by Terry Spear
The first rule of staging one’s own death—and getting away with it—was not being seen alive. They’d blown that already. She’d sent photos of the men to the insurance company, but that wasn’t enough because Rhys didn’t look like Oscar. Even though she knew it was him because she’d smelled his scent.
She parked in the ski lodge parking lot. Though her focus had to remain on the mission, she couldn’t help but want to see the hot wolf again. By the time she’d driven to the clinic, the clinic staff had sent Larry on the road to the hospital, and she’d driven back to the lodge, it had been nearly an hour and a half. She hoped Blake would be ready to have lunch with her, and then she would plan her next course of action.
Nicole walked toward the lodge, loving the rustic appearance of the building with its log walls, steep roof, and big windows. The deck extended out to the slope, providing skiers the opportunity to ski to some of the rooms, or to the dining area and lobby, with ease. Even the hot tubs surrounded by snow appealed. Not to mention the inviting indoor-outdoor pool that would be fun to enjoy during all seasons.
She loved the laughter and smiles shared by skiers heading for the slopes, eager to enjoy their day.
Inside, the stone fireplace reached to the high ceiling and was double-sided so that guests could sit on either side and still enjoy the warmth. It made a beautiful gathering place for drinks, snacks, and conversation. A wall nearby had a fountain with water running down into a basin, making it sound as though she’d found a waterfall in the woods, and miniature potted alpine trees were sitting on either side of it, adding to the illusion.
Pillars featuring packs of wolves in different settings—sitting atop rocks, drinking at a stream, running in the woods—added to the wolfish feel of the lodge. She loved it. In a way, she wished she was here just enjoying a ski vacation, though she was certain she would never have dropped into Silver Town otherwise, since it was off the beaten path. But what an out-of-the-way treasure—and especially to find that so many wolves lived, worked, and played here.
Sleeping beside the fireplace was the full-grown Saint Bernard, curled up on his big, soft dog bed, and she walked over to pet him again. He lifted his head and she swore he smiled at her, his tail thumping against the tile floor when she reached down and ran her hand over his head. She noted that the little barrel fastened to his collar said Rosco. “You didn’t mind your master this morning when he took you for a walk.” She could imagine losing control of the dog completely if she had hold of his leash, or falling face-first in the snow when he’d yanked so hard to tear off after the rabbit.
Nicole observed Blake speaking to a man, so she took a seat by the fireplace while she waited for Blake to finish his conversation. Blake was rugged, his face chiseled, his hair light brown, and his eyes blue. He was wearing a sweater, ski pants, and snow boots, looking good enough to hug and kiss…again.
Then she saw Blake’s brother heading straight for her, and she worried Rhys had seen Roxie. Landon looked so serious, she assumed it was bad news.
When he reached her, he asked, “How’s your partner?”
She hadn’t expected that at all, but she appreciated his concern. “He’s on his way to the hospital at the lower elevation, but he’s going to be all right.”
“That’s good news. Then he won’t be returning to help you?”
“He might, if he gets used to the altitude. But for now, I’m on my own.” She glanced around the lobby, and not seeing the men she was investigating, she relaxed a little. “Did you see any sign of them when you went skiing?”
“We did see them. They were skiing toward Dead Man’s Leap. We followed them, but they went down the run before we reached them. Which was what we wanted, for Roxie’s sake. She was good. She didn’t say a word, just pointed her ski pole in the direction she wanted to go. Other than that, we have nothing to report.”
“Okay. I was going to ask Blake if he wanted to go skiing with me for a while after lunch.”
“I’m sure he’ll take you up on it. We’ve got things covered here. Roxie’s back at work, watching the security monitors. I got her a meal to go. She can bundle up anytime she leaves the office so no one will recognize her.”
“Your house is the big place next door to the ski lodge?”
“Yeah, we wanted to be close by so we could monitor things. Since you live in Denver, you must not be part of an organized pack there.”
“No. A few of us work there and have wolf nights out though.”
Landon smiled, then his expression turned serious again. “Blake said you needed him to pretend to be your fiancé because your partner is sick. Is that still your plan?”
“Right. Just for around here. Just to make it look like I’m not on a stakeout concerning these guys. I can’t be made, or they’ll know I’m investigating them. That’s why two of us teamed up to investigate this. I mean, the missing investigator’s disappearance could be unrelated to this case or even tied to another one he’d been working on. The insurance company did say he often disappears for a time while researching a case. We just don’t know. Your brother doesn’t have to be involved in this in any way if he doesn’t want to.”
“Are you kidding?” Landon glanced at his brother. “After the way you kissed him? He’s not letting go of you if he has a chance to keep you around longer.”
She smiled. Blake was a great kisser.
Blake finally noticed them and ended his conversation with the other man. Blake looked a little growly at his brother, as if he was afraid Landon would attempt to steal her away or maybe deter her from using Blake as her cover.
He walked across the lobby to join them. “How’s Larry doing?”
“My brother is feeling better.” She was trying to keep up the charade they’d started in case anyone overheard them. “He really needed to go to the hospital, but even so, once they’d given him oxygen at the clinic, he was doing much better.”
“Oh good, I’m glad to hear it,” Blake said.
“I saw you talking with Darien,” Landon said to his brother. “He and Lelandi Silver are our pack leaders, Nicole.”
She wondered why Darien hadn’t come over to speak with her since her business here could have an impact on the wolf pack.
“Yeah, I told him we might have a bit of a situation with these men. Our pack leaders always need to know what’s going on,” Blake said to Nicole. “In case it affects the pack.”
“I completely understand.”
“He would have talked to you, but he knew you are working undercover, so he didn’t want to mess that up.”
“Sure. Good thinking. What about Roxie?” Nicole was still concerned their sister would be seen and blow the whole case or put herself in unnecessary danger.
“That was the other thing I talked to Darien about. He and Lelandi offered to take her in so she doesn’t run into these men up here, but she’s glad to be home with our family. If she had to, she said she’d rather stay home and chill than make a nuisance of herself at someone else’s home. In any event, the whole pack is here for you if you need any other help with this,” Blake added.
Nicole hadn’t considered that a bunch of wolves in a pack could help her out. She was used to having a small specialized team of special agents working with her in the army, and everyone knew what to do. No one here would. Except for their police force. “Thanks. That’s great. Did you want to have lunch, or are you busy?”
They both looked at Landon. He shrugged. “Go have lunch. I already grabbed a bite. I can handle anything that comes up for the next few hours if you want to do some sleuthing. I told you Roxie and I had no problem skiing incognito. If the two of you want to go up on the slopes, you could do the same. It’s cold enough for you to bundle up. Enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks. We’ll let you know before we go skiing.” Blake looked inordinately pleased to be able to spend more time with Nicole. He t
ook her hand and led her to the restaurant while Landon headed back to the office.
“I love the name, the Howling Wolff Bar and Grill. Who came up with it?” Nicole asked as Blake walked her inside. She noted that the glass dividers giving guests privacy while they ate lunch had wolves etched in the glass like with the wolf pillars. Some wolves were snuggling against each other, tending to pups, watching for danger, running, or playing, and the pack was depicted howling in unison with the full moon above, despite that wolves howled at any time, moon or no.
“Kayla. As our marketing director, she came up with the idea.”
“She picked a winner.”
This was a real treat. Not only did Nicole have Blake’s wolf backup, but he was hot and part owner of this beautiful lodge and restaurant, which made her feel like she was on a real date with a celebrity.
Nicole and Blake took seats by one of the windows so they could see skiers up on the slope, and a server immediately came to wait on them. Nicole noticed the woman was a wolf by her scent. She suspected the Wolff brothers hired mostly wolves. It must be nice, not having to hide their true selves.
“This is Minx, born and raised here,” Blake said of their server.
“Welcome to Silver Town,” Minx said, smiling, then left menus and glasses of water and told them she’d give them time to look over their menus.
“Thanks.” Nicole opened hers and decided on the Reuben: slow-roasted corned beef, melted Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut served on grilled marbled rye. Blake chose an Angus burger, topped with Swiss cheese and sautéed mushrooms. She might have to try that tomorrow for lunch.
“Why did you move from Vermont?” she asked Blake.
“Truthfully, lupus garous weren’t very prevalent there. We were looking to establish a new ski lodge, but someplace where more of our kind congregated, so we could have more after-hour wolf fun. Though we haven’t had a lot of time for it while getting this place up and running.” Blake closed his menu.
“Oh, I agree. I didn’t realize Silver Town had so many wolves.”
“It’s actually wolf-run, established by the Silver wolves in the beginning.”
“Oh, wow, the whole town? I kind of wondered, then just thought a lot of our kind lived here and the lodge and clinic were wolf-run. That’s even better. If you don’t mind me asking, what does Rosco carry in the little barrel attached to his collar?”
“Doggy treats. It’s said that in the old days, the kegs were filled with brandy to help revive an injured skier, which isn’t medically sound. So we just filled his with treats.”
“Poor dog. He has to carry them around all day, smelling them, wishing he could have them.”
“Hey, it’s like the rest of us who have to carry our snacks with us on long hikes and can’t eat them right away.”
“Okay, you’re right about that.”
Smiling broadly at them, their waitress came back and took their orders. Then with their menus in hand, she left to place their orders.
“I guess before I kissed the daylights out of you, I should have asked if you had a girlfriend. But you didn’t have a she-wolf’s scent on you, so I figured you would be fairly safe.” Nicole took a sip of her water.
Blake smiled. “My brother was eager to take care of whatever issues you were having, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“I noticed. I just hope it doesn’t cause you any grief if you are interested in dating someone locally.”
Blake’s mouth curved upward again, his eyes still smiling, and he shook his head. “We have a shortage of females in the pack.”
“Oh, that’s why those twin ski instructors kept wanting to give me ski lessons. Kemp and Radcliff Grey? They were too funny. Free lessons! I told them I knew how to ski. Even better, Kemp said. Radcliff said he was even better at teaching expert skiers.”
Blake laughed. “Yeah, I can just see the two of them doing that. They’re always taking breaks on the deck between ski lessons, just to see if they can meet some out-of-town she-wolves here for a ski vacation. And they were bugging my brother and me about when our sisters were arriving. I’m sure the word they’re here will go out soon, and the twins will be back looking to offer them free ski lessons too.”
“I guess they haven’t had any luck finding their special mates.”
“Not yet. They love what they do, and they’re members of a rescue team when they’re not busy teaching. They’re good guys. Speak of the devil…” Blake waved at the brothers as they came in to have lunch.
The blond-haired twins smiled, and the one punched the other in the shoulder in a friendly I-told-you-so way. “We should have known the new guys would get the girls,” Kemp said, joining them, sporting a light-blond beard.
“Yeah, if you didn’t know, the Silver brothers and cousins and our sheriff all got their mates,” Radcliff said.
Nicole chuckled. “I’m not staying here. I’m just here to have fun.”
Kemp sighed. “That’s what they all say. And the next thing we know, the lady’s mated to one of our pack’s wolves.”
“Well, in truth, we are in a relationship,” Blake said, pulling out his phone and showing his Facebook page to the guys.
Stifling a laugh, Nicole was amused that Blake seemed to really enjoy playing his part.
“So you knew each other back in Vermont?” Kemp asked, sounding surprised.
“Just met, but you know how it goes between wolves,” Blake said.
It was a good thing she wasn’t hanging around for long, because she suspected the news would travel quickly through the pack. If Blake was interested in meeting another she-wolf who was local, he’d have some explaining to do.
“That’s why she didn’t take us up on ski lessons,” Radcliff said, sounding relieved.
“Sorry, Blake, we didn’t know you two were an item. Well, we’re off to have lunch,” Kemp said good-naturedly and headed to another table across the restaurant.
“Yeah, nice meeting you, even if it is too late.” Radcliff gave her a big smile and followed his brother.
“I hope I didn’t mess up your plans if you wanted to keep this more secret.” Blake smiled at her.
She didn’t think he sounded sorry in the least. “I think you’re having a great time playing your part.”
“I am. The brothers will let everyone know you’re off-limits, so no one else will try to hit on you. Our pack leaders will welcome you to the pack, and—”
Smiling, Nicole raised her brows.
“Just as a formality. They already know what you’re doing here.”
Her sandwich and Blake’s burger arrived shortly after that, and they began to eat. “So what level skier are you?” Blake asked.
“Expert, though I like to get started on the intermediates to warm up a bit…” She paused. “Speaking of the devil, here my potential frauds come.”
“Do you need me to kiss you again?”
She laughed. “Not this time. We’re eating lunch and looking perfectly harmless.”
“Tell me what they’re wearing, and I can keep an eye on them, too, when I have a chance.”
“They’re headed our way.”
She glanced at their clothes surreptitiously, careful not to look at their faces, and spoke low, just for Blake’s hearing. “R has a sky-blue parka and black ski pants, W’s wearing a brown ski parka and black ski pants.” She smiled at Blake, pretending to just be with him for lunch.
Blake glanced in the cousins’ direction, being a wolf and protective of her. While she appreciated his concern, she hoped he wouldn’t be too obvious about it. Then he motioned to the waitress, and Nicole smiled at him in relief. The men had passed their table and gone to one behind her—several tables away, from the sound of the chair legs moving against the wooden floor, courtesy of a wolf’s exceptional hearing.
Blake raised his empty water glass to Minx to
indicate he needed a refill, and she hurried over with a glass pitcher of ice water.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized.
“No problem. You’re busy.”
Minx poured more water in Nicole’s glass too. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“Not right now, thanks, Minx,” Blake said.
When Minx left, Nicole drank more of her water. “Well, what do you think? Dead or alive?”
Blake chuckled and saluted her with his glass of water. “He looks very much alive to me.”
“Yeah, just as I thought. We need to get Rhys’s utensils or cups and check the DNA.” She realized what she was saying as soon as she spoke the words, not meaning to involve him in that much of her investigative work.
“Sure, we can do that.” Blake seemed pleased she’d include him. “I need to tell Minx not to clear their table once they’ve eaten.”
“Okay, good idea.”
Blake waved for Minx to come to the table again. She looked at his water glass, but it was mostly full. She hurried over. “Yes, sir?”
“The men you just waited on… When they’ve finished their meals, just leave their dishes for me to collect, will you?”
Minx’s eyes widened and Blake quickly added, “Don’t look at them. Act normal.”
She nodded vigorously, wrung her hands, and looked ill at ease.
He took hold of her hand and squeezed it. “There’s nothing to worry about. We just need to prove who the one man is, that’s all.”
“Okay, sure.”
“Are you good? Or do you need to take the rest of the day off?” Blake asked.
“I’m good. I can do this.”
“If they ask for anything else?”
“Oh, oh, they’re getting meals to go. Triple cheeseburgers, fries, and apple pies.”
“To go?” Nicole couldn’t have been more disappointed.
