Chapter 8 #2
“Huh.” The alpha crossed her brawny arms and stared down at the man like she wasn’t quite sure what to do with the disappointment of this guy. “If it wasn’t him, then what was this one doing out in our woods?”
“Maybe he’s another victim.” Jamison crawled over to the poor guy who seemed to be in shock. “Hey.” He tapped the stunned man’s cheek. “You okay? Can you tell us what happened?”
“I…I don’t remember,” he said. “I was going for my usual walk, and a Werewolf almost ran into me. Then when I came to, another Werewolf was dragging me out of the woods.”
Brow furrowing, Jamison turned to Dessa. “Why wouldn’t he be able to remember?”
Dessa’s lips tightened. “Could be head trauma, could be plain old shock. Or if the guy had a magical item to disguise his smell, there’s no reason he couldn’t have something to cause short-term memory loss.”
“Okay, this magic item thing seems like cheating,” Jamison snorted.
“There’s always a cost,” Dessa whispered, but her gaze was faraway.
“Or this man could be disguising himself right now and trying to cover his tracks,” Brynn said, still clutching Lexi to her.
The trembling man, meanwhile, looked pale enough to faint again.
Still, the Alpha gave an unconvinced grunt. “I do remember seeing three sets of footprints out there. We’ll look around a little more to corroborate his story, but for now let’s all get out of the rain.” She turned her intense golden stare on Dessa. “What do you think, McKinney?”
“I think we’ll be sure to record all the details of this encounter and compare it against similar abductions or near abductions,” Dessa said, brushing the mud from her clothes in a way that didn’t help.
“We’ll send you the report when it’s complete, but obviously whoever was involved is feeling bold enough to attack a Werewolf and a Cog in broad daylight. ”
“Maybe it’s connected to Carly Jowett’s disappearance,” Jamison said, trying not to flinch as three pairs of golden eyes narrowed on him. “That’s actually why we’re here. Because Carly was last seen on camera with her ex-boyfriend, who’s a member of your pack. Can we still talk to him?”
Dessa shot him a warning look, but he held off from saying what was really on his mind: that the same Werewolf who’d taken Carly may have also tried to take this girl.
After all, Werewolves were fast, and Dessa had said PC violence usually didn’t cross paranormal natures.
If a Werewolf was the intended victim here, then it was most likely a Werewolf that had tried to take her.
Especially since a Werewolf would know to disguise their scent if they didn’t want to get caught.
The Alpha, however, growled. “You can talk to the boy if you want, but it’s a waste of time. He was across the state with another pack when she went missing and is still torn up about it. Check your logs; it’ll be there.”
Jamison frowned. How convenient that Carly would go missing the one week her Werewolf boyfriend was out of town. But was it because the boyfriend had set up the alibi to try to prove himself innocent, or because someone else knew she’d be without protection?
Dessa nodded, glancing at her wet clothes while the rain continued to pour around them. “If it’s okay, we’d still like to talk to him. Maybe he can remember some details about Carly leading up to her disappearance that might help.”
The Alpha nodded. “A reasonable request. Let’s return to my office then.”
But before they could leave, Brynn caught Jamison and Dessa each with one hand. “Before you go, I want to thank you for saving my little sister. If you ever need anything from the Weres, give me a call.”
Dessa smiled at her. “That’s kind of you, Brynn, but of course we were happy to be able to help your sister.”
Jamison nodded. “We’re just hoping to be able to help someone else’s sister too.”
Brynn’s eyebrows rose as she took in the two of them, muddy, scratched, and soaked. “Look, I don’t mean any offense by this, but if a Werewolf can’t find his missing girlfriend, then what makes you think two Cogs like you can?”
If Dessa was offended by this, she gave no sign. Instead she only shrugged, her lips quirking ever so slightly. “Well, we do work at AzRIO, which means it’s our job to try.”
“Right.” Brynn looked them up and down once more. “Just, try not to get hurt. It might be better to play this one safe in your office until your uncle gets back.”
This time it was Jamison’s turn to smirk. “But then who would find all these missing sisters?”
Dessa nudged him with her elbow, but he didn’t miss the grin hiding in the corner of her mouth as they righted the quad.
“You’re not going to tell me off for being disrespectful again?” Jamison asked.
“Eh, I’ll give you a pass.” Dessa scrunched her nose, her gaze gleaming like bottled rain. “That one was worth it.”
His grin stretched across his cheeks, a warmth flooding through his chest despite his wet clothes. “See, sometimes I do have my uses.” So far, on his second day, he’d helped save a girl, and Dessa McKinney had almost given him a compliment.
Yeah, maybe he could get used to this job after all.