“They’ll think it’s a wild animal. Werewolves are fanciful legends concocted by our human ancestors, remember? But it fits. He killed her before the waning moon completely faded.”
“But the sound of the glass shattering—”
“He must have been living here for the last couple of days. By breaking into the place, we startled him, and he busted the window and took off. The window must have been stuck tight.” Devlyn sped out of the parking lot.
“They’ll think the killer is Rosa, the freed wolf ... me, because she’d be the only wild wolf loose in the city.”
He pursed his lips and pinched his brows in a frown. “Possibly. If zoo man Thompson gets hold of this news, he may think the woman had something to do with freeing Rosa, that she kept her in the apartment, or maybe they’ll think it’s another wild wolf.”
“We have to stop him.”
He glanced at her, his dark brows lifted. “I have only one mission and that’s returning you to Colorado and the pack.”
She shook her head. “He’s one of mine.” Devlyn stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “He’s a red.” She raised the clump of hair she’d hastily plucked from the couch. “We have to stop him before he exposes the legend for what it really is—fact.”
“No. Humans are already hunting us.”
“You didn’t ... didn’t kill Thompson or the cops, did you?”
The look Devlyn gave her made her wish she had never spoken the cutting words. Dark-seated hurt flashed across his eyes. He clenched his jaw and turned to watch his driving. “We’re being hunted because you and I freed a little red wolf from the zoo and because I liberated you from the hospital, knocking some officials out in the process. I’m sure they consider me armed and dangerous. I’m not sure what they think of you, considering you were naked and nearly frozen.”
“I’m sorry, Devlyn. This whole thing’s kind of gotten to me. Lupus garous don’t kill humans without good reason.”
“This one did.”
“Yes, and we have to make sure he doesn’t again.”
“Not us. His own pack, Bella.”
“Then we have to make them aware that he’s doing this.” She wouldn’t stand by and let it continue, though her own investigation hadn’t turned up much. But the scent of the one in the apartment definitely matched the smell she had caught a whiff of in the woods. Was he one of the ones she saw at the zoo? She’d been only able to catch the smell of one of them because of the way the breeze shifted at random. She couldn’t have identified which one the scent had belonged to. But at least one was in the clear.
Concentrating on his driving, Devlyn didn’t say anything for a moment. “No, Bella, we’re not contacting the reds.”
Taking an exasperated breath, she reached over and touched his hand. “We have to.”
“Damn it, Bella, you’re going to get us both caught and in a hell of a lot more trouble.”
She folded her arms. “We have to,” she growled. “We owe it to our kind.”
Again, a shimmer of something elusive crossed his face. For several more minutes, he remained quiet, and she knew he was coming to a decision. He finally let out his breath. “All right.”
Relief shadowed with worry skittered across her skin. “Thank you.”
“I hope we don’t live to regret this,” he groused, “but it’s about time you realized where you belonged.”
For a second, she didn’t respond, wondering where the hell that came from. Then the realization struck her—she’d given up lupus garou to live with humans and now wanted to help her own kind. That’s why he agreed. Hoping what? She’d give up the notion of finding a human male to mate?
Figuring he had made a concession and might change his mind if she ticked him off, she bit her tongue before she made a hasty retort. “Did he urinate in the apartment?” she asked instead.
Devlyn studied her for a moment, took a long breath, and nodded.
“His territory. Do you think he wanted her, and she grew terrified when he changed into the wolf?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe not? Does he just want to kill humans?” Devlyn gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Devlyn?”
Through clenched teeth, he said, “She was a redhead, Bella. He’s a red lupus garou looking for a mate. There must be a shortage of eligible females in the area.”
Bella’s throat felt parched as if she’d crossed the Badlands without a lick of water.
Devlyn continued, “He must have convinced her he loved her and then risked changing to turn her. Only she would have been terrified. Humans can’t deal with what we are, Bella. Can’t you understand that?”
This wasn’t about the woman. She figured this was about Bella wanting a human male.
“You see now why I didn’t want you involved?” he asked. “If he catches sight of you ...”
He shook his head.
Rubbing her temple, she tried to figure out a way to alert the killer’s pack. “The two men at the zoo are probably related to the killer’s pack. We have to send word to them. Find them somehow.”
“How do you propose to do that when we’re on the run?”
“Take us to Tigard; it’s south of Portland. That’s where I live, and we can use it as our base for the time being.”
He scowled at her. “The things I do for you.”
“Yeah,” she said huskily, “like relieving my ... tension.”
He glanced at her, granting her a wicked, wolfish smile that said he wanted to eat her all up, and she wondered then if he’d want to do more to relieve her tension the next time. But a police cruiser passed them by, and she shrank in her seat, remembering the danger they were still in.
Thirty minutes later, they reached Bella’s house without incident, thank the stars. But until they’d hidden the rental SUV, she still didn’t feel safe. And if her neighbor saw her coming home in a different vehicle than the one she’d left in, the questioning would begin in earnest.
Good-natured Chrissie was truly a friend, but she was also too curious for her own good.
At four in the morning, the area remained blanketed in black, except for two security lights highlighting the entryway of the peach stone two-bedroom house.
“Your outside lights are on,” Devlyn said, his voice worried.
“Security. They automatically come on when it grows dark. Park around back. We can hide the SUV in the garage, but we’ll have to open it from inside. I don’t have my garage door controller with me.”
“Your vehicle is still in the Cascades?”
“Yeah. Next to the cabin I own there.”
They shut the vehicle’s doors as quietly as they could, and then he hurried with her to the front door. “Let me go inside first.”
Slipping a key from a vine-covered trellis, she handed it to him, appreciating his concern. “Be my guest.”
As soon as he opened the door, he took a step inside, lifted his chin, and sniffed the air.
“Smell anything?” she whispered.
A slow smile crept across his face. “Yeah, you, Bella honey.”
She pushed him into the house and locked the door. “You’re supposed to be keeping your mind on business. Let’s move the SUV into the garage; then we can plan our next—”
“Sleep. We haven’t had enough sleep to keep us going.” She noticed then the darkened skin beneath his eyes. “All right.” She motioned to the kitchen. “Door to the garage is that way.”
“Be right back. Undress and I’ll meet you in bed.” He waited for her to agree.
“Still worried I might bolt?” She folded her arms and lifted a brow.
“No. Not now that you want to catch the killer.” He sounded annoyed.
“Then you can sleep on the couch.”
“In your dreams.”
She chuckled and intended to go to the bedroom when she noticed how wilted her houseplants were and made a detour to the kitchen. She swore that as soon as she gave water to the ficus trees and the winding ivy, they perked up right away. Then she entered her bedroom and glanced out the window at her greenhouse. Chrissie would have made sure everything was well watered, she was certain. It seemed like eons since she’d been here last, not just a few days.