Damn.
The water shut off and he tried to count again, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how to form the numbers in his head.
She stepped out of the bathroom dressed, her hair still wet and brushed back from her face.
He said nothing. She had more clothes on than she had before she’d shut the bathroom door, and he was even more drawn to her. It accentuated her brilliant green eyes. There was something intimate about seeing her like this, no makeup, hair damp. She sat down on the bed to pull on her boots.
“I went out to the site last night.”
He grunted. He knew she had been there. It was probably what had pulled him in that direction. Somehow, he had known she was going to go there, and he wanted to be there as well.
Alex grabbed her gun belt. After putting it on, she grabbed her gun from beneath her pillow and slipped it into the holster.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” he asked.
“Bringing my gun? Yes.”
“No, I mean sleeping with it under the pillow.”
She gave him a look that told him she thought he was an idiot. “Safety’s on.”
Apparently, she was done with the conversation because she donned her mirrored sunglasses and walked toward the door.
He said nothing, following her through the doorway. She muttered under her breath, turned abruptly and ran straight into him. She fell back and he grabbed her upper arms to keep her from toppling over. For one long moment, they stood like that. His entire body screamed Yes! at the contact. She righted herself then stepped away.
It took his brain a moment to tell his inner beast to release her. If he didn’t think she was his mate before, he was convinced now. The idea that he had almost stepped over the bounds with her was enough to prove it to him.
“I need my phone,” she said, her voice a little unsteady.
“Alex…” He didn’t know what to say.
She looked at him, her face turning red. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked toward his truck, trying to pull his need for her under control. She had to have felt it the way he did. She might not understand it, since she didn’t know she was a wolf. Comprehending the mating dance was difficult for most wolves. For a woman who apparently didn’t know she was a shifter, it would be confusing. The urges would make you do stupid things. There was always consent, but the need to claim made a man, and sometimes many women, act out in jealousy.
The door shut and he realized she was locking it.
“You haven’t looked for anywhere else to live.”
A statement and not a question.
“No. I need to, but I rarely have a day off to do things like that.”
“You can take time off for that.”
She sighed as they both got into the cab of his pickup.
“I know, but it’s hard to find anything. Hardly anyone moves out of this town and there isn’t much to rent. I wish there were some kind of apartments or tiny houses. I don’t have much stuff, and I don’t need to spend a fortune for a house.”
He nodded. “Did you need to stop by the office?”
“Naw, Dillon’s there, and I’ll call him on our way out there. Just to check.”
“You have a lot of confidence in my cousin.”
She opened her mouth and shut it.
“No, go ahead.”
She hesitated “You still treat him like he’s a kid. He’s young, but he’s not a kid.”
“And, why are you telling me this?”
“I think he’d mature faster if you treated him like a man and not the kid you helped raise.”
He said nothing for a few moments. It was true, he still saw him as the pup who had been so lost when his parents died. He was strong and smart, but it was hard to let go of the kid who had been his second shadow for years.
“You might be right.”
“I understand why you might feel that way toward him, and believe me, he hero worships you. It’s really kind of disgusting. But that also means he needs you to see him as he is now and not as he was.”
He nodded, not happy she pointed it out to him.
“Do you know where you’re going?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She said nothing. Instead of engaging him in more conversation, she pulled out her phone and called the office.
“Dillon, how’s everything?”
She listened intently, her lips curving up every now and then. “Tell him to suck it up. Did you call his mom?”
She listened then she smiled. A full-on beautiful smile, and then she laughed. The sound of it danced over his flesh and sank into his blood.
“Okay. I’m out today with your cousin.”
She said nothing, and glanced over at him. “Yes. And we’re looking at the site of that murder a few nights ago.”
More listening. “Yes, it’s out of our jurisdiction, but your cousin wants me to look at it, and since he pays my salary, I’m going along with him. I’ll be sure to tell him you think it’s stupid.”
She hung up the phone.
“Your cousin says this is a waste of your time.”
“He does?”
“Yes. And basically, a waste of tax dollars.”
“And you share this view.”
She turned and looked at him before she spoke. “No. I think any life taken should be investigated. Most of these women—if they are all linked—fell through the cracks. Not enough evidence, all spread out over several counties. The killer counted on that. He or she knew that each disappearance would end up going unnoticed for a while.”
“You don’t think it’s a man?”
She shrugged and looked out the window. “I’ve found that in certain situations, women can be much more dangerous than any man.”
He looked at the woman sitting next to him and knew she spoke from experience. “Yeah?”
She nodded without looking at him. “I’d take a man high on PCP any day of the week before I would deal with a woman trying to protect what she thinks is hers.”
She might not know of her connection to his pack, but she definitely understood the mentality. At least that might help her when she realized her place in their world.
And maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t shoot him before she accepted her new role.
Chapter Six
The June sun beat down on clay dirt as Alex looked out over the horizon. After a moment, she turned to look behind her. What would it have been like if she’d been dragged out into the wilderness, alone, scared…
She shook his head. No. That’s not how it happened. It would have been too difficult. And from what she had seen from the report, there had been little blood. She’d been killed somewhere else and brought here.
She looked over her shoulder at Jake. When did she start thinking of him in terms of his first name?
Last night. When he had invited her to his parents’ home, she knew it was going to be a problem. Like when he had touched her this morning. It had set off tiny alarms all through her system. Her skin had felt singed when he had finally let go, and she had been feeling out of sorts ever since that moment.
“Do you think she was killed somewhere else?”
She broke off her thoughts and looked at him again. Of course he picked up on that aspect of the murder. She had always thought Jake was smart but there seemed to be another level to his knowledge that she didn’t know existed.
“Yes. According to the report, there was very little blood found.”
He nodded as he looked around. “And they couldn’t figure out the cause of death?”
“No. She’d been out in the elements too long.”
She didn’t have to tell him what that meant. She walked a little farther away, wondering just who would have known this place. With the girl being from Sanderson, it was a sign that it had more to do with the town than most people would think. Granted, it would be hard to connect the dots if Jake hadn’t told her about it.
She glanced at
him as he walked around the area, his gaze scanning for information…a clue.
“Why did you stick around Sanderson?”
Surprise lit his eyes as he glanced at her. “Why would I go anywhere else?”
“You just seem pretty sharp for someone who…” She trailed off, realizing she was actually putting down his hometown.
“That’s all right. I understand.”
Embarrassment flooded her and she fought against the heat crawling up in her cheeks. “Is that so?”
“You grew up without a real hometown. I mean, a city is different. You often don’t know your neighbors. I’ve known some of these folks since the moment I was born. I fit in here.”
She cocked her head and watched him again as he walked up the hill. She had known from the first time she’d met him that he was a complicated man. The longer she knew him, she felt as if she had barely scratched the surface. He was always blunt with her and she liked that in a boss…not to mention a lover.
She rolled her eyes. Dammit, she could not think of him in those terms. She wasn’t some dopey high schooler given to crushes. Hell, even when she was in high school, she wasn’t like that. She’d never lusted after the quarterback or sexy nerd. She had been focused on one thing. Graduating from high school had been her first step up from the gutter. No boy had been interesting enough for her.
Now, if she had gone to high school with Jacob Sanderson, she might have been inclined to be diverted at least for a little bit.
“It has to be someone from here,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.
She walked up the hill. “Yeah, I agree. Or someone who knows the area. Which means the person lived here at one time. It isn’t like this place is on any kind of scenic route or a major expressway. The closest road is 82.”
He nodded again, and she could practically feel his tension rippling in the air around her. She shook her head, dismissing her own thoughts. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something about him that was reaching out to her. She had always felt it when he was around, but it had been a low murmur until today. Until he touched her.
“I hate to think that it’s someone who still lives in Sanderson.”
He said it as if he thought of everyone as his family, and he probably did. He had grown up there, spent his entire life with these people and thought of them all as family. It was a foreign concept to her. Belonging had never been her thing.
“Could be someone still here, but it might be someone who isn’t in town that often. Maybe with family still there and visits.”
He glanced at her. “Why do you say that?”
“Well, this person has been out and about, and while these women were from Sanderson, they aren’t anymore. The big thing is we need to try and connect them.”
“Connect them?”
She shrugged as she tried to fight off the familiar excitement of the chase. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself but it was hard not to. It had been a long time since she’d had a case to sink her teeth into.
“They are all from Sanderson, but maybe there was an incident in the past that links them all. Did they keep in touch when they left? It might be payback, or maybe they saw something or heard something that caused them to be dangerous to someone. Have you had any scandals here?”
He smiled for the first time since they’d been out of town. “Not much happens here. There might be an incident or two, here or there, but nothing that would warrant this. Revenge on this level would have to be for something very bad. Besides, they weren’t that old. What could really have caused someone to hunt them down like that? They haven’t been alive long enough to have someone hate them that much.”
She sighed. “You don’t know the female population that well, then. If you can achieve puberty, you can be cruel and you can be hateful. These days, it doesn’t take much for bullying to go over the top and push someone over the edge.”
He blinked. “Is that from personal experience?”
She nodded her head. “From a long time ago. It taught me well. I also had to deal with gangs in San Antonio. Some of the women could be just as vicious or worse than the male gang members.”
He nodded. “You’re right, of course. I forget that no matter what the species, especially among the mammals, women are tougher than the men.” Before she could ask him what he meant by that, he shook himself. “Let’s get back to town. I need to eat, and I’m sure you’d like some time to yourself.”
After leaving her at her motel room, Jake couldn’t get Alex out of his thoughts. He realized now that over the last few months, he had been thinking of her more and more. In the last few days, though, he seemed to have become preoccupied with everything to do about her. Now, after spending time with her, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He knew that he was being an ass to everyone he came into contact with. His assistant, Savannah, had ordered him out of the office.
“So, you want to tell me what’s got you so pissed off?” Caleb asked.
Jake gave his cousin a nasty look and a snarl but didn’t answer him.
“Go running.”
He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease his agitation. “I did, last night.”
“Oh.” Caleb kept looking at him, studying him in that way of his.
He was the thoughtful one, always had been. While Caleb’s brother Morgan had been a hell-raiser, Caleb had been one who could sit back and reflect on situations. It was a bit unnerving to be under that scrutiny now. It was one of the things that made him a good doctor, but a pain in the ass to Jake.
Then, Caleb’s eyes widened. “You’ve found a mate. Holy Shit!”
He jerked as if he had been shot. It was an involuntary reaction to something he still wasn’t comfortable with. “What?”
Caleb chuckled. “You found a mate. You practically reek of it. Fuck.”
Irritated that Caleb had figured it out, he wasn’t about to admit it. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Oh, you doth protest too much. Who is it? Anyone I know?”
His cousin was a doctor who specialized in the care of shifters. And there was no way around it. He would figure out just who Jake’s mate was.
“Alex.”
“Alex?” He frowned in thought. “I don’t know an Alex.”
Jake watched his cousin. It wouldn’t take Caleb long to go through his mental list of town residents. As one of the few practicing doctors in the area, his cousin came into contact with just about everyone. Jake knew the moment comprehension hit Caleb. His face went comically blank.
“Littlefoot? Holy shit.”
“You said that already.”
Caleb shook his head. “It’s odd.”
“What?”
“That you’re an Alpha who didn’t go for a shifter. I never saw you mating with a human.”
Jake sighed. “Not sure she isn’t a shifter.”
There was a beat of silence. “That can’t be. Seriously, I think we would have picked up on it.”
“Dillon did. Then…just a few things that made me think twice about it. The fact that she’s my mate is another point.”
“Maybe you’re mistaken.”
Jake gave him a look.
Caleb chuckled. “Okay. You’re right. Do you want me to talk to her?”
He shook his head. “She doesn’t know.”
“Impossible.”
“No, she doesn’t know.”
Caleb studied him for a second, and Jake could almost hear the gears working in his brain. “Didn’t her parents tell her?”
“Foster kid. Then she went right into the police academy.”
Caleb was quiet for a few moments. He always took his time thinking things through and Jake knew it was better to just wait.
“You know some women don’t actually have the change until their mid to late twenties.”
“Why?” Jake asked.
“What?”
“Why would they change late like that?”
“Oh, well, the popular thought for years was they were dormant for so long because their genes weren’t pure.”
“As in they weren’t good?” Jake asked, irritated at the thought. If even one person had the nerve to suggest that his mate wasn’t up to snuff…he growled.
Caleb shook his head. “Oh, you have it bad, cuz. But that was disproven. At times, that female will be the strongest one of the group. She can lead because she has more control over her actions than other females do.”
That made a lot of sense. His attraction to her was bone deep. His beast recognized a mate who would match him in strength and intelligence. He knew before going out today that she was smart. Looking back over her file, her IQ tests at the academy…well, maybe she was even smarter than he was. His father had always said that about his mother.
“Earth to Jacob Sanderson.”
He blinked. “What?”
“I said your name three times.”
“Sorry,” he mumbled, looking at the clock. Maybe he could see if Alex was in the mood for a quick bite to eat.
“Oh, damn, we’re screwed. You settle down and Mom is going to start in on me and Morgan.”
“Morgan won’t be back from guard duty for another two months.”
“Right, and all her attention will be on me. Damn,” he said. “Maybe I should look into some kind of distant volunteer thing.”
Jake shook his head. “She’ll just email you. Hell, I wouldn’t put it past her to arrange a marriage before you get back. And remember that my mom will be happy to help yours.”
“Your mom is scary.”
“Tell me about it,” he said as he rose from the chair. “So, maybe you can come up with a reason for me not to have found my mate. It’s best for you.”
The sour expression on his cousin’s face almost made him laugh. Almost. It was true, once the Alpha settled down, it would get worse for the others in the group, especially those he was related to by blood.
“Why did you stop by here? Why did they let you back here?” Caleb asked.
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