Mellizo Wolves (15 page)

Rick handed the picture back, headed for his Harley, and
called over his shoulder, “I’ll cruise the Baldy highway and adjacent area. If
I don’t find her along the road, I’ll head into the hills. This Harley can go
almost anywhere. And my boots can go where it can’t. If she’s out there, I’ll
find her.

* * *
*

Valerie felt trapped. For hours, the dominant black wolf
paced in front of her, imprisoning her. Her growls of displeasure hadn’t fazed
him. Finally, exhausted, she’d lain down and watched him pace back and forth
until her eyes grew heavy. Maybe if she feigned sleep, he’d get sleepy, too,
and then she could escape.

Instead, she’d fallen asleep, slept through the night and
awoke to a blaze of dawn next to her hairy captor who was writhing in the
throws of morphing. Good God, she’d been captured by a werewolf! Her urge to
run was thwarted by her own debilitating act of morphing. The gigantic wolf’s
morphing process seemed faster than hers. Holy cow, if he gained control of his
mind and body before she did, he’d gain the upper hand again.

Last night, she’d lost her bearings and wasn’t sure where
they’d ended up. Now they were in a circle of boulders under the shadow of the
daunting Mt. Baldy. She knew the area. It was dotted with a camouflage of low,
concealing brush and a scattering of rocky caves—a perfect refuge for
wolves—and throat-ripping werewolves. Why hadn’t he forced her into one of the
caves and attacked her?

The black hair evaporated from his face and body. He
managed to cover his nudity with leafy limbs from the underbrush. It was then
she realized she was nude, too. With effort, she managed to crawl to a bush.
She used her girl scout training to strip limbs and twist leaves around it. The
process was time-consuming so she just covered her breasts and pubic area. Her
creation looked like Eve’s first leafy whack at bikini fashion. The prickly
foliage itched, but that was preferable to remaining exposed. She didn’t want
to give this werewolf any ideas.

When she looked at him again, her mouth dropped open. It
was the construction boss—her dad’s friend—the man she called Uncle Hugh—the
gentle man who’d watched over her and her sister for years. “Uncle Hugh!”

“Don’t be afraid, Valerie. I’m here to protect you and help
you get home safely.”

* * *
*

Rick cruised the road to Mt. Baldy until daylight, then he
headed his bike into the rough hills. He drove slowly, searching for tracks. He
found a set of small prints that led to the road where he’d picked up Victoria,
followed by bigger and heavier prints. The heavy prints proceeded to the road
and then circled back into the hills. As he continued into the rough, hilly
terrain, around boulders and prickly brush, he failed to find a second set of
female prints. Fine tracker he was. He couldn’t even find the missing girl’s
tracks.

When he discovered three sets of wolf prints, one set
belonging to a very large wolf, his neck prickled. A pack of wolves was a bad
sign with a young woman roaming the hills lost and perhaps injured or
disoriented. Maybe he was worrying about nothing. Shoot, maybe by now Lamont’s
search party had found the wayward chick.

He was about to turn around when he spied a young blonde
who looked identical to Victoria and a man about Lamont’s age coming down path
wearing nothing but leafy brush over their privates. Who was the older guy and
why was he tromping around in the bushes with the girl who clearly had to be
Valerie?

“Hey, you, what the hell are you doing with Lamont’s
daughter?”

“It’s okay,” Valerie said. “He’s my Uncle Hugh. He kept me
safe all night.”

Rick wasn’t convinced. He eased his bike closer. “Why are
you both naked?”

“Look, young man,” Hugh said. “We don’t know you and don’t
owe you any explanations.”

Rick took off his jacket and shirt and handed them to
Valerie. “Put these on and get on my bike. Your dad sent me to bring you home.”

“I won’t turn my niece over to some earring-wearing,
half-baked biker.”

Rick flashed his Mt. Baldy security badge. “This should
convince you I’m not one of those hunters.” He didn’t know why the Lamont girls
were afraid of the hunters, but the story he saw in the prints and Victoria’s
eagerness to escape the area told him they were. He turned his attention back
to Valerie and said, “Valerie, your parents have had search parties out all
night. They’re worried sick. Now get on.”

“His badge looks legit,” she said, “and it sounds like
something Dad would do. I’d better go.”

As she climbed on behind him, Rick called over his
shoulder. “Hang loose, sir, and I’ll be back to get you as soon as I can. And
I’ll bring some clothes.” He didn’t want a nearly nude man hugging his waist.
But having a second nude twin hugging his waist within eight hours was a memory
he’d smile about for years.

* * *
*

Rick decided it would take more time to return to the road
than to head in a somewhat direct line toward the mansion with its imposing
towers. He might luck out and meet Lamont’s search party—and the sooner he
eased Lamont’s mind, the better. He rode slowly through the bumpy terrain,
cursing silently as the bushes scratched his once shiny Harley and protruding
rocks chewed at his tires. When they were halfway to the Lamont place, he met
the unnerved daddy and his search party.

“You found her,” Lamont said in a choked voice. “Thank
God.” He handed Valerie some clothes. “Go behind that boulder and put these
on.” He met Rick’s gaze. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“I didn’t really do much. She was already under her uncle’s
protective care and heading home.”

Lamont frowned. “Uncle?”

“Your daughter called him Uncle Hugh.”

“Oh, him. He’s not really related, but the girls love him
and he adores them like they were his own.”

“Well, sir, I think maybe you should know that they were
both naked.”

Lamont’s eyes widened. “What?”

Valerie came around the boulder at that moment and said,
“Dad, I can explain that—in private. Trust me. It’s all good, I swear.”

“I don’t know how it could be,” Damon said. “But because I
do
trust you, I’ll wait until I have the whole story to tear Hugh limb from
limb. And it better be damned good.”

Valerie handed Rick his shirt and jacket. “Thanks, Mr.
Trouble Maker.”

Rick fought his traitorous feelings. “I’ll go back and get
Hugh and you can all sort this out.” He believed even more firmly that the
Lamonts, their staff, and friends were a bunch of weird ducks.

“Fine,” Lamont said. “Afterwards, I want to have a little
talk with you.”

“Sir, I was up all night looking for your daughter and my
shift at the resort starts in about twenty minutes. Soon as I get Hugh, I have
to check in for work. I’ll be late as it is, but they’ll understand when I tell
them I was helping to rescue your daughter. I can catch an hour or two of
shut-eye at the end of my shift and drop by after.”

“It’s a deal,” Lamont said, squeezing his shoulder. “And
thanks again.”

* * *
*

Hugo, now Hugh, blinked in surprise when he saw the biker
returning. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back and face Damon and his
questions. But it would be cowardly not to—and he was no coward.

“Thanks for coming back,” Hugh said. “Did you bring
clothes?”

“There weren’t any available. I met the search party on the
way up here. You’ll have to be satisfied with my jacket.” He tossed it to him.
“Climb on.”

The ride was short and Hugh thanked the young biker. He
decided to enter through the hidden access in the tunnels he’d retained for his
use alone. He came out in his room. He wondered if Damon would revoke his
generosity when he found out the truth. He pulled on some clothes and went in
search of his half-brother. He found him in the den.

Damon looked up when he entered the room. “Valerie told
me,” he said. “She saw you morph from a werewolf and you saved her. What’s the
rest of the story?”

Hugh scanned the room for micro bugs and, finding none,
said, “It’s true. I’m your half-brother, Hugo.”

Doubt flickered and died in Damon’s eyes. “That’s why I
felt so close to you and brought you into my home. From the first, I felt like
you belonged here. How the hell did all this come about? I saw your throat
ripped out—and I buried you.”

Hugh told him his story of resurrection, watching for signs
of doubt. “Afterwards, I had to work my way into your confidence. I counted on
the fact that you trust people until they disappoint you. Have I disappointed
you by not being forthright, my brother?”

“Yes and no. But when you saved Valerie, it made up for
your lack of faith in me.”

“My lack of faith in you? What do you mean?”

“You didn’t trust me to believe you. But, I can forgive
that because I might not have years ago. Since you moved in here and became the
girls’ surrogate uncle, I felt your love for them. Now I understand why I
wanted you to be part of our family. You are their uncle in every sense of the
word.”

When Damon got up and hugged him, Hugh felt like he was
home at last.

With choked voices, they then discussed the dangers facing
the family and possible solutions.

“I don’t trust your scientists,” Hugh said. “Especially
that Dr. Lazar. But I’m willing to give my blood to help the girls. No one must
know it came from me, though. You’ll have to be the one to extract it. And to
do it while I’m morphed could be dangerous, even deadly.”

“Danger means nothing to me when it comes to my girls’
well-being. However, let me do some investigating before we do anything rash.
And I need time to break all of this to Angela.”

* * *
*

Later that afternoon while Angela and the girls were
picking up books at the library, Damon heard Rick’s motorcycle roar up the
driveway. Eager to talk with him again, he rushed out to meet him and escorted
him into the den. He wanted to get their little talk over before the girls
returned.

“Rested up, Rick?” he asked, ignoring the tension and mixed
feelings jetting through his psyche.

“Yes, sir. Everything’s back to normal.”

Damon gestured to a chair and watched Rick sit down, his
posture erect. Damon sat on the edge of his desk and leveled his gaze slightly
downward and met Rick’s intense look.

“Maybe things are back to normal and maybe they’re not,”
Damon said, playing his cat and mouse game. “I’ve done some checking on you.”

Anger flared in Rick’s eyes. “Why would you do that, sir?
I’m sure your girls told you I treated them with respect.”

“Right. But I like to know more about the men I’m thinking
of hiring.”

Rick snorted and shook his head. “Hiring? Excuse me, sir,
but I don’t recall filling out an application. I’m pretty content with my
present job.”

Damon intensified his gaze. “Oh? Did I read you wrong? I
got the impression you were a trustworthy, capable man on the first rung of the
ladder, intent on equipping yourself for much more.”

Rick shook his head again, as though he couldn’t believe
the conversation they were having. “When you put it that way, sir, maybe I
should hear you out. What do you have in mind?”

“That’s the problem. You have to accept the job and swear
to secrecy without knowing the details up front—other than that your salary
would be a hundred thousand a year to start. In advance.”

Rick wrinkled his brow. “I won’t do anything illegal.”

“If I thought you would, I wouldn’t hire you.”

“As crazy as your offer is, you’ve peaked my interest. When
would the job start and when do I get to know what it entails?”

“Here is how it would go down. You’d sign a legal binding
contract to never reveal anything I’m about to tell you and accept the job on
faith.”

“I’d be crazy to sign a contract like that—and maybe you’re
a little nutty to expect me to.”

“What if I told you it’s a bodyguard job? Would that appeal
to you?”

“Keep talking.”

“If you do the job well, at the end of the year you’ll
become a partner in The Lamont-Tanner Protection Agency. This specialized
position requires that you live in my home. I want you to guard my girls
without their knowing exactly what you’re doing. All they’ll know is you are my
new security advisor, hired to protect our family. You’ll become like one of
the family, meeting their friends, watching for enemies.”

“What about when the girls split up like last night? I
can’t cut myself in half.”

“I’ll hire Hugh to help. Perhaps later, if the business
warrants it, you can bring an assistant on the board.”