Undercover Wolf

Chapter 11

Kristine noticed a movement at the edge of the parking lot. Quinn? What was he doing back here so soon?

No—she saw the two feds emerge from the forest.

That worried her. Where was Quinn? Was he all right? Had these two harmed him?

Not much time had passed since Quinn had stalked off in wolf form to look for them. Even so...

Grabbing her backpack again from the rear seat, she quickly exited the car to face them.

The light here was dim, mostly from the gleaming but waning moon that hung above in the sky. Staying beside the front door on the passenger side, Kristine stood straight, watching as the men approached. She was very aware of the hooting of nearby owls and the skittering on the dried leaves on the forest floor of whatever rodents or other night creatures that might be there. No other noises, besides the men’s footsteps, interrupted the nighttime silence.

No wolf howls, or even softer sounds that could be a canine on the prowl.

“Hello, Mrs. Scott.” Kelly, dressed all in black from his long-sleeved sweater to his pants and low-topped boots, stopped only a few feet from her. His dark hair even appeared to be part of his nighttime disguise, although his skin was pale and he had used no makeup on his face or hands to enable him to blend fully into the darkness. Even so, of the two men, he was the taller, thinner—and more menacing.

“Hello, Mr. Kelly,” she responded coolly. “Mr. Holt. What brings you to this part of Acadia in the middle of the night?”

“The question should be what brings you here?” The tone of Holt’s voice suggested that his hostility was as vast as the forest looming around them. He wore dark clothes similar to Kelly’s and blended into the night even better with the deep tone of his skin.

Kristine, too, had thrown on a charcoal jacket and dark jeans that she’d kept in the car, just in case. She had tucked her short black hair into an even darker knit cap. But she hadn’t anticipated having to hide—unless Quinn needed her to do something to help him avoid these men while in wolf form.

Again, she wondered where he was. Worried about him. How had these men returned without Quinn being right on their tails?

But maybe he really was nearby, in the forest. Watching, in his wolf form, in case she was the one who needed help.

She couldn’t count on that.

“I thought I made it clear,” she said. “No matter what the rest of you are doing here, I’m just sightseeing. I wanted to see the park at night. But you—are you here as part of your investigation of what happened to those people who got killed in the park?”

“Stop playing games.” Holt’s voice was sharp. Though he was the shorter and heavier of the two men, he now vied with Kelly for being the more ominous. He took a step toward her.

She immediately grabbed what she needed from her backpack and aimed it at them. A camera.

She started shooting pictures of the men, hopefully making it obvious that what she held wasn’t threatening—at least not in a life-threatening sense. She hoped to blind them temporarily with the flash.

Even more, she wanted to make it clear that she now would have evidence of who they were, if they had hurt Quinn. Allies or not, disclosing or not, they all worked for the government and shouldn’t harm one another—physically, at least.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?” Kelly grabbed her arm, nearly making her drop the camera—but she tightened her grip.

“Pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

“Look, bitch,” Holt said from beside her. He was leaning against the rear of the car. “We don’t know who you really are. Your boyfriend, either. No one named Quinn Scott that we found in searches on our usual sites fits his profile. We have our suspicions, though. Is he really a private investigator? If so, who’s his client—and what do you have to do with all this?”

“And where the hell is he?” Kelly demanded. “I doubt you’d have come all the way here without him. Is he somewhere in the woods? We think you’re with Alpha Force, and we know what some of the claims are about its real nature—although we don’t believe them. It’s some kind of ruse, right?”

Kristine translated in her mind. They must know—through official channels or not—that Alpha Force was allegedly composed of shapeshifters, at least in part. That was most likely what they didn’t believe, which was probably a good thing. But had someone told them about the unofficial investigation Quinn and she were conducting here? It sounded that way. If so, who?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied. She thought fast. She wasn’t about to divulge any part of the truth about Quinn and her, even though these men might know it anyway. Was there some way she could pretend to ally herself with them, to get them to divulge whatever they knew so far about the killings—and the disappearance of Grace and Simon? “Look, maybe it’s a good thing that Quinn had an upset stomach tonight. He’s off in the woods around here somewhere, puking, I think. He doesn’t know much yet about what happened to those tourists, but maybe you and I can make a deal. I’ll let you in on what he finds out, if you tell me what you’ve learned, too.”

“Why?” Holt demanded. “You claiming to be a P.I., too?”

She laughed. “Not yet. I’m trying to learn from Quinn, that’s all. I hope to get a license someday, sure, but if I can outshine him here his bosses at the agency will move me up all the faster.” Did this make any sense to them? It didn’t entirely to her, but if it happened to work...

“Sounds possible.” Kelly’s tone was too smooth all of a sudden. Had he bought into what she said, or did he only want her to think so? “So what does he know?”

“Not a lot so far.” Kristine tried to made herself sound frustrated. “The people we’ve talked to seem full of speculations about wild animals and what kinds are around here these days—and some really weird, woo-woo stuff, too.”

She threw that out to see if she got any reaction—which she did. Slightly. The men glanced at each other quickly, then turned their attention back on her.

“So you’re not part of Alpha Force?” Kelly demanded.

“Me? You’re the one who mentioned it, and that those honeymooners who disappeared might be members. But that’s all I know.”

“What has your boyfriend told you about it?” Holt countered. “Do you think he knows more than you do?”

She tried to send a suggestive look in their direction. “I don’t know what he knows,” she said. “When we’re not out playing newlyweds to see what information we can get from the rest of the world...well, you know.”

“You’re playing newlyweds for real.” Kristine didn’t like Kelly’s leer, but she’d asked for it.

“Something like that.”

“Then, good. You know what I think?”

“What’s that?” Kristine had a sudden feeling that she wasn’t going to like whatever he said.

“I think you know a lot more than you’re saying, and that your boyfriend does, too. It may be stuff that’ll make our assignment here a bit easier—or not. But we’ll find out. Won’t we, Holt?”

They moved so fast that Kristine almost didn’t anticipate it. Almost. But when Kelly grabbed her, she had already pulled something more useful than a camera out of her backpack: a Taser gun.

Before she could use it, though, Holt yanked it out of her grasp. “No way, bitch,” he growled and aimed it toward her.

* * *

Quinn leaped out onto the pavement.

He had been watching from behind a nearby tree. He had wanted to act before. But if a wolf suddenly rushed out of the forest, they would assume at a minimum that they had found one of the animals that had killed the tourists.

Worse, with their knowledge—limited as it might be—about Alpha Force, he might not only make their job easier but confirm the true character of the covert military unit to feds who might not act in the force’s best interests, only their own.

“What the hell?” Holt was clearly surprised by having canine teeth suddenly clamped around the arm that held the Taser. Maybe he actually didn’t suspect—or buy into—the true character of Alpha Force. Or maybe he simply hadn’t suspected the nature of Quinn’s involvement.

Quinn did not chomp down hard on the guy’s sleeve-covered arm—just firmly enough to prevent Holt from using the gun. He did not want the guy to be able to show off bite marks. But Quinn would do what he had to, to protect Kristine.

“Shoot the damned wolf,” Kelly shouted. “Dog. Whatever.”

Kelly had Kristine by both arms, using her as a shield as he drew closer. Quinn needed to rid himself of Holt—fast. He had to help Kristine.

Growling, he made a quick, strong worrying motion with his head, forcing Holt to drop the Taser. Then he moved away just enough to spring onto the man’s chest with all his weight, knocking him to the ground, using his leverage to ensure that Holt’s head hit the pavement. Hard. Quinn heard the crack, and Holt went limp.

He leaped off and turned to help Kristine. But she didn’t need assistance. She was suddenly a gorgeous, merciless epitome of military self-defense maneuvers. Kelly must have known some of those moves, too, but the lightning flash that was Kristine allowed him no leverage. Her arms and legs beat at him—his chest, his throat, his genitals—her limbs curved and vicious and full of power that he hadn’t recognized were possible in such a sexy, appealing woman.

It was soon over. Kelly had fallen—also striking his head, thanks to Kristine’s obviously calculated moves. He now lay on the ground not far from Holt. Neither man was stirring.

“Are they alive?” Kristine asked casually. She bent down, touched their necks. “Yeah, I feel pulses on both of them.” She looked toward Quinn. He wished he was in human form now. He wanted—badly—to kiss her.

As if she read his mind, she said, “You’d better work on shifting back pretty damned fast. I have to call 911, and the local cops are likely to get involved. They’re going to want to know where my new husband is.”

She knelt beside him, where he remained in wolf form, and buried her face in his neck.

“Thanks for being there,” she said. “But we still need answers that these bozos might have been able to provide.”

He couldn’t tell her—now—that he agreed with her. He also could not say that he had an idea how to get at least some of those answers.

Nor could he tell her how relieved he was...or how much he admired her.

Wanted her.

Most important now, he did not want her to face the EMTs or the authorities alone.

It was definitely time for him to shift back.

* * *

She should have kept her eyes on the two men who still lay motionless on the ground. In fact, Kristine continued to watch them relatively carefully. And check on them a lot. Their heads, both of them, had struck the dirt hard. Enough to kill them? Nope. They were definitely still alive.

But enough to affect their memories, or at least their credibility? That could work out well.

Meanwhile, she couldn’t help it. As Quinn shifted back to human form just outside the range of the men’s vision, had they been conscious, and not far beyond the nearest copse of trees, she had to glance at him. Often.

To make sure he had no trouble with his change, she told herself righteously.

Yeah, sure, her conscience contradicted. She just wanted to see him nude again.

Which she did. Too bad there was nearly no light. She would have loved a better view. He was so damned sexy.

And he had helped, in wolf form, to save her. Those feds had clearly wanted to grab her, take her somewhere else. Had they done that with Grace and Simon? If not, had some of their cronies?

Kristine was a damned good soldier. She knew that. But hand-to-hand combat with two equally well-trained men might have had a bad result. One-on-one was better—and that’s what it had been, thanks to Quinn.

There. He was done. She’d left his clothes on the ground near where he had shifted back and he was donning them now. Too bad.

Well, she had seen what she had hoped to. At least a little of it. Or maybe it was mostly her imagination, viewing a hint of the silhouette of his hard and sexy body in the skimpy light in the area. His sinewy, muscular limbs.

The lower part of his body. His thick, full sex...no, that had to be her anticipation this time. Her yearning for another glimpse.

But she was too far away, and this wasn’t the place for that. If she was lucky—as she was likely to be, thanks to her role here both undercover and as his aide—she actually would get to see more. Soon.

He rejoined her at the edge of the parking lot, eyes on the men, who remained motionless. One of his arms went around her waist. To steady himself? She didn’t think so. His body, against hers, felt very steady. Very substantial.

Very good.

“You called 911.” He didn’t make it a question. He’d been nearby when she’d done it, still in wolf form.

“Yes. The operator indicated it would take a little while for the EMTs to get here when I described where we were.”

“Good. Let’s hope it takes a few more minutes.”

He let go of Kristine, leaving her feeling a bit bereft. Ridiculous. She didn’t need to be near him. He still had a job to do, and so did she.

“I’ll start with Kelly,” Quinn said. “See if you can get Holt anywhere near conscious.”

She knelt beside the prone body, touched his neck to ensure he still had a pulse, then turned him onto his back.

He groaned, a good sign. But how near to waking up he was she didn’t know.

She glanced at Quinn. He’d moved Kelly nearby, and the man’s legs moved as if he was awake and attempting to sit up.

“Hold it.” Quinn grabbed Kelly by the shoulders. “Stay where you are. You’re too weak to get up. Help is on the way.”

Kelly’s eyes opened. “You’re here,” he said unnecessarily.

“That’s right,” Quinn said, his tone grim. “I was nearby when you attacked Kristine. Good thing I wasn’t any closer.”

Of course he couldn’t have gotten much closer—but these men didn’t need confirmation that the wolf who’d helped to fend them off had been Quinn...though they might suspect it.

They apparently had some knowledge of the nature of Alpha Force, even if they didn’t believe it—or hadn’t before. To the extent possible, they had to be convinced that what they’d thought they had experienced had not been anything woo-woo, just a regular fight that they’d lost.

“The dog that attacked Holt...was that you?” Kelly’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Me? Are you nuts? And I didn’t see any dog.” But Quinn knew he wouldn’t convince this man of anything. Not now. Kelly had immediately lost consciousness once more.

Quinn heard sirens in the distance.