Page 83 of What a Wolf Wants
“I’m going too. I’ll call Noah to have him pick me up.” Josh called Noah then. “Hey, this is Josh Wilding. I’m going with you.” He glanced at the others in the house. “All right. I’ll meet you in the woods.” Then he took off through the back door.
Maverick, his brother, said, “Josh will keep Ethan safe. They used to work together on cases when they had wolf situations to take care of and also when the police had to supplement the DEA missions.”
“I’m glad Ethan has someone else to watch over him,” Charlene said.
Then Charlene got a call from Ethan. “I’m nearly to the house,” he said.
“Josh is going with Noah,” Charlene told him.
“Okay, I see him in the woods coming toward me,” Ethan said to her. “Hey, Josh, thanks a million.”
“You bet,” Josh said.
Then she heard a car pull up in the drive. “Renault is here now, Ethan.”
“Tell the guys there that Renault can’t see anyone in the house. Delay Renault if you have to,” Ethan said.
“I will.” God, what a mess. She couldn’t believe how topsy-turvy everything was. She ended the call and went to the door while the other men slipped off to one of the rooms, but they kept the door open to listen in case she was in trouble and they would come to her aid.
Just as she was about to open the door to Renault’s knock, Ethan came in through the back door. “I’ll get it. You return to bed like you had been sleeping.”
“No way.” She gave Ethan a quick hug and kiss. “I’ll get you a thermos of coffee like I love you and got up with you before you went off to war.” Charlene headed into the kitchen and started to make some coffee.
Ethan smiled. “I love you.” Then he answered the door. “I’ll be out in a moment, Renault.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you in the car.” Renault returned to his car and Ethan shut the door.
Ethan embraced Charlene and kissed her much longer and deeper this time.
“If he tries to hurt you or is in league with the ones who want you dead, I will end him myself,” Charlene promised.
“You won’t need to. I’ll take care of him. Love you, honey. I’ll be back soon, hopefully with some good news.”
“Take care, Ethan. Love you back.”
“I will. You do the same.”
She poured fresh coffee into a thermos for him while he took a bathroom break, then came back for another hug and kiss and the coffee. “I’ll see you.”
“Soon, hopefully.”
Ethan hurried out of the house and Charlene locked the door. She knew Noah and Josh would try to take down Renault and Kroner and Oakley if they could while protecting Ethan. But she called Noah just to reassure herself. “Don’t lose sight of Ethan.”
Chapter 23
So far, so good, Ethan thought as he rode with Renault back to Shelby Bay, but Renault didn’t drive to Oakley’s house. Instead, he took a route to a more deserted area where a few businesses had closed down, including a couple of warehouses, a movie theater, a hardware store, and a couple of other nondescript shops at the edge of a wooded area.
“Where are we going?” Ethan tried not to sound like he was getting a little worried and ready to take Renault into custody before Ethan was ambushed.
“I told you. I have a new location where Kroner could be staying.”
“How did you learn of it?” Ethan was wary of this whole situation.
“Ferret. He trusted me to take your place as his handler and gave me the new intel. Of course, we don’t know if it will be any good, given that he gave Charlene’s house address the last time with regard to Kroner, but what if it’s right? It’s worth taking the chance to check it out.”
“What about Grainger? You know he can fire you if he learns you’re going out on a limb like this without his approval. Especially since he already said no to you doing this on your own.”
“Exactly. That’s why I need you to be with me. You legitimize the action since you’re already doing the surveillanceunder Grainger’s orders. I can just happen to be with you when we catch up to Kroner.”
