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Yes, sir. Ethan still wondered why his boss wanted him to do this solo, instead of having someone else handling it who was still on the force and not retiring.

Sure, he could use that as his cover, but he suspected there was more to it than that.

Like someone in their department was on the take.

Maybe that was even the reason why they hit the wrong house tonight.

I figure you ll be out a week or longer after having been shot, depending on how bad it is. Renault informed me you didn t go to the hospital.

No, sir. I m seeing my family doctor and she ll fill out the necessary paperwork on me.

All right. Well, you take it easy, and when she approves you returning to work, let me know.

I will.

Great job on catching two of the men.

Yeah. I can t wait to take down the rest.

We ll do that. You just get the intel.

Yes, sir. Ethan and his boss ended the call. He wanted to get the bastards himself, but he knew he would need the team to do it. These guys were just too dangerous for one agent to tackle alone.

***

Damn, they did a job on your door, Charlene s manager said to her as he walked into her rental house, making his way through the debris.

Yeah, but I have some, um, friends coming to take care of it, Charlene said.

All right. And the rest of the house?

You can check it over, but thankfully, there was no other damage, Charlene said.

Okay, I ll make a quick walk through the house, if you don t mind.

Go ahead.

The manager walked into the kitchen and was checking it out when Tori said to Charlene, So this isn t your house.

No, I m just renting it.

Then a couple walked in through the door, both green-eyed redheads, the guy tall and commanding, his eyes immediately taking in his surroundings, and the woman petite and friendly, offering her a warm smile.

The man said, Hi, I m Leidolf Wildhaven.

This is my— He paused as he saw the manager walk out of the kitchen.

He s the manager of the house rental, Charlene told Leidolf.

Then the manager went upstairs, and Leidolf continued, This is my wife, Cassie, and we truly regret what happened to you.

The manager came back downstairs. When are they taking care of the door? he asked Charlene.

In a couple of hours.

Okay. I ll check it out in the morning, send a picture of it to the owners, and make sure it passes inspection with them.

Thanks so much. Charlene hoped the owners would be happy with it.

Then the manager left.

We ll stay here until the door s replaced if you have anything else you want to do, Leidolf said. The rest of you don t have to stay here either.

Do you need us to do anything else for you? Adam asked Charlene.

No, thanks. I appreciate that you came to help me with everything, Charlene said.

It is our pleasure. It s always good to meet other red wolves, Tori said.

I agree, Sierra said. We ll have to have lunch sometime.

Tori seconded that suggestion.

Adam smiled. I think that s an invitation for the ladies only.

Yeah, I m all for doing it, Cassie said. We didn t catch your name.

Because Charlene hadn t given it. She really wasn t going to be around to have lunch with the ladies or anything else. Portland was a three-hour drive from where she was going to be living. I m Charlene Cheswick and I thank you for the lovely offer, but I m moving to Oyster Bay tomorrow.

Oyster Bay, Cassie said, sounding surprised.

The others smiled.

You ll love it there, Toni said. It s really beautiful there.

Yeah, I ve been there too with Adam, Sierra said.

I m renting out two homes for visitors to the area to stay at, Charlene said, thinking maybe she would end up with some friendships with the red wolves out of Portland after all.

Oh, great. Do you have any business cards? Cassie asked. We ll share them with the whole pack.

Yeah, sure. I ll just go get them. Charlene finally felt things were looking up after this disaster and headed up the stairs to her bedroom. She grabbed some business cards, then took them downstairs to give to everyone.

We ll pass them around to the other pack members, Leidolf said.

We always encourage our pack members to buy goods or services from other wolves and we would be happy to have you join us, even though you ll be living some distance from our pack.

But you re a red wolf and if you re ever out this way, you re welcome to come to our parties and other functions anytime.

There are no wolf packs out in that vicinity, though there may be a lone wolf or two living out that way.

We never met any while we were out there, but just like you being here, we didn t know it.

We have plenty of acreage at the ranch, and we have pack members who also own a reindeer ranch that has lots of acreage. If you re ever out that way, you can run as a wolf there where you ll be safe too. Leidolf gave her one of his ranch cards. You can also stay with us when you visit.

Thanks.

Are you going to be around in the morning? We could have breakfast together instead of lunch, Toni said.

Yeah, sure. Breakfast would be fine. Do you have any suggestions?

The Egg Stop. They have the best breakfasts, cute decor, and a really nice staff, Tori said, the others all agreeing.

Charlene hadn t heard of it, but she thought that would be fun. Tori gave her the address to the place, they agreed on a time, and then she, Adam, and Sierra said good night and left.

Charlene motioned to the living room. We might as well get comfortable.

About that time, four guys arrived with the door and frame, and they all started working their magic. Leidolf actually went to help the men install the framing and the door, which impressed her. Since he was the pack leader, she figured he would just sit back and watch.

Cassie asked Charlene, What made you move out here from Florida?

My grandfather was from Tillamook, and I loved coming out to visit him.

He taught me how to gather berries and make fruit pies and jam, how to fish in the rivers, and how to navigate the woods safely as a wolf.

I always wanted to move out here to be on the Oregon coast, but my parents didn t want to leave Destin.

When they passed on, I sold everything to fulfil my dream of living out here.

She d had such happy times here. After she lost her family in Florida, everywhere she went that she had spent time with them reminded her of what she d lost and made her sad.

She d wanted to start anew in a place where she felt at home.

That sounds like a lovely dream.

I just hope it works out and I can stay in the area. Charlene never knew how things would go in the rental business.

Leidolf got a call then and answered it. Thanks, Doc. He said to Cassie, Well, Ethan not only was shot in the line of duty when he took down one of the perps he was gunning for, but he was bitten by a wolf.

Charlene felt bad then. She was the wolf who had bitten him when he had a dangerous job to do. Though she hadn t thought of that at the time.

Oh, no, Cassie said. Is he going to be okay?

Yeah, he was shot in the arm, but Dr. Redmann will be taking the bullet out and he ll be good as new before long, thanks to our faster-healing genetics, Leidolf said.

And the bite mark? Cassie asked.

Uh, the she-wolf drew blood, but didn t do any real damage, Leidolf said, then winked at Charlene as if he knew just who had bitten Ethan.

Cassie glanced at her and smiled. At least they didn t seem perturbed with her for biting a fellow wolf in their pack when she hadn t been doing it to protect herself, but in anger.

Is he being hospitalized? Charlene asked. I mean, for the bullet wound?

We have a clinic at the ranch now. Any shifter who is injured will be treated there.

Dr. Rita Redmann is our new doctor, and she treats all kinds of injuries.

Ranch-related, police-related, and she delivers babies too.

But only of the shifter variety. Of course, if someone was trespassing on our property and was injured, she would take care of them until they could be transported out of there.

That s good to know. Charlene hadn t needed a doctor for anything while she was here, but she never thought of seeing a shifter who could take care of health-related emergencies for a wolf pack.

The men finished putting in the door and then she thanked them and the pack leaders as they said their good nights. Once they left, Charlene headed to bed.

As soon as she slipped under the bedcovers, she closed her eyes and envisioned Ethan s hazel green eyes gazing into hers, regretful, surprised, and maybe even a little interested.

He had the prettiest natural auburn hair she d ever seen on a guy.

Too bad he had led the raid into her home.

Maybe if he hadn t and she had met him earlier under different circumstances, she might have even dated him.

If he was single, of course. What did she know?

Though she knew it couldn t have lasted if she had because she was leaving town.

Still, it was a shame she couldn t have gotten to know him before this. Then he would have realized her house wasn t a drug house, and they wouldn t have had that unfortunate first meeting.