“I wouldn’t sic the IRS on my worst enemy.”
“Just a mild attack? To save the wolf?”
“Maybe.” She stood up. “I’ve got to check on her.”
“Don’t you think we should give her a name? Something exotic, perhaps. Ivana or Dest—”
“I hate cutesy names.” She headed for the porch door. “Her name is Maggie.”
“Margaret will be flattered . . . I think.”
“It’s not about her. I just like the name.”
“Sarah.”
She glanced over her shoulder.
“I’m making sense,” he said soberly. “I know Santo Camaro seems far away and unreal. But it’s not. Believe me, Sarah.”
He was right. The threat from Rudzak did seem completely unreal to her. “You could be wrong.”
“I’m not wrong. Let me stay. Let me help you. I promise I won’t be a disturbance.” He made a face. “And just think how you’ll love ordering me around.”
“It might almost be worth it.”
“Then think about it.”
She was silent a moment. “I will.”
He watched her disappear to the porch. Had he been persuasive enough? He had laid the facts out before her with complete honesty; anything else would have been the height of idiocy. She would never accept deception in herself or anyone else. She had a directness he had seen in very few women and a passionate caring for the helpless he had never experienced. She had worked over that wolf as if it were her child, stroking it, talking to it, soothing even though the animal couldn’t hear her. There had been something beautiful about Sarah Patrick in those moments. Fine-boned hands that were gentle as well as deft, tousled hair that she’d had him push back once so she could better see what she was doing. Strong shoulders, breasts lifting and falling with the intensity of her emotion . . .
Oh, shit. He didn’t need this physical response right now. He certainly didn’t need it in connection with Sarah Patrick.
Then forget it, block it out.
Easier said than done. Every time he looked at her, he’d remember how he’d felt at that moment.
Nothing was easy. Do it. Forget how she’d looked in that simple white bra.
Remember only what he had to do to keep her alive.
Monty was stretched out next to the sleeping wolf, almost nose to nose. He didn’t lift his head when Sarah walked into the room. Good. She was glad she had a moment to herself. Too much had happened that night and she was upset and off balance. Logan had thrown her another curve and now she had to deal with it.
This cabin was her haven; she didn’t want anyone here. Particularly a presence as strong as Logan. He had said he wouldn’t disturb her, but there was no way a personality that forceful wouldn’t prove a disturbance.
Yet he hadn’t exerted that strength when he helped her with the wolf. He took a backseat, ready to help but not interfere, same as in Taiwan.
But living comfortably with him wasn’t the real issue. Was it safer for her and Monty to have him there? Did she trust his judgment and motives? He was a complicated man, but she had grown to know something about him and she had believed him when he had said he would never use her again.
She stared across the room at Monty and the wolf. “We have a problem, boy.”
Monty lifted his head and looked at her inquiringly. Okay?
“Me or the wolf? We’re both going to be fine. You shouldn’t have gone out looking for her, you know. You’re not in top shape yourself, and there’s no telling what could have happened. She’s no gentle soul.”
Monty put his head back down. Beautiful.
“Yes, she is, and she’s clearly a maiden in distress, but she could take you apart in minutes. You don’t have the killer instinct.”
Hurt.
“Right now, but in a few weeks she’ll be well again. And I don’t want you pulling that trick of putting your head on her throat again. It’s a good way to get mauled and you—”
The wolf opened her eyes and stared directly into Monty’s.
Beautiful.
“Oh, shit.” Sarah’s heart sank as she watched them together. “No, boy. She’s definitely from the wrong side of the tracks. Hell, the wrong side of the universe. Believe me, you have nothing in common.”
Beautiful.
“If you had a domestic squabble, she’d take you apart.”
Beautiful.
“And what kind of kids would you have?”
Beautiful.
They might be at that. Golden retriever and this gorgeous wolf . . . “It would definitely be a one-night stand. The Wildlife Federation has other plans for Maggie.”
Monty delicately licked the fur beneath the wolf’s eyes.
Maggie drew back her lips in a snarl.
Sarah tensed, ready to jump forward to protect him. “Stop.”
Monty didn’t stop.
And Maggie’s snarl slowly disappeared. She closed her eyes, accepting.
“I’ll be damned.” Sarah shook her head. “Maybe it’s mutual after all.” She moved forward and knelt by the wolf. “I have to give her another shot, boy. Try to distract her.”
Maggie opened her eyes and snarled at Sarah when the needle entered, but she didn’t attack. A few moments later she was asleep again.
Once more Monty stretched out beside her.
“You’re not listening,” Sarah said. “It’s strictly Montague and Capulet stuff. Her folks would never accept you.”
Monty sighed, his gaze never leaving the wolf. Beautiful.
Logan was asleep in the chair when she left the porch.
She marched across the room and shook him awake. “You can stay. But you’d better get well fast. I’m going to work your tail off and enjoy every minute of it.”
He yawned. “I’m glad you informed me in such a gentle manner.”
“I don’t feel gentle. I have problems.” She headed for her bedroom. “I have to get Maggie on her feet and out of here quickly and I may need your help with some repercussions.”
“What repercussions?”
“Monty’s ga-ga over her.”
Logan chuckled. “So?”
“It’s not funny. I have to get them apart before they decide to mate. Wolves mate for life, and Monty . . . I won’t have him hurt.”
“Isn’t it unusual for a rescue dog not to be fixed?”
“ATF wanted to do it, and I told them to leave it to me. I meant to . . . but then I didn’t.” She glared at him. “Okay?”
“Maybe for Monty it will be only a fling.”
“That’s crazy. Monty’s the most loving dog I’ve ever known.”
“I can see the problem.”
She scanned his expression. He wasn’t laughing or mocking any longer. He did understand. “Most people would think I’m being weird, but it’s . . . important to me.”
“Then it’s important to me. And I can understand why you wouldn’t want your best friend to make a bad match.” He closed his eyes. “But could I go back to sleep now? If you’re going to work my tail off, I’m going to need all the rest I can get.”
He waited until the bedroom door shut behind her before he reached into his pocket for his phone and called Galen. “I’m at Sarah’s cabin and I’ll be here for a while. Have you heard anything?”
“Not yet. I’m still tracking down Sanchez. How were those last days in Kai Chi?”
“Hell.”
“Is Sarah okay?”
“As good as can be expected. She’s having a few domestic problems. Monty’s in love with a wolf.”
Galen burst out laughing. “That ball of fluff?”
“Believe me, it’s not funny to Sarah. Call Margaret and have her find out everything she can about the Mexican gray wolves that were released in this area.”
“Why don’t you call her yourself?”
“She was pissed at me for coming here, and Taiwan won’t have made her temper any better. I’ve had a rough night and I don’t want to deal with her rig
ht now.”
“Say no more. I wouldn’t want to contact her either.”
“Have you secured the cabin?”
“Six of my best men.”
“I haven’t seen anyone.”
“They can see you. They’re camped up in the mountains and they can see trouble coming for miles. I’ll give you Franklin’s number.”
“Tomorrow. I don’t have a pen and I don’t want to move. I’m hurting like the devil. Bye.”
He had to get a few hours’ sleep. It was almost dawn, and he hadn’t the slightest doubt Sarah would soon be up and tending the wolf. As usual, she’d be fighting any softness toward him and would have no compunction about putting into action her threat to “work his tail off.”
9
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Sarah stood in the bedroom doorway with her arms folded across her chest.
“Feeding Monty.” Logan patted the dog on the head. “He was hungry, and I didn’t want to wake you.”
“No one feeds Monty but me. I’ve trained him not to accept food from anyone else.” But Monty was eating, she realized with a mixture of amazement and annoyance. “Damn.”
“He was hungry,” Logan repeated as he filled up Monty’s water bowl. “I thought I’d give it a try.”
“I can’t have you interfering with Monty’s training.”
“I can see why you wouldn’t want to have strangers feed him, but I’m no threat.”
“Practically no one is a stranger to Monty. He loves everyone. That’s why I can’t have him fed by anyone but me.”
“Maybe he has better judgment than you think.” He put down the water bowl. “Here you go, boy.”
“I can’t take the chance. So please leave my dog alone.”
“Okay. Just trying to help. Anything else I can do?”
“You can go sit down and rest that leg. You haven’t been off it in the last three days.”
“Whatever you say.” He limped back to his chair. “But it’s getting better. Did you notice I was able to do a lot more yesterday?”
“Yes.” Since the night they’d brought home the wolf, Logan had kept himself busy doing everything from sweeping the cabin to helping nurse Maggie. When they weren’t working side by side, he was cooking or cleaning or on the phone, trying to wield influence to keep the ranchers away from the wolf. She scowled. “Too much.”
“Do I perceive a softening?” He stretched his leg out on the hassock. “You’re the one who wanted to work me to the bone. You asked, I obeyed.”
“I know.”
He grinned. “But you don’t like the fact that I didn’t mind it.”
“Nonsense. I just didn’t—” She smiled reluctantly. “You’ve not been any fun at all. What good is a slave if he’s so obliging? It takes all the joy out of the situation.”
“Sorry.”
She studied him. “And you’ve been doing a heck of a lot more than I ask. I don’t like that.”
“I’m just a self-starter.”
“You’re also a prime manipulator. You knew it would bother me to see a wounded man overextend himself.”
He gazed at her innocently. “Did I?”
“Knock it off.”
“I’m surprised it took you this long to call me on it.”
“I’m not that soft.” She made a face. “And I thought you’d stop. I knew you were hurting.”
“Just doing my job, ma’am.”
“And getting a little of your own back.”
“I admit I have a problem with total subjugation.”
“Any subjugation.”
“I do prefer partnerships. I think we’ve proved we work pretty well together, don’t you?”
She didn’t speak for a moment. “Yes.”
“Then why not call a truce? You don’t have to force me to do anything. I’d go nuts if I didn’t have something to do. Even nursing your wolf is better than twiddling my thumbs. We’re living together, let’s do it as painlessly as possible.”
“I’m not in any pain. I could go—” She broke off as the phone rang. “And we’re not living together,” she said as she crossed the room and picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“You didn’t call me,” Todd Madden said. “How did the Logan job go?”
“What do you care, Madden? It’s over. That’s all that’s important.”
“Good. Then you can come up to Washington for the weekend. I’ve set up a press conference about the Barat earthquake, and what about this Taiwan mudslide? That will be excellent copy.”
“Go to hell.”
“Don’t be ugly, Sarah.” Madden’s voice was silky smooth. “You know it doesn’t do you any good to be nasty to me. Shall I make your reservations or will you?”
“I’m not coming to Washington. I’m busy.”
“You know how I hate to pressure you, but I can’t tolerate—”
“Screw you.” She hung up the phone.
“You should have let me talk to him,” Logan said.
“I got too much satisfaction out of telling him to go chase himself.”
“That wasn’t exactly the term you used,” he said lightly.
The phone rang again.
She didn’t answer it. “It’s him again. He can’t believe I’m not jumping through his hoop.”
“Are you going to answer it?”
“No. I’m burning my bridges. If you don’t keep your promise, I’m going to go down in flames.”
“But you trust me to keep it. Or you wouldn’t have burned that bridge.”
She was silent a moment. “Yes, I trust you.”
“How much time do I have?”
“A few days, maybe a week. Madden will have trouble believing that I won’t change my mind. Then he’ll get angry and want to punish me.”
“And then what happens? What will he do to you?”
“He’ll take Monty away from me.”
“What?”
“Monty doesn’t belong to me. ATF owns him. I do what Madden wants or he uses his influence to have them take Monty away and give him to someone else.”
Logan swore softly. “Can’t you buy him from ATF?”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried? They won’t sell him. Madden wants that hold on me.”
“Are you sure he can get them to take Monty away?”
“He’s done it before. Two years ago I’d had enough and told him to go jump in the lake. ATF snatched Monty out of my jeep while I was in the supermarket getting groceries. They left a very businesslike note. They were sending him to a handler in Europe and I’d be notified of the new dog I’d be assigned.”
“Europe?”
“The K9 Corps trains dogs for other law enforcement bodies overseas.” She continued bitterly. “Madden was very clever, wasn’t he? He didn’t even tell me what country. I was frantic. I begged everyone from mail clerks to senior officers in ATF to tell me where they’d shipped Monty. It took me over a month to find out they’d sent him to a police department in Milan. I thought it might be too late.”
“Too late?”
“It’s not only that he won’t eat or drink for anyone else. Monty loves me. We’re . . . close. He would mourn. A dog as loving as Monty can die of sadness.” She blinked her stinging eyes. “He did mourn. He was sick, so sick, when I found him in Milan.”
“And what did you do?”
“What do you think I did? I called Madden and told him I’d do anything he wanted if he’d give me back my dog.” She looked straight into his eyes. “I won’t let that happen to him again. If you can’t find a way to get Madden off my back, Monty and I will just go away and disappear.”
“I’ll find a way.” Logan’s lips tightened grimly. “Count on it.”
“I am. Heaven help you if you let me down.”
“I won’t let you down.” He took out his phone. “Now go tend your wolf while I take care of Madden.” He looked up after he’d dialed a number. “Since we’re joined in putting Madden down, couldn’t you ign
ore all my sins and give me my truce?”
“Maybe.” She smiled. “If you promise not to feed my dog again.”
“Only if he’s starving.” He spoke into the phone. “Margaret, what’s the word on Madden?”
Sarah was still smiling as she and Monty moved toward the back porch. There was something very comforting about Logan’s immediate and focused response to her problem.
Monty looked back at Logan. Nice.
“Cupboard love. You shouldn’t have eaten until I fed you. You know better.”
Trust.
“You still shouldn’t have broken the rules.” But she, too, was breaking the rules and trusting Logan. How had he managed to get past her defenses?
Nice.
Charisma? No, heaven knows he hadn’t tried to charm her during these last days. He had just been straightforward and hardworking.
Why was she worrying anyway? All she had committed herself to was a truce for the next week or so.
Beautiful. Monty was trotting toward Maggie, who looked at him balefully. He plopped down beside her. Love.
She curled her lips in a snarl.
Sarah shook her head. “She’s not feeling very romantic, boy. That wound’s giving her a fit.” She moved toward Maggie. “Come on, let’s see if I can make it feel better. No snapping. Let’s see if we can have a truce too.”
The dog was romping and playing, his golden tail wagging happily as it ran circles around the Patrick woman.
Duggan sighted down the rifle squarely on the dog’s head. His finger slowly caressed the trigger.
“What are you doing?”
He looked up to see Rudzak coming toward him over the ridge.
“The Patrick woman and the dog are outside the cabin. I’m going to give her a little surprise. I didn’t do a good job of getting the dog at Santo Camaro. I’m going to blow his fucking head off now.”
Rudzak looked down at the cabin. “That’s not why we’re here. We just managed to avoid Galen’s men patrolling this area. They’re all over the place. You’d think they were protecting Fort Knox. We may have only a short time before they come back. Have you seen Logan?”