Rebel Wolf

by Lowe, Anna

  But then he’d met Sophie, and everything had changed.

  She nodded and looked out the window, lost in thought. “That’s why I came to Maui. To concentrate on the good in life instead of worrying about imminent disaster. You know what I mean?”

  Oh, he knew, all right. Any place that didn’t rain live mortars was good.

  Then he frowned, remembering the explosion. Right here in his tropical paradise.

  Bad man. Mess. Hurting my nice lady, Darcy had said.

  Chase finished his toast and stood. “Look, I’d better go. Are you going to be okay?”

  She nodded a little too quickly, and he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. But there was grit and determination too — and that, in spades.

  Just you wait. She’ll show you how tough she can be, his wolf hummed.

  Chase wouldn’t mind that, but he hoped to hell it wasn’t necessary. She’d already been through enough as far as he was concerned.

  “Apart from the call I have to make to my boss, no problem.” She tried joking it off, but her nervousness showed.

  Chase thought that one over. Mr. Lee. Had his business been the target of the bombing, albeit indirectly?

  His wolf growled. How direct does it have to be? Sophie could have been killed.

  In any case, he’d definitely be investigating Mr. Lee.

  “Then, I have to go. But listen. You be careful. Call me the second you notice anything that seems off, okay?”

  She nodded, looking spooked, which killed him. But he wouldn’t uncover any new information from inside that tiny bungalow, so he had to get moving. He did pin Darcy with a stern look, though.

  Did you hear that, little guy? Don’t let anyone close to her. You got me?

  Darcy showed his teeth in a rare sign of agreement. He might not like Chase, but he’d do anything for Sophie.

  Anything, the dog’s solemn expression swore.

  “Hey,” Sophie said, stopping Chase at the door. “Did I say thank you? I mean it. For everything.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Oh yes, I do. So, thank you. For everything. And in spite of everything, I had a good time. With you at least.”

  She might as well have set off a batch of fireworks in his soul, because rays of light filled all that empty space.

  “I even got that kiss,” she added. “And it was great.”

  He grinned. “Which one?”

  She leaned closer. “Each of them.”

  He was at a loss how to respond, at least in words. But his legs steered his body closer to hers, and his gaze dropped to her lips. All that yearning she’d kindled in him had to go someplace, right?

  Right, his wolf said.

  He leaned a little closer, and fire swirled through his blood. Sophie’s face was flushed, and her hands touched his sides. Was she as eager for a kiss as he?

  Yes, the shine in her eyes said. Desperately.

  Slowly, ever so slowly, he leaned in, and just as slowly, Sophie reached up. They puckered up at exactly the same time, and the moment they touched, flames erupted in his mind. Not the angry flames of the inferno at the truck. The good kind that made him forget where he was, who he was, and the danger Sophie could be in.

  Her lips moved under his, and her chest rose in a sigh. At first, her touch was hesitant, but within the space of a few heartbeats, that innocent kiss took off like a runaway train.

  Chase tried to put the brakes on — he really did — but his wolf did the opposite, and before he knew it, he had Sophie pinned against the wall. His lips tugged at hers, and his hands held her firmly, like he never wanted to let go.

  It seemed much too rough. Too raw. Too…sexual. But he couldn’t stop, especially with Sophie whimpering for more. Her tongue swept over his teeth, and her right leg snaked along his. His wolf howled, and his breath came in short pants. As if caught in a tornado, he lost all sense of up and down, wrong and right. All he knew was how desperately he wanted — needed — Sophie.

  Then Coco yipped at Boris, sending him scuttling away from the food bowl, and Chase and Sophie broke apart.

  “Wow,” she whispered, eyes still locked on his.

  He could barely breathe — think — move — except to agree. “Wow.”

  Destiny, his wolf whispered.

  Of course, it was destiny. Sophie was his, and he was hers.

  But then he remembered why he was there and what he was about to set off to do. He couldn’t let anything distract him from protecting Sophie — not even his love for her.

  “Trust me when I say leaving is the last thing I want to do,” he murmured.

  The corners of her mouth curled up. “It’s the last thing I want, too.” Then she took a deep breath, as if summoning all her courage, and looked him straight in the eye. “Yesterday, I nearly died. Today, I feel more alive than ever, and that’s because of you.”

  He melted all over again, and the sections of his soul he’d started to shutter off opened up again.

  He kissed her hands. “I only started living — really living — when I met you.”

  And there he stood for another full minute, soaking in every aspect of his mate. Her soft touch. The depth of her green eyes. Her amazing, flower-laced scent. Then, summoning all the self-discipline he had, he released her hands and eased away.

  Leaving Sophie was like pulling off a Band-Aid slowly, but he couldn’t bring himself to move any faster. It was only when he’d put a few steps between them that he managed to switch over to soldier mode. The part that knew how to get things done even when he didn’t want to.

  “See you soon,” he whispered.

  Sophie’s fingers brushed over his hand, and her eyes sparked with hope. “See you soon.”

  He turned to go, but she called after him one last time. “Chase?”

  He fought away the instinct to run back. To hold her close and never let her go.

  Her voice dropped, and she gulped. “You be careful too.”

  Chapter Six

  Sophie spent the morning gardening around her aunt’s bungalow, trying to mentally prepare herself to see the burned-out wreckage of the smoothie truck. She did the same during the long walk down to Lahaina, where she’d left her car the previous day. But the moment she arrived and caught a glimpse of the scene in the seaside park…

  She gasped and covered her mouth then took a step back.

  It was a good thing she’d skipped lunch, because her stomach roiled. The shiny silver sides of the smoothie truck had become a mottled, ashy mess, and shards of glass littered the road. The bright, flowery logo of the smoothie truck was blistered and covered with soot, with Sunshine Smoothies truncated to Sunshine Smoo. Instead of drawing customers with its promise of fruity goodness, the truck had attracted a gaggle of gawkers. Sophie stared, sickened, as a tourist snapped a selfie of herself in front of it. Was the woman planning to put that shot in an album alongside shots of waterfalls and palm trees?

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Sophie muttered, turning away.

  But that didn’t keep the burned odor from filling her nose, nor the sound of idle chatter from reaching her ears.

  “How exciting! It blew up,” someone said.

  Sophie snorted. Exciting? She could have been killed.

  “What caused it?” another onlooker wondered.

  Sophie pinched her lips. She’d spent most of the night wondering the same thing.

  “Arson? A faulty generator? Who knows,” someone said.

  Foul play? Revenge? Money? Officer Meli’s comments echoed in Sophie’s mind.

  She tapped her fingers against her sides nervously. It would be awfully nice to find out it was none of those things.

  Can’t trust anyone, anywhere, anytime. The voice of her stepfather joined Officer Meli’s in her mind.

  Sophie closed her eyes. She had come to Maui to escape that paranoid mind-set. In fact, she’d taken the smoothie job because it helped her make the world a better place, at least in a small way. Was fate laug
hing in her face?

  The sea breeze toyed with a wisp of hair that had escaped her four-strand braid, and she drew a slow breath. No, that couldn’t be. Whatever force governed the universe — God? Mother Nature? Destiny? — she had to believe it was crying too.

  She turned as a tow truck beeped and backed up to the charred wreck, ready to take it away.

  “No,” she whispered to herself. She’d come with the vague hope of looking for evidence of something out of place, but she couldn’t do that if the truck were hauled away.

  A police officer directed the tow truck from one side, and she stepped forward to stop him. But someone moved in the distance, making her stop in her tracks. That red-faced man was her boss, Mr. Lee, owner of Sunshine Smoothies. A man on the warpath, obviously. He came storming right up to her, shaking an accusing finger. No, wait. He stomped right over and clamped a hand on her shoulder. Hard.

  Without thinking, Sophie flicked out her hand, jerked her elbow, and—

  “Whoa,” Mr. Lee yelped as she thrust his arm away.

  She caught herself half a second before following that up with a kick. Whoa was right. Apparently, some of the training her stepfather had forced upon her worked. Still, Sophie frowned. Defending herself was all well and good. But smacking her boss’s arm away?

  Mr. Lee stared in surprise then broke into a litany. “Don’t you get fresh with me.”

  Fresh? Sophie wished she could show him fresh. But nice girls didn’t go around hitting people, did they?

  Mr. Lee glared. “Now, tell me what happened. What the hell did you do?”

  She was so taken aback, she couldn’t utter a peep. Lucky thing a deep voice boomed a reply for her.

  “She didn’t do anything.”

  Sophie whirled and spotted Chase stepping up. Her own Lancelot, coming to save the day. They’d gone their separate ways that morning, and she hadn’t anticipated meeting him until later. But it was a damn good thing he had come along. Mr. Lee wasn’t the easiest person to deal with at the best of times, and now…

  “Look at my truck!” he bellowed.

  Chase practically growled. “Yeah, look at it. Sophie could have been killed.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, creating a menacing image that made Mr. Lee shrink back. But when Sophie looked closely, she could see Chase was practically trembling with rage. Maybe those crossed arms had more to do with keeping his anger under control than intimidating anyone.

  She put her hand on Chase’s arm, willing him to calm down. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

  “Well, my truck isn’t fine,” Mr. Lee snipped.

  The police officer kicked aside a piece of burned bumper, and it clattered across the road as if to accentuate Mr. Lee’s point. The tow truck began to crank in the wreck, and the racket was enough to silence Sophie’s boss for a while. Well, his mouth kept moving, but Sophie couldn’t hear a word above the whine of the truck. Instead, she focused on Chase, who winced at the noise but didn’t budge. She squeezed his hand, grateful for his support, and he forced a tiny smile for her sake. Then his eyes flicked to a spot over her shoulder, and he nodded to someone. Sophie turned and saw Dell waving them over to where he stood.

  “Heya,” Dell said with his usual smile. With one hand, he smacked Chase on the shoulder. The other hand he kept cradled around the baby suspended comfortably in a snuggler at his chest. “Come on over here, away from those fumes.” He cuddled the baby closer.

  Dell’s partner, Anjali, was at his side, and she took Sophie by both hands. “You poor thing.” She’d become a regular customer at Sunshine Smoothies in the two months since she’d moved to Maui to be with Dell. “Are you okay?”

  Sophie nodded quickly. Well, she wasn’t that okay, but what else could she say?

  “How can we help?” Dell asked.

  Chase growled. “Help me not tear that jerk apart with my claws—”

  Dell cut him off with a stern look and a harsh, guttural sound. “No problem. Leave it to us.”

  Claws? Sophie blinked.

  “No,” Anjali said as Mr. Lee came storming over. “Leave this to me.”

  Sophie wondered what Anjali could possibly do. Mr. Lee was furious, and it was all her fault.

  “My truck is a total loss. What the hell did you do?” he barked.

  “I didn’t do anything,” Sophie insisted. “I just went out for a second to check on the dogs…”

  “You left it unattended?” he screeched.

  Three steps hardly counted as unattended, but what could she say?

  “You’d better hope my insurance pays for this,” he went on.

  Anjali cleared her throat. “Does your insurance cover personal injury claims?”

  Mr. Lee stared at her. “What do you mean?”

  “You know, in case one of your employees decided to sue,” she said, oh so innocently.

  “Sue me? For what?”

  Anjali shrugged and looked at Dell. “What was it the police suggested? Faulty safety systems?” She tut-tutted. “When was the last time you had that vehicle inspected?”

  Mr. Lee hemmed and hawed, and Anjali shot Sophie a Now we’ve got him look.

  “I see,” Anjali said. “Well, it would be a pity if Sophie decided to sue.”

  “But she’s perfectly fine,” Mr. Lee insisted.

  Sophie made a face. Yes, she was. Not that it had concerned her boss before.

  “Exactly,” Anjali said. “And once you assure her she still has a job, I’m sure she’ll be less inclined to sue.”

  “Yeah.” Dell clamped a hand on Mr. Lee’s shoulder, making him wince. “Why don’t you make sure she understands how sorry you are?”

  “Sorry?” Mr. Lee snapped. Then Dell squeezed, and he grimaced. “Right. Sorry.”

  “The important thing is to get back in business,” Anjali went on. “Surely, you have another unit you can move to this location.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  Dell snorted. “It is a truck, right? As in, you can move it around?” He mimicked a driving motion.

  Anjali nodded. “From what I understand, you have an entire fleet.”

  Mr. Lee did — almost a dozen spread out all over Maui.

  “And since Lahaina is such a lucrative spot…” Anjali continued.

  “Very lucrative,” Dell murmured without releasing his grip.

  “…I’m sure you’ll have Sophie back to work soon,” Anjali said. “Plus — and I hate to say this, but just think — you’ll have all that free publicity. Believe me — even bad news is good publicity.”

  Mr. Lee’s eyes took on an entirely new shine. “Publicity, huh?”

  Sophie looked between Dell and Anjali. Their good cop/bad cop thing was working. More importantly, Chase had backed down from a look of imminent murder to I might let this guy live — for now. And, wow. Did it feel good to have a whole team on her side.

  The tow truck revved its engine and rolled away with the wreck, and for a moment, everyone watched. Before long, the only evidence of the accident — crime? — was a charred patch of earth and slivers of broken glass that shone menacingly in the sun.

  Sophie frowned. All she really had to go on was the reaction of the dogs. Maybe the explosion had been an unavoidable accident.

  But the back of her neck itched as a little voice murmured, Maybe not.

  “What you need is to get another truck here, ASAP. Plus a reliable employee to run it. Like Sophie,” Anjali said.

  Sophie held her breath. What would her boss say?

  He wavered, but one glance at Chase, who stood there glowering, and Mr. Lee acquiesced. “I might have a spare truck.”

  “Perfect.” Dell smacked Mr. Lee’s back hard enough to propel the man a few steps. “How soon can you get it here?”

  Mr. Lee pulled out his phone and turned away, leaving Sophie marveling at the persuasive powers of Chase’s friends.

  Anjali patted her shoulder. “You do want to keep your job, right? If not, I’m sure w
e can help you find something else.”

  Sophie closed her eyes. They were all so nice. She had no idea where to begin.

  “I don’t know,” Chase muttered. “What if it’s not safe?”

  Sophie gave herself a little shake. In all likelihood, the explosion had been an accident. As for her job, she’d be happy to keep it. The customers were nice, the views were great, and the pay — well, it covered her expenses, at least. Not to mention that the location kept her close to Chase.

  “I’m sure it’s perfectly safe. So, yes, I’d like to work as soon as possible.”

  Mr. Lee hung up and turned back to her. “I can shift a truck over from Makena Beach in two hours.”

  “Two hours?” Sophie looked at Dell, who turned away with an innocent look on his face. Wow. Exactly how hard had he gripped her boss’s shoulder?

  “Do you want a job or don’t you?” Mr. Lee snapped.

  “Of course I want it,” she said on instinct. Everyone needed a job, right? But then it hit her. Technically, she might not need the job. For the first time in her life, she was likely to have enough in the bank to cover her expenses…well, for a long, long time. She’d only recently received that news, though, and that new reality had yet to sink in. She wasn’t ready to share it just yet — not even with Chase.

  She nodded quickly. “I love working at Sunshine Smoothies,” she said, though she refrained from adding, Even if I’d prefer a different boss.

  “All right, then. Be ready to go the minute the truck gets here. I’m willing to give you one more chance. But if anything happens…”

  Sophie gulped. What if something did happen?

  Chase looked equally unsure, but Anjali gave her an encouraging grin, making her feel foolish to turn the offer down.

  “Nothing will happen,” Sophie said with more confidence than she felt.

  Dozens of people milled around the area, but her eye caught on one, and her blood ran cold. She snapped her head up for a closer look. Wait a second. Could that really be…?

  But the man disappeared around a corner, and she couldn’t be sure. Of course, she was so shaken up, it was natural to fall into the old habit of suspecting everyone. Which just went to show how unreliable her instincts were at the moment.