Primal Heat(Wild Lake Wolves Book 3)(23)

"Come on," he said. "This is too good not to share. It's your find so  I'll let you in on the meeting. Trust me, Abby. After I help you explain  this to the congressman, I can pretty much promise you'll be able to  write your ticket with him."

Under normal circumstances, I might have been glad to hear it. Beaming  even. But, if it made Dale this happy, it had to be disastrous for Bas.  Dale put a hand at the small of my back and led me into the  congressman's office. My skin seared where he touched me, and I wanted  nothing more than to duck and bob away from him. But, Foster was  watching now. Dale spread the copies I'd made of the estate documents  and the Bonner deed on the desk. Foster stared at them, uncomprehending,  and looked to Dale for answers.

"Go ahead, Abby, I'll let you take the glory. She's really come through for us, Landon."

After taking a halting breath, I laid out the gist of what the title  search revealed. Two large tracts of land in the middle of the Wild Lake  lands belonged to the Bonner couple. But, when they passed away, their  interest reverted back to someone named Willis Gaither. If he was dead,  the land went to his heirs, whoever they might be. Unless the Bonners  were those heirs, their heirs had no possession rights over the  property. It extinguished upon their deaths.

"Gaither?" Foster leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. "Willie Gaither?" He looked over my shoulder back at Dale.

"But these papers were drawn up more than fifty years ago. Surely, this Gaither's gone now too."

Landon smacked his hands together. "Oh, he's dead as a fucking doornail.  Sorry, hope you don't have sensitive ears, Miss Winslow. Dale, are you  telling me Will, Jr. gets the property?"

"I'm not sure that's true, Congressman," I interjected. "Without looking  at Gaither Sr.'s will or even finding out if he had one, we can't know  that yet. I'll need a few more days to suss that out."

"Suss away, Miss Winslow, suss away."

"It's a formality," Dale said. "I'm sure it's Will Jr. we'll need to  deal with. This is like winning the lottery, Landon. It's better than I  could have ever hoped. Forget the conservation bill. Forget anything  else. This is much, much better."

"Brilliant!" Foster rose from behind his desk and rapped his knuckles on  the desk. "You tell that overgrown husky Bas Lanier to shove it up his  ass. We are in business!"                       
       
           



       

"The business of what? This is still private property. With all due  respect, Congressman, whatever you're thinking you might be able to do  with this land, the Bonners in effect own it during their lifetime."

I caught Dale's eye, and what I saw there chilled me to the bone. During  their lifetime. He didn't have to utter a single word but on some  elemental level, I swear I knew what he was thinking. It was bad. It was  very bad. I thought about the leg traps. The cold menace when he warned  me about what might happen if I didn't fall in line here at the office.  Though he said nothing, I knew with absolute certainty in that moment  that whoever Pat and Harold Bonner were, Dale had sinister thoughts  where they were concerned.

"Do you need me anymore today?" I said past a dry throat. "I'd like to  get started on finding the last piece of this probate puzzle. Let me go  down and find out what I can about Gaither Sr.'s estate. Then, you'll  have a clear picture of what's going on."

I wanted out of there. Fast. The looks between Foster and Dale set me on  edge. I wanted to run to Bas and explain what I knew. Though I didn't  understand Foster's game plan completely, I knew enough. He wanted  control of Wild Lake lands. He tried to get it through his ill-conceived  conservation bill. He'd tried the dead end of eminent domain. Now, I'd  unwittingly given him a back door answer, possibly.

Foster flapped his hand. "Go. By all means. Come back tomorrow with a  fresh brain. You've done excellent work today, Miss Winslow. Better than  you know. I'm very impressed."

"Th-thank you." Dale kept his laser focus on me as I moved toward the door.

Go! Flee! Danger! The words didn't form in my head, but adrenaline  coursed through me along with that rising feeling of dread that seemed  to form a circle around Dale. I didn't look back. I grabbed my bag off  my desk and headed for the elevators. I pushed the button once, then  stabbed it three more times.

Screw it. I took the stairs. My stomach churned and rolled. It was as if the air itself grew thick with poison.





Chapter Eighteen

All the dread and toxic atmosphere melted away the instant I was with  Bas again. I hugged him a little tighter than I intended, kissed him  deeper when he finally wrapped his arms around me. We'd just stepped out  of the car, and he pulled away, holding me at a distance as he regarded  me with questioning eyes.

"What's going on with you? You've been twitchy ever since we left your apartment."

Again, the overwhelming urge to tell Bas everything that transpired in  Foster's office warred with my ethical responsibilities. There simply  wasn't a simple way to tell Bas what I knew about the Bonner lands  without crossing a line. Still, keeping silent felt like a real  betrayal. Something was brewing with Dale and the congressman, something  bad. I went up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to Bas's, trying to  kiss away my problems. Bas leaned into me and groaned, driving away any  thought but him.

A sharp howl penetrated the air and sent a shiver of heat down my spine.  Bas pulled away and smiled. He turned me so I leaned against the solid  wall of his chest and folded his arms around me.

"Look!" He pointed to a high ridge on the north border of the property.  One by one, a chorus of howls joined with the first as a line of wolves  stood side by side, silhouetted against the darkening sky. I pressed my  head against Bas's chest and closed my eyes, letting the sound vibration  fill me, making my heart soar.

To my left, the front door of the lodge swung open and three men stepped  out, raising their hands high in greeting. They were Eli and Connor  from my first trip out here. They stood shoulder to shoulder, smiling  bright. Eli lifted his beer bottle and took a sip. Behind them, I  recognized Curtis, Bas's receptionist from the W.L.O. offices.

The wolves from the ridge trotted down in formation, a large white wolf  taking the lead. His silver-blue eyes glinted in the setting sun as he  playfully nipped one of the smaller gray wolves at his left shoulder  when he got too close. The gray wolf stepped back, and took his position  a few feet behind the white wolf. It dawned on me who he was. Bas's  second in command, no doubt. But, I'd seen that luminous, white coat  before.

"That's Alec!" I said, looking up at Bas. "From the meeting the other  day. In Foster's office." I remembered that shock of white looking  almost painted through the crown of his jet black hair. In wolf form, he  was all white and striking to behold.

Bas nodded. "You're a natural. It takes most people a long time to sort out who's who."                       
       
           



       

"Well, he's kind of hard to miss."

Alec broke into a run and I marveled at the powerful muscles rippling  through his haunches as he covered the ground between us. A few yards  away, he slowed to a walk, holding his huge head high, his ears pricked  back. He stood directly in front of us, his white teeth gleaming and  fearsome.

The others flanked Alec and sat back on their haunches. Bas rubbed my  arms then stepped around me, putting himself half a step in front of me  as he looked at the wolves. He reminded me of a military officer  inspecting his troops. The moment I thought it, I realized that probably  wasn't too far off an assessment.

Bas looked back at me and gave me a quick wink. Then, he turned back to  his pack and gave them a nod. In unison, they all stretched forward on  their front paws. The air crackled with energy as they summoned whatever  primal magic it took to shift from wolf to man. Bones crunched, muscles  rolled. Fur became flesh, and all eight of them rose together, rounded  backs becoming straight and proud. Then, where a moment before eight  wolves stood before me, now I faced eight naked men.

I gasped, shocked at what I saw, but only for an instant. Hearty  laughter came from the porch as Eli and Connor whistled and shouted. All  eyes were on me, even Bas's. Suddenly, I realized I was wrong. This  wasn't about Bas inspecting his troops. It was about them measuring me.  Heat flushed my face and I tried not to stare. But, to a man, they were  all beautiful specimens of the male form. All well-muscled. Some stocky.  Some tall and lean like Curtis. This was life with a pack of shifters.  Their change was raw, brutal, but also beautiful. This is who they were.  Could I handle it?