Page 36 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

Roland pulled the meat from the fire, handed some to Nox, and they ate in silence.

“What do you think it is?” Roland asked finally.

“I think Archie has something in his back pocket,” Nox replied. “Something he’s using against the cops. I don’t know. I haven’t completed the thought.”

Roland nodded, and they sat there, two friends thinking and exploring ways to get his family back.

Nox knew how lucky he was to have Roland on his side, to have a woman like Kelli, to have a little niece like Violet, and a brother and sister-in-law like Nevel and Elise. He had trouble seeing all of the wonderful things before, even with all of the money he had. But now, it was all there in front of him, laid out like a detailed tapestry.

They spoke about the plan going forward and the trust he had in Kelli to find a way out of the mine. Once she was able to, she would reconnect with Nox, and they would be waiting to guide his brother and sister-in-law to safety.

He waited around near the camp all day, his pack moving between cabins and others going into town for supplies. He also called up Violet, who seemed to be taking to Sydney and his children like a champ.

“She is a sweet girl,” Brenda said over the phone.

Nox felt his heart swell at the thought of holding the little girl again. He had been afraid to show up and then leave again, to disappoint her even further. He had never craved a child before in his life so deeply, but after meeting Kelli, it had become a dream that emerged from the fog.

He hunted, stalked the trails, and ate to help himself heal faster. Nox wanted to be ready to see his beloved, to inform her of the plan, and even maybe to get some alone time with her. He wanted to be in tip-top shape before he engaged in either.

The strange scent got to him, in between all the positive thoughts like a scurrying rat. He had an idea of what it was but didn’t want to create mass hysteria.

TWENTY-FOUR

KELLI

Kelli was motivated after seeing Nox, knowing he was okay and that they were mostly on the same page when it came to the rescue of his family. She adored how much faith he had in her without having to say it, knowing that she had the best intentions in mind when it came to freeing Nevel and Elise.

Nox had been taking a shot in the dark when he tried to accompany her to the mine this morning. Archie had been so secretive with her that it wasn’t likely he’d let a random person in on his racket so easily. Especially someone who looked like Nox.

His taste lingered on her lips as Archie drove her into the mine. It was just as tasty as it had always been: scented of pine, flavors of whiskey, and smoke. It turned her on like nothing else in her life, but she narrowed her focus on the steps that Archie’s henchmen were helping her make.

Thus far, each morning had been the same. She would eat with Archie, and he would leave her to tame the animals. Kelli, of course, wasn’t an animal tamer. So she instructed them to do repeated movements like jumping through hoops, rewarding them with raw meat, and doing everything she could to let one of them know who she was.

But one of the henchmen was always standing by, guns pointed directly at the wolves. Even though they were likely strong enough to take them on, they were also smart enough to realize that they didn’t know where the caves led to. She wanted to whisper into one of their ears or at least meet their eyes, but they were understandably downtrodden.

That morning, Archie stood around closer to her. He ate with her and asked her odd questions about Nox, who was Jed to her, digging to learn where they had met and had their child.

“So you both from around these parts?” Archie asked.

Kelli didn’t think they had their stories straight, so she did her best to stay as vague as possible.

“Smoky Mountains,” she blurted out. “I met N ... Jed there a few years ago before Sweetums was born.”

He was drinking coffee, the black further staining his ugly teeth.

“That’s interesting,” he said. “I thought all that was wolf county.”

She frowned, pretending to have no clue what he was speaking about.

“No, I worked at a fair, and he worked at the butcher’s shop. That’s how we met.”

Archie quickly lost interest when the cages were rolled in from some secretive portion of the cave. Kelli tried to make a mental note of which corner of the room it had sprouted from.

“All right, getting started early,” he said, hopping up.

Elise and Nevel, as usual, had their eyes downcast and were beginning to look thin. Archie would always rattle the cage with the spear he held, waking them from their brooding slumber.

“It’s time to jump, jump, jump,” he cackled.

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