“That’s pretty cool,” Noah said.
“I’ve warned her to be careful because it is known that she spends a lot of money buying supplies for the shelter and for the individuals. If the victims want to leave town, she makes arrangements. I’ve heard that she can also help someone disappear with a new identity if the abuser is too bad,” Sean said.
“That does make her a mark,” Noah said, concerned.
“She says she has Apollo, a good security system, and her staff is very loyal to her,” Sean replied. “I suggested a security guard for herself, but she told me she was fine.”
“So, she’s stubborn and independent, too,” Noah remarked.
“That’s an understatement.” Sean laughed.
“I also saw that she spent a lot of time at a place out of town. There has to be at least fifty or sixty acres there with a couple of barns, smaller shelters, and a farmhouse. It has a huge fence all the way around it.”
“Her other passion. It is a no-kill shelter. She has a couple, Lana and Paul King running the place. They specialize in dumped or abused animals, but they will take any animals who need a home. She just got it started.”
“A lot of women in her position would be jet-setting around the world or going to all the high-end shops,” Noah remarked.
Sean laughed and said, “Not Angie. She shops at the big box stores like everyone else. She does go to a concert once in a while. Fluffy, Gabriel Iglesias, and Jeff Dunham were in town recently. She took some friends to see them. She also had to go to the Journey and Def Leppard concert. Other than that, though, you would never guess that her parents, and now she, is worth a couple billion dollars.”
“She sounds like a terrific woman. You make her sound like a saint,” Noah said.
Sean grinned. “No one is perfect. I wouldn’t get her riled up, and she is as stubborn as a mule. But she is a great woman.”
Noah watched her for a couple more days. Her life was very normal and predictable. He noticed that she did a lot of shopping, but it was for the people at the shelter. She had coffee with her friends a couple of times. Almost everyone she ran into greeted her with a smile. There were a couple of people who apparently weren’t fans, but Angie didn’t seem to be too annoyed by that.
He decided that he had a great idea about who Angie was. Noah guessed that the reason that she told him no was because she had a life here. He could understand that, but he intended to talk to her the next day.
Zac Curry, the alpha of the Nightshade, stepped up to Noah’s table at Howlers’. He pointed to a chair and asked, “May I?”
“Sure, Zac. How are you? How is married life treating you?”
“I’m great and I love it. How are you?”
“Couldn’t be better,” Noah said.
They chatted about their alpha duties, then Zac said, “I know that Angie’s technically a member of your pack, but we consider her one of ours since she grew up here. I’ve heard that you’ve been stalking her.”
Noah laughed and said, “I hoped to avoid that particular title, but I guess it fits. I wanted to get to know Angie and find out what she was like.”
“Why?”
Noah explained the situation. “I was trying to find out why she said no. Following her around gave me an idea of who she was. She doesn’t seem to be involved with anyone. Do you have any idea why she would turn me down like that?”
Nodding, Zac replied, “I do, but it’s not my business to share. If she wants you to know, she’ll tell you.”
Noah growled in the back of his throat but wasn’t surprised. Zac was as loyal to his friend as Sean was. Besides, neither of them was a gossip.
A tall, burly man opened Angie’s front door the next day when he knocked.
“Can I help you?” he asked, looking hard at Noah as though he could see through the alpha and straight into his soul.
He is not a stereotypical butler, Noah thought.
“I would like to speak with Angie, please.”
“State your business,” the man said, his voice sounding a little like Lurch’s from The Addams Family. As a matter of fact, he kind of looked like him, too.
“It’s personal,” Noah said.