He could already feel Zoe’s mind working. He knew she was up to something. Dammit. Mates or not, they still weren’t working together. And their connection was allowing them to know every single nuance of their deception toward each other.
He slammed his fist against the steering wheel, turned the key, and pulled out of the driveway. He sped across town and hurried into the police station where he found the entire Bear Patrol waiting for him in his office.
They were already wearing their SWAT uniforms, ready to roll. Rollo had pulled his out of the car and was slipping on his vest when he stepped into his office and closed the door.
“Heath will be joining us in a few moments. I hope no one objects to including the cadet on our team.”
“No objections here,” Knox said.
“None for me either,” Damien said.
“I haven’t met this Heath kid,” Gauge said, crossing his arms and cocking his chin.
“If the commander vouches for him, don’t you think that you should accept him too?” Knox asked Gauge.
“I agreed to accept the cadet,” Gauge said begrudgingly. “Where is he anyway?”
“He’s taking my mate to her brother’s house at the Bright Institute,” Rollo said. “And that brings me to why we’re here today. Dimitri Ivanov, the head of a wing of the Russian mafia, is currently on Fate Mountain. He’s been impossible to nail down until now. I have reason to believe he was involved in the theft of Caitlin Somerset’s jewels.”
“And what did Zoe Bright have to do with all this?” Gauge said.
Damien gave Rollo a knowing look and Rollo sighed. “Zoe Bright was conscripted into Ivanov’s service. She was an unwilling participant in his criminal activities. She stole Somerset’s jewels in an attempt to pay off a debt. Not paying the debt would have meant her life. She acted in self-defense. But I believe that Ivanov currently has the jewels. His men shot up my cabin, and Zoe and I had to run off in animal form.”
“What were you doing at the cabin with Zoe?” Gauge asked.
“I was getting to her to confess. Did I also mention I marked her?”
“She confessed and you marked her?” Gauge asked with a grin. “I think congratulations are in order.”
“Yes, we marked each other. And I intend to do everything in my power to protect her. We have to find Ivanov before he leaves town. Zoe believes he will be leaving via helicopter at any moment.”
“I’ll do a probability search for helicopter landing points close to the roads,” Damien said, opening up his laptop. “I’m using a version of Corey Bright’s random probability software, to track potential locations.”
“Why don’t we just go down to the airport?” Gauge asked.
“The airport is one of those locations,” Damien agreed. “And the most logical exit point. But also the most obvious.”
Just then Heath opened the door, somewhat breathless and wide-eyed. “What I miss?”
“We’re trying to determine a helicopter’s exit point,” Rollo said.
“I just saw a helicopter flying toward the bluff up the highway,” he said.
“The bluff is the probability generator’s estimate of the second best location,” Damien said.
“Let’s roll,” Rollo said to his men.
15
Zoe dropped into the passenger seat of Heath’s police cruiser with an irritated sigh. She was not used to being sent away from the action. Zoe was a girl who was used to being the action. She growled through gritted teeth as Heath looked over at her.
“Buckle up,” he said with a cheerful grin.
“I should be helping Rollo right now,” she said, giving Heath a desperate look.
“Commander Morris wants me to take you to your brother’s house. I’m not about to mess up on my third day.”
“Fine, Heath. I’ll remember this,” she said, crossing her arms. Bears were all alike. So overprotective.
“Don’t be like that,” he said, pulling out onto the street.
“I’m not mad at you, Heath. You’re the new guy. I can’t ask you to compromise your job.”
“I’m dropping you off at Corey’s house. What you do after that is your business,” he said, turning onto the highway.
They drove up to the institute above the lake and took the short driveway up to Corey’s mansion.
Corey might think he owned a modest house, considering his literal multibillion dollar bank account. But Corey Bright’s house was a marvel of architectural detail.
The whole front wall of the house was a massive two story window that looked down at the lake and forest. There was a massive covered porch around the front and side with multiple seating areas. And that was just the outside.
Zoe said goodbye to Heath and climbed out of the car. Walking up the front steps she took in the rows of freshly planted flower pots that lined the sunny side of the porch.
The colors settled her soul a bit, but this was still the last place she wanted to be.
Willow opened the door before Zoe could knock and was immediately asking her a million questions about why Rollo had told them to keep her at the house.
“It’s fine,” Zoe said, walking into Willow’s massive kitchen with wide black granite island.