Page 103 of What a Wolf Wants

“So you think he’s turning Ethan over to Kroner,” she said, getting her phone out at once.

“Possibly. There might be another explanation, but I want to be there if Ethan’s in trouble.”

She texted Ethan:Noah wanted to question Ferret about the warehouse tip, but he was in Witness Protection and Renault couldn’t have talked to him. Noah and I are following you to the great-aunt’s house in case he’s leading you into a trap.

Ethan texted back:Hell, if he is, he’s going to regret it. I’ll update you if anything suspicious happens.

She texted:All right. Don’t go inside the house to speak with the great-aunt until we’re there.

Ethan texted:That works for me. And you stay in the car.

She smiled and texted:I’ve heard that one before. I have my gun with me. And yes, I’ll stay in the car.

Chapter 30

Man, was Ethan shocked. Ethan texted Grainger, hoping he could get to the truth of the matter. Maybe Renault had talked to Ferret before he was put into Witness Protection.

Grainger got back to Ethan:I just checked with the U.S. Marshal’s office, and one of them spoke to Ferret. Ferret said that he saw the breaking news on the arrests you made at the warehouse, but he had no idea that’s where Kroner had been. He said the only agent he ever gave information to was you, Ethan.

Ethan glanced at Renault.

“Anything wrong?” Renault asked him.

“No.” Ethan texted Charlene:Confirmed Ferret didn’t give the location of the warehouse to Renault.

Charlene texted him:We see Renault’s car parking at the great-aunt’s house. We’re close by, keeping out of his sight.

“Is that Charlene?” Renault asked.

“Yeah. She’s talking about wedding plans,” Ethan told Renault.

Renault laughed. “I wouldn’t mind having a girlfriend, but the idea of marrying anyone is too scary to think about. Are you ready to speak with Mrs. Osburn?”

“Yeah, just a minute.” Ethan texted Ty Richardson with the local police department:Can you send backup to Mrs. Osburn’s home?

Ethan gave him the address.

Ty texted:I’ve got a couple of people near there. I’ll send them now.

Ethan was glad that he didn’t have to explain the situation.

“What are we waiting for?” Renault asked, sounding anxious, smelling worried. He was starting to perspire. “Can’t texting Charlene about the wedding wait?”

“Yeah, just texting her that I love her one last time. You never know when you might not have that chance again.” Ethan texted Charlene:Ty’s sending a couple of men as backup.

She texted:Good. Love you.

Ethan smiled for Renault’s benefit and texted:Love you right back.

Then Ethan opened the car door and said, “Okay, Renault, let’s do this.”

Renault looked relieved and hurried to leave the car.

“Since I’m retiring, I’m going to let you go first and talk to Mrs. Osburn,” Ethan said.

“But this is your case,” Renault said, looking a little panicked.

Which was true, but since Renault wanted Ethan to be the lead on this, he figured he just might have a dark reason for it. “Right, but you know what? You could be the one in charge of it if I retire. I’m certainly not going to spend years trying to track Kroner down.”