“The two of them. They are having sex.”

Andy’s jaw dropped. “It’s not a case of him forcing her or that she feels she has to so that he won’t kill her or something, is it?” Andy couldn’t believe it, not when he truly had believed Helen was a victim.

“No.” Then she frowned. “It looked like they were mutually agreeable to having sex.”

“So either we’re rescuing her and taking him down, or we’re arresting both of them.” Andy had never faced such a crazy turn of events while on the job.

“The new boyfriend is loaded with money. So maybe this kidnapping and ransom had been planned from the beginning,” she whispered back.

“If there’s no urgency to arrest them because there’s no actual kidnapping involved, we could wait until the snowstorm blows over and let our injuries heal. They are not going anywhere until the road can be cleared. And that might be days.”

Monica handed him a bottle of water from her field pack. “Okay, so we watch the house from the woods, but shift into our bears and stay warm that way.”

“Yeah. This will be my first mission in which I’ve conducted surveillance as a polar bear.”

“Truthfully, the same for me.” She pulled out another bottle of water and drank it. “And I like it. Okay, let’s return to the woods after a snack and shift. I’ve got some food in my pack. And we’ll wait them out.”

She handed him a package of peanuts and grabbed another. They ate them and then shoved the empty wrappers in her backpack. To cover her tracks, she moved through the same trail she’d made to the woodpile. After he joined her, she returned to the woods, and he followed her once she was safely there.

Then she helped him remove his clothes as fast as she could. He sat on his rump in the freezing snow and shifted into his polar bear—much warmer. She started to remove her parka,groaning a little, and he quickly shifted and hurried to help her undress.

“You’ll freeze to death,” she admonished, but he could tell she was glad he was helping her.

Then, they both shifted in the blink of an eye, and she cuddled next to him. She nipped his ear, lay on her belly, and watched the house.

He never thought he would be on a surveillance mission with a beautiful white polar bear, either. Snuggling together—well, hell, just seeing her again—had him thinking of dating possibilities. She felt soft, furry, and warm beside him, while he warmed her with his body heat. Despite their circumstances, he felt relaxed and enjoyed this restful time with her.

While lying on his belly, he lay his head on his paws and watched the house for a long time. A small amount of light filtered through the windows, then suddenly shut off. Denny and Helen weren’t going anywhere.

Monica put her head on one of his paws, and he nuzzled her. Then she closed her eyes.

It was still early, but already dark, and they needed to rest their injuries to heal more quickly. They had slept for perhaps two hours when the cabin door creaked open. They both raised their heads to see what was going on. A flashlight wavered in the dark through the blowing snow as Denny headed for the woodpile.

Without warning, Monica leaped from the ground and charged at Denny. She ran as fast as a polar bear could at twenty-five miles per hour, not that Denny could have gotten out of her path even if she’d been running slowly.

As soon as she ran around the woodpile, Denny screamed in fright. She slammed her paw against his head, and he crumpled on the piled-up snow. At once, Andy shifted and began gettingdressed, wrapping his foot back up. His ankle was feeling better, though it still hurt to walk on, but he had to get his gun out.

Monica returned to where they had their clothes in the woods, shifted, and he helped her to dress. “We’ll drag him into the house, tie him up, and question her. How is your ankle?”

“Better. Not healed, but it should be good by tomorrow.”

“All right.”

“How’s your hand and back?”

“Awful, but a good night’s sleep; after these two—if both were complicit in trying to steal money from her new boyfriend—are tied up, we can sleep inside a nice warm cabin.”

“That sounds good to me.” It would be even better if he could sleep with Monica in one of the beds. He shouldn’t have thought of that, but the notion of healing quicker came to mind asifthat was all that came to mind. Being with her, close and snuggling, was too irresistible a notion.

He grabbed his walking stick.

Monica hurried back to Denny, and Andy caught up with her. He realized trying to move the guy into the cabin would be troublesome, but he had to help. Monica tried to pull him through the deep snow, but she wasn’t progressing.

Trying to walk on his bad ankle gingerly, he used the stick in one hand, and with his free one, he helped her drag Denny through the snow toward the cabin. They made slow progress, but at least they were getting there.

He was surprised that Denny hadn’t seen the tracks Monica and he had made earlier when they’d gone to the end of the house, but the snow was in their eyes so much from the wind blowing so hard, Denny probably didn’t believe anyone would be out there, so he didn’t notice.

As they approached the cabin’s front door, Helen said, “Honey, be sure and get more kindling!”