Somewhat relieved, Devlyn nodded. “Thanks so much for all of your help last night, Chrissie. I don’t think we had the chance to express our gratitude.”
Fingering her muffin, she grinned. “Do you eat Wheaties?”
He stabbed a sausage. “Meat, and lots of it.”
“Ah. I’m sorry for making up a story so different from the truth. I worried that when Henry heard the real version, he would have been madder.”
“Well,” Devlyn said, lifting his forkful of sausage, “I’m glad it all worked out fine.”
He got the distinct impression something was bothering Chrissie, but he wasn’t used to having human friends or the way in which they were afraid to speak frankly. With lupus garous, if they wanted something, they normally came out and said it.
Dipping the butter knife into the blackberry jam, he coated his muffin, the smell of the wild berries tantalizing him. He envisioned Bella bending over to pick the strong, flavorful fruit in the wilderness, her denims hugging her buttocks. Licking the sweet, tangy jam off his muffin brought an image of the wild to him, creating the urge again to run through the brambles, to chase Bella through the woods on a carefree romp. The idea of finishing breakfast and joining her in bed quickly filled his thoughts.
He looked up from his muffin to see Chrissie watching him with adoration in her eyes. Or maybe a bit of lust. Inwardly, he smiled. She couldn’t handle a lupus garou, no matter how badly she thought she wanted him. “Is something bothering you?”
She looked back at her plate and then up at Devlyn. “I’m worried about this Volan. Henry showed me the picture of him and said that if the man came around my place asking about Bella, he wanted me to know what he looked like. He feared the man might get violent, considering how he left Bella naked at the zoo in subfreezing temperatures. He must have wanted her dead.” She watched him for his reaction. “He’s dangerous all right.”
“There’s something else. I thought I heard car doors slamming in the middle of the night. As sleepy as I was, it took me a few minutes for the noise to register. Then I wondered who it would be that late at night. So I threw on some clothes and looked out the living room window, but I didn’t see a soul, only a jeep parked in front of my house. I watched for quite a while and then, figuring whoever it was wouldn’t be returning any time soon, I walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water. But I thought it odd that the vehicle was parked in front of my house. When I returned to the living room window and peeked out, the jeep had disappeared.”
Devlyn took a deep breath. “Maybe it was someone at the wrong house.”
“I instantly thought of Volan and called Henry, but I couldn’t get hold of him. I was going to come over here to check on you, but the house remained dark and, well, then the jeep vanished.”
“We must have been sleeping like tired, old dogs.”
Chrissie grinned.
He got the impression she didn’t think they were all that tired, or old, or that they had been sleeping. Although about now he sure could use a nap. He grabbed his plate and pointed to her half-eaten breakfast. “Done?”
“Sure.” She jumped up from her chair.
He carried the plates into the kitchen. “We watched movies until way too late last night. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to join Bella for a nap.”
“Oh... oh, sure.” Chrissie headed for the back door. “If you two need anything from me, be sure and holler.”
The door shut on her hasty exodus, and he returned to the bedroom only to find Bella gone. For an instant, the image of the reds ferreting Bella away flashed through his mind. He tore into the bathroom, hoping she was taking a shower, although he didn’t hear the sound of the shower spray or smell any dampness in the air.
As he suspected, she wasn’t there.
He stormed out of her bedroom, down the hall, and into her office.
Sitting in her chair with her chin propped in her hands and wearing her sweats once again, she stared at the monitor. Bright colors zigzagged across the screen, darting hither and thither against the stark blackness.
“Bella?”
She gave a start. “Oh, Devlyn.”
He crossed the floor and knelt at her side. “Bella, what’s wrong, honey?”
“I woke and didn’t find you with me. Then I heard Chrissie talking to you in the kitchen, but I was too tired to speak to her. I couldn’t sleep, and I wondered if I had any new messages to clue us in about the killer.”
He touched her cheek and then looked at the screensaver.
Sighing deeply, she nestled her cheek against his hand. “I guess I forgot what I was doing.”
“What you are doing is taking a well-deserved nap, now, with me. We’ll look at the messages later. We’re both too exhausted to make any sense of anything.”
She raised her arms to him. “Help me up.”
“I’ll do even better than that.” He lifted her in his arms, and she nestled her head against his chest.
“I see you put on some jeans.”
“I didn’t think you’d approve of Chrissie seeing me without.”
She gave a low growl. “You’re right. I can be awfully possessive.”
“All right by me.” He carried her down the hall to the bedroom and deposited her in the bed. “You shouldn’t have gotten dressed.”
She touched his zipper and instantly his arousal strained against the denim. No wolf could ever get him worked up as fast as Bella.
Knocking at the back door interrupted them and sent a ripple of anger shooting down his spine. “Now what?” Devlyn growled.
“If it’s Chrissie, I’ll take care of it.” Bella sounded grumpy and climbed off the bed.
Knocking sounded again, louder this time.
“Maybe we should ignore her. I told her I was taking a nap with you.”
Bella’s lips turned up. “What did she say to that?”
“I think she didn’t believe we were going to nap.”
“Not with her pounding on the door every few minutes.” Bella swept her hair out of her face, and he wanted to kiss her pursed lips.
“I’ll take care of it.” Devlyn stormed out of the bedroom, figuring an annoyed male might persuade the woman to vamoose more easily than his mate would. Before he could make it to the back door, Bella’s feet tromped on the carpet behind him at a hurried pace to keep up.
When he turned to look at her, she smiled. “Didn’t want you to be too brusque.”
“Not me.” But he had the feeling that, if Bella weren’t so tired, her neighbor might see the darker side of Bella’s persona. Yanking open the door, he tried to quell the ire building in his own blood.
Chrissie gave a nervous smile. “Uh, I’m sorry, folks, to disturb you again.” Twisting a piece of her dark hair between her fingers, she looked quickly from him to Bella — who stood slightly to the left of his shoulder — and back to him again.
Wary that something was seriously the matter, he motioned to the living room instead of sending the woman packing. She glanced at Bella, as if asking if she approved. Smiling wearily, Bella nodded.
Devlyn linked his fingers with Bella’s and followed Chrissie into the sitting area.
“I’m sorry, Bella, Devlyn, but something’s been bothering me.” Chrissie took her seat on the couch.
Devlyn and Bella sat on the loveseat opposite her. Immediately, Bella rested her head against Devlyn’s shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed.
“Henry told me not to say anything to you, but I think he mentioned it to me, hoping I would tell you. He really admires the way the two of you seem so much in love. He knows that Devlyn is only trying to protect you, Bella. But, well, something about your story didn’t add up.”
Bella kept her head on Devlyn’s shoulder, but her whole body tensed.
“What did he say, Chrissie?” Devlyn prompted, wondering if he would have to take Bella back to Colorado earlier than planned and forgo solving the red lupus garou killer mystery. Bella’s safety was tantamount, above all else.
“Can I have a glass of water?” Before anyone could respond, Chrissie hopped up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. “Sorry,” she hollered. “I’m a little nervous.”
Bella shook her head.
Devlyn kissed her forehead and gave her another squeeze of reassurance.
“Yeah, like that,” Chrissie said, pointing with her index finger wrapped around a glass of water. “He saw how caring you are toward one another. Refreshing to see.”
“What didn’t add up, Chrissie?” Devlyn asked, trying to curb his irritation.
She sat back down on the couch. “It was the zoo scene. Volan has never been sighted anywhere. At the hospital, the zoo, nowhere.”
“At the dance club,” Devlyn reminded her.
“Yes, yes, of course. But that’s the first time.”
Devlyn attempted to look unruffled by the revelation. “Henry said he remembered Volan struck him.”
“That’s the problem. You and Volan are similar in build and have similar coloration.”
“No,” Bella said. “Devlyn’s hair is brown and Volan’s hair is black.”
“Devlyn’s hair is dark brown, and inside it looks nearly black.” Chrissie sipped some of her water. Her gaze shifted from Devlyn back to Bella. “The thing is, Devlyn is the one who’s always in the picture, not Volan. Then there’s you, Bella. But he’s trying to protect you. Henry understands that. He said he’s sure you told the truth about Volan as far as being afraid of him and what he’d do to you. But it’s the other part of the story that doesn’t fit.”
“What doesn’t add up?” Devlyn asked again.
“Why didn’t Volan grab Bella at the hospital? If he’d already knocked out Henry and the cops, how come he didn’t get Bella? Where was he? The receptionist said she never saw the man. The police said they’d been knocked out from behind and had never seen who hit them.