Wolf Line

Chapter Eleven

Tessa wrinkled her nose as she accepted the handful of jewelry Keri passed over. “It just doesn’t make any sense. I had a couple of the best noses on the ship go through all the crew quarters, and it’s impossible to figure out from scent alone who’s been stealing and hiding things. And when they were only hiding it on Jared, it was one thing. But now that it’s spread to you?”

“That’s why it’s got to be a plant.”

“It’s driving me crazy how they’ve managed to stay one step ahead of me.” Tessa offered another piece of chocolate.

Keri turned it down flat. “How the caffeine in that stuff doesn’t make you crawl the walls, I’ll never know.”

“Who says it doesn’t? I’m actually half-comatose normally.”

Keri blew a raspberry then rose to her feet as Jared approached.

“May I interrupt?” He kissed her cheek and Keri sighed like a lovelorn schoolgirl.

Tessa raised a brow. “You seem capable of doing anything you put your mind to. Including mucking up my well-running cruise.”

Jared shook his head slowly. “You’re doing a great job. Everyone is giving glowing reports, the visitors and the staff, so relax and enjoy the final day.”

Keri watched as Tessa visibly relaxed. “Really?”

“Of course. There’s nothing but praise for the cruise, as usual. And the only mention I heard of anything weird with the jewelry were a few women I passed who were raving about the ship’s ‘cleaning service’, whatever that is.”

Tessa bounced. “Wheee! It worked.”

“What you up to, girlie?” Keri asked, sneaking into Jared’s arms for a quick hug.

“I had this brainwave to have the items cleaned before returning them, and made up these little cards ‘complimentary sparkles to make your trip shine’… Well, the card said it better than that, but you get the idea. Like there was a reason for things to be slightly out of place. I guess it worked.”

Keri snickered. “Only on a shifter ship, I bet. I wouldn’t try that one on a human vessel. I think they’d be a little more suspicious.”

“Totally.” Tessa nodded. “Shifters are fun to work with—as long as nothing is gone for good, they’re cool. I’m still upset I can’t figure out who’s taking things in the first place. We’ve got all kinds of shifters working the ship, so it’s not as if I can get any of the Alphas on board to make demands until they find out who it is. Besides, that’s the opposite side of what I want—this isn’t a witch-hunt, and it’s not supposed to be an inquisition either.”

“If everything is in place by the end of the trip, and there are no outstanding complaints from passengers, is it even an issue anymore?” Keri really didn’t want it to be an issue.

Tessa paused. “I can’t just sweep it away, Keri.” She stared up at both of them and shook her head. “I mean, I know you can’t be the thieves, because, hello, you’ve been handing items over to me as fast as you find them, but it still looks bad. And if we can’t point to the guilty party, there’s bound to be someone who will suspect you, even afterward. Or suspect me of covering up your guilt.”

It was too true. “Then we have to look faster. We have a few hours until we make dock. You don’t need me for anything else?”

Tessa shook her head as she unwrapped another chocolate bar.

Jared waved a hand. “I’ll help as well, but first, I wondered if you’d gotten any response to that message I sent to my pack.”

The cat’s grin grew again. “Oh yeah, there was one. Pretty brief, just that he’d meet you at the dock. Someone named Keil signed it.”

A shudder shook her mate, and Keri squeezed him a little tighter. “Jared? You okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but I guess we’ll be introducing you to my Alpha sooner than later.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry, he’s cool, only there’s a long overdue discussion that needs to happen. Keil took over as Alpha after my folks left town, so he’s not aware of a few things.”

“Are you in trouble?”

“Hell, no. Just…” The buzzer on his waist belt went off and Jared sighed. He checked the screen and stepped away from Keri’s side. “So much for helping you look around for the last few hours. Someone decided the shuffleboard lanes would be a great place to dump a couple of bottles of bubbles. There’s no one available from housekeeping. I have to go clean it up.”

He dropped a kiss on her cheek and turned.

“Wait—I’ll go with you.” She stepped in time with him as he pulled up next to a maintenance closet and opened the lock, dragging out a well-stocked cart. Mop and broom handles stuck out above the edge of the neat basket section. “I have no ideas other than sitting and staring at people anyway. I’m sorry, some troubleshooter I’ve been for us.”

“It’s going to be fine. Really.”

Keri yanked her hair back and secured it with a ponytail holder. There was a light breeze again, this time pulling off the land, and with the ship’s forward momentum, it was enough to make the flags on the railing snap and crackle, their bright colours adding a happy twist to the blues and greens of the surroundings.

The kids were having a blast in the bubbles. Not only kids—a couple of older cats had shifted to their animal forms to join in. They skidded across the surface, four paws splayed wide to the side for balance.

“That looks like a lot of fun.” Jared put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, loudly. “Okay, everyone down to the right.”

Keri frowned. “What are you doing?”

Jared grinned. “Well, I have to clean it up, but not this instant, and as long as they run from the railing toward the inner deck, they should be safe, right?”

Keri watched with admiration as Jared coaxed the gathering of a dozen or so youngsters into a safer starting position. More people gathered to watch the kids take a running start then swoosh across the solid wood boards that were now thoroughly coated with a thin layer of slick wet bubbles.

A cheer went up as Mr. Fedora joined the queue. He chatted with the youngsters around him as he waited for his turn.

“What’s he up to?” Keri asked.

“A little fun? Just because he’s an important person doesn’t mean he can’t have a good time with the simple things of life.” Jared caught her hand in his, and they stood and enjoyed the sun shining down on them, the laughter and excitement in the air making her nearly able to forget there was a cloud hanging over them.

Fedora’s form for the approach was superb, but his steady footing vanished at the three-quarter point of the run, much to the delight of the children who laughed and swooped in to help him to his feet.

“You going to try?” Jared asked her.

“Me? Nahhh.” Only she eyed the deck and wondered if it was terrible that she wanted to join in.

He pushed her forward. “Go on. It’s safe enough. Troubles will be there later, have some fun now.”

She stood in the line, short people and adults all lined up for their own turn. One of the kids raced up to Jared with a couple of extra bottles of bubbles in his hands, and Jared leant over to discuss something—probably reloading the surface to make it slipperier. Just the way he turned his full attention on the child made Keri’s heart ache. He had his hands planted on his thighs, his face turned wholly toward the little wolf as they discussed earnestly.

He was a good man, and Keri was falling in love. It wasn’t enough her wolf was obsessed, she wanted her human mind to love her mate as well. And with every day that passed, she grew more confident love could happen.

Was happening.

Jared sent the child off with one bottle. The line of sliders paused as the little boy dribbled liquid from the open mouth of the bottle in a zigzag pattern over the length of the lane.

A slight commotion from the right drew her attention. Eden from housekeeping marched up to Jared then whispered loud enough that her voice, though not the specific words, could be heard from where Keri stood in the line.

Eden grabbed the railing of the cart and tugged it toward her. Jared laid a hand on the basket section and stopped her motion. That was when Keri spotted the neat Eden label on the upper edge of the basket and a horrible, terrible, yet wonderful thought hit her.

Jared gave up fighting, his hands lifted in the air, and Eden turned and flounced off, her cleaning cart in white-knuckle possession.

The little lad who was reloading the bubbles reached the end of the row and turned, giving a quick thumbs-up before racing back to Jared’s side.

Keri rudely forced her way past the few shifters waiting in front of her. “Excuse me, sorry, emergency.”

And with an extra burst of speed, she timed her leap to hit the lane first, her gaze locked on Eden as the woman scurried toward the maintenance-staff-only door, her cart clutched in front of her. Keri balanced as if on a skateboard, twirling in a full 360-degree circle as she fought to keep her balance. A loud roar of approval rose behind her. The wall of the inner cabin shot past her as she bore down on her target. They connected smartly, Eden’s feet flying out from under her, and the cart tipping hard enough it landed with a bounce.

Mops flew one way, brooms and buckets another.

And over it all, a fine layer of earrings, necklaces and other shiny baubles came to rest on top of her and Eden.