Chapter Four – Present Day

Raul Santiago pulled into the parking lot of Lobos Investigations, exhausted down to the bone. Lobos Investigations was the business he and his pack—Billy Ray, Mercer, Dominic, and Knox—had started after leaving the military. Their primary source of income was private investigations, but they specialized in skip tracing and fugitive recovery—bounty hunting.

Raul rubbed weary hands over his scrubby face and sighed. His prey had led him on a teeth-gritting, jaw-grinding chase, managing to stay one step ahead of both him and law enforcement officials until a stroke of luck dropped the perp right into his lap. The disgusting bag of puke now sat behind bars, denied bail, and facing two life sentences if convicted. Raul had received grudging acknowledgment of a job well done from the FBI, and a nice fat bonus on top of their hefty fee from the client. One that would have them sitting in the black for months to come.

In addition to his weariness, his wolf crawled beneath his skin like a rash, demanding to come out. It had been too long since he’d given way to his four-legged form. The chase had taken him to places where the sight of a massive timber wolf would have resulted in him being hunted down and captured by state wildlife enforcement, if not shot on sight by some spooked citizen. He’d go to a nearby nature park soon and satisfy his beast, but right now he needed to write his report and turn it in to his partners.

It was late. Well after business hours, but a light was on in the office. One of the other guys must be working late.

As he entered, Dominic looked up from the computer. His blue-eyed gaze seemed wary. “We expected you back hours ago.”

“Traffic was a bitch.” Raul held up a check. “Our grateful client threw in a little something extra for the fast results and minimal expenses charged to their account. Since you’re here, I take it your hunt was equally successful?”

“Yep, I caught her. Silly woman hadn’t run far. Took less than a day to find her. She’s cooling her heels in a cell, and their daughter is back with her grateful father.” Dominic leaned back in his swivel chair, his blond head shining in the dim lighting. “I take it you haven’t been home?”

Home was a dilapidated old apartment building in an older section of town his pack had purchased and remodeled. It contained four two-bedroom/one-bath units. He and Dom had the upstairs units while Billy Ray, Mercer, and Knox had the bottom.

Raul shook his head. “Negative. I wanted to stow my gear, drop off the check, and file my report first. Then I’m going for a long run. Once I get home, I don’t plan on surfacing for days.”

Two and a half weeks he’d been gone. He missed his place and his bed, but most of all, he missed his mate, Angelica Ruiz, his beautiful Angel. A sweet name for such a fiery-tempered woman. Long, curly brown hair, golden-brown eyes that sparkled with an inner light, pouty lips made for kissing, and skin that reminded him of honey in sunlight, she was his—every luscious, curvy inch of her. Four months ago he’d talked Angel into moving in with him when the lease was up on her apartment. When he finally made it home, he was crawling inside Angel and not coming out for a week. His cock throbbed at the thought.

“Uh, maybe you should, you know, go straight home. Skip the run and the rest of this.” Dom waved, indicating the office and paperwork. He sounded strange and smelled off too.

Raul’s beast, which had been driving him crazy, stilled, senses alert. The man was equally concerned. “Why?”

Dominic’s gaze slid away, his head tilted to the side in a subtle baring of his throat. His continued silence caused Raul’s heart to beat faster as a sudden thought crossed his mind.

He leaped the distance between them and cleared the desk in a single bound to grip Dom by the neck of his shirt. He dragged the other man—his partner, best friend, and beta—out of the chair and gave him a small shake. “What’s happened? Is it Angel? Is she all right?”

Raul hadn’t spoken to her since he left. This case had been more intense than most, with an element of danger normally not present. He’d needed to focus all his energy and attention on the hunt. As a professional bail bondsman, one who frequently used their services, Angel understood. Instead of complaining, she’d insisted he not worry about her but concentrate on finishing the job at hand so he could return home in one piece. He’d hated being out of touch for so long but knew his pack would look out for her and contact him if an emergency arose.

“She made us promise not to say anything,” Dominic choked out.