Loyal Wolf (24 page)

“And you, sir? Are you willing to obey the laws, whatever they are, and enforce them in your role of sheriff of Clifford County? And arrest people for possession and use of illegal weapons and explosives?” Kathlene had met Jock's eyes. His were more feral than she had ever seen them. He again looked ready to attack.

But she knew he recognized what she was doing and he stood still, at least for now—and allowed the security camera around his neck to do its job.

“What am I willing to do?” the sheriff snapped. “I'm willing to fight for the rights of people who don't want to be weighed down by stupid laws that make them give up their natural-born rights, like those to protect and feed themselves and shoot anyone or anything they damned well please.” He suddenly dashed toward Kathlene and put his service weapon to her head. “And you're going to agree with me, Deputy, or you'll be damned sorry.”

The angle was bad. She couldn't trip him or otherwise grab control.

Turned out she didn't need to. In seconds, she was released. The gun went off but it fired uselessly into the air as Jock pounced onto the sheriff and weighed him down, his teeth at the anarchistic lawman's throat.

“Get him off me!” The sheriff's voice sounded strangled. Kathlene was angry enough that she considered encouraging Jock to bite down—just a little.

But she got control of herself—a good thing, too. A whole group of Alpha Force members suddenly appeared in the parking lot—humans and wolves. With them was Tommy X, as well as Undersheriff Kerringston, who looked confused but hung back, just watching.

“These folks say they're friends of yours, Deputy Baylor,” Tommy X said to her. “There are more of them around here, too, and they're taking a lot of the guys from the ranch into custody.”

One of them, a tall guy in a camo uniform with black hair flecked with silver and shining amber eyes—a nonshifted shifter?—approached with his hand extended toward Kathlene. “Deputy Baylor? I'm Major Drew Connell of Alpha Force. I hear you were instrumental in bringing us here to stave off some potentially pretty nasty terrorist attacks.”

“I did ask for help, sir,” she acknowledged, shaking his hand.

“Well, we've been more than happy to provide it.” He glanced down toward where Jock sat at attention near Kathlene's feet. This soldier must be Jock's commanding officer.

“Well, I thank you, sir. And so will the rest of this town when they fully realize what's been going on.”

“I think we'll be informing them about it very soon.” That was Tommy X. “Interesting group, this Alpha Force. I'm sure we'll all be interested, too, in how you've trained all those dogs you've brought along who look like wolves to act as your canine backup. They've been wonderful in helping to herd the anarchists together and get them rounded up and into custody.”

“Yes,” Kathlene said wryly, “I'll be very interested, too, in what explanation Alpha Force provides our citizenry. Will you be taking these guys into your custody?” She gestured toward Frawley and Tisal.

“Yes, we will,” said Major Connell.

“Great. Then I'm going to walk around and observe the rest of what's going on around here.” She glanced down toward Jock. “And I wouldn't mind at all having a canine companion.”

Chapter 24

T
hey walked the perimeter of the fence around the ranch in the darkness, this time on the inside. “That's all so amazing,” Kathlene remarked more than once, and Jock, still in glorious wolf form, looked up at her often. She sometimes believed he was smiling and when she knelt and hugged him he licked her cheek.

She was fascinated to watch the teamwork of soldiers and wolves pretending to be trained K9s while they rounded up the dozens of anarchists, disarmed them, herded them into the outdoor assembly area where they had previously plotted against the Clifford County commissioners and government in general, and ensured they remained there.

Jock seemed quite pleased with himself, assuming Kathlene could read wolf body language accurately. He almost pranced at her side, sometimes growling if one of the anarchists appeared at all willing to protest what was going on.

It all seemed so surreal, and yet it was wonderful. What she had feared had been proven true—that these men had intended to harm innocent people as well as the government. And what she had tried so hard to accomplish—getting an appropriate law-enforcement group here to take control—had also come true.

Alpha Force was outstanding.

She was also amazed—well, maybe not so much—when Jock led her to the front gate and walked through, looking back at her with his glistening hazel wolf eyes as if he wanted her to follow. She complied, and they headed for the old house.

Once again, Kathlene assisted him in a shift, this time back to human form.

Once again, she got to aim the light at him and observe his wolfen body morph into his gorgeous human form.

And when he was fully shifted and had caught his breath, still nude, he took her into his arms.

“Kathlene,” he said. “Thank you for all you did tonight.”

“You're the one who deserves thanks,” she whispered to him, and he lowered his mouth to hers.

She knew she would never forget that sexy, sincere and wonderful kiss....

Especially because she feared it would be their last.

He eventually pulled back, if only a little. “You know,” he said, looking down at her with an expression she couldn't read—lustful? worried? “you still drive me nuts, putting yourself in danger that way, even when it's to help me.”

She pulled back a little, too. “I still don't understand why you're so overprotective. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can. And maybe that's why...I do trust you, Kathlene. But—well, maybe you should know that there was once another woman in my life, a shifter like me. She joined a police department even before I ever thought about getting involved in any kind of military life or law enforcement. She was killed in the line of duty.”

Oh. That explained so much. He'd obviously cared about that woman. And now he wanted to protect everyone.

“I'm not her, Jock,” she said softly.

“I know,” he said, and kissed her again.

* * *

Kathlene was glad to see the number of Clifford County residents piling into the assembly room for the ad hoc commissioners' meeting that was convened on the afternoon after the confrontations and arrests at the old ranch, even though it was a Saturday.

She was on duty, guarding the doors while in uniform. Her partner, Jimmy Korling, stood at the other door. He'd been less than friendly with her that day. He had obviously heard of her involvement in what had occurred the night before. Had he wanted to be brought into it?

Maybe Kathlene would have considered that if she'd thought she could trust him. He'd seemed, at least before, like a favorite of Sheriff Frawley's, and that made him less than an ideal cohort to work with her, especially as it had become completely clear whose side the sheriff had been on.

For the moment, Senior Deputy Tommy X was in charge of the sheriff's department, since Sheriff Frawley was unsurprisingly being investigated for his alleged roles as part of the anarchist team, and Undersheriff Kerringston, thanks to his close alliance with the sheriff, was also being scrutinized to determine if he had any role in what had occurred.

First thing that morning, Commissioners Myra Enager, Wendy Ingerton and the others had been briefed—or at least as much as wasn't classified under the control of the federal government. Kathlene had been the one to call Myra, who'd sounded thrilled and relieved.

Unsurprisingly, Tommy X had spoken to Myra, too, and the three of them had gone out to breakfast together to discuss the situation.

By then, Kathlene was alone, since Jock and the others had joined the rest of Alpha Force for the law enforcement events that would occur that day. Kathlene hoped to see him later but wasn't sure when...or even
if
. She figured the members of Alpha Force would leave as soon as they confirmed that all was under control, and that would probably include Jock.

After breakfast, Myra had spoken with the other commissioners, and this afternoon's meeting had been planned nearly immediately. They wanted to inform their constituency about what was going on, even if they didn't know the details.

Unsurprisingly to her, Kathlene hadn't been informed of all that was happening, either. All she knew—and all she needed to know—was that a specialized FBI crime scene team had been flown in from D.C. to the nearest air force base, Malmstrom, in Cascade County, which wasn't too far away. As soon as they arrived, they started collecting evidence, which would be used to charge the anarchists, or at least the leaders of the group, with plotting some pretty major terrorist crimes—like potentially blowing up the County Administration Building. And although the collection of weapons Jock had discovered might not be fully illegal, how they were intended to be used probably was, especially after the threats made to the county commissioners.

And Jock had also learned that a cache of weapons of the type he'd found had been stolen from an army base in Michigan. Serial numbers were being checked to see if they matched.

The recordings made by Jock and the others would also help in the investigation and prosecution, but the more evidence they collected, the more likelihood there was of convictions.

Last Kathlene heard, all the members of Alpha Force who had come here, including Jock and Ralf, were meeting and debriefing themselves and the FBI team.

The commissioners' meeting had started. Myra was the first to explain what had gone down the night before. “A local citizen had believed there was more going on at the old ranch than target practice by a bunch of sportsmen.” Meaning
her,
Kathlene knew. “In fact, for those of you who were present yesterday at our most recent commission meeting, some of the sportsmen had spoken out and sounded somewhat threatening. That was followed up by several commissioners, including me, receiving written threats that were delivered anonymously and circuitously to our homes. We suspected who had sent them but couldn't prove it—and yet a series of events not even we know about occurred where evidence was gathered at the ranch, and now a full federal investigation is progressing into prosecuting all of the sportsmen as anarchists and terrorists, or at least those in charge.”

“What about Sheriff Frawley and Undersheriff Kerringston?” came a question shouted from the audience.

Myra paused and exchanged a brief glance with Kathlene. “There is some reason to suspect that they might have known what was going on. We don't know that for sure, however. Just in case, the investigation will include them, too.”

Before heading to the meeting that afternoon, Kathlene had called Jock, just for an update, she had told him. If there was anything that Alpha Force or the feds had found out, or at least suspected, that the public should know about, she requested that he let her know.

Her mind had been circling a lot around what he had told her about the woman he had lost....

But he'd sounded pretty formal when he responded, and she suspected that she had caught him in the middle of a meeting. What he told her surprised her, but only a little. “Part of what is being looked into,” he said, “is some allegations made by several of the top anarchists who said they were invited here by Sheriff Frawley, who promised them a perfect venue to meet and make their plans for doing whatever was necessary to let the world know who they are and why they were a major power to be reckoned with. That's for your information only, for now, Kathlene. Just let the people at the assembly know that a full-out investigation is in the works and that justice will be served.”

“Against Sheriff Frawley as well as the others?” she asked, and he agreed.

She had hung up feeling all the more vindicated—and lonely. Whatever she had imagined to be growing between Jock and her was clearly something that had ended with the night's final raid on the terrorist encampment.

She had not told Myra any details before the meeting, but she had confirmed, as Jock had told her, that the investigation was continuing but that there appeared to be sufficient evidence to arrest and put at least some of the anarchists on trial. And that the investigation would also continue to include Sheriff Frawley and Undersheriff Kerringston, but it was premature to assert that they would also be prosecuted. Myra's description at the meeting of their suspected involvement had gone far enough...for now.

That meeting continued for just over an hour. And when it was over, Kathlene stayed as long as she felt she must in her role as one of the deputies protecting the room. She ducked questions, deferring to the commissioners.

When she finally could, she hurried back to the sheriff's department, stayed in the background as much as possible and was relieved when she was once more finally off duty.

* * *

Jock loved being a shapeshifter. He always had, always would. He particularly loved being a member of Alpha Force, with all its shifting perks and camaraderie with other shifters and military members.

But right now, it was Sunday, the second day after the invasion of the old ranch and the taking of so many anarchists into custody for further evaluation and, in most instances, prosecution for planned acts of terrorism.

He was in the cabin he still shared with Ralf—for now. Most of the other cabins in this motel had also been taken over by Alpha Force members for at least one more night. They'd all been meeting and debriefing one another and sharing thoughts about what should come next—all of which was presented to their commanding officer, Major Drew Connell. He was their liaison with the FBI and other feds who were now involved with this situation.

Although they'd spoken on the phone, Jock hadn't seen Kathlene since late on the night when the raid on the ranch had been conducted, which had been the day before yesterday. And he was probably leaving Clifford County tomorrow. Forever.

There was a lot of cleanup work awaiting him at Ft. Lukman. Debriefing and planning for whatever his next assignment would be, and who knew what else?

Yet another meeting was scheduled to begin in half an hour at Drew's cabin. Jock would go there. He had to.

Ralf had already strolled over there so he could touch base with all the other shifting aides who'd come to this area, not just Noel Chuma but about half a dozen others who'd helped their shifters change into wolves and invade the camp en masse, the best way of handling it safely for Alpha Force.

Before heading to Drew's cabin, Jock grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. Then he picked up his laptop computer.

He was going to say goodbye to Kathlene tomorrow—maybe.

But he also had an idea, and he had to flesh it out now to determine if it might work.

* * *

“You've got to be joking,” Kathlene said to Myra.

Her friend had called her first thing on that Monday morning and asked her to come to see her at the County Building. She'd had her secretary serve both of them coffee, and now they sat in the tiny conversation area in Myra's office.

“No, although I'm not sure what all it'll take to get approvals for you to be named sheriff. But the other most likely person to be named acting sheriff of Clifford County, Senior Deputy Tommy X Jones, has already told me, his closest contact on the commission, that he likes things as is. He doesn't want to be promoted, at least not now.” Myra had taken her navy suit jacket off, but otherwise she looked every bit the official County Commissioner that she was. Her dark hair was arranged perfectly around a face with just enough makeup to hide her wrinkles and underscore the attractiveness of her large brown eyes.

Kathlene felt underdressed, even though she was wearing exactly what she was supposed to, since she was on duty that day. Her uniform looked as good as it always did, and she'd pulled her hair back into a clip at the base of her neck, as was required.

“I'm not sure I do, either.” On the other hand, this might be a perfect time to take on more responsibility like that. Despite all her self-chiding, she already missed Jock, and as far as she knew he remained in town. She'd checked around and learned that the Alpha Force contingent that had arrived on Friday was still present, as were some of the feds who continued to collect evidence. Others had taken the alleged anarchists somewhere for preliminary incarceration and arraignments or whatever the system required.

She'd last talked to Jock yesterday. She figured he wouldn't be here much longer.

She just hoped he would call to say goodbye. At least that way she'd get some closure.

She realized how odd it was that she had accepted who and what he was and had nevertheless, despite all good sense, fallen for him. It was probably a good thing that he had backed off like this. Her interest was clearly one-sided.

Maybe he could only fall for another shifter, like that woman he had lost.

That should make it easier to forget him...shouldn't it?

Feeling sorrow welling inside her, she took another sip of coffee without looking at Myra. “Tell you what,” she said. “Right now I'm against the idea, but I'll think about it. Meantime, there are surely others with more seniority than me who would make a better sheriff. Tell Tommy X my feelings about this, and I'm sure he'll help you figure it out.”