To Tempt the Wolf

Chapter 7

FOR TWO HOURS, TESS A SAT WITH HUNTER, HIS HEAD RESTING in her lap as he slept fitfully on the couch. Her nerves raw, she wanted to take him to the hospital in the worst way, to have medical personnel--who knew what they were doing--care for him.

Rourke had finally fallen asleep on the other sofa, snoring softly. The fire crackled and cast a soft glow into the room, but the lamps remained on the floor where they had fallen. Not wanting to disturb Hunter's rest, she'd clean up later. Battling to stay awake, she kept vigilant, watching for any sign Hunter's condition was worsening.

"Meara," Hunter mumbled and groaned. "Meara."

Tessa's soggy eyes widened, and she strained to hear him speak again. Was he remembering something more? Of course he was. But about a girlfriend or his sister? Her heart skittered with the thought.

She brushed the hair away from his forehead, the shadow of a beard giving him a rugged, sexy appearance, but his cheeks seemed flushed. She touched his cheek, her fingers recoiling at the feel of his skin. No, no. He was burning up.

She hurried to move out from under him, removed his blankets, and went to the kitchen. Pouring water into a glass, she glanced out the window to see how bad the storm was. Maybe they could chance taking him into town.

Half-hidden in the shadows of the shed, the security light revealed a wolf sitting, watching the house.

A shiver stole up her spine. Was it the one that had knocked Rourke out and come after her? No, this one didn't have any blood on his nose. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look. Its darker gray fur blended with beige and its snout had the same pretty beige on top, white underneath. Was he the one that Hunter said attacked the other then?

Maybe Hunter was right. She wouldn't want anyone to shoot a good animal.

She opened the window and tried to get a closer look. The animal's ears twitched and his eyes focused on her. He didn't seem vicious, but he was still feral.

She closed the window and returned to the living room with the medicine.

"Hunter," she said, trying to wake him.

He looked up at her, his eyes glassy. He closed his eyes and moaned.

"No, Hunter, take this medicine. We need to bring down the fever. Hunter!"

Rourke touched her arm and she nearly dropped the glass.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice ragged with sleep.

"He's burning up and I can't get him to take anything for it."

"Here, let me." Rourke helped Hunter sit up and forced the pill down his throat, but Hunter growled and bit him. Rourke jerked his finger free. "Hell, Hunter, I'm only trying to help."

"Let me get some antibiotics for that. Jeez. What next?" Tessa asked.

"I just hope to hell the wolf that bit him didn't have rabies." Rourke helped Hunter lie back down and joined Tessa in the kitchen. "He seems to be sleeping all right."

"Restlessly." She washed Rourke's finger in the sink and glanced out the window. No sign of the wolf. "Hunter broke the skin."

"I noticed. Here I get off pretty easily by surviving the wolf attack, resulting in only a lump as big as a melon on the back of my head and one hell of a headache, and the ex-Navy SEAL bites me instead."

"You can write it in your memoirs some day." She coated his finger in antibacterial ointment and then wrapped a bandage around it. "At this rate, I'm going to have to buy a whole lot more medical supplies. By the way, I saw one of those wolves out back." She got Rourke a couple of pills for his headache.

He leaned against the sink and peered out the window. "I don't see anything but snow."

"He's gone now, but it's not the one who attacked us. He had a bloody nose. This one didn't have a mark on it."

"If they were fighting, how did he get away without a scratch?"

"Maybe it was hurt somewhere I couldn't see. I just know it wasn't the one that came after us. Can you get back to sleep?"

Rourke took the pills, drowned them with a glass of water, and followed Tessa into the living room. "Why don't you try sleeping for a while? I'll watch Hunter and the house for a couple of hours."

She ran her hand over Hunter's temple, his face flushed and sweaty. "I hope the roads are clear enough in the morning. No matter what condition they're in, we're going to have to chance taking Hunter to the clinic."

Everyone was fast asleep when the doorbell rang at six in the morning. Deja vu. Immediately, Tessa bolted upright from the sofa opposite the one Hunter slept on. Rourke opened a sleepy eye as he lay back on the recliner. Hunter continued to sleep, his face still red.

She studied the door. "If there's no one there, I'm not opening the door."

"I'll get it," Rourke offered, pulling the blanket off his lap.

"No. Last time you did, it was a disaster. Are... are you okay? You look a little feverish."

The doorbell rang again.

Tessa rushed to peek through the peephole. "Oh, hell," she whispered. "It's Ashton and he's got a rifle."

Rourke hurried to join her. "Since Ashton got here safe and sound, maybe we can take his truck and get Hunter to the hospital."

"He's got a gun!"

"He won't know what hit him." Rourke bolted across the living room, grabbed the fireplace poker, and then rejoined Tessa at the front door. "Okay, open it."

"You're not going to hit him with that, are you?"

"I'm just going to persuade him to let us use his truck so we can take Hunter in for heavy-duty antibiotics and sutures."

Ashton rang the doorbell again.

"Hide the poker behind your back and don't hit him. I'll try to convince him to agree to help us."

"Hey! Hunter! It's me, Ashton! I got my dad's permission to be here."

Tessa glanced at Rourke. He shrugged. "Let him in."

Her heart pounding hard, she unlocked the door and opened it. Ashton was more cheerful than she had seen him in months. His blue eyes sparkled with humor and his grin couldn't have been any more friendly, but his jaw was slightly bruised.

"Where's Hunter? I told him I'd help him locate the stalker. He made me get my dad's approval first. Dad and I went around and around about it late into the night, but I finally wore him down. Hey, you look a little ill, Rourke."

Tessa looked at him. "Oh, Rourke, your face is as red as Hunter's." She clapped a hand on his forehead. "You're burning up, too."

Ashton peered around them at the mess in the living room, and his mouth gaped. "What the hell happened? Did the stalker break in? I knew I should have stayed."

"A wolf attacked Hunter. We've got to get him to the clinic. Can you get us there?" She closed the door.

Ashton swore under his breath. "He's got a fever."

"The animal might have been rabid," Tessa warned.

"I sure hope the hell he wasn't. Hunter bit me!" Rourke raised his bandaged finger to show Ashton.

"I'm not sure I want to know how that happened." Ashton set his rifle down. "Let's get Hunter to the truck. We'll go to the hospital emergency room. I have chains on my tires, so we should be able to make it."

"Thanks, Ashton," Tessa said, relieved that he would help without resorting to Rourke's tactics. She wondered if Rourke had wanted to clobber Ashton though, for what he'd pulled with her out by the shed.

"It's nothing. Rourke, can you help me? Or are you too sick?"

"I'll help."

Tessa got the front door and then the truck door while Ashton and Rourke carried Hunter to the extended cab. As strong as Hunter seemed, she couldn't believe how sick he was. Which was ridiculous. As torn up as he was, infection had to have set in. He was only human after all.

She threw on her parka and grabbed blankets, a pillow, and her purse. Rourke yanked on his parka and gloves, and they climbed into the truck.

"So what the hell happened?" Ashton pulled out of the frozen driveway.

Tessa knew her vehicle would never have made it. Rourke's either, since his had slipped into a ditch even before the storm had worsened.

"A wolf knocked Rourke unconscious and came after me. Hunter was searching for the stalker."

"Oh."

Ashton sounded so guilty, she immediately became suspicious. "What?"

"He found me looking for the stalker instead." Ashton rubbed his jaw. "I guess I distracted him from his mission for a time. Sorry, Tessa. I had to tell him I was there to protect you. I'd promised Michael."

"You did? Thanks, Ashton." Maybe the jerk was salvageable after all. She hadn't thought he could ever be.

"I shot Hunter because I thought he was the stalker."

She barely breathed. "Have you seen the guy then?"

"Yeah. He's tall like Hunter. Dark-haired, too. It really was an honest mistake. I have to tell you, I couldn't go to the trial, Tessa. I thought Michael was guilty of murdering Bethany. I thought he did it because she was seeing some other guy, and he found out."

"You were the other guy," Tessa said, her voice bitter.

"Yeah. But he'd asked me, begged me to watch out for you. I promised him I would. Believe me, I really didn't think there was anything to worry about concerning your safety. That first night I was out there, I saw someone peeking in the windows. I think Michael already knew there was someone, but like with me seeing Bethany, he couldn't catch the guy in the act. Anyway, I hollered at the Peeping Tom. Asked him what the hell he was doing. He took off running. Really fast dude. Just like Hunter when he charged up the hill toward me the other night."

"He was getting firewood. He was wearing Michael's clothes."

"He wasn't getting firewood when I saw him. He was naked."

Tessa closed her gaping mouth and stared at Ashton in disbelief.

"He began yanking Michael's clothes out of a plastic sack and jerked them on. I didn't recognize the sweats. But I did see the familiar eagle on the back of the field jacket and knew it was Michael's. So I thought maybe he'd gotten into the house and stolen some of Michael's things."

She cast a glance over the seat. Hunter was sound asleep, the blankets tucked under his chin. What in the world had Hunter been doing undressing and dressing in the bitter cold? Unless Ashton had been drunk, like she'd suspected, despite what Hunter had said.

"So I didn't know what to think. After Rourke said Hunter was an ex-Navy SEAL, I realized what he was doing. Hardening himself for the worst conditions he would have to face. That way he could survive anything. If I'd done what he had, I would have double pneumonia."

But Hunter wasn't an ex-Navy SEAL. If he hadn't been gathering firewood, she figured he would have been searching for the intruder. He wouldn't have been naked.

"Okay, I give, Rourke. How'd Hunter bite you?" Ashton asked.

He didn't respond. Tessa looked at him. He was sleeping, his head propped against the cold window. She wished she had brought some more pillows. At least they had plenty of blankets if they got stuck. Although she hadn't considered taking them for that reason.

"Long night for all of us," Tessa said. "I was trying to get Hunter to take some fever-reducing medicine, but couldn't wake him enough. Rourke finally got the pill down him, but Hunter clamped his teeth on Rourke's finger. Broke the skin even. I'm really worried that wolf was rabid. What if Hunter and Rourke have rabies now?"

"Hunter's bite was pretty bad, huh?"

"Tore the muscle all the way to the bone." Tessa shuddered.

"They'll get the shots and be fine. But if they don't, rabies in humans is fatal. The doctor will have to decide. But if we can kill the animal and bring him in, the medical personnel can check out his brain and know for sure. No sense in Hunter and Rourke having to go through the painful ordeal if it's not needed."

"Hunter doesn't want the wolf shot. He said it didn't have rabies, and he'd take care of it himself."

Ashton smirked. "I love his style. Get rid of the offender personally. Of course, when I was on the receiving end of his drive to right the wrong, I felt a little differently. But Hunter's all right. I mean, if the roles were reversed and some dude shot me, I probably would have killed him. On the other hand, I doubt I would have had the balls to charge up the hill after a guy who had his rifle sights on me. That took a hell of a lot of guts. It was as if he knew he'd shake me up so much, I wouldn't be able to get off another round. And he was right. I couldn't twitch a muscle, shoot, run, nothing. Must be his training."

Ashton shook his head. "I talked to my dad about going into the Navy SEALs. He's all against it, said I couldn't live with having my hair cut. But after we get rid of this stalker and Hunter reassures me he's sticking around to keep you safe... oh, hell, I promised Michael. Okay, here's the deal. I'll help Hunter find whoever murdered Bethany, and then once Michael's set free, I'm checking into the Navy."

Rourke lifted his head from the window. "I'm helping also. Maybe between the three of us, we'll discover something."

"Four of us," Tessa corrected him.

"I thought you believed Michael was guilty, Rourke," Ashton said.

"I did. I changed my mind. Since we now know he wasn't lying about someone seeing his girlfriend behind his back, what else was he being truthful about?"

"You think it was me?" Ashton asked, his voice growing hard.

"No. Someone else who knew all of you."

"The list. I've got to write that list of possible suspects," Tessa said.

"Of possible murderers?" Ashton asked.

"No, of stalkers. Hunter thinks it's someone who was in the house before he broke in that one night. Someone we knew."

"A gray," Rourke muttered under his breath as he rested his head against the window again and closed his eyes.

"A what?" Tessa asked.

But Rourke had fallen back to sleep.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Ashton said. "You look pretty worn out."

"Who's going to watch your driving?"

Ashton gave her a small smile. "It's going to be slow going. This two-hour-long trip will probably be more like four."

The blowing snow made for whiteout conditions and the windshield wipers swept away the building snow, but it continued to shower down on them--huge white flakes. Thank god the truck's heater was working fine, and the cab was toasty warm.

Tessa closed her eyes and slept for a while. Until the truck jerked to a stop. Her eyes popped open. Ashton swore under his breath, yanked the door open, jumped out, and slammed the door shut. They were in the middle of nowhere still, surrounded by forest, no traffic, nothing but cold, wet snow and a gray bleakness. So what was the problem?

The truck was leaning at an odd angle. In the ditch? Great. Tessa pulled on her gloves to investigate.

Ashton threw open the door and jumped back into the cab, shoving the door closed, his face ashen despite the chill in the air.

"How bad is it?" Tessa asked, afraid to know the answer.

"I left my rifle at your place, damn it."

"What?"

"My rifle! I left it at your place."

"What has that got to do with getting stuck in a snowdrift?"

"Rourke and I probably could get the truck out, but three gray wolves were watching me from the woods. They looked hungry. Maybe the one that attacked you was one of these?"

A shiver sped down her spine as she peered into the blowing snow, but saw nothing.

"They're wild dogs," Rourke said softly, peering out the window.

"I don't see them," Tessa said.

"Those are wolves," Ashton reiterated. "Wild dogs, my ass."

"We can't just stay here. What if the snow piles up behind the muffler?" Tessa glanced behind them.

"It will," Ashton warned.

"Okay, well, then we'd have to stop the engine, and we'd freeze."

Ashton rubbed his gloved hands together. "After what happened to Hunter, I'm not sure trying to move the truck while those animals are out there is a good idea."

"I'll move it." Hunter pushed the blankets aside and groaned.

"Oh, no, you don't." Tessa gave him a look like he had better not even think of it.

His brow furrowed. "I told you not to take me anywhere. I would have been fine in a day or two."

"Hunter, you're sick. We're taking you to the hospital and that's that."

"We're stuck in the middle of nowhere and not going anywhere fast."

"How are you feeling?"

Hunter glared at her. "Fine."

"Right. You look like you're still burning up with fever."

"The dogs won't attack us, will they, Hunter?" Rourke asked.

"They shouldn't."

"Shouldn't is the key word," Ashton said. "The wolf shouldn't have entered Tessa's home and bitten you either. Which means it has to be rabid."

"I'll try to move the truck," Rourke said, albeit reluctantly. He cast Hunter a dirty look over the backseat. "You stay here. You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

"Wait! Let me try my phone." Ashton pulled out his cell phone. "Maybe we'll have a signal here."

Everyone watched as Ashton punched in a number. He shook his head. "Nothing."

"I'll help." Tessa buttoned her parka.

"No, you stay and try to drive us out of the mess. Rourke and I'll stack up some wood under the tires, and then we'll push while you drive," Ashton said.

"I'll help," Hunter growled.

"No," Tessa said. "That shoulder of yours is too badly damaged. You're not going anywhere."

"We can't stay here, Tessa. I'll help. Then you can take me to the hospital and get me patched up. All right? But without my assistance, we may not be going anywhere." Before she could object, he added, "Three hulking men should be enough of a deterrent for the dogs. I don't want anyone else bitten."

"But your shoulder. You shouldn't do anything physical. And the fever. You shouldn't be out in this cold. What if you drove the vehicle, and I helped the guys?"

"No," all three men said at once.

Hunter pulled on the ski cap. But she hadn't brought Michael's field jacket for him because she didn't figure he could get into it with as bad as his shoulder was, and she hadn't thought he would be leaving the truck except to be wheeled into the hospital.

Ashton tossed his parka back to Hunter. "You owe me."

"Hell, he really owes me," Rourke grouched.

Rourke didn't elaborate, but she figured he was still pissed off at Hunter for biting his finger and worried he had rabies. He was sick with a fever, too. Working in these winter conditions couldn't be good for any of them.

Tessa started to remove her parka. "Here, Ashton, take mine."

"Size petite? Wouldn't fit over my broad shoulders." He rolled them back to make them appear larger. He wasn't half as broad as Hunter.

The men headed outside while Tessa moved into the driver's seat, wishing she could do more. The dogs must have been hiding or had run off. She didn't see any sign of them, although the guys kept casting glances at the woods while they were working. As soon as the men had piled up enough branches under the tires, Ashton motioned for Tessa to drive out. With them pushing and the truck tires finally getting some traction, she managed to pull back onto the road.

Ashton and Rourke whooped and hollered and she was glad, too, but afraid Hunter might have done more damage to his shoulder as quiet as he was.

With snow covering his long hair and sweater, Ashton helped Hunter into the truck while Hunter groaned. She knew he shouldn't have helped with the truck. Probably did most of the work, too, knowing him. Rourke climbed in and Tessa moved over to the center of the front seat. Once everyone was settled, Ashton put the vehicle in drive and began the remainder of the slow trek toward the hospital.

Tessa peered over the seat. "Are you okay, Hunter?"

He buried himself in the blankets and mumbled, "I'm fine."

She shook her head, imagining he could have broken every bone in his body and his response would be the same--I'm fine. "How about you, Rourke?"

"I'm fine."

She raised her brows. "Good. Then the hospital staff won't have much work to do when they check the two of you over. How about you, Ashton?"

He smiled broadly. "I'm frozen to the bone, I skinned my knuckle, and I pulled my calf muscle."

"An honest answer for once. What about the dogs? Did you see any sign of them?"

"Wolves." Ashton tightened his grip on the steering wheel as they plowed through another snowdrift. "They were watching. But like Hunter said, they didn't seem interested in attacking. Just curious, maybe. Pray we don't end up in the ditch again before we reach our destination."

When they reached the hospital later that afternoon, barely any of the staff had made it to work and unless patients had an emergency--like a couple of car accident victims, a baby delivery, and an elderly man who'd had a heart attack--most people stayed away. Woe to the patients stuck in the hospital whose families couldn't venture out in the storm to visit them.

Although Hunter hadn't wanted to be taken in on a stretcher, the hospital staff felt otherwise as soon as they saw his condition. Poor Rourke had to wait longer to be seen, but once they thought a rabid wolf might have bitten Hunter, they took Rourke right in.

As soon as Hunter was resting comfortably in a room after surgery, Tessa, Rourke, and Ashton went in to see him.

"Only family can see Mr. Grey," an officious nurse said, who had hovered over him ever since they had arrived. A striking brunette, tall, even more beautiful if she could manage half a smile.

Something about the woman irked Tessa. Maybe it was the way she cast Tessa condescending looks like she was beneath her, or maybe the way she'd taken charge of Hunter and dismissed them. Worse, a hint of recognition seemed to pass between Hunter and the nurse, and Tessa wondered if they had been lovers before. At once, she felt like an outsider.

"I'm his fiancee," Tessa said, her chin up, her eyes glowering.

The woman tucked a curl of hair behind her ear that had loosened from her bun. "I don't believe it."

How the hell would she know?

The nurse pointed at Tessa's unadorned fingers. "No engagement ring."

Tessa offered a fake smile. "Left it at home. But I don't really give a damn what you believe. The wedding's scheduled for the spring."

The woman laughed. "Right. And I'm the queen of England." She looked at Rourke.

"I'm his brother." He folded his arms. "Need any proof?"

"No. I believe you." She considered Ashton.

"Another brother."

Again, she laughed. "This is just too damned unreal. You've got fifteen minutes, and then visiting hours are over." She squeezed Hunter's hand like a lover would and brushed back a lock of hair from his forehead. Then she sneered at Tessa and left the room.

Hunter was sound asleep, and to Tessa's relief, the doctor said Hunter would have the full range of motion in his shoulder once he had gone through months of therapy after it healed.

Rourke pulled a chair over to the bed for Tessa and then turned to Ashton. "Can you get Tessa a cup of coffee? She looks a little peaked."

"Then I'll miss my fifteen minutes with Hunter."

Rourke raised a brow. "You don't really think we're going to allow that nurse to boss us around, do you?"

Ashton shrugged. "The thought had crossed my mind." He left the room.

"He'll be all right, Tessa," Rourke said. "He's a fast healer. And the rabies shots will ensure if the animal was rabid, Hunter will be fine."

"What about you? How are you feeling? You still look feverish."

"I received rabies shots and antibiotics, too. I'll be good as new soon."

"He didn't mean it, Rourke. He didn't bite you on purpose."

"Yeah, but you never know when one little bite can change your whole life."

She nodded and reached out to take Hunter's hand. "He's still awfully hot."

"The antibiotics and fluids they're giving him will make him feel like his old self before long. You were right to bring him here."

"Do you think that nurse knew him?"

"I got that impression. How did you and Hunter really meet? I never saw him before."

"The beach. We told you."

Rourke stared at him for sometime and then looked back at Tessa. "Naked? Injured? Tell me the whole story."

She hadn't wanted to say anything about how they had really met, not when they'd had such a good cover--at least up until now. But Rourke seemed to suspect the truth, and she really was a lousy liar.