“I’m sorry, I just can’t…” Tears stung her eyes as she stared at him. He brought her hands away from her ears and held them together in his larger one.
“You did great.” He glanced over to where Jase was sitting on the armchair. “She’s been through enough tonight and you’ve got your information.”
“If she remembers anything—”
“I’ll let you know.” Noah cut Jase off before he could finish. “I’m taking her back to my place tonight. She’s too distraught to be alone.”
“Take care of your mate. We’ll see about what we can do with her information.” Jase rose from the chair and tipped his head to Liam and Roger before going to the door.
“Karri.” Liam paused by the sofa before joining Jase at the door. “I know that was rough, but I assure you it was worth it. The information you were able to give us, while you might not think it was much, will be a great help to us.”
She didn’t know what to say so she stayed silent. Instead, she tried to remember where she was and what she was doing there. She focused on Noah and allowed his deep brown eyes to ground her in the moment.
“Come on, we’ll go back to my place and you can get some rest. I don’t want to leave you here alone.” He stood, taking her with him.
“Why can’t we stay here?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to go back out there. Inside, she felt safe, but outside, even knowing about the guards’ presence and the fence separating her from the rest of the world, she felt as if The Saviors might be watching, waiting for her to venture out so they could kill her.
“I need to be close to Sin and Jase in case something happens. My cabin is right next door. Liam used to share it with me as well, but once he mated, they wanted more privacy. Until their new cabin is built alongside mine, I’m the closest guard to Sin and Jase.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and stared down at her. “It’s going to be okay.”
The moment might have seemed innocent to someone looking in from the outside but there was something very intimate about his touch and the way he slid her hair behind her ear. She wanted to lean into him and enjoy the moment but exhaustion ate at her. “Let’s go.”
“Liam’s right. The information you gave us will be helpful.”
“I’m glad I didn’t go through Hell for nothing.” She tried to make light of it, but her words were truthful. Reliving the memories over and over to answer Jase’s questions had be worse than Hell. The whole time she kept thinking about what she could have done differently. What could she have done to save people? Could she have saved Kat? Somewhere in reliving the memories, she realized Kat was likely dead. She had no proof of this but in her heart, she sensed her friend was no longer alive. The horror of it clung to her. If she hadn’t gone to the car minutes earlier, she’d have been standing next to Kat when the shooting started.
I’d be dead, too.
Early morning sunlight streamed through the bay window as Noah sat in his living room trying to pull together what he could from the police and news reports. According to the reports, the police suspected six shooters. What they weren’t aware of was the presence of a seventh one, who, if he had a gun, didn’t get to use it. They had only been able to gather that information because of the interrogation Jase had put Karri through. Noah had wanted to stop it, to protect his mate from having to live through it again, but the information she had might be what they needed to stop The Saviors. So, he’d hung back, giving Jase the chance to question her, forcing himself not to reach out and touch her. His touch might have influenced the memories she was recalling.
With it over the night had been rough, but now that she was finally resting, he was able to do something to help his tribe. He’d missed the meeting with Sin and the others, but Liam dropped by to fill him in. The attack on the party close to home was enough to bring Jase to his senses. He agreed to adding additional guards to both his and Sin’s protection details. Now, both Liam and Noah had to pick a First Lieutenant to be second-in-command of the charges’ protection. After that, they could each chose two additional guards, to be used as needed.
Noah was hoping to convince Brett Oaks to take the position. As a former police officer, he was suited for the role and his size as a bear shifter added extra weight to the decision. He had also proven himself time and time again to both Noah and the tribe. He glanced at his phone and debated calling Brett to have him come over to discuss the promotion. The original plan had been for him to go over to Brett and Swift’s place once Karri woke up so he wouldn’t have to leave her alone, but having him come there might be easier since he wasn’t sure she’d be up to socializing after everything she had been through. Getting Brett on board immediately would help to relieve some of the pressure on Noah, especially now that he had to worry about his mate as well.
Before he could make the call, a scream echoed through the cabin and he shot off the sofa, rushing up the stairs in a blink of an eye. “Karri!” As he opened the door to his bedroom, the stench of fear hit him full force, bringing his lion to the forefront. He glanced around the room but no one was there—not that be expected there to be with the guards patrolling the grounds, but one could never be sure.
“Karri,” he called to her again as he sat down onto the bed. “You’re safe.”
“No! No!” Sitting on the bed, she shook her head back and forth.
“Karri.” He wanted to wrap his arms around her but he didn’t want to scare her further. Even though her eyes were open he wasn’t sure she was awake or not. “Karri, look at me.”
“No…not Kat.”
Tears rolled down her face and he couldn’t stop himself from going to her. He scooted farther onto the bed to lean against the headboard and wrap his arms around her. “Oh sugar, I’m sorry.” The moment he held her, he could see the images in her mind that had her so upset. The pale woman with long black hair, thick black eyeliner, and bright red lipstick seemed to stand out more from the memory, as the rest of the bodies were hazier. In an instant, he recognized Kat from the picture he’d seen in the police report earlier when he’d learned she’d been among those listed as deceased. He hadn’t been able to give the news to Karri since she had been sleeping, but it was a piece of information he’d had no desire to deliver.
It appeared Kat, her boyfriend, and the group that had been hanging around them were the first to die. He wasn’t sure if they had been targeted yet, or if they just happened to be in the wrong area when the shooting started. He remembered enough from Karri’s memories to know she had been standing with them only moments before. If she hadn’t gone to the car for her cell phone, she’d be dead, too.
My mate would have died before I ever found her. He wasn’t sure what that meant—if he would have found someone else. Or if he would have been stuck without a mate until his dying day. Either way, it didn’t sit well with him. She was his. Now he had to figure out if she was in danger or not.
As much as he’d dug for information, he hadn’t been able to determine if Kat or her boyfriend had been shifters or not. Surprisingly, the news had been keeping it quiet as if they didn’t want to incite more riots. The police reports wouldn’t state the nature of the person until a family member confirmed it or the autopsy report came back. If they had been in hiding, it was unlikely that a family member would admit the truth. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of the family members went into hiding over the next several days. Those who didn’t risked being hunted down and killed by The Saviors.
“She’s really dead.” She pressed her face against his chest, tears seeping through his shirt.
“I know.” He squeezed her tight against him. “I’ve read the report. She didn’t suffer. She probably didn’t even know what happened.”
“How can you say that?” She tipped her head to look up at him. “It was terrifying.”
“For you, sugar, but you saw the whole thing. She was one of the first to die. It’s possible she didn’t know what was happening.” He wasn’t just saying it to calm her do
wn, but because he believed it. From what he read in the police reports and the crime scene photos, it didn’t appear as if any of those from her group had tried to run. Kat and her boyfriend landed together, her shirt half unbuttoned as if they had started to get intimate there in the middle of the party.
“Were they…were we targeted?”
“I don’t know yet but I’m looking into it.” He smoothed his hand down the length of her back. “You’re safe here.”
“You keep telling me that and you’d think I’d believe it but I’m just so scared.” She leaned back against his chest. “I’m from a small town; where the worst crime we have is when someone gets rowdy at the bar. The most the cops have to worry about is speeders. There’s never been a murder there as long as I’ve been alive. Maybe I’m sheltered or even naive but I almost expected it to be like that everywhere. I never watched the news and our paper rarely covered the horrible things that were happening outside of our little bubble. When I left to start college, I had a rude wakeup call. Kat helped me adjust and she protected me when I needed it, but she also pushed me outside of my comfort zone.”
“She drugged you,” he reminded her.
“That was her boyfriend’s idea. He wanted her to come down for the party and she wouldn’t come without me.” She was silent for a moment before glancing back up at him. “He wasn’t a bad guy, just used to getting his own way no matter the cost. Unfortunately, the cost this time was their lives.”
“And it could have been yours.” The idea was unsettling, making him want to hold her tighter to him, as well as get back to his research to make sure The Saviors were not after her.
She’s safe here. The Saviors won’t have a chance to attack here.
Chapter Five
A week had passed since the incident in the woods, and with each passing day, Karri felt even more unnerved. Noah and the others were following every lead, researching every aspect, and reading through every police and news report. Still, they hadn’t determined if she was one of the chosen targets. How hard is it to figure out if they were gunning for me? Kat’s autopsy hadn’t come back yet either to let them know if Kat herself had been a target. Maybe it was the boyfriend? For all they knew, it might not have been any of them.
Only three shifters had been confirmed to be at the party that night. Two were dead and the third was in the hospital in critical condition. One of the shifters that had been killed belonged to Oswalt’s Tribe—a neighboring tribe. The other two had been in hiding. The family of the shifters who had been killed had picked up and moved in the middle of the night for fear of their safety. While the family of the hospitalized victim had no choice but to stay or leave their son behind. Karri couldn’t put herself in their shoes or even begin to understand what they were going through.
The shifter world was a whole new experience for her, unlike anything she would have thought it to be like. The Crimson Hollow Tribe seemed to be a family. They hung out together, played together, ate together, and most of all, they fought for each other. Everyone was protected. Only a few of the tribe members left for work, most of them either worked remotely or had another job within the tribe, because of that there were less risks being taken by the members.
As closely bonded as they seemed to be, they’d welcomed her as if she were one of them. Never once had she felt like an outsider. They had stopped by the cabin to meet her, usually bringing food by for her and Noah as the excuse. Turns out Noah was terrible in the kitchen and most of the time one of the other families sent food over for him, or he joined Sin or Jase for dinner. It didn’t matter their animal; they were family. Too bad her own family wasn’t half as welcoming and open.
“Sugar.” Noah jogged down the stairs, tugging a shirt over his head. “We’ve got to go.”
“Go? What’s wrong?” She moved away from the window where she had been watching the tribe members move about with their daily chores.
“Garret’s received new information and we’re meeting at his place to go over it.”
“We’re…?” Even as she questioned him, she sat down to pull on her boots. “I’ve never been invited to one of your meetings before. Why now? Jase isn’t going to question me again, is he? I don’t remember anything else.”
“Whatever he’s found concerns you, so you need to be there.” He came to stand in front of her and held out his hand to her. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get through it together. Now come on, they’re waiting for us.”
Together. Enjoying the sound of that, she slipped her hand into his. She wanted to look on the bright side of this whole disaster and be glad that she’d found him but too much blood had been spilled for her to see anything positive out of this mess. In her heart, she believed that if they were meant to be, like he claimed, then they’d have found each other without so much death surrounding them. How was she supposed to be happy about their developing relationship with what she had to go through to get there?
She wasn’t even sure she could call it a developing relationship. Most of the last week he had spent working. He had tried to make time for her but that time had been limited and she always felt like she was holding him back from what he needed to do. They’d spent an hour or so cuddled together on the sofa every evening, chatting about anything and everything, before she went to bed. Yet, a lot of what she learned about him had come from a second party. Too many times one of the tribe women dropped by and shared some gossip about him.
With every touch, the connection between them seemed to grow stronger. It wasn’t that she could feel his lion more, but the air became charged around them. It was hard to explain even to herself. Most of the time she wasn’t even sure it was happening until after their embrace ended and she missed that connection.
Stepping outside, she took a moment to enjoy the rays of sunshine on her face and the sweet caress of the wind. Days ago, she had been so close to death she could feel the cold fingers of the grim reaper but until that moment, she hadn’t realized how thankful she was to be alive. She had a chance to go on with her life—one she couldn’t waste. There had to be something she could do to help the shifters and their cause.
Still standing on the porch, she turned toward Noah. “I want to help.”
“What sugar?” He pulled the door closed behind him.
“I don’t know what use I’ll be but I’ve got to do something. I understand now what’s happening to shifters. Changes need to be made both with the laws and with the attitudes of people.”
“Both of which are hard to change. They take time and those who are spearheading the movement are in more danger because their presence is known. There’s no hiding that they’re either a shifter or connected with them. The Saviors will make them a target. While we’ve been lucky so far with their safety, there are still great risks. It’s why many lawyers will not take on this cause except Liam’s cousin—he’s an attorney and is leading the legal battle.”
“Standing by and doing nothing will get you killed, too.” A little girl with long brown hair ran by, catching her attention for a moment. The children were the reason why they had to do something. This was a time in their lives when they were supposed to be young and innocent. To preserve that innocence, they had to act soon. It was their job to protect the future generations. “Right there is the reason why we can’t sit by and do nothing. Look at her carefree attitude; she doesn’t realize the dangers that are lurking outside the fence, and I don’t want her to ever go through what I went through.”
“While my primary responsibility is to protect Sin, we protect everyone here. The children are safe.”
“For now—but Ginger told me about the man that crashed his truck through the fence. There wasn’t even a road there. What if that had been someone from The Saviors?”
“He was a drunk. Nothing more.”
“That time.” Her gaze continued to follow the little girl as she joined a group of other girls. “What about next time? You can’t deny that The Saviors are a threat to their safe
ty.”
He leaned against the doorframe, watching her for a moment before finally nodding. “You’re right, they’re a threat. There are people working on changing the laws and we’re not the only ones working on taking down The Saviors. None of this is going to happen overnight. In the meantime, we’ve got to do whatever we can to keep ourselves and our tribe safe. If you want to help with the cause, trust me, we won’t turn away the assistance—but you’re going to do it our way. You’re not going to run out on your own and bring attention to yourself.”
“I hadn’t planned on rushing into town and drawing attention to myself by screaming that shifters saved my life. With my luck The Saviors would pick me up, and instead of killing me straight away they’d want information on your location.” She stepped in front of him and placed her hand on his chest. “I’d never betray you.”
“If you said that to another shifter they’d tell you you’d never have a chance to betray us.” Goosebumps spread along her arm, which he quickly chased away by running his hand along her skin. “As your mate I can taste your words are the truth, so there’s no need to frighten you into keeping quiet.”
“Never have a chance…you mean…forget it.” Needing space, she stepped back from him.
“If they had critical information and turned against us, we couldn’t stand idly by if we had the chance to put an end to it. Killing is something we do our best to avoid whenever possible but if it means keeping our people safe from a traitor, then we will do whatever is necessary.” He stepped up behind her, careful not to touch her. “We’re more civilized than we are in the wild, but we’re still dangerous if threatened.”
“Noah.” Liam leaned out of the door at Sin’s cabin and hollered down to him. “We’re waiting on you.”
“One second,” he told Liam before finally touching her back. “Karri, we need to go.”
Purrable Lion: A Crimson Hollow Novella Page 4