“Yes, Manuel, I had to…take care of some business. Otherwise, I would never have called you my mother. Did you learn where else Benny might have gone?” Val asked. He was one of the agents who did investigations in an office at the Enforcers’ headquarters. She didn’t want Howard and Jillian to learn she might have updated information on Benny, follow her, and spook him again.
She began pulling off her blouse and then her skirt.
“That’s why I’m calling. I’ve been checking the airlines and finally found Benny booked on a flight leaving for Belize at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon. The next flight out is 5:30 that evening. You can try to fly standby on the earlier flight. There are still seats available on the later one. Hey, the other business you mentioned wouldn’t happen to be with regard to Howard Armstrong, would it? It sure sounded like his voice.”
“Yeah, you’re right. He and a wolf with the USF were given the mission of watching my back undercover.”
Manuel laughed. “He’s too good at his job to get caught. He must have wanted you to know he was there watching out for you. You know, rarely do any of the guys take him down in training. For you to have managed…”
“Don’t tell me you think he planned it that way.”
Manuel laughed again. “Since your parents are down there, you can probably work together. Then Howard and his partner won’t have to tail you any longer.”
“Thanks! I’ll let Howard know. And I’ll tell my folks I’m on my way down there.” Val had never worked with her parents on a case. Her dad had always taken charge anytime they did anything all the years she was growing up. She could just see that if she signed on with them, she and her mom would be relegated to the role of the Enforcer crew, while he was the captain of the ship. She could captain the ship on her own just fine. But if they needed her once she finished her mission, she would be there for them, since she’d already be in the country.
“Just let me know which flight you end up getting on.”
“I will. Thanks for the tip.”
They ended the call, and she phoned Howard’s number. “Hey, it’s me, Val.”
“You didn’t change your mind about swimming, did you?” Howard sounded as if he was going to be disappointed if she had.
She smiled. “No, you can come down and get me. I’m joining my parents in Belize to help out with their case. You and Jillian can tell your boss, and he can assign you a new case to work on.”
“Belize. What happened to catching up to Benny? The guy needs to be taken down at once.”
She didn’t want to tell Howard the real reason she was going to Belize. What if Howard didn’t believe she would have her parents’ protection while she worked her case? Especially since they were already on a case. What if he thought he had to follow her down there?
“I’m sure we’ll get another lead soon, and then I’ll jump on it.”
“When are you going?”
“Five thirty tomorrow evening. The earlier flight is booked.”
“Okay, see you in a few minutes.” He ended the call.
She frowned at the phone, surprised he’d end the call so abruptly. She suspected he was going to call her boss to try to learn if she had a new lead. Or confirm she didn’t have an earlier flight. Didn’t he trust her? She smiled.
She tied back her hair in a ponytail and glanced at her matching purple bra and panties that had no seams so they looked enough like a bathing suit. She should have thought to bring one on the trip. Though she hadn’t believed she’d be swimming with a sexy jaguar in a hotel swimming pool.
Before long, Howard was at her door, but before he could knock, she was opening it, courtesy of her jaguar hearing. He dropped his hand and looked her over, frowning. “I thought you didn’t have a swimsuit.”
“I don’t.” She headed for the stairs; she always used them to stay in shape.
“You could have fooled me. Nice…underwear,” he said.
She smiled as she headed down the stairs. They often stripped naked in front of other jaguars before they shifted, so she wasn’t embarrassed to be wearing underwear that looked like a bathing suit in front of the very interested male jaguar. Glancing back at his trunks, she said, “Like your suit.”
“I always take it on trips, just in case I can get in some swim time.”
“I thought I was going to be busy doing surveillance so late every night that the pool would be closed before I was through for the evening.”
“I’m glad to be able to do this tonight.”
“What about your partner?”
“Jillian is texting her mate and told me to have fun.”
“She must really miss him.”
“She does, but she’s fully dedicated to the job. She just figures only one of us needs to be down here safeguarding you.”
Like Val really needed them to watch her back, but she didn’t make any comment.
When they reached the floor where the pool and bar were, they went inside. They had an hour before closing, and no one was in the pool area. Thankfully. Val really didn’t feel like swimming with noisy kids or trying to swim in a pool crowded with adults.
She grabbed a towel from a stand and put her key card and cell phone on a table. Howard did the same. Then she moved to the pool and sat on the edge. Howard dove into the deep end as if he couldn’t wait to go swimming. For a moment, she observed him creating small waves in the water, his muscles rippling with his powerful strokes. God, he was magnificent. She slipped into the pool and began swimming laps like he was doing, until she noticed he’d paused to take a break at the deep end of the pool, treading water, watching her.
She should have continued to swim and not looked to see what he was doing, but she couldn’t help herself. Howard did intrigue her. Now she was treading water, not drawing closer to him. He suddenly pushed off the wall and dove under the water, heading straight for her. She could see his muscular form growing closer and closer under the water. She wanted to stay, she wanted to flee: both natural instincts for a jaguar being hunted.
She was going to hold her spot, come what may. She wasn’t going to swim away. She wasn’t. But the thrill of the chase was in her blood, and she suddenly dove under and away from him, turning in a wide circle to reach the deeper end. The chase was on. He was a powerful swimmer and quickly touched her foot. She swam faster. But she couldn’t keep out of his longer reach, and he soon caught her foot, pulled her close, and they both came up for air. He was testing her to see if she would kick at him to release her or allow the intimacy.
Then he was holding her close in the pool, treading water to stay afloat with her hanging onto his hips in a light embrace as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He wasn’t smiling. She was. He was turned on, his eyes lust-filled, his gaze on hers but slowly drifting to her mouth. It couldn’t be helped when he was swimming in the water, chasing after a she-cat, and she had allowed herself to be caught.
“Now what?” she asked, wondering just where the hunky cat was going to take this.
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since you got the better of me in training.” And then he lowered his head and she lifted hers and they kissed.
She was so glad no one was here as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave in to the hotness of the kiss, their tongues caressing, his hands sliding down to her bottom and pulling her snug against him. She instantly felt his full-blown erection. Ohmigod, he was such a jaguar. She almost regretted she had every intention of leaving him behind and going after Benny on her own. Then again, her mission was her mission, and she was certain she could take him down without any problems. Having the male jaguar and female wolf trailing her? That would only hamper her.
For now, she gave in to the kiss, licking Howard’s wet mouth, nibbling on his wet neck, loving this unexpected bit of bliss. But then she heard the telltale sounds of kids’ noisy chatter and adults telling them not to run. Her time with Howard was abruptly at an end. Or at least she thought so. He was either too wrapped up in his lust-filled thoughts, or he was just ignoring the inevitable.
So she continued to kiss him as if there was no tomorrow, which there wouldn’t be. Not like this.
And then three boys flew into the pool room, a woman yelling at them, “Walk, don’t run!”
Howard nuzzled Val’s cheek, making a disgruntled sound. She imagined he’d need a towel to cover up, if what she was feeling against her lower belly was any indication.
“Guess it’s time to head on up to bed.” She almost regretted having to say that, but the kids hit the pool and were wild and excited, splashing about—which she would have done as a child—but as far as she was concerned, this was late enough to be adult time only. The kids should have been in bed hours ago.
“Yeah.” Howard’s voice was husky, raw with passion, his eyes hot with hunger.
She smiled and pulled away from him. “Come on, hot stuff. Time to go.”
It was time to end the brief fascination she had with the god of thunder. But man, did he have some moves.
She climbed out of the pool at the deep end, and Howard followed her. She shouldn’t have looked, but she had to. Yep, he was hotly built, muscles and all the rest, his swim trunks plastered to his arousal.
They grabbed their towels from the table where they’d left them and started drying off. Wrapped in their towels, they picked up their keys and phones and hurried out of the pool area, racing to her room to avoid the hallway’s chill.
As soon as she was at her room, she unlocked the door and turned for a brief good night. As cats, they could have sex at any time and it didn’t mean they were mated, but she really didn’t want to do that with him and then leave, which was what she was getting ready to do.
“Night, Thor. That was some swim.”
He gave her a wicked smile. “Hell, anytime.”
She hadn’t planned to kiss him again, but slipping into her room like a scared rabbit just wasn’t her. She kissed him briefly. “Pleasant dreams.” Then she slipped into her room.
“Yeah, you too.” His voice was still rough and deep.
She closed her door and leaned against it. Wow. Why did he have to leave the Enforcer branch?
She quickly removed her underwear and took a shower. After drying her hair, she got dressed, throwing her wet underwear into a plastic dry-cleaner bag, and then sat down on the bed, intending to leave the hotel and stay at another as soon as she thought Jillian and Howard might be asleep. Then she got a call from her mother. It was ten o’clock. Why in the world was she calling at this hour? “Mom, is anything wrong?”
“Howard called and said you were coming to help with our case. We’re so glad, dear.”
Val would kill Howard. “I’ll check in with you when I get down there. I have some business to take care of too, so I don’t know how much time I’ll be able to spend on your case.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” There was a significant pause. “I asked if you’d taken Benny down since the last time we talked. He said no.”
“No new leads as of yet.”
“When will you be getting in?”
“Not sure. I’ll let you know when I arrive at the airport in Belize. How’s your case going?” Val was certain if she told her mom she was looking for Benny in Belize, her mom would call Howard right back.
“We’re staking out a house right now where Eric Erickson usually stays when he’s in country, according to one of our sources. The deed is in his name, but he’s not often here. He’s been selling purple heroin, but we haven’t spied him, or anyone else, there. We’re sure that when we take him down, others will take his place. But with any luck, they won’t be our kind.”
“I hope not. You don’t have any leads on where he might be?”
“No. The man that informed on him said for certain Eric comes here about this time of year.”
“I trust you’ll be able to eliminate him soon.” She wished they could deal with this on their own without getting hurt. Every time they went on one of these kinds of missions, she worried about them.
“You said you were coming to help.” Her mom paused for a moment, and in that pause, Val knew her mother suspected what she was up to. “Benny’s headed down this way, isn’t he? That’s why Howard called, isn’t it? To ensure you really were coming down here to help us with our case. You wouldn’t be coming down here to help us—or take care of other business, as you put it—if he was still at large. You would be following him to where he was headed next.”
“I will help you with your case. I’ll be in the country. And if I eliminate Benny before then, I’ll be free to just work with you.”
“All right. Let us know when you get in.”
“Will do. Be safe. Night.” Val ended the call, knowing her mom would call Howard back and tell him where she was going and to continue to watch her back. Val had called the airport to get on the 5:30 flight but would go to the airport and try to get on standby for the earlier one.
She paced across her hotel room, waiting until she thought Howard and Jillian might be asleep. She also figured the two of them might be taking turns watching her car to see if she tried to slip away in the middle of the night. Which was why she had pretended her car was in the parking lot down the street from the club. She’d looked for a car that was the same size and color as hers and that had only had human scents on it. She hadn’t wanted to borrow a car that had any shifter scents on it. Not when shifters could possibly track her down by scent later. While Howard and Jillian had watched her, she’d found one that was unlocked and hot-wired it. Then when they had reached this hotel, she had parked it at the side entrance so she could slip out through the front entrance without Howard or Jillian seeing her if they were observing the car.
She packed her bag and checked out of the hotel, then called a taxi. When the taxi arrived, she had the driver take her to a parking area near the club where her car really was, paid him, threw her bags into the trunk of her car, and drove to a new hotel near the airport.
She worked alone. Had for two years now. And she wasn’t going to lose the perp again.
In her new room, she removed her clothes and tossed them on a chair. Then she pulled out her wet underwear so it could drip-dry in the shower. After pulling the floral bedcover aside on the bed, she climbed under the sheet. She wondered how long it would take Howard and Jillian to discover she was no longer at the hotel and that the car wasn’t hers. Would they return home for another mission or search for her?
She let out her breath. She needed to get this done before the creep turned another woman and decided she didn’t suit him either. And she hoped Howard and his partner didn’t waste her time and theirs searching for her. But she suspected they’d end up at the airport when she did.
She got a call from her boss and answered it, wondering what was wrong now.
“I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Rowdy Sanderson, a Bigfork, Montana, homicide detective, has been questioning our people at the crime scene in San Antonio where Benny’s wife was murdered. When our agents asked what he was doing there, he said he’d gotten a call from her, saying she was afraid her husband was going to kill her. But she told him that whatever Sanderson did, he wasn’t to call the local police. So he didn’t. When asked how he knew her, he said they were friends back in Bigfork.
“Hopefully, he won’t learn where Benny’s gone and follow him to Belize. If you hadn’t heard, Rowdy’s the human who knows about wolf shifters. He doesn’t know about us jaguars, and I want to keep it that way. No matter what, don’t turn him. Try not to kill him.” Sylvan sent her a couple of pictures of the detective. Rowdy’s hair was military short, dark brown, and he had blue eyes in the head shot, a professional photo. In the other photo, he was wearing a white parka in a wintry snow-filled scene at a frozen lake, giving an interview, the headlights of a car poking out of the ice.
As if her situation wasn’t complicated enough.
* * *
Howard had the last shift to watch Val’s car that morning and hadn’t seen any sign of her, but he suspected she wasn’t sleeping in. After her mother called him and let him in on the news—that Val had a tip Benny was taking a flight out to Belize—Howard and Jillian had set plans in motion. He’d known not to trust Val.
Jillian knocked on the connecting door to their rooms.
“Come in.”
“No sign of her?” Jillian asked. Her hair was tied neatly back, and she was wearing jeans, a floral shirt, and boots.
“Nope. Want to check on her to see if she wants to have breakfast with us?”
“What if she leaves while we’re walking down to her room?”
“Yeah, that’s a distinct possibility. You stay here to watch her car, and I’ll go to her room,” Howard said. “Call me if you see her headed for her car. If she agrees to have breakfast with us, I’ll let you know and you can meet us at the restaurant.”
“All right. We’re still going ahead with the plan, right?”
“Absolutely. We’ll both get in line for the first seats available on standby for 12:30. If she gets on and I can’t, then you stick to her, and I’ll follow you on the 5:30 flight.”
“If she doesn’t make it on the earlier flight, she’ll be stuck flying with you.” Jillian smiled. “She’s good at playing cat-and-mouse games.”
“Tell me about it. Call you in a few.” Howard jogged down the stairs, reached Val’s floor, and soon knocked at her door. No one answered. He called her phone, but she didn’t answer. He didn’t have a good feeling about this.
He called Jillian and headed down to the lobby. “She’s not answering the door or her phone.”
“Her car’s still here.”
“I’m going to the lobby to make sure she didn’t check out.” When he reached the lobby, he told the clerk, “I’m looking for my friend, Valerie Chambers. She said she was leaving early, but she left her phone with me by accident. I checked her room, but she isn’t answering, and I can’t call her because I’ve got her phone.” He waved his phone at the clerk a little to emphasize his point. “Has she checked out already?”
“Let me see. Uh, yes, several hours ago.”
Howard couldn’t believe it. “Okay, no problem. I’ll catch up to her at the airport. No one can live without their phone for long, you know. She’s probably already missing it and wonders where she left it.”
The clerk laughed.
Calling Jillian, Howard left the lobby and headed outside. “She checked out hours ago.”
“You’re kidding. But her car’s still here.”
“Yeah, I’ll have the license plate run, just to verify the vehicle is hers. If it is, she must have taken a taxi to some other place. My guess is she went to a hotel near the airport for the rest of the night.”
“She wouldn’t want to abandon her car here for however long it would take to go there and return. They could have towed it.”
“That’s what I’d figure. Get back with you in a few minutes.” Howard stalked out to the vehicle Val had driven last night and called in the license plate to one of the agency clerks who did investigations for them behind the desk. “I need to know who the vehicle belongs to.”
After a lengthy pause, the clerk at headquarters got back with him. “The car belongs to Whitney Bishop.”
“Whitney Bishop? Thanks. Can you report to the police that it was left at the Kingston Hotel in San Antonio?” Howard smelled around the car. Except for Val’s jaguar scent, all he smelled were human scents.
“Will do.”
Howard thanked him, ended the call, and phoned Jillian. He headed back into the hotel. “She stole the car. It belongs to a human.”
“She’s a bit of a rogue.”
“Yeah and smart too. I wouldn’t have guessed she’d go to that much trouble to leave without alerting us.” He headed inside the lobby and entered the stairwell. He could take the elevator, but he liked to run up the stairs for endurance training whenever he had the opportunity, and it wasn’t as though they were in a rush to go anywhere now.
“Do we search for her?”
“Nah. We might as well get breakfast and then leave for the airport. At least we packed summer clothes for the San Antonio heat, which will work well for hot Belize this time of year.”
“I’ve never been there. I was Googling it, and they still have jaguars that roam freely in the rain forest. No wolves though.”
“Yeah. In some of the states, you’re in your element. The jungle is the big cats’ playground.” He opened the door to his hotel room. “I’m back.”
Jillian tucked her phone away. “Do you ever feel the urge to live there?”
“No. Visits are fun, but we have enough roaming-around land where I live. What about you?” He grabbed his bag and Jillian took hold of hers, and they left the room. “Do you ever feel the urge to live somewhere that wolves live wild so you’d blend in more?”
“No. Though some wolf packs chose their locations for that purpose, to run as wolves where humans wouldn’t be shocked to see them. Like you, I don’t mind visiting places like that, but it’s the local wolves’ territory. If we moved to a place like that, they’d smell we were wolves and want to protect their territory. There’s only so much food to go around for a pack.”
“That’s so true. Did you tell Vaughn you’re going to Belize without him?” Howard escorted her to the western-themed restaurant and took a booth near a window overlooking the parking lot. The restaurant was nearly empty. He hoped it was because everyone was taking off for other destinations or still sleeping—not that the food was bad.
“Yeah. He wished he could go too and we could go snorkeling and do other fun things while there. He was glad to learn Val’s Enforcer parents are down there to help out if this gets complicated.”
The server brought them menus and coffee. “I’m Sue, your server. I’ll let you have a moment to look over your menus.”
“Thanks,” Howard said.
Sue headed for a table across the room.
Jillian glanced at the breakfast menu and set it aside.
Howard was still reading his. “I’m afraid Val’s parents are busy with their own case. I hope they get it resolved soon, but they’re just staking out the drug dealer’s house for now.” He set his menu on the table. “I didn’t think I’d ever be working with a partner, let alone that you and your mate would be wolves.”
Jillian smiled. “I never thought I’d be working with big cats either. About last night—”
Hell, he hadn’t minded that Val had seen and felt the way she’d aroused him, since she’d seemed intrigued, but he really hadn’t wanted his female USF partner to see it. He’d tried to duck into his room and take a cold shower, but Jillian was his partner and she had wanted to know if he’d made any headway with Valerie. Which, knowing she’d left them last night, meant he hadn’t.
He raised a brow at Jillian.
She just smiled and looked outside. Jillian had gotten the biggest kick out of how much Val had heated him up last night and had told him he was doing a great job. Not that anything he’d done with Val had been part of the job. That had been a hell of a lot more personal.
A few minutes later, Sue came to take their orders, but then paused. This time, she was close enough that Howard smelled she was a jaguar and she smiled at him, but she looked puzzled about Jillian.
“We’re agents with the USF, United Shifter Force,” Howard said.
“Oh. I’ve never heard of that organization. I’ve never met a wolf shifter before either. Do you need a minute to look at the menu further?” Sue asked them.
“No, thanks. I’ll have eggs over easy and sausage links,” Jillian said. “And we’ll both have a glass of water too.”
“I’ll have the steak and eggs, medium rare on the steak,” Howard said.
“I’ll have these right out for you.”
Before long, Sue brought out their meals while Jillian was texting her mate. They were so newly mated that Howard had been surprised she wanted to go with him on this mission. But she’d vowed to watch his back. Vaughn and jaguar mates Everett and Demetria were watching one another’s backs.
When Sue left, Howard said to Jillian, “Okay, here’s what we know. Lucy Harding was married to Benny Canton. She was a jaguar shifter when she was murdered. We assumed she’d been one all along, but Val spoke to her family and friends and they’re all human.”
“We know for certain Benny murdered her?” Jillian asked.
“Yes. As a jaguar. Saliva proved it. We’ll take him down, one way or another.” Howard was certain of that.
They finished their meal, and when they left the hotel, they saw the police and a man standing next to the car Val had stolen, talking to each other.
“I hope Val called it in and not just us,” Jillian said.
Howard drove his truck to the airport, hoping they’d beat Val there. “I plan to mention it to her when we catch up to her again. We are supposed to be the good guys.”