Cougar Magic: Heart of the Cougar, Book 6 Read online

  Stryker sighed with relief. Thanks.

  Mrs. Fitz texted back. Tell her to drop by the bakery sometime.

  Stryker smiled. She loves Pfeffernusse cookies.

  Mrs. Fitz replied. I always have them on hand.

  Stryker remembered to ask about Nina's sister. What do you know about her sister?

  Mrs. Fitz took a moment before she responded. She’s a wild card. That’s all I know.

  Thanks.

  Mrs. Fitz added one final text. Give Nina a hug from me.

  Stryker was relieved Nina seemed to have been telling the truth all along. He looked up from his phone to see her watching him. “Florence Fitzgerald knows you.”

  Everyone looked at Stryker.

  “Mrs. Fitzgerald’s here?” Nina asked, looking surprised.

  “Yeah. I mentioned earlier she runs the bakery.”

  “Mrs. Fitz. Florence Fitzgerald. I never would have connected her with running a bakery.”

  “Addie says you were best friends at the Academy, but you lost touch because you were undercover,” Dan said.

  “It was safer that way,” Nina said.

  “Do you know the Meullers?” Hal asked “I’m only asking because they retired and moved here also.”

  “Oh no,” Nina said. “Rick was one of my training instructors at the Academy. Tough as nails. He told Addie and me he expected more from us because we had more enhanced senses. I almost got kicked out of the program because of having visions, but the boss wanted to keep me on for that reason. I have helped solve a couple of police cases.”

  Everyone shared looks. If Nina had been helping police with cases, she really couldn't be one of the bad guys, Stryker didn't think.

  “Why did you leave the FBI?” Chase asked.

  “The people I was after murdered my parents. My sister won’t ever forgive me because of it and that’s why I was so careful not to let anyone know I was related to the Robinsons. They also knew what was at stake. Anyway, I took the bastards down who had killed my parents. And I left the FBI after that. I didn’t want my sister or my aunt or uncle to suffer because of the job I was doing.”

  “I completely understand. I was a sheriff in another state and was off on a job when my wife and child were murdered. I couldn’t work the job there any longer,” Chase said.

  “But you’re a deputy sheriff here now,” Nina said.

  “It’s different here with it being cougar-run. We have trouble but we also have each other to help out.”

  Dan said, “Addie wants to see you. And we’ll do everything we can to find and protect your sister.”

  “Mrs. Fitz wants you to stop by the bakery. She says she has your favorite cookies too,” Stryker said.

  “All right, well if you need anything at all, Nina, just let me know,” Dan said, rising from his chair.

  “Or any one of us,” Leyton said, standing. “We take down rogue shifters.”

  The dogs both sat up to see everyone getting ready to leave.

  Stryker knew he had no reason to stay, but he was reluctant to leave Nina alone in the house. It was crazy, he knew. Especially since she was the one who had gotten the best of him and knew how to handle herself.

  Stryker went to the laundry room and pulled everyone's clothes out of the dryer that had to be washed as the guys all belatedly welcomed Nina to Yuma Town and Dan apologized to her for being suspicious of who she was and why she was in the Robinson's home.

  "I would think you weren't doing your job if you hadn't been," she said graciously.

  Stryker folded her clothes neatly on her bed, then rolled up the rest of the clothes and carried the bundle into the living room where his bag was sitting that he used for emergencies. Hal and Chase sorted through the clothes and grabbed their things, while Stryker put his own clothes into his bag.

  "Jack and Dan fixed your tire," Stryker said, "while you were talking to Bridget."

  "Oh, thanks so much," Nina said, sounding greatly relieved.

  Stryker hoped that didn't mean she was ready to leave after they'd hassled her so much.

  "Have a great three-day weekend," Dan said to Stryker on the way out, slapping him on the back.

  "Don't get yourself into too much more trouble," Chase said, "or Dan and the rest of us won't let you take off this much time again." He laughed and headed out to his new Ford Raptor.

  Hopefully, none of them would have to deal with the issue of skunks any time soon.

  Hal just smiled at Stryker, as if he knew better and headed on out.

  Leyton hung around as if he was staying until Stryker left. Stryker couldn't believe the twin brother he'd never known he had until recently was taking on the role of being his older protective brother, though they were only a few minutes apart in age. Leyton was born a few minutes before midnight, and Stryker a few minutes after midnight, so that had always been the joke between them. But Stryker couldn't believe Leyton would think he needed protection from the she-wolf. He could handle himself just fine. Well, not in that one instant, but he would have turned the tables on her sooner than later, if he'd wanted to. He'd just thought she was scared of him, so he'd ease her into thinking she was safe around him while he was still manacled. The kiss just happened.

  Ah, hell, if he was willing to be honest with himself, the kiss would have happened. He was just waiting for the right moment.

  "I'll see you later," Stryker told Leyton, cuing him in that he was fine and to leave.

  "All right. Night, folks." Leyton left then.

  Stryker closed the door. "I put your clothes on the bed in the guest room," he told Nina.

  "Thanks. I'm glad we got all that straightened out." She smiled. "And hopefully all the skunks will be taken care of soon."

  "Uh, yeah. I hadn't thought I'd start out my vacation in such a way, but I'm glad to be of service." Stryker gave her his card. "And thanks for lunch. It was great. " He realized he was rambling, hoping she'd ask him to stay longer. For dinner even. "I could have done without the afternoon and evening excitement though."

  "Being skunked for the third time? Two was certainly more than enough for me."

  "You were lucky you didn't help us try to capture them." He glanced down at his dogs, both curled up at the fireplace again, as if they knew he intended to stay. He didn't know why, but he just felt uneasy leaving Nina alone out here. "Did you want me to leave one or both of my dogs here to keep you company?"

  "No, thanks. They don't have their food or beds here. I can shift and take care of any problems, and I've got a gun."

  "FBI. Former FBI, right." He slapped his thigh, the signal for both dogs to come running to join him. They just lifted their heads like he really didn't mean it. "You may have to adopt them."

  She smiled. "Come on, Sydney, Zander. Want to go for a car ride with your daddy?"

  They both got up eagerly this time and hurried over to Stryker. That was more like it, but they should have done so on his command. Still, he admired that she had a way with the dogs. Just not with skunks.

  She walked with him and the dogs to the front door, but he paused. "You wouldn't happen to know if Addie's pregnant, would you?" Stryker hadn't seen Addie's response to Dan's text and he was certain if she'd know she was, she would have told him right away.

  "I saw Dan holding two babies in his arms, one swaddled in a pink blanket and the other in a blue one. Maybe he's holding Bridget and Travis's babies. I don't know."

  That would be something if Nina had witnessed Dan's own kids on the way too, before Dan and Addie had a clue.

  "Okay, just call me if you need anything. Let me know if you get any leads concerning your sister.

  "I will."

  Then Stryker headed out to the Jeep, his dogs racing to the vehicle's back door, wagging their tails. That was more like it. They looked back at Nina as if waiting for her to come with them too.

  Stryker opened the back door for them and commanded, "Up." They jumped into the back seat. He shut the door. "Night, Nina."


  "Goodnight." She went back inside and locked the door.

  He climbed into the Jeep and shut the door, glancing back at the house. Then he backed out of the snowy drive and headed home. This had been one hell of a day. But he suspected things were going to heat up even more before this was all over.

  * * *

  Nina was relieved she could stay at her family's home for the duration without having to hide the fact. She couldn't believe Addie was here, or Mrs. Fitz, or Rick either. What a surprise, but at least that meant they were able to vouch for her. Now she could get down to business and try and focus her thoughts on her sister. Though she couldn't help thinking about the skunks and worry about them being locked in the traps, if they were caught. They'd freeze.

  For about an hour, she watched TV, alternating between a cop show and looking out the windows. She couldn't see if anything was in the traps from this distance. She removed her clothes, shifted, and went outside as a cougar to check. She heard a couple of skunks moving around in each of the traps. Because of the cloth on the backside, they couldn't see her any more than she could see them, but she smelled their scent. She didn't know the area well enough to figure out the best place to drop them off. She sighed and ran back into the house. She was certain any one of the men would be eager to help her, but they all had families. Except for Stryker. Which should have told her it was a mistake to call him for that very reason. But he was also on vacation, while everyone else had to work tomorrow. And she suspected he would be the most eager to help her.

  She'd make dinner for him, for his further assistance.

  Inside, she shifted and dressed. Then she picked up her phone and called Stryker. "Hey, the traps have caught at least four skunks that I could smell and hear. I'd take them out of here, but I don't know where to release them that they won't be a nuisance for some other poor soul."

  She could hear the TV on in the background and she figured he'd settled down for the night.

  "I'll be right over."

  "Are you sure? You could give me directions and I could do this."

  "No, I'll take care of it."

  "Okay, thanks, don't eat supper. It's on me. If you'd like leftover chicken and the rest."

  "Love it. Thanks. Be there in a few minutes."

  They ended the call and she hoped the poor guy didn't get skunked again. She called him back. "Hey, we're out of de-skunking ingredients, so if you have any, just in case, bring some with you."

  He chuckled. "Will do."

  When he finally got there, he brought in several sacks of groceries. She raised her brows, thinking he thought he was going to be staying here with her a while, but when she started to unload the sacks, she smiled. He'd replaced all the stuff they'd used up and bought extra supplies, including cans of tomato juice and her bodywash and shampoo. And, he even brought more bags of marshmallows, in case they needed them for more skunks. He removed his coat and gloves to help her put them away.

  "Thanks for all of this."

  "You're welcome. I'll take the skunks out to their new home and be back for dinner. It'll take me about an hour."

  "I'll heat our meal when you return, just in case you need to take another shower first."

  He smiled.

  "Did you want me to go with you?" She didn't want him to think she couldn't handle the skunk relocation. She truly just hadn't known where to take them.

  "Nah, with just me doing this, there's less chance both of us will run into trouble."

  Before he left, he took her hand and pulled her slowly against him, seeing if she was agreeable to this first, but she melted against him and he kissed her. "I wanted to do this before I have any more skunk issues."

  She smiled and leaned into the kiss. She hadn't been fascinated in anyone this hot since the Christmas before last when she took pictures of him as her sexy Santa. He knew just how to get her motor purring.

  Their tongues caressed each other's, and then he pulled away and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back. I'm leaving my coat and gloves here, just in case. That's the only thing that saved them the last time."

  "Okay, thanks, again."

  "No problem."

  At least she sure hoped he didn't have one and have to do laundry again!

  7

  Stryker headed out into the snow, though he, and everyone else, had made so many tracks now, he didn't have to plow through any snowdrifts. Once he reached the cages, he lifted the first of them and carried it out to his Jeep. He had a really long pole to open the cages when he got to where he was going and hopefully the skunks would run off and leave him alone. He noticed Nina was watching from the back door. He smiled and waved. One down, one more to go. Then he was loaded up and drove off.

  He'd left the dogs home this time. He didn't want her to think he always had them with him and truly, he didn't want to compete with the dogs for her attention this time.

  After releasing the skunks in the wild, far from any of the homes in the area, he finally returned to the Robinson's house. He went into the house to grab some marshmallows to bait the cages again.

  "No mishaps this time," she said, beginning to heat up their dinner, and making fresh gravy.

  "No, it worked great. I'm just going to grab some marshmallows and set the traps out there again." He did have the notion that they might end up with more skunks, but if so, he hoped they'd take the bait while they were having dinner. If they did catch more, he could haul them off and return to set the bait in the morning. He could just imagine having to do this all night long if there were more of the critters.

  On second thought, then he'd have an excuse for staying overnight. He smiled. Then he sobered. Not that he'd suggest it.

  He carried the traps back out to near where the skunk burrow must be and was thankful none of the skunks, if there were any more, were around. He returned to the house and washed up. "Well, that got rid of four of them. If any more take the bait tonight before I leave, I can set them free where I took the others."

  "Okay, thanks so much for coming all the way out here to do that."

  "No problem."

  She served up the meal and they both took their seats.

  "What I don't understand is why you didn't have a seat on my lap at Christmas that time." He cut into some of his chicken breast.

  She smiled.

  "I sure wish I could read your thoughts."

  She laughed. "I'm sure I'm pretty transparent."

  Yeah, she was, but she still hadn't answered his question. He swore she had more secrets than any woman he'd ever known. Which was probably part of the reason she intrigued him so much.

  "Okay, you have a twin brother. You probably know what it is like. He looks similar to you."

  "Right."

  "Well, my sister got into trouble. I swear she's always getting into messes because of the men she's dating, and the cops were after her that time, only they thought it was me."

  "Hell, you were on the run!" Stryker laughed. He would never have guessed it. Not when she'd stopped to check him out and even taken pictures of him.

  Nina smiled and saluted him with her glass of ice water. "Yeah. But you know, I had to eat and you don't have any fast food places in Yuma Town."

  "Good thing. So did the other matter get cleared up?"

  "Yeah."

  "What made you come here then at that time?"

  "I had the vision. She was in Yuma Town. I saw all the Christmas lights. I knew it had to be Christmas. I needed to contact her so that she'd square things with the police."

  "But she wasn't here."

  "No. She finally called me and told me she'd talked to the police and explained what had happened. And straightened it out. I left Yuma Town and returned to Austin. Then I had this vision again. It was so real, I knew it was closer to the time it really happened. I can't get hold of her and I know she got rid of her phone. I'm hoping she comes to our aunt and uncle's place. She wouldn't know they're gone, but she could stay with me here until we get this straightened out.
I haven't heard a word from her though."

  "Can you describe the place where you saw her?"

  "She was walking past Fitz's Bakery, but she must not have gone inside, or Mrs. Fitz would have thought she was me."

  "Unless she was in the kitchen baking, or out on errands."

  "True. I looked up the name of the shop, and I found the one in Yuma Town, and one in Florida, and another in California. In my vision, I saw snow on the sidewalk, icicles hanging from the roofline, and a painting of a cougar sitting down to eat his birthday cake—very cute—so I figured it had to be in Yuma Town. Since we have family there, I assumed that's why she went there. But she hasn't been to the house. I would have smelled her scent."

  "Have you had any other visions that might give the location of another place in the area?"

  "She was sleeping in a sleeping bag I didn't recognize that was laying on a wooden floor. That's all I've seen."

  "Was it any particular kind of flooring?"

  "Old, not varnished."

  "Do you know what she's driving?"

  "No. I haven't seen her since that past Christmas. After our parents were murdered, she and I haven't been real close."

  "I'm sorry, and I understand." Stryker changed the subject. "So what did you do with the photos you took of me in the Santa suit?"

  "You really want to know?" She smiled and finished eating her carrots. "I showed them to my sister and she thought I should have sat on your lap and told you what I wanted for Christmas. She said she would have. You wouldn't have had to worry about her though. She seems to be drawn to bad boys, not lawmen."

  Stryker chuckled. "You have no idea what I was up to when I was a teen."

  "Oh?"

  "Yeah. It was all Bridget's fault. I was a foster kid, dating Bridget at the high school in Ely, Minnesota, when she broke up with me. Well, I had the biggest crush on her. For one thing, it was rare for our kind to be at a public school. My foster parents didn't know I was a cougar shifter."

  "Oh, no, how awful. So how come the two of you broke up?"

  "She was going places. College. FBI Academy. If we had ever gotten to the point where we mated, she felt I'd hold her back. I was a bit of a scoundrel back then."