Page 64 of What a Wolf Wants
“He’ll wonder if I’ll make a good partner in this business.”
She smiled. “I’m sure he knows you’re good at your job.”
Her real estate agent finally arrived, and Charlene joined Jennie in her car. She was excited about the possibility of adding another rental home to her properties. Of course, none of them might be right for her, but if one was, she would be thrilled.
She was also glad Noah was at the house observing things while she shopped for another house to buy. But shehad to admit she was watching to make sure no one was tailingher.
***
Ethan went inside the grocery store to grab a couple of items according to plan. He saw Renault getting a candy bar and a bag of chips. Ethan picked up a box of popcorn and a bottle of wine to have later with Charlene for a movie night experience. Despite carrying out this mission and everything else that was going on, he wanted to show Charlene that he was always thinking of them as a couple and wanted to do fun things with her.
Ethan glanced through some other aisles, then saw Renault paying for his goods in the self-checkout line. As soon as Renault left the store, Ethan checked out, then went to put some gas in his car. Renault was doing the same thing. Ethan went to the pumps on the other side of the cashier’s station and behind Renault so he could see him when he left.
Once Renault was on his way, Ethan finished pumping gas and saw a black Mercedes start to pull out of the car wash. No way could it be the same car that had been following Renault and they had seen at Oakley’s house. But Ethan saw the license plate and it was the same car that Clara owned. Ethan jumped into his car and blocked the Mercedes from fully exiting the car wash.
Ethan was out of his car in a flash with his gun and his badge out, shouting for the occupant to get out of the vehicle.
For a moment, the person sat hidden behind the darklytinted windows—illegally tinted and they could get him for that if nothing else. Renault must have been watching his rearview mirror and turned his car around to return to assist Ethan. Ethan called for police backup.
The driver wasn’t shutting down his car, and when he saw Renault’s car pull up, he tried to make a dash for it over the cement curb that was supposed to direct the car-wash patrons around and into the travel lane near the gas pumps so they didn’t hit another vehicle. The driver couldn’t back up through the car wash because two other cars were sitting there in line to wash their cars.
If the guy didn’t bust his tires or scrape the underside of the car, he could get away. Ethan couldn’t allow it. Especially when he might know that Renault had been to Charlene’s house. Ethan shot out two of the Mercedes’s tires. Renault was out of his car, racing around to the other side to shoot out the Mercedes’s other tires.
Now the car was riding lower over the curb, but the guy gunned the car again and was driving on flat tires.
Ethan jumped into his car and followed the black Mercedes onto the road. He didn’t want to mess up the DEA’s loaner car—Grainger would have something to say about that—but Ethan just couldn’t let the guy go. He got to the side of the Mercedes on the two-lane road and bumped it, knocking it onto the shoulder. The driver kept control of his car and returned to the road but before Ethan could bump him again, he had to pass him because of an oncoming car.
Renault was behind the Mercedes and Ethan slammed onhis brakes. The Mercedes tried to circle around him, but the driver didn’t have enough room to maneuver and ended up clipping Ethan’s car. Renault immediately slammed into the Mercedes’s tail, crunching it between his car and Ethan’s.
Ethan jumped out of his car, heard the sirens of police cars en route, and headed to the driver’s side, shouting, “Turn off your engine, show your hands, and open the door.”
Renault had maneuvered around the black Mercedes and was slightly behind the back passenger door on the right-hand side in case anyone tried to exit the vehicle from that direction.
The driver’s side door opened just a little and Ethan thought the driver was going to leave the car—until he saw the gun. He kicked the door into the driver, realizing it was Thor, Timothy Morton, the guy who was the size of a giant. Ethan continued kicking the door repeatedly, denting it, but also keeping Thor from shooting him. Ethan was still recovering from his earlier bullet wound and he sure as hell didn’t want to get killed when he knew he had finally found the she-wolf he wanted to mate for life.
The police arrived and surrounded the car. Ethan showed off his badge to the officers. “He’s armed and was trying to shoot me through the door. It’s Timothy Morton, a.k.a. Thor, and he’s wanted on multiple warrants that are out for his arrest.”
It was a standoff for the moment. Thor finally backed off and the bashed door closed as much as it could. At least, he couldn’t shut the door all the way and lock it.
Ethan signaled to Renault to grab the back door of thecar. Ethan figured it would be locked, but he thought it might distract Thor.
As soon as Renault yanked at the rear car door, Ethan pulled open the driver’s door, reached in, and grabbed Thor’s meaty, muscular gun arm. He yanked it out through the open door and kicked the door at the same time as hard as he could. Ethan heard the bone crack in Thor’s arm. Total win. No one got shot. He’d known Thor wouldn’t give up without a fight, no matter what.
Thor dropped his gun on the pavement and the police moved in to help to confine him until the EMTs could arrive to take care of his arm. They found several more guns, an assault rifle, and tons of ammunition.
Out of earshot of the officers, Ethan said to Renault, “You take care of this. You collared him.”
“But you—”
“I’m undercover. I can’t be in the news. Take care of it. I’ll let Grainger know what’s going on. You need to tell him you’ve caught Thor. But as far as everyone else in the agency is concerned, I’m retired. If anyone sees anything about it in the news, I was just making a citizen’s arrest because I was a former special agent. I’m out of here.”
“Okay, sure. We’ll talk later.” Renault appeared shocked to learn Ethan was still on the force.
Then Renault called Grainger and told him he got Thor and was going with him and a couple of local police officers to the hospital to have Thor’s arm x-rayed.
Ethan took off to Charlene’s house, calling her first before touching base with Noah because he wanted to make sureshe was okay. He was damned glad they had caught another of the men who had been involved in murders, drug charges, and other criminal pursuits.
“Is everyone all right?” Charlene asked, sounding worried.
