Dreaming of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf #8)(36)

“Does it have an address?” The man sounded really annoyed with Jake, so Alicia figured he thought Jake was the father of her faux baby, too. How could things get into such a mess?

“A phone number,” Alicia said. “I’m to call him.” She tried to sound as enthusiastic as she could under the circumstances.

The man and the two women exchanged glances. They thought Jake was a villain.

“He has a home in Silver Town, Colorado,” Mary blurted out, as if she wanted Alicia to know the truth in case Jake had steered her wrong.

“Thanks,” Alicia said very sweetly.

Maybe she could call Silver Town and leave a message with someone else to get word to him that she was all right, and that would be it. But she didn’t dare call Jake directly because she was afraid he’d try to locate her—and what a disaster that would be.

The man helped her to a chair, and the woman gave her the water. Alicia only wanted to leave as quickly as she could before she had another damnable urge to shift. Politely, she drank a little of the water, never being one who could drink a glass of anything in a hurry. But she was trying her damnedest while everyone watched her expectantly.

They didn’t seem interested in leaving either, instead being more concerned about her welfare. God, what a fraud she was. She was three-quarters of the way through the bottle of water when she had to go to the bathroom. She could make it to her hotel if she hurried.

“Thanks so much, and I’m so sorry I’ve made you late for closing.” Rising from the chair, she cradled her purse and the nearly finished bottle of water in her arms.

They all looked at the bottle as if it held magic water and if she didn’t drink all of it, she’d pass out again.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” the man asked, his hand outstretched in rescue mode.

“Oh, yes. I’m feeling so much better.” She started to move toward the door.

“Could one of us drive you home?” the man asked. “One of us could follow behind.”

“No, no, I’ll be fine.”

“Do you need one of us to follow you home?” Mary asked, clutching the framed photograph in her arms.

“No, really. I’m all right now.”

“All right. Well, I’ll walk with you out to your car,” Mary said.

The man and other woman did also, and when Alicia had settled herself behind the steering wheel, Mary handed her the wrapped, framed photograph of the wood lilies, casting her another look of sympathy while the man and woman watched her gravely. Alicia thanked them all profusely.

When she drove out of the parking space, Alicia noted in her rearview mirror that they were still watching her. Mary shook her head.

Poor Jake when he returned to the gallery. What if they made him remove his photographs? They wouldn’t do that to him. They couldn’t do that. Alicia let out her breath. She could write and tell them how much she loved their gallery and that when she had more money, she’d buy another one of his photos. That would work, wouldn’t it?

Either that, or they’d think she was in love with Jake and pining over him but he was trying to call it quits with her. She felt bad all over again. She hoped she hadn’t ruined his reputation with the art gallery.

A car’s headlights followed her through town, and she had the creepy feeling the vehicle was following her. Call it woman’s intuition, a sixth sense, wolf wariness. She’d considered leaving without her bags, but she couldn’t. Besides, she was dying to go to the bathroom.

She pulled into her parking lot, hurried out of the car, used the bathroom, and then grabbed her bags to leave the hotel she’d already paid for. With every intention of leaving Breckenridge for good, she returned to the car, dumped her bags in the trunk, and headed out of town.

Again, she felt as though she was being followed, but when she left town, the car turned off down a rural road. Relieved, she figured she’d stay in the next town of Crestview. But the concern lingered—what if Mario could still pull strings and send men after her even from prison? Or what if the men who’d killed Ferdinand Massaro in his townhouse had somehow learned she’d witnessed his death? Although she couldn’t know who they were, they wouldn’t know that. And she would be a loose end easily tied up.

Chapter 9

She was his obsession. An aphrodisiac Jake Silver had little control over. The dark-haired siren of his dreams. Alicia Greiston.

And just as with last night and every night for the past seven weeks since she’d first appeared to him in his dreams, seducing him with her mouth, her eyes, her touch, he sought her out. In his nighttime fantasies. Because, as real as she was, he knew the visions of her were only dreams. But she had been real, and he wanted the real woman again. He’d hoped and prayed she’d go to the art gallery and get the envelope he’d left for her, then call. But she hadn’t yet.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was ready to turn in for the night just to be with her. But as soon as it was light out, he was returning to Breckenridge to search for her again. She hadn’t even returned to the florist shop to leave wreaths in memory of her mother. That would have worried him more if he didn’t keep dreaming of her. She had to still be alive.

Tired and out of sorts, Jake was ready to skip dinner. The questioning sidelong glances his younger triplet brother, Tom, gave him, plus the more openly concerned looks his older brother, Darien, cast at him were enough to curb his appetite. As pack leader of Silver Town, Colorado, Darien was always concerned about the pack members’ well-being. And since he was Jake’s brother, Darien’s concern about him was heightened. Added to that, Darien’s mate, Lelandi, was analyzing Jake’s behavior based on the psychology courses she was taking. Jake felt as if he was a proverbial open book for everyone to read.