Chapter 19

As soon as the vehicle hit the limousine, the impact threw Owen against the glass dividing the driver and front passenger seat from the rest of the limousine, making him lose his hold on Candice before he fell to the floor. Thankfully, he was okay. He quickly picked himself up and checked on Candice, sprawled in her wolf form on the floor.

“Are you all right?” he asked, coming to her aid and giving her a hug.

She woofed, then growled, looking behind them through the window at the silver Suburban and the thirtyish man leaving his vehicle.

He had hit them on one corner of the limousine, crumpling it. Owen looked out the side windows, but everyone was in the ditch, scrambling to climb up the incline to check on the driver of the SUV and Candice and Owen. He was damn glad no one by the side of the road had been hurt.

Strom yanked open the door to the limousine and poked his head in. “Everyone okay?”

“Yeah, we’re good. The others?”

“All of us are fine. Jim and Everett are checking on the driver, no passengers. Damn people who can’t watch their driving when a vehicle is off to the side of the road,” Strom said.

Traffic was beginning to back up, so Strom called the police officers who were supposed to arrest the impostor at the courthouse to let them know that he and his niece might be delayed a bit.

“Is anyone calling the police to make a report?” Owen asked, hoping the car was in good working order, and that the police didn’t get involved and ask about the wolf in the car.

Jim was taking down the insurance details from the other driver and gave his for the limousine.

“No need to. Jim caught it all on video. He was a great agent with the JAG. That’s why I enticed him over to the dark side to work for me.”

Jim smiled back at Strom and told the driver, “All right. Well, thankfully, I captured the whole thing on video in case we have any trouble over the car insurance. Can you drive okay?”

“Yeah,” said the other driver, who had been really nice, but didn’t look too happy about the accident being caught on video.

“What about us, Mr. Hart?” Jim asked.

Strom glanced at the driver. “Denny?”

“The limousine is fine,” Denny said. “I’ll need to take her in for repairs, but in the meantime, she’ll take us to the courthouse and back home again. That rear taillight’s not going to be working for signals and brakes though.”

“Okay, let’s get on the road then. If we can get on the road.” Strom was watching the snail-paced traffic as drivers rubbernecked to see the accident.

“I can do it.”

Within seconds of everyone climbing into the car, Denny pushed the limousine back onto the crowded highway and they were off.

“You’re beautiful, Candice,” Strom said. “You’re just beautiful. I couldn’t envision seeing you as a wolf.”

She climbed onto one of the seats and laid her head in Owen’s lap. He stroked her head. “She is that.” He was glad her uncle had something nice to say about her being a wolf. She didn’t need any negative comments from anyone right now, especially her uncle.

“Denny will stay with you in the car while I ensure that the woman is arrested. I don’t want anything to go wrong with this,” Strom said to Candice.

“Do you want me to go with you, boss, or stay with them?” Jim asked.

“Why don’t you come with me, just in case we have any trouble.”

When they arrived at the courthouse, Strom and Jim left the vehicle, and Everett stayed with Owen, Candice, and the driver.

“I can’t believe that Strom is a jaguar,” Everett said. “Hell, he even owns the Clawed and Dangerous Kitty Cat Club company. Jim said it started out as a disco club in the seventies. I can’t believe this is where Jim ended up either. Not a bad deal.”

“I’d love to take Candice to the club…unless it’s for jaguar shifters only,” Owen said.

“No, it’s even open to the public, so no shifting allowed on the premises. The biggest clientele are jaguar shifters, but all are welcome. I bet Strom wouldn’t mind flying you both here just to visit, and he’d take you there,” Everett said.

Candice was sitting up, staring out the window of the limousine, when she suddenly jumped off the car seat and began to pace. The three guys watched her now, trying to read what was going on with her.

Anxious about seeing the woman come out in handcuffs? Or something else?

She suddenly grabbed a mouthful of her sweater and shook it, looking at Owen as if he should be used to this by now.

“Hell, you’re going to shift this quickly?”

She dropped her sweater and woofed.

“Everyone out of the car,” Owen said. Though wolves got used to stripping and shifting in front of other shifters as a necessity, she hadn’t been around others, so he figured they needed to be mindful of that.

As soon as the guys hurried out of the car and looked in the direction of the courthouse, Candice shifted.

“We’ve got to hurry.” She yanked on her panties and then her pants as Owen grabbed her bra and handed it to her. As soon as she was sitting and pulling on her sweater, he helped with her socks and boots.

“How did you manage to shift so quickly?”

“I relaxed and started saying a mantra, anything to make me turn. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I turned last night, and the only reason I did this time was because I’m so nervous about getting this over with without creating a scene. Let’s go.” She grabbed Owen’s hand and led the way. She pushed open the door, and the guys all turned and smiled, but then frowned.

“Are you going to be okay?” Everett asked.

“I hope so.”

Owen called her uncle and said, “We’re coming in. Candice wants to join you.”

“Are you certain?” Strom didn’t sound real sure of her plans.

“Hell yeah.” Owen wasn’t sure she’d be okay, but he was damn sure she wanted to be there. “Is the woman there?”

“No. She must have gone to the restroom or run off somewhere for a few minutes.”

“Or gotten spooked that the police are there,” Owen said.

“Well, the sooner we can sign off on this paperwork, the better.”

“That’s the woman. That’s her,” Candice said and jerked away from Owen.

Owen was afraid she’d knock the woman out for impersonating her. He didn’t blame her for all the worrying she’d been doing over this whole situation. But he didn’t want the police to arrest his mate.

Dora Emerson did resemble Candice to an extent, but she was taller and thinner, and if the part of her hair that she hadn’t managed to fully color was any indication, she was a blond, not a redhead like Candice. Her jaw was a little longer, her eyes not as big, but if someone took a quick glimpse of the photo, all they’d really see was the hair and the color of her eyes. That’s what stood out, and that’s what looked close enough to convince anyone Dora was Clara.

“We see the woman and maybe Felix Underwood coming down the courthouse steps with her,” Owen quickly told Strom. Felix was a blond, though his hair was darker, and he was older, but still tall and thin like his sister.

“I’m sending the police officers right down. Don’t let Candice get into an altercation with her.”

“I’m trying not to,” Owen said. “Got to go.”

The woman looked so similar to the photo he had of Clara, just a torso shot, and with the documents the woman had stolen—probably in the manila envelope she was carrying—she could have easily “proved” she was Clara Hart.

“Okay, hold it right there, Dora Emerson,” Candice said, arms outstretched, blocking the woman’s escape. The woman looked a bit startled that Candice knew her name. She tried to go around her, but Denny, Everett, and Owen stopped both the woman and the man with her.

“You have something that belongs to me…papers and photos stolen from my safe-deposit box.”

“I don’t know who you are, but get out of my way before I deck you.”

“That’s a verbal threat,” Owen said, still ready to protect his mate.

“Yeah, assault,” Everett agreed. “And she tried to steal an estate worth billions by pretending to be the heir. That’s a federal offense.”

“Maximum jail time because the real Clara’s uncle is a good friend of the judge,” Denny said, smiling.

The woman shoved Candice’s shoulder, and Owen grabbed his mate to keep her from falling down the stairs.

Everett arrested the woman on the spot.

“You can’t arrest me!”

“Actually, I can. Even if I didn’t have a badge, which I do, I could make a citizen’s arrest.”

The PI tried to slip by them, but Rowdy and the two police officers were already racing down the steps to take over. Or at least Rowdy was there to lend a hand, since this wasn’t his jurisdiction.

One of the police officers began reading Miranda rights to the both of them while the other handcuffed the PI and then the woman.

“She has the documents and pictures stolen from my safe-deposit box to pretend she was me,” Candice said.

“She also shoved you, and we witnessed it.” The one officer opened the envelope and searched through it. “Can you describe what you had in it?”

Candice folded her arms. “Mom and Dad holding me when I was a baby. She was wearing a blue dress. He was wearing a gray suit. They’d just brought me home from the hospital. There’s a picture of me missing my two front teeth and holding my red pigtails out, smiling away. And I had the paperwork from the sale of my last home”—Candice gave him the address—“and my high school diploma, and the pearl ring, just a lot of stuff that would be important to me. And I’m a redhead, always have been. But this impostor is clearly a blond.”

“We’ll need the documents for evidence to prove she stole them from the bank safe-deposit box and to prove she was going to use them to steal your inheritance.”

“Okay, as long as I get it all back.”

“Guaranteed.”

Candice got a call, and she answered it. “Yes, Uncle Strom? The police officers have everything in hand down here. The fake Clara and her brother will be going to jail for a very long time.”

Not that Candice could know that for sure, but Owen loved that she got a dig in at the two attempted swindlers before she and the others headed up the remaining stairs to the courthouse.

“Thanks, Officers. Throw the book at them.” Then she skirted around them, her hand on Owen’s again as she headed up the stairs.

Denny said, “I’m going back to the car to wait.”

“All right,” Owen said. “See you in a few.”

“I guess I don’t need to come, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to,” Everett said.

“Yeah, you’ve helped us with this the whole time. Of course we want you to come with us.” She glanced at Rowdy. “You too.”

“Thanks,” Rowdy said, and he sounded grateful they were treating him like one of the pack.

Jim was waiting just inside for them. “Follow me this way. Are you going to be all right?”

“For the moment,” Candice said.

Everyone quickened their pace.

When they reached the judge’s office, Strom ushered her in, and Owen and Everett waited in the outer office. Owen’s palms were sweaty, and he couldn’t tamp down his concern that Candice might shift while trying to sign all the paperwork.

“She’ll be all right,” Everett assured him.

Everett couldn’t know any more than Owen could, or Candice even. The shifting was just so unpredictable during this time of month.

Jim said, “Hey, Rowdy, want to take a walk with me and tell me about some of your really interesting cases?”

Rowdy glanced at Owen, as if seeking his approval.

“We’re fine. Go ahead. We’ll see you in a bit.” Owen suspected Jim wanted to take Rowdy someplace else in case Candice shifted again.

A few minutes after Rowdy and Jim left, Owen began to feel the need to shift. He could last, he told himself. Two hours. This was just the beginning. He wanted to be here for Candice if anything went wrong and to congratulate her on getting this done.

He realized suddenly that with her signing for her estate, he had also inherited a lot of money because he was her mate. Not that he planned to spend any of it. It was hers to do with as she pleased.

They needed to get married too, for the sake of their kids, when they had some of their own. If they could. Even though technically they didn’t need to marry. He’d only been focused on getting this business with the inheritance done, but now they needed to sell her home in South Dakota and move whatever she’d like to their home in Minnesota. Hell, they hadn’t even discussed how they were going to set things up. She could change everything as far as he was concerned. He didn’t care as long as she was with him and happy.

The door to the judge’s office opened and Owen stiffened, still concerned that everything had gone all right.

Candice came out smiling, but it was a sad smile.

He figured she was feeling bad about her parents dying all over again.

Her uncle said goodbye to the judge, and then they all left the outer office and headed for the stairs.

“Because of all the help Rowdy has been, I’m inviting him for dinner,” Strom said.

Owen wasn’t sure how well that would work, with all the secrets they were still trying to keep. He planned to sit it out if they didn’t eat soon. He was certain he was going to shift. “I feel the shift coming on. I can hold out about an hour or so.”

“We’ll make sure we have dinner before then,” Strom said.

Owen was again glad her uncle was a shifter. “And Rowdy?”

“I have a guest room you can use on the second floor, first on the right, if you need to shift. We can make excuses for you.”

“And if I have to shift?” Candice asked.

Strom smiled a little. “Newly mated moment? I’ll just make some comment about the lovebirds not being able to wait. At least he’ll believe I don’t know any better.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Owen wrapped his arm around Candice and kissed her cheek. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, but sad. I need to sell the real estate, and the land and other properties they owned. I won’t be returning.”

“We need to discuss your home in South Dakota too. And I want you to know you can get rid of anything you don’t like at the house and decorate it your way.”

“Hmm, what if we were to take some of the money from the sale of the estate and replace furniture in the house with stuff we’d both like? Though I love your living room set. And your dining room set. I’m thinking mainly of setting up the office so it works better for the two of us.”

As far as Owen was concerned, he would love anything she loved. “That works for me.”

“I suppose you want to marry me now,” she said, smiling up at him, as if the money made the difference to him.

He was glad she was feeling better and not so anxious about shifting. He couldn’t wait to get her home. “That goes without saying, especially when we have all the little ones.”

“I think I could handle only one Corey.”

“That’s good. He only comes one to a package—one alpha, male or female. Usually.”

She laughed.

“Rowdy, do you want to join us for dinner?” Strom asked as they met him and Jim at the bottom of the courthouse steps.

“Sure, I’d like that. Thanks. Then I need to be getting on my way. Leave will be up by the time I return home,” Rowdy said.

Owen wondered if there was more to Strom’s offer than that. Maybe he planned to question Rowdy about what he knew? Or how he perceived their kind? But then he would have played his hand, and Rowdy would think he was a wolf too. Right now, Rowdy was clueless about Strom and his staff. Owen really hoped he’d stay that way.

Strom called ahead to ensure his chef prepared something that would be ready when they arrived home.

As soon as they reached Strom’s mansion, they were ushered into the dining room and Maggie began serving them dinner of bacon-wrapped filet mignon, lemon herb asparagus, and baked potatoes with little side dishes of butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese, and chives.

They finished the main course, and Maggie cleared away the dishes, then returned to serve slices of cheesecake topped with candy cane.

Owen couldn’t last through dessert. To avoid being caught in his clothes in the middle of a shift, he had his phone set to ring him, and then he could make his excuses. “Mr. Hart, that’s the call I said I needed to take—”

“Yeah, please help yourself to the guest room where you can take your business call in private.”

“I’ll probably be awhile.” Owen leaned down and kissed Candice’s mouth, then said to Rowdy, “If you have to leave before I can say goodbye, I just wanted to thank you for all your help.”

“Sure thing.” Rowdy smiled, but then looked at Strom as if he was worried he might learn what Owen was.

Then Owen left the dining room, glad he’d mentioned it to Strom earlier so he knew where to go to chill out as a wolf for a while. He hoped Rowdy wouldn’t hang around, waiting for him to return.