Call of the Cougar (Heart of the Cougar Book 2) (7 page)

"But me first," Stryker said.

Dan just laughed.

The party was over, the earliest any of them had ever closed it down. Hal swore that it wasn't because they were getting to be old men.

Chapter 3

Dealing with her first partner's death a few months ago had been awful, but Tracey had felt better working through it. Now with her second partner in the hospital, she didn't want to sit around taking a break when she could be trying to track down the men who could have killed her and her partner.

This afternoon when she'd checked on Anton, he was sitting up, looking much better, not as pale, and he was talking again. His ex-wife, Shirley, truly seemed to want to work things out between them, whether he continued to serve on this job or ended up in another. Tracey thought his wife's change of heart was another reason that Anton was looking so much better. She liked the wife and their adorable daughter, so she hoped it would work out between them. Which meant it was time for Tracey to get on her way.

It would still be early when she left for Yuma Town. The ghost town of Anderson was right on her way. She had the greatest urge to stop there and walk through the town—to try to understand why the traffickers had been there twice and had shootouts with her both times. She knew she couldn't ditch her police escort without getting into hot water with her boss though.

Before she left the hospital, she said to the patrolman who would follow her to Yuma Town, "I want to stop off at Anderson to just—walk through it."

His dark eyes narrowed a little, Patrolman Howard Holland said, "You know your boss will want me to report this."

"Haven't you ever been in a situation before where you had to return to the scene of the crime to try and figure out the significance of it?"

"Yeah, I have, actually." Howard looked around as if the waiting room walls had ears. "Okay, look. You know what your boss said. Sorry about that. I'd feel the same if I was in your shoes, but my boss is in agreement with your boss. It's time for you to go on vacation. I'm escorting you to Yuma Town and after that?" He shrugged. "It's up to you as to what you want to do."

"Just for a few minutes? It's miles from Yuma Town, but we'll pass up the wagon trail along the way there."

"Sorry, no can do. Orders were specific. You need to step away from the case. I've been there, done that," Howard said. "Actually, I was the one who got shot on a case similar to this, different perps, but I was raring to take down the bastard who'd nearly killed me. I needed the time to recover, both physically and emotionally. You lost your other partner. And now this. You need the break."

She thought he was saying one thing, but meaning something else. That he was watching what he said because the police who were providing security for her partner might be listening in on their conversation, and he didn't want to get into trouble with his own boss.

"Okay, so if I just happen to take a little detour—"

She thought he was fighting a smile a little as he shook his head. "Come on. Let's drop by your hotel and grab your bags."

She wasn't sure if he would stop her or not. But she was going to give it a try. After saying goodbye to Anton and his ex-wife in his hospital room, Tracey returned to her hotel and picked up her bags, then headed out to Yuma Town.

When she was close to the old wagon trail that turned off to Anderson, she flashed her left turn signal. She thought if Howard was opposed to her going to Anderson, he would flash his police lights to let her know that he wasn't going to allow it. And she really expected him to do so. To her surprise and delight, he followed her up the rutted, dusty trail. But then, she felt a sudden chill race down her spine—a fitful apprehension suddenly filling her. If she hadn't managed to get herself killed the last two times she was here, why not try it again? Yet part of her said that the men would not be here again. The odds were totally in her favor.

Like she thought was the case the last two times she came here.

Howard followed her to the spot where they had to park and then walk. When she got out, he was calling someone, and she assumed it was her boss or his. Maybe just letting everyone know they could be headed into danger.

"What do you think you'll find?" Howard asked, as he walked with her up the trail, side by side.

"Nothing really. But I just have to see the place. See if there's anything I missed the other two times. Others combed the place for clues, but they hadn't been here or seen what I saw when I was here before. Like, for instance, I hadn't thought of it at the time, but those men came out of a storeroom at the saloon. They had to have had another way in since they had only left recent footsteps from the storeroom to the bar. Not that it means anything. And I'm sure that investigators would have discovered this, but I just wanted to see it for myself."

"Sounds reasonable."

"So who did you call?"

"My boss. Who will inform your boss and—"

Tracey's phone buzzed in her pocket. She ignored it. At least it was on vibrate, and Howard didn't hear it. But when she didn't answer her phone, Howard got a call.

He answered it and glanced at her and smiled a little. He handed her his phone. "Your boss wants to talk to you."

She grimaced and took the phone. "Yes?"

"Don't you ignore my calls. I know your phone was vibrating in your pocket. What the hell are you doing going back to Anderson? The only way I want you up there is to go with a military escort."

"What would the odds be that I would run into these men yet again?" And if she did, she was killing them. Every last one of them.

"In your case—good."

She smiled a little at that, despite not wanting to agree that it was kind of true.

"You have one hour up there."

"But…"

"One hour, Special Agent Whittington."

He only used her title and last name when he was pulling the boss card on her.

"But—"

"Let me talk with the patrolman."

She sighed and handed the phone to him.

Howard smiled a little at her and stuck the phone in his pouch. Her mouth gaped for a second.

"What?" he asked, clearly not getting what surprised her.

"My boss wanted to talk to you. You just hung up on him."

Howard's phone rang and he chuckled, pulling out his phone again. "Yes, sir." He glanced at Tracey and nodded. "Yes, sir. One hour. Or you send in the troops. Got it."

When he ended the call, Tracey frowned at him. "We can't get anything done in one hour."

"I've heard you're a bit of a wild card. I've gone along this far, but this is it. One hour and we're back on the road headed for Yuma Town."

She nodded, grateful she was allowed this much time, truly. She hoped maybe her boss would be so busy, he'd forget the time. Knowing Mick, he'd set an alarm.

Maybe her police escort would forget the time. Even better? The patrolman wouldn't get reception in town so neither her boss, nor his, could remind him of the hour.

They finally reached the first building in the town. She was about ready to begin inspecting the buildings all over again when movement on the cliffs caught her eye. She turned and fully focused on the rocky boulders. A cougar was standing on a boulder up near one of the decrepit miner's shacks, his tan coloration nearly blending in with the rocks.

Howard glanced in the direction she was looking and pulled out his gun.

"No," she said, laying her hand over his gun, pointing it toward the dirt ground.

"That could be the cougar that killed one of the gunmen. The same man who stabbed you. You were just damn lucky the cougar didn't come after you too, once you were bleeding."

"The cougar saved my life."

"You were just lucky." Despite his objection, Howard holstered his gun.

Was the big cat a shifter? Or a real cougar?

Howard was right if it was a cougar; he could be dangerous.

The cat sat down on the boulder and observed her. She was certain he was a shifter. An all cougar would most likely leave. If it was one of the shifters, was he looking for more clues like she was? She hoped so.

After not finding anything new at any of the closer buildings, she headed for the saloon and saw that the storage room did have a door that led to it from the outside.

She examined it. "No fingerprints. Nothing," she said, more to herself than to Howard.

She noted Howard glancing at his watch when she headed for one of the churches. No access anywhere there. She moved to one of the gambling halls and again found no entrance that she could see.

Twice more, she saw Howard look at his watch. But she was working really hard to locate any evidence they had missed the first time around. She knew it was getting later because the sun was beginning to sink in the sky. And the longer they were there, the more often Howard checked his watch.

Then they heard two men coming into town, and both she and Howard ducked for cover behind one of the gambling halls.

"Special Agent Whittington? Patrolman Holland?" one of the men shouted.

"I know him," Howard said to her and shouted out to the newcomers, "Here! We're coming."

Relieved, she let out her breath.

Two male police officers joined them, the blond saying, "Hell, Holland, the boss was on our case, concerned you were in the middle of a firefight alongside the Special Agent, who has a reputation for being involved in shootouts."

Howard introduced them, and the darker haired man smiled at her. "I've heard you're kind of a maverick. But rough on partners."

She didn't want to tell him why her partners had such trouble—the one who had too much to drink, or the other who was distraught about his marital problems.

She glanced up at the rocks and saw a flash of the cougar's tail as he disappeared behind the boulders.

"Boss said you had an hour up here." The blond-haired Sanderson glanced at his watch as if emphasizing the time. "It's been four hours. If we don't get down that trail in twenty minutes and report back, a whole garrison of patrolmen are going to be here."

She thought the officer was exaggerating, but then again, maybe not.

Four hours. And in all that time, when she'd chanced to observe the cliffs, the cougar had moved around, but he hadn't left. She wondered then if it had been Hal Haverton and he had decided to hang around to give her added protection.

She was dying to know. Cat's curiosity. She couldn't do anything about it while she'd been with the patrolman though.

When they got to their vehicles, she gave her boss a call.

"Well, did you find anything?"

"Some peace of mind," she said. The other lawmen were watching her, and she suspected they understood. Only she hadn't really found anything to give her any peace of mind. She needed to bring the men to justice for that to happen.

"You left me no choice but to send some other officers to check on you."

"I understand. I'm on my way to Yuma Town now."

"We'll catch these guys. You don't need to be the only one doing the job."

"Right."

"Stay there at the resort and behave yourself."

"Yes, sir."

Then they ended the call and she smiled at the officers who were probably wondering if her boss had chewed her out.

"Thanks, for coming to check on us," she said to the men.

"We'll all follow you to your destination," Sanderson said.

Not that she was making any other detours.

When she arrived at the rustic resort, she thanked the officers and then they were on their way. She didn't expect the owner and his wife—Chase and Shannon Buchanan—to both greet her.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?" She didn't want either his wife or him to be hurt if she ended up being a potential target.

"Yeah, we're here to watch your back. Or…I am," Chase said, rubbing his wife's back.

And she realized immediately that they were cougars.

Very pregnant, Shannon was a dark-haired beauty, and looked like she was due any day now. All smiles, she was eager to meet Tracey and shook her hand. "Come inside and have some cake and milk or tea—before you settle into your own cabin."

"It's so late now. I'll just unpack what I need tonight and—"

"No, no. You have to have some cake. I can't sleep. I know I need to, but the babies are keeping me awake. I'm so thrilled to see another one of our kind visit, well, be our guest. Everyone else staying here is human. So anytime you want to drop in and talk, just do," Shannon said as she joined them inside.

Shifters were used to being able to keep secrets and since Tracey was off the clock—on administrative leave—and wasn't undercover at the moment, she wasn't about to keep her job a secret. Not when it was important for her to ensure the Buchanans knew the kind of trouble she might be in or cause if she remained here.

"Okay, you know I'm a Special Agent with the Fish and Wildlife Service and we were investigating the town of Anderson when my partner and I came under fire a few days ago, and that I'm, well… on—"

"Administrative leave," Chase said. His hair a light brown, he had penetrating dark eyes, and a nice smile.

But she sensed his concern also and she knew if she had trouble he would be there in a heartbeat to help her out if she needed him to.

"My…boss must have told you when he gave up his reservations so I could stay here." She guessed, anyway. She was glad Mick had told the couple what they could be getting into.

Shannon smiled brightly. "Personally, I hadn't had real good luck with police officers until I hooked up with Deputy Sheriff Chase Buchanan. Well, after he shot me with a tranquilizer dart, and we had a few more ordeals to get through—I knew then some law enforcement officers were all right."

Tracey snapped her mouth closed, glanced at Chase, and then found her tongue. "You tranquilized your wife?"

Chase smiled a little. "Yeah. Long story. Certainly a different way to meet."

Dying to hear what had happened, Tracey smiled. "Okay, so how long have you known my boss?"

"I was Special Forces buddies with Mick. We didn't know each other before the service, but when he ran into me during a mission, and realized I was just like him, we buddied up. So yeah, he asked me to watch your back. He admires you greatly and doesn't want anything bad to happen to you." Then Chase lifted the glass dome sitting over a double chocolate cake on a platter, set it aside, and began slicing pieces for everyone.