Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Damn, she shouldn’t be doing this. Yet even as Kari said the words quietly inside her head, her hand reached out and her fingertips tracked the back of Nick’s shoulder. He’d hardly caught his breath after rolling off her frame to keep from crushing her. He didn’t need to bother. Kari was made of better stock than most women her size. Her inability to make her original flight awarded her more time with Nick. As much as she’d like to deny the desire to be with him, she couldn’t. “Did you always want to be an agent?” she asked, unable to stop the questions she had for him.

“I always wanted to be a cop. Big guns, fast cars. Helping people in that role had its rewards, but the Fed’s gave me more.”

Kari tucked her arm under her cheek and twined her legs more firmly with his.

“What about you? Always wanted to be a PI?”

She new his question would come, and for the first time wanted to tell the truth. She couldn’t tell him everything, but maybe a little truth wouldn’t hurt. “I wanted revenge.”

His gaze narrowed on her eyes. “For your parents?”

“For them, for my sister, Dee. For me. I saw how the cops worked the investigation. Noticed some of the restrictions they had to hold to.”

Nick placed a finger over her lip. “I can’t see you committing crimes to run your business.”

Kari wondered if he was trying to keep her from any confessions he couldn’t ignore. She couldn’t tell him that there weren’t any laws about wolves breaking into houses, or trespassing. “Do you have to work above the law during your investigations?”

He didn’t answer the question immediately, which rose Kari’s suspicions. “No.”

“I don’t either. But unlike you, I don’t have anyone breathing down my neck for paperwork or any other unnecessary BS like that.” She’d seen Nick pouring over a mound of papers earlier while the rat they’d trapped was hauled out of the forest for the last time. “I pick the cases I want, blow off those I don’t. Anything remotely dangerous I keep my sister away from.”

“Damn.” His hand had drifted to her arm, and his fingers gripped into her flesh.

“What?”

“The thought of you in danger twists my gut.”

“This from the man who carries a gun.” Yet her insides warmed with the knowledge that he cared. She had no business wanting his protective caveman testosterone keeping her from harms way. Nick was an extended fling. She’d do well to remember that.

“At least tell me that you know how to fire a gun.”

Kari traced the frown on his face. “I’m probably a better shot than you.”

His shoulders relaxed.

“What about Dee?”

“She bought a rifle on her eighteenth birthday and a Glock 40 on her twenty first. She’s working on a conceal and carry permit now.”

“Her idea or yours?”

“Both. She still has nightmares about our parents. Even the suburbs are riddled with crime. As much as I’d love to ship Dee off somewhere safe, there isn’t a Mayberry out there anymore.”

Nick had pulled her closer, kissed her forehead before tucking her into the crook of his arm. “Some of the craziest shit I’ve seen were in Podunk nowhere places.”

Or great big national forests.

Kari released a sigh and felt her eyelids drift closed.

“I want to see you again,” he whispered over her hair.

Her eyes sprang open, and she tried to pull from his arms. Nick held her tight.

“I’m… I can’t, Nick.”

“People have long distance relationships all the time.”

Kari pushed harder, forcing some distance. Nick kept his arm wrapped around her waist and her thigh trapped between his. “I’m not like…” I’m not even human anymore. She wanted to toss her words at him. “We’ve had a great time, Nick. I’m not the kind of girl who’s into commitments.”

A splash of hurt washed over his eyes. “You won’t even consider trying.”

“I thought every man wanted wild sex without strings.” She attempted humor to toss him off his current train of thought.

“We have a lot in common.”

They did. Too many to count.

But it only took one difference to keep them apart. Suddenly the clock that ticked in the room seemed to explode in her ears. The couple arguing two doors down, that Kari knew Nick couldn’t hear at all, sounded as if they were right outside their door.

“I’m a real bitch several days a month. And the rest I’m simply impossible.”

“Are you trying to convince me or you?”

Both. “Don’t ruin what we’ve had, Nick. Tomorrow you’re getting on your plane, and I’m getting on mine. We’ve had fun.”

She stole her eyes from his and settled back into his arms. But her body was tense.

“I’m not done talking about this,” he said in a soft voice.

“I am,” she whispered into his chest. As one tear slid down her cheek, Kari wished she could give him more.

~~~~

“I want to see you again,” Nick said in the busy airport while they waited for the attendant to call her flight.

“We’ve been over this. I’m not cut out for long term.”

“How will you know if you don’t give it a chance?”

He had said it all before. In the past twenty-four hours, he’d tried to convince her to give them a chance. He prodded her to divulge her secrets he knew she kept. In the end, they made love for the last time in the wee hours of the morning and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Part of her wanted to try. But she knew it wouldn’t work. It was better to break it off now, without hard feelings.

“We had a good time.”

“Is that all it was to you?”

Her eyes started to gloss over. She shook her emotions down and took a deep breath. “No. But it’s better this way.”

“Flight 613 is now boarding at gate two to Los Angeles.”

“That’s me.”

He stepped closer and brought his lips down to hers, branding her with his scent. She choked back the lump in her throat and met his kiss with as much urgency as he.

The announcer called her flight again.

He ended their kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “Be careful, Kari.”

“I will.”

Kari turned, handed her ticket to the waiting flight attendant, and wondered if she was making the biggest mistake of her life.

~~~~

Nick scowled throughout the office for the better part of a week. His report on the kidnapper was typed and on his superior’s desk, with only a few minor details omitted. Explaining how a pint size woman could sniff out the suspect would look as if he was indulging in the confiscated stash in the evidence vault.

Some things were better off unsaid. Besides, he still wasn’t sure how she did it. Over and over she pleaded a sixth sense. But it was more than that; he knew it. And Kari knew he suspected something. Is that why she ran? Whatever her secret was, it kept Nick out of her life, and he wasn’t happy about it.

Kari Pierce was never far from his thoughts. Although he kept busy during the day with case files, at night his body and mind remembered her warmth, her scent, and her smile.

Nick forced the image of her naked and in his arms from his head and stared at the phone on his desk. He tapped the numbers with his index finger, wondering if he should try calling her again. Every time he did, however, her sister Dee lied and insisted she wasn’t in. One time he heard Kari’s voice asking who called. Dee quickly covered up the receiver, mumbled something, then proceeded to tell him Kari wasn’t there.

Dragging a frustrated hand through his hair, Nick snatched his hand away from the phone and forcefully opened the file in front of him.

“Murdock,” his boss called from the door of his office. “You have a minute?”

Nick stood while Ron Patterson came in and shut the door behind him. Before he sat down, he tossed a folder on top of his desk. “You mind explaining this?”

It was the Sequoia file. Kari’s file.

“What didn’t you understand?”

“It appears to jump ahead of itself. I’m wondering if there is something you’re not telling me.” Ron sat back and calmly folded his hands in his lap. Nick remembered how unsettled he felt by Patterson when first joining the FBI. He gave lectures at the time and wasn’t in a position of being in charge. Like any good agent, Ron elevated in the ranks and soon took the corner office. At sixty-five and with silver streaks feathered into his raven black hair, Ron may be on his way to retirement, but could still be intimidating.

On occasion, Nick would join Ron and his wife Nancy for dinner and special occasions. Nick considered him a friend more than a colleague.

“I believe all the pertinent information is there, Ron. If something doesn’t meet with your approval...”

Ron brought his hands in the air and shook his head. “I never said I didn’t approve.”

“Then what is this about?” Now Nick was confused. Ron’s body language didn’t give the impression he was angry. In fact, if Nick didn’t know better, he would swear there was a grin hiding behind his stiff exterior.

“This Pierce woman, she’s the same person you pulled files on the other day, right?”

“Yeah.”

Ron rubbed his chin, as if in debate with himself. “She’s a beautiful woman.” It wasn’t a question.

Nick narrowed his eyes at his boss. “You know her?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Exactly what would you say?” And why the hell are you being evasive?

Instead of answering his question Ron asked, “Are you involved with her?”

“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”

Now Ron did smile. “Beautiful, not like my Nancy mind you, but stunning in her own way. You can’t even tell she’d been attacked by wolves when she was eighteen.”

“Wolves? The report said dogs.”

“Humm.” Ron nodded his head, unaffected by the inconsistency of his statement. “Wasn’t there a report of a wolf helping the child escape her kidnapper?”

Ron was leading him somewhere, without saying where.

“I put the child’s statement in the file.”

“Yes, you did.” Ron stood to leave. When he reached the door, he turned around and glanced to the ceiling. “I wonder how far a wolf can smell or hear their prey?”

“I’m not sure, why do you ask?” Damn it, what are you getting at? Nick knew better than to come right out and ask. Like he told Kari, the FBI didn’t acknowledge privacy, even within their very own walls.

“I wonder if there’s anything in our files. Let me know if you find the answer.”

“I will.”

Smiling, Ron walked out of the room.

Nick watched him leave, Ron’s cryptic words echoed in his mind.

Not wasting time, he clicked into the department classified files and opened a second monitor to the internet. Nick had a sneaking suspicion that the facts of the Pierce murders lay in the details.

After typing in wolves, dogs and murders along with Kari’s name and that of her parents, he cross-referenced to unsolved cases. Ron wouldn’t have led him to something wrapped up tight.

A warning screen popped up saying it would take over an hour for the files to pull out of archives. They dated back to the borough’s inception.

While waiting, Nick used the information superhighway to learn more about the woman who kept him up at night.

Once the department files finished downloading, Nick clicked into the one that flashed classified. It wasn’t password protected, which surprised him. After Ron’s hints, he guessed his boss was the reason for the ease in obtaining access.

The screen flickered, and in slow motion an image emerged that had Nick’s jaw hitting the floor. “Son of a bitch.”

At one in the morning, Nick picked up the phone and woke Ron Patterson from his comfortable sleep.

The bastard deserved it.

“Yeah?” Ron’s sleep-filled voice answered the phone.

“It’s Murdock. I’ve been called away on a family emergency.”

“Really?” A small clicking noise came over the wire. Almost like it was bugged. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Damn the man, he knew exactly what he faced, but didn’t give a clue.

“When can we expect you back?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll keep you posted.”

Ron cleared his throat. “California’s nice this time of year. Take some of your vacation time if you need to.”

Sneaky bastard. Ron knew he didn’t have family in California.

“I’ll call when I’m back in town.”

“You do that.”

Nick ended the call and picked up the phone again.

~~~~

Kari slammed the file cabinet closed and cursed when she noticed a broken nail.

“Damn,” she mumbled bringing her finger up to her mouth and sucking on the sensitive exposed skin.

She’d put the Carter file in archives, having given the man what he needed. He in turn gave her a hefty check for her efforts.

It beat the alimony he would have shelled out if Kari hadn’t found his wife in bed with another man, a boy toy Mr. Carter’s money supported without his knowledge.

Usually, Kari would be satisfied with a case coming to a close, but lately she found little joy in her work.

Dee found her more times than not deep in thought and distracted. Nick’s constant phone calls only added questions from her little sister, questions Kari didn’t want to answer.

She suspected that Dee realized her big sister’s heart pined for the man behind the voice. But sisterly love kept her from forcing the issue, for which Kari was eternally grateful. Kari would have caved and blubbered like a lovesick girl if Dee had pressed. That behavior wasn’t something she did very often.

Maybe she should take some time off, she mused. Even now, she could smell him as if he were in the other room.

Kari sighed and walked out of the small stockroom and straight into an armload of roses.

In painful slow motion, Kari’s eyes traveled from the beautiful variegated roses up and onto his thrust out chest until finally her eyes met and locked with his.

Her heartbeat thudded in her chest like a hammer. Butterflies flapped their wings in her stomach, but she tried to push the pleasure aside. He shouldn’t be here. “What are you doing here, Nick?” Her voice was soft, breathy even.

Dee cleared her throat from her desk, her eyes glued to the both of them.

“I needed to see you.”

Just standing this close to him again short-circuited something in her brain. “Nick I…”

“So this is Nick?” Dee asked from her chair.

He spared Dee a glance and returned his gaze to Kari. He shifted the flowers in his hands and pushed them forward. Unable to do anything but grab them, Kari took them from his hands and turned away. Behind her, she heard Dee stand. Without watching them, Kari heard her sister and Nick introduce themselves to each other.

“You’re the FBI guy, right?”

Nick chuckled. “We like to be called agents.”

Kari stepped over to the small bank of cabinets where the coffee and donuts sat. After finding a vase, she went through the motions of putting water in it, all the while clicking off what she was going to say to Nick to make him go away.

Yet she really didn’t want him to go at all. The memory of his hands trailing over her skin, the whispered words passed through their lips during their brief time together, all swarmed her.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to pull that off.” Nick’s sexy voice was playful and light. “With that sixth sense thing you have going, I figured you’d know when I hit the state.”

“You shouldn’t...”

Placing a fingertip on her lips kept her from talking. “You’re like a drug, and I’m in need of a hit,” he whispered close to her ear.

“Okay, big sister,” Dee laughed. “This is where I leave. Nice meeting you, Nick.”

“A pleasure meeting you, too.”

Kari sent Dee a killer look of abandonment, which was met with another laugh and a sashaying butt as she marched out the door. “Traitor.”

Once the door closed, Nick asked, “Do you like the flowers?”

“They’re beautiful.”

“With a sniffer as good as yours, I needed all the help I could get. Besides, my mom always says flowers make women smile even when they don’t want to.”

Kari embarrassed herself when her lips slid into a grin. “Oh, Nick. What are you doing? It was better the other way.” Painful, but better.

“You mean the sleepless nights and snapping at my colleagues way? I beg to differ.” He shifted to the door and locked it after turning the sign to ‘closed’.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to be interrupted.”

“Please, Nick.”

“You know I almost called my boss a bastard last night when I woke him up after midnight.”

Needing to sit, Kari leaned against her desk for support. The sight of him again had her questioning her resolve. Looking like he’s slept on a plane, with wrinkled clothing and a jaw that hadn’t seen a razor in at least twenty-four hours, Kari wondered if he even bothered to pack a change of clothing before rushing to California.

“Aren’t you curious as to why I wanted to call my boss a bastard?”

Snapping out of her deep thoughts she asked, “Is he?”

“No, not really.”

“Okay, why did you want to call him nasty names?”

Nick walked up and traced a hand down her face. She leaned in, unable to stop herself. He smelled so damned good.

“Because he knew all about you before I did. It sucks when the boyfriend is the last to know.”

“Boyfriend? Nick, I already told you…”

“I have to be your boyfriend before we get married.”

She jumped away as if burned. “What? Nick I can’t get married.”

His cocky grin sparkled all the way to his eyes.

“Wait a minute. What do you mean when you say your boss knows all about me? The FBI is spying on me?” Oh, god. What does he know?

Her mouth went bone dry while blood rushed to every nerve ending in her body. When the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, it reminded her of when she was on the hunt in wolf form. This is bad. Really, really bad.

“See, you’re too smart.”

“What is it, Murdock? What do the Fed’s know about me?”

He rocked back and folded his arms across his chest. “You know-the whole furry full moon thing.”

The blood in her head dropped to her feet, she stumbled off the side of the desk and found her chair before she fell. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” How, how did he find out?

“Once I put aside the fact that werewolves were real, everything fell into place.” He rattled on like he talked about his favorite kind of pizza. He’d uncovered her deepest, darkest secret and acted like it was nothing.

“Werewolves?” Her voice was hardly a whisper.

“It’s the reason you pulled away, isn’t it?” He came around to her chair and rested his hands on her knees. “I wonder if anyone in your life knows the truth. Does Dee?”

Everything cracked her deception and lies all stacked up against her came crumbling down like a house of cards.

“No, she doesn’t.” Tears welled, threatened to spill.

“Why not?”

“She wouldn’t understand. No one would understand.”

“Really? Because I do.” Nick’s thumb brushed away the moisture from her cheeks, his touch caring and tender, and not at all what she expected. “You must have been terrified the first time.”

Like flood gates opening the tears fell in sheets. She hated the female weakness, but years of loneliness and solitude with her secret weighed heavy on her heart. Nick’s eyes caught hers in concern.

“I thought I was dying the first night I changed. I thought I’d survived the attack only to die of a seizure.”

“But you weren’t dying. In fact, you were growing.”

“Yes, into an animal. Just like the ones who killed my parents.” When he didn’t say anything, she went on. “The first night, once I realized what happened, I wandered the streets, hid in alleys. When I screamed, the sound came out in a howl. I didn’t know if I would change back, Nick.” She pulled in a shaky breath.

“But you did?”

“Yes, I did. Over the years I learned to use what those assholes did to me. I could hear things, even on nights the moon wasn’t full. I could smell things like fear. Do you know what fear smells like, Nick?”

“No.”

“Putrid. Rancid garbage smells better than fear. I learned to use my affliction for good. But sometimes, it feels purely evil.”

Nick gazed at her with understanding eyes. “I’ve had to use my gun with lethal force six times in my career. Every time I feel that evil you’re describing. Your weapon is different, that’s all.”

She let out a sob of relief. He gathered her in his arms and held her while she cried out her years of loneliness and frustration.

When she finally grabbed hold of her emotions, his cotton shirt was soaked and streaked with mascara.

She brushed her hand over the damage she inflicted. “I’m sorry.”

“It won’t be the last time you cry on my shoulder.”

“Nick, about us...“

He kissed her before she continued. First to keep her quiet she knew, but then her body started to warm. She felt his heart beating in time with hers.

He moved his lips to her neck. “Did you know that werewolves mate for life?”

“What?”

“The files over at the borough are very informative. Classified, but informative.” He continued his trail of fire.

“Mate for life,” she murmured with pleasure.

“Some files say it’s more of a soul mate kind of thing.”

“How do you know that means us?”

He slowly undid the first button of her blouse. “I smell you everywhere. My nights are interrupted with images of you, us, naked and laughing. You are my air, Kari. If that doesn’t sound like soul mate then I don’t know what would. Maybe I’ll have you turn me like you, then I’ll make love to you every night of the month to prove it.”

“Nick, you don’t mean that.” She drew back.

“Yes, I do.” He leaned in and kissed the worry from her face. “I love you, Kari. If you give me half a shot, I’ll prove it every day.”

Her heart swelled with joy. And for the first time in her life she looked forward to the next full moon. “I love you too, Nick. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop myself.”

“Does that mean you’ll marry me?”

“You won’t mind having a wife who needs to shave her whole body?” she laughed.

“We can move to Sweden where the women don’t shave.”

“I think that’s Switzerland.”

He moved in to kiss her again. “Does that mean yes?”

Placing both hands on the sides of his face, she stared deep into his beautiful laughing eyes. “Make me your wife, and I’ll make you my mate.”

His lips crushed to hers and sealed her answer with a kiss. “We make a great team.”

“Forever.”

###