Joy to the Wolves (Red Wolf #1) - Terry Spear Page 0,59
the vehicle before he was dumped.”
“Most likely.”
Now they just had to find the vehicle. “Thanks for the update.”
“You’re welcome. I thought you’d want to know right away.”
“I did. Thanks, Jefferson. Catch you later.” Josh set his phone on the table. “Well, that was partially good news. One of the intruders in your shop died from the broken-window cut he’d received.”
“That’s good. But the other one is at large, and the dead man wasn’t carrying any ID?”
“Right. They’ll still be trying to learn the dead man’s identity from his DNA, if he’s in the system.”
“I’m glad at least one of them is no longer among the living. Too bad the other guy didn’t have just as bad of an injury. I suspect whoever was after the item sent these men, so he’ll just hire someone else.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of too.”
After dinner, they cleaned the dishes, then sat down to work on the merchandise. Brooke was going over more of the jewelry, so Josh began making up envelopes for the items and adding the prices.
“I don’t keep expensive jewelry in the shop. I just post it online. If someone wants to see it, they can let me know, and I’ll bring it to the shop that day.”
“Do you want me to put these in the safe after we finish tagging them?”
“The expensive ones, yes. The vintage faux jewels can go in the shop. I put them on jewelry racks on the counter or inside the locked display cabinet if they’re more valuable.”
“Good idea.”
Once she was done with that, he brought over a box and began setting the merchandise out on the dining room table. “How about I take pictures of the items while you look for what they’re worth?” Josh figured that might speed things up.
“Sure, we can do that.” She spent about an hour working on the merchandise, then once he finished tagging the items with price tags, he brought over another box and began unloading the contents.
She smiled up at him.
“What?”
“I have to hire you. Seriously. I’ve gotten more work done in just a couple of hours than I ever do.”
“I can see where it would help to have a couple of people working on this at the same time.” He began taking pictures, and she sent inquiries on a couple of items and sent off the pictures.
“It really does.” She sighed. “I’ll try to stay out of your bed tonight,” she finally said, pausing to look at him.
He was thrilled she wanted him to stay with her again. He focused on another teacup and saucer and took a picture. “Don’t do it on my account.”
“What would the other bachelor males think if they knew I was sleeping with you?”
“That the would-be thieves had shot you and you needed to feel safe.” He sure wanted to be the one to make her feel protected. He eyed her, waiting for her to respond. He thought she was considering staying with him. He hoped she was. “Even though I’ll be on duty again after tomorrow, I can return after work and stay here with you. It’s closer to my job than the reindeer ranch is.” He didn’t want her to be alone, and he sure as hell didn’t want any of the other bachelor males staying with her.
“Won’t your brother miss you?”
Josh smiled. “He’ll know it’s important for your safety and welfare.”
“If it hurts your chances of courting another she-wolf…” She began looking for prices again.
“Did my brother tell you I had been dating a she-wolf about six months ago?”
“Uh, no. Was it a bad ending?”
“Yeah. The worst.”
“What happened, if you don’t mind talking about it?”
“She was a rookie cop, a gray wolf, and we were dating. We had lunch, and she wanted to pick up a watch she’d needed to have repaired. When we walked into the jewelry store, we saw right away a robbery was in progress. I indicated to her we needed to get the hell out of there and call for backup. She wanted to make a name for herself. She pulled out her gun and yelled, ‘Police officers!’”
“Ohmigod, no.”
“I knew it would end badly. The two robbers turned and started shooting. I tried to protect her and took three bullets. She died right away, and I nearly died. Then at the funeral, I learned she had a mate.” He hated telling anyone he had dated a mated wolf, even though he hadn’t known it.
“I’m so sorry she died,” Brooke said. “And that you were wounded so