Cassie bit her tongue. She thought maybe Sarge would finally fit in if he could do something positive. Even if in doing so, it was something illegal. Probably the reason he wanted to go along in the first place. But she'd finally gotten Leidolf's okay, and she didn't want to go against his ruling on this. Choose your battles wisely rattled around in her brain.
"I'll join you," Fergus said.
"All right. That makes five of us. Let's go, because I want to get some sleep tonight." He gave Cassie one of his devilish winks that said he didn't intend to sleep in the least, and she'd better damn well make this up to him.
She was totally ready to, but after they completed their mission.
Chapter 27
When Cassie and her team of she-wolf rescuers arrived in the dark outside the second fence barrier to the wolves' exhibit three hours later, she felt both excitement and apprehension. It hadn't been that long ago that she and Leidolf were escaping the place and now, all dressed in black, the five of them--Fergus, Quincy, Pierce, Leidolf, and she--made a motley group.
Everything was so quiet that she suspected a trap. Fergus, Pierce, and Quincy were ready with cages for the wolves, one for each of the adults and one for the pups, while Leidolf was getting ready to cut the wire on one of the fences.
"Wait," Thompson shouted, coming out from behind the wolves' building with Joe trailing behind. "I'll make this easy for you."
Leidolf moved Cassie behind him. "Go, Cassie. Go home. I'll deal with this. Fergus, go with her."
"No, I'm staying with you. I'm just as guilty, and I'm staying with my mate," she said.
Thompson stood at the first fence and took a deep breath. "I knew you'd try to steal her. You'll move her and the pups and Big Red to your ranch first, and then where to?"
Dumbfounded, Cassie stared at him.
"We don't have long. The security team will be here in an hour or so," Thompson warned. "They called and said they're coming early because of other priority jobs they have to complete due to thefts."
Leidolf gave him a wry smile. "You're serious."
"What the hell?" Thompson said, his hands spread, palms up. "You're going to steal them anyway. Might as well do it right. And safely for all concerned. But I want Big Red to go with the family. And I don't want them released out there where hunters might take potshots at them."
"No. We'll move them when the pups are older. To a place where others of their kind live," Cassie said, as Thompson opened a secured gate.
They hurried to get the cages to the indoor enclosure where the she-wolf, her pups, and Big Red were staying. Everyone helped to get the wolves into the cages as quickly as possible.
"Joe and I will help you get them to the gate."
"But what if you get caught?" Cassie asked.
Thompson waved a piece of paper. "Forged transfer documents."
"Thank you, Mr. Thompson."
He raised his brows at her. "You made a pretty persuasive argument back at Leidolf's ranch, young lady. We still have the gray wolves for the exhibit, and they came from another zoo, so they're zoo inhabitants through and through. I hope you don't plan to move them. Maybe some day we'll have reds in an exhibit that were born in captivity."
She squeezed his hand, her eyes blurry with tears. "Thanks again."
Then they pulled the cages through the gate and Thompson locked it again. "Keep them safe. Oh, and we caught the cougar. Litter of five. All of them are happy and healthy and well fed, sleeping in the big-cats exhibit. Seems like a fair trade."
Leidolf thanked him this time, and they all headed out across the woods toward the street where they'd parked a van. After loading their precious cargo, they drove back to the ranch. Cassie finally caught her breath, when Leidolf said, "I don't know how you talked me into this."
Cassie lifted her chin. "She's like one of the pack."
"Just how long are we to keep the mother and her pups and Big Red at the ranch?"
"Until they're ready to begin life all over in North Carolina. Won't the park rangers there be surprised to see the new additions all of a sudden?"
"You're not babysitting them tonight."
"They'll be fine left to their own devices. Do you have a secure place to keep them?"
Leidolf snorted. "Now you ask."
"Yeah," Fergus said. "We have an enclosed building with an outdoor run that'll be perfect. Pierce and Quincy and I can make some straw beds for them for the night."
"Anything else you have in mind to do with what's left of the night?" Leidolf asked Cassie.
"Just collapse in bed and sleep, unless my mate has something else in mind."
"Just what I'd hoped you would say, Cassie."
Once they were home, they didn't sleep at all except for a few catnaps. Cassie felt she was close to being in heaven. The way Leidolf was so attuned to her needs, the way she could turn him on, and prime him to such an extent that she drove him right over the edge.
She sighed, loving how he couldn't get enough of her any more than she could of him, and cuddled next to him while he slept soundly once again.
For three days, she tried to fight her compulsion to leave and do her job. She hadn't seen Aimee, but she and Carver and the girls were getting to know each other and she was happy with that. But the looming deadline for a contracted magazine article was setting Cassie's nerves on edge. She'd never missed a deadline... ever. And she couldn't quit thinking about it.
Somehow, she managed to sleep in between love fests with Leidolf, but after sharing a bite to eat with him and returning to the bedroom where he began mulling over the financial mess the ranch was in, she paced.
"Don't worry about it, Cassie. They'll use someone else's article, and you can send them yours later." Leidolf looked up at her. "Unless you're here to distract me from this... so that we can return to that." He motioned to the bed.
She'd quickly learned that when he was trying to figure out finances, it was better to let him stew in private. She knew if she mentioned leaving to him again, he'd stop what he was doing and give her another excuse why she couldn't leave yet. She had to get away.
She folded her arms. "I could just run over to Idaho and do a story on the wolves there."
"No. My mother and father and sister are coming soon to meet you."
"Soon. It could be weeks."
Leidolf shuffled more papers, poked at an adding machine, and watched as the paper rolled out with more numbers on it.
"I could be back long before they showed up."
"We need to take care of Irving and Tynan. Since the new moon has given way to the waxing crescent moon, they can now shift, so we can take care of this business once and for all. Tonight. You need to see that justice prevails."
She sighed deeply. "Fine." And paced some more. She stopped suddenly. "My backpack. I need to return to where I stowed it. It's my favorite outfit for observing wolves in."
Leidolf was frowning as he stared hard at the papers, muttering numbers to himself.
"Shouldn't take long. I'll see you late tonight. Earlier if I find my backpack sooner." She walked out of the room.
She had nearly made it to the front door when Leidolf stalked out of the bedroom. "Where are you going?"
She turned around and gave him an exasperated look. "To the place where I stashed my backpack."
"Alone?" He acted like she was going to take a trip to the moon, solo.
"Yes, alone. Everyone's got work to do. I'm just going to the forest. I'll grab my backpack and return. You're busy with your financial reports and--"
"I'll go with you." He yelled for Elgin. "Cassie and I are going to Mount Hood National Forest."
Elgin came out of the kitchen holding a glass of milk and an oatmeal bun. Fergus appeared with Evan, who was hastily finishing a piece of toast before he had to do his extra ranching duties.