SEAL Wolf In Too Deep(14)

“I…I don’t want my husband knowing.”

Allan raised his brows marginally, then took a seat next to the hospital bed so he didn’t tower over her and appear intimidating.

“We can have lovers—human lovers, I mean—before we’re mated to a wolf, you know,” Franny said. “So I saw this guy for a while, too long really. Not just for a few times, but we dated seriously for a couple of months. I even had the notion of turning him. I know it was foolish. His name is Cleveland Hawkins. Then I met my mate and knew he was the one for me. That was about a year and a half ago. We found your pack and the perfect job opportunity for Gary as the chef at the new Italian restaurant. And we wanted to raise our baby with the pack.

“Cleveland was angry when I called it quits with him and started stalking me. He threatened Gary. He drove a red Camaro. I mean, I can’t be one hundred percent positive, but it looked like his car. I saw the guy’s camo cap. I really couldn’t get a good look at more than that, but I’m fairly certain it was him. My gut reaction when I saw the car was that it was him.”

“And he swerved his vehicle at yours, causing you to lose control?”

“Yeah. If I’d hit him, I probably would have totaled his car, but I automatically swerved to miss his vehicle and lost control.”

“Are you certain the driver’s car didn’t just slip on ice? When I was in the vicinity, my hatchback did.”

Franny took a deep breath and nodded. “It’s possible. But what if it is him?”

“I’ll definitely check into it. When was the last time you saw him?”

“Stalking me? Before we moved here, which was four months ago. I thought that was the end of seeing him.”

“And you came here from Boise, Idaho?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever meet his family?”

“No.”

“Friends?”

“Just one. Some guy who was a hunter like him. They’d been in the military and were best friends. The two of them loved playing paintball, and they both loved to hunt and fish.”

“Job?”

“He worked in a pawn shop. I don’t want Gary to know about it because he’d kill him. And then get himself into all kinds of hot water.”

“If this truly is a case of Cleveland Hawkins stalking you, then Gary and everyone in the pack needs to know—for your protection, Gary’s, and Stacy’s. We’ll talk to Gary. Make sure he knows how important it is for us to handle matters the best we can. But if this guy comes after you, Gary needs to be there to protect you and the baby too.”

Looking sad, Franny nodded.

“We’ll call a meeting between you, Gary, Paul, Lori, and me. We’ll all come up with some plans to handle different scenarios.”

“Okay.”

After reassuring Franny that they’d take care of this if the guy was still stalking her, Allan left the clinic and called Lori to tell her what was up.

“I’ll make arrangements for a meeting as soon as she and the baby are released from the clinic,” Lori said. “We need to get on this right away if what she suspects is true.”

“Agreed.” Allan couldn’t believe all the trouble their pack was having with the new members who had joined them, but he was glad he and the original pack members could help out.

He hoped Franny was wrong and the other driver had just slipped on ice and was an ass for not checking her and the baby’s welfare. But he was prepared to take harsher measures against the guy if what Franny suspected was really true.

*

When Debbie arrived at Rose’s house, she saw someone peek through the blinds. Debbie got out of the car and headed for the door.

Rose opened the front door with her mother, Catherine Rappaport, standing just behind her. Debbie was glad Rose’s mother was there for her. Rose’s face was so pale, she had to still be reeling from the frightening experience. “Hi, it’s me, Debbie Renaud. I came to see you after hearing what you witnessed. Can we talk?”

“Thanks for dropping by.” Rose quickly ushered Debbie inside.

Catherine looked just as shaken.

“Listen, I know Allan and Paul are here for you, but I want you to know that I’m also available to talk or assist with anything else. Whatever you need,” Debbie said as they led her into the living room. Sometimes women just needed other women to talk to.

“I was just fixing hot chocolate for us. Would you like some too?” Catherine asked.

“Um, sure. That would be really nice. Thank you,” Debbie said, glad they seemed to appreciate her dropping by.

Rose motioned for her to have a seat on a chair across from the couch where she sat.

“I’m so sorry about what happened to you. Allan didn’t tell me or I would have come sooner. I had to hear it from the homicide detective in charge of the case, who happens to be a friend. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No, thank you for asking though,” Rose said.

Catherine brought in mugs of cocoa on a tray that she set on the glass-topped coffee table. She sat next to her daughter and motioned to the mugs. “Please, have one. And thanks for coming by. It was awful. Who would have done something so ugly?” She shook her head. “Too many sick people in the world.”

“I agree. From what Rowdy said, everybody’s looking into this around their own workloads.” Debbie wanted to mention how concerned everyone was, but she didn’t want to get into it any more than that. “How are you feeling, Rose?” Allan’s sister was petite, so carrying triplets made her look as though she was due any second.