The Wolf Code Reloaded Read online

“So, is this bounty hunter guy going after Ethan because he’s a known human trafficker?”

  “Not exactly,” Lucian said.

  Why did Ty still look amused?

  “I guess I’m just wondering why I was called onto this job? Human trafficking and high-risk kidnapping victims are my specialty, but I’m not hearing anything that falls into that. And if you know the perp’s name, I’m wondering why you don’t just track his registered vehicle or follow the bounty hunter. As far as kidnappings go, this seems like a pretty simple case.”

  “We didn’t call for your expertise,” Lucian said. “Though I think you’ll be an invaluable part of the team with your background. We called Ty out to consult, and he said he was bringing a colleague.” Lucian smiled at her apologetically. “So, I guess, Miss Edwards, you’re not the only one confused about why you’re here if you don’t even know.”

  “Maybe this Ethan character is the key. Is there something special about him?”

  “You mean, you don’t know about Ethan?” Lucian asked, arching his eyebrow.

  Senora was getting frustrated. It seemed that everyone knew what was going on, and no one was sharing with her. She’d encountered this a lot when working in such a male-dominated field, but it still pissed her off. She didn’t like playing games, especially when she was the only one who didn’t know the rules.

  “No, I don’t know a thing about Ethan, but it seems like everyone else does. The suspense is killing me, and I think we owe it to Carla to get moving on the case instead of playing twenty questions. So, enlighten me or don’t, but I’m not doing this anymore.”

  Lucian looked at Ty and laughed, then turned back to Senora.

  “Well, you see, Miss Edwards, our suspect, Ethan, is more than just a kidnapper. He’s a WereDragon, and he’s wanted for murder.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  They were alone in the room, looking through the empty hotel room that Ethan had left behind, when Senora looked up and realized that they were alone.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that there were more like you?”

  “You knew there were more wolves,” he said, gloves on, looking through the bed sheets even though Ethan hadn’t really been in the hotel long enough to use the room.

  “Stop being willingly obtuse. I’m talking about paranormals. Why didn’t you tell me there were more than just werewolves?”

  “Paranormals? I think I like that. I’m going to start calling myself a paranormal consultant.”

  Senora glared at him.

  “Don’t. It sounds ridiculous. And there’s no such thing.”

  “It would appear that there are,” he countered. “We have a few hotel patrons that are certain that they saw a dragon jump out of the window with the hotel clerk on his back. So, either they’re lying to us, or you’re lying to yourself.”

  “I don’t believe in WereDragons.”

  “You can’t just choose what you believe in,” Ty said, chuckling. “Do you believe in me? Or am I just a figment of your imagination, conjured up by your subconscious for amusement?”

  “You know you’re real. Why would you even say that?”

  He shrugged.

  “You’re the one declaring that there are no paranormal creatures in existence while working with a known paranormal creature. What did you expect me to say?”

  “I expected you to tell me that we were coming out here to investigate a WereDragon so I could have gone home. This is stupid. I have better things to do than chase fantasy creatures.”

  “J wouldn’t have let you go home. He’s the one that called me. I didn’t mean to keep you in the dark. I really thought that you knew.”

  Senora took a deep breath, looking around the room while she tried to gather her thoughts. She felt unbalanced and completely lost. Nothing was going like she expected it to, and it seemed like the only person that didn’t know everything was Senora. She didn’t like it.

  “What other beings do you think exist here with us? How do they go through their lives without being caught?”

  He shook his head.

  “I’m not playing this game with you right now. I’m focusing on Carla. She needs us, and the sooner we find her, the better.”

  “Don’t you think the bounty hunter is going to find them first? He was right behind them.”

  “I hope he doesn’t. Kaden has a reputation for destroying things when he’s on the hunt. Look what he did to the hotel looking for one man. I’m worried that Carla will get killed in the crossfire. I would rather get to her first.”

  “Are the locals going to help?”

  “They’ll help on this end, but a WereDragon can fly upwards of fifty miles per hour even without a good wind. On the right current, that number goes up. He’s already out of their jurisdiction, which is why I need you.”

  “Good to know.” She walked over to the window, careful to avoid the carpet so she could photograph the drag marks on the carpet floor. “The window is broken outward here, and it looks like Carla dug in her heels and refused to go. She’s definitely been taken against her will.”

  “I found that strange, too. Dragons can hypnotize their intended targets, so I don’t know why he would have to force her.”

  “Hypnotize?”

  “More like enchantment. They enchant a woman, then impregnate them.”

  “Doesn’t that backfire when they give birth?”

  “No. Most humans that lay with a shifter have already fallen in love, even without the enchantment. It’s a very rare woman that can bed a shifter and walk away.”

  She felt her face color, but she ignored the obvious dig.

  “So, I wonder what he wanted with Carla, and why he didn’t bother to enchant her first. And if she wasn’t enchanted, why didn’t she just let the bounty hunter go inside and get Ethan? It just seems like there was no reason for her to prevent that if she wasn’t protecting him.”

  “That’s part of the reason that they called me. We don’t usually have problems with WereDragons and their women. But this case is different because it appears that the woman fought jumping out the window with him, and then there’s the fact that this particular dragon is wanted for murder. It complicates things a bit.”

  “You say it like this is all no big deal.”

  Ty put down the pillowcase he was looking through and looked at Senora, his expression serious.

  “Listen, Senora. There are a lot of things that humans don’t know about life. Real life. There have been shifters walking amongst your kind for centuries. We just hide our true selves because humans are so violent when they don’t understand things. They forget that we were here first, and that our kind have been protecting humans since the dawn of time. Sometimes, we protect humans from other shifters, but nine times out of ten, we’re protecting you guys from each other. I understand that you don’t believe in paranormal creatures, but you don’t have to believe in us for us to exist. I can’t promise that I have all the answers to your questions, but I’ll do my best. It would be nice if you could meet me halfway and trust me a little.”

  “You’re asking a lot.”

  “I get that. I know that you’re a skeptic, and that’s why we make such a good team. I know that you only believed me because you saw what I was before I said anything. And I promise you, I never wanted to tell you. I had no choice.”

  His last words stung.

  “You didn’t want to tell me?”

  “Come on, Senora. I know your type. Smart, analytical, logical to a fault. You probably informed your parents that Santa Claus didn’t exist by the time you were four years old. I get it. I get you. I didn’t want you to think I was crazy. I just wanted you to enjoy working with me, but it seems like nothing I do will make you happy. If you want, when we’re done with this assignment, I’ll call J myself and ask him to assign me a new FBI agent. I don’t want to work with anyone else, but I’m not going to force your hand either. You were happy working the way you were before, and I’m a complete ass for not seeing
that.”

  Senora took a deep breath, looking out onto the parking lot from where she stood and trying to gather her thoughts. How had everything gone to hell so fast? This time yesterday, she was lying in his arms, grateful that she had let herself break a rule and sleep with someone she worked with. It had all been perfect and followed by a wonderful night alone in a five-star hotel. In an instant, everything had changed. She’d been irritated with the change, and she had let that irritation get the better of her. They couldn’t work like this, and as much as she wanted to work alone, she had to admit that the cases went better with Ty around.

  She sighed heavily, then turned back to him.

  “You don’t have to do that. I’m sorry. I was upset that things changed and no one consulted me. I don’t like being the only one who isn’t in control, and I took that out on you. I know it’s not your fault that J didn’t ask me, so I shouldn’t have gone off on you.”

  “So, you didn’t mean what you said earlier?”

  “I did, and I didn’t. We can’t sleep together. It’s distracting, and I can’t risk being distracted. The Gate Keeper slipped through my fingers again. As long as he’s out there, selling people to the highest bidder, I can’t relax. I can’t be distracted, and I can’t be in love. It’s not your fault, and you’re the first person to weaken my resolve. I usually go for the no strings attached, I’ll never see them again roll in the hay. You’re the first person that mattered, and that was my fault.”

  “I mattered? But I don’t matter now?”

  “You do, and that’s my problem. Honestly, I’m hoping that we can find a way to just get over this and maybe talk about it later. Like, when we find Carla.”

  “So, once we find Carla, we can talk about where we stand?”

  “I promise.”

  “Why do I feel like you’re only saying that because you know that you’ll be leaving?”

  She shrugged, but he was right.

  “Take it or leave it, but I’m not going to discuss this further.”

  “I see I struck a nerve,” he said. “Going back to what happened, maybe you can shed some perspective.”

  “Shoot.”

  “It’s obvious that Carla fought to keep herself in the hotel room, but there’s no way that a fully shifted dragon could fit in this room. Is it possible that she fought because she thought he was pulling her to her death? Could she be okay now that she knows what he is? Is that why she hasn’t tried to contact anyone yet?”

  “I guess that’s possible. I mean, you warned me before we jumped out of the hotel window, and I was still pretty against the plan. We just didn’t have another choice.”

  “That makes sense. I’m trying to get into his head here, but I need to know her reaction as a strong, independent woman who wasn’t enchanted by the dragon. I’m thinking that you can shed some light on what she was thinking and feeling at that time, being as you two had some similar traits.”

  She ignored his attempt to smooth things over by complimenting her.

  “I would think that she was set on not going out the window, but once he shifted, perhaps she realized that she was safe; at least, for the time being. Without using typical modes of transportation, it’s going to be hard for her to sneak away and call someone. And who would she call? By all accounts, Carla is the only person left in her immediate family, and she wasn’t close with any of her distant relatives. They haven’t even called to let the police know that they’re aware she’s missing. She doesn’t seem to have anyone to notice that she’s missing.”

  Senora thought about it for a moment, then another question occurred to her.

  “What about the dragon? Why take her when he could escape from the bounty hunter faster without her?”

  “Because he put her in danger?”

  “But the bounty hunter went after the dragon immediately. There’s no way that Kaden is going to go after Carla when Ethan is flying away into the night. That doesn’t make sense.”

  “You’re right,” Ty said, getting excited. “You’re absolutely right. There’s no reason for him to take Carla. She’s collateral. Unless she wasn’t.”

  “Which means that Ethan took her for a reason.”

  “But what reason could he have for taking her? She wasn’t enchanted by him, and while Ethan is wanted for murder, it’s for murdering a man. Don’t murderers tend to favor the same demographic?”

  “They do.”

  “So where does she fit in?”

  “She seems to throw the entire puzzle off,” Senora said. “He doesn’t appear to have a history of taking hostages, and taking Carla will only slow him down.”

  “Maybe he wants to get caught?”

  Senora was already shaking her head.

  “I’ve been on cases where the bad guy wants us to catch him and stop him from hurting more people. This doesn’t feel the same.” She gathered up the evidence kit Ty had brought in the truck and tossed her used gloves. “We need to get going. Something isn’t right about this, and we need to find them.”

  “I agree,” Ty said, following her out the door and to the elevator.

  “And we need to find that bounty hunter. I don’t know if he’s innocent here. There has to be an explanation for all of this. I just don’t know what it could possibly be.”

  “I’m with you there.”

  They walked out of the hotel, Ty slightly behind her, letting her take the lead. She didn’t comment on the gesture, but she knew it was intentional and she made a mental note to thank him later.

  “Lucian,” she called out, waving the Sheriff over from the group of people he was surrounded by.

  He looked relieved to break away from the concerned locals. Despite the oppressive heat, he jogged over to the hotel entrance with a smile on his face.

  “What can I do for you?” he asked.

  “I need everything you have on this bounty hunter.”

  “Can I ask why?” Lucian responded.

  “I don’t know yet,” Senora said. “This situation is weird, and I can’t help but feel like the three missing adults each hold a piece of the puzzle. When we figure out why Kaden is involved, I have a feeling things will start to fall into place.”

  “Well, gee, I can answer that,” Lucian said, his accent so much thicker than Ty’s soft twang. “There’s a ten-million-dollar bounty on that dragon’s head. Kaden isn’t your only bounty hunter looking for Ethan, but he is the best, and that’s definitely why he’s involved. Kaden will turn up once he’s found Ethan, and then he’ll settle up with the hotel and make things right. I wouldn’t worry about him at all. You need to worry about Ethan. He’s the one that took the girl.”

  “Thank you for letting me know that. If it’s all the same, I’d still like everything you have on him.” She dug a business card out of her wallet, her FBI badge displayed on the front. “Send it to this email, and I’ll download it when we stop for the night.”

  The Sheriff nodded, but he didn’t look too happy to have his insight ignored. Senora gave him her sweetest smile, but she wasn’t willing to negotiate with him about her request. She expected everything he had, and she wanted it by the end of the day. She ranked higher than them, and she wasn’t above using her status to strong-arm the locals into giving her what she wanted. She avoided doing it, but she’d had her hand forced before.

  “Thank you for all your help, Sheriff. I look forward to hearing from you. I’m sure you have invaluable information that will help this case go a lot quicker.”

  Lucian pursed his lips and forced a smiled, and Senora knew that he was going to comply. He didn’t have it in him to buck authority, and that was fine by Senora. She needed him to cooperate. But more than that, she needed to make sure she had the entire picture about all involved and not just a cherry-picked snapshot. Even well-meaning people could be spinning the evidence to suit their take on the situation, and Senora needed to see everything in its raw, unedited form. Even the minutest detail could prove to be the key to unraveling a my
stery.

  Ty and Senora said their goodbyes, then headed to the truck. When Senora jumped in, she let out a sigh of appreciation.

  “I’m not one for burning gas, but I can’t tell you how good the AC on full-blast in the shade feels.”

  “It’s an E84 Hybrid,” he said.

  “What’s that?”

  “It runs on corn fuel or regular fuel and, once it gets going, it uses its own electric charge to keep going. I get something like forty miles to the gallon.”

  “In a truck?” she asked, shocked.

  “Yep. It’s a prototype. A buddy of mine runs the factory in Dallas. This is a failed model.”

  “Failed how?”

  “It’s supposed to get fifty miles per gallon.”

  Ty pulled out onto the deserted highway and headed back toward the US-20.

  “Do you know where they went? Where are you going?”

  “Dragons prefer mountains, and there’s only one mountainous region within a night’s flight here.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “New Mexico. There’s a national forest there with some mountain peaks and trails that don’t see much traffic. It’s pretty rough terrain, but it’s cooler than the weather here, and there are plenty of trees.”

  “And you’re sure he’s there?”

  “Witnesses say that they headed west and slightly north. There’s a lot of desert if he stayed on that path, but my gut is telling me that he’s in the forest and they’re taking cover until he can fly again in the morning.”

  “So what are we going to do?”

  “We’re going to head that way and wait for sunset. And then, we’re going to find us a dragon.”

  “You sound so sure of yourself. How many miles is this trail?”

  “Around thirty,” he said, easing the truck onto the four-lane highway and merging with the light traffic.

  “We can’t hike thirty miles at sunset.”

  “Who says we’re hiking?”

  Senora looked at him and started shaking her head.

  “No. There’s no way I’m riding a dog over trails in the middle of the night.”

  “Wolf,” he corrected. “And it’s like riding a horse. I can cover thirty miles of rough terrain in two hours. I don’t think we’ll need to go far before the dragon will take flight, but it’s a little like hunting; we’re going to wait for the bird-dog to flush out our prey, then go after him.”