Chapter 10

“I hope you were all right with me calling you my boyfriend,” Amelia said in Gavin’s ear as they snuggled together in his tent later that night, while Theodore slept in his own tent across the campfire from them.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been working toward that goal ever since I met you again.” Gavin loved the intimacy he shared with Amelia and thought of how much of a void there would be if she wasn’t with him now—without her warmth, her soft touch, her whispered breath against his ear, her heart beating in rhythm with his, her scent that made him want her the way a male wolf craves a she-wolf.

“Even after the first time and, technically, second time we met? You’re not a glutton for punishment, are you?”

He laughed. “I’m hoping we’re beyond that.”

She licked his chest. “Maybe I should have made you work harder for it.”

He kissed her forehead. “I would have. Believe me. I heard most of what you told your dad and that he’s going to get ahold of the accident investigators. I couldn’t read his body language from where Theodore and I were standing near the campfire though.”

“He’s angry. He gets real quiet when he’s mad. Before he reacts, he considers all the implications.”

“Like a wolf.”

“Yeah. And about that… He was shocked you were one too, and even more shocked to learn you’re an Arctic wolf like us.”

Gavin traced his fingers over her naked shoulder in a gentle caress, not disturbing the sleeping bag tugged up to cover her back. “Did he believe you about the boyfriend-girlfriend bit?”

She nuzzled his chest. “I’m sure he smelled you all over me, so he wasn’t entirely shocked.”

Gavin laughed. “I guess it went without saying.”

She swept her hand down his bare chest. “You could have just been warming me up after our little swim in the cold lake.”

“He’s too wily to think that’s all there is to it.”

“Right. Learning you are a PI and former cop, he probably felt you could protect me if I needed it.”

Which was the only downside to having Amelia here. Someone might wish her harm. “Your dad didn’t mind that you weren’t going to return and help with the scheduled flights?”

She shook her head. “We’re down a plane. So no. He’s angry we’re going to have to cancel on some flights because we’re short a plane though. We have another, but it’s undergoing refurbishing.”

“He wasn’t worried that Heaton might be out here as a wolf?” Gavin was surprised her father wasn’t more concerned about that.

She sighed. “I didn’t tell my dad that part. He definitely wouldn’t have wanted me to stay if I’d told him about that and about the raft.”

The truth was coming out. Gavin groaned. He’d thought Amelia would be perfectly honest with her dad about the situation.

“What? I can protect you. Don’t worry.”

“From your father? He will want to kill me if he learns I didn’t insist you return home with him for your own safety.”

“If I had seen the wolf, I would have known it was Heaton, scent or no.”

“All right.”

“Besides, you need me for your cover story.”

Gavin let out his breath. “As soon as Theodore’s asleep, I’m looking for Heaton, if it was him. You just stay here. I’ll leave the gun with you.”

“Well, don’t get yourself killed over it, or my dad will be mad.”

“I fully intend to be the one left standing if it comes to that.”

“You better be.”

An hour later, Gavin kissed Amelia. “I’m heading out.”

“Be careful, and if you need me, just howl.”

“I need you, all right.” Then he dressed, kissed her again, and left the tent. In the woods some way from their tents, he left his clothes and shifted. Adrenaline pumping, he was in hunting mode, praying this wouldn’t backfire and put Amelia at risk.

* * *

While Gavin was off trying to track down the wolf, Amelia couldn’t sleep. She dressed in jeans and her own blue sweatshirt, socks, and boots, then left the tent to make a fire. Once she sat beside it, gun in hand in case Heaton showed up, she watched the woods, listening for sounds of anyone walking about. Or growling in the distance. Theodore was lightly snoring in his tent.

In the romance department, she didn’t think Theodore was interested in Nina in an intimate way, beyond being concerned about her health. Just a working relationship. Because he’d paddled all the way here to ensure Nina could go home sooner when she felt so ill, Amelia saw Theodore as a hero.

The sat phone suddenly rang and startled her, giving her a near heart attack. She quickly answered the phone so it wouldn’t disturb Theodore. The caller identified himself as Phil Thomas, the man heading the team to investigate her plane crash. “I’m sorry I’m calling you so late. I was just assigned to head up the task force to investigate this. Your father said you were paddling with your boyfriend tomorrow. I need your story concerning the accident, and I’ll need to speak with you and your boyfriend tomorrow, face-to-face, before you leave.”

“Uh, yes, of course.” She didn’t want to wake Theodore—if his sleep hadn’t already been disturbed—and have him learn the truth. She banked the campfire, then headed into the woods away from camp, as far as she could in the dark with the moon lighting her way, so she could talk privately to the investigator.

Suddenly, she saw the glow of fluorescent eyes in the brush. Gun in one hand, the phone in the other, she said to the caller, “Just a minute. Can I call you back? I see a wolf.” She hung up on him before he could say a word.

“Gavin?” she called out to the wolf. Gavin and Heaton were similar in size and build. Their markings were different, but she couldn’t really see them that well in the dark.

If it was Gavin, she suspected he would have woofed and come running to join her. This wolf was wary, watchful. What if it was a real wolf, smelling the beef stew they’d cooked earlier and checking it out?

“Heaton? Why would you have sabotaged the plane? Risking killing me and my passengers? Revenge?” She knew he couldn’t answer her, but she had to ask the question, if he was the wolf.

They heard noise in the brush, and the wolf turned, then dashed off.

A couple of minutes later, she saw wolf’s eyes again. “Gavin?”

He woofed at her. Now she was worried whether it really was him. She couldn’t smell him because the breeze was blowing away from her.

He shifted. “Just me,” Gavin said, then joined her and caged her with his arms. “What are you doing out here?”

“The accident investigator called, and I didn’t want to disturb Theodore’s sleep. Then I saw a wolf. He didn’t respond to me like you did.”

“Hell.” Gavin released her and shifted, then sniffed around and headed deeper into the woods. He disappeared from her sight and she waited, listening. Brush crunched nearby, and she heard a zipper sliding up. Gavin must have shifted and was getting dressed. She was glad, but she hoped if the wolf was Heaton, he wouldn’t attack Gavin when he was more vulnerable.

Gavin approached and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go back to the campsite.”

“I promised the investigator I’d call him back. I left him hanging when I told him I saw a wolf.”

“Okay.” Gavin released her. “Give me the gun, and I’ll stand watch while you talk to him. I couldn’t locate the wolf, not when he’s wearing hunter’s spray. He has us at a disadvantage.”

“I didn’t think of that.” Which made her believe the wolf had to be Heaton if there were no other wolf shifters in the area. She called the investigator back and filled him in on the details.

“We’ll be out there in the morning, first thing.”

She didn’t want to delay the plane investigation or surveillance on Gavin’s case. She also didn’t want Theodore to see the accident investigators arrive and learn what was going on. She knew they needed to talk to the investigators though.

“All right.” She just hoped the investigators would finish with them quickly and quietly, and then she and Gavin could be on their way.

After they ended the call, she and Gavin returned to camp. “We’ll deal with it. No worries, Amelia,” he said. They slipped back inside the tent.

“Since I’m going to be stuck talking to the investigators in the morning, why don’t you just go ahead with your case? Maybe you could make sure Theodore’s out of here before I have to deal with this.” That was her main concern, repercussions about the plane crash for their business. She’d already delayed Gavin enough.

“You forget one thing. I need your help in this case, and the crash investigators are going to want to hear my version of what happened too. Which means you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Amelia sighed, really not wanting Theodore to hear what was going on. “What about Heaton?”

“That’s another reason for sticking together. I wouldn’t leave you here alone.”

“Someone would take me home. One of the investigators.”

She and Gavin stripped off their clothes and climbed into the sleeping bag together. “You want me to leave before the investigators even get here. Not doing that. Not only because I wouldn’t risk your safety, but because they’ll want my statement.”

With that, they snuggled. Gavin kissed her forehead. “It will be all right. One way or another. If Theodore learns what is going on, we can deal with it. We’ll have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Hmm,” she said, already feeling sleepy and thinking if Gavin wasn’t here with her, she wouldn’t still be awake. He made her want to enjoy every aspect of being with him until she couldn’t stay awake a second longer.

They both slept soundly with no Winston to disturb their sleep, no sounds that indicated a wolf was prowling the campground, no sat phone ringing. It wasn’t until they smelled coffee and heard a plane approaching that Amelia stirred. Despite wanting to get this over with and move on with the mission, she didn’t want to give up on the plane crash investigation.

Then she remembered Theodore—that he was the one who’d made the coffee—and she groaned. Great. She’d secretly hoped he would have taken off to make the most of the early-morning hours and to reach his group by early evening.

So much for keeping the crash a secret from Theodore.

* * *

Gavin could smell Amelia’s anxiousness as they rushed to dress. “You go talk with the investigators. I’ll keep Theodore occupied.” Gavin knew she didn’t want word to get back to the rest of their passengers about the plane wreck. Her father’s arrival last night was sure to garner goodwill because it showed his concern about one of their passengers. He’d risked coming that late in the evening, but this business could cast a bad light on the company.

“All right.” Even though she was in a rush, she paused to give Gavin a hug and kiss, then hurried out of the tent. “Good morning, Theo—”

Gavin joined them and saw a tall, blond-haired man, lightly whiskered, sitting beside the fire, sipping coffee with Theodore.

“What are you doing here, Heaton?” Amelia asked, her words hard.

Furious the man was here, Gavin touched her shoulder to remind her she was trying to circumvent Theodore hearing much about the situation with the accident investigators.

She growled under her breath about strangling someone and then smiled sweetly at Theodore. “Be right back.”

Theodore was eyeing the three of them. He said good morning to Amelia and Gavin but looked uneasy.

“I’ll make us a quick breakfast so Theodore can get on his way,” Gavin told Amelia, then gave Heaton a scathing look.

The man just eyed him back, not in the least bit intimidated.

Gavin quickly started some oatmeal, hoping Heaton would leave. Then again, as soon as Theodore left, Gavin could question him.

“Trouble?” Heaton asked, acting mildly concerned.

Amelia looked ready to slug him and stalked off to greet the investigators before she actually did.

Gavin was ready to do the same.

“So, who are you?” Heaton asked Gavin. “Amelia’s new boyfriend?”

Theodore thanked Gavin when he handed him a mug of oatmeal. He looked torn between wanting to hear what was going on between the three of them and being sorry he had invited Heaton to have coffee with them because of the obvious animosity Gavin and Amelia were showing toward their uninvited guest.

Gavin didn’t offer Heaton a mug of oatmeal and was waiting to make some for Amelia and himself after the investigators took their statements. In the meantime, he poured himself a mug of coffee. He was wondering where Heaton’s canoe was. He hadn’t seen it when he was searching for the wolf last night.

Theodore scarfed down his oatmeal in record time. He hadn’t eaten the beef stew that fast last night, so Gavin assumed he was feeling the need to pack up and go. “Hey, if I’m going to make it early enough to join my group, I need to leave now.”

“That’s an excellent idea. I can help you pack, and I’ll clean up your mug later,” Gavin said, taking the mug from him.

“Thanks. I appreciate all you did for me, and for Nina.” Theodore cast Heaton an annoyed look, probably figuring the guy was trying to mess up the situation with Amelia’s new boyfriend, and Theodore didn’t like being used.

Gavin helped him take down his tent. Then they carried his canoe to the shore and packed it, and Theodore shook Gavin’s hand. “Hey, sorry about this Heaton fella. I didn’t know he was trying to cause trouble for you folks.”

“Nothing we can’t handle. We’re glad you shared the camp with us last night. Good luck on your team-building from here on out. Safe trip there.”

“Thanks.” Theodore climbed into his canoe and headed out past the seaplane parked at the dock.

He waved at Amelia, who called out to him, “Safe journey.”

“You too, and thanks for everything. I won’t forget it.”

Gavin hoped that meant Theodore wouldn’t share what had happened to them, because though Amelia was keeping her voice low so he wouldn’t hear, the investigator wasn’t.

“You’re welcome!” Amelia turned back to face the investigators and continued talking to them.

When Gavin returned to the campfire, she motioned to him, or maybe to Heaton. Maybe she was implicating her ex-boyfriend in the possible sabotage of the plane. It didn’t look right that the guy suddenly showed up unexpectedly when he was the ex and supposedly Gavin was the new boyfriend.

“Looks like she’s telling quite a tale,” Heaton said, then finished his coffee.

Gavin strongly suspected Heaton had tampered with the plane and wanted to see his reaction when confronted with it. “Why did you sabotage the plane?” Gavin paused, watching Heaton’s expression. Heaton gave him a smug smile. “Was it because you were angry with her father for sacking you?” Another pause for effect. When Heaton didn’t enlighten Gavin, he continued. “But then her father didn’t fly the plane, and she did instead. Were you surprised she went down with the plane? Worried for her?”

Heaton laughed. “You can’t be serious.”

Then he sobered and filled his mug with more coffee as if he was welcome to do it. Which, Gavin hated to admit, he had been—by Theodore, who was only being as friendly as Gavin and Amelia had been with him.

“Why would you think I’d tamper with the plane? Yeah, okay, if you consider her father fired me, maybe I’d have motive, but it was a wake-up call for me. I’m grateful he did it.”

Gavin snorted. He didn’t believe the guy in the least. Not after knowing his friend and PI partner Cameron MacPherson’s father, who had been a drunk. He’d died driving under the influence, never having attempted to take part in a recovery program. If this guy had a problem like that, he might never change.

“What the hell are you doing here? Prowling around as a wolf wearing hunter’s spray? Sneaking around?” Gavin purposely waited for an answer, not expecting one but giving Heaton the opportunity to make up something, if nothing else.

“Prowling? I’m a wolf. I was curious when I was here and heard voices. Since I was already running as a wolf, I drew closer to see what I could see. I mean, I’d dated Amelia and heard her voice. Why wouldn’t I have checked to see what was going on? In my place, I’m sure you would have too.”

“Why destroy Amelia’s raft? And then attempt to steal my canoe? If you were just angry with her father, why harass her? Was it because of me? When you learned she was with a wolf?”

Heaton looked at the fire, and for an instant, Gavin suspected the guy really was infatuated with Amelia. Considering the way Gavin was feeling about her, he certainly could see why. It probably irked the hell out of Heaton that once he’d learned she was safe, he’d discovered her passenger was a wolf, not just human.

“You know, if you’d managed to get rid of my canoe too, we would have been stuck together. I can’t imagine why that would have been your plan. Take down her father’s plane, cause trouble for their scheduling, maybe even put her dad out of commission temporarily or, worst-case scenario, permanently. Once you learned he didn’t go down with his plane but Amelia did instead, it doesn’t make sense for you to get rid of our transportation. She was going to leave when the weather let up. But with the continued harassment, she decided to stay with me.” Gavin waited to see what impact that had on Heaton.

“You sound as if I had something to do with this. Which I didn’t.”

“When we didn’t perish after the plane flipped and sank, did you hang around to see how you could eliminate us in some other way? First, get rid of the raft and canoe so we couldn’t leave or go for help? Then take care of us?”

Heaton set his empty mug down. “You must be a cop, thinking everyone’s a bad guy. Am I right?”

“Only in your case.”

“I wasn’t anywhere near wherever you were camping before this. If it was any of your business, where I was staying wasn’t even close to there.”

The investigative officer and Amelia headed their way. Heaton asked Gavin, “Who do you think he’s going to question first. You? Or me?”

“I’m sure they know all about your qualifications that would enable you to sabotage the aircraft, your motive, and the fact that you’re here now, watching to see what happens next.”

“Which, as I said before, would prove my innocence. I’ve been here all along.”

Reaching them, the investigating officer identified himself and then said to Heaton, “I understand you had a grievance with the owner of the plane, and Miss White says you’ve been stalking her and her new boyfriend out here. Care to give us your story?”

“Yeah, sure. It’s a free country. I had no idea…” Heaton paused. “Well, yeah, I saw the schedule before I had to leave Mr. White’s employment. They’ve done a lot of flying since I left. Why wouldn’t I have done something before this?”

“Stewing about it maybe? Before you decided to take action?” Gavin asked.

“Why? I’m working for the competition now. Better wages and lots more flying time. Why should I jeopardize that when I’ve got a second chance?”

“More flying time?” Amelia asked, arms folded, brow raised. “Why are you here, then?”

“I’d planned the trip for months. Easily checked out. The great company I work for now said no problem with taking the five days I requested so I could go on my vacation. Surely you remember I was planning to come out here. Your mom had already scheduled me off for these days.”

“I guess so,” Amelia said. Gavin was surprised to hear that was the case and she hadn’t remembered it.

Then again, when Heaton left, she probably just forgot about it.

“All I know is the schedule had to be changed around a lot when you were fired.”

“What’s the name of the company you work for now?” Gavin asked, as if he were still a police officer and investigating the crime. He knew the accident investigators couldn’t arrest anyone. They only had the authority to turn over evidence to law enforcement agencies. And he wanted all the pertinent information on the guy to prove whether he was lying.

“Flying Right Adventure Tours.”

“They still hired you after you told them my dad fired you for drinking on the job?” Amelia asked, sounding surprised.

“Based on a one-time incident? And your dad didn’t want to even hear my story? Yeah, they did. I’ve never lost a plane either.” Heaton gave her a small smile.

She took a step forward as if to slap the smirk off his face. Gavin ran his hand over her back in a soothing caress. He didn’t want her to be up on battery charges if she socked the guy. Though he doubted Heaton would press charges, given that they were wolves.

She took a deep breath and relaxed some.

“So, you saw the plane in trouble?” the investigator asked Heaton, getting the interview back to the business of the plane crash.

“Nope. I was too far away to even hear it.” Heaton pulled out a map. “That’s where I was the last few days. I can send you a copy of the map when I get home. I want to keep this one just in case I need it later—for a return trip to make sure I take a different route next time.”

“Why are you here now if you have five days to paddle?” Gavin asked. No way in hell did he trust the man. Not with him sneaking around as a wolf. The hunter’s spray was the real key. Because he’d left no scent, he was correct in saying that neither Amelia nor Gavin could say he’d come into their camp.

“I’ve already been out here for five days. I came in as early as I could to make sure I didn’t miss my flight back. One of my pilot buddies is picking me up later this afternoon. So, see? When did your plane crash? I couldn’t have had anything to do with it.”

“Remote control? Timer?” Amelia asked. “Either could have worked. You knew the schedule.”

“Right. I knew the schedule. Not that I remember who all was taking what trip when. Why would I when I was no longer with your company? Besides, I only paid attention to where I was supposed to be taking people and when. In any case, even if I’d still been working for your company, I was going to be here during this time.”

“Where’s your canoe?” Amelia asked.

“Everything’s just a little way off in the woods. I didn’t want to carry all that stuff into camp without being welcomed first. Then Theodore invited me for coffee, and I took a load off and had some. I didn’t suspect the woman whose father fired me was going to be here.”

Which was a bald-faced lie, because Heaton would have smelled them, and he’d seen them last night when he was running as a wolf. He was still wearing hunter’s spray. Even now, Gavin couldn’t smell him. They couldn’t mention it in front of the investigators.

“What’s the name of the guy who’s picking you up? His phone number?” Gavin asked, noting that the investigators weren’t asking any questions of their own but were writing down everything that was being said.

“Seriously, are you a police officer?” Heaton laughed.

“Do you have anything else you want to add to your statement?” the investigator asked Heaton.

“All I have to say is I didn’t know anything about the seaplane crashing, and I had nothing to do with it.”

The investigator turned to Gavin. “What about you? Can you tell us everything that happened that you can recollect?”

Gavin gave them his version of what he’d heard before Amelia had to land on the windswept lake. Amelia moved into the tent, and he heard her unzipping the sleeping bags.

“You know, just because your dad fired me, that doesn’t mean we have to stop seeing each other,” Heaton called out to Amelia. “I’m really sorry about what happened to the plane, and I’m damn glad you weren’t injured.”

Gavin was surprised that the man sounded so genuinely concerned for her and that he’d finally said he was sorry about what had happened. He’d thought the guy had no empathy whatsoever. If Heaton did have something to do with the plane crashing, and if he really cared about Amelia, it would make sense that he was upset. Maybe that’s why he’d been following them around—to see if she was really all right. Then Gavin turned out to be a wolf, and that had probably irked Heaton.

The business with the raft? That didn’t make any sense.

As soon as Gavin was finished giving his statement and telling the investigators where he could be reached, he fixed oatmeal for Amelia and himself. Then he started to haul the packed gear out to the dock, hoping Heaton wouldn’t make a nuisance of himself with Amelia. They needed to get on the water if they were going to have any success in seeing what was going on with Conrad.

Did Gavin trust Heaton? Not one bit.