SEAL Wolf In Too Deep(69)
“Do you have any idea where he might be staying?” Debbie asked.
“We all went camping together. Lloyd and Otis might not be wolves, but they know survival training from their time in the military and growing up. Otis is a survivalist. He might be staying at some rundown motel, or he could be living off the land.”
“It’s damn cold out there,” Allan said.
“He’s originally from Alaska. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all this before, but I didn’t even know Sarah was the one Otis had killed. When I learned about it, you seemed to already know everything I did. I…didn’t want to talk about it.”
“We’re a pack,” Allan said. “That means sharing any information that could lead to protecting our pack.”
She nodded.
“Why would you want her to join the pack when your mate didn’t like her?” Allan asked.
“She seemed so lost. I worried about her. I really thought you and Paul could help her.”
“Do you want to have lunch with us?” Debbie asked cheerfully.
Allan and Franny looked at her. He was as surprised as Franny looked.
“I’m hungry, and I’m fixing lunch.” Debbie got off the couch and headed for the kitchen.
“I should get back to Stacy. I didn’t mean for Emma to have to look after her for that long.”
“Nonsense,” Debbie said. “From what I’ve heard, Emma and her quilting friends can’t get enough of taking care of babies. They are all adopting the little ones in the pack.”
Allan smiled. He hadn’t thought Debbie liked babies all that much. Maybe just not the idea of having her own.
Chapter 19
When Franny left after lunch, Debbie took Allan to the guest room where he’d set up both their computers. “I want to check all the rundown motels in the area.”
“I’ll call Paul and ask if he can put someone on the detail. You can’t go anywhere.”
“I know, but that’s what I would have done if I could have. What if they assign you another dive partner while I’m ‘recuperating’ from my injuries?”
“The sheriff knows I’m here taking care of you and I’m not going anywhere.”
She was glad to hear it. She figured if the sheriff found another female diver for Allan to work with, she wouldn’t be able to control her wolf half one bit.
“Why did you end the interview with Franny and serve lunch?” Allan asked.
“She had told us everything she knew. She felt bad her friend had died, and she felt she was responsible.”
Allan pulled Debbie into his arms and hugged her. “Women are so much better at some things.”
She smiled up at him and hugged him back. “I was afraid you’d be mad at me.”
“No. I was surprised, but women and men think differently. I could tell you made a real friend in Franny this afternoon. And that’s a good thing.”
“She felt guilty that her actions could have resulted in Sarah’s death.”
“I think now she understands she has to keep the leaders informed if something might affect the pack. You got a lot further than I would have with her. We make a good team.”
*
That evening, Tara came over with her brother and mother, Lori and Paul to Allan’s cabin to discuss why she had been running as a wolf and what had happened to her.
Tara wrung her hands as she sat on the couch next to her mother and Everett. She reminded him of the way Franny had acted earlier—guilty, beta-like, anxious.
“I…know I shouldn’t have done what I did,” she said so demurely, Allan felt bad for her. Everyone had wanted him to date Tara, but she was so mousy, she just wasn’t his type. He did care for her like a sister, and at that moment, he wanted to give her a hug and tell her what she had to say was significant.
By doing what she did, she had jeopardized all of their lives, not just her own. They wanted to understand her reasoning and ensure no one else was tempted to do anything like it.
“Everyone is important to the pack,” Tara continued. “But me. I wanted to do something to help. I thought if I could draw him out, I could stop him. Not that I thought I could stop him in what he was doing exactly, but maybe I could locate his vehicle and learn where he was staying locally.”
“So how did you find him? Or did he find you?” Paul asked.
“I followed six different hunters that day. All were armed with rifles, and I was careful to keep out of sight. They were hunting elk, and none of the men looked like the picture that you had passed around to the pack. I really didn’t expect to find him that day. But I prayed I would. I’d been doing this for several days, really. Every day, I’d find hunters, follow them, listen to their conversations, then look for others, hear shots fired, and check them out.
“That last day, I slipped down to the water’s edge to get some water to drink. I heard a person coming, only when I looked at first, I didn’t think it was him. Until he said, ‘One less werewolf to hunt down!’ And began shooting. I meant to bolt, but he shot so many bullets at me, I didn’t think I could run away. Instead, I collapsed and played dead.”
Except that she’d stopped breathing and had nearly died. Allan remembered the horror of that day as if it had just happened. Debbie’s eyes filled with tears. He took her hand and held it, but it wasn’t enough. He tucked her under his arm and she relaxed against him. He could only imagine what she was feeling—that she had intended to put the wolf, Tara, out of her misery. That if he hadn’t stopped Debbie, she would have killed her.