Linda Johnston - Canadian Wolf

“Is this all right?” she asked.

“Definitely.”

She ordered a glass of red wine; he ordered a beer. When their server left, he asked, “Is it okay— I mean, you’re all right drinking alcohol?”

She laughed. “You mean...people like me? Yes, when we’re like this, all usual activity is fine.”

He smiled at her. She liked his smile and the way it raised his hint of dark beard ever so slightly. “I think I have a lot to learn about people like you.”

“And I have a lot to learn about the Mounties. You’ve told me a bit about your background, but how did you wind up here, in this kind of assignment?” One he didn’t seem to relish. “And when are you going to tell me the main reason for the formation of the CAs unit? I gather it’s something important.”

“It is.” He moved a little closer and spoke softly. “It’s actually a bunch of serial kidnappings that have justifiably gotten our senior officers’ attention, but it would be easier to explain more about it when your folks get here and I can do it all at once.”

The server brought their drinks, and since neither was especially hungry after that pizza, they ordered only a small appetizer to share.

When the server left, Owen looked at Selena with his gorgeous blue eyes and said nothing for a long moment. She felt her insides heat as if those eyes were igniting her nearly as much as his lips had. Before she lost herself in their depths she said, “Okay, tell me why you’re here.”

Shrugging, he took a drink of his beer. He still kept his voice low as he responded. “Not much to say that you don’t already know. As a kid, I always loved to see Mounties in their formal red uniforms riding horses and all. I told you about some of my assignments, but most recently I was assigned to the task force investigating those kidnappings I mentioned. That’s partly why I was chosen to help form the Canada Alphas—so I could use a different direction to catch the kidnappers.”

“Your career sounds amazing,” Selena said.

They started speaking again of Canada and what Selena might see here. The rest of their outing was pleasant. More than pleasant. Selena found herself looking into Owen’s face constantly, sharing smiles and laughs and banter, almost as if they were flirting.

Which, of course, they couldn’t be. Despite that onetime, unforgettable kiss. They were professional colleagues—that was all. Her role was to teach him and his fellow RCMP members what they needed to know and then leave.

Developing any other kind of relationship just couldn’t happen.

* * *

Sitting across the table from the lovely Selena, Owen now wished they’d found the rest of their crowd and hung out with them.

As much as he was enjoying Selena’s company, he was...well, he was liking it too much. Liking her too much.

Trying too much to remind himself what she was. Why she was here.

How touching her, kissing her, had been way out of line.

But he’d absolutely enjoyed their kiss. He also enjoyed the memory of it now, as he watched those full, sexy lips of hers while she talked and smiled and drank her wine and nibbled their appetizer.

This was unlike him. In all his assignments, he was totally professional. He got along fine with colleagues, sure. Even attractive female ones. But he had always behaved with absolute professionalism.

He had already blown that once with Selena. It couldn’t happen again.

She was talking softly now, about her recent assignment, although just loudly enough that he could hear her over the roar of the crowd around them. “Rainey, Lupe and I were in the Seattle area on more of a recon kind of thing. There were some reputed AWOL soldiers hanging out there, around a secluded campground, and the regular army hadn’t been able to confirm it. The idea was that the soldiers might be acting the roles of hunters or naturalists or whatever. They might be easier for a wolf to spot.” She paused and smiled, raising the ends of those sexy lips slowly. “They were. The assignment was pretty well over when I got a call from my superior officer. So here we are.”

“Yes, and I think your presence here will be a particularly good thing. We’d already been planning to form the CAs, but it had to come together even faster than originally thought because of those kidnappings. We—”

He heard a cell phone chime. “Mine,” Selena said. She pulled it from her pocketbook and looked at it. “It’s my captain. Excuse me.” She rose and walked away.

At the same time, Owen’s phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at it. Anthony Creay, his boss.

“Yes, sir?” he answered.

“I hope you’re getting your CAs trained well and fast, Owen. There’s been another kidnapping.”

“But the last one was only last week. There’s always been a good month or more before the next one.” Owen realized his protest was inane. If there’d been another kidnapping, the criminals’ prior MO on the four previous cases was no longer relevant.

“True. They’ve been so successful that they must be ramping it up. Which is all the more reason that your group is so critical.”

Selena returned and sat across from him again, no longer holding her phone. He mouthed Creay when she raised her eyebrows in question.

“We’re still waiting for some of the Alpha Force members,” he said, this time keeping his voice low in case anyone was eavesdropping.

“I heard what you said,” she told him in a soft voice. “Tell your boss they’ll be here tomorrow.”

Across the table his eyes met hers. The mission was about to get under way. And things were about to get interesting.

Chapter 4

They left immediately, at Owen’s suggestion, which was fine with Selena. She didn’t telephone Rainey, nor did Owen call his CAs. “I’d rather tell them in person to get their tails back to the hotel where they’re staying for now so they’ll get up early for a briefing, even if your Alpha Force guys haven’t arrived yet,” he told Selena, and she agreed.

Owen led Selena out the door, but instead of going to the parking lot, they turned left outside and began hurrying down the sidewalk.

“I’d thought the gang would end up at the Yukon, too,” he said, “and we could have just talked to them here. But I’m aware of the other bars in town that my group also seems to like. I haven’t been downtown much with them, but they took care to introduce me to their favorites.”

Several cars drove by under the streetlights, but Selena and Owen were the only ones on the sidewalk outside the bar. The air was cool. Selena was glad she had grabbed a sweater to bring along after partially unpacking her suitcase earlier. She had removed the black wrap when they’d sat down, but now she pulled it on again over her T-shirt.

She was surprised, after sticking an arm through one sleeve, that the other sleeve was lined up so she could easily finish shrugging it on. Owen had grabbed it and held it up for her. Apparently, on top of being a member of the RCMP, he was a gentleman.

“Thanks,” she told him, turning enough to glance at him. He nodded in acknowledgment and kept walking.

Evidently more used to the crisp air than she was, he didn’t don a sweater or jacket over his gray plaid shirt. It fit well over his black jeans, hugging his chest in a way that suggested his training as a Mountie kept his physique in perfect shape.

West Columbia reminded Selena of countless small towns she’d visited back in the States. The street they traversed, Columbia Avenue, was lined with shops of various types.

There were also a number of restaurants, all with lights on and apparently still open. Selena didn’t recognize their names, but they seemed to be an assortment of family-style and gourmet eateries. Some of the aromas wafting out of them, especially the gourmet establishments, filled Selena’s senses and made her smile, even though she was far from hungry. Maybe she’d have an opportunity to sample some of the food here before her assignment was complete.