“Oh, good.” I shifted my grip on the fence to a more comfortable position and shoved both feet onto the cross brace to support my weight. “I missed with the spell and was afraid he might have gotten away.”
“It’d be a cold day in hell before a human is faster than a werewolf.” He hauled Hale up and added, “Who were you talking to on the phone?”
“That’s none of your fucking business, Ranger.”
Blood dribbled from his nose and there was a deep gash over his forehead. Aiden hadn’t been gentle when he’d tackled our felon, and the mean part of me wished he’d caused more damage.
“It’s very much my business when you and your brothers come into this reservation to gather wolf pelts to sell.” Aiden’s voice was deceptively mild given the anger vibrating through his aura. “I suggest you cooperate—”
“Or what?” Hale cut in. “I have no idea what you think I’ve done, but you’ll be hearing from my attorney sooner rather than later.”
Aiden’s mouth twisted. “A song every felon sings when they’re first caught. Thing is, the rule of law is somewhat different within a reservation. And the IIT will, in this case, be on our side given we’ve three dead wolves, and the means by which all three were tracked down and killed found in the cabin you were staying in the A-Line Accommodation Park.”
Hale glanced at me, his expression one of both fury and hatred. He obviously knew about the events in the park that had led to the death of his brother, but how? Shaun—the oldest of them, and who was obviously the man who’d so blatantly looked at the security camera at the witch’s place given neither of his brothers were—couldn’t have been there. We would have spotted him if he had been. At the very least, Aiden would have noticed his scent given he’d been into all three bedrooms and would surely have caught it on the breeze.
“Ranger, you speak in riddles. I’ve nothing to do with any of that. I was simply here to help raise money for the CFA.”
His gaze was on mine as he said that, and his dark eyes were promising retribution. I shivered but in truth, the threat was one without substance; he’d soon be in jail and out of circulation.
Of course, there was one brother still out there.
Aiden shook him, drawing Hale’s gaze away from me. “Why were you hunting werewolves?”
Hale snorted. “Like I’m going to incriminate myself by answering a question like that.”
The sound of an approaching siren had me looking around. A ranger vehicle pulled up, lights sending blue and red flashes through the night. Tala and Jaz climbed out and walked across.
“You got him, then,” Tala said, her expression pleased.
“Yes. Mac and Byron can take him back to the station and start processing him. I want you two to take statements here—he was working with a woman to raise money for the CFA, and they have a table here tonight. We need to know whether she’s involved or simply being used by them.”
The two of them nodded and headed around to the front of the hotel rather than hauling themselves over the fence. As a second ranger SUV pulled up, Aiden grabbed Hale’s arm and marched him across. Once the hunter was secured, Aiden slammed the door and walked back to me. “Thanks for your help tonight.”
I smiled. “Other than immobilizing a poor old tree, I really didn’t do much.”
He laughed, caught one hand, and kissed it. “I need to go interview our prisoner and inform the IIT we have him. I’ll drop you home on the way through.”
“Cool,” I said. “I might go join Belle at the club.”
“Is that a not so subtle reminder that you’re a free agent and might just get tired of hanging around for me?”
“Possibly,” I said, keeping my voice light. “As Belle keeps reminding me, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Or, in this case, werewolves in the kennel.”
“I’ll have to keep on my best behavior then, won’t I?”
“Keeping the backpack stocked with chocolate is a mighty fine start, trust me.”
“Good. I’ll meet you at the truck.”
I nodded and jumped down from the fence, but didn’t immediately leave the hotel. Instead, I walked back to the tree I’d “immobilized” and undid the spell. While the tree was in no danger from it, it was never a good idea to leave active spells hanging around. An immobilizing spell might be less dangerous than many other spells thanks to the restrictions that came with it, but all it would take was someone to lean against it, and they’d be ensnared.
Tala was interviewing the woman from the CFA as I went through, but I couldn’t see Jaz anywhere. I continued on through the hotel and headed across to Aiden’s truck. The taillights flashed as I approached it and, a few seconds later, he came running up beside me. Once he’d opened the door and ushered me in, he climbed into the driver side.
It didn’t take us all that long to get back to Castle Rock. I undid my belt then leaned across and kissed him. It turned out to be one of those long, heated kisses that stirred the blood and made me ache for things that just weren’t possible right here and now.
“I hate my job sometimes,” he murmured, cupping my cheek with one hand.
I smiled, turned to drop a kiss on his palm, and then pulled back. “No, you don’t. I’ll see you tomorrow sometime.”