“No!” Holly screamed, but before she could pull the gun back to aim it at Owen, a silver streak of fur, snarling and barking, leaped into the room and onto her, knocking her over.
“Thanks, Lupe,” Owen said, dashing forward to retrieve the gun from Holly’s grip.
But then he looked into those brilliant, flashing amber eyes glaring at him as the canine stood on Holly, holding her down.
“Thanks, Selena,” he corrected himself with a huge and warm smile.
Chapter 25
It was the day after Selena had used her skills and wiles as a shifter, as well as her strength enhanced by wolfen adrenaline, to help save Owen and bring down Holly.
While Selena had stood guard over the prone, defeated woman, Owen had gotten in touch with his superior with this latest development. Soon, someone even higher up in the RCMP had apparently contacted the nearest police detachment and given them orders, and Selena, changed back into human form, had watched from a back room as Owen had helped them take Holly into custody. Holly now awaited transfer to the national police headquarters in Ottawa, where she would eventually be prosecuted for interfering with an official RCMP operation and more.
And now that critical op the CAs had been training for had begun.
It was midafternoon. Selena waited at the meeting house with the others not directly involved in today’s mission. That included Owen; despite his being the officer in charge, he would not be assisting in the field. Alpha Force members Patrick and Marshall were with them, too. And Lupe, as always, remained close to Selena.
Yvanne, recuperating from the mild but potent sedative Holly had injected her with, was also with them. The car she had ridden in with Holly had been parked at the bottom of the hill, and she hadn’t yet been ready to drive it, so she had stayed at the headquarters compound. She seemed fascinated, involved and definitely willing to become an aide when the CAs moved forward without the direct assistance of Alpha Force.
Not Holly, of course.
Craig had been astounded—and crushed—to learn the truth about her. When the four shifted CAs had returned from their exercise yesterday and changed back to human form, he had been informed what had happened and the many ways Holly had tried to thwart the mission, including somehow getting in touch with the kidnappers.
“I’d wanted to marry her, too,” he’d said sadly, “but I’d no idea she resented it when I agreed to join the CAs. She seemed to like the idea.” But clearly the opposite had been true.
Despite what had happened, Craig had pleaded to not only remain a CA, but also participate in their operation the next day, promising that the others could watch his every move and rip out his throat if he did anything wrong. He said he wanted them to feel certain he was one of them and not the traitor Holly had wanted him to be.
His attitude had sounded genuine to Selena and apparently to the others, too, for he was now in the middle of the operation.
The aides who had accompanied the CAs part of the way and assisted them in shifting had again been Jonas and Rainey. Now those who stayed behind were grouped around the dining room table. Patrick sat in front of the laptop computer he had brought and the others huddled around him.
He had been able to log on to the covert website where the images from the cameras attached to the CAs were being transmitted—the same site being observed by the special RCMP team waiting in the field to thwart and capture the kidnappers. They were apparently intending to simply observe that day, acquire the needed information and most likely move in the next day to complete the rescue. They were stationed as nearby as possible, though, so they were prepared to move in at a moment’s notice, if necessary.
Everyone was silent in the room now, intently watching what the cameras picked up.
Selena had chosen a seat next to Owen. She was very aware of his presence, his tension from worrying about how things would go down that day, whether the new team he headed would be successful—or even whether they would survive.
If she had been able to, she would have gripped his hand and held on for the comfort of both of them, for she worried, too.
Instead, she took reassurance from their occasional shared glances of mutual support—and a bittersweet sense that, no matter how things went down today, they might never see each other again.
So far, the mission was going according to plan. Whatever Holly may have been able to convey to the kidnappers, they apparently had no concern about wildlife in the targeted area. Aircraft, including drones, had intentionally been kept away—initially at least. But birds, including one very special falcon, flew overhead.
Three wolves sneaked through the forest and up to the mountainside. To shift, they had used the new doses of elixir that had been shipped to Canada and picked up by Patrick and Marshall yesterday. The older bottles still at this enclave would be taken back to Ft. Lukman and analyzed, but would then be dumped rather than used. Maybe something could be learned from them, or maybe not. In any event, no one wanted to take a chance on possibly tainted tonic.
She watched the video transmission. The Mounties suspected there were security cameras near where the shifted wolves now prowled, since satellite views and drone flyovers had failed because of electronic jamming, but fortunately no one came around now to check out—or harm—any roaming wolves. They soon located the openings to several caves, and with their acute senses of smell and hearing they had determined which one to enter.
Although they could not verbally communicate where they were to those who observed them, they knew to turn their heads slowly and allow the cameras around their necks to pan the area, marking the location. The cameras also had GPS tracking attached, so determining where they were was no problem.
Those cameras had begun showing the walls, floor and ceiling of rock-lined passageways, presumably in mountain tunnels that were not completely dark, implying that someone—the kidnappers?—had installed some kind of lighting. The leader of the wolfen group appeared to be Sal, with Craig in the middle and Tim bringing up the rear.
Selena’s head was near Owen’s shoulder as she managed to watch the slowly unfolding drama on Patrick’s computer.
There! A cavern appeared in front of them, and the sound of human voices was evident. Only one camera appeared to move forward, and in moments a group of people appeared, men in dark sweaters and pants seated on the floor in a circle, talking, and a woman bound and apparently unconscious on the ground against the far wall. She couldn’t see her face, but she knew it was Mrs. Brodheureux.
The men appeared angry, nervous, and the talk being recorded suggested panic from being unable to reach their contact after being warned something would occur against them today. The situation appeared critical, the hostage’s life in imminent danger.
The camera shots quickly retreated the way the shifters had come, backward at first and then, apparently where the wolves could turn, hurrying forward out of the passageways.
When the wolves were outside and looked up through the trees, the falcon flew overhead, apparently confirming the location.
Twenty minutes later the wolves’ cameras showed the arrival on foot of police snipers dressed in protective gear and carrying major weapons. Wherever they’d been deployed from, it couldn’t have been far away.
The CAs had succeeded in their part of the operation. The actual rescue and capture had begun.
* * *
A week later, Owen returned to the headquarters in Ottawa, where he recapped the successful mission in detail to Deputy Commissioner Anthony Creay. He described where he and the Alpha Force members, other than the aides, had been and how they’d been able to observe what was happening from the shifters’ perspective.
When the location had in fact been established and the sniper team rolled in, things became more dicey, but the kidnappers had been subdued—a couple shot, the others surrendering—and, fortunately, the kidnapping victim had been rescued. Mrs. Brodheureux had been rushed to a hospital for examination and treatment and was expect
ed to make a complete recovery.
“Good job,” Anthony said, looking over his vast, uncluttered desk. He appeared right at home there, the top button on his standard white shirt undone despite the loose blue necktie overtop and a look of satisfaction on his steely face. “If your CAs weren’t so covert a unit, we’d give them a public commendation. As it is, you’ll get a private one.”
Owen, back on official duty at their headquarters, was also in his usual daily uniform, but his buttons were all buttoned and his tie tight. He relished the praise but felt he had to be honest, both with himself and his commanding officer. “We owe a lot to Alpha Force,” he said. “They really helped us get our CAs ready in almost no time, and their special elixir was what made the entire operation possible.”
“It makes the entire CA force possible,” Anthony said. “So does a continuing relationship with that special US military unit. Are you prepared to work in conjunction with them?”
Was he? Owen wasn’t sure.
That would mean seeing Selena again. Or maybe not. She might not be around when he went to their Ft. Lukman for meetings or additional training.
What he really wanted was to work with her. To be with her. But they worked for important agencies within their respective, though adjoining, countries. They might as well have lived a world apart, not across the border from each other.
Not that that could matter. He was a police officer. He did not allow his emotions to rule him.
He regarded his commanding officer and responded. “Of course I’ll work with them,” he said.
“That’s good, since I’ve set up a meeting. Let’s go into our conference room.” Anthony rose and headed for the door to exit his office.
Owen followed, feeling his heartbeat increase. What meeting was this? It didn’t matter. It wouldn’t bring Selena any closer to him in the long run, even if she happened to be there. Which she wouldn’t be.
Oh, they’d hugged each other after receiving word that the operation had been resolved so quickly and so favorably. Once Selena had left the area the next day with her fellow Alpha Force members, they had traded a few friendly text messages. They had even spoken a couple of times on the phone, mostly congratulating themselves and each other and their respective organizations. Their farewells had been soft, and Owen had thought he had heard regret in Selena’s tone. Maybe he had been imagining it, hoping that she felt even a fraction of the regret that he did about their being so far apart and possibly never seeing each other again. He had later fought the urge to get on a plane and join Selena on the US East Coast to say hi—and to touch her once more, preferably all over.
But the CAs, including Owen, had remained headquartered in the enclave in West Columbia after that, and the shifters had immediately taken over the rooms the Alpha Force members had vacated upon their return to Ft. Lukman, Maryland. To locals, word had been spread that these tourists had fallen in love with the area, and fortunately their respective technically oriented careers as advisers to some companies that did business with the government allowed them all to telecommute to perform their jobs. A sham company was even being set up to act as their future employer.
Discussions were under way about getting the CAs cover animals—three wolf-dogs and a falcon. Plus, they required aides. Jonas and Rainey had promised to return to train them. It appeared that Yvanne Emarra would join her brother, Sal, and the rest of the group as possibly a shifter, an aide or maybe both.
As far as Owen knew, he would remain their officer in charge. It would be worthwhile for him to stay in touch with Alpha Force, since his unit would continue to obtain advice and to purchase the shifting elixir from them, and perhaps engage in joint exercises, or even joint missions, if appropriate.
Was that what this pending meeting was about? A new mission?
He felt his mouth roll up into a huge smile as he walked in and saw Selena sitting at the conference table along with the other Alpha Force members who had been in West Columbia with them. “Hi,” he said, intending his greeting to include the entire group. The others also said hello, but he heard only Selena’s.
Anthony took his place at the head of the oval table. Owen sat beside him across the table from Selena so he could watch her. Was she glad to be here? Why hadn’t she let him know she was coming? Maybe talking to him, seeing him again, was the last thing she wanted.
If so, he would deal with it. At least he would have this chance to say a final goodbye.
The meeting was fairly short. Anthony made it clear that the RCMP appreciated all that Alpha Force had done, as well as its offer to continue to work with the CAs.
Then he dropped the bomb that Owen had not anticipated.
“Sergeant Major Dewirter,” he said to Owen, “we know you’ll be the primary liaison between our CAs and Alpha Force. There’s been some discussion about who from Alpha Force will play a similar role, and the decision has been made, pending your approval, that it be Lieutenant Selena Jennay. Is that acceptable to you?”
Owen felt his eyes widen but managed to keep his grin small and, hopefully, professional. “That’s fine with me if Lieutenant Jennay is all right with it.”
“Fine with me,” she said. “But you should know that part of the discussion has been that I’ll need to stay in West Columbia at your facilities the majority of the time so I can work with your group, ensure they learn how to work with cover animals and train nonshifting aides, that kind of thing.”
Owen strove to keep his expression neutral as he asked, “Is that acceptable to you?” He would have done anything to jump up, run over to her and give her a huge kiss in the hope that it would make her say yes. On the other hand, it might be the kind of thing to repel her, make her say no instead. Maybe it was a good thing this was a professional meeting. He sat still awaiting her response.
“Fine with me,” she said. “In fact—” her eyes glinted with humor “—I’m looking forward to it.”
* * *
The meeting that confirmed some major changes in Selena’s life dragged on for a while. Deputy Commissioner Anthony Creay departed soon after she had agreed to move officially to West Columbia. That left Patrick and Owen in charge, as they’d been on the recent training mission.
Selena had forced herself to listen and participate in the conversation in which a lot of logistical concerns were discussed. Everything seemed cordial, and all of them, including the aides in attendance, continued to congratulate each other on how well the actual mission had gone down.
It appeared that all the kidnappers had been apprehended. Mrs. Berte Brodheureux was deemed recuperated after several days in the hospital. Her husband, Rene, the CEO of Xanogistics, had thanked the RCMP profusely and offered a lot of money to its retirement fund, or to charities it supported if that was not appropriate.
Once the meeting finally ended, the group decided to meet for dinner one final time, as they had previously when working together.
As they walked out of the room, Selena held back. So did Owen. Once the others had left, she looked up at him. His blue eyes were gleaming as he smiled down at her. “You’re really okay with this?”
“I am,” she said with a smile of her own. She looked ahead of them. The other Alpha Force members had stopped and Patrick was looking back at her. “Sorry, gotta run,” she told Owen. “But I’ll see you later at dinner.”
* * *
It was much later that night. Dinner at a small steak house near the RCMP offices had been fine but relatively quick, and Selena and her fellow Alpha Forcers were in their hotel rooms near the Ottawa airport. They were grabbing a plane in the morning to go back to Maryland. There, she would pack all her belongings, put what she wouldn’t need in Canada into storage, then move the rest to West Columbia.
Rainey would join her for now, although she would return to Ft. Lukman once the CAs had suitable aides in place. She’d been thrilled to be able to work with the Mounties for at least a little longer.
But had Selena made a big mistake? Ha
d she said okay too fast because of her dream of getting to know Owen better? He had seemed happy enough about it, but was he just being polite?
Damn. She really wanted to know—since, even though it might not be wise, she had really fallen for him. They would have to remain professional as they worked together, but could they nevertheless develop a real relationship? Or was that something only she wanted?
Before she took any major steps, she needed to talk with Owen. Sitting at the desk in her room—a private one, fortunately, since she didn’t want anyone to hear this conversation—she reached for her cell phone.
But before she could press in his number, it rang—and it showed that Owen was calling.
“Hi, Selena,” he said when she answered. “I’m downstairs. Can I come up—and are you alone? We need to talk.”
“How did you know where I was?” she demanded first.
“I’m a police officer,” he replied. “We have our ways.” She heard the joking of his tone even though what he said was accurate.
“Yes, you can come up, and yes, I’m alone.” And, fortunately, her room was on a different floor from the rest of the Alpha Force members, not by design but now she was glad of it.
She heard a knock on her door only a few minutes later. She looked out the peephole, then opened the door to let Owen in.
He shut the door behind him, and in moments she was in his arms.
His kiss was hot and demanding, his hands holding her tightly to him—and she recalled even more vividly their lovemaking as she felt his hardness against her.
But he pulled back nearly at once. His blue eyes regarded her with even more intensity and desire than she thought he ever had. “Selena, are you okay with this? Moving to Canada and working directly with me and the rest of the CAs, I mean.”
“I thought you were asking if I was okay with making love with you while we planned to continue working together.” Though she tried to sound teasing, her voice was breathless.
“That, too.”
Canadian Wolf (Paranormal Nocturne Romance) Page 23
