She liked his deep, manly voice, though it was a little rough around the edges right now, different from when she’d first heard him talking to her from the foyer.
“Was your front door open?” Brenham asked Amelia, a black brow arched.
“Yeah, I’m having trouble getting it to seat properly, and though I locked it, apparently it wasn’t shut all the way. I have a carpenter coming to check it this afternoon.”
She couldn’t believe Gavin hadn’t told the cops who she was. Maybe he truly hadn’t seen her face before, and he really was only here about the missing pups. If that was the case, she hoped he found them for the puppies’ and the family’s sake.
Brenham helped Gavin to his feet. Frowning, Gavin asked her, “Have we met before?”
Her heart pounded. The police waited for her to answer him. She quickly shook her head. “Everyone says that.”
“You look familiar,” Gavin insisted. “Have you ever been to Seattle?”
She felt light-headed all of a sudden and was afraid the color had drained from her face. “No.” She hated to lie. Since she hadn’t reported what had happened to her six months ago, she was afraid the police would believe she’d willingly been the robbers’ getaway pilot. Especially if they learned she had been dating the dead wolf.
“Okay, my mistake. It’s probably like you said. You just look like someone else.” Gavin didn’t sound like he truly believed that.
Which reminded her he was a former cop—like these two here who were watching her behavior. She was trying to look perfectly innocent. She wasn’t sure Gavin was buying it.
Brenham began looking at the pups’ photos that Gavin had, and then he carefully considered Amelia’s pups. “The ones in the photo and the ones you have look the same to me. Are you sure the pups you’re fostering hadn’t been stolen before they were taken to the shelter where you picked them up?”
The police were thorough, so one got in contact with the animal shelter to verify her story. Especially since her neighbor had told Gavin the pups had arrived about the same time he learned the Seattle pups had been stolen.
Fearing that they might be, Amelia took the photo from the officer and really studied it. The Samoyed pups did look very much like hers. Except for one thing. The ones in the photo were wearing blue leopard-print collars.
She frowned at Gavin, who was leaning against the wall, still looking like she’d just tased him. “Are the two puppies you’re looking for males?”
* * *
Once Gavin was feeling more like himself—though still having visions of a beautiful, naked, blond female streaking across her living room—he set up surveillance to watch Asher and Mindy Michaels’s home, the place London had originally steered him to check out. Gavin still swore he’d seen Amelia White before—in the commission of a crime. A flashback of the blond wearing a blue dress flitted across his brain for a couple of seconds. The experience was like when he’d see a bank teller at the grocery store. Because she wasn’t where he normally saw her, he couldn’t quite make the connection. Yet due to having been both a cop and a private investigator, he was good at remembering faces.
Still, he needed to get his mind on his work and off the woman.
* * *
Early in the evening three days later, a new vanload of dogs arrived. Gavin quickly made a call to coordinate with the police. Once they were on their way, he went to talk to Asher Michaels, the man getting out of the van, to delay him until the police arrived.
“Hey, excuse me. You’re Asher Michaels, right?” Gavin asked, stalking up the driveway and getting close to the man. He was dark haired and clean shaven, his square jaw tight with a cleft in the center of the chin. His hard, gray eyes narrowed at Gavin.
Gavin knew Asher wanted to secure the dogs pronto before anyone began asking questions. He kept looking back at the house as if expecting someone to come out and help him.
“I’ve got work to take care of. I don’t allow solicitors on my property,” Asher said.
“I’m not trying to sell anything. I’m just looking for these two little fellas. Kodi and Shiloh. They got out on me, and I heard you took in dogs sometimes. Your neighbor fosters dogs, and she thought you did too. Our family has been devastated by the loss. Can you look at the picture and tell me if you’ve seen them? Or have them?”
“Look, I don’t have your dogs. Now get off my property.”
Asher refused to look at the picture. Gavin shoved it under his nose, trying to stall him, but also wanting to get a reaction. “Please, take a look.”
Asher did, only because it was hard not to since the photo was so close to his face. His eyes widened fractionally. Either he had a couple of Samoyeds he’d stolen, or he’d already gotten rid of them.
“I’m an undercover cop,” Asher said. “Get out of here before you blow my cover.”
Gavin hesitated, processing that information. Then he assumed Asher was spinning a tale to serve as a cover for his illegal business. “If you know anything at all about them, I’m willing to pay a big reward for their return,” Gavin told him.
Asher moved his jacket aside and reached for a holstered gun. Ah, hell.
Gavin hadn’t expected the guy to pull a gun on him. He grappled with the man, hearing the cops pulling up street side. Gavin was glad for his police training as he struggled with Asher, trying to wrest the gun away before it went off. He hoped the police didn’t think he was assaulting Asher for just suspecting he had stolen the dogs.
Gavin called out to the cops, “He’s got a gun!”
The cops ran toward them, yelling at Asher to drop the weapon.
Gavin finally managed to trip Asher and take the perp down. When a shot fired, just missing Gavin’s head, he was thinking this PI work could be damn dangerous. At the same time, a woman raced out of the house and began beating on Gavin with her fists, trying to free Asher. Gavin wouldn’t let go for anything. He was just glad the woman hadn’t gone for the gun.
The police finally reached them and arrested Asher and Mindy, a petite brunette with catlike green eyes. Another couple of police vehicles arrived. The police officers hauled the couple off to jail. London even showed up with a list of dog thefts in Alaska to see if any of the dogs matched those that had been recently stolen.
“Hell, you need to come work for us,” London told Gavin.
“I thought you were retired.”
“Just got rehired to be on a special unit that deals with stolen pets and illegal hunting. Come on inside. Let’s see if we can find those pups of yours.”
“Asher said he was an undercover cop,” Gavin told him as they found kennels full of dogs of every size and breed in the backyard. He would guess the Michaelses had well over a hundred, not including the ones in the van.
“Yeah, like I’m a strip-club dancer. He didn’t fool you, did he?” London asked, smiling.
“No. I figured he thought I really was looking for my missing pups and he could convince me to go away. Then he must have realized I wasn’t buying his story and thought a gun would change my mind.”
Brenham, one of the officers who had gone to Amelia White’s home to arrest Gavin, called out to him, “Hey, Summerfield. You might be interested in looking at a couple of Samoyed puppies in the bedroom up front.” Brenham smiled. “They even have blue collars, just like the ones the pups in the picture were wearing.”
Hoping they were the pups he was looking for, Gavin hurried into the house and found Kodi and Shiloh in a crate together. They were watching the other dogs being rounded up, excited, wanting to play. Gavin called their names, and they both turned, wagging their tails.
He checked them over. Their microchips had been removed, but he made sure they were both males. They were wearing the same blue leopard-print collars too. Thankfully, they were in good condition.
Gavin was glad to be going home with the two pup
s but found himself thinking about the naked woman who’d had two Samoyed pups. He hoped she’d hear that he’d broken up a pet theft ring so she knew he’d been completely honest with her.
After the terrifying plane ride back to Seattle and the return of the pups to their grateful family, Gavin went in to the PI agency, where his partners, all former police officers, were eager to hear how the agency’s first case had gone.
He told his story, not leaving any detail out. Owen Nottingham whistled when Gavin mentioned the part about Amelia. David Davis laughed. Smiling, Cameron MacPherson slapped him on the back. “Hell, Gavin, you have all the luck.”
Chapter 1
Nearly seven years later
Northern Minnesota
Gavin hated one thing more than anything else in the world—flying. And that’s just what he was going to have to do for this mission.
Eleanor Dylan was a cosmetic heiress, though she also had other kinds of businesses, and she was certain her husband was having an affair. She needed proof to start divorce proceedings and keep her inheritance intact. “Conrad is going on a fly-in company canoe trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the BWCA, and your agency is the closest to that location. They’ll be in the wilderness, so you’ll have to take a seaplane to get there. Well, I guess you could just paddle in, but it would take you too long to catch up to them. Wouldn’t it? I mean, if you only have a day and a half to get ready and be there?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Gavin grimaced, glad they were speaking on the phone.
“I would have called sooner if I had thought of doing this earlier. But it’s the perfect way to catch them at it, I think. They’ll be there for nine days. The tour package includes food and all the equipment they need, so they won’t be stopping for supplies anywhere. Can you do it?”
“Yes, ma’am. Our agency can definitely take care of it.”
All of Gavin’s PI partners and their mates were Arctic wolf shifters who had been turned a few years ago. As wolves, they had enhanced night vision, and their hearing was superior whether they were in their wolf coats or human form. They had settled in Minnesota and their PI business was booming, which meant Gavin was the only one available for this job. A trip to the Boundary Waters totally appealed. More so if he could have just paddled in.
“Not your agency. You. I’ve looked into your background already, and from everything I’ve seen, you’ve got an outstanding track record.”
“Thanks. All of my partners are also well qualified.” Gavin didn’t want her to believe that they couldn’t handle the case if one of them had to take over for him.
“You, or no deal.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll head up there and check it out.” His pack had already reserved permits for him and two of his partners to go to the Boundary Waters later in the summer. He checked on his computer for the availability of a different entry point, and he found one. Some canoeists must have canceled their trip because of the bad weather expected over the next couple of days. Gavin was able to switch his time and port of entry without any trouble.
“Conrad gave me a copy of their trip itinerary in case anything happened,” Eleanor said. “It shows their route and where they intend to set up camp. He’ll never suspect a lone canoeist is doing surveillance on him, will he?”
“No, ma’am. Does he often give you the detailed itinerary for his trips?” Gavin couldn’t help but think that if her husband were having an affair, he’d keep his wife out of the loop.
“Always. I would have been suspicious if he hadn’t.”
Okay, that explained it. Though Gavin wondered if Conrad would have given her a fake itinerary if he thought his wife was having him watched.
“Have you been in the Boundary Waters before?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Several times.” Especially once they had more control over their shifting. The wilderness had been the perfect, close getaway for them.
“Oh good,” she said with relief.
“How many are on this company trip?” As a wolf, he could get up close to the campsite, and Conrad and his party would never know he was there.
“Four executives from various departments. Lee Struthers, the CEO, likes to chill out with her executives on adventure tours a couple of times a year instead of always conducting business in the boardroom. It’s supposed to be a team-building trip. One of the executives is a woman. And the two sales associates going with them are women too.”
“You suspect your husband is having an affair with someone in the group, then?”
“A top sales associate. She’s in her late twenties. He’s forty-five now. I know Orwell Johnston, who’s also on this trip, is having an affair with the other sales associate. Conrad told me all about their antics. The long lunch hours at a nearby hotel. The gifts he gives her, even at work.”
“How did you learn who would be going?” Gavin wondered why Conrad would tell his wife, if the guy was having an affair with someone at work.
“I asked. And Conrad told me.”
That sounded like he was open about things with his wife. “Have you had other investigators checking into his activities?”
“Yes, before we were married eight years ago. I had inherited quite a large estate before I met him, and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t marrying me just for my money.”
“You must have learned he was a good prospect, since you married him.”
“No skeletons in his closet. He worked his way up in the greeting-card business and is now one of their executives. I didn’t suspect anything was wrong between us until he came home from the last trip. He acted distant and aloof, and he didn’t seem to be his cheerful self for several weeks. I asked what was wrong, but he said nothing was. Which I knew was a lie. He wouldn’t tell me what had happened.”
“The sales associate had been with him that time too?”
“Yes. They seemed close when I attended the company Christmas party. She was sweet and got me refills on my drinks, and she was trying to be careful about not showing any overt affection toward Conrad. But there were coy smiles, and she patted his hand and ran hers over his back in a way that led me to believe there was more intimacy going on between them.”
“How did he react to her attentions?”
“Like he was used to it. He didn’t make her stop. I didn’t see him treat her in the same way, but that could just mean he was being more discreet at the party because I was there. After the way he acted following the last team-building trip, and with Cheryl part of the group again, I want to know what’s really going on.”
“Okay, so anything else that raises your suspicions? Like he’s taking more care with his appearance? Staying away from home later, leaving home earlier? Evasiveness? Defensiveness?”
“He has been working later. If you must know, our sex life is nil. He’s always taken care of his appearance. Evasiveness? Yes, especially after the last trip. And defensiveness, yes. He’s received calls he’s secretive about. I haven’t smelled a woman’s perfume on his clothes though—and I haven’t seen any receipts that would make me suspicious. Of course, he could be using a separate account that I don’t know about for more…personal business.”
“You have a prenuptial agreement, right?”
“Yes. If he’s having an affair and we divorce, he doesn’t get a cent from me. To be fair, if I divorced him and he wasn’t at fault, he’d receive a settlement. I do love him, and I was willing to make that concession.”
“Okay. I’ll get right on this.” Gavin didn’t know what to think. If Conrad was telling his wife about his coworker’s affair, was he trying to get a reaction out of her? Maybe. One of the cops Gavin knew on the Seattle force had done that. His wife thought it was amusing, until she learned her husband was having an affair with a nurse at one of the local hospitals.
“Thank you. I’m emailing you pictures of Conrad and Cheryl. I
trust you’ll be inconspicuous.”
“Guaranteed.”
They finished the call, and Gavin studied the photos Eleanor had sent, apparently taken at the company Christmas party. There was a Christmas tree in the background, and both Conrad and Cheryl were holding glasses of champagne.
Conrad was dark-haired, dark-eyed, and had a manicured, pampered appearance. He didn’t appear to be the type who was ready to rough it. Cheryl had dark roots, but the rest of her hair was pale blond, and she had light-green eyes. She looked like the girl next door, sweet and innocent.
Gavin called Faith MacPherson, one partner’s mate, to let her know he had a job and would be leaving as soon as he could. She managed the calls for their business while taking care of her six-year-old triplets. Her husband, Cameron, and their other two partners were out on jobs of their own.
“Oh, Gavin, I’m so sorry you had to be the one to take this particular case,” Faith said.
He wished no one knew about his fear of flying. Faith had learned the truth when Cameron had needed his help to locate their missing friends, and he’d had to fly from Seattle to Maine to aid them.
“No problem. I’ll let you know what’s going on when I locate the group and tell you if I learn anything.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
Like everyone else at the agency, Faith knew how things could go wrong at a moment’s notice. Gavin called Adventure Seaplane Tours and got the owner, Henry White.
“Yeah, I had a last-minute sightseeing tour cancellation,” Henry said. “Do you need all the outfitting equipment? Will it be just you?”
“Just me, and I’m bringing my own gear. Thanks.”
“All right. Drive up here, and I’ll fly you out. My son and I are taking a group out there a couple of hours before your flight. We’ll be back well before you arrive. It’s a popular time of year. Though a storm’s coming in tomorrow. So we’ve had a few cancellations.”
Gavin wondered if the earlier group was Conrad’s. It would have worked out time-wise, from the itinerary Eleanor had, and Conrad’s company was also using White’s tour service. “Yeah, thanks. See you soon.”