The other guy nodded without looking back and sauntered toward the front of the condo.
It was early enough that no one else noticed the commotion and came outside.
Zach watched as Laurie stared at the back of Deputy Fowler. He could feel her anxiety rising.
She balled her hands into fists at her sides as she followed the deputy’s movements.
“So the events last night happened on the reservation? Near Sojourn?”
“Yes.” Zach switched his gaze back to Mark.
Mark frowned as he pulled out his notepad. “Where were you?”
“Corbin Archers’s.”
“He’s a deputy in Sojourn, right?”
“Yes.”
Mark stared at Zach for a moment and then tapped his lips with the pen. “I see.”
Yeah. Zach figured Mark saw far more than necessary. He probably already knew the details of their arrangement from town gossip—or at least thought he knew.
A vehicle pulled into the lot, and Zach turned around to see Trace parking behind him. Damn, he got there fast.
He jumped down from his truck and took quick strides to get to Zach.
Melinda nearly ran from the other side to keep up with her mate. She went straight for Laurie and pulled her into an embrace.
Trace nodded at Mark and turned toward Zach. “What are you thinking?”
Melinda turned around and met her mate’s gaze. “I’m going to move closer.”
“Like hell you are.” Trace rolled his eyes and pushed past Zach to get to his mate.
She was small and lithe, and she managed to dodge him and jog toward the condo.
Trace followed her at a quick pace.
Zach cringed as he imagined a life of being steamrolled by his own mate. If the sisters were anything alike, there would be no stopping Laurie on any path she chose. And realistically, he wouldn’t want to hinder her in any way. He needed to learn to accept her premonitions and go with the punches.
Deputy Zimmer suddenly turned and ran in their direction, shouting at Trace and Melinda and waving his arms to get back.
Zach stepped forward, grabbing Laurie by the hand to keep her from approaching instead of retreating. It would be his life’s mission to keep her alive at this rate.
Zimmer stopped in front of them. “Just got a call from the precinct. There was an anonymous tip that your condo is filled with natural gas.”
“What?” Zach’s heart rate increased. “What do you mean? Someone intentionally did this? How?” He’d considered several possibilities where Laurie’s intuition was concerned. None of them involved malicious intent. Though he shouldn’t have been surprised, considering everything that had happened in the last few days.
Mark shrugged. “Someone called the station. Must have been feeling the guilt of association. Your condo was broken into through a rear window that wasn’t locked. The burners on the stove were all opened. The house has been filling with gas for hours.”
He turned to face Laurie. “Not sure how you knew to stay out of that condo, but good thinking.”
“What do we need to do?”
“Fire department’s on their way. They’ll go in and handle the gas. You folks need to put several more yards between you and the condo until it’s safe.”
Zach nodded and tugged Laurie with him.
Melinda and Trace joined them as Corbin pulled up and hopped out of his truck almost before he shut the engine off. He was in his uniform, his face hard and determined as he approached. “What’s happening?” He glanced around when sirens again wailed in the distance.
“Gas, apparently,” Zach filled him in.
“A leak?”
“No.” Laurie shook her head. “Intentional.”
Corbin inhaled sharply and held up a hand toward the officers heading their way. “How do we know this?”
“Anonymous caller,” Trace added.
Melinda fumed, a groan filling the air as her face turned red. “I’d like to get my hands on the ignoramuses who think they’re God’s gift to the Earth.”
“Get in line,” Laurie added.
Corbin followed Trace toward Deputy Zimmer’s car. The three of them entered a quiet heated discussion.
Zach could only imagine how irate Corbin would be. The man had to be exhausted from staying up all night, and now he’d been called to drive almost an hour to get to his mates and find out they were in even more danger than last night—though realistically Zach realized Corbin got there in closer to thirty minutes.
The fire department pulled up, sirens blaring.
And that was the end of keeping things quiet.
Neighbors on both sides of Zach’s apartment stepped outside. It was almost seven in the morning by then. The police escorted them away from their homes to a section of the parking lot.
Several people shot looks toward Zach, but he didn’t meet their gazes. He wasn’t in the mood to explain himself right then. In fact, even though he’d lived in the condo for a year and a half, he hardly knew most of the neighbors. It was possible any one of them had instigated the threat against him and his mates.
Trace returned to his side. “I’ll go explain what’s happening to the onlookers.” He patted Zach on the back. “Corbin’s going to talk to the firemen.”
Zach nodded as he watched two men from the fire department approach the front door. Corbin handed them a set of keys.
Moments later, the condo was open, the windows were being lifted, and a third fireman lugged a giant fan toward the entrance. He set it facing out and proceeded to blow the gas out of the condo.
Laurie took Zach’s hand and squeezed. “Sorry.”
He glanced down at her and then wrapped his arm around her small frame. “For what?”
“For bringing all this into your life.”
“Are you kidding?” He squeezed her against him.
“No. You didn’t ask for this. Hell, you never asked for a mate at all. If I’m completely honest, I knew in my soul what would happen when I met you. I even knew already that we would be looking for a third. I should have turned away. I’m ruining your lives. Yours and Corbin’s.”
“Woman, cut it out. That’s crazy.” He spun her around to face him and grabbed her shoulder with one hand and her chin with the other, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m certain Corbin would agree. Stop it. This is no more your fault than the weird weather.
“You may think you’re causing problems, but you aren’t. You also didn’t bring a snowstorm to the mountain. This is all part of a bigger plan. It seems we’re pawns in Fate’s grand scheme, but we’re not in control. She is. We can do nothing but follow our instincts and go where She leads.” He bent his knees a bit to bring them closer, face to face. “I’m just as convinced of the opposite where you’re concerned.
“I believe we would be in a heap of trouble without you. There’s a shift in the atmosphere—no denying that. Whatever it is, you have a role. We all have a role. All we can do is follow our guts and take one day at a time.”
Laurie pursed her lips and stared at him, clearly not convinced.
Zach lifted his face and met the angry glares coming from his neighbors, several of whom were whispering among themselves. It took all his energy to keep himself from approaching them.
Corbin returned from the front of the condo. “Shouldn’t take long to air out the place.”
“Why would someone fill the condo with gas?” Melinda asked. “That isn’t really logical. Gas alone won’t kill anyone.”
“It would if the same someone was waiting out back for the occupants to return so they could toss a flame into the mix.” Corbin ran both hands through his already disheveled hair.
Laurie gasped. She yanked her hand free of Zach’s and turned toward Melinda. “I’m a little overwhelmed. Did you tell Mimi we were coming this morning? I’ve hardly spent any time with her, and I need to understand everything that’s happening to me better.”
Melinda ran her hand over her sister’s cheek. “I’m certain she would be happy to see you. And, like I said last night, it might help if the three of us bump heads anyway.”
“Should we call her?”
Melinda chuckled. “Trust me. Mimi knows we’re coming.”
Zach shuddered at the thought. He realized Laurie had been thrust headfirst into a world she’d never known existed, but from his vantage point, that same world was in another dimension. Completely wonky.
»»•««
Laurie followed Melinda as they approached Mimi’s front porch. It had taken some convincing to get Corbin and Zach to agree to let her go for the day, but hell, they both had jobs to do, and it seemed Laurie wasn’t going to be working anywhere in any capacity in the near future.
Neither woman had their car with them—their next hurdle.
Corbin agreed to drop them off at Melinda’s tiny condo, where they grabbed Melinda’s car. Laurie’s rental was at Corbin’s. Melinda would take her to it later.
Mimi sat on the front porch, swaying back and forth on the porch swing, the creak of the chains announcing her presence with every push of her small foot against the wooden floor. She smiled as her granddaughters approached.
“Mimi.” Melinda leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
“Rough morning, girls?”
“To say the least.” Laurie sat in a chair across from Mimi while Melinda sat next to her grandmother on the swing.
A lump formed in Laurie’s throat as she watched the two women interact.
If it hadn’t been for the bigoted opinions of several of her own Native American side of the family, she would have known a lifetime of swinging with her grandmother. Instead, the two of them were virtually strangers.
Twenty-seven years of separation all because the elders of the Yobuka tribe at the time chased a young pregnant Joyce and her mate off the land. And why? Because her mate was white. Laurie’s mother had been threatened to the point that she didn’t dare return until the last of that generation of elders was dead. It would seem now that perhaps years of bigotry had not died with that group of elders. Laurie feared for her safety and the safety of her entire extended family.
“Talk to me, child.” Mimi’s voice was soft as she smiled at Laurie.
It was cold out, but that wasn’t what brought the chill to Laurie’s skin. What startled her was the feeling of closeness she felt toward Mimi, as though the two of them were bonding in a strange hyper-intense way. An invisible web bridged the space between the two of them, uniting them.
Laurie shook her head to clear her wandering mind. When she met Mimi’s gaze again, she felt warmth rush over her. Soothing. Comforting.
The woman was silently inviting her to spill everything.
“Some people from the rez attacked us last night at Corbin’s apartment. They threw bricks through the windows and screamed threatening bigoted remarks about their hatred for our mating.” Sarcasm oozed.
She continued, “Corbin stayed with the apartment while Zach and I went back to Cambridge to get a few hours’ sleep at his condo. Except we received an equally unwelcoming party there in the form of a house filled with gas fumes. Gotta assume there are people on both ends of the lake who aren’t pleased with our mating.
“And frankly, I don’t even know what bugs people most, the fact that there are three of us or the fact that we’re mixing races.” She took a deep breath. “I know your family has experienced racism recently, and I get that I’m a victim of it from birth, but I wasn’t raised in such a racist community. At least I didn’t feel the same vibe from anyone I’ve ever met.”
Melinda gave a shove with her foot, making the swing rock faster. “Perhaps you would have found dissension anywhere if you had mated?”
Laurie shook her head. “I’ve considered that possibility, and I don’t think so. I’m mixed myself. No one ever tried to keep me from befriending their kids as a child growing up. I know most of the shifters who live in the area. None of them ever insinuated I wouldn’t be appropriate mate material for their sons. I just never felt this level of hatred.”
Mimi released her pursed lips and spoke in her gentle voice. “It must be so hard for you.”
Laurie nodded. “I’m not suggesting I can’t take the heat. I’m just concerned that I’m not meant to. What if these people standing in our way are part of Nature’s grand plan to put a wedge between the three of us? What if we really aren’t meant to be together and our mating is upsetting the universe instead of helping things?”
“You can’t think like that,” Melinda said. “It’s damaging. Besides, if you weren’t meant to be mated to Corbin and Zach, Mimi would know.”
Laurie shifted her gaze back to Mimi. Would she? And would she tell her?
Was it possible she’d made a horrible mistake and Fate was displeased?
Unease crept up her spine as she considered the possibility.
“Child, you could no more have prevented that mating than you could have kept the weather from forming that day. You’re simply not that powerful. I know at times there’s the temptation to believe you’re the root cause of all evil, but you’re a pawn like the rest of us, at the mercy of the universe.” Mimi rubbed her hands together and blew on them. She lifted her face toward the sky and squinted into the bright rays of sun.
It was still early in the day. Almost nine. The sun wasn’t very high in the sky yet. Laurie should be exhausted. She’d slept only a few hours last night before all hell broke loose. Instead, her adrenaline was pumping as she tried to make sense of her world.
“I told Mimi that you and I are able to communicate telepathically.” Melinda gave the swing another leisurely push.
Mimi nodded. “Amazing. I would love to be able to join in that union.” She shrugged. “Perhaps I’m not meant to experience such a novelty at my age.”
Melinda set her hand on Mimi’s thigh and squeezed. “You have such an unbelievable power even without that extra connection, it never ceases to amaze me.” Melinda turned toward Laurie. “The woman has this uncanny ability to sense even when someone’s coming to see her. She’s often sitting on the porch waiting.” She twisted her head back to Mimi. “I’m betting you’ll reach out to us when the time is right. I feel a strong sense that something huge is headed our way.”
“Yeah,” Laurie quipped, “like me and my mates being murdered in our sleep because no one believes we should be destined for each other.”
“Hardly.” Melinda leaned forward, stopping the swing with both feet. “Stop thinking that way. It’s ridiculous, and you know it. Look me in the eye and tell me you honestly believe you don’t belong to both of those men?” She hesitated.
Laurie swallowed. She didn’t blink. She knew in her soul she belonged with Corbin and Zach, but was it what Fate wanted?
“You can’t do it. Because it’s not true. So, change your angle on this. Trust me. I’ve been dealing with weird feelings of impending doom for two years. I get it. It’s bigger than us. It’s more than each of our individual issues. I can feel the air growing thicker with each passing day, swirling around me, begging me to pay attention.”
“What does it mean?” Laurie asked, knowing Melinda didn’t have the answer.
Melinda shrugged. “Not a clue. But when the time is right, I always get the piece of the puzzle I need. It might not be conventional. I’m often frustrated, but eventually things fall into place. And they will this time too. Fate is bringing our family together with the Masters for a reason. She has plans for us. We can’t question Her motives. We have no other options but to listen to Her when She blows in the breeze and grab on to Her nudging. It’s all we have.”
Mimi spoke again. “What else has happened, sweet girl?”
Laurie leaned back. “When I touch people, I get a vibe.”
Mimi smiled broadly. “You’re becoming more like us with each passing day. It’s amazing how quickly you’ve blossomed when we weren’t sure just a week a
go it was even possible for you to tap into your shaman side. In fact, I wouldn’t have been able to say if more than one shaman truly could exist in a given generation. Apparently so.
“And I have no doubt when Joyce returns to the fold, she too will smoothly transition into her powers. The land is begging for it. We must take heed.”
“Did anyone besides that deputy last night rub you wrong?” Melinda asked.
Laurie shuddered. She rubbed her arms through her thick coat, wondering not for the first time why they were sitting outside. She wasn’t particularly cold for some strange reason, but it seemed odd.
Then again, nothing should surprise her, and there was something invigorating about being in the open air, inhaling the atmosphere. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, and then she continued. “Yes. If I think about it, a few people have in the last week, but none as powerful as Corbin’s coworker, Pete, last night.”
“Who is that?” Mimi asked.
“Pete Sandhouse. He’s been a deputy with the department for a long time.” Melinda sighed. “He was there during Rebecca’s intense standoff with Randal Peaceman and his son when the two of them took it upon themselves to run her off the land for mating with Miles.”
Laurie nodded. “My mother spoke of him. When Peaceman finally committed suicide was when my mother decided it was safe to return to her homeland. You speak of him as if he were a stranger. He was your grandfather and his son was your father, right?”
Melinda pushed off again. “Yes. Though I never once thought of him as anything more than a monster. Hell, I didn’t even know about him until right before all hell broke loose. The death of my grandfather, the elder Peaceman, was the catalyst that allowed our mother to return. He had threatened her life, her mates, and all of us kids if she ever returned. Until he died, the last of the old tribal elders, she didn’t dare make an appearance. Apparently that old man and his equally bigoted son weren’t the only shifters or humans left in the community who would prefer not to see our races mix, however.
“But I wonder what Pete’s issue is? He never verbalized anything like this at the time. We better pay close attention to him. Did you tell Corbin?”
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