“Wait, what happened to Wayne in your little scheme of things?”
Her face turned a little wan.
Vaughn frowned. “He’s been with you all along on this and now he’s not? A falling-out among thieves?”
“We aren’t thieves. We would have worked every bit as hard at finding the treasure as Miles did.”
“What about Wayne?” And all her dead husbands? She wasn’t as innocent as she tried to let on.
“He decided not to work with us any longer. He didn’t like our plans.”
Jillian growled.
“Ow, damn it. Tell her to release me!”
Leidolf smiled at Jillian. “You can release her, and we’ll take it from here.”
Jillian looked like she really didn’t want to. One of the officers had already grabbed the dive knife. Jillian released her hold on Kira and stepped back, growling.
Kira’s wrist was bleeding, but from what Vaughn could see, the puncture marks were negligible, and she would heal quickly. But when he observed blood on the knife blade, he realized Jillian had been cut.
“Are you badly cut?” Vaughn growled.
Jillian shook her head.
“We’ll wait here so you can check her out,” Leidolf said. “And keep Kira here so you can question her further.”
Suddenly, Howard was charging into the guest house looking like he was ready to kill someone. His face still appeared flushed, but that might have been because he was angry. “If I was working my regular job as an Enforcer and not a USF agent, I’d just terminate the bastard who tore into Douglas and left him for dead and shot Miles.” Howard glowered at Kira.
Jillian woofed at him in greeting, and Vaughn was glad Howard had come to their rescue.
“I didn’t bite Douglas. He was a friend, and we wanted to dive for him,” Kira said.
“Come on, Jillian. Let me take a look at you,” Vaughn said.
She shook her head, and he knew she wanted to hear all that needed to be said first. She thought he was stubborn!
One of the police officers said, “I can confirm this right away. I just need a swab of your mouth, and then the doc can determine if you had anything to do with Douglas’s injury.”
“Gladly.” Which had to mean she hadn’t bitten Douglas, or she wouldn’t be so eager to give a sample.
“We’ve cleared Brutus of the crime of attacking Douglas too,” the officer said.
“Which means Wayne had to have done it,” Vaughn said. “So where the hell is he?”
Kira frowned. “How should I know? Once we told him we were through with him—”
“Why?”
Kira glared at Vaughn, then looked at the floor. “He wanted to get rid of Miles. We didn’t sanction it. We were furious when he told us he had killed him so we could be the divers for Douglas instead. We told him we were through with him. I was grateful to learn Miles was okay. I wanted to make up to Miles in the worst way.”
“By having sexual relations with him.”
Jillian growled low.
“It seemed to lift his…spirits. It was the least I could do for him. I might not have wanted to be his mate, but I still think of him as a friend.”
“Why would Wayne try to kill Douglas?”
“I figured since we cut Wayne out of the treasure, he decided he’d get rid of Douglas because he knew where it was. If Wayne eliminated Douglas, none of us would get it.”
Which was a possibility. “Brutus was looking for something in the cabin. What was that all about then? The treasure map?” Vaughn suspected he was looking for the notebook detailing the treasure hunts, but had he also known about the cash for the expedition?
“The treasure map, sure. Douglas told us he kept meticulous details on every expedition. Brutus and I knew if we didn’t safeguard it for Douglas for when he recovered, Wayne would get ahold of it and either use it or destroy it.”
“So you hadn’t intended to use it for your own exploration.”
“No. Of course not.”
Vaughn didn’t believe her. “Then Wayne shot Brutus because the two of you were ending the partnership with him. Brutus was the injured jaguar that Leidolf’s men tried to track down.”
Kira was quiet.
Surprised he had it wrong, Vaughn raised his brows. “Wayne didn’t shoot Brutus. Brutus shot Wayne, attempting to kill him. But why?”
“I told you. Wayne didn’t like our plan. He wanted Miles to die. Since Wayne had already tried to kill Miles, why not Douglas too? You see what happened. He did try to kill him. We didn’t want anyone to die.”
“Just husbands.”
Kira snorted. “We didn’t have anything to do with their accidental deaths.”
“Then Wayne was trying to shoot Brutus after he went to the clinic to see Douglas and ran off. Payback for Brutus already having shot him before?”
“Yeah.”
“Why had Brutus gone to see Douglas?”
“He wanted him to know we had nothing to do with injuring him. That it was all Wayne’s fault.”
“Why not tell Leidolf? Why not tell us?”
“Brutus shot Wayne first! Somehow I don’t believe his attempt to kill him would have been considered justified. If he had been defending Miles, it would have been a different story. Otherwise, he would have to answer for it.”
“And there’s the matter of all your dead husbands.”
Kira didn’t say anything in response to that.
“How long did you know Brutus? From the beginning?” Though they knew she had, Vaughn wanted her to tell them firsthand.
“He was my first husband’s best friend. We were all poor.”
Vaughn shook his head. “You don’t have to have a lot of money to be rich. What about Wayne? Was he your first husband’s best friend too?”
“No. He met us in the Kitty Cat Club a couple of weeks after my last husband died. We got to talking about diving for treasure, and he wanted to go with us on the next dive we made.”
“Wayne’s last name is Wells. Any relation to your last late husband?”
Kira’s eyes grew wide. “What? His name is Grunsky.”
Vaughn could tell by the shocked expression on Kira’s face that she really hadn’t had a clue. “Sorry to break it to you, but Wayne’s real last name is Wells. How much do you want to bet he was related to your latest deceased husband, and he wanted to know just how Gaston died? What if they were brothers? They’re both divers. What if he knew his brother was too knowledgeable about diving, that he shouldn’t have had a dive accident like he had?
“What if Wayne looked into your past and learned what we did? That you left a wake of dead husbands, and his brother was the last. Now you have a new treasure-hunting scheme. How long before Miles and Douglas would have died at your hands? That’s saying you’re even telling the truth that Wayne attempted to kill Miles. Prove Brutus didn’t have anything to do with it. Tell us where the rifle is that he shot Wayne with.”
“I don’t have any idea where it is.”
“Don’t be surprised if I don’t believe you.” Vaughn turned to Leidolf. “I’ve got to check on Jillian’s injury. We’ll talk to Kira more later.”
“I didn’t do anything. You can’t hold me. I didn’t hurt Douglas. They can run the tests and see that I didn’t. I just came here to convince Miles that Brutus is innocent of hurting Douglas or Miles and to persuade Leidolf’s men to free him.”
“By force? That’s what you thought, didn’t you? That you would force us to free Brutus, then the two of you would disappear for good. You cashed in on your husbands’ deaths. No matter what else, that shouts black widow. Murder for money. We’re done talking for now. I want to see to Jillian’s injury.”
One of the police officers hauled Kira out to the car while Leidolf said, “I’ll wait to see how badly Jillian was cut.”
“Yeah, me too,” Howard said, his arms folded across his chest, looking all growly.
Vaughn led Jillian back to the bedroom and she shi
fted.
Kira had cut her on the arm. Nothing that the doctor needed to stitch up, but Vaughn was still furious. He grabbed a wad of tissues from a box sitting on the bedside table and gently clamped it on Jillian’s arm.
“Thanks. I told you it wasn’t bad,” Jillian said.
“Kira cut her, but not deeply.” He had to let Leidolf know that the woman had actually tried to slice her.
“Are you sure you don’t need the doc to take a look at it?” Leidolf asked from the living room.
“No, thanks. I’ll be fine. My mate can take care of it.” She took Vaughn’s hand and kissed it, her eyes filled with tears.
Her words and tears bowled him over. “I’ve got it. I’ll lock the door behind you.” Vaughn kissed her mouth, then gently helped her to sit down. He was certain she was shaking from the adrenaline flooding her blood, the anger she’d felt because Wayne had shot her brother, the fight instinct, and being cut. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’m not going to die on you.” She smiled up at him.
“No, but seeing your blood on the knife nearly gave me a heart attack.” He smiled back at his lovely mate, then hurried out of the bedroom and down the hall to the living room. Both Leidolf and the police officer were still waiting to hear from him. Maybe they were worried it was worse than either was letting on.
Then Leidolf grinned at him. “You’re mated? Hell, man, have you told your cousin yet?”
Vaughn smiled. “Uh, no. Just our team. Not even her parents. There will be time enough for that.”
“Well, I’m sure glad I teamed the two of you up together. I feel like a mating expert now.”
Smiling, Vaughn shook his head.
“You sure she’s going to be all right?” Leidolf asked.
“Yeah. Just a small cut. I’ll bandage it, and it should fade in a couple of days.”
“Okay, my men will question Kira further and deal with this.”
“Thanks. Glad you’ve got a place to lock her up.”
“Yeah. When I took over the territory, I had to do something about wolves who go rogue. Since she’s a jaguar who’s involved in criminal acts, the USF will have to take her in and investigate all about her former husbands to determine if they were murdered. I can’t imagine losing that many husbands to accidents. They’ll have to decide what to do with her after that. Same with Brutus. Wayne and Simon too, once we catch up to them. I’ve seen the JAG facilities for holding rogues under investigation for committing crimes. They’re perfect for long-term or short-term use.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’m glad to hear about Douglas too. I’ve got a pack member sitting with him around the clock for when he begins to talk again and to keep an eye on his condition.”
“Thanks, Leidolf.” Vaughn shook his hand.
The police officer grinned when Vaughn shook his hand. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks, man.”
“A celebration is in order once you solve the case,” Leidolf said.
The two men left and Vaughn asked, “Are you okay, Howard?”
“Hell, after you called me and the rest of the team to tell us that Douglas was awake and you were mated, I was glad…until it sounded like someone was ready to kill you and I had to rush right over here.”
Vaughn smiled and slapped Howard on the shoulder. “Sorry, man. Get some rest. If you’re feeling up to it, we’ll all go out tonight when the others get in.”
“Works for me.”
Howard left, and Vaughn locked up. He grabbed a first aid kit from the bathroom and headed into the bedroom where Jillian was lying against the pillows, naked, looking sexy and desirable.
She smiled at him as if she knew what he was thinking.
“You are going to take it easy.” Vaughn sat next to her on the bed and washed the cut with peroxide, then dried it carefully, covered it in sterilized gauze, and taped it up.
She ran her hand over his arousal, already stirring just from the way she looked so inviting. Now with her touching him?
He was a lost cause.
She knew it as he stripped off his boxer briefs, moved in close, and began to kiss her.
Chapter 19
So this was what mated bliss was like, Jillian thought as she snuggled against Vaughn after making love again and napping for a bit. She kept thinking they needed to get up, to ensure Douglas was doing fine, to check on Howard and see how he was feeling. That they should learn if Leidolf’s men had discovered anything more. If Brutus had shifted and spilled his guts yet. For now, she only wanted to hold on to Vaughn and cherish the moment.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Vaughn said quietly against her hair.
“Yeah,” she whispered back, not wanting to fully wake from the dream. She couldn’t believe she’d mated the wolf she’d wanted to meet at the club and was now in bed with that hot, sexy SEAL wolf after making love to him.
Vaughn kissed her hand. “If we get up, it means we’ll have to start making calls. That will be the end of this for a while.”
She slid her naked body on top of his and grabbed her phone off the bedside table, then snuggled in his arms before she called the doctor first. She wasn’t giving this up for anything. Not until they absolutely had to.
Vaughn sighed and said against her ear, “I’m so glad you’re my partner.”
“You like working like this?”
“Hell yeah. Don’t you?”
“You know I do.” She sighed next. “But it’s going to make leaving the bed awfully hard.”
“Worth it, don’t you think?”
She chuckled. “Yeah.”
She called the doctor, and as soon as the nurse got him on the line, she said, “Hi, this is Jillian. I’m checking on Douglas.”
“He’s doing great. He’s given the officers the details of what he knows. I wanted to call you with an update, but Douglas said since you were now newly mated wolves, under no circumstances was I, or anyone on my staff, to call you. I told him about what happened with Kira and the two of you; Leidolf gave us the word. But Douglas insisted that it was too important for you to have some time alone,” Dr. Wilders said.
“We’re on our way over,” Jillian said, sliding her hand over her hunky mate’s bare chest.
“I’ll have a look at that knife cut when you get here.”
She was about to object.
Vaughn said, “Thanks, Doc. That will ease my mind.”
She shook her head, said good-bye, and ended the call. “I’m fine.”
“Sorry, but when you get pregnant, I’m going to take you in for all your checkups, and maybe even a few in between for good measure.”
Jillian laughed. She couldn’t help but love him. He wanted the best for her, even if he went a little overboard. “Deal. But only if I get to do the same for you if you’re injured and need medical care.”
The smile in his eyes and the curve of his mouth said he really wasn’t ready for that. But he inclined his head. She was certain when it came time for her to have him checked out by the doctor, he wouldn’t be quite so agreeable.
They quickly showered and dressed, then headed over to the clinic. When they walked into Douglas’s room, he was sitting up and smiling broadly at them, looking like he’d never been injured, except for the bandaging around his neck and on his hands.
“You look well,” Jillian said, meaning it, as she took a seat next to the bed.
“You’re beautiful. I thought you were when you saw me last, but recollections were a little hazy. Now that I see you more clearly, you’re beautiful. And Vaughn is one lucky wolf to have you.”
“He is,” Jillian agreed.
“I am.” Vaughn was behind her, hands on her shoulders, rubbing them. She definitely enjoyed his massages. When they had a chance, she was giving him a good massage.
“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Vaughn said.
“How are you feeling?” Jillian asked Douglas.
“Tired. Sore. But I’m glad to b
e alive. From what the doc said, the jaguar could have easily killed me. We believe you arrived while he was attacking me and scared him off. So thanks for saving my life. I owe you a lifetime of gratitude.”
“I was glad to have arrived when I did. So glad you made it.”
“Did Doc tell you he believes Wayne did it?” Vaughn asked.
“Yeah. He said he cleared both Kira and Brutus of the crime. He also said that Wayne was the one who shot Miles, according to Kira.”
“Do you believe it?” Jillian asked.
“Well, he was kind of a quiet guy, just watching everyone, listening in on what was being said. I forgot he was around sometimes. Learning for certain that Brutus was Kira’s lover and not her brother wasn’t a total surprise. I’d caught them kissing once. I don’t think they saw me. I quickly turned away. But Wayne saw too, and he didn’t act surprised. That was when we were at the dive club in Belize. It was noisy, everyone was drinking, and I just figured whatever floated their boat. But I also had no intention of getting together with them for diving or anything else in the future. I didn’t know what to think. Whether it was an incestuous relationship, or they were pretending to be brother and sister for some other reason. That was enough for me to be wary of them. I never mentioned it to Miles because I never thought we’d see them again.
“When I learned Miles was seeing Kira at the cabin, I told him I had wanted to speak to him right away about what I’d seen. I didn’t want to ruin our own friendship by telling him, but I didn’t see how I could keep it to myself. Then I never had the chance. Once Miles learned I was awake, he called from San Diego and told me what had happened between him and Kira. If I’d told him what I suspected, he would never have hooked up with her, he said.”
“We learned Wayne attacked you,” Jillian said.
“Yeah. Miles and I were going to get together. He said he’d run into Kira at the gas station, and wasn’t that a surprise? Both she and her brother were there sightseeing. I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence. Not when we’d first seen them at the Kitty Cat Club, then Belize, and now here. I didn’t want to tell Miles over the phone about what I’d seen because I knew he’d be unhappy about it. I didn’t know he was going to get together with her at his cabin.