Ranger Trent (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 2)

by Meg Ripley

  “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  So not only did I have to deal with Danielle’s death, I had two more on my hands. “So, either we’re dealing with a rogue bear on a killing streak, or a murderer trying to make his kills look like bear attacks.”

  I wasn’t used to murder cases in nature. Usually, homicides occurred in buildings or parking lots and there was a weapon close by, fingerprints on the bodies or some other kind of surface. But there were no fingerprints on any of the corpses other than Sophia’s. I checked myself and dusted Danielle’s entire crime scene. There was nothing else to get fingerprints on that millions of other people hadn’t touched before. We were surrounded by nothing but lakes and the Atlantic, wet rocks, mountains, trees, flowers, grass and dirt.

  I had nothing to go on and it irked the hell out of me.

  “So, what do you think the story is so far, Sophia?”

  She was looking at the bodies and then glanced back in the direction of Danielle’s remains, trying to piece it together with me.

  “Well, I do think you were right about a couple of things, for sure. Whoever killed Danielle also murdered these two guys. Your hypothesis about it killing Danielle first and the camera guys running away seems to line up as well. Based on the blood trail we found leading up to this point, it’s safe to say, whatever it was, chased these men to this point and did them in, too.”

  So, I knew the ‘what,’ ‘when,’ and ‘where’ of the story. There were two possible ‘hows.’ ‘Who’ and ‘why’ were still left to be uncovered, and I had no idea where to start.

  For the first time ever, I was completely stumped, but I refused to accept it. There was always a clue, somewhere, somehow. If it was a wild animal, there would be clues to lead us to it. If the killer was human, surely, he or she wasn’t skilled enough not to leave any shred of evidence behind.

  Right?

  I looked at Alex and Gerard who were still studying the body. Alex had his hand to his chin like he was thinking very hard. He glanced up at me and shrugged.

  “Ughhhhh!”

  I cried out my frustration before I even realized it and stomped my foot. It was a childish move, but I hated when things weren’t going according to plan. Things always went my way. When they didn’t, I made them go my way.

  “It’s getting a bit late; the sun is setting,” Sophia said as she looked into the distance. When my gaze followed her, I saw that she was right.

  6pm already? I was shocked when I looked at my watch. It felt like we had only been there for a couple of hours.

  “Maybe we should pick up the search tomorrow, Blanca, and just get these bodies taken care of for today?”

  Gerard appeared concerned and tired. Alex looked exhausted as well; we all were.

  “I’m sorry, guys, but you know I can’t do that. Tracks could be covered, evidence could be moved. This is nature, where animals roam free. They could bury the murder weapon themselves if there is one. The killer, whether human or bear, could be long gone by now. We have to keep looking.” I gave them both pleading expressions and they nodded.

  “Sophia, will you help me take care of the bodies?” She nodded. “Alex and Gerard, I want you guys to scout the area. I know Trent is out there, but having three people looking is better than one. Call me if you find anything.”

  Frankly, I still didn’t trust Trent. He was probably out brooding about someone taking over and making him feel like less of man.

  Although I can’t imagine why with looks like that…

  I shook my head. Business, Blanca. Besides, what would I want with a guy like that? It wasn’t like he was devastatingly handsome with a strong jaw and—

  Focus!

  Sophia and I each started toward a body while Alex and Gerard were about to head into the woods.

  “Actually, that won’t be necessary.”

  Knox’s voice stopped us in our tracks. I looked over to see him close his phone with an overly emphasized ‘click.’ I had been so preoccupied with what I should do next, I hadn’t been paying much attention to him. He was a couple feet away, so I guessed he must have walked over to take a phone call while we were talking.

  “What’s up?” I asked. I was done with the formalities at this point. I was exhausted and there was a lovely hotel room in Bar Harbor waiting for me. It had a pool and that was the first place I was going after my shower.

  “Trent found the murderer.”

  My mouth dropped. “What?”

  “Looks like you were right, Ms. Gianni. He was about to jump into one of our lakes to wash himself off, when Trent was able to tackle and handcuff him. He is covered in blood and Trent found some treble hooks with him. It looks like he cleaned those off already, though.”

  “So, where is he? Let’s go to him now. Alex and Gerard can take care of the bodies.” I nodded to my agents and they started toward the corpses.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Gianni, but I’m going to have to call this one. I think you should get some rest. We have the murderer in custody and Trent is perfectly capable of holding him overnight. The suspect will be waiting for you in the holding area in the morning and you can question him then.” Knox’s voice didn’t seem evasive. He looked genuinely concerned.

  I thought about it for a moment. I really wanted to talk to the suspect, but even once I figured it all out, I’d have to call a pilot to bring us back to headquarters. I knew the chances of us being picked up tonight would be slim because only the emergency ones were left on duty for the day. And this was hardly an emergency.

  I also kind of wanted to enjoy my hotel room for at least one night.

  “Okay, fine. I will question him in the morning, but I want my own agents guarding him. No offense or anything. I am very grateful to Trent for finding the guy and I would appreciate if you could tell him that, but I would feel more comfortable with Alex and Gerard guarding the suspect.”

  Knox thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

  “Okay. I’m sure that can be arranged.”

  “Thank you.” I walked over to Alex and Gerard. “I’m sorry, guys. I know you’re exhausted, but I just don’t trust that Trent guy enough to leave him alone with the suspect.”

  “It’s okay, we understand. We’ll guard him like a hawk until you get there.” Alex said, and Gerard nodded.

  “I’ll be there to relieve you in the morning and then you guys can go rest while I conduct the interrogation. Make sure you take shifts during the night.”

  “Sophia, why don’t you drive Ms. Gianni to her hotel? I’ll take the guys over to the holding area and relieve Trent for the night.”

  Sophia nodded and smiled at me. Knox motioned for my agents to follow him and they did.

  “Come on, Blanca, my Jeep is back at Hunters Beach.”

  I followed her as we walked back to where Danielle’s body was found. Sophia seemed friendly and good at her job. After some thought, I decided that I trusted her after all. She was very thorough in her reports to me and I saw a bit of myself in her work ethic.

  “Hey, so what’s the story behind this Trent guy? Does he usually have problems with authority?” I asked jokingly to test the waters with the woman. It helped that I also wanted the scoop on the guy and she seemed like the best person to ask.

  “Not necessarily. He just doesn’t like people messing with his job. He’s pretty serious about it.” Sophia shrugged.

  “He just seems so edgy around me,” I said, moving branches out of my way while we walked through the trees, the forest thick and lush all around us.

  “Oh, he’s edgy around everyone. Don’t take it personally,” Sophia laughed. “He doesn’t like to get close to people; he had a rough childhood. It took me a year and half to even get him to have a normal conversation with me. But, once he gets to know you, he can be a really sweet guy.”

  Sophia talked about Trent like they were close. “Are you two…a couple?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

  “Me and Trent? No way! More like brother
and sister!” Sophia was laughing again, and I felt at ease. She was surprisingly calming to talk to, which was certainly refreshing after the long day we had.

  “So, what happened to him? Trent, I mean.” I asked curiously. Part of my question was just small talk, but the other part wanted to know more about him. He was so reserved and seemed so angry all the time—or at least around me. He was like a puzzle that I wanted to solve and tuck away so I would never have to think of it again.

  “His dad abandoned him and his mom when he was a kid. When they moved, there was a police officer who was very friendly towards him and seemed to be getting close to his mother very quickly. He basically adopted the kid, but without the paperwork. Trent really liked the guy and wanted to be just like him when he grew up. One day, the officer got gunned down in the line of duty. When Trent and his mother found out, they were devastated. Trent doesn’t seem to have ever gotten over it.” Sophia sounded sad, her voice dropped and she wasn’t smiling anymore. Her pace had slowed as well.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” I touched her arm and she looked up at me and smiled.

  “It’s okay. I just worry about him sometimes…Oh, look! The Jeep is just beyond these trees here.”

  Sophia started sprinting toward her vehicle and I followed, sorting out my thoughts at this new revelation.

  Maybe I had been a little too hard on Trent. He was obviously good enough at his job that he found the murderer when I didn’t have a clue what to do next. I decided that when I saw him in the morning, I would be a little nicer to him.

  Maybe.

  If he lost the attitude.

  “You getting in?” Sophia called from the driver side.

  I didn’t realize I had stopped walking. “Oh yeah, sorry!” I hopped in the Jeep, just a little more prepared for the next day than I had been earlier.

  Chapter 6 - Trent

  Can you just wake up already?

  I was sitting in front of the cell housing our new suspect with my arms crossed, waiting for him to wake up. He was still unconscious, just lying on the floor.

  I know I didn’t beat him up that badly, I thought, rolling my eyes and sighing. It was going to be a long night if he didn’t wake up.

  It appeared I spoke too soon, because at that moment, he started to twitch. He was lying on his side, facing the back of the cell. As he slowly sat up, I could see his head turning from side to side, noticing walls in each direction. Then, he rotated his body towards me.

  I could see the confusion working its way through his facial expression. His brow furrowed as he studied me and the office around us. Something told me he didn’t like what he saw because that confusion quickly shifted to anger as he bared his teeth.

  “Whoa! Hold on there, sir!” I said calmly, raising my hands up in surrender. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t going to hurt him—not because I didn’t want to, but because I wasn’t allowed to.

  The shifter’s expression didn’t change.

  “What’s your name?” I asked, seeing if I could get him talking, but he just growled and glared at me angrily, as if I was threatening him in some way. “You’re detained because you were found covered in blood after three bodies were discovered. You are being held as the primary suspect in these murders and I would appreciate your cooperat—”

  The shifter unleashed a mighty roar and slammed his fists against the bars. His eyes were crazed, bloodshot, and his pupils had almost dilated completely, giving the appearance of sclera lens.

  My eyes widened in horror. What the fuck is this guy’s problem?

  I stood and walked over to my desk, my eyes glued to the detainee. I’d never seen a shifter behave like that before; it was almost like the bear’s mind had taken over completely and it no longer mattered what form he took.

  No, it was more than that. Bears weren’t notorious for being angry creatures, especially within the shifter community. Our inner bears tended to react to our human emotions; our minds and bodies have been one and the same. What one felt, the other felt.

  This one, however, seemed to have no connection with his human conscious. The bear mind was ravenous and enraged like it was in constant fight mode.

  And what’s wrong with his eyes? They’re only supposed to get like that during the full moon. I was completely clueless; the full moon was weeks away.

  Just then, I swore I saw something. The banging had stopped, and the shifter was just holding onto the bars of the cell with the same angry expression—only I could have sworn I saw paws holding the bars, not human hands.

  Oh, come on, man. He couldn’t have shifted that quickly without you noticing!

  I brushed off the thought with a shake of my head. It had been a long day, and surely, I was just getting tired. I slapped myself a bit to wake up; I had to watch the guy all night and I didn’t want to doze off, so I decided to keep trying to engage him.

  As I walked back over to the chair in front of the shifter’s cell, his eyes followed my every move with a look of menace, like he would leap on me at any moment if he got the chance to.

  I lowered myself into the seat slowly, keeping my eyes in contact with his the entire time. “Let’s try this again, huh? Are you ready to tell me your name?” I raised an eyebrow at him and rested my elbows on my knees. I wasn’t afraid of the guy and I wanted him to know that.

  Then, it happened. It was only for a brief second, but this time, I was sure. I wasn’t just tired, and I wasn’t seeing things.

  The shifter’s snarl had briefly morphed into a bear snout right before my eyes. It was quick, gone again when I blinked, but I saw his nose elongate as it shifted, and when I had opened my eyes again, it was back to a human nose.

  I stared at him in complete, wide-eyed wonder. My brain couldn’t register this partial shift; I’d never seen anything like it. Was this of his own volition?

  “And here’s Trent’s office, which is also where the holding cells are located.” I jumped out of my seat, startled by Knox’s voice as he entered the room with Alex and Gerard following him. Knox gave me a look of concern when he saw me; he must have sensed that I was surprised by their entrance.

  “Agent Gianni requested that her men be the ones to guard the suspect overnight and I accepted. I am here to relieve you for the night—”

  “They can’t!” I shook my head wildly, starting to panic. After what I just saw, there was no way I was letting the agents near the cell.

  “Now is no time to be possessive over your office, Trent. You’ve been on duty since 8am and you could use the rest.” Knox motioned for me to follow him outside. I looked from the agents to the cell frantically. There was nothing I could say in that moment as an excuse for why I didn’t want them guarding the cell that wouldn’t completely give our kind away, so I reached out to Knox with my mind.

  I’ll go outside with you, but we need to talk.

  Knox nodded, and I quickly walked out the door, hoping that after I told him what I saw, he would be able to come up with an excuse as to why the agents couldn’t guard the cell.

  As soon as we got outside, I told Knox everything I had seen and heard: the dilated pupils, the roars, the growls, the bear paws and the snout. My arms were gesturing wildly, and I could feel myself talking a mile a minute, but I couldn’t slow down. I had to get those agents out of there. And Knox had to help me.

  “Okay, Trent. I need you to calm the fuck down.” Knox grabbed my shoulders and shook me once—hard. I hadn’t realized I was almost hyperventilating from the panic I felt at the thought of the agents seeing a fraction of what I just saw. We had to get back in there.

  “Now you see why I can’t just leave them in there! We have to go back!” I struggled to try and release myself from Knox’s grip, but he had always been stronger than me. It was why he was Alpha, and I was his Beta.

  “I’m not letting you go until you calm down. Take a deep breath.”

  I drew in a deep gulp of air, holding it in for a couple of seconds and then released i
t, channeling all my panic and thoughts.

  “Good. Now, this is very alarming. I don’t want you to think I’m not taking you seriously; I am. But there is no way I can ask those gentlemen to leave. I already accepted the request to have them guard the suspect for the night and we must allow them to do that. I don’t want us both under investigation for not honoring her request.”

  I opened my mouth to interject, but Knox raised a hand to stop me.

  “Those agents are very tired. And I imagine when I bring them coffee lightly tainted with sleeping meds, the only things they’ll be seeing are the backs of their eyelids.”

  I nodded slowly. Knox made sense, but I was still concerned.

  “So, what are we going to do about the shifter? We can’t just hand him off anymore.”

  Knox nodded and looked deep in thought for a few moments.

  “Okay. What I need you to do is contact Ramon. Sneak him in with some excuse and get him to test the shifter’s blood. We need to find out what’s wrong with him.”

  Ramon Marquez was our Resource Manager who came to us from Cabo Pulma National Park in Mexico. He oversaw biology, botany, aquatics, soil science and geology for the park as well as for the clan—specifically when it came to biology. He was working on genetic research that would create stronger traits in our clan, which was why he was brought to Acadia.

  I agreed with Knox: he was the best person to help figure out what was going on.

  “Alright, I’ll wait here for him.”

  “Good. I’m going to go get those fellows their coffees and head back to the lodge with Hannah. She’s been blowing up my phone all day. As soon as you and Ramon learn anything, reach out to me immediately. And don’t take anything into your own hands.” Knox gave me a very serious look and I nodded.

  “I’ve got this. Go to Hannah before she decides to come looking for you.” I smiled a little, still concerned about the situation, but I didn’t want Knox to see that.

  His phone rang, and he sighed as he answered the call.