Chapter 3

Catching a Bad Guy

Things changed. Threats were made. A list appeared. Lou was in the sights of the kidnapper. Jagger suggested I bunk with her to protect her. Goddess, bless him.

She fought, but everyone came together and told her that her daughter needed her. They emphasized that for her to be able to help Star, she needed to be free.

Her family supported my suggestion. They didn"t want to lose her, and there was no doubt that the kidnappers would be coming for her. Thankfully, they didn"t realize she knew or that she had help. It helped that her daughter"s house was always full. People often moved between the houses, making it possible to investigate without much surveillance. No one could tell if anyone suspicious was staying with her or not.

I had my way into Lou"s house. Tonight, I would share a bed with my mate. I would be there if anyone tried to attack her.

Harry had also spelled the room, and a beautiful gold net would catch anyone with bad intentions attempting to get in. I wasn"t sure if I was the backup plan, but I was glad Lou took action.

None of us knew how many would come for her or how powerful they would be. It could even be witches since the kidnapper had no problem getting things spelled.

We ate supper at Lou's house since the team was staying there. Will called in an order for Mexican food, and she and Harry went to get it.

She had gotten a little bit of almost everything they served. Will made sure everyone got something. It was easy since her guys had yet to arrive.

It was just a habit she had gotten into. However, according to what Jagger told me about the last investigation, she didn"t always do it. Harry got an extra bag. I was glad because we needed her at full power.

Harry was a sweet witch. I had grown to like her quite a bit. She now ran her own detective business but had taken off to do this investigation. The little witch had an assistant taking all the calls and trying to plan accordingly.

I knew taking this case would cause issues with some cases she had already accepted. She told me her assistant took easy cases like lost cats and items. That would help, but I doubted Harry got many easy cases. Maybe it was selfish, but I was happy to have her help with this case.

Lou was getting nervous as it got later. Supper was over, and everything was clean. We sat around discussing what we could do tomorrow that might take us closer to Star.

After our discussion, we all knew our best hope was to catch the person coming to grab Lou. It wasn"t the safest chance to take, but I would care for her as long as I was with her, and nothing bad could happen. Surely, the Goddess would look out for us all.

It was time. I grabbed my overnight bag and headed up the steps. With my wolf nose, I found Lou"s room without any problem.

I would shower and put on some sleeping shorts. Hopefully, Lou would be in the room by then so she could tell me what side she wanted me to sleep on. If I went to sleep before she arrived, I might be rousted from bed to move to the other side, which I did not want.

Her bathroom was not what I expected. It obviously had some serious remodeling done. It had a spa feel with a large shower and bathtub. The toilet was in a room of its own, which made me wonder why there was a need for such privacy.

I felt a bit jealous of whatever males were invited to stay the night. It amazed me that she could keep something like that private with her family all around her.

Stepping into the shower, I turned on the hot water. It hit the top of my head from one of the rain faucets. Then it flowed down my face and along my body from the others. I"d only seen something like this on the rare occasion that I had gotten to stay at a resort, and then only the nicest of them.

Lou"s shampoo, body wash, and conditioner had a lovely tropical scent. Perhaps not the manliest, but it smelled good enough to eat.

She had another kind that might be for visitors. It was more refreshing and reminded me of my usual body wash. I decided to use the fruity one, hoping to make her hungry enough to try to eat me.

Once I finished my shower, I looked through the cabinet and found a big fluffy towel. After I dried off, I put on my sleeping shorts. I knew Lou would not appreciate coming into her room to see me naked. Getting her to agree to me sleeping in her bed had been hard enough. I strutted out to her bedroom like a model. The appreciative look she gave me told me my efforts were appreciated.

"Which side of the bed do you prefer?" I asked.

"It makes no difference to me. I can sleep on either."

"Thank you for agreeing to this. I am very concerned about you."

Lou nodded, picked up a pile of clothing, and headed into the bathroom. I knew she would take her time, hoping I would be asleep before she returned.

Picking up my cell phone, I did some paperwork and returned calls. Belle"s coming had been a surprise, and when I texted Damon the answer, he was surprised, too. He said he might come to see Marissa. His message suggested I might be right.

Marissa was close to all her white wolf relatives. She would enjoy seeing Belle because Belle would not take out any of her ire on her.

If we didn"t find some bad guys to keep her busy soon, she would pick one of us to take her angst out on. Belle had a reputation. What she considered pranks sometimes were extremely painful to those whom she visited.

I did not want to be that person, and I didn"t want anyone else on the team to be either. Hopefully, some idiot would try to take my Lou, and Belle could guard them. That would keep her busy for a little while. The clues we got would hopefully lead us to another and another until, finally, we found the jail holding those we searched for.

That was the plan. Meanwhile, I was waiting for Lou. It was amazing how much work I had gotten done while she was taking a leisurely shower or bath, for all I knew.

She finally made it out into the room in a nightgown covering her from neck to toe. She didn"t look pleased to see that I was still awake.

"Why didn"t you go to sleep?" She asked.

"I often work on my phone or computer after I shower until I feel sleepy. It seems there is always plenty to do."

"I see." She didn"t look like she approved of my answer." I"m ready to go to sleep now."

"Very well. Get in bed, and I will turn the light out," I responded.

She settled down, and I turned off the light. Her room was set up for two people with nightstands and lamps on both sides. Alarms were also on either side of the bed, making me wonder what kind of visitors she usually had.

Was she seeing someone regularly now? I hoped not.

It didn"t take her long to go to sleep, even though she was nervous about having me in her bed. I thought she felt that way because she knew I was a danger to her. If I had the opportunity, she would be my mate.

For some reason, that was not what she wanted, at least not yet. Lou was asleep, so I followed her into slumber.

I couldn"t say what woke me, but I felt a sense of urgency, making me believe we were in danger. Would Harry"s golden net work? She used it often and always had success. That would be true if you ever wanted to enter and stood a few feet from the door.

Ironically, I hadn"t thought of the limitations of her spell, but now it was all I thought about. There was a dark flash that was hard for even a wolf to see clearly.

Two people entered the room. Both managed to miss the net.

Thank the Goddess that I was here. They mistook me for Lou. While they were tranquilizing me, she cast a freezing spell on them both. It definitely came in handy, but they had given me a shot that put me out completely.

It was a terrible feeling. I knew coming out of it would not be a good feeling either. At least someone was captured, and we would get new clues to Star"s whereabouts.

My head ached. I felt terrible as I struggled back to consciousness. Had I been taken down in a bar fight?

If I had, there must have been more than one assailant unless it was a bear. That would be weird. I tended to avoid bears and most bars where they congregated.

Maybe someone cast a spell on me? That had never happened so I had no idea what that might feel like.

"Are you in there, Logan?" Harry asked.

"Did something or someone run over me?"

"No, the bad guys gave you a shot to knock you out. We gave you something to bring you back."

"How long?" I asked.

"An hour at the most. We gave the shot to revive you as soon as Lou got you downstairs," Harry explained.

"Who did we capture?" I asked, immediately concerned about the case.

"You remember those two people who delivered meals to the prisoners? They were sent," Will replied.

"I wonder why them?"

"They didn"t care if they came back or not. They are lackeys that don"t seem to know where the jail is," Will answered.

"How is that even possible?" I wondered.

"He"s been sending them in and out. All they know is where they come from and where they end up. Neither of them is the sharpest knife in the drawer," Will observed.

"I am sure they know something that will help us if we can simply ask the correct question," I assured.

"Nicky is questioning them and peeking into their minds. If they know anything, we will know it too," Will offered.

It wasn"t long before Nicky walked into the room. "They didn"t know much, but they did know that Star was doing all right. They also knew of several places they were sent. Perhaps one of our witches can figure out how they returned to the prison from those spots?"

"I"m not sure if we can, but I"ll give it a try," Harry immediately offered.

"It will take all of us and still might not work," Lou admitted.

"Maybe for now, we should all get some sleep and get started in the morning strong and clear-headed," I observed.

Everyone agreed, and Harry put the prisoners in a spelled room with restraints. Once everyone was gone, we climbed back into bed and slept.

We were wrapped in each other"s arms when we woke in the morning. It felt so damn good.

Of course, Lou immediately rolled away from me and looked horrified. What did she find so terrible about being in bed with me? I knew deep in my heart that we were fated, but I also knew she refused to accept it and would fight it with everything she was. It wouldn"t be enough because I wouldn"t give up. Since it was morning, we both got up. I went to the bathroom to get dressed. When I came back into the room, she was already gone.

An aroma came from the kitchen, and I knew someone was cooking a great meal. There were plates of pancakes, sausage, and bacon. My Lou was cooking, and Will and Nicky were helping her. Harry made coffee as she had been doing every morning. She was getting good at it. I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat beside her, watching the food cook.

Grant was the last one to arrive. He entered the kitchen as the food was being served. He had great timing.

As we ate, we discussed what to do next. I first sent the pictures I had taken last night to the computer experts working for the wardens. Yes, they already had Linda"s drawings, but the computer seemed to work better with pictures. There was a chance we might manage to identify them.

Although they had told us names, they had given them to us quickly, so I didn"t believe them. I sent that information to the computer experts to confirm. I didn"t wait for a reply because I knew it could take hours or even days.

"We need to pick one of the places they were sent, go there, and see if any residual magic awaits us," Harry suggested.

"I agree, but which one should we choose?" Lou asked.