Loyal Wolf (8 page)

Jock maneuvered his way up to Kathlene's side, pretending to ignore the crowd of ill-smelling, menacing hunters who surrounded her in what appeared to be a stable yard of the old ranch. A floodlight had been turned on and illuminated the entire area. When he glanced up briefly, he recognized one of the men Ralf and he had seen in the bar earlier
.

That man—Nate Tisal—appeared to be in charge
.

Jock smelled Kathlene's fear, but the woman stood straight, chin up, scowling at her captors...until she saw him
.

“Click!” she exclaimed, as if he was her savior
.

In some ways he was—if she figured out how to play this
.

He hurried up to her, nuzzled her side with his nose, whined a little as if in fear
.

“There you are,” she said. “You bad dog.” Did she get it? It sounded as if she did. “He belongs to some friends of mine who're visiting. I love dogs but don't have one right now, so I was walking him for them. He apparently likes to go into the woods and usually stays near the road, but this time he ran away. I was out here looking for him.” She slipped to her knees and hugged him. He wished he could hug her back but instead licked her cheek
.

She tasted sweet and salty and nervous
.

“You were walking a dog out here?” Tisal's tone was scornful
.

“No,” she said, rising again to look the tall, hefty, scowling man in his gleaming brown eyes. “Like I said, I was walking him in the area, a distance from here, near the road, but he ran away and I've been looking all over for him
.
”

She sounded affronted and sure of herself
.

“I'm sorry if I bothered you, Mr. Tisal. Although,” she continued, “I don't understand why you're all so defensive. Are you doing something here that you shouldn't be?”

Damn her! If he could have, he'd have slapped a muzzle on her to shut her up
.

But then he realized why she'd done it. To maintain her character, since at least some of these men apparently knew she was a deputy sheriff
.

“Not at all,” Tisal countered smoothly. “It's just that most of us were heading for bed and it was startling that someone spotted a prowler. We weren't sure if you were doing something here that you shouldn't be. Were you?”

“Of course not. Just looking for my friends' dog. And now I won't even have to tell them he went missing. I'll just take him and go home.” She looked at him. “I left his collar and leash, though. Do you happen to have a rope that I can use to lead him?”

“Yeah.” Tisal nodded toward one of his minions, who dashed off. “Okay. You can go home with your dog. No harm, no foul. I apologize that some of my friends might have sounded too harsh but we were all startled by your being here. And in case anyone asks, I hope it's clear enough to you that we're not doing anything wrong, just hanging out and practicing till hunting season
.
”

“I got it,” she said. “And I can certainly understand why your friends overreacted.” Jock wished she would aim such a bright smile toward him but realized how false it really was
.

And he felt sure she didn't forgive them for their threats—which convinced him more that she'd been correct about the nature of these guys and what they were doing.

Smart lady, he thought again. Turning the situation so it appeared as if it was resolved in favor of these men
.

And maybe it was. Would real anarchists rehearsing for some terrorist attack actually let her go?

Or were they simply using Kathlene as a foil?

And if the latter, she should only remain in danger as long as these men were around
.

Chapter 8

O
ne of the men, a guy in an open shirt and jeans, stayed with Kathlene while she walked Click back through the woods to her car. She tromped in the near total darkness on uneven clumps of dead leaves, not caring about the noise she made now and not looking at the guy—but aware every moment of his presence.

The odor of impending rain filled her lungs, or maybe they just felt constricted because of the nervousness she had felt before, with vestiges still hanging on now.

Fortunately, the man who'd gone after a rope had found something that let her keep Click secured loosely at her side. She just hoped their escort didn't insist on her showing him Click's actual collar and leash. She'd have to go into an act about how she'd thought she had left it in the car but must have instead lost it in the woods when she let the dog run free.

She reached her car in about five minutes, yanked the key from her pocket and pushed the button to unlock the doors. She opened the one on the passenger's side and gently pulled the rope around Click's neck to get him to jump in first. Then she nodded to their unwelcome companion without saying anything as she circled the car, slid into the driver's seat and locked the doors.

Only then did she feel she could breathe again.

“That wasn't any fun,” she said to Click as the light inside the car faded. “Those guys are definitely nasty.”

He whined, and she interpreted it as agreement with her. But the way the wolflike dog looked at her—it seemed like a glare, scolding her for having been there in the first place.

“I'm reading too much of your master into you, guy,” she told the dog. And despite knowing she would be scolded, at a minimum, by Jock, she half wished he were there, too. No, more than half.

Whatever Alpha Force was, she would really have appreciated it if the strong, determined Jock had had her back during this ugly incident.

Well, his dog had had her back, and the situation had ended a whole lot better than she'd figured it would.

And Click? Well, she really liked this dog. Appreciated his help.

Still wondered why she had recalled his head as being flatter, his legs longer, his coat a little shorter and less wolflike.

Well, no matter. She turned the key in the ignition and drove off slowly through the woods toward the barely paved road.

If she hadn't had Click with her, she'd have driven straight home. Maybe had a glass of wine to help calm her nerves. Or two glasses.

But since Click was with her she needed to take him back to Jock and Ralf. That meant she would have to explain to them what had happened.

Where she had been.

And how their dog had been a lifesaver.

This time she didn't turn off her exterior lights. She soon reached the main road, which was a shred better maintained than the one she'd been on. It only took another few minutes to arrive at the hovel that the Alpha Force guys had settled into as their apparent local command center. She pulled into what passed for a driveway and parked.

“Come on, boy.” She again took hold of the rope that looped around Click's neck and remained careful not to pull it too hard, not wanting to choke him.

But the dog didn't seem to want to go to the house's main door. Instead, he pulled slightly toward the back area, then led her to the rear door. Interesting. But of course Click had been here before with the two men, and maybe they had started using this as their main entrance. It was less visible from the nearby road, so that made sense, especially since they had also parked in back. Maybe she should have, too.

As she knocked on the door, Click raised one of his fur-covered legs and pawed at it. That made Kathlene smile. The dog was clearly trained to act at least somewhat human.

The door was pulled open nearly immediately. Ralf stood there, and he looked downward toward Click first, then let his gaze dart upward toward Kathlene's face. “Er...Hi, Kathlene. Come in. How did you—where did you find Click?”

“I'll tell you all about it but I'd rather just describe it one time, to both Jock and you. It wasn't pretty, but it'd have been a lot worse if Click hadn't been there to save me.”

“What?” His tone sounded aghast, and his dark eyes turned huge.

Kathlene managed a laugh. “I'll explain.” She glanced around. “Where is Jock?”

“Uh...he's probably out looking for Click. He...went with Click to check out the exterior of the ranch again. And since Click is here with you, he's probably still there searching for...for the dog.”

Ralf seemed to be hiding something, but Kathlene had no idea what it could be. No matter.

“I'll wait here with you, then, till he shows up.”

“No!” Ralf's tone was sharp. He ran his thick hand over his short crop of graying hair. What the heck was really going on? “No, Jock and I already made plans for this kind of situation. I'm to take Click back to our cabin and wait there. If...if Jock doesn't show up within a short while, I'm to head back here to wait for him. Since you probably won't see him tonight, it'd be better if you just gave me a brief description of what happened that I can convey to him, then you can go home and get some sleep. We'll all talk about it more tomorrow.”

He clearly wanted her to spill her story then leave. At the moment he hadn't really even let her go very far inside. They stood near the door, talking.

Maybe that was a good thing. The place smelled musty and unpleasant. But she didn't need to stay there long. Only long enough for Jock to arrive and listen to her story.

She didn't want to argue, though. Ralf obviously didn't want her to wait for Jock. And as exhausted and frustrated as she felt, going home sounded great.

“Okay,” she said. “Let me sit down, and I'll tell you what happened.”

Ralf showed her to a rickety chair that had apparently remained in this disaster of a house. She gave him the abridged version of her horror at being caught, threatened and virtually imprisoned, and how she had been able to use the very unexpected presence of Click inside the property's fence to make up a good enough story that, even if the anarchists didn't buy it, they wound up letting her and the dog leave, anyway.

Ralf, seated on another equally decrepit chair, kept exclaiming and shaking his head.

Surprisingly, Click stayed at her feet, sitting there and seeming to enjoy the sound of her voice. At least the dog kept looking up at her and even made some small whining noises in his throat.

When she finished with how it had felt to slip into the car with Click and drive away, Ralf leaped to his feet. He took her hands and squeezed them.

“I'm just glad you're okay. Jock'll be glad, too. I've got to go look for him now since he won't have his phone on. You go ahead home and get some sleep. I know he'll want to talk to you more about it, so plan on getting together with us sometime tomorrow.”

She told him about the county commissioners' upcoming meeting and that she would be there on duty. “And I'm glad—since I heard that some measures that might evoke reactions from those sportsmen are being discussed. It's a public meeting, so I'd suggest that Jock and you attend, too. I'll go off duty shortly after it's over, so we can grab coffee and talk.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Ralf glanced down at Click, then back up into Kathlene's face. “We'll see you there.”

And then he ushered her back out the door.

She rehashed a lot of things as she drove back home as quickly as she could: her horrible situation with those men. How that smart dog, who was unbelievably sweet despite resembling a combo between a wolf and German shepherd, had helped her diffuse and escape.

And then Ralf's attitude, and the absence of Jock.

She absolutely had to get those men to explain Alpha Force. Something about that covert military unit would clarify at least some of their part of what she had just undergone. She felt sure of it.

Those two men should not keep her in the dark any longer.

* * *

Jock sat on the chair that Kathlene had vacated half an hour before, his hands clasped, his head bent as he attempted to maintain his temper.

He had spent part of that time shifting back to human form and getting dressed.

Now he was ready to head back to their cabins with Ralf. To check on the real Click and make sure he was okay.

And grab a drink, not at the bar where they'd met up with Tisal but by themselves. By
him
self, preferably.

He knew that Ralf was full of questions but had been astute enough not to ask them—yet.

What he did ask, though, was, “You okay, Lieutenant? I mean, Jock.”

Jock shot a glare at his aide, who again sat in the chair he had occupied when Kathlene was here. Ralf was grinning, knowing he was intentionally prodding Jock's dander by doing as he'd been ordered not to—acting even somewhat military right now.

“I'm fine,” he grumbled back.

“Except for wanting to strangle Deputy Baylor, right?”

Jock closed his eyes and counted to five before opening them again. “Yeah,” he said. “Except for wanting to strangle Deputy Baylor. But that would be most imprudent considering I pretty much saved her ass before, while shifted.”

“Yes, she does have a pretty ass.” That grin of Ralf's twitched, and Jock knew he was only trying to goad him. And succeeding.

“Maybe I should strangle you, instead, Staff Sergeant.” Jock started to rise, but only got a laugh out of Ralf.

“Maybe I can just pin you to the floor like Deputy Baylor did,” Ralf countered. He paused and continued more seriously, “I know you don't like her putting herself in danger like that, Jock. I don't, either. But until we figure out what's going on around here and stop it, you know she's just going to keep at it. And if she hadn't wound up calling in federal help and getting Alpha Force here she'd probably have remained in the thick of it all by herself.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jock conceded. “But she did wind up with us here, even if she didn't know exactly what she was getting. And like it or not, I realize we'd better plan on her inclusion and interference.”

“And maybe on her finding out what Alpha Force is really about.”

“Not if I—” Jock stopped himself. “Maybe you're right. Whether or not we want her to. But I suspect a woman like that, once she got over the shock, might not hate the idea.”

“We may just find that out,” Ralf said.

“True.” He forced himself not to sigh or react in any other way—this time. “Now, let's go back and see how I—rather, my counterpart Click—is doing right now, shall we?”

“Yes, sir,” Ralf said.

“On the way, let's discuss what we're likely to hear at tomorrow's county commissioners' meeting, okay?”

“I just happen to have downloaded their agenda onto my smartphone while you were out playing wonder dog and saving Deputy Kathlene's butt. I'll drive—which I should, anyway, since your body may still be morphing here and there—and you can look it over. The agenda, that is. Not our deputy's butt. Or ass. Or whatever.”

Jock glared at Ralf. He shouldn't give a damn that his aide happened to have noticed Kathlene's lovely, firm, enticing rear area. What red-blooded male wouldn't have?

And just because he found the woman much too damned sexy didn't mean he had any priority over any other man in looking at, or wanting, her.

He'd have to keep telling himself that in the next few days, especially since he had no doubt that she would insist on staying involved.

And that meant he actually had to treat her as part of their team—at least enough to keep an eye on her and attempt to keep her out of trouble.

* * *

“You ready, Kathlene?” asked Deputy Jimmy Korling, checking his duty belt without glancing at her. Jimmy was a somewhat nice-looking guy, with short, wavy black hair and a youthfully muscular body.

He was also clearly not pleased about having a woman as his very first partner after joining the department. Most of the time he was very cordial, if remote.

Most of the time...

“Just about. How about you?” She, like her partner, was confirming that her uniform, including the equipment on her belt, was complete and that she was ready to report to the county commissioners' meeting as one of the law-enforcement officers there on duty.

“I sure am,” Jimmy said.

“Great. Just give me another minute.” She worked to finalize her check.

Right now it was the morning after her unpleasant visit to the sportsmen's ranch. She was at the department headquarters, in the dispatch room, where all officers congregated before heading off to duty. It had chairs for them to sit, plus mirrors on the wall so they could get last-minute glimpses of themselves and assure that they appeared professional and ready for the day's assignment.

She had arrived at department headquarters right on time that morning despite the wet roads after some overnight rainfall—and after getting little sleep the night before.

That was mostly because of her nighttime rescue, thanks to a dog, from the people she deemed to be anarchists. Thinking about it—the situation, and how she had managed to exit it relatively gracefully—had occupied her mind much of the night.

But she wasn't about to tell any of her colleagues about that. Would the men from the ranch mention it to any locals?

To Sheriff Frawley?

Kathlene didn't like the idea but couldn't assume it wouldn't happen.

And where had Jock been? Had Ralf found him? Were they back at their cabin?

She believed so. She hadn't wanted to call them in case they were sleeping in, or were up early and out and about doing whatever they were doing undercover, maybe hanging out in local restaurants pretending to be visitors.

She was their team member, though, and they should have let her know.

She'd texted Jock just before reporting for duty, while still in her car. She'd received a brief response: