His sexy smile hinted he was ready for more. "Not usually."
She gave a ladylike snort. "Then you were just lonely and wanted to cuddle really bad, but things got out of hand?"
He laughed and ran his hands through her hair. "Not usually, as in with other women. But with you, I couldn't keep my hands to myself. Besides, your pheromones are a total aphrodisiac."
"Hmm, well, yours drive me crazy, too, but jeesh, Hunter, I'll be walking bowlegged today, and I'll be yawning the whole time."
"We'll take a nap later."
She shook her head. "Yeah, but will we sleep?"
His grin said that she would have a fat chance at that.
Caruthers knocked at the front door, and when Hunter opened it, the policeman offered them a big smile. "Greta and I are agreeable about leaving here and working on the coast. You might need some backup with three new lupus garous in your pack. Allan and the little lady who's widowed in your pack really hit it off last night. From the sounds of it, job or no job, he's joining you, too. I'll drive you to the prison." He relocked Allan's place and then escorted them to his car.
Hunter wrapped his arm around Tessa in a loving gesture.
She glanced up at him, her body warming with his touch, gladdened also that Caruthers and the others would join her mate. "You don't have to worry about your wayward pack. Looks like you've got a whole new one."
"The others will come back."
She couldn't see how he could be so complacent about it. To her way of thinking, they were too disloyal to trust any further. But then again, she hadn't been a lupus garou long enough to understand their way of thinking.
"I run a fairly democratic pack," Hunter said. "I'm not an autocratic leader like some are."
"Except when it comes to your sister."
Hunter grinned. "She's my blood relative. And you are my mate. Our offspring will have to mind also."
"Ah, so those you love best you keep under your rule."
He kissed her cheek and sighed heavily. "In a pack, it's called being protective."
Tessa glanced at Caruthers. "Is that what your pack would call it?"
"Absolutely. Whatever the boss says." Caruthers winked at her. "Man, does this bring back memories of when I turned Greta."
Tessa folded her arms and Hunter chuckled.
When they arrived at the prison, Caruthers parked in front and gave Tessa a compassionate look. "Just tell them Allan Smith and Jim Caruthers sent you. I'll wait out here for you."
Tessa shuddered. To think her brother was incarcerated in the massive place without any chance of escape unless she could bring the real killer to trial and make him pay for the crime. She hoped to god her brother could shed some light on the case.
Chapter 16
WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE PRISON'S VISITING ROOM, Tessa introduced Hunter to her brother. She tried to keep the tears at bay, but Michael's eyes were as misty as hers, which didn't help. And he looked thinner than before, the orange jailhouse jumpsuit clashing with his red hair.
He scowled at Hunter. "Why the hell is he wearing my jacket?"
"He was in an accident, but needed a change of clothes. I'll explain later." Tessa pulled out Rourke's phone.
"What news do you have?" Michael took a seat at the table, opposite them, his voice threaded with hope and despair, although he glowered at Hunter again.
"Hunter is looking into the killing. We've got some pictures to show you." She handed Michael Rourke's phone. "Do you recognize any of these guys?"
Michael considered the photos of the three grays. He pointed to Butch, who had been at his trial, and at the one called Redmond. "They came to our house to check out the circuit breakers." He looked up at Tessa. "They knew what they were doing. They replaced the bad switch and charged us a hefty bill like electricians always do, and left." He rubbed his chin and stared at the table. "Although, they were interested in your photographs." He looked up at Tessa, his expression annoyed. "Not my paintings though. The one asked if you had ever taken a picture of a wolf in the wild."
Her heart hitched. "What did you say?"
"At the wildlife refuge, but never in the wild. You would have told me if you had."
Like she didn't. But as usual he had been too busy painting to pay any attention to her artistic endeavors.
"Did these guys have anything to do with Bethany's murder?" Michael asked.
"This one was at your trial when the verdict was read," Tessa said. "This guy called him Butch. The other you named was Redmond. And the one you don't recognize was Jessup. Butch came to the house with the two other men, and I asked him why he was at your trial. He denied having been there. His hair was long, but I know it was him. Why deny it? Why be there in the first place?"
"I wondered why he looked different. Why were they at the house?"
Hunter tensed and she figured he was worried she might say the wrong thing.
"One of them is interested in Hunter's sister. So he tracked her to my place and that's when I met all three of them." She took a deep breath. "I didn't want to tell you this, but you have to know in case anything can shed light on who the real murderer is. A man by the name of Yoloff has been stalking me. Hunter had a run-in with one of his two brothers and in self-defense, Hunter killed him."
Michael's gaze turned to Hunter, and he swore softly under his breath.
"I'm an ex-Navy SEAL," Hunter said, "trained to do work like this. The guy didn't have a chance even though he was armed with a knife. But his brothers went after Tessa, and I didn't have a choice."
Michael's eyes grew big. "Thanks for taking care of my little sister."
She grunted. He was her younger brother, but because he was several inches taller than she was, he called her little.
"My pleasure." Hunter took hold of her hand and squeezed. "We're married. I'll always protect her."
Michael shifted his attention to Tessa.
"Uhm, yeah, whirlwind romance." She hadn't thought Hunter would bring that up right now. Besides, they weren't really married as in the marriage license, wedding ring, or marriage vows kind of arrangement. Her cheeks heated and she tried to muddle through. "I found him washed up on the beach after the guy who was stalking me pushed him off a cliff and--"
"Whoa, back up to the guy that was stalking you. I worried someone was, but have you learned who it is?"
She noted her brother's concern for her, but not about Hunter's near-death experience. Michael was probably still pissed off because Hunter was wearing his favorite jacket.
"He broke into our house the day you were taken to prison. Hunter protected me from him. Anyway, Hunter thought maybe this guy wanted you out of the way, and so he murdered Bethany so you would be found guilty of the crime."
Michael pointed to the third man in the photos. "This other guy looks familiar also."
"Jessup's the one who's after Hunter's sister. Where do you remember him from?"
"The driver of the electric truck." Michael frowned and then looked up at Tessa. "I saw him at a number of my art exhibits. Of course, you begin to see the same people at the parties. Avid collectors, people who like mingling with others who enjoy the paintings, philanthropists, novice painters who want to learn how to sell their own works. I remember him because he kept watching Bethany. Do you think he was seeing her behind my back?"
Tessa gritted her teeth. She hadn't wanted to tell her brother Ashton was the traitor. But if any detail could help them solve the case, he had to know.
"Ashton..." Her voice broke. "Ashton's the one who was seeing Bethany when you were at your shows."