“A credit card and her driver’s license. She had taken off her gold ring, watch, and bracelet in the bathroom to shower.”

  “Okay. But she didn’t see him.”

  “No, sir. She was too busy locking the bathroom door and calling the police.”

  “Did you have everything in her room dusted for prints?”

  “Yes, sir. First thing.”

  “Okay, I need to speak with the woman who was staying in this room.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  They headed up two flights to another wing of the hotel, and when they reached the door the officer motioned to, Adam knocked. He was hoping Sierra was fine on her own for a while and wasn’t getting bored waiting for him.

  The woman finally answered the door. She was about fifty and scowled at them.

  “Sorry, ma’am, for disturbing you. I’m Detective Holmes, and I need to hear what happened to you when the man broke into your room.”

  “He said you were coming, but I already told him everything.” She motioned to Roland.

  “Yes, ma’am. He said you were in the bathroom—”

  “Showering. And I climbed out and heard someone rummaging through my drawers. I didn’t unpack. I was only staying here the night, then spending a few days with my mother, then leaving. Like I told the officer, I got in too late to see her. My mother goes to bed early and there’s no waking her once she goes to sleep. Anyway, ever since that case where the man broke into the woman’s room while she was in the shower, when I go to shower, I always close the bathroom door, meant to lock it too, and I keep my jewelry and phone in there. Just in case. I should have brought my purse into the bathroom too. I had ordered a meal and forgot to bar the door afterward.”

  “So he didn’t take anything else but the money and your driver’s license?”

  “No. All I had was a few articles of clothing. Nothing in that.”

  “And you didn’t see him. You didn’t get a glimpse of him in the mirror…”

  “No. My bathroom door was closed. There was no way I was going to open it to get a glimpse of him.”

  “Okay, thanks. We’ve got your contact information, and we’ll let you know what happens.”

  “It’s bad enough he took my cash and credit card. I’ve already canceled it. But it really pisses me off that he took my driver’s license.”

  “What about your car keys?”

  Her jaw dropped. “Aw, just great.” She searched through her purse. “Nope, they’re gone.”

  “You live four hours from here?”

  “Yeah, I’m a librarian. I had to work the rest of the day before I could travel, and I didn’t get off until six.”

  “What’s the make and model of your car?” Adam asked.

  “A 2018 Ford Capri. Red.” She gave him her license plate number.

  “Where did you park, ma’am?” Adam asked.

  “Out front.” She went to the back patio, unlocked it, and peered over the balcony.

  They followed her onto the balcony and looked at the parking lot.

  “It was right there”—she pointed to an empty parking spot—“in between that white van and that blue pickup truck.”

  Roland had an APB put out on it.

  The woman returned to the room and sat down hard on the bed.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. We’ll do everything we can to get your things back.”

  “The money’s gone. I won’t get that back.”

  “We’ll get him.” Adam gave her his card and he and Roland left.

  Roland said, “Hell, I didn’t think about her car keys. I should have thought of that.”

  “You called me right away. Maybe we’ll get lucky. But that makes me wonder if he had an accomplice with him. Or if he had been dropped off. Or—”

  “If his vehicle is still in the parking lot!”

  “Exactly.”

  “I checked the video security to see what he looked like, but he was wearing a baseball cap and was keeping his face hidden from the cameras when he was getting his key.”

  “And when he left the hotel?” Adam asked.

  “I didn’t see the same guy leave.”

  “So he was wearing something different.” Adam would check the video to see for himself what the guy looked like. At least now that they knew he’d stolen the woman’s car and where it had been, maybe Adam could see him taking it.

  They arrived downstairs to see Sierra talking to the desk clerk. He had figured she would be done by now.

  She turned to see Adam and Roland. “The lady says that one of their staff was seen flirting with this guy earlier today.”

  “Just like what happened before. These men have a way with women,” Adam said.

  “Not all women,” Sierra said.

  Adam agreed and reviewed the security videos. “Yeah, here he is running out of the hotel.”

  “Light brown hair,” Sierra said. “Tall, gangly, not muscular. And you know what? He looks like the man who kidnapped Melissa and brought her to my house, based on Melissa’s description of him.”

  “From the video, you can see he took the guest’s car here.” Adam pointed to the video. “He was wearing a hoodie then. We need to see what he was driving before that or who had driven him here.”

  “There. An older car parked and he got out…right there,” Sierra said.

  Roland and another patrolman immediately headed out the door.

  “You ought to be a detective. Let me see the sketch you did,” Adam said.

  She smiled and showed him the sketch. “He is the same man who was at my house.”

  “I agree. And he’s back to their old tricks.”

  “It was easy money. I guess they felt they could get away with it again.” Sierra sounded disgruntled.

  “He got money, the guest’s credit card, her driver’s license, and her car, so he did, essentially. But these guys won’t lie low and we’ll catch them before long.”

  Roland stalked back into the hotel lobby. “We’ve got the car. A 2010 red Toyota Corolla.”

  “Have it impounded and check for prints. We might just get a hit on the car, if nothing else.”

  “I ran it through the system. It belongs to a Lonnie Hicks. He’s the guy we have in jail for stealing the boat and selling it to Rivers.”

  “Home address?” Adam asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Adam glanced down at Sierra. She looked tired. “I can have an officer take you back to my place.”

  “No, we’ll do this together.”

  “All right. Let’s go.”

  Roland and another officer drove to the address where the car was registered, Adam and Sierra following behind them.

  “I’ll need you to stay in the vehicle, Sierra.”

  She sighed. “Of course. Just be careful. If you get shot before we go to bed tonight, I’ll be more than upset.”

  He smiled at her. “Believe me, I will too.”

  Chapter 19

  Sierra hoped they would learn who the man was who had tried to rob the woman at her hotel, so eerily like what had happened to her. She couldn’t believe he was the same man who had tried to set her up for a kidnapping.

  “I should have brought a pillow with me.”

  Adam smiled at her. “This shouldn’t take too long.”

  “It better not. I’m hoping we both have some strength remaining when we finally go home tonight.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. So don’t take too long.”

  “I will do everything in my power to capture the culprit and send him to jail at once then.”

  “Good.”

  They finally reached the house, and Adam leaned over and kissed Sierra before he left the Hummer. “Don’t leave the vehicle. And keep the doors locked.”

  She saluted him.

  Adam left the vehicle and went to the front door of the house, one of the officers going around back to make sure no one escaped that way while the other officer staying with Adam as she watched. Then a woman answered the door. Adam and Roland went inside, and Sierra closed her eyes to rest them.

  She was half-asleep when she heard someone trying to open the driver’s door. Her eyes popped open and she realized it wasn’t Adam but the man from her sketch. The streetlights made it easy to see him and he stared in at her, finally realizing that she was sitting in the front seat.

  Then he raced off. She wanted to chase him down in the worst way—as a wolf. It would be the only way to have the advantage, unless he had a gun. She immediately got on her phone and called Adam. “He’s headed down the street, south.”

  “On our way.” Adam and one police officer bolted out of the house, the other coming around through the backyard gate to join them.

  She opened the vehicle’s door. “Down that way.” She motioned to the man running down the sidewalk as fast as he could. He was wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers.

  Adam was catching up to him while Roland and the other police officer jumped into their patrol car and tore off after them.

  Sierra reminded herself she was just a civilian and needed to stay right where she was, even though she really wanted to help track the guy and take him down. Her wolf instincts were definitely coming into play. Instead, to get her mind off the chase and hopeful capture of the guy, she brought out her sketch pad and drew his sketch from when she had seen him peering in through the window at her. She had the drawing she’d done based on the hotel clerk’s description of the suspect and could compare the two. But at the same time, she couldn’t help wanting to know what was going on with Adam and the other police officers.

  Then movement across the front lawn of the house caught her eye, and she saw the man running for the house. She quickly got on her phone and called Adam. “Hey, if you’ve lost the guy, he just went into Lonnie’s house.”

  “Shit, stay down. He’s armed and dangerous.”

  Great, because she wasn’t armed if the guy should come back outside and decide to shoot her through the Hummer’s window.

  The garage door began to open, and she said, “The garage door is opening. Inside is a silver Ford pickup with big-ass grills and tires, and the license plate is… Hell, he’s getting ready to ram your Hummer.” She quickly finished writing the tag number on her sketch pad and fastened her seat belt, bracing for impact, then told Adam the tag number in case the driver hightailed it out of there before anyone could stop him. Now she wished Adam had left the vehicle’s keys with her so she could have at least driven his Hummer out of the maniac’s way.

  Sirens headed in her direction, and she hoped Adam wasn’t running back to the house on foot. But no matter what, she prayed the police would stop this guy before it was too late. Then the truck rammed Adam’s vehicle and pushed it all the way into the street, giving her a jolt and scaring the crap out of her. She realized Adam had put the Hummer in park but hadn’t used the emergency brake on the level driveway.

  The driver pulled away from the Hummer and took off. Man, did she wish she could have plowed into him with Adam’s vehicle to stop him, but the Hummer had sustained enough damage, and she didn’t think she would make a dent in the pickup anyway. The truck didn’t get far down the street before police blocked him and others came up to meet him from behind, further blocking him in. He tried to get around the vehicles but ran into an electric pole, and that finally stopped him for good.

  Another police car pulled up to Adam’s vehicle, and Adam jumped out to check on her. Good. She was glad he hadn’t just gone after the bad guy.

  When he came to the passenger door, she got out and he gave her a heartwarming hug, not releasing her even after he was reassured she was okay. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, thanks, Adam. What a night. Are we going home soon?” She wasn’t letting go of him either. She was so glad he was okay too.

  “Yeah, let me find out who this guy is and—”

  She sighed and handed Adam the two sketches she’d done of him. “See if he really looks like the sketches I did of him while you’re at it, just to humor me.”

  He kissed her mouth generously and sighed. “I will make this up to you.”

  “What’s to make up? If we catch this band of thugs, that’s all good.”

  “Okay, keep your door locked, and I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  “Go. Learn who all is involved in this.”

  Adam kissed her again, then he said, “I’ll be back.”

  She didn’t believe he would be back soon. She figured the next stop was the police station where Adam would interrogate the bastard.

  * * *

  “Burt Barnes,” Adam said, looking at the man’s ID. Adam couldn’t have been any angrier that the man had staged a kidnapping, intending for Sierra to take the fall, no matter how inept he and his cohort had been at the attempt, as well as wrecking Adam’s Hummer and putting Sierra’s life in danger. He was glad to arrest the guy’s ass. “You’ve been read your rights. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

  The guy just smiled at him, his hands cuffed behind his back. “Your girlfriend buried herself on this one.”

  That made Adam even madder. “Buried herself on this?” Adam had to act like he didn’t know what Burt was talking about so he would incriminate himself further.

  “Don’t play dumb. You know just what I mean.”

  “That you’re acting on Dover Manning’s behalf and want to kill Ms. Redding’s dog.”

  The man stiffened.

  “Hey, we found a gun on him with the serial number that matches Ms. Redding’s 9mm that had been stolen,” Roland said.

  “All right, and we have a stolen gun and an eyewitness account of your breaking and entering into a hotel room, evading arrest…” Adam glanced at the other items Roland had collected in evidence bags from Burt’s truck.

  “The lady’s ID from the hotel room, her credit cards, and a hundred and fifty in cash in a bank envelope,” Roland said.

  Adam smiled. “Good. Book him. I’ll question him in the morning.”

  “I want a lawyer,” Burt said.

  “Sure. I’ll speak with you in the presence of your lawyer.” Adam patted Roland on the shoulder. “Good work.”

  The officer beamed at Adam, and then Adam took off down the street to look over his Hummer. He wasn’t even sure it would be drivable. Sierra had her head propped against her window on his jacket—that he’d tossed into the back seat of the Hummer for whenever he needed it—and looked like she was sleeping.

  He opened the driver’s door and her head popped up.

  “Where to now?” she asked.

  “Home. Bed.” He tried to start his Hummer. It didn’t start. “After I get a tow service.”

  She groaned. It didn’t take long for a tow truck to come for the Hummer, and then Roland was right there giving them a lift home.

  Adam shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re taking me home again.”

  “All in a day’s work.” Roland dropped them off at Adam’s house. “’Night, Detective, Ms. Redding. Have a good night. I’ll try not to call you about anything else.”

  Adam smiled at him. “You did good and we caught the guy. That’s all that matters.”

  Then Roland left, and Adam escorted a tired-looking she-wolf into the house.

  “Take a shower and I’ll see you in bed since I already took one and I didn’t have to chase after a bad guy like you did,” Sierra said, heading for the bedroom.

  “I will.” He followed her into the bedroom, where she’d already turned on the overhead light, and began stripping out of his clothes as he went into the master bathroom.

  Then Adam was showering, and he hoped he wouldn’t disturb her when he climbed into bed. He didn’t figure anything would go on between them except for sleeping. Maybe in the morning before he had to run in and interrogate his suspect, after they got a good night’s sleep, they would be in the mood for some snuggling. Or more—if they had time. He sure hoped so.

  He finished showering, dried off, and put on a pair of boxer briefs, then turned out the light and joined Sierra in bed.

  He had expected she would be sleeping already, but as soon as he pulled the covers over himself, not sure if he should try cuddling with her or just let her get her sleep, she was moving toward him in bed. That certainly worked for him.

  Then she was running her hand over his abs and reached down to the waistband of his boxer briefs. “Hmm, you don’t ever sleep in the raw?”

  “Yeah, I do, but—”

  “Don’t change your usual routine just for me.”

  That was when he realized she was naked in bed. He was more than surprised, not to mention thrilled. He quickly shoved his boxer briefs down his legs and kicked them out from under the covers and onto the floor. Then he moved against Sierra, feeling her soft, naked curves and hot body next to his, and he cupped her face and began kissing her.

  This felt so right with her like this. She was kissing him back just as eagerly, her body pressing against his, pushing for contact, and he was just as eager to touch her all over. His hand cupped a breast and he massaged it as he continued to kiss her, her lips parting and inviting him to take his fill.

  She began stroking his tongue with hers, her body moving against his. He could smell their pheromones heating up, their heartbeats ramping up already. The musky smell of their sex encouraged them to keep going. All the tiredness they both felt melted away in the passion of the moment.

  She ran her hand over his hip and his buttock and she squeezed, making his cock even harder. It didn’t take much for that to happen with the way he was touching her, and she was touching him right back. He pressed a leg between hers and lifted slightly, connecting with her mound. She moaned softly. The sound undid him, and he swept his hand downward, traversing her short, curly hairs and finding her swollen nubbin between her legs. She jerked a little when he began to rub it, and he kissed her again, wanting to taste her, feel her, listen to her soft sighs and moans, see the way she was drawn under his spell and how she drew him under hers.