“You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Nate. Truly. Don’t give up on me.”

  “There’s no chance of that, honey.” He kissed her and then hugged her close. “Being with you has been life-changing.”

  “For me too. We’ll be there soon for sure.”

  “We will be.”

  They left the restaurant, ready to head home. He removed his jacket and was putting it in the back seat when he heard gunfire down the street and breaking glass. What the hell?

  He grabbed Kayla and got down between the cars for protection, holding her tight.

  “Gunfire,” she whispered as if whoever was shooting might hear her words and would come for them next if she didn’t speak quietly.

  “Yeah, at a business a couple of blocks down the street.” As a retired Army Ranger, he knew just what gunfire sounded like. And of course with their wolf’s hearing, he could place where it was coming from. “Come on, let’s go. I want to get you out of here.” He didn’t hear anyone headed their way that could be trouble. He got her car door, and she climbed in, and he shut the door. Then he hurried to climb into the car, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

  “I bet you want to check it out, being a private investigator.” Kayla glanced behind her.

  “No. I don’t want to run into someone who’s shooting up a store. And certainly not when I worry about your safety.”

  They were just getting ready to turn onto the highway that would take them back to Silver Town when he saw a black pickup truck racing up behind them like it was going to run right over them. Nate didn’t have anywhere to pull off, and he wasn’t about to tear off at reckless speeds through town to avoid getting rear-ended.

  A car was approaching them from the opposite direction, and that’s when the jerk behind him tried to pass them.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Kayla asked, seeing the truck approaching in the sideview mirror. “He’s passing.”

  “Yeah. I don’t have anywhere to go, and he’s not going to make it before the other car gets here.” Nate slowed way down so the truck could safely pass them.

  The racing truck pulled around them, but he wasn’t going to have enough time to pass them before colliding with the oncoming vehicle. The truck was going, hell or high water. Nate slammed on his brakes. To avoid being rear-ended, he hadn’t done that earlier, but now he was trying to give the pickup time to get around them.

  As if the driver was experiencing road rage, the truck cut Nate off, nearly hitting his front bumper. Nate swerved to avoid getting hit, and his tire struck the curb so hard it exploded. Instinctively, he threw his arm across Kayla to protect her from hitting the dash, even though she was seat-belted in and the seat belt caught her.

  “Ohmigod!” she cried out, sounding a little rattled.

  The oncoming car managed to move over enough that he avoided getting struck by the racing truck, thank God. The truck continued on its way, tearing down the road.

  “Our tire just blew. No one was shooting at us.” Which had concerned him at first when he heard the tire blow. He turned off the engine and pulled her into a hug. “Are you okay?” He’d worried more than anything about Kayla getting hurt if the truck bashed into them.

  “Yeah, you?” Kayla embraced him hard.

  “Yeah. I’ve got to change the tire. Be back in a minute and we’ll get on our way.”

  “Bastards,” Kayla said, getting out of the car at the same time he did.

  He unbuttoned his shirt, and she smiled appreciatively as he bared his chest. He smiled and flexed his muscles a little. He shouldn’t have, considering the situation they were in, but she chuckled, and it seemed to lighten the mood.

  He opened his trunk and pulled out his spare tire and moved it around to the side of the car. Before he could grab the car’s jack, she brought it out for him.

  “Thanks, but you really didn’t have to do that. I don’t want you to get dirty.” He appreciated her help. He wasn’t so macho that he didn’t want her assistance, but he didn’t want her to get any grease on her pretty dress.

  “That’s okay. I’m being careful, and I’m used to changing a tire when I need to.”

  As soon as he removed the lug nuts, she held on to them for him. Once he had changed out the tire, she handed him the lug nuts. “I should have gotten their license plate number for reckless—” she said but abruptly stopped speaking when two police cars tore down the road past them, blue lights flashing, heading in the direction of the initial gunfire and shattered glass.

  They both turned to look at the police cars.

  “Too bad they weren’t after the guys speeding down the road,” Kayla said.

  Which made Nate wonder… “You don’t mind if we go the way the police cars went and see what’s going on, do you?”

  “Always the PI.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I wouldn’t have done it when the gunshots were going off.” He sighed. “This is our special date. I really shouldn’t have mentioned it.” He put the jack back in the car, closed the trunk, and pulled a bottle of hand sanitizer out of his console. He gave it to Kayla first so she could clean her hands. Then he washed his and pulled on his shirt.

  Kayla began buttoning it for him. “No, I really want to know what’s going on too. Ending a date on an investigative errand works for me.”

  “Are you sure?” He was dying to learn what was going on, particularly if the truck that had forced them off the road had been involved in a crime—a hit-and-run or something. He wanted to report it to the police. But he didn’t want it to take away from their date. Still, when they had first met, Kayla was eager to help him solve a situation of theft at her lodge, so he knew she had an interest in investigations.

  She finished buttoning the top buttons on his shirt while he buttoned the lower ones. “Yeah, you know me. I would think about it the rest of the night otherwise, imagining all kinds of different scenarios.”

  “All right. I feel the same way.” He tucked in his shirt, and they returned to the car. Then he drove off in the direction the police cars had gone.

  When they reached where the police cars were parked at a jewelry store, the lights from police cars were flashing all over the place. Some people standing there seemed curious about what was going on, and the whole place was being taped off as a crime scene. Store window glass was broken all over the sidewalk so a couple of policemen kept onlookers from going past the crime scene tape.

  “A jewelry store robbery,” Kayla said.

  “Yeah. What if the truck that ran us off the road was involved in the robbery, and that’s why they were racing down the road, trying to get away? That would explain why they risked everyone’s lives to pass us.”

  “That makes sense. Now I really wish we had their license plate number. At least we know it was a black pickup,” she said.

  “Exactly. It was a double-wide cab, Chevy Silverado.”

  “You know your vehicles.”

  “Yeah. It’s a hazard of the work I do. Now if only we knew their license plate number, the police could nail them.” He parked near the store. It was closed for the night, but someone had turned the lights on inside to conduct their investigation.

  He and Kayla both got out of the car and approached the officers protecting the crime scene. “I’m Nate Grayson, a PI out of Silver Town. Could we speak with the detective in charge of the investigation?”

  “Is it something that’s important to the case of robbery?” the officer asked.

  “Possibly. We were run off the road by a black pickup that was racing away from the direction of the jewelry store. The truck forced my car up onto the curb, and I blew a tire. They possibly could have been involved in the robbery and that was why they were in such a hurry to get away. I want to give the detective a description of the truck in case it was involved in the robbery,” Nate said.

  “I’ll go get the detective,” one of the officers said, and hurried into the store.

  Nate wrapped his arm around Kayla’s shoulder and leaned down and kissed her. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.”

  “Don’t be.” She wrapped her arm around his waist and hugged him, reassuring him she was fine with all this. “This is exciting, and the best thing is that if they do find the truck and learn the driver was involved, we helped to catch him, especially after he ruined your tire. If they were involved, they were the ones who dragged us into this. And you know if it does pertain to the case, we both would have wished we had done our civic duty and said something to the police about it. I don’t see any ambulances, so it appears no one was injured, but what if the next time these guys do it, someone is hurt or killed? If they get away with this one, they most likely won’t stop doing it.”

  “Exactly. It could escalate into something much worse. And this might not have been the first time they committed a robbery either.”

  The detective came out, and Nate explained what had happened to them. “I don’t know if it’s related to the robbery, but the fact that the truck forced me off the road and they were coming from the direction of the robbery makes it possible that they were involved.”

  “Thank you for the information. You…didn’t happen to see the license plate number, did you?” Detective Houston asked.

  “No, sorry. I saw two men were in the front seat of the truck. The truck had darkly tinted windows, so I couldn’t make out their faces.” Nate had only been able to make that much out because of his wolf’s night vision, and the streetlights helped too.

  “Could there have been more than that?”

  “Yes,” Kayla said. “I think I saw two or three men in the back seat when they sailed on past. Nate was busy trying to control the car when they practically hit us.”

  “Okay, thanks. That’s a big help.”

  Nate gave the detective his PI business card, and the detective handed him his card.

  “If I have any questions, I’ll be in touch,” the detective said.

  Afterward, Kayla and Nate walked back to his car, and they drove to Silver Town.

  “Dinner was delightful. We’ll have to get together again as soon as we can,” Nate said, hoping it would be really soon. Even though he wanted to be with her tonight, he was working like crazy every spare minute he had on finishing up a hope chest for Kayla for her birthday. He hoped she would love it. He was almost done hand-carving a wolf on the front of it. But he knew Kayla had to work on the final promotional touches for the Fourth of July celebration. And he had cases to work on too.

  Then he got a call on Bluetooth from his sister, Nicole, his partner at the PI agency. “Hey, I just wanted to remind you I won’t be in to the office early.”

  “Uh, yeah, you’re going for your prenatal checkup. I remembered. But probably when you don’t show up at the office in the morning, I’ll wonder where you are.” Nate smiled at Kayla. Nicole did the same thing to him if he had something he had to do and she’d forget why he wasn’t at the office, so it wasn’t just him.

  Nicole laughed.

  “I’m just taking Kayla home from a date,” he reminded Nicole, hoping she wouldn’t say anything about the cabin trip and spoil the surprise for Kayla.

  “Oh, hi, Kayla. Sorry for the interruption. I forgot you were on a date with Kayla tonight. Hope you had a great time.” Nicole sounded guilty for interrupting them. She was hoping he’d mate Kayla soon.

  “We did, thanks, Nicole. We might have witnessed the getaway vehicle that was involved in a jewelry store robbery,” Nate said.

  “Oh, wow. In Green Valley? Don’t tell me that you were investigating a robbery case on your date, Nate,” Nicole said, her tone scolding.

  Nate knew his sister would learn about it soon enough… No hiding anything from his twin.

  “Yes, in Green Valley.” Kayla told Nicole what had happened after they had left the restaurant.

  “Oh, no. At least they didn’t wreck your car, but you need to replace that tire,” Nicole said.

  “Yeah.” He swore Nicole thought she was his second mother.

  “Okay, well, I’ll let you go and talk to you in the morning,” Nicole said. “After my doctor’s appointment.”

  “Good luck with your exam,” Kayla said.

  “Thanks. I’m ready to have these babies, but they’re not due for another few months,” Nicole said.

  “I hear the same from Gabrielle too,” Kayla said.

  Nate couldn’t believe both Kayla’s brothers’ mates were due with twins at the same time.

  “Night, Nicole,” both Kayla and Nate said.

  And she wished them a good night.

  Nate finally reached Kayla and Roxie’s place and walked Kayla to her front door. “I know you’re swamped right now, so when you have time, we’ll get together again.” He really wished they were already together—spending every night with each other.

  As wolves, they didn’t wear jewelry—too easy to lose if they had to shift—so he couldn’t do a traditional human engagement party with a ring or anything. And once they were mated, it was for life, so no having to get married to make them partners forever unless they wanted to. But he was all for having a wedding, and he knew his family and hers would want that too—if Kayla did.

  He just hoped she didn’t turn him down or want to delay a mating until later. He was past ready for this.

  Chapter 2

  Kayla had had such a wonderful time with Nate last night that she was practically bouncing on her toes as she entered the kitchen after taking Rosco, their Saint Bernard, for his morning walk.

  Roxie finally joined her, wiped the sleep from her eyes, and yawned. “You are up even earlier than I am this morning. And you even took Rosco out for his morning walk before I could go with you. See?” She motioned to the tea Kayla had made and the apple-and-maple baked oatmeal she had just dished out for the two of them. “You so need Nate in your life.”

  “I do.”

  “Then what are you waiting for? You know he wants you too.”

  “I know. It’s going to happen. Okay, so don’t you dare tell him, but I’m planning to ask him the day of the Fourth of July celebration. I just want to make this really special.”

  Smiling, Roxie raised a brow. “Unless he asks you first. Then what?”

  “Well, it will be a different kind of celebration. An already mated one.” Kayla carried her bowl of oatmeal and tea to the table. Then she frowned at Roxie as she joined her. “Is there something you know that I don’t?”

  They both took their seats at the table, and Kayla drank some of her tea.

  Roxie sighed. “That the two of you should have been mated eons ago. You need to prioritize things better. Mating with a hot wolf first and then enjoying the time with him while you both do your jobs.” She reached over and patted Kayla’s hand. “I know you’re cautious about things. Especially about taking a mate. It’s for life, and we live such long lives, but I know you’ve never felt anything for another wolf like you have for Nate.” Then she frowned. “You’re both all right in the physical department, aren’t you?”

  “You mean attracted to him physically? Sexually? Do we have unconsummated sex?” Kayla blushed. She couldn’t help herself. Normally, she could talk to her quadruplet sister about anything. But that, she realized.

  “Yep, on all counts.” Roxie sipped some of her tea.

  Kayla tilted her chin up and raised her cup off the table. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

  Roxie laughed and spooned up some of her oatmeal. “Then I take that as a big yes. This looks yummy.”

  “Tastes yummy too. I wanted to try out something different.”

  Roxie took a bite of hers and smiled. “You’re absolutely right. I thought maybe the two of you would sneak into the guest room last night or that you might not be coming home and stay at his place.”

  “Nah, we both had too much—”

  “Work to do. You will always have too much work to do, Kayla. Prioritize.”

  “I am. Fourth of July—lots of fireworks.” Kayla smiled.

  Smiling, Roxie shook her head.

  “Oh, I meant to tell you about last night. You were already asleep when I came home, but we were pushed off the road by a pickup truck and blew a tire. We thought it was a case of road rage until we saw police going to the scene of a shooting. I should have mentioned that first,” Kayla said when she saw Roxie’s eyes grow big. “The shooting took place at a jewelry store.” She explained the rest of what had happened. “Nicole already knows since she called us when we were driving home.”

  “Wow. It’s good you both weren’t hurt, but you should have told me that last night.”

  “I didn’t want to wake you. You’re a grouch when that happens, you know.”

  Roxie laughed. “Yeah, sometimes. Hurry up and eat. We need to take a wolf run before it gets light out and we have to go to work.”

  Kayla laughed. “You’re the one who got up so late this morning.” They usually got up much earlier so they could get in a wolf run in the mornings. Once the full moon was here, it was an iffy proposition. They had wolf staff who handled the day-to-day operations whenever the siblings had issues with shifting. It was a good thing their pack had a lot of royals—wolves that didn’t have any issues with shifting no matter what the moon phase was because they had so few strictly human roots diluting their genes.

  “Hopefully, we won’t run into those two men again or any others on our wolf jaunts. We were both so busy with work yesterday, I forgot to tell you that I had smelled that the black-bearded guy we had seen in the woods had been at the lodge,” Roxie said.

  “And the other? The blond guy?”

  “No, not him.” Roxie took another bite of her oatmeal.

  Kayla drank some more of her tea. “Okay, so the black-haired guy’s a guest and just needed to find a place to talk privately with a friend.”