Call of the Wilds (19 page)

Incoherent animalistic sounds came out of him while he pounded into her. He ground against her, and she exploded with great clenching spasms that gripped his cock like a fist. In an instant, his hot seed spilled into her, and he let out a harsh growl as his release crested. She collapsed against him, and he whispered little endearments in her ear.

I love you.
It echoed in her head, but she didn’t give voice to the words. She bit back her disappointment when he didn’t say them either.

He held her face in her hands and kissed her wet and deep. His kiss said more than words. It would have to be enough for now. He cared. Some men had trouble voicing it. They just needed more time together. She held on to the kiss like it was their last.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered into his mouth. She had a bad feeling about the trip into town. “I’m worried. What if you run into Jude?”

“Sweetheart, I really need to get this over with. If I see Jude, I’ll ignore him.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart. Besides, what can he pull while I’m in the sheriff’s office?”

“Just be careful. Come to my cabin later, and I’ll make you dinner.”

“Tofu?” He laughed.

 
“Steak, I plan to feed all your appetites.”

“How can I refuse an offer like that?”

Chapter Nineteen

The lockup was a cliché, a small town jail that looked like it belonged on a movie set. Even the nickname sounded like a hillbilly joke, but Frank took his job seriously. The people elected him, and he did his best to serve them. When he needed more deputies, he appointed them or borrowed from surrounding counties. In Black Wolf, he was the law, and he performed the sacred duty of protecting the citizens to the best of his ability. The people were afraid of predators, and he intended to clear their town of wolves and become the front-runner for mayor when the elections came up.

Part of his plan included making Karin his wife. The mayor should be a family man. She’d almost ruined everything with her betrayal. He’d make sure she behaved herself once they were married. One thing stood in his way. If word got out about Karin and her boyfriend, he’d look like a cuckolded fool.

It was way past time to get rid of Connor, and he had the perfect plan. He and Glenn would kill two birds with one stone—the wolf and Karin’s lover. With Connor out of the picture, he and Karin could get on with their lives. As his wife, she’d gain new status in town. He’d get her a nice house to take care of and fill her belly with his kids. She needed a passel of kids to take care of, not a bunch of damn wolves.

He’d given Trudy a day off. When he heard the door open, he went to greet his visitor.

“Have a seat.” He ushered Connor into his private office behind the reception area and shut the door.

“What’s this all about, sheriff?”

“It’s just a friendly conversation, off the record.” Frank took a bottle of scotch from a cabinet behind his desk and held it up. “How about a drink first?”

Malcolm looked at him dubiously and then shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

“Good.” He took out two tumblers and set them on his desk. “Water?”

Malcolm shook his head, and Frank poured four fingers into a tumbler. “Yeah, you don’t want to ruin good scotch with water.” He handed it to Malcolm and poured some for himself.

Frank admired the rich amber color of the sixteen-year-old single malt whiskey. “This bottle cost sixty dollars. I saved it for a special occasion.” The peat smell tickled his nose. Sweet, smoky, and perfect to hide the drug he had slipped into Malcolm’s glass.

“Are we celebrating my arrest?” Malcolm asked warily.

“No.” He took a large swallow of his drink. “I’m hoping you might be able to shed some light on this missing wolf. Help me out here.”

“What could you possibly want from me?” Malcolm stared at him, a skeptical look on his face.

“This whole business with the wolf has been a thorn in my side. I’d like to be able to tell folks what really happened to her, put their minds at ease. I’ll be honest with you. I’m not sorry to see the wolf gone. If you had something to do with it, I might be willing to overlook it.”

“I didn’t.” Malcolm looked him in the eyes and emptied his glass.

“Well, somebody says you did, and I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t check it out.”

“Who?”

“It’s privileged information.”

“Then I think we’re done here.”

He hauled himself out of the chair. Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead, and he sat back down heavily.

“I don’t see…” The words slurred and stuttered over his tongue. His head nodded like a bobble head doll. He put his palms on the arms of the chair and tried to get up again, but he slumped back in his seat, limbs askew.

“What’s that? I can’t understand you.” So far, so good.

Malcolm opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have had a drink. Looks like we’ll have to find a place for you to sleep it off.” Malcolm’s eyelids fluttered and then closed for good. His breathing became shallow. Frank picked up the phone and made a quick call. Ten minutes later, he heard Glenn’s unique knock at the door. “Come on in.”

The deputy stepped in and nodded at Malcolm sprawled in the chair. “Is he out?”

Frank chuckled. “Yeah. The man can’t hold his liquor for shit.” Glenn perched on the side of the desk and gestured to the bottle of scotch.

Frank poured him a drink. “This is gonna be perfect. Another dead body will convince the feds we don’t need these dangerous predators here. It’s our best chance to get rid of the black wolf and the pack.”

“And your rival.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m not blind. I see the way him and Karin ogle each other. You want him out of the way.”

“Karin has nothing to do with this.” Christ, he was sick of Glenn’s endless needling.

“Whatever.” Glenn shrugged.

“Enough talk.” He grabbed Malcolm by the hair and shook his head. “Let’s get this over with. He’s out cold. He might be dead already. I gave him enough to kill a wolf.”

“All right, what do you want me to do?”

“Tie him up, just in case, and we’ll lock him in the bathroom.” Frank tossed Glenn a roll of duct tape. “After dark, we’ll put him in my truck. You can follow me in his Jeep. We’ll park it at his place and then pay a visit to our four-footed friend.”

* * * *

Frank turned the motor off and they sat in darkness for a minute. The one-room cabin sat on a small clearing of gravel. At one time, Glenn and his dad had made good use of it. Since Glenn Senior died, it had sat empty.

Frank finally broke the silence. “Well, are we gonna do this?”

“I’m ready.” Glenn grabbed the dart gun and jumped out of the truck. Frank followed.

“Put the gun down and help me get him out of the back.”

“Damn he’s heavy, dead weight.”

“He should be so lucky. I wouldn’t want to be him and wake up to see a wolf chewing on my balls.”

“Not a pretty picture.” Grimacing, Glenn cupped his crotch. “Why didn’t we just kill him outright to begin with? Then we wouldn’t have to worry about drugging him and tying him up.”

“And how would we explain it, you idiot? There’ll be an autopsy, and it has to look like a wolf kill.”

“What’s to explain? The wolf is gonna finish him off. She must be starved by now. I bet she doesn’t leave enough to even have an autopsy.”

“And what if she doesn’t? I’m not taking any chances. He could have taken a sleeping pill, but he wouldn’t have shot himself. Let’s make this look good.” Frank pulled the tarp off Malcolm, and they lifted his body out of the truck. “We’ll give her some time to feed. Then we’ll come back and shoot her.”

They dropped Malcolm’s body by the front door. Frank looked at Glenn and waited.

“Well, whatta ya waiting for?” Glenn motioned toward the cabin door with the dart gun. “Go ahead. I’ll cover you.”

“You think I’m going in first?”

“Why the hell not? It’s safe. I did my part. I came out here early this morning, pulled a board off the window, and shot her full of tranquilizers. She could be out till tomorrow. Lock your buddy in there and let’s get the hell out of here. In a day or two we’ll come back, shoot her, and move the whole mess to the gorge.”

A tic worked in Frank’s jaw. Fear immobilized him. “Well, if you’re so sure, you go in first.”

“Fuck!” Glenn shook his head, disgusted. “Take the damn gun and cover me.”

Frank exchanged the keys for the gun. He waited anxiously while Glenn unlocked the door, hooked his arms under Malcolm’s upper body, and pulled him over the threshold.

 
He squinted and peered inside. His heart hammered enough to bruise his ribs, but he wouldn’t let Glenn show him up for a coward. He held the gun in one hand, groped for the flashlight with the other, and stepped inside.

“Holy Jesus! Umphf.”

“Glenn!”

After the heavy thud, he heard a crack like bone snapping.

“Jesus Christ! Glenn, what the fuck—”

The feeble beam of the flashlight spotlighted a tableau that made his skin crawl. The black wolf stood astride Glenn’s body. Garbled sounds came from the man’s ruined throat and then silence. The wolf lifted her head and fixed her yellow eyes on him. Her nostrils flared, her lips drew back, revealing sharp-pointed fangs stained crimson.

“Dear God,” Frank moaned.

She snarled and shifted position, ready to spring. Another warning wasn’t necessary. He backed away and almost fell out the door, firing off a wild shot in his haste. The good Lord must have been watching out for him because the wolf didn’t follow. He ran like a bat out of hell for the truck. Shaking like a leaf in a gale, he drove halfway back to town before he remembered he hadn’t locked the door. At that point, he didn’t give a shit. There was no way in hell he wanted to see that wolf again. If his luck held out, she would be long gone before he came back to move what was left of the bodies.

Chapter Twenty

The coppery smell of blood assaulted his senses, and his nostrils flared, the only part of his leaden body he could move. It wasn’t his blood, but he wondered if he was responsible for it. He knew if he lost control to his wolf he’d be capable of killing someone without a second thought. He didn’t want to open his eyes and discover he’d committed some violent act.

He felt awful, like he’d been on an all night bender. What the hell happened to him? Karin! Suddenly it all came back in a rush. He remembered making love to Karin and telling her he had to see Frank. She begged him not to leave, but he’d gone anyway. He should have listened. The prick drugged him. Shit! Frank set him up, and he played right into his hands. He never thought he’d try something in the middle of the day in his office. How had he been so fucking stupid?

He flapped his arms and legs as if making a snow angel. Relief flooded through him when he realized he wasn’t tied down.

A warm, wet tongue lapped at his crusted eyes, then retreated. He managed a feeble whisper through his parched lips. “Ralf?” It couldn’t be. It wasn’t even Ralf’s scent, but it smelled familiar.

His eyes still burned. Opening them sent sparkles of confetti across his vision. He waited for the metallic colors to disperse. The darkness cast everything in a dreamlike aspect. Through a hazy imprecision he saw the face of a black wolf looking down at him. It morphed into his dead wife. Either Frank killed him and he’d gone to heaven or he must be hallucinating.