Page 28 of What a Wolf Wants
“Uh, yeah. I just didn’t dodge fast enough.”
“You sound like me.”
“Yeah, it was another drug bust. I was hit in the same arm too.”
“Did the guy go down for it?”
“Absolutely. I’d had other problems with him before that. He’d attempted to cut me with a knife and went to prison for a few years for attempted murder that time too. While he was in the joint for shooting me, another prisoner killed him over drugs. So that was the last time I had to worry about him.”
She sighed and kissed Ethan on the mouth. “Now I’m sorry I didn’t bite your other arm instead.”
He laughed, thinking that’s how they would always remember their first encounter. He kissed her back, pressing for entrance. She softened her mouth to his, parting her lips and encouraging him to dip his tongue inside and kiss her deeply. He cupped her head, her silky hair falling over his hands. He kissed her again, loving the feel of her full lips against his mouth, the way she licked his lips and kissed him more firmly. Her hands were on his shoulders, caressing, holding him steady, her eyes closed. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the impromptu kiss with Charlene. He was completely tuned in to her, her skin soft, her scent sweet, mixed with the fresh, salty sea air.
She finally pulled her mouth aways from his, licked her lips, and smiled. He smiled and kissed her mouth one last time.
“What can I do to help you catch these bad guys?” she asked, sounding serious as could be.
“Nothing, really. I’m just glad if any of this comes your way, you might be able to handle yourself better. But I don’t want you in harm’s way.” He hadn’t expected her to offer, buthe didn’t want her to get involved in this. She might be trained in dealing with the bad guys, but she wasn’t part of the force now and she didn’t have a paycheck or even health insurance from the DEA’s office to cover this if she got injured. She would have to use her own, which wasn’t really fair to her. Not to mention his boss would be ticked off if he learned of it.
“You’re here alone, and if you’re undercover, I make the perfect girlfriend for you, as long as you don’t have an ex-girlfriend coming after me.”
He laughed. “No.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. Just tell me what you want to do first to take these guys down. Oh, I have a question. I thought you were retired and couldn’t do anything about it, but if there’s someone in your department who’s crooked, then you need to know who it is.”
“Right.”
“I saw something odd when I went to the service station closest to me the night of the raid.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, a guy named DEA Special Agent Pete Cohen looked like he was taking a bribe or drugs from some grungy-looking guy. And Pete was with someone else, the other man who rushed into my bathroom to save you.”
“Manx Ryerson.”
“Right, him too. Cohen looked like he was bullying the grungy guy, but when they saw me watching the situation—the hazard of being a former police officer and an alert and wary wolf—the grungy guy took off and Cohen and Ryerson followed me into the restaurant.”
“To intimidate you.” Ethan was so angry, he wanted to arrest the both of them for bullying Charlene.
“Right. But I told Cohen I was a homicide detective on vacation there from Florida, so he didn’t ask for my name, though my driver’s license still showed my address back in Florida. Still, I think he decided I might be more trouble than I was worth. But my wolf senses said the two men were dirty, shaking down a druggy or small-time drug dealer. I might be wrong, and they were just talking to one of their informants, but since they followed me to turn up the heat, I don’t think so. Then the most bizarre thing happened. Some patrol officer named Lawrence Baker, stopped me for a traffic violation that he damn well knew I hadn’t done. But the really weird part was that he asked to see my police badge. I had only told Agent Cohen that I was a homicide detective. No one else in Portland knew it.”
“Well, hell. So Agent Cohen sent the police officer to harass you. Then Agents Cohen and Ryerson saw you at the rental house and knew just where you lived.”
“Yeah, at least for the one night.”
“Without evidence, we can’t prove anything, but I’ll let my boss know.” Ethan hoped they might be able to get somewhere with the information, but no matter what, he wished he’d known before his retirement party. Though he figured at the time, Charlene hadn’t been sure if Ethan had even been one of the good guys.
Chapter 8
Charlene hadn’t told anyone that she was a former homicide detective because it changed the way people viewed her and she had moved on. If she could help Ethan with his mission, she was doing it. She was glad that she’d mentioned what Agents Cohen and Ryerson had done at the convenience store.
“Okay, so what do you plan to do?” she asked Ethan.
“This business with Kroner being out of jail is problematic. I’m just a little worried that you could be in as much danger as me if he learns that I’m seeing you.”
“We’re dating, you’re staying in Oyster Bay when you ultimately retire, and I’m helping you with this so you can get this done sooner than later.” Some men didn’t like it when women told them what was what, but Ethan just smiled wickedly at her. “I mean, if you really don’t want to stay in Oyster Bay after you’re done with the mission…I’ll understand. But if you are interested in the least…”
He smiled again. “Hell, yeah. I’m all the way interested in seriously dating you. I don’t want us to take any unnecessary chances where you’re concerned though.”
