Chapter Eleven
Ryland
“So, any news? Did Sam and Noah manage to trace my guys back to the ones behind the poaching ring?”
While I talked to William, I kept one eye on the shelter in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Kimberly at work. I had secretly hoped she’d invite me in to help her out, but that probably broke some rule. Insurance and all that crap.
I’d always cringed at the term soulmate. In the high-powered circles my family ran in, most marriages were deals brokered by people who wanted to cement a social or financial advantage.
Then Kimberly crashed into my life.
Soulmate. Life partner. My other half. Yeah, all those goofy terms my stepsister liked to throw around described it to a T.
Hell, I was blowing off a major case right in the middle just because I couldn’t bear to let her think I’d romanced her just so she’d cover for me.
I intended to wine and dine her and do whatever else it took to get her to see me as boyfriend material.
Or more, but I’d settle for boyfriend for now. No point in pushing my luck.
“Not so far. Got Sam and Noah on a direct flight to Thailand so they beat your guys there. They were at the gate when your suspects’ plane landed, but when the smoke cleared at customs and immigration, they were gone.
To be honest, we’re not sure they were on the plane when it took off so stay sharp.
They could still be on the ground at your end. ”
“Crap. They must have someone on the inside. I wonder if they know they’ve been made?”
“I don’t see how, unless they have a plant somewhere in our system and you know that’s not possible. We’re all totally committed to the cause.”
“True.” I tried to nail down that niggling feeling I had that something just didn’t line up. “It’s not like I got on the plane and followed them. I’m pretty sure they never set eyes on me this whole time. They’d have absolutely no reason to suspect they hadn’t gotten away clean.”
“Jacques is seeing what he can dig up on the dark web. If there’s anything to be found, he’d turn it up.” A faint hint of concern tinged William’s voice. “So, how’s your emergency coming along? Things going okay for you?”
I felt a twinge of guilt. I’d used the all-encompassing personal emergency clause to ditch my responsibility, and the guys had responded like the troopers they were, covering for me. William knew I was pursuing a woman, but he didn’t pry. “Yeah. You find out anything about the bear?”
“Right. Talked to the doc, and he said she’d be fine.
They had to tranquilize her to get the arrow out, but it hadn’t damaged anything major so she should be fine.
He’s going to swing back that way in a few weeks to make sure.
Doc said she had a cub too, so good thing you found her and sent help.
The cub’s not old enough to forage on its own yet. ”
“Great news. Thanks for checking on it.” Now I had something positive to tell Kimberly when I picked her up.
“How’s the arm?” William was all business now.
“It’ll be fine. I picked up some butterfly strips to close it up.”
“You need me to send someone up to look at it? Joker from Riptide MC owes us a favor or two. I could ask him to run up there. He might like a change of scenery.”
From Georgia to the Canadian West Coast would be quite a change of scenery but I had no doubt Joker would show up if he thought I needed him.
“Nah, appreciate the offer but I’ll be fine.
It’s starting to heal already.” Joker was a great guy, but I didn’t want anyone interfering with my pursuit of Kimberly.
“Well, good luck with your emergency. I’ll keep you posted if there’s any developments on this end.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” I hesitated. “I really mean it, William. Thanks for covering for me on such short notice.”
“Don’t sweat it.” Now that he’d been reassured the emergency was under control, the humor showed in William’s voice. “You owe me one now, and you know I always collect on my debts.”
I laughed. The last time William had called in a debt I’d found myself chaperoning a car full of school kids on a camping trip in the Cariboo.
Turned out to be an eye-opening experience for me.
I’d discovered I had a knack for dealing with hard-to-handle teenagers -- not something I’d given any thought to, being single.
Since then, I’d volunteered for several more of the back-to-basics trips.
“So long as you remember I can be a bad influence on youngsters.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Go take care of your emergency so you can get back to work. We miss you. William out.”
I tucked the secure phone back into my inside pocket, and reached for the controls on my seat, sliding it back to give myself more leg room. Two more hours until Kimberly would be free for dinner. I might as well stretch out and have a cat nap.
* * *
“Nice place.” I rested one hand casually on Kimberly’s back as we entered Rally’s Steak House and Pub.
The physical contact helped to still the raging voice inside me, urging me to take her to some deserted side street and ravish her right there in the car.
Besides the fact I was damn sure Kimberly wouldn’t take kindly to that kind of behavior, I was pretty sure there wasn’t nearly enough room in the zippy little sports car for everything I’d like to do to her.
I made a mental note to choose one of those big SUVs the guy at the rental agency had been so keen on next time.
Lots of room for hanky-panky in one of those babies.
Kimberly favored me with a smile that took my breath away. “Glad you like it. It’s my favorite but I wasn’t sure if you’d find it too low class.”
Wow, I’d actually said the right thing. Maybe my dating skills weren’t as rusty as I’d thought. “Not at all. Has a nice homey feel to it.”
Holding hands, we wound our way between the tables to an empty one near the back. The Friday night crowd was quiet, couples murmuring to each other in low voices. I pulled Kimberly’s chair out for her before moving around to take my own.
A waitress came bustling over with a friendly smile. “Welcome to Rally’s. What can I get for you folks?”
I raised a brow at Kimberly. “What’s good?”
She smiled. “Everything! But I’d recommend the T-bone steak. They do an amazing job with it.”
“Sounds great.”
Kimberly handed her menu back to the waitress. “We’ll take two T-bone steaks and a pitcher of beer.”
The waitress tucked both menus under her arm. “How would you like your steaks cooked?”
“Medium rare for me.” I looked over at Kimberly.
She nodded. “Same for me.”
The waitress took the menus and headed back to the bar area, returning quickly with a pitcher of draft and two glasses.
“Something else we have in common.” Kimberly grinned, resting her chin on her steepled fingers. “We both like our steaks medium rare.”
She looked so cute. Random wisps of her hair escaped from the ponytail she’d secured it in, and my fingers itched to smooth them back behind her ears.
“So we do. Definitely could be a sign.” I poured two glasses of beer, placing one in front of Kimberly and taking a long pull from my own.
“A sign of what?” Kimberly tilted her head in inquiry.
“You don’t see it?”
“Nope.”
I grinned. “A sign that the universe believes we belong together. After dinner, I think we should go find a jewelry store and get you a ring.”
“Sounds great and far be it from me to turn down a jewelry shopping expedition, but I can see a tiny problem with your plan.”
“Really? Sounds foolproof to me.”
“You’re obviously used to living in a much more cosmopolitan city. Here in the back of beyond you’re lucky if you can find a store that is open after six in the evening, let alone a jewelry store that sells the sort of high-priced rock I would expect from a prospective bridegroom.”
I laughed and reached across the table to take possession of her hand. “You might have a point there. I’ll settle for the steak for tonight. We can postpone the shopping trip to a later date.”
Kimberly turned a delightful color of pink and extricated her hand. “On the island you told me you chase poachers for a living? That must be exciting.”
I laughed at her obvious attempt to steer the conversation into a less personal direction.
As if I were going to let that happen. “Most of the time it’s mind-numbingly boring.
I waste time chasing leads that go nowhere and watch people who don’t do anything worth watching.
Then, when I’m sure it’s all a waste of time and I should go apply for a job at the closest fast-food joint, some idiot shoots me with an arrow, a snow-white bear who shouldn’t exist leans over to breathe on me while I pass out, and the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen rescues me and binds my wounds. ”
Kimberly giggled, the sound tinkling softly in my ears. I could listen to that sound all night. It really didn’t matter if she was laughing because she thought I was an idiot or because the image I painted was too absurd for words.
“Sounds like very intense work.” She smiled. “Would I have heard of the organization you work for?”
“Probably not.” I was skating on thin ice here.
I didn’t actually work for anyone. The Brotherhood operated under the radar, and the one thing we had all agreed on at the start was the less people knew about us, the less chance they’d find ways to avoid our brand of justice.
We didn’t like to tell people more than was absolutely necessary.
Saving endangered animal populations was my life’s passion, and as much as I’d love to brag about it to Kimberly, I couldn’t take the chance.
Not yet. “We try not to attract too much media attention.” I gave her what I hoped was a charming smile.
“Wouldn’t want the bad guys to know we’re coming for them. ”
Kimberly’s gaze flickered to my arm, the new bandage I’d wrapped around it after applying the butterfly strips concealed beneath my shirt. “Speaking of bad guys, how’s the arm doing?”