A Highland Werewolf Wedding - By Terry Spear Page 0,103
any logical explanation.
“You don’t think whoever it was told her where the stolen goods were located, and she had to get there before someone else did, do you?” Duncan asked, then shook his head as if dismissing the idea. “She probably doesn’t know these roads that well. I doubt she’d be able to find any place quickly. She looked terrified when she raced past us.”
Cearnach recalled how she’d missed the turnoff to Senton Castle before. He didn’t think she’d easily find her way anywhere quickly without someone to guide her.
“Where is she going?” Cearnach asked, thinking out loud and not expecting Duncan to know any more than he did.
“I’m not sure.” Duncan put his cell on speakerphone and called their brother. “Ian, we’re pursuing Elaine. We have no idea where she’s headed.”
“What happened?” Ian asked.
“We don’t know. The wolf who was with her in the kennels forced her to run. That’s all we can figure.”
“Bring the lass back,” Ian said. “Whatever she’s afraid of, we’ll straighten it out. We’ll be cleaning things up here. Let me know what’s happening and where she’s headed. I’ll send backup as soon as you have some idea.”
“Aye, Ian. Thanks.” Duncan rested his phone on his lap. “Are you sure she went this way and not toward Edinburgh and the airport?”
“Why in bloody hell would she be going there?” Cearnach growled.
“Just a thought, Cearnach. I haven’t any idea why she would. Or why she would leave our protection.”
“Her solicitor wanted to speak to her alone,” Cearnach said. The notion continued to bother him. Something had been wrong from the start.
Duncan didn’t say anything.
Cearnach let out his breath. “It was something important. Something he said he’d ask Kilpatrick if it was all right to discuss with her.”
Duncan pulled out his cell. “What’s his name?”
“Hoover.”
“Is he a wolf?”
“Aye.”
Duncan searched for the number, then finding it, tapped on his cell and put it on speakerphone. “Mr. Hoover? This is Duncan MacNeill.”
“Yes, sir? What may I do for you?”
Cearnach thought the solicitor sounded defensive, like a wolf backed up against a wall, even though he couldn’t know why someone from the MacNeill wolf pack was calling him.
“I’m calling on behalf of Elaine Hawthorn, mate of my brother, Cearnach. You had some news for her but didn’t wish to give it to her. Some important news. I need to know what it was.” Duncan was all business, his voice taking on a tell-me-or-else tone. Most wolves would bend to the pressure.
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t give that information out to anyone but—”
Typical solicitor response. Wouldn’t work with alpha male wolves who expected an answer… pronto.
“Fine. We’ll come call on you, and then you can decide if your answer is still the same,” Duncan said, his voice so dark that even Cearnach glanced his way. Duncan gave Cearnach an evil smile, his brows elevated just a fraction.
“Sir, if you’re threatening me—”
Cearnach couldn’t help snorting.
“I’m making a promise. I don’t threaten anyone,” Duncan said.
Cearnach smiled at that. With just a look, Duncan could change any beta wolf’s mind. Hoover was definitely a beta wolf.
Hoover cleared his throat over the phone. “Sir—”
“Just… tell… me.”
Despite Duncan’s ability to get what he wanted out of someone, the man still hesitated. Then probably envisioning Duncan coming to meet him at his office and dealing with the wolf face to face, the solicitor said, “Kelly Rafferty’s come for her. He paid Kilpatrick to seek her out and encourage her to come to Scotland.”
“Kelly Rafferty? Who the hell is that?” Duncan asked, glancing at Cearnach.
Cearnach nearly grabbed the phone out of his brother’s hand. “He’s dead! Damn the man.”
He knew Elaine wouldn’t have lied about it. Why in the hell had the man kept the truth from her about his being alive for so long? Then the realization hit him. That’s why she’d run!
Duncan stared at Cearnach, then said, “Who’s Kelly Rafferty?”
“Elaine Hawthorn’s mate,” the solicitor said.
***
Elaine’s cell phone rang, nearly giving her a stroke as she headed away from Argent Castle in the direction of Edinburgh. Robert Kilpatrick had charged up her phone? She lifted it off the seat as she drove as fast as she was able on the narrow, winding road.
“You can’t mate with Cearnach,” Robert said vehemently.
Elaine glanced in the rearview mirror. No sign of any car yet. She drove faster on the twisting road, hoping she wouldn’t end up in the trees, her car disabled like Cearnach’s had been.
“You knew all along, didn’t you? That Rafferty was still alive.”