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Nik wrinkled his nose and whispered, “I smell something odd.”
Emma scanned the area, but didn’t see anything unusual. “Like they forgot to wear deodorant or something worse?”
“Worse. Men who are part wolf.”
Despite the warm pleasant weather a chill crawled up her spine. “As in werewolf central?”
“Yes. Not really. Men who are not like my kind.”
If she applied vaporo, would it hide her scent from these wolf chimeras? She narrowed her eyes on a stand of palm trees, but found no hidden snipers or wolf-men lying in wait. “I don’t see anyone.”
“They are inside the building.”
“Can you tell how many?”
“I smell eleven distinct men, but there might be more off the island.”
Emma bit her lower lip. They needed backup. Nik could not possibly fight off eleven werewolves. How different were they from his kind? Would these werewolves lose their minds like the savage monsters in all the werewolf movies? “Okay, stay cool.”
Nik smiled. “Cool describes me.”
The golf cart stopped and out stepped none other than billionaire J.C. Bolton. He had graced the cover of just about every business magazine and newspaper so he was easily recognizable. Especially since the pending lawsuit against his pharmaceutical company had caused deaths. He must be Mr. Boss. He spoke to Tank. “You are excused.” Tank nodded and walked away. She had to trust Nik’s mind control lasted.
Bolton wore Bermuda shorts, a white shirt and sandals. A baseball cap covered his white hair. A casual look, as if enjoying a vacation. He took off his sunglasses and held his hand out, his smile genuine. “Dr. Jane Walker, welcome to Metis Island.”
Hmm. Interesting choice of a name. Metis was married to Zeus, who eventually tricked her into becoming a fly. Emma shook his hand. “You are J.C. Bolton.”
“I’m happy you recognized me without my business suit.”
“This is Boris Orlov, my wolf tracker.”
Bolton nodded, but didn’t shake hands. “Well, Boris, I doubt we’ll need your services.”
Emma didn’t want to insist he stay, so she played it cool. “Boris could certainly use a warm vacation before he heads back to Siberia.”
He smiled at Nik. “You can board my yacht and go to the nearest airport.”
Nik furrowed his brow. “If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to stay and assist Jane.”
“Unless you are a bench scientist, there is nothing for you to do.”
Was Nik not using mind control? “Actually, if you need to locate wolf packs, you might reconsider,” said Emma.
“I have. We have what we need.”
Emma smiled. “I can’t believe you are studying wolf genetics.”
Bolton returned his gaze to her. “I’m impressed with your work.”
“You know of my studies?”
“I researched your study on the evolution of the dog and wolf genome. But the fact you discovered the mysterious human endogenous retrovirus found in only select packs of wolves in Northern Europe is more than a coincidence.”
“Actually, I collected specimens from all over the world. When I found the retrovirus, it piqued my interest and I wanted to learn what it meant.”
Bolton tilted his head. “Interesting.”
Relief coursed through Emma, her cover had been posted everywhere he might look. Yet, she sensed he still thought her study suspicious. Was he baiting her? “It is indeed and also fortunate. I didn’t expect to run across the J.C. Bolton. Not that I’m asking for funding to research this anomaly, but perhaps you might consider it. I could, of course, write a formal grant.”
