack in front of everybody?” she asked.
“Is that what’s bothering you? It’s nothing. Everybody loves you. They’re all happy to have you in the pack family.” He kissed her neck again, his lips decadently warm on her skin. “You belong with us.” He turned her head toward him and captured her lips in a kiss that rocked her to her core. When he pulled away and she could finally breathe and think again, he continued. “You belong to me.”
“I do. And you belong to me.”
“Damn right. Now, don’t worry about that pledge. It’s no big ceremony with Rescue Company. You say the words of pack loyalty to the alpha. He offers you the protection and support of the pack. Yadda, yadda. Then we all get to the beer and to the food.”
“No speeches?”
He laughed. “No speeches. I promise.”
She smiled. Her nervousness about the upcoming initiation ceremony lessened some, especially since there would be no speeches. She did love the feeling of belonging. The only reason it had taken so long was that she’d wanted to make absolutely sure before committing herself. It was like finding a new family. Lucky for her, the new extended family was a good one, the kind she’d always wanted.
One thing that still bothered her was not as trivial as her nervousness about the upcoming ceremony. The man she’d met at the barbecue—Cameron McGee—had been arrested and charged with the arsons. Supposedly he was mentally unstable due to substance abuse and his failure to become a firefighter, leading him to target the women in the ResCo Pack.
He’d pled guilty after hours of interrogation. The news had staggered the pack. They’d been certain Cameron had been wrongfully accused and they felt betrayed that a human they’d allowed into their family would turn on them like that. There hadn’t been any suspicious fires since Cameron’s arrest, which made things look even worse for him.
