Cynthia Cooke - Lying with Wolves

“No,” he said, and couldn’t help the bitterness in his voice. That was the one thing he hated about the Colony—the total and complete lack of privacy. Not only did everyone in town know who he was with and what he was doing, but hell, they were certain they knew what he was thinking. “I can’t imagine.”

“I really love it and I will go back. That, I can assure you.”

At that moment, he believed she would. And it scared the hell out of him. “But wasn’t it hard? Always hiding who you are? Never having anyone to run with, to talk to about...things with?”

She hesitated a moment, then looked him square in the eye. “Not at all.”

She was lying. He knew her well enough to see that. A yawn overtook him once more. His lack of sleep was finally catching up to him. “We should get going,” he said. “We’re going to need to drive in shifts so we can get back as soon as possible.”

“No problem.”

He handed her the keys and paid the bill. They left the restaurant. As they approached his truck, he climbed into the back and stretched out on the seat. “Wake me up in six hours,” he said as sleep reached for him. Had she really loved the outside world that much? Would she risk her life to stay out here? Jaya had warned her. He’d warned her. And if anything happened to her because he’d driven her away...

He shook off the thought. The Colony was not a prison. And it didn’t feel that way. Her words echoed through his fuzzy mind. Our window to the outside world, the internet, the television, did that to us. You did that to us . The words she did not say but meant. He honestly thought what he’d been doing for the Colony had been the best for all of them. Was it possible he’d been that wrong?

He thought of Jaya begging him not to bring the internet into the Colony. The people of the Colony, and especially Jaya, didn’t understand or appreciate that he’d done it all for them.

Only now Jaya was dead because of his feud with Scott—the man who had tried to boot him out and take over the leadership of the Pack for himself. They’d both gone too far and made mistakes that could never be undone.

* * *

Jade and Ruby dipped farther into the booth behind Celia, listening to their conversation, waiting until they both got up to go.

“Did you hear that?” Ruby asked.

“She is going to kill us,” Jade added.

“It was as though she knew we were here or something. It was creepy.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She didn’t know. We should have announced ourselves.”

“What? And pop up like a demented jack-in-the-box stalker and say, ‘Surprise! We’ve been following you, spying on you, listening to you talk about how much you like going into restaurants and not seeing a single soul you know.’” Ruby covered her face with her hands.

“Okay, so now what?”

“Now we should go home. Leave them alone. You heard her. She’s going to come back to us.”

“Yeah, as soon as they find a Keeper, whatever the hell that is. We don’t even know where they’re going. What if she never comes back? How will we find her?”

Ruby sighed. “I don’t know. She never really said where ‘home’ was, did she?”

“The mountains.”

“Well, that narrows it down,” Ruby said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.

“Okay, so again, what now?”

“Let’s just follow them a little farther. Just until we’re sure.”

“Sure of what?”

“I don’t know, but we’ve come so far already, and I still can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong.”

Jade sighed. “All right. But let’s run into the gas station next door, use the facilities and grab some doughnuts.”

“Doughnuts?” Ruby said with a crinkled nose.

“Fine, you grab a whole-grain muffin. I’m grabbing doughnuts. I’m starving.”

“One day all that sugar is going to catch up with you and then you’ll be sorry.”

“Ha! Fine, I’ll deal with it then, but look how much enjoyment I’m getting in the meantime.”

Ten minutes later they were back in the car, loaded up with food, drinks, extra T-shirts, ball caps—everything they needed to keep an eye on their cousin. They tore out of the parking lot and down the highway looking for that old pickup truck. But before they could find it, Ruby’s phone rang.

“Ruby, where are you?”

Ruby turned to Jade, placing her hand over the receiver. “It’s Mark,” she whispered, her stomach doing a massive flip-flop.

“What does he want?” Jade demanded under her breath.

Ruby shrugged. “Jade and I are taking a little vacation,” she said, forcing lightness into her voice. “Why?”

“Someone broke into your shop last night,” Mark said. “I’m afraid there is quite a bit of damage.”

“Oh, no,” she said, feigning shock.

“It doesn’t look as if anything was taken, but there is stuff everywhere.”

“All right. Thanks, Mark, for letting me know.”

“When will you be back?”

Ruby looked at Jade. “Oh, I don’t know. We’re taking a much-needed break.”

“I think you should come back now. You need to file a report. Where are you?”

“Honestly, Mark, we’re in Vegas. Just for a few days. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Can you lock up for me and keep an eye on the place?”

He hesitated. “Sure.”

“Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate it. Thanks for calling.” She disconnected the line.

“Vegas?” Jade asked.

“A girl can dream, can’t she? Besides, that should keep him from calling me for at least a day or two.”

“You are way too nice to that guy,” Jade said. “You should have given him the old heave-ho a long time ago.”

“I’ve tried. You know that. He just doesn’t take a hint.”

“Perhaps a two-by-four?”

Ruby smiled. “I would, but he’s a cop. He can and does invent any reason to come by and see me. All the time.”

“I’m just worried about you. That guy is freaky.”

“I know,” Ruby admitted as anxiety skittered along her nerves. “But no matter how distant I am, even rude sometimes, he just won’t go away. I’ve turned down his past three dinner invitations, and yet he still keeps coming around.”

“All right. Once we get back we’ll have to work on that. No more being nice.”

Ruby nodded. “I know, and you’re right. Sometimes guys like that do need a two-by-four.”

* * *

One of the best investments Mark Goodwin had made was the GPS tracker he’d installed under the dash of Ruby’s car. For the past three months, he had known everywhere she had gone, and how long she’d stayed there. And right now, by accessing the web through his phone, he’d tracked their location all the way into California.

He smiled as he pulled up behind the sisters on the freeway. He watched Ruby as she talked to him on the phone, as she lied to him. Rage lit a fuse inside him. What, did she think he was stupid? A lovesick puppy panting at her feet? Vegas! She was up to something, and it looked as though he was finally going to be able to prove what he’d always suspected about her.

Last night when the call had come in about the wolves behind the complex her shop was in, he’d known this was the chance he’d been waiting for. But by the time he’d got to the shop, he only caught a glimpse of the wolves high up on the hill with the Wildlife and Animal Control officers pursuing them through the canyons.

The back door of Ruby’s shop had been wide-open. The place had been trashed, but the cash register hadn’t been touched. Obviously someone had been after something. More secrets. He’d finished his shift and gone after her. He had done everything he could to insinuate himself into her life, knowing Ruby wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut for long, and here she was lying to him. Anger tightened his knuckles around the steering wheel. But he knew it wasn’t her fault, knew Ruby would be so much more manageable if it wasn’t for that overbearing and controlling sister of hers. He had to do something about that.