Doe and the Wolf (Furry United Coalition, #5) (12 page)

Dawn didn’t comment on the fact that a bunny would hardly be a match for the monstrous gecko terrorizing them.

“So, you never told me your name.” Miranda cocked her head and waited for an answer.

Dawn froze. A deer caught in questioning headlights.

The agent tapped her chin in thought. “Let me guess. You’re Dawn.”

Eep! Dawn bolted, only to run into a brick wall. She bounced, but a pair of steady hands caught her before she could fall. One sniff and Dawn whimpered.
Bear.
Oh dear. Could this day get any worse?

Her eyes rose to meet the steady brown stare of the man holding her.

“Miranda, what did you do to scare the doe?” grumbled the really large man.

“Nothing. I just said her name, and she tried to run off. That usually only happens when I unleash my furry menace.”

“Well, since your floppy ears aren’t showing, I will assume that the deer is one of the fugitives on FUC’s wanted list. Am I correct?”

Pinned under his stern gaze, she could only nod. Only a creature with a death wish lied to a bear.

“You don’t seem too dangerous. Are you?”

Again, she shook her head.

Miranda snorted. “Don’t be so sure, honey bear. I look sweet and innocent too.”

“I am well aware appearances can be deceiving, but you are a special case, wife.”

“Aw, you say the sweetest things.”

Incredulous at the byplay, Dawn couldn’t help but ogle back and forth from Miranda’s pleased smile to Chase’s indulgent one.

She didn’t know what to expect next. More strangeness apparently.

“Unhand my doe!” growled Everett.

“Dough?” Miranda’s brows drew together in confusion. “I don’t see any money. Are we being robbed? Or do you mean dough as in the pastry kind? I am kind of hungry. Someone ran off before we got to finish our food.”

“Not that kind of dough,” Everett snapped. “Doe as in a deer, you know, a female deer. The one Chase is holding off the floor.”

“You know her?” Chase turned, still holding Dawn dangling.

“Yes.”

“You know she’s on the wanted list?”

“Yes.”

“And yet you didn’t turn her in?”

“No.”

“Ooh, I smell a juicy story. Anyone got some carrot cake? This is getting interesting.” All eyes turned Miranda’s way. She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “What? I wasn’t kidding. Me and junior are hungry.”

“I just watched you devour a stack of pancakes, a dozen slices of bacon, and four slices of toast.” Everett didn’t even attempt to hide his awe.

“But I had to skip the fruit-and-cream-filled crepes to follow the sloth, who said he had to help you with a woodland creature problem at your house. Speaking of which, what happened to the ugly lizard? Did you get him?”

The corners of Everett’s lips turned down. “No. He got away.”

Dawn slumped. Good thing Chase held on to her still, or she might have dropped into a heap on the floor as her legs went numb.
Joey escaped, and if his words and crazy declarations can be believed, he’s going to come back.
Would she never free herself from the nightmare of Mastermind?

“Uh-oh. The deer doesn’t look so good. Anyone got a bucket?”

Where a demand to put her down didn’t work, the fear of puking did. Chase couldn’t thrust her fast enough into Everett’s arms. Hugging her tight, he left their impromptu meeting in the hall and headed for the living room, where he sank into a chair with her cradled on his lap.

Miranda and Chase followed, and seconds after a door slam, Tom arrived as well.

“He’s gone,” Tom announced. “I tried following him, but the bastard can run. And no one told me he was like Spiderman. He jumped onto this building and scaled the thing like he had suction cups for hands and feet.”

“Because he does,” Dawn volunteered. At the interested glances sent her way, she explained. “Geckos possess special toes with a sticky substance on them that allows them to adhere to most surfaces and climb.”

“How cool,” Miranda exclaimed, clapping her hands. “Boy, I’ll bet Viktor will be jealous when he finds out.”

“Who’s Viktor?” Dawn asked.

“My usual partner. He thinks his croc is awesome cool, but he can’t scale buildings.”

“Yes, it’s cool and a pain in the ass,” Everett interrupted. “But I don’t really care about Joey’s abilities right now. I’d rather know what you intend to do about Dawn.”

Chase, seated on the couch, leaned forward. “The memo sent out to agents and hired bounty hunters was to apprehend or kill the fugitives on sight.”

“Technically I apprehended,” he hedged.

The bear didn’t give an inch. He folded his arms over his massive chest. “But you didn’t call it in. Care to explain?”

“Oh pllllease, honey bear. Even you can see the wolf has the hots for the deer.”

“She’s a wanted criminal.”

“Exactly what I’ve been telling him,” Tom agreed with a nod of his head.

Traitor. See if she made him any more cookies with extra chocolate chips.

Everett jumped to her defense. “Dawn isn’t a danger to anyone.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because I do. She’s been living with me for days now, and I’ve yet to see her do anything crazy.”

“Well, she did clean your house top to bottom,” Tom threw out.

“That’s hardly crazy,” Chase stated.

“You didn’t see it before. Only a madwoman would volunteer to do that.”

It occurred to Dawn she should speak in her defense, but the words just wouldn’t come. The ordeal with Joey had left her shaken. The current and ongoing encounter with the FUC agents had her trembling. And her position in Everett’s lap had her...well, feeling things she shouldn’t at the moment, given the gravity of the situation.

“Are you a psychotic murdering monster who likes to eat her victims?”

Dawn gaped at Miranda. Talk about blunt.

“Well?”

“Uh, no.”

The pregnant agent smiled widely. “And there you go.”

“I hate to rain on your parade, Miranda, but we have orders to bring all of Mastermind’s ex-patients in to headquarters.”

“Oh, but, honey bear, look at her, shaking like a little wee leaf in the wind. Anyone can see she’s harmless.”

“At the moment. Who knows what she’s like when she turns into her beast.” Tom made it sound ominous.

“He’s got a point,” Chase replied. “I mean, you’re a prime example of someone who looks so cute and harmless yet can turn into the biggest menace known to society.”

Miranda beamed. “I see someone’s getting some pie later.”

For some reason, this made the bear turn an interesting shade of red.

“We’re getting off track,” Tom pointed out. “We were talking about Dawn and her refusal to shift. It’s obviously because she knows she’s dangerous.”

“I am not!”

“Says you.”

“There’s an easy way to solve this,” Chase interjected. He fixed his stern gaze on her. “Can you flip into your deer and show us?”

Dawn shook her head. She couldn’t keep her shameful secret if she did.

“Why not?”

“Because she’s hiding something.” Tom announced this with way too much pleasure.

Everett frowned at him. “Why are you so intent on making her out to be a bad guy? She’s done nothing to deserve it.”

“Other than turn you into someone willing to abet a wanted fugitive. Ever since she arrived on the scene you haven’t been yourself.”

“And you’re being an ass. Exactly why are you scared of her?”

Scared? Dawn wouldn’t have exactly called Tom’s dislike of her that, until she happened to glance at him. It struck her in that moment. It wasn’t that Tom disliked her—okay, maybe he did a little—but Tom did fear her. Feared she would take his best friend and partner away.

She wanted to reassure him that would never happen. Whatever occurred between her and Everett was temporary. Once the situation with FUC and Joey got resolved, they’d go their separate ways.

Except...it occurred to her she didn’t necessarily want to leave. Sure, Everett drove her nuts with his crude language and slovenly behavior, but he was also kind, funny, and caring. He also didn’t treat her like an incapable idiot. He trusted her. He wanted her. He...was nuzzling her ear and making it hard to concentrate.

“Would you stop that?” she hissed.

“Sorry. My wolf isn’t happy that you’re smelling so funny.”

“Well, rubbing yourself all over me isn’t going to make things better.” Unless they were naked.

A thought he echoed as he nibbled on her neck. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

“Do you need a moment to yourselves?” Miranda asked. “Considering how many times I’ve dragged Chase into a private corner for some
us
time, I’m sure we can spare you a few minutes if it will help.”

Cheeks burning, Dawn hopped off Everett’s lap. “Nope. I’m fine thank you. Everett and I aren’t involved in that way.”

“Not for lack of trying,” the jerk added.

“Sure you aren’t.” Miranda winked at her.

“Can we focus back on the task at hand?” Chase rumbled. “We have a murderous gecko on the loose, one that needs apprehension.”

“What about Dawn?”

“For the moment, she seems like the least of our problems. So we’ll hold off on doing anything, but I will have to report her presence. The fact she’s aiding in our investigation and ongoing quest to track the killer should help her case.”

“Speaking of tracking, what was the lizard doing here?” Bubbly Miranda disappeared and a keen eyed agent took her place.

Dawn, who’d taken up pacing behind the couch, sighed. “Apparently, he was after me.”

“He wanted to make you into deer stew?”

“Not quite. More like his deer-ly beloved.” At their stares, Dawn explained. “It seems Joey has had a crush on me since our days of incarceration. He’s got it in his pea-sized brain that we’re meant to be together. He thinks Everett is holding me against my will and came to rescue me.”

“He’s insane,” Everett barked.

“Way to point out the obvious,” Tom remarked dryly.

“How can we use this to our advantage?” Miranda mused.

Everett bristled. “Excuse me?  What do you mean advantage? We are not using Dawn as bait in any scheme.”

“Why ever not?” Miranda asked.

“Because,” Everett sputtered, “it’s dangerous.”

“Well duh.” The bunny agent rolled her eyes. “He’s a killer, but at the same time, how else do you expect to get him to come out of hiding again?”

“Much as I hate to say it, my wife has a point. We need something to draw the gecko out. If he’s got an attachment to Dawn, we should use that.”

“She could get hurt.”

“And people could die if we don’t,” Tom said.

“I’ll do it.” Dawn couldn’t believe she’d spoken the words. Bravery wasn’t her strong suit, but she had to do something, not just to save any poor souls Joey might come across, but for her own peace of mind. Knowing Joey was out there, waiting for a chance to get his claws on her again... She’d do whatever it took to get him into custody. “Beside, I have a bear, a sloth, and the big bad wolf on my side.”

“And while I might not be able to turn into my bunny, I’m an excellent shot,” Miranda boasted.

With a team like that at her back, what could go wrong? She refused to pay any attention to the list her mind came up with.

S
o many things could go wrong. That was all Everett could think of once they finally broke up their gathering hours later after hashing out plan after plan to use Dawn as bait and lure Joey into a trap.

He tried to divert them from their path, not at all comfortable with the idea of placing Dawn in danger. His delicate doe wasn’t cut out for the possible violence that might erupt. He’d been outvoted, even by Dawn, who seemed determined to prove to FUC that she was on their side.

Once the FUC agents left for their hotel with promises to return early in the morning, Everett waited only long enough for Tom’s snores to begin before he snuck into his bedroom. Or he meant to. When he turned the knob and pushed, the door wouldn’t budge. He shoved harder, but something blocked it. Dawn had barricaded the entrance!

“Open this door right now,” he hissed, knowing she wasn’t asleep. He could hear her breathing just on the other side of the flimsy portal.

“Or what? You’ll huff and puff and blow the door down?”

“And make my to-do list of repairs longer? Not a chance.”

“Then I guess you’re sleeping with snoring beauty.”

“This isn’t funny, Dawn.”

“Why do you want in?”

“We need to talk.”

“I think we’ve talked enough. I’m all talked out. You are not changing my mind. I am going to help bring Joey down.”

“But—”

“No but’s, Everett. I am not going to live my life running and hiding. Not anymore. The only way to set myself free is to capture Joey and clear my name with FUC.”

“I don’t like it.” He slumped against the door and slid down until he sat on the floor.

“So you’ve expressed, quite loudly and often. What I don’t get is why. Why do you care what happens to me?”

Why did he? Sure they’d flirted. He found her attractive and vice versa. She liked cooking; he liked eating the results. He dirtied; she cleaned. She talked; he listened. He found her interesting. Her smile lit up a room. Her scent drove him wild. Her absence made him anxious. Her safety was of utmost important. Her happiness was the only thing that mattered. He loved her.

What. The. Hell.

He slapped himself in the head and ran through the reasons why he cared for Dawn, and once again, the big L word popped up.

Oh crap. When had that happened? How had he gone from carefree bachelor trying to get in her pants to being a wolf on the prowl intent on being the only one in her pants?

“Even you don’t know why.” She sighed, not realizing the epiphany of epic proportions taking place in his head and heart. “Just think, once we get rid of Joey, you can go back to normal. I’ll leave. Tom will go home, and you’ll have your life back. You’ll be free to return to your slobby ways and womanizing.” She said the last bit in a sad tone, which made his ears perk. Did she want to stay? Had she come to care for him too?

“It hasn’t been all bad having you around.”