“I know.”
To the left, a twig snapped. Phelan barked, then set off after the sound. Brenna jumped, even though she still detected no danger. “Phelan!” she called, glancing at Carson, knowing if he weren’t with her, she would investigate herself.
“It might be a rabbit or a raccoon,” Carson said, his wide-legged stance reminding her again of an alpha male in the Pack.
“It might. But on the off chance that it’s something bigger, I want to keep the puppy near.” She called again.
“Good luck. If it’s a deer, you’ll never get him to come.”
“A deer,” she repeated. Prey. Though she longed to hunt, Brenna called Phelan a third time. This time the young dog instantly obeyed, running full tilt until he crashed into her leg. He sat expectantly in front of her, tongue lolling, a blissful expression on his face.
“What the hell?” Narrow-eyed, Carson looked from her to the dog and back to the woods. “How did you make him do that?”
“Do what?”
“Come instantly when you called him? You haven’t had time to work with him.”
“He’s smart.”
“Maybe. But still…”
She smiled. “It sounds like you know a lot about dogs.”
“Some.” He looked away. “I… We used to have one.” He swallowed. Fascinated, Brenna watched the movement of his throat.
“Used to?”
“Yeah. His body was the first thing the responding officers found when they arrived on the scene. Cody died protecting my family.” Hunching his shoulders, he turned away.
Her first instinct was to comfort him. But would he accept consolation from the sister of the man he believed responsible for so much pain?
“I’m sorry,” she said instead, keeping her hands to herself.
His back to her, he made no response.
“I’m good with dogs.” She began to speak, saying anything to distract him from his anguish. She rumpled her pup’s fur. “Phelan understands me, and I understand him. Don’t you, boy?”
Phelan grinned up at her. He knew what she was.
Turning, Carson looked at his watch. “How much longer do you need to walk?” His hawk-like features were once again expressionless. Rubbing his hands together, he blew on them. “It’s colder than a well digger’s butt out here.”
Looking from him to the gray sky that still promised snow, then to the unexplored shadows of the woods, Brenna sighed. The powerful craving to shake off her human form, to change and run free, unbridled and unbound, still simmered in her blood. She actually trembled, so strongly did the desire consume her.
“See.” Carson took her arm. “You’re shivering.”
For a moment she couldn’t speak, afraid she would snarl or make some other nonhuman sound. She took a deep, shuddering breath, then another, watching the white plumes of frost hover in the air each time she exhaled.
When the longing decreased enough so that she felt human again, Brenna pulled her arm free.
“I could use—” Her voice broke. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “I could use something to eat.”
Phelan barked. His intent gaze was focused on the woods.
Quickly, she picked up her puppy. He squirmed in protest and barked again, trying to lunge out of her arms.
Now the back of Brenna’s neck tingled a clear warning. “Someone’s there. Human, not animal.”
Instantly Carson straightened. One hand slipped inside his jacket, and Brenna saw the glint of black metal holstered there.
“Let’s go back to the motel.” He kept his voice low. “I’m going to move close to you, for cover. Walk slowly, like you haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.”
Quieting the still-protesting Phelan with a sharp word, Brenna did as Carson asked. He moved in behind her, his broad shoulders effectively cutting out the wind.
Silently they retraced their tracks across the snowy field, then the parking lot. When they reached the door to their room, some of the tension left her shoulders. Phelan remained agitated, squirming in her arms.
Once inside, she let him go. He raced to the window, trying to see over the bulk of the heating unit and making little yapping sounds low in his throat.
“He saw something.” Pulling off his jacket, Carson kept his holster on, gun in plain view.
“Whoever it was, he meant to harm us.”
Suspicion caused Carson’s expression to harden. “You know this because…?”
How to explain the sixth sense that kicked in whenever she was in danger? The warning had been clear, but not urgent. Brenna shrugged. “At least he didn’t shoot at us.”
“Did you expect him to?”
She squared her shoulders. “Could have.”
“But didn’t,” Carson mused. Some of the hostility left his face. “Still, he didn’t show himself, either. The note said he would contact us at the hotel. Here we are. Where’s The Wolf?”
Sighing, Brenna removed her own parka. Already she felt too hot, with the heater blowing a steady stream of warm air. “I told you, that note’s a fake. Alex didn’t write it.”
“Whoever did wants to meet. Maybe it’s an informant.” Carson shrugged.
“Or a killer. We need to take precautions,” she said. “There’s no sense in being sitting ducks.”
His gaze sharpened. “Like we were a minute ago in the woods. Tell me, Brenna, was that deliberate? You wanted to go for a walk. Did you set me up?”
Biting back a sharp retort, she marched across the room and grabbed the plastic ice bucket. “You really are the most annoying man. I warned you out there. If I wanted to set you up, you’d be dead by now. I would have killed you myself.”
“Are you going to throw that at me?” He indicated the ice bucket, one corner of his mouth lifting in the beginning of a smile.
She stared at him. At the bucket. Then she laughed. “No. We need ice. A couple of diet colas would be nice, too.”
As he reached to take the bucket from her, the room phone rang. Brenna jumped, then looked at Carson. They both started for it at the same time.
Carson reached the phone first. Elbowing her out of the way, he plucked it from the receiver. He listened intently, then slammed the phone back in its cradle.
“Alex?”
He nodded. “Interesting. Now instead of just wanting you gone, I’ve been ordered to get myself the hell out of town, as well—and I have until midnight tonight to do it.”
Brenna studied Carson’s face. Judging from the muscle that jerked in his jaw, the call had infuriated him. “Or?”
“That’s the thing.” The bleak fury in his dark eyes froze her. “He knows there’s nothing else he could do to me. So he’s trying to bribe me instead. If I do as he asks, he says he’ll turn himself over to me on Friday.”
Chapter 6
He didn’t know which pissed him off more—the fact that his former partner thought he was an idiot, or the utter lack of reaction with which Brenna took the news. Obviously, she still didn’t believe her brother had become a vicious criminal. Talk about blinders.
“Why Friday?”
“It’s the day after the big drug deal is supposed to happen.”
“Tell me exactly what he said,” she demanded.
Carson took a deep breath. Struggling to keep his voice flat and unemotional, he jammed his hands in his pockets and looked at the ceiling. “He repeated what he said earlier on my cell. ‘Get Brenna out of here. I don’t want her hurt. And I want you gone, too. Get out by midnight, before you get yourself killed. Don’t mess this up for me.’”
“By midnight, huh?”
“Yeah. By midnight tonight.” Carson ran a hand through his hair. “Though, as threats go, it was pretty ineffectual. He didn’t back it up with anything except his stupid promise. More than anyone, I know his word is no good.”
“What else?” Determination colored her tone. “I need his exact words. Please.”
Carson turned to study her. “‘Tell
Brenna I’m all right. But she has to leave right away. No ifs, ands or buts.’”
She sank down on the bed, relief, worry and joy all at once showing on her face. “Alex.”
So much love in her voice when she said his name, Carson thought, infuriated. But he himself was alone in the world because of her brother, and that infuriated him even more. “What was that, some sort of code?”
“In a way. Our mother used that expression, too; just like keeping one eye open. Alex and I made fun of it our entire lives. He said it for me, so I would know without a doubt it was him.”
“Yeah, well, your very considerate brother’s been trying to kill me.” He knew he sounded savage, and he felt absurdly guilty as he watched her smile vanish. “Does he really think I’ll turn tail and run when I’m so close? Turn himself in on Friday—right.”
“He’s worried about your safety as well as mine.” Brenna stood and crossed her arms. Worry darkened her eyes. “He has a reason for everything. I know he has.”
“I’m not leaving,” Carson said, dark promise making his voice nearly a growl. He could have softened it, but he wanted to make sure she understood he meant what he said.
“Neither am I.” Now she wrapped her arms around herself, in a hug. “Until I talk to Alex and find out the truth, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know.” Feeling compelled by some strange impulse he didn’t understand, in three steps Carson crossed the room to stand in front of her. Cupping her chin in his hand, he forced her to look up at him.
“As long as you’re with me, he has to come to us. You’re my insurance.”
She stared at him, shock making her eyes widen. “You mean to use me against my brother?”
“I—” At first he thought she was trembling from fear. Then her gaze pinpointed on him, narrowing. Too late, he realized she was shaking not from fear but from anger.
He released her chin and stepped back.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” he admitted. “I just meant—”
She moved toward him. “You plan to use me to make Alex suffer.”
“No.” He meant it.
“It will never happen. I won’t let you use me.” The flat certainty in her tone both intrigued and infuriated him.
“What kind of monster do you think I am?” He turned away before she answered, telling himself he really didn’t care, but still not willing to see the stark condemnation on her face.
“No more innocent lives will be lost because of me. I’ve got enough stains on my soul.” He hadn’t meant to reveal so much. Since he had, he might as well finish.
“I’m not like your brother.”
“Listen to me.” Moving silently, she came up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He held himself still only by sheer effort of will. “You’re a desperate man. I understand you want revenge. I’d want vengeance, too. But you’ve got to look for the truth in all this or else none of it will matter. You need justice, not a blind settling of scores.”
His throat closed. Each word she spoke increased his confusion. How simple it had all seemed before he’d met her, when he’d been a hundred percent certain Alex had been the one who betrayed him and killed his family.
“I still think he did it,” he muttered. He couldn’t summon enough strength to brush her hand from his shoulder. Until now, until Brenna, he hadn’t realized how much he craved human contact.
She squeezed. “But you’re not positive.”
His gut twisted. “No.” The single word burst from him. “Because of you, now I’m not positive.”
He heard her swift intake of breath and slowly turned to look at her. She let her hand fall. He wondered if he would see amusement or—God forbid—pity on her expressive face. But he saw only warmth and compassion, two things that had been absent from his life for so long.
Their gazes met. Locked and held.
“Brenna.” He spoke her name as a warning.
She chose not to take it. With her chest nearly touching his, she gazed up at him, the obstinate tilt of her chin somehow endearing.
Maybe because she smelled of a long-forgotten spring, or because her soft mouth parted and her pupils darkened, or maybe because he just plain wanted to, Carson bent his head and kissed her.
After her first startled hiss of breath, she reached up and drew him closer. Her lips moved under his, unbelievably, delectably sweet. His body responded with a violence that stunned him. Desire slammed into him, heating his blood, thickening his body. Guilt—what the hell did he think he was doing?—surfaced, clawing at him. Out of reflex, he tried to picture his dead wife’s face in his mind. That always brought him some measure of comfort.
But for the first time, he couldn’t see her. He saw only Brenna, with her warm smile and freckled nose. Panic replaced craving. He pulled himself away, breaking the kiss and stepping from the intoxicating circle of her arms.
She, unlike the hell of his memories, let him go without a word.
Ignoring his body’s insistent ache, he chose to focus on the smile that trembled at the corners of her mouth. How could she regard this kiss as somehow amusing, while to him it felt like the epitome of disloyalty?
“Another trick?” His voice dripped ice. He felt a pang as confusion clouded her eyes, but he pushed it away.
Meeting his gaze without guile, she combed through her hair with her fingers, mussing it in a way he knew was unconsciously sexy. “I won’t bother to answer that,” she said. “You’re furious. With me or with yourself?”
He set his jaw and crossed his arms, feeling an absurd need for self-defense. “Sleeping with me won’t help your brother.”
“Sleeping with—” Lifting her hand as if to slap him, she apparently thought better of it and shook her head instead. The light went out of her lovely face. “You’re crazy.”
“Am I?” He should stop, he knew, but his guilt and the erratic beat of his heart goaded him on. “Then why did you kiss me?”
“I kissed you back.” Scorn rang in her tone. “You initiated it.”
Suddenly weary of the entire thing, he turned away.
“I’m a fool,” he said. Crossing to the small window, he lifted a corner of the curtain and peered outside. The parking lot was empty, and the late-afternoon sky once more threatened snow. The pewter of the sky matched his mood.
“Let’s forget this ever happened,” he told her, unable to keep the anger from his voice. Looking back over his shoulder at her, he saw that she was crouched on the floor, petting her small puppy’s belly. The dog looked comical, all four paws in the air waving madly, tongue lolling to the side of his mouth. His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be grinning in sheer bliss.
Carson felt a pang. Both for what he’d lost and for what he would never have. For an instant he could imagine her hands touching him, stroking, sensual…
No. No more mindless lust. He forced himself to remember. Doing so would bring back the pain, then the welcome numbness that had turned his world to gray. Damn Brenna for even thinking she could make him feel.
Movement outside captured his attention. A man, dressed in a nondescript black overcoat, crossed to the room alongside theirs. Though he kept his head down, his pace unhurried, the way he moved was as familiar to Carson as the generic dark blue or black car he bet the man drove. If one was here, there were always others. Carson would bet his last dollar that federal agents were their neighbors, though whether FBI or DEA, he didn’t know.
Either way, since his supervisor had already warned him off this investigation, it didn’t look good for him. If they saw him, they would consider him a rogue and place him under arrest.
Once more the stakes had been raised. Not only did he have to keep himself and Brenna alive, but he also had to remain invisible to the Feds.
Another thought occurred to him. If federal agents were converging here, his informant had been right. Something big was going to happen in Hawk’s Falls in a couple of days. Perfect. Maybe Hades’ Claws—and Alex—w
ould be too preoccupied to make any more attempts on his life.
Though he wouldn’t bet on it.
“What is it?” She reached him, moving in that soundless way of hers that would be an asset in his line of work. Right now he found it a liability.
He turned abruptly, blocking the window. “Just the people in the room next door.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Were you expecting Alex?” With an effort of will, he kept himself from glancing back outside. “I thought you didn’t expect him to show up here.”
The disgusted look she gave him nearly made him laugh. “I don’t. If Alex could come to me, he would.”
“Such faith,” he mocked. “I used to trust him like that, too. But now I know better.”
She smiled. “Tell me about what it was like when he was your partner.”
For a moment he was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t speak. His chest suddenly felt tight with too many memories: Alex playing with Becky, bringing her a huge, floppy rag doll—her first. Alex at his dinner table, joking with Julie over pot roast, helping with the dishes. Drinking Bud Light and munching on pizza while the two of them watched football. Alex always cheered for the Vikings while he rooted for the Giants. Now the memories felt like quicksand, dragging him down.
“No,” Carson said. “I’d rather you tell me about him.” At her startled look, he elaborated. “About his life before I knew him.”
As she watched him, her smile broadened. “Only if you return the favor later. I want to know about when he was your partner. He never told me about any of that. His degree was in marketing.”
“I used to tease him about that.” The words slipped from him before he thought better of it. “At least I knew about his marketing degree.”
“There’s so much he never told me.” She sounded so hurt that he felt an impulse to comfort her. Knowing how easily one touch could lead to folly, he suppressed it. Instead, he twisted his mouth in what he hoped would pass for a smile.
“I know.”
She sat down on the edge of her bed, still watching him with a thoughtful expression. “What exactly did you want to know?”
The Wolf Princess: The Wolf PrincessOne Eye Open (The Pack) Page 30
