Jim winked at her. “Oh, sure.”
Rachel noticed the engagement ring on Maggie’s finger. “Are you two engaged?”
Maggie smiled and lifted Jim’s wedding band. “At the stroke of midnight, Jim proposed and we decided to get married. Immediately.”
“And you didn’t invite me?”
“We didn’t invite anybody.”
Jim nodded. “A friend of mine is a minister and performed it while his wife and mother in-law witnessed it.”
Lost a possible lover, father and now a BFF roommate. She forced a big smile. “That’s great. So where will you live?”
“Actually, we are staying here, but don’t feel like you have to leave, because you don’t.”
“I know, but still, I can’t stay.”
“Sure you can. We insist.”
Jim nodded his head so enthusiastically it looked like his bun would come undone.
“All right, but not for long. I might return to Doctors Without Borders.” Her idea of joining Howard at his practice was a bust.
“Take as long as you want.” Maggie smiled. “Maybe find a job here.”
“ I thought about that, but after what happened to Lev, I just can’t.”
A knock on the door seemed unexpected. Jim went to open it. “Can I help you?”
Two men dressed in suits stood at the entrance. “FBI, here to talk to Dr. Rachel Becker.”
Lev’s helicopter landed at LIA headquarters. As soon as he stepped down, Jesper, the archivist and assistant to Rylee, met him on the helipad.
“Sir, Rylee wishes to see you immediately.”
Lev glanced at his watch. “It’s 3 a.m.”
“We are in a crisis situation, sir.”
“Very well.” Lev followed Jesper into the ranch house and then into the elevator to their underground headquarters. Was it because of New Orleans? He cleaned the mess. No werewolf evidence. He shouldn’t have meddled into human affairs without her permission, but better he be disciplined than have done nothing. There would have been heavy casualties. Including Rachel. He’d do it over again if it meant saving lives.
This would be a good time to tell her he didn’t wish to be part of Team Greywolf, except on a case-by-case basis as a fangs-for-hire. Yet, guilt needled him. Rylee was as close to family as he’d ever known. Years before his father took a mate, he and Rylee had a passionate affair. She had worked for her father at the LIA, while Arkady Volkov had worked for both the LIA Eastern Block division and the KGB. After Rylee refused to return to his pack’s home base in Belarus, Arkady, though broken hearted, took another mate. Of course, he’d loved Lev’s mother, but if Rylee accepted him as a mate, Lev may or may not be sitting here. After the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, he had been the only pup to survive the radioactive fallout. Arkady buried his mate, his other children, and the rest of his pack. After his father’s murder, Rylee found Lev, and, on occasion, he’d provided intel for her. It had never been his intention to join her pack or any pack. He preferred being a lone wolf.
Lev and Jesper walked passed weres working on computer consoles. Normally at this hour, only a skeletal crew remained. Something of great importance happened or was happening, and by the looks of it, not about his venture to spend time with a forbidden woman. Something of epic consequences.
Jesper opened the door and lowered his head. “Lev, ma’am.”
Lev stepped into Rylee’s state of the art technology office. “Ma’am.”
She sniffed three times in greetings and he did the same. Rylee turned to Jesper. “Have the report ready for tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He left.
She turned to Lev. “Have a seat.”
Lev sank down on the large comfortable leather chair.
Rylee walked to the bar. “Vodka?”