Karen Whiddon - Finding The Texas Wolf

“Mind if I join you?” The tall man wore a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. Carmen eyed him coolly but didn’t speak.

“Sure,” Rick said, pulling Carmen closer to him so there was additional room on the bench. “Have a seat.”

The stranger sat, staring straight ahead and ignoring him. Every sense alert, Carmen pretended not to be hyperconscious of him.

“Are you the biologist?” he finally asked, low-voiced.

Widening her eyes, Carmen nodded. “I am. Actually, I’m an infectious disease specialist. And this is my husband, Rick.” The instant she spoke, she realized she hadn’t asked if they were using assumed names or not. Most likely not, at least for her, since these people no doubt had wanted to verify her credentials.

“Rick.” The man nodded, his gaze skittering from her to Rick and back again. “I’m Landers. The shipment was moved without a hitch. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem.” Rich shrugged, both his demeanor and his voice casual. “I did what you requested, and here we are. Are we in?”

“You’re in.” Landers stood, glancing left and then right. Finally, he focused on Rick and grinned. “Just so you know, we have several other guys who can do what you can do, but only one other biologist in our employ. Your wife is infinitely more valuable to us than you could ever be.”

Carmen exhaled, recognizing the tactic. Divide and conquer. Except she knew this wouldn’t work, not this time. “It’s okay,” she said, her tone lofty. “He likes that I make so much more money than he does. He jokes about being a kept man.”

“Really?” Landers shook his head. “Well, there’s none of that around here. Every single one of us has to earn our keep.”

“And I will, I swear.” Shooting Carmen a cross look, Rick shifted his weight from foot to foot. “You won’t regret hiring me, I promise you.”

“We’d better not.” Was that a flash of pleasure across Landers’s face? Carmen thought so, which meant she’d been correct. For whatever reason, Landers wanted to put a wedge in between her and Rick.

If that’s what he wanted, she’d speak to Rick privately and make sure that’s what he got.

“He follows orders well,” she drawled, just for the hell of it. “Ask me how I know.”

Rick flushed but didn’t respond. This prompted another snorting laugh from Landers. “I’ll bet he does,” he sneered, leering at her.

“Now, can we possibly get out of here?” she asked, pretending to be uneasy with their location. “There are too many people around. If someone hears, they might have questions. Questions for which we will not have answers. I prefer to avoid collateral damage whenever possible.”

Landers stared. “As if you’ve done this sort of thing before,” he scoffed.

For an answer, she only lifted one perfectly shaped eyebrow.

Instantly, the other man’s demeanor changed. “If you’ll come with me,” Landers said, “I’ll take you both to meet the others.”

“Lead the way,” Carmen pronounced. “I’m looking forward to getting started.”

* * *

Keeping his arm around Carmen, Rick followed Landers to a black Escalade with dark tinted windows. With shiny chrome accents everywhere, it was not the most inconspicuous vehicle. Who knew? Maybe they wanted it that way.

As they approached, the driver stepped out and opened the back door, motioning for Carmen to get in first. Moving with her usual fluid grace, she climbed inside. Rick followed her, trying unsuccessfully to avoid staring at the gleaming length of shapely leg her short skirt displayed.

Once the door closed, Landers got up front, riding shotgun. “It’s about a thirty-minute ride, depending on traffic,” he said.

“Off-island?” Carmen asked, frowning.

“Not too far, but yes. La Marque.”

This surprised her, Rick knew. Surprised him, too. La Marque was a small town. Building a quality lab and running an operation of that size without attracting unwanted attention would be more difficult in a place like that.

As they drove, Landers turned around several times, making innocuous comments about the passing landscape. His frank stare assessed Carmen, as if weighing what options he had as far as trusting her.

Feeling the need to reassert the fact that he and Carmen were a team, Rick took her hand and clasped it firmly. Though he felt her briefly tense, her expression remained smooth and unruffled. And beautiful. He couldn’t blame Landers for repeatedly checking her out. Hell, even Rick fought a constant battle to keep from staring at her.

Finally, they exited 45 and turned left, passing under the freeway and by the single motel, eventually leaving pavement for a gravel road. The houses here were small frame structures, and the flat landscape and sparse vegetation made everything visible.

For the first time, Rick wondered what they’d gotten into. He squeezed Carmen’s hand, telling her silently to be ready in case this was some sort of trick. She squeezed back, cutting her gaze to connect with his to let him know she’d thought the same thing.

One more turn and they found themselves surrounded by pasture. Cattle grazed and vultures circled in the cloudless sky above. They continued on until they reached a black wrought-iron gate, which was closed. The driver punched a code into a keypad and the gates swung slowly open.

After turning in, they continued on to a low-slung stone ranch house. Nearby were several outbuildings, one of them a well-constructed barn that appeared to be new. There were black burglar bars over the windows.

Which meant that had to be the lab.

As they rolled to a stop in front of the house, two armed men stepped outside to greet them. Though inside Rick tensed up, he kept his posture and expression relaxed.

Again, the driver jumped out and opened the door, this time on Carmen’s side so she could get out first. And she did, with an impressive display of leg. Her sky-high heels made her look both dangerous and sexy. Exactly his kind of woman, except for her being a Vampire. Too bad.

Head high, expression cool, she looked both of the newcomers up and down. Rick hid his smile.

Landers came around and told them to follow him. Once they’d gone up the steps onto the porch, someone pushed open the screen door and stepped out of the way. Rick reached for Carmen’s hand as they went inside.

The small room had been sparsely furnished. Three men looked up as they approached, though they all remained seated. Eyeing them, Rick wondered which of the three was the leader. Landers made the introductions in a clipped voice. The short, wiry man with the long white beard was Tommy. The bald guy who looked like a linebacker gone to seed was called Holt. And the thin, pale dude with the flat dark eyes was Gus.

They all dipped their chins in greeting. If Landers found it odd that no one spoke, he didn’t show it. He motioned that Rick and Carmen should sit, so they took the empty spot at one end of the soiled couch.

“We got the shipment,” Landers announced, filling the others in on the explosion Rick had engineered as a diversion. They listened carefully. Rick couldn’t help but notice the way their gazes continually went to Carmen, as if they hadn’t seen a woman in too long. For the first time since meeting her, he was glad she was a Vampire. At least he knew she could defend herself against any human male’s unwanted attention.

“She’s the biologist,” Landers finally said, gesturing at Carmen.

“I’m thinking Sheldon’s not gonna be real happy about her,” Holt said, scratching his double chin.

“Maybe not,” Landers replied. “But he could use the help. And look at her. What red-blooded man could stay mad in the face of such beauty?”