Karen Whiddon - Finding The Texas Wolf

“No need,” a cool, feminine voice said from the doorway. “I’ll take you home.”

The redhead. Maddie Kinslow.

“Perfect,” the doctor said, smiling. “Take him straight home, make sure and fill these prescriptions, and force him to get plenty of rest.”

“I sure will.” Now she sounded positively cheerful. He turned to stare at her, wondering how she’d known to come back here looking for him.

“I’ll send a nurse to wheel you out to the car,” the doc continued. “Hospital regulations,” he added when Jake began to protest.

Jack nodded. He waited until the doctor had left the room before confronting Maddie. “Are you stalking me?”

“No.” She frowned, looking both hurt and angry. “I will say I was concerned, especially when you took off like you were afraid to go into the ER. Why was that? I wondered. Do you have a warrant out for your arrest?”

“No. And no. As you can see, I haven’t been arrested. Where do you come up with this stuff?”

“I’m a PI,” she retorted. “It’s part of my line of work.”

“A private investigator?” At first surprised, the more he considered, the better he felt. Ms. Maddie Kinslow might not realize it, but she’d just given him an idea.

She started to respond, and then closed her mouth. Lips a tight line, she looked away. Whatever she wasn’t telling him, she clearly had no intention of saying anything else about her work. Which was okay with him. She’d said enough.

Luckily for her, a cheerful nurse arrived with a wheelchair. She ordered Maddie to get her car and pull up right outside the entrance. Once Maddie had left to do that, the nurse wheeled him out front to wait for her.

When Maddie had parked, the nurse helped Jack out of the wheelchair and into the passenger side. He was able to buckle the seat belt, wincing.

“Are you all good?” she asked, her candid gaze searching his face.

“Yep. Better than good,” he replied. “I’m actually really glad to learn you’re a private investigator. As it turns out, I want to hire you.”

Judging by her sudden intake in breath, he’d shocked her. “Um, my agency is specialized. We wouldn’t be a good fit.”

“Yes, we would,” he insisted. “Plus, you’re the only PI I know. I’ll pay whatever your going rate is. And I promise, you’ll find my job to be a simple one, easily completed.”

She shifted into Drive and pulled away from the hospital.

“Well?” he pressed once she’d exited the parking lot. “What do you say?”

“I’m thinking. Give me a minute.”

He gave her more than a minute. She followed his directions, pulling in to the driveway of his small home on San Jacinto. Once she’d put the car in Park, she turned in her seat to face him.

“What’s the job?” she asked, her expression professional. “I really can’t commit my resources until I know what is involved.”

And here came the part she wouldn’t like. He told her anyway. “I want to hire you to find out what’s behind that door on the dead-end alleyway. The one where you found me all beat-up.”

Chapter 2

Inside Broken Chains, Carmen Vargas sat back in her chair, took a sip of her drink and surveyed the smoky room. As always, every table had been taken, and those without a seat stood shoulder to shoulder. Carmen had arrived early and claimed her usual prime spot near the back, close enough to have a view of the dance floor, but not so close that the loudness of the band would make any attempt at conversation impossible.

Her friends Maddie Kinslow and Shayla Dover-Cantrell usually met her here, but Shayla had recently gotten married and was just getting back from her honeymoon. The three of them had formed a supernatural private investigative agency and had recently successfully closed their first case. Carmen imagined Maddie had already gotten busy hustling for a second. Still, she was very late. Not like her. Carmen figured she’d give her a little bit longer before calling her friend’s cell phone.

“Have you got a minute?” The low growl of a masculine voice to her left had her betting he’d be a Shape-shifter. With a lazy movement, she swiveled her head to look. Damn. She, who never was shocked, sucked in her breath. Talk about hot. This guy had to be new. His aura revealed she was correct. Shape-shifter. And a damn good-looking specimen, too.

Exactly her type, if she’d had one. Tall, close-cropped dark hair, bright blue eyes, broad shoulders, narrow waist and muscular arms. He looked like a cop, or some other straight-laced profession. She’d learned from experience that those kinds of men were almost always the most fun in bed.

She let herself experience a delighted shiver before responding.

“Of course,” she purred, indicating the chair next to her. “Have a seat.”

He pulled out a chair and sat down, his bold stare frank and assessing. Confidence. She liked that in a man.

This evening had just gotten a thousand times more interesting. After so many centuries on the planet, Carmen rarely felt an overwhelming attraction like this.

“I work for the government,” he said. No surprise there. “And I’ve been talking to the Pack Protectors. They let me know about your Shadow Agency, operating right here in Galveston.”

A job. He wanted to discuss a job with her. Years of practice enabled her to hide her disappointment. She simply eyed him calmly while waiting for him to elaborate.

Instead, he glanced around. “Is there somewhere quieter we can talk? This is classified, so not information I’m comfortable shouting.”

She took a moment to consider, enjoying the way his gaze traveled over her. “Maybe later,” she finally said. “I’m waiting for a friend and I don’t want to lose our seat.”

His gaze narrowed and his mouth tightened. “This is a matter of national security.”

Though intrigued, she pretended not to hear him at first. Only when he leaned close, his mouth against her ear, and repeated himself, did she nod. “Perhaps you should make an appointment with our office. I’m certain you don’t want to discuss such a weighty matter in a bar.”

Instead of putting him in his place as she expected, a flash of annoyance sparked in his eyes. “This is urgent. I don’t have time to make an appointment. If you don’t want the job, just say so. I’m sure I can find someone else.”

Rueful, she conceded. “Wait. I’m interested. If you could just give me a few minutes until my friend arrives, I’ll find a quieter place where the two of us can talk.”

“Five minutes,” he said. “No longer.”

Clearly, he was the kind of man used to giving orders. She found this incredibly arousing. Most men were too intimidated by her frank and blatant sensuality. They tended to fall all over themselves trying to please her.

“Five minutes,” she agreed, smiling. Maddie had a tendency to run late, but never extremely so.

The allotted time passed. Still no Maddie. Handsome Guy eyed her and she knew he meant to leave.

“Come on,” she said, getting to her feet. “They have private rooms in the back. Let me see if I can secure one and we’ll go there and talk.”

He followed as she strolled to the bar. One glance over her shoulder showed no less than six people had rushed the table the instant she’d left. They’d have to duke it out among themselves over who ended up with it. Or share.

As luck would have it, she was able to rent a small room for half an hour. She sent Maddie a quick text to let her know where to go once she arrived, and then led the way through the double doors to the private part of the bar. She’d heard stories about some of the goings-on in these private rooms.

Stopping at room number 7, she used her key to unlock the door. “Here we are,” she said, entering. Handsome Secret Agent Man brushed past her and began looking around. As in, seriously searching for something. Fascinated, she watched, realizing he must be checking the room for recording devices.