“Because we don’t want to leave tracks around a snowmobile that’s not ours.” He grinned down at her. “It’s a fox trick.”
“You have a lot of tricks, don’t you?” she said, tilting her head back for a kiss.
Her kiss was sweetness and fire, sugar and spice. It was only reluctantly that he broke his lips from hers. They walked up the driveway with their arms around each other’s waist. As they left the road behind, Joey heard the sound of distant sirens, far down the mountain.
“Aren’t those men going to tell the police they saw people turning into wolves and foxes?” Doris asked quietly.
“Would you believe them?”
She smiled. “Well, you have a point.”
“Anyway, I don’t think they will, because they’re shifters too.”
“From the mansion?”
His mate was clever. Too clever, sometimes. “Yes. I followed them up there the other night.”
She paused, tugging on his arm. “What now, Joey?”
“Now? Now the police come and have a look around the place. Cang’s not going to like the publicity. Either he’ll clear out or hunker down. Anyway, we’ll wait ‘til the cops leave and then go in and see what we can find out.”
“We meaning you and Xi Yong?”
“Yes, and some friends.” It was time to get Mikhail and the rest of the Guardians involved now. He sent out a silent call. There was no immediate response.
As they got closer to the house, Joey caught sight of Xi Yong beyond the chimney corner. He and Isidor were clearing the snow off the cars as Brad used a broom to golf-whack snow into ice white fans on either side of the driveway.
As Joey watched, he saw Isidor say something, to which Xi Yong responded with a face alight with laughter. Joey had never before seen Xi Yong happy. It was clear he was transcendently happy now.
Xi Yong seemed to become aware of his scrutiny, and glanced over. Am I needed?
Let’s see the family safely off, then investigate the mansion, Joey replied on the mythic plane.
Xi Yong dipped his head in acknowledgement and returned to his task.
Joey said to Doris, “We’ll be staying on here for a few hours after your family leaves, long enough to finish our investigation. Then we’ll drive back down the mountain.”
“I’ll wait here for you,” Doris replied, with an earnest look straight into his eyes. Even covered with chocolate, she was so beautiful it almost hurt. “If I drive home right now I’ll go crazy not knowing what’s happened to you here.”
He kissed her again. She reached to cup his face, then noticed the chocolaty smears all over her hands and yanked them back. “Ugh! That’s it. First thing I’m doing is a shower. I’m going in through the mud room. I don’t want to deal with questions now. What are we going to tell them?”
“We don’t have to tell them anything, unless you want to.”
“I think for now I’d like to just keep it between us.” She shivered. “I keep flashing on that horrible gun aimed at you.”
“And then at you,” Joey said, a shiver running through him, too, at her bravery and danger.
Our mate, his fox said with satisfaction. Brave and thinks tricksy.
‘Tricksy’ was a very high compliment from a fox.
Joey smiled to himself as walked into the kitchen, which he recognized by now as the Lebowitz commander center.
Doris’s mother exclaimed, “Ah! There you are! Lunch is almost ready!” She proudly indicated two tables pushed together, laden with food and surrounded by every chair and stool in the entire house. She added with sly coyness, “Where’s Doris?”
“Bathroom, I believe,” Joey said, suppressing a desire to laugh. He was very aware that Doris’s mother’s approval had less to do with him than with his status as a respectable university professor. That was all right with him—if her family accepted him, the happier Doris would be.
“Oh. Well, it can wait,” Elva said airily. “I just remembered, she’s doing all the bed linens.” She took a step nearer. “So . . . what do you think of that Brad?”