Mating the Red Wolf: (Book 10, Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas) (13 page)

“Well, it’s about to get worse.”

Jonathan looked around the room and, turning his back on everyone, he passed a small bottle to Ed.

Ed knit his brows together. 
What was Jonathan up to?
  His face dropped as he realized just what he had in his hand.  “Is this…”

“Yes.”

“Where did you find it?  Why haven’t you told anyone?  How could you be so dumb as to keep this from everyone?”

Jonathan swirled his brandy before downing it in one and smacking his lips at the rich taste.  “I found it in Kim’s room.  You’re welcome.”

Jonathan sauntered away to help Harold Jr. with the pointless search.  Pointless in that he had already found what they were looking for.

The wolfsbane had been in Kim’s room.

Fuck.

Chapter Fourteen

“I want to play with the others.”  Jamie stamped her little foot and pouted.

“And you will, soon.  For now, just watch your show, and you’ll see them later.”

Kim, Ed and Jamie were in Ed’s room.  Ed had popped in a DVD of Emily Wolf to keep Jamie occupied while they talked.

Kim was surprised when Jonathan came through the bedroom door.  She was about to ask why he was there when Ed shook his head.  He locked his door and ushered the three of them into the bathroom.

Kim sat down on the toilet and let out a small laugh.  “These bathroom rendezvous are starting to become a habit.”

Ed winked at her.  “Yeah, gorgeous, don’t ever say I never take you anywhere.”

Ed sat on the edge of the bath, and Jonathan tested the sturdiness of the laundry hamper.

Kim looked between the two brothers.  “So, what exactly are we doing here?”

Ed scrubbed a hand over his face.  “We need to find out who tried to kill our grandmother.”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow.  “Are you sure?  Shouldn’t we just wait until they’re successful?  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll turn themselves in when the deed is done.”

Kim gave him a look of concern and Ed was quick to reassure her.  “He’s kidding.  You’re kidding, right?”

Jonathan rolled his shoulders.  “Sure, let’s go with that.  So, you actually think we can somehow work out who it is?”

“I don’t see why not,” replied Ed slowly. 
Although he and his wolf had serious doubts.

Kim’s frame shook as she tried not to laugh.  They both looked at her curiously.

She waved her hand.  “Sorry, it’s like an episode of Scooby Doo.  Jamie used to love it.”

Jonathan smirked.  “She’s right; I’m Fred of course,” he cast a mischievous smile at Ed, “and I guess that makes you Shaggy.”

Ed clucked his tongue at his brother’s childishness.  “No, I’m Fred because Kim’s Daphne.  You can be Scooby.”

Jonathan spread out his hands.  “Hey, I got no problem with Kim being Daphne to my Fred.”

Ed opened his mouth to object when Kim shushed him.  “Guys, we’re getting off topic.”

Jonathan gave Ed a censorial look.  “You’re quite right, Kim.  We’ll pick this up later.”

Kim shook her head.  “Don’t you take anything seriously?”

He gave her a wry smile.  “I’ve found it’s best not to in this family.  If you get too touchy or too attached to anything, you end up getting hurt.  It’s better to be a joker.”

Kim felt a pang at the hint of sadness in his voice and felt a flush of sympathy for her soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Ed cleared his throat, as his wolf huffed.  His mate should not be having a ‘moment’ with his brother. 
All of her ‘moments’ were reserved for him and him alone
.  “As I was saying,” he hissed through gritted teeth, “we need to find out who’s doing this and quickly, before anything else happens.”

He and Jonathan gave each other significant looks.

Kim glared at them.  “You two are hiding something from me.”

They both sucked in a breath to deny it, but Kim told them to confess or else.

Ed relented, but only because he thought the or else part might involve an embargo on any future sex they might have. 
If they ever got off this damn, fricking island.

“Jonathan found the wolfsbane in your room,” he told her in a rush.

Kim’s eyes were wide as saucers and blood drained from her usually rosy pink cheeks.  “But, how could…”

Ed took one of her limp hands.  “Somebody must have planted it there to frame you.”

A hand flew to her mouth.  Ugh, she felt sick, and her wolf started panicking.  “Fuck, what if Jamie had found it?  What if Jamie had got it on her skin?”

God, the thought of her pup being hurt made her want to run out there and hug her until Jamie begged her to stop. 
Which was usually after about five seconds.

“She didn’t,” said Ed, gently.  “Jamie’s okay.”

Kim nodded, but the nagging worry would not go away so easily.

Jonathan tapped his chin.  “So, let’s see, who dislikes our grandmother?  Who wants to get their paws on money?  Who might have a grudge against Kim?  Who was in the kitchen when Judy was making the cup of tea?  And who is a psycho bitch?  Anyone?  Because I’m sure coming up blank.”

Kim rolled her eyes.  “You think it’s Helena.”

“Wellll...”

“But didn’t you search her room looking for the missing engagement ring?  Wouldn’t you have found the wolfsbane when you did that?”

Jonathan thought about that for a second.  “Unless she had it with her; she had that huge straw basket purse with her while she was sunbathing.  You know, the one with the daisies all over it.”

“I’m surprised you noticed.”

He smiled.  “She was wearing a tiny, red bikini; trust me, I was looking.”

Kim shook her head.  “There’s just one problem with this theory; she doesn’t get any money if your grandmother dies.”

Ed pursed his lips.  “Unless she married someone who did.”

Kim arched an eyebrow.  “You think she’s still trying to hunt you down and drug you into marrying her?”

Ed let out a mirthless snort of laughter.  “No, I think she’s trying to lure Arthur away from his mate.  And I think framing you would just be a bonus.”

Jonathan let out a low growl.  “It’s disgusting the way he’s treating his mate so he can run around with that bitch.”

Kim and her wolf were a little surprised at the vehemence in Jonathan’s voice.  Kim bit her lip as she remembered the interlude between Jennifer and Jonathan she witnessed the other day.  Maybe there was more to their relationship too. 
Hell, this family was starting to make Dynasty look boring.

“We still don’t know that anything is going on between Arthur and Helena,” said Ed placidly.

“He didn’t deny it,” snapped Jonathan.

Kim let out a low whistle and looked at her mate.  “So, Helena has been with you,” she then looked at Jonathan, “and you, and now we suspect she’s seeing Arthur on the sly?”

Both males had the sense to look a little sheepish, and Kim let out a sigh.  “Busy girl; how long before Harold Jr. and Will get their turns?”

Jonathan cocked her a grin.  “Nah, I think they’re safe, I’m pretty sure Harold hates her, and Will wouldn’t know what to do with her.”

Kim bit her lip; she doubted that was true, about Will, of course.  She knew that Harold hated Helena.  She was pretty sure that Harold hated everyone except his own mate and pups.  But even they weren’t safe from his brusque and cold, businesslike attitude. 
With Will, however, she just already knew that Helena wasn’t his type.

“So, we’re really going with the theory that it’s Helena?”

Ed nodded.  “Yeah, because, if it isn’t…”

“It means that the only other suspects are family members or Kurt, and I doubt that wet drip of a wolf would even dare to sneeze near our grandmother,” concluded Jonathan.

Kim rubbed a thumb over Ed’s knuckles.  He was starting to look a little green.  “I can’t believe that any of your family would…”

“I can,” jumped in Jonathan, looking far too pleased about the matter.

“Yeah, I can too,” admitted Ed.

It still didn’t sit right with Kim.  “But…”

Jonathan chuckled.  “Oh, sweet, naïve, kind, beautiful Kim - you have clearly been spoiled by a loving family.  Everyone in our family has a motive, even me and the boy scout over there.”

“Please!” exclaimed Kim.

“Okay, let’s start at the top.  Our father has been henpecked by his mother since the moment his father died.  Two weeks ago, grandmother was in a car accident and plowed her Mercedes straight into a lemonade stand – in the middle of a park.  Dear old dad had her license taken away and ever since then grandmother has been threatening to cut him out of her will.  And given that daddy spent his whole life working to double the family fortune… you can imagine he’s a little pissed.”

“Well, okay, yeah…”

Jonathan wagged his finger.  “Oh, I’m not done.  I'm told that about a month ago, the old dear fired her assistant, Hilda.  She accused Hilda of stealing and bad-mouthed her so she couldn’t get another job.  Given that Hilda was a childhood friend of Mom’s, I doubt very much she's pleased.  With Arthur and Jennifer, it’s the constant jabs about not having pups.  For Olivia, Grandmother is trying to force her into an arranged marriage.  For Will, grandmother is trying to force Olivia into an arranged marriage.  It would be enough motive for either of them.  For old Harry, again it’s the money.  She takes pleasure out of trying to emasculate him and given that he’s an Alpha - it really pisses him off.  He won’t be sorry when she finally jumps on the highway to hell.”

Kim frowned.

“Oh, c’mon; there’s no way she’s getting into heaven.  Before we were born, she was once arrested for attacking a maid with a hatpin.”

Kim’s eyes bulged.  “You’re joking?”

“He’s not,” muttered Ed.

“Stabbed her a couple of times.  She lived, and old Gramps threw enough money at the maid that she just went away quietly.”

Kim’s wolf whined in concern.  She knew Ed’s family were rude and obnoxious, but she hadn’t actually thought that… she shuddered.  She really didn’t know them.

“For Ed, it would be the fact that Grandmother is threatening to cut him off if he marries you, and for me, she managed to get rid of… of… a woman I was intending to marry.  Hell, I need a drink.”

“There’s mouthwash in the cabinet,” offered Ed wickedly.

Jonathan gave him an unimpressed look.

“Why did Harold want you to search the rooms?” asked Ed.

Jonathan pretended to shrug modestly.  “Apparently, other than Christine, I’m only one he doesn’t think might have actually tried to kill the old woman.”

Ed’s eyebrows shot up his head.  “You?”

Jonathan placed his hand over her heart.  “Yeah, I’m honored.”

“Why doesn’t he suspect you?”

“I don’t know.  He knows I hate her, but, he figures if I were going to kill her, it would have happened after she fucked up my relationship with… with, with Ingrid.  I hate to admit this, but old Harry’s really hoping it’s going to be you, Kim.”

Kim groaned, and Ed snarled, so Kim shushed him.  “C’mon, babe, it’s not that big of a surprise.  And given that the wolfsbane was in my room, someone sure wants it to look like it’s me.”

Ed grumbled.  “Look, we need a plan.  We’re going round in circles.  All we’ve done so far is establish that just about anyone here would want her dead.  You know if this were a cop show…”

Jonathan snapped his fingers.  “Got it, we beat the suspects until one of them caves and confesses.”

“No!  I was going to say we should set a trap for the killer.”

Kim screwed up her face.  It wasn’t easy to tell your mate that he had a lousy idea, but she was about to.  “I don’t see how…”

“No, the shrimp’s on to something,” interrupted Jonathan.  “And I think I have an idea.”

Ed inclined his head at his brother.  “To think, this guy flunked out of six different colleges.”

“No, I got kicked out of six different colleges.”

“What’s the difference?” asked Kim.

“Flunking out implies failing scholastically; kicking out implies you misbehaved so badly that no amount of your family’s money could force the dean to let you stay there.”

Kim clucked her tongue.  “Ah, gee, you see?  By not going to college, I missed out on all this.”

Jonathan eyeballed her exaggeratedly and winked.  “When a gal looks like you, she doesn’t have to know anything.”

“Ugh!” 
Gal?
  She knew Jonathan was just teasing to get a rise out of Ed, but, oh, she and her wolf wanted to take a chunk out of him.

“What’s your plan?” hissed Ed, squeezing Kim's hand a little harder than necessary.

*

Kim crouched outside of Helena’s room.  It was a dumb plan.  It was never going to work.  Her wolf concurred vociferously.  Neither of them wanted to be shivering outside Helena’s room in the middle of the night.

More than anything she wanted to be back in her big, comfortable guest bed, with her arms curled around Jamie.  But, there was a murderer to catch. 
Okay, attempted murderer. 

At the moment Jamie was safely ensconced with Olivia in her room.  Kim liked the young she-wolf, but she still had her doubts, and almost hadn’t been able to part from Jamie.  But, Ed had put his hand on his heart and had said that Olivia could absolutely be trusted.  Kim still hesitated, and Ed asked her if she trusted him.  Obviously, she answered yes, she did trust him with the most important thing in her life – her pup.  Plus it didn’t hurt that Jamie was away from their room; it still nettled her that someone had put something as dangerous as wolfsbane anywhere near her pup.  Who knows what could have happened if Jamie had come across it… the consequences would have been too much to bear.  The anger over this person’s viciousness was driving her.