The Wolf Code

“So, what’s next?  Are you flying out tonight?”

“Tomorrow, late in the afternoon.”

“Are you staying at the hotel?”

“No.  I can’t stay in that hotel.  Between the missing accomplice from the nursing home and not knowing how many people were involved throughout the town, I just can’t.  I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

“Would you like to stay here?”

“I would appreciate it.”

“I can see if someone has an empty bed you can sleep in if you want.”

She shook her head. 

“I don’t.”

His eyes widened a bit, but he recovered quickly.  He sat down at the table beside her, picking up the journal and the file and spreading it in front of them.  He handed her a notepad and a pen.

“I’m sure you have better handwriting than me.  Let’s get what we can between the two of these so I have something to go on while I’m waiting for my copies.”

Senora sighed, and Ty laughed.

“Dinner is in a few hours.  I want to go through these and get as much as we can written down so we can enjoy the rest of the night together.”

“Oh,” Senora said. 

His hand went to her thigh, and he gave a soft squeeze that set her body aflame.

“That is, if you can keep your hands off me until then.”

Senora laughed, elbowing him playfully.

“You’re something else,” she said, grabbing the first page of Robin’s file and flipping through the journal until she found the correlating date.  “Enough flirting; we’ve got work to do.”

“There’s no such thing as enough flirting with you,” Ty said.

Senora shook her head and dove into the files.  Ty chuckled, but Senora knew if they didn’t get to work now, they would end up in bed long before dinner.

They spent some time going over the documents together, and Senora took copious notes until her hand cramped.  She stopped, massaging her sore muscles.

“Let me,” Ty said, taking her hand in his before she could protest. 

His skin was so warm, and electricity shot up her arm and caused her entire body to tighten in response.  She held her breath for a moment, then let it out slowly, trying not to let her attraction overtake her. 

Trying to keep her mind on other things while he expertly massaged her hand and fingers, she talked to him about Addie’s role in the case, and how she thought Addie’s final moments went down.

“She was obviously going against him, and maybe even threatening him.  I’m sure he realized that she was about to blow his entire operation, and he couldn’t let that happen.  It makes sense.  She had dozens of tickets in her glove box from him, so he’d obviously been harassing her for a while.”

“I’m not surprised.  The Sheriff wasn’t one to let go gracefully.”

“Addie was going to do the right thing, and she paid for it with her life.  I know that’s not the same as blowing the whistle, but I’m going to talk about applying for the reward money posthumously with J.  It would help Mabel out a lot, and without Addie, the FBI wouldn’t have been here.  She was pivotal to the case, and these journal entries and Robin’s notes will help make sure that everyone involved in this case goes away for a long time.”

“What about Hannah?”

“She’s an automatic recipient.  I’m going to push for something more for her since she’s also a survivor. She should get at least the twenty-five thousand for the reward money, and I’m thinking there’s another ten thousand in it for being willing to testify.”

“Isn’t that bribery?”

“It’s not labeled that way, and she gets it whether she testifies or not.  We just don’t tell our witnesses that.”

“I’m glad you’re doing all that for them.  It says a lot about you that you care about the people and not just about your job.  You’re going to change Mabel and Hannah’s lives helping them like that, and I know that Mabel will feel better knowing that Addie’s life saved so many more.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.  “But I’m only doing the right thing.  And what about you, paying Hannah’s mortgage off and setting up twenty-four-hour care for her dad so he can stay home?  I’m sure that wasn’t cheap.”

“We’re not talking about me; we’re talking about you.”  He brushed a stray curl from her face and smiled.  “I’m going to miss this wild hair of yours.”

His hand cupped her cheek, setting her nerves on fire.  Her lips parted as her hazel eyes held his gaze, and she held her breath, hoping that he would kiss her.    

When his lips finally touched hers, her heart melted.

He stood up, openly admiring her laying there on the bed before he smiled and leaned down. 

“One more thing,” he said.