Or was she just being much too obvious in her demeanor and desire to get away before Jason arrived?
“Drew, give Jason a call. Sara, you hang out here for a short while, at least, and see if you can contribute to what the sergeant says. Then you can leave, if you’d like.”
“Yes, sir,” she said formally.
And then she sat and waited as Drew called his cousin.
* * *
When Jason’s cell phone rang, he wasn’t surprised to see that the caller ID said it was his cuz.
He had seen General Yarrow being chauffeured onto the base in a black military-looking car that looked nothing at all like his Jeep.
He wondered whether the general would do something about the loss of the car he’d seemed to care about so much. Get another Jeep?
Jason would be happy to discuss possibilities with him.
But following the general when he’d spotted him hadn’t been an option—first because he was a general and probably had little interest in talking to a lowly sergeant who fixed cars.
Second because Sara had seen him, too, and clearly was following the general to wherever he ended up on the base.
At the moment Jason was in the underground lab where Colleen Hodell and Jonas Truro had taken the samples of dirt and leaves and all they’d collected from near the road to analyze what had made him cough and feel sick.
But he’d half expected the call from Drew.
He said hi, listened, then said, “Be there in a little while.” Then he turned to Jonas.
They were in one of the large, sterile labs. Jonas, who worked on the shifting elixir, had started an initial analysis of what they’d found.
“Anything helpful?” Jason asked. He’d let both of them down here using his own key. Neither had mentioned the scratches on the door.
“Not yet. And our facilities are more for trying new formulas out, not figuring out what other stuff contains.” He was dressed all in white in a clean-room kind of outfit that contrasted with his moderately dark-toned skin, including a hat holding back his wavy, black hair.
Jason wore something similar, as did Colleen. Wearing all that white clothing made the feline in human form seem almost ethereal. Interesting, Jason thought. With her pale skin showing but not her tawny hair, she looked more like what she was than she normally did: a shifting cougar.
She’d been in the lab before. All Alpha Force members spent a lot of time here. She’d seemed fascinated by the experiments that Jonas had launched into right away. Jonas had been part of Alpha Force for a while and knew his way around this facility. Though he wasn’t a shifter, he sometimes acted as a shifter’s aide—and also helped Drew modify and even test his newest formulations of the elixir.
“I’ve got to go now, at least for a little while,” Jason told Jonas. “The general’s back and Drew wants me to join them to talk about what’s been going on.”
He didn’t mention that Sara was there. If he did, he’d undoubtedly think about the kiss they’d shared.
That kiss he should have restrained himself from.
Too many complications now—including the fact that, given the opportunity, he’d do it again.
“Good.” Jonas shook his head. “So far I’m not finding anything helpful, but even with my medical background I don’t really feel competent to figure out how whatever may be contained in these samples led to your reaction. We’ll need to send everything to another lab.”
“What kind of lab?” Colleen asked.
“I don’t know yet, but someplace with professionals who are a lot more sophisticated in analysis of possible toxins than anyone here is.”
That was definitely out of Jason’s realm of knowledge, too. He could analyze pretty much anything having to do with cars and most other vehicles. But though he didn’t know what had caused his problem, he damn well wanted to find out.
In fact, he had already scheduled an examination with both Drew and his wife, Melanie, a veterinarian. He would have both the human physician and the animal doctor do what they needed to ensure there wasn’t anything nasty lurking inside him.
But that was later tonight, when he could shift in their presence.
Right now, he had a meeting to attend—one that might be a hell of a lot more difficult.
Sara would be there.
* * *
Oh, yeah. She was there.
Was she ever.
When Jason arrived, saluted the general then asked after his health, Sara remained seated. As always, she looked beautiful.
But remote. She barely glanced at him despite that damned kiss he’d stolen from her.
Well, hell, she’d participated, too. And now she acted like she’d never even seen this lowly sergeant before.
He’d do something about that...sometime. When he could. But not now, with his cousin Drew greeting him effusively and dragging a chair for him from a neighboring office.
Which his cuz ironically placed between his seat and the one still occupied by Sara.
What else could Jason do but sit down there? Toss her a half smile. Then turn all his attention back to the general.
“Thanks for asking about how I’m doing,” General Yarrow said from behind his awfully nice-looking, old desk. In fact, Jason considered him an awfully nice-looking, aging military geezer. Even though, at the moment, he looked nearly as pale as the white stripes in the flag hanging behind him. “Now I want to hear how you’re doing. I heard you may have inhaled something harmful while trying to figure out what happened to my poor Jeep.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Jason gave a brief description of his shift last night to check things out, his finding nothing useful but smelling something intense and awful while in wolf form that led to his coughing spree.
“Several of us accompanied Sergeant Connell back to the area where he first smelled whatever affected him,” Sara added before Jason got into that part.
“Nothing conclusive there, either, General,” Jason said. “I figure, though, that the fire was somehow set by whoever disguised his scent that way. That only makes me even more determined to figure out what was done to your Jeep. I liked the damn thing—and I’m sure that’s nothing compared with your feelings for it.”
“Thank you, Jason,” the general said. “I think we’re all as determined as you to figure out what was done to cover up how my car was sabotaged. You could have been harmed, too.” He looked at Drew. “I assume your cousin’s health has been checked to make sure no ongoing problem was triggered.”
“I’m feeling fine,” Jason broke in, then sagged a little. “But I’m letting them do a complete analysis of everything inside me tonight—in both forms.” Not that he looked forward to it. But it was necessary, though the coughing had stopped and he felt no further effects.
As a car expert, he knew that people who had car problems were better off having the vehicle checked out for residual issues. Same went for living beings—especially shifters. It wasn’t like he could just drop into any medical clinic anywhere if he started to show symptoms again later.
Besides, he might as well take advantage of his cousin’s being a doctor.
Sara had turned to stare at him. Her amazing blue-green eyes looked as if they might be trying to disassemble his brain to learn what was inside.
“But it’s just a precaution, right, Ja—er, Sergeant?” she asked. “You said you’re feeling okay.” As if she realized that she sounded as if she might actually give a damn about how he was feeling, she added, “I’d really hoped to find out what gave you that coughing problem. I felt...involved with it, you see, sir.” She related how she had noticed the slinking wolf in the distance when she was outside the night before.
Before she added in how she had assisted him at the time, Jason inserted, “Lieutenant McLinder helped me a lot then. She distracted a couple of members of that Ultra Special Forces Team who happened to be outside at the same time.”
“Oh, yes. That’s one of the reasons I’m here,” General Yarrow said
. “Why I headed to Ft. Lukman in the first place. I’ve set up a meeting with the commander of the USFT at this facility—General Myars. I know that relations between the two units are rather strained and I want to see what we can do about it so we can start our planned exercises.”
“I respectfully suggest that the solution is to have those...er, difficult troops deployed elsewhere, Greg, and plans dropped for our working together.” Drew leaned forward in his chair. Jason knew that look on his cousin’s face. It meant sincerity, determination—and definitely intention to be heard. “I know they’ve all been vetted, so their suspecting that the other unit they’re interacting with here has shapeshifters should be fine, since they supposedly understand how covert things are, but, well, someone may have attempted to break into the lab.” He described the scratches on the door. “Maybe they know more than we think—or are taking steps to find out.”
“I gather they’re also doing things that must be kept completely under wraps.” General Yarrow shot a glance toward Drew. “Scratches, huh? But no indication they got inside?” When Drew shook his head, the general continued, “Well, it’s mutually beneficial, not to mention useful to the U.S. military, to have them stationed here right now. We’ll just need to direct our security forces to be more on alert.”
“I understand, sir,” Drew said. “But to have two units functioning so closely together with apparent animosity from one toward the other—”
“And from that other right back at ’em,” the general said. “Look, that’s one reason I’ll be meeting with General Myars. I want to find out if we can find common ground between Alpha Force and the USFT. Encourage military camaraderie and get all of you to work together—the usual.”
“But what if USFT members were involved in sabotaging your car, sir?” Sara’s voice was quiet, but it lacerated the peacefulness of the conversation.
Jason admired her for bringing up the obvious, especially when it clearly wasn’t what the general wanted to hear.
“It’s possible,” he admitted.
“Even probable, Greg,” Drew said. “Who else around here would have wanted to harm you?”
“You, of all people, can figure that out, Drew,” the general shot back. “It’s been a while, but you were right there in the middle of the animosity between the visitors and residents of Mary Glen due to their legends about shapeshifters.”
“You’re right, of course—at least back then,” Drew agreed. “There were both werewolf fans and haters around at the time who thought shifters could be real and hanging out around town. But we resolved that. Some were killed—and we caught who was committing the murders for motives of their own.”
“But some remaining townsfolk may not yet be appeased,” Greg said, “and even then there was some speculation in Mary Glen about whether there were shifters at Ft. Lukman.”
“Could be,” responded Drew. “We won’t eliminate any possibilities for now.”
“Good,” said the general. “Right now, I want you to walk me through everything that happened and what you’ve learned about it. Let’s start with a visit to my poor car. Then we’ll walk the path. Agreed?” He looked at Drew.
“Fine, General. I’ll come along. But Sara and Jason know a whole lot more about it than I do, so we’ll follow them.”
* * *
Sara felt even more uncomfortable now. She was essentially under orders to be in Jason’s presence, so that helped. No one would officially question their being near one another.
But she definitely questioned the wisdom of that.
She hung back, following General Yarrow and Jason, who took the lead as they walked from the office building toward the garage where the Jeep’s hulk was stored.
“Everything okay, Sara?” Drew’s voice from beside her startled her, even though she was aware of his presence.
“Yes...more or less,” she said, wishing she could be candid with Drew. Ask a few questions.
His wife, also a nonshifter from what Sara had heard, had been in a similar position to her. Well, not exactly. She had apparently fallen in love with a werewolf, then married him and they had a child, a little girl.
Sara was merely attracted to Jason. But Melanie Connell hadn’t been in the military so there’d been no policy against fraternizing to keep them apart.
And...well, hell. Drew was a good guy. A doctor who had the best interests of the troops below him as well as all shifters at heart. He was even the person who’d mostly developed the elixir all the shifters in Alpha Force now relied on to help them control what they did and their consciousness while shifted. He was nice. Intelligent. By the book.
And then there was his cousin Jason, who had joined the military under duress—to keep from going to prison for car theft, of all things.
Sara should focus on that, and not all the man’s intelligent analyses of what had happened to the general and his car.
Nor how hot Jason was.
She’d heard of another couple, Lieutenant Quinn Parran and Staff Sergeant Kristine Norwood, whose fraternizing was simply being ignored here at Ft. Lukman, thanks to the unofficial camaraderie of Alpha Force. But Sara wasn’t really an Alpha Force member. She wasn’t actually stationed here, and her presence was temporary.
No, fraternizing wasn’t her destiny.
They’d reached the parking-lot building. Jason had directed them all to the entrance nearest where the car’s remains now lay and used a key to open it.
He held the door open for the general then for Drew...and Sara. She met his glance—and was dismayed to see how icily he looked at her.
Obviously he, too, had decided to back off.
Which made it a little easier for her to talk to him...through the unwanted sorrow she felt at his attitude.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” she said softly as she walked by him.
And felt a tiny stab of pain in her butt, as if he had pinched her.
She gasped and turned back to face him, but he had already let the door shut and was passing by her to catch up with the general.
He led them all into the secluded area where the Jeep’s hulk still rested. A uniformed guard still stood there, a private whom Sara had seen and talked to before named Kerry Browning. He had been the sentry at the gate when General Yarrow’s car was set on fire. He saluted them, and Jason told him it was okay to take a break while he showed the general what was left of the car.
Without looking at either Drew or her, Jason started walking around the remains with the general, pointing out the charred elements of the front first, the wheels with burned tires, the engine compartment then the driver’s seat where the general had been sitting when the Jeep caught fire.
After that, they walked to the back of the chassis and Jason showed the metal framework that had supported the canvas cover, which no longer existed. He went to a storage trunk with a lock on it where all the ashes, and the residue of the items found in them like the general’s fishing pole, overnight bag and other stuff, had been stored.
Then Jason went through the scenario as he said he believed it had happened, where the canvas had caught fire first then the flames had moved through the vehicle, causing the general’s smoke inhalation and more.
“Very interesting,” Greg said as Jason finished up. “And thorough. But we still need answers.”
“We’re still working on that, Greg,” Drew said. He explained the investigators who were due to arrive the next day from D.C.
While they talked, Sara found herself beside Jason. She shot him a look that she hoped appeared withering, as if she were responding only now to what she thought she had felt.
A pinch on the butt?
She must have imagined it. Jason appeared so interested in the others’ conversation. So serious. And innocent.
She took a step toward Greg and Drew so she could hear them better, only to have Jason take the same step beside her.
She turned to look quizzically at him.
That was when he gave her a wink.
General Yarrow seemed tired after their visit to what was left of his car. Maybe his fatigue was partly depression, but Sara knew better than to ask something like that. Instead, she did what any good aide would do: she told him to go rest while she set up the meeting that was the reason he had originally come to Ft. Lukman.
Walking with the general to discuss plans also gave her a good excuse to avoid Jason, who remained, for now, with what was left of the vehicle. He couldn’t get away with that pinch, but she hadn’t yet figured out how to deal with it.
“How would 0900 tomorrow morning be, sir?” she asked as she accompanied the general to the BOQ. His quarters were in the same building as hers, but it held a wing for VIPs. “Or is that too early?”
He’d already said that General Myars was planning to arrive at Ft. Lukman this evening. She wanted to arrange things for the convenience of her CO.
“That should be fine—on the late side for Hugo, if anything. Liking to start working early in the day is about the only thing we see eye to eye about.” The general’s smile appeared wry, and Sara wondered how the conclave between the two senior officers would work out.
“And let me confirm this,” she continued. “You want it to be a one-on-one session between General Myars and you.”
“At first, yes,” the general said. “I want a brief meeting with Hugo and then get everyone in both units together to talk, clear the air and exchange information.”
“If all goes well,” Sara couldn’t help saying.
“It will go well,” the general responded grimly.
They continued to discuss plans for the meetings as they approached then entered the building and climbed the stairs to the second floor. They stopped outside the general’s apartment. Even the hallway in this wing appeared more sumptuous than the one outside Sara’s regular officers’ digs on the same floor at the far side of the building. It might as well have been a world away.
He didn’t invite Sara inside, which was fine with her. He unlocked the door then said, “First get the place confirmed with Drew. We’ll meet in my office for the initial meeting then go to the large assembly room when we get everyone together.”
Untamed Wolf Page 11
