“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you and help you search for the shooters?” Sierra figured with both of them using their enhanced abilities, surely they would catch up with the bastards in less time than it took for one of them to find the shooters. The police could split up into two teams. She put their empty water glasses in the dishwasher.
“No. It’s a police matter for now.”
Sierra pulled Adam into her arms and kissed him. “Ever since I met you, I’ve wanted to do this with you, but then after I broke up with Richard, I was afraid it might seem too soon.”
“Hell, no.” Adam smiled and kissed her mouth back with feeling that said he was eager to get started on something deeper between them.
She smiled. “Good. Thanks for worrying about me, and you could be right. I’ll stay with you at your place if it looks like Dover is behind the shootings tonight. Unless you think I’m too hot to handle.”
Adam sighed but wasn’t letting her go as he ran his hand over her back. “What if this is just someone else and has nothing to do with Dover? At least this time.”
She patted Adam’s chest. “Then we’re back to me returning home tomorrow. Alone. But we’re still dating.”
“Hopefully, this has nothing to do with Dover and is just some random nutcases. Though I would still feel better if you stayed with someone. Me, preferably, of course. And don’t worry about me. I’m trained to manage too-hot-to-handle cases.”
She smiled.
“And yeah, we’re definitely dating,” he agreed.
It didn’t take long after he called it in before they heard three cars pull up in front of the house. Adam said to Sierra, “Go to my place and get some sleep. You’re welcome to any bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” He gave her his keys to the vehicle and house, and they walked outside together so she could leave and he would lead the search party.
She knew why he didn’t want her out there. She wasn’t a police officer, even though she worked for the bureau. She didn’t have a gun if the shooters shot at her. But it was also because she wouldn’t have the bureau’s backing on her chasing down suspects like this. And it would be hard for her to explain why she could track the shooters and knew the area better than the park rangers—all because she was a wolf and had traveled so much farther and faster than humans could in all kinds of terrain in the time that she’d lived here.
Fine. They could deal with it. She was going to Adam’s home to sleep and hoped they would find the shooters without her. She thought he was cute to offer any bed to her. So did he mean he was offering for her to join him in the master bed? She smiled, suspecting so. Was she taking him up on the offer? No way. Not for now, anyway. But she suspected, feeling the way she did about him because he was really the bright spot in her life, they would end up together in the same bed sooner rather than later.
* * *
Adam knew Sierra wasn’t happy with him saying no to her helping track the men down, but he couldn’t justify her being there. Not only that, but he was afraid the police officers wouldn’t believe she could track the shooters better than they could. Not to mention he didn’t want the shooters to shoot her, and she wouldn’t be armed to shoot them back.
He just hoped he could locate the men and have them arrested. And he really hoped they weren’t Dover’s men. Just some random shooters. If they were Dover’s men, that meant they must have followed them to the park, and hell, Sierra shouldn’t be home alone. He immediately pulled out his phone and called Tori. “Hey, I know it’s late, but—”
“What’s wrong? What do you need me to do?”
“Sierra and I were at Carver’s place when we heard shots fired.”
“Someone was shooting at you while you were in your wolf coats,” Tori said, figuring out what he was trying to say without him saying it.
“Yeah, and I’m with a team of police officers, trying to track down the shooters.”
“More than one. So you want me to come out and help you track them?” Tori sounded ready and eager, and he felt fortunate that he had her for his new partner.
“No. I need you to get ahold of Sierra and go to my house, if you don’t mind. She might need protection.”
“I’m on it. And, Adam, we’re partners. So if you need help, or any pack members need it, I’m there for you or them. Don’t ever feel like it’s an imposition.”
“Thanks.”
“I guess Sierra and I can’t both come to look for the culprits, can we?” Tori still sounded like she would rather track down the shooters than babysit.
“Not Sierra. She’s not a police officer and she may be their target.”
“Dover’s men,” Tori said darkly.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll let you know what happens in a text message when I get to your house. But I’ll give her a heads-up too.”
“Thanks.” Adam gave her his home address, thanked her again, and ended the call. He called Sierra to let her know that Tori was coming to stay with her until he got over there.
“Thanks for letting me know. Hope you find the bastards soon.”
“I sure hope so too. They’re taking a bite out of my dating time with you.”
Then they ended the call and he continued walking on the trail with the other police officers for a good long while, then headed off trail where the shooters had gone—a man and a woman. And damn if the woman hadn’t been one of the kidnappers who had been at Sierra’s house. He figured this all had to do with Dover.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” one of the new officers asked him.
“Yeah, I do.” It was understandable that the officer wouldn’t have faith in Adam’s ability to track the shooters as dark as the park was, though with his wolf’s sight, he could see much better than they could armed with flashlights. He was using one too, not wanting to look like he had superpowers. But it was his nose that really clued him in as to where the shooters had gone. The smell from the gunpowder on their hands and that one, damn it, smelled of the woman who had helped to kidnap Melissa told Adam he was right on track. It also meant that Dover most likely was involved in this.
Three of the police officers knew he and Josh were some of the best trackers they had on the force, at least until Josh had retired. One of the two new guys who had questioned Adam hadn’t been with the bureau that long. He was a transfer, not a rookie.
The other officers followed obediently along as if knowing Adam knew what he was doing, even the other new guy who followed their lead.
Then Adam kicked a shell casing, though he was sure only he could hear his boot hit the metal. He could smell the propellant from the gun in the vicinity, like dusty smoke, boiled eggs, but hitting the shell casing with his foot was still damn lucky. He shined his flashlight down at the ground and found the casing. “Found a shell casing!”