by Terry Spear
“Are you gonna let me in?” Vaughn reached out to grab hold of the doorjamb.
Jillian’s first thought was he was in her space, and she needed to take a step back and let him into the warm house. Her second thought was he was getting ready to collapse on her. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, though she wouldn’t be able to stop him if he went down. He was all hot, hard muscles and sexy as sin. He took his hand off the doorjamb and wrapped his good arm around her, but not in a way that said he was ready to collapse. More in a way that said he really liked the way she was holding him close to her breast.
Afraid to let go of him in case he did collapse, she still held on to him, but as soon as she opened her mouth to tell him he should be right back in his bed at the clinic if he was feeling this shaky, he leaned down and kissed her!
She should have socked him! Or pushed him away! So why in the world was she leaning into the kiss, pursuing his lips even when he began to pull away? She wanted to taste the sweetness and firmness, tangle tongues with the brute, and run her hands up the back of his shirt to feel the way his taut muscles responded to her touch.
Maybe because she hadn’t returned from answering the door, or because they’d heard Vaughn’s gruff voice, Everett and Howard hurried to the front door. They hesitated to help, as if they’d seen Jillian and Vaughn kissing and thought they shouldn’t interfere.
Her whole body was already way too hot, and now she felt as if she would erupt into flames!
“Help me before this annoying wolf crashes onto the porch,” Jillian warned. Yet until the men grabbed hold of him, she wasn’t releasing her death hold on the aggravatingly hot SEAL wolf, even though she was conflicted about whether he really needed anyone’s assistance.
Chapter 4
Everett and Howard rushed to help Vaughn inside the guest house as Jillian quickly released her hold on him. She wanted to order them to take the wolf straight back to the clinic. Chain him to the bed even.
“The she-wolf was doing all right on her own.” Vaughn looked amused. “She could have handled me. Further.”
“Hell, you’re supposed to be sleeping so your body has time to heal.” Everett sounded surprised, amused, and impressed, though he glanced at Jillian. She couldn’t believe how embarrassed she was, that she had fallen for the wolf’s charms, despite still being angry with him over her brother.
But Everett’s being impressed about Vaughn leaving the hospital so soon after he’d been shot? Had to be a macho guy thing. If someone had shot her, she’d be taking it easy for as long as the doctor said she needed to.
“Have you ever had a prolonged stay in a clinic or hospital?” Vaughn asked Everett.
“A time or two,” Everett said.
“Well, then you know that sleep isn’t part of the medical regimen.”
Now Vaughn sounded like her brother when he wouldn’t stay at the clinic longer than he had to.
As soon as they reached the dining room, Vaughn’s gaze latched on to the chicken. He took a seat at the head of the table as if that was his place and he expected someone to feed him.
Jillian knew the man was going to be impossible to work with. “Do you need to be hand-fed?”
She swore Vaughn gave her a glimmer of a smile, his lips curving up so slightly that she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it or he really had smiled.
“Howard can do the job,” she said, in case Vaughn thought she was going to spoon-feed him. After what had just happened between them, she wasn’t about to give him the idea that she was interested in taking any of this further.
Demetria got a plate and served him potato salad and a couple of chicken legs. “Everett’s right. You can’t be running around like this.”
Jillian frowned. “You shouldn’t be running around half naked either.”
Vaughn gave her a dark smile.
She swore she was blushing to the roots of her hair.
“I couldn’t find my jacket among the clothes someone left for me at the clinic. Besides, I couldn’t button my shirt.”
Jillian poured him a glass of water, then refilled everyone else’s glasses too so she didn’t seem to be catering to Mr. Macho Wolf. She gave herself extra ice so she could cool down. “You mean no one on the hospital staff would give you a hand?”
“I didn’t want to bother anyone. Besides, I’m not going anywhere else…tonight. I thought you said you were saving a room here for me.” Vaughn began to eat a chicken leg. “You can’t grill chicken outside and then expect me to smell it and ignore it.” Then he frowned. “Why would you be grilling chicken outside?”
“Covered patio. Howard and I felt like grilling it,” Everett said.
“You were supposed to be sleeping soundly,” Jillian said. Irritated with Vaughn, she suspected he’d know now if she left on her own tomorrow to look for her brother.
“Was that your idea?” Vaughn lifted a dark brow. “The sleepy-time drugs, I mean. You’re probably disappointed they only worked for a couple of hours.”
“I imagine it was Dr. Wilders’s idea, but I wholeheartedly agree with him. If he had thought to ask me, I would have told him it would be a good idea to knock you out for the rest of the week.” Jillian grabbed another chicken leg. “So you could heal up properly,” she clarified.
The jaguars were all smiling.
“So what have you learned?” Vaughn asked Everett.
“Demetria, Howard, and I have been trying to locate the jaguar who was shot. As a shifter, he would heal faster, and if he hadn’t been hit anywhere too vital, he could have made it to somewhere safe and holed up until he was fine. Once he hit the creek, we couldn’t locate any sign of him. No scent, no tracks left behind. He must have allowed the stream to carry him for a couple miles or more. We did find pugmarks leading to the creek. We didn’t smell his scent anywhere, which means he was using hunter’s spray.”
“So then he was up to no good. No one saw a wounded jaguar or a wounded, naked man, I take it,” Vaughn said.
“No. We canvased the area south of there, asking if anyone had witnessed someone who had been injured, gunshot wound. No one had seen anything,” Demetria said. “But we did find shell casings.”
“Good. So if we can find the gun that fired them and the cat that was wounded, we’ll get somewhere,” Vaughn said. “What was the time frame for this? A long time before Douglas was attacked?”
“Four days ago,” Demetria said.
“So unless he was wounded too badly, the jaguar could be moving around like he’d never been injured. Meaning, he could have been the one I saw in the woods.”
Jillian was eating another piece of chicken when Vaughn suddenly leaned back in his chair and studied her. “So…what have you been doing all this time while the jaguars have been off questioning everyone? Searching for the injured jaguar like you should have been doing?”
She should have guessed he’d ask. “Well, you’ll probably be surprised to hear it, but I’ve been searching for my brother after you terrorized him half to death.”
“And? Did you locate him? Then again, you probably wouldn’t tell me if you had.”
“Nope, I didn’t locate him. I’d tell you if I had so you’d get off his back once you heard his explanation for why he ran when he saw you at Douglas’s cabin. He was supposed to meet Douglas, his friend, so him being there after Douglas was injured isn’t a surprise.”
Vaughn watched her for a moment longer, then nodded. “I need to return to my cabin and get my bags and my Land Rover.” He grabbed another chicken leg.
“It’s already done.” Demetria lifted her glass of water. “The Land Rover’s parked out back. Your bags were put in your room, in case you agreed to work with us. If you hadn’t wanted to, your vehicle would be here and you could just pack up and return to your cabin.”
“Now why would I want to do that? When I think my best chance at getting to Miles is through his sister.” Vaughn leveled a dark look in Jillian’s direction.
Sh
e had been afraid of that. “How did you know about my blood type?” If Jillian was going to work with Vaughn, she wanted to know if he’d been investigating her and her brother all along for some reason.
“B positive? Lucky guess.” Vaughn scooped up some more potato salad. “This is really good. Did you make it?”
Jillian said, “The recipe is Demetria’s.”
“But she and I made it,” Demetria said. “And thanks.”
“So you didn’t really know my blood type?” Jillian pushed.
“How would I know something like that?” Then Vaughn smiled. “What? You think I’ve been investigating you? Well, I’ll put your concern to rest. No, I haven’t. I didn’t know the name of the wolf I was chasing. I guess I should be grateful for our fortuitous meeting this time—when my shoulder doesn’t hurt so much. Where would your brother have gone? To your place? Your parents’? That’s usually where a wolf on the run ends up. Hiding out with family. Or in his sister’s case, using her to protect him from the good guy—that’s me—by shooting him.”
“Ha!” Jillian got a call on her cell and saw it was Leidolf. She quickly answered her phone. “Yes, Leidolf?” She thought maybe he had some breaking news.
“If Vaughn isn’t there…”
She immediately turned her attention to Vaughn. She couldn’t believe he had left the clinic without permission. She didn’t know why his action surprised her. No wonder no one had helped him to button his shirt!
“…we have a runaway patient on our hands,” Leidolf said. “The nurse had unstrapped him so he could use the bathroom. When she returned later to check on him, he was gone.”
Then again, Jillian could believe it, as hardheaded and strong-willed as Vaughn seemed to be. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t heard any vehicle dropping him off, even though it was a half-mile hike from the clinic. For an uninjured shifter, no problem. But in his condition?
She frowned at Vaughn. “He’s here. I thought he had gotten permission from the doctor. We should have figured he hadn’t.” She wondered how Vaughn had known to come there if he had sneaked out of the clinic and hadn’t asked anyone where the guest house was. Unless he’d asked someone earlier.
“No harm done as long as he’s feeling all right,” Leidolf said. “And it’s understandable.”
She eyed Vaughn and the stack of chicken bones on his plate. “By the way he’s chowing down, I’d say he’s feeling okay.”
“Good. If you need Dr. Wilders, just give him a call.”
“Will do. Thanks and good night.”
“’Night.”
Jillian pocketed her phone and leaned back in her chair, eyeing Vaughn with annoyance. She was still wondering if she could slip away really early tomorrow morning to try to find her brother. She assumed that by tomorrow, Miles would return to their cabin, if for nothing more than to get his bags and car and take off. She hoped he didn’t.
When she’d left Vaughn at the clinic and the jaguars had gone to speak to Douglas if he regained consciousness, she’d returned to their cabin to see if her brother was there. He hadn’t been for some hours. His phone was still in his bedroom, his car still parked out front—though she wasn’t telling Vaughn that—so she assumed Miles was still running as a wolf. “You walked clear across the ranch from the clinic to the guest house, and you didn’t get permission to leave there?”
“I left about an hour ago, and nobody’s even missed me until now. Right?” Vaughn shrugged with his good shoulder.
“How did you even know to come to the ranch house?” Jillian asked. Maybe he really was good at tracking people.
“I smelled the chicken.”
Everett and Howard laughed. Demetria smiled. Jillian rolled her eyes.
“I opened the clinic window to smell the breeze, and a blast of the aroma of grilling chicken hit me. What was I supposed to do? Eat that lame hospital food?”
“What in the world were you doing opening a window in the first place?” Jillian asked.
“I don’t like the antiseptic smell of a hospital. Do you?”
No, she didn’t, but she wouldn’t have left the bed if she’d been wounded. “So you didn’t even know we were the ones cooking the chicken?” Jillian couldn’t believe he’d barge in on someone else in the wolf pack.
“Not at first. I figured no one would mind if I joined a wolf family for dinner after what I’ve been through…shot by another wolf for no good reason.”
“You were shot for a very good reason,” Jillian said.
The jaguars smiled.
“I smelled everyone’s scents on the front porch, so I knew I was at the right house. And I had an open invite to stay here.”
Demetria and Howard started clearing away the dishes. “You sure you don’t want to stick with Everett and me when we do our investigation, Howard?” Demetria asked.
Howard chuckled darkly. “I like to go where the conflict is.”
Chapter 5
After dinner, Jillian and Howard cleaned up the kitchen, while Demetria fixed them all cups of decaf coffee. “We have the evidence Leidolf’s police officers took from the cabin. You can go through the boxes over there.” She motioned to the living room.
Vaughn appeared ready to leave his chair to check it out.
Jillian still thought he should be in bed under the doctor’s care. She did admire him for wanting to investigate what was going on right away. But the rest of them would continue to look into it until he could recuperate a bit.
“Did you find anything that might help?” Vaughn asked, settling back down to drink his coffee.
“Clothes belonging to Douglas, toiletries, food he’d purchased from a grocery store about half an hour from the cabin. His phone. We checked the tons of photos he had, but we’ll need you to look at them to identify those with your pack members. We didn’t see a whole lot of texting, and nothing really suspicious. There were a few photos of Miles and some of you, Vaughn, with friends.”
Instantly, Jillian was interested in Douglas’s phone. What if the texts led to whoever had attacked Douglas? What if the person who shot her brother was in one of the pictures? Then, of course, she was curious about pictures of Vaughn with friends.
“There were also brochures on hiking, a book on shipwrecks, and trash…mostly wrappers from food, used paper towels, and so on.”
“Receipts?” Vaughn asked.
“For the groceries and gas,” Demetria said. “We’re going to retire for the night and get an early start on it tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. ’Night, all.” Everett took Demetria’s hand, kissed her, and headed down the hall with her to the master bedroom.
Jillian handed Vaughn some gloves to wear while searching through the evidence. He put them on and moved to the living room to begin going through the boxes of stuff.
“Are you okay? You probably need to rest more.” Jillian brought her laptop into the room.
“Yeah. But if I don’t do this tonight, I’ll keep thinking about it and won’t get any sleep. You don’t have to stay with me.”
Howard was still in the kitchen rummaging around like he hadn’t gotten enough to eat.
“You’re right. I don’t. But you might see something we missed, and I want to know about it.” In truth, she wanted to be there in case Vaughn started to feel poorly or wanted to bounce any ideas off her. She’d noticed that after eating dinner, he had more color in his cheeks. She hoped he’d be all right staying with them when she still thought he should be in bed at the clinic.
They took a seat on the couch, and Vaughn began sifting through the stuff that Leidolf’s men had recovered from Douglas’s cabin.
Glad Vaughn hadn’t grabbed Douglas’s phone yet, Jillian set her laptop on the coffee table, then lifted the cell phone off the table and flipped through the text messages. Demetria was right. Douglas hadn’t texted a lot. A few times to the pack leaders, a couple to Miles recently about getting together, but what caught her eye were a few to Vau
ghn about Vaughn’s girlfriend.
“So how hot and heavy were things with your girlfriend?” Jillian only asked because Vaughn had kissed her like there wasn’t anyone else in his life.
Vaughn looked up from examining Douglas’s jacket and pants pockets and frowned. “What? Let me see.”
She wasn’t going to give up the phone for anything. Instead, she read out loud, “‘How are things going with Cindy? Can you handle a woman who’s also going to be a SEAL?’”
Jillian looked up at Vaughn. He wasn’t smiling. “A SEAL? Really?” She knew the U.S. Navy was beginning to train women SEALs, but a female wolf who was a SEAL? Besides, Vaughn wasn’t in the service any longer.
“When was that dated?” Vaughn went back to sorting things as if the message wasn’t the least bit important. “And how is that relevant to the case we’re looking into?”
“You know that in this business, we can’t ever discount anything. This could be completely relevant to the case.” She glanced at the date. “It’s dated a month ago.”
“Okay, so see? A month ago, and no more mention of Cindy. The fact he had to ask meant nothing came of it.”
“Why not?”
Vaughn looked up at her again and gave her a glimmer of a smile.
She shrugged. “She was looking for more of a commitment, but you weren’t?”
“She is one of the first SEAL women in training, so that’s all she’s concentrating on. We’re friends, but not even close friends. She’s a pack member, heard me talking about SEAL missions, ones I could mention, and she got interested in the program once they opened it to women. And for your information, she has taken an interest in some guy in her class. Now how can that possibly relate to this case?”
Satisfied, Jillian smiled and continued to look at text messages. “The last one he got was from you. The last one he sent was to you.”
