The Scent of Seduction (16 page)

Nicole laughed and for the first time in days a lighter emotion filled her heart. “You forget that I was a teacher. I know all the tricks kids pull to get out of an assignment. Don't you worry about me."

"We'll have to contact them to make sure they're home. I won't leave the house without express knowledge that we have a secured location waiting for us. Also we'll take the back way through the pack lands. The main roads may not be safe."

"I leave myself in your capable hands. So now that we have that out of the way, I'd like to revisit our discussion that was so rudely interrupted the other day. Are you seeing anyone?"

Cooper rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I don't believe that was part of our discussion."

"Oh, come on. I'm going stir crazy here. I need some gossip to keep my head from rotating on the axis of my neck."

"No, what you need is a target to focus all that restless energy on, and I have just the thing. Follow me.” Cooper got up from the table and walked into Jaryn's home office. He sat at Jaryn's desk and powered up the E-sphere.

Nicole sat in the chair beside Cooper. It was a little weird to see Cooper sitting at Jaryn's desk, but obviously whatever task he had in mind required the use of her mate's computer. Nicole eyed the wall and watched as Cooper opened the word processing document she'd written, listing all the inhabitants of Adam's compound that she could remember.

"We're going to go through this list and examine who we think are the most likely suspects for our watchers."

"What good is that going to do?"

"If I know who I'm fighting then I can get the information I need to know how to fight them."

"All right, let me think."

Nicole closed her eyes for a moment. She let her mind drift back to Wisconsin. It would most likely be one of the inhabitants that volunteered to be a part of Adam's pack, or one of the security detail. It simply didn't make sense that Adam would send shifters that were prisoners? That certainly narrowed the list down as there were only a handful of individuals in Adam's intimate circle. There was Greg, but he was a huge bear shifter. Not exactly built for blending in and shadowy observations. There was Frank, a lynx. He was most definitely capable of silently stalking his prey. But Frank was as cold as they came. He'd given Nicole the creeps from the moment they met, and the voices they'd overheard sounded more innocent and inquisitive than sinister. But in reality it could be anyone. Adam had those people so completely under his control that there was no telling who he would have sent. She wouldn't put it past him to threaten one of the prisoner's loved ones if they didn't come to Stonepass and report Nicole's every move. Adam was a master manipulator. He could give the world's scariest interrogators a run for their money.

"Coop, there're so many possibilities. It could be any of them. Hell, it could be someone that I don't even know exists. I had more freedom than most, but I didn't have access to all parts of the compound."

"Okay, then tell me about all of them."

She stared at him, as it was evident that she was now dealing with Sheriff or possibly even Lieutenant Tessen. There was little of the smiling jokester who'd made her laugh a couple of days ago present stern man beside her. Nicole examined the list, trying to decide where to start.

Suddenly there was a loud crash from the living room. Cooper was up from the chair and out the door before Nicole could process his hurried order to hide somewhere safe. She looked around the office. Under the desk would be too obvious. The closet wasn't an option because it was full of shelving. She looked to full curtains draping on either side of the wide window, but she'd seen enough horror movies to know that intruders always looked there. There was really only one option.

Nicole pushed open the window and climbed out. Too bad she wasn't trapped on the other side of the house. She could've sneaked out one of the French doors leading to the stone patio. Instead she had to pretend she was a teenager trying to sneak out of the house in the dead of night once again. Nicole managed to slip through the window quietly with ease.

Guess I'm not as rusty as I thought.

She got down on all fours in the snow covered field. Her jeans were quickly soaked and her hands became numb, but a little discomfort was worth her life. Worse, though, was the wind. Her face felt as though each blast stripped layers of her skin away, and her hair whipped around her head to the point where it was actually difficult to see. She was very grateful in this moment that Jaryn kept the land around his home mostly in its natural state. The meadow had plenty of shrubs and rocky outcroppings for her to hide behind. She was making her way over towards the car when the front door opened and Cooper ran out, calling her name.

"Cooper!” She scrambled up to her feet and ran towards her designated protector. She threw herself at him and was very thankful when his warm strong arms encircled her.

He ushered her inside and shut the front door. “Are you insane? There's a storm blowing in! I told you to hide, not commit suicide."

Nicole went over to the fireplace and knelt in front of the flames, holding the red skin of her hands out. Tiny pins poked beneath the surface as they thawed. “There wasn't anywhere in the office to hide. Not anywhere that wasn't obvious anyway. I was making my way to the car. It's not like I was stupid enough to take off without proper gear. And what the hell happened out here?"

"That was me, Nicole."

She spun around and found Jeff leaning against the door to the office. “What are you doing here?"

Jeff stared straight at Nicole. “I came to tell Cooper that I think I might have your watchers in custody."

"How did you get in the house? The system wouldn't have unlocked the doors for you automatically."

"The door wasn't locked. I knocked but I guess the two of you were busy with something else.” He arched his eyebrow and looked back and forth between Cooper and Nicole.

Nicole stood then strode over to push Jeff back into the wall. His eyes widened a little at the strength behind the shove. “How dare you imply anything inappropriate between Cooper and me! I love my mate, and Cooper would never be so disrespectful towards his Alpha—something I obviously can't say about you. Now inform Cooper of what you supposedly came to tell him and get out of my home."

Nicole turned her back on Jeff and crossed the living room to hers and Jaryn's bedroom. She slammed the door shut and paced around the room. Something about Jeff didn't sit right. Aside from his gross insubordination not only towards Jaryn, his Alpha, but Cooper, his superior officer. Something about the man's eyes raised Nicole's hackles.

She stripped her clothes and donned dry ones. Part of her wanted to hide in the bedroom all day—curled up in front of a fire in the stone fireplace just like the one on the other side of the wall in the living room. The other part of her wanted to storm back out there and confront Jeff by demanding answers to her questions.

Nicole had turned to make another circuit around the room when there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Nicole? It's Cooper. He's gone."

She walked over the door and slowly opened it. When she saw that it was in fact her protector, she let the door swing open. “Is it over? Does he really have the watchers in custody?"

Cooper leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms. He frowned and Nicole wasn't assured by the pensive look in his eyes.

"He says he has two men in lockup. When I asked him on what charges, he told me he arrested them based on outstanding warrants."

"That makes no sense. I can with almost complete certainty guarantee then that they aren't Adam's goons. Adam would have had his tech wizard Jasper wipe out any hint of criminal record for the people who are there willingly, and for those who aren't...well, of those I actually met, they just aren't those kind of men and women."

"You'd be surprised who can have a warrant out for their arrest. If any of them had outstanding speeding tickets, before their kidnapping for instance. A fairly minimal charge, but if the fine wasn't paid or the person didn't appear in court then a warrant is automatically issued. Unpaid parking tickets will get you a warrant. It's not only hardened criminals the police are looking for."

"Well, damn. So what you're saying is, the men Jeff took may or may not have anything to do with Adam or our watchers."

"Pretty much.” Cooper unfolded his arms then rested a hand on Nicole's shoulder. “Sorry. Look, why don't I give the Chaunterels a call. I think we need a break from all this. You can go over for a nice visit and relax for a few hours, and I can touch base with Jaryn and the task force."

Nicole nodded and smiled up at Cooper. “Thanks."

"Nic, you came!"

Nicole hugged Charlie for a second. “I told you I would. Now where is this project of yours?"

"Um, well...you see the thing is...I haven't exactly started it yet. I was kinda hoping you could—"

Nicole held up her hand. “Wait a minute, buster. I told you I would help you iron out the details, not do the project with you."

"Well, the details include how to get started.” Charlie got down on his knees in front of Nicole. “Please,” he begged.

Nicole chuckled and shook her head. “I bet your brother would love to see you at this moment."

Charlie blanched and spied Nicole's comm-unit attached to her wrist. He scrambled to his feet. “You...you're not recording this are you? Oh shi...shoot, are you going to tell him?"

Nicole put her arm around Charlie. “Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. You know Jaryn loves you, right? He likes to give you trouble, but he'd do absolutely anything for you."

Charlie ducked his head. “Yeah, I know. It's why I tease him so much. I know that underneath all that Alpha-ness is simply my brother. He's always there when I need him."

"Well, that's all very true, but now you have me, too. I have an older brother, but I've never had a younger one. Think it'd be okay if I consider you my brother from now on?"

Charlie's smile lit up the room and he hugged Nicole tight. “I'd like that. And eventually you and Jaryn will have an actual wedding, so I really will be your brother. In-law, anyway. By the way, does being your brother mean I get automatic A's once you start teaching again?"

Nicole hadn't given any thought to a wedding. After her and Jaryn's mating, she figured that was that. But the little girl inside her jumped up and down a little bit at the thought of walking down an aisle in a gorgeous gown to meet Jaryn all decked out in a tux and saying a set of vows in front of all her family and the pack members. Maybe they could do it in the lodge on the night of the Wolf moon in January. That would be rather apropos. Of course that was only two months away. Not a long time to plan, but then she'd never really been one for the elaborate. She'd love to show off her new home to her parents and Cameron. She locked those thoughts away for the moment, because they'd have to wait until after Adam was dealt with once and for all.

"Okay, what's your idea for this project? Then we can work on an outline of the experiment and write up your hypothesis. We'll have to get the materials and designate an area for your work. Remember to write everything down. Observations are just as important as raw data. By the way, when is this due?"

"Um, three weeks. I found this cool idea on the network about studying how the rate of evaporation affects the final size of crystals."

"Nice. Three weeks isn't a lot, but it is do-able. What medium are you going to use, or are you thinking of mixing up a couple of different samples?"

"They suggested using sugar, salt, or alum. If I mix it up, won't that introduce too many variables?"

"Not necessarily. You could use all three mediums, use three different methods of evaporation, and as an added bonus make predictions about the shapes of crystals before you grow them, based on their molecular structures and molecular geometry."

"That sounds cool, but where would I find that kind of information?"

"I can point you in the right direction, but the work has to be all your own."

"Thanks, Nic, I appreciate it. Oh, I was going to ask you are you going to lodge for the pack run tomorrow? I know Jaryn's gone and all, but you're still welcome. I could show you the best places to stretch your legs. Jaryn showed me on my first shift."

"That's very sweet, Charlie, but I don't shift, remember? Plus I don't know if my keeper will let me out to play."

"I heard that!” Cooper shouted from the kitchen.

"Damn wolves and their super ears,” Nicole mumbled.

"Heard that, too!"

Nicole felt her face flush with embarrassment. Charlie started laughing when she childishly stuck her tongue out at the doorway leading to the kitchen. Unless the big bad wolf had eyes in the back of his head, Nicole figured he wouldn't catch that little dig. Charlie took Nicole's hand in his and pulled her towards the stairs.

"Come on, we'll go have some fun and let the old farts sip their tea and complain how the cold outside makes their bones ache."

"You'd better watch your smart mouth, or I'll give you some aching bones. Big brother's not around to protect you now, kid."

Nicole stopped and turned, expecting to see Cooper at the base of the stairs. Charlie had only been teasing—there was no reason to be confrontational. But there was no sign of him.

Charlie pulled harder on Nicole's hand. “Oh don't worry about him. Cooper's all growl and no bite. He's been throwing out empty threats since I was a pup."

Nicole followed Charlie up the stairs, still trying to figure out exactly what just happened.

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Jaryn stood against a tree deep in the forest outside the perimeter of Broyles’ compound. He looked up to the nearly full moon filling the sky. Tomorrow was the zenith, and assuming they didn't end up in a complete goat fuck, he'd be home to run under her beauty with his pack, then go home and make love to his mate till they collapsed in exhaustion. Leaving their bed yesterday while Nicole slept had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He'd come to crave the warmth of her small body snuggled up against him in the early dawn hours. Sometimes he watched as the sunlight brought the flames of her hair to life, her delicate morning scent wrapping around them just as the twisted blankets of their bed cocooned their bodies.