Five #3
He cleared his throat. “Abel was livid when the cops showed up because he thought you had betrayed us and buried one of the bodies from Friday night on our land.”
I let that sink in for a moment instead of exploding. After everything I’d done for his pack that night, that was the first thing Abel had thought of me?
“I want you to know that Cole was certain that wasn’t the case. Same as me, same as Fletcher. And every parent in the pack was adamant that you wouldn’t do that as well. You saved their kids so, you know, you’re forever golden in their eyes.”
“Also,” I said irritably, “when would I have had time to do that?”
“I know!”
“In the middle of the night or something? Me? Alone?”
“Fuck, Merritt, I know, all right?”
I walked over to the SUV, grabbed hold of the window frame, and stared at him. “I would think that the officers who were out there with me on Saturday might have noticed a freshly dug grave. What do you think?”
“For fuck’s sake, I already told you I knew better.”
“Well, I tell you what, it will be a cold day in hell before I help anyone from your fuckin’ pack again.”
“Come on, don’t say that. Abel knows he was wrong. Narah told him he was being an idiot. You were just the first person he thought of.”
Which was interesting. Because people who immediately thought they would be betrayed usually exhibited that same behavior themselves.
“Okay,” I said solemnly, turning away from him. “I’ll see you around.”
“Wait,” he said, reaching through the window and grabbing hold of my shoulder.
I looked at his hand, and he instantly moved it.
“Just wait, all right? I need to talk to you about Cole.”
“We had words on Saturday, so me and Cole are—”
“Yeah, he said. He came and accused me of trying to purposely screw up his relationship with you since my loyalty is to Justin.”
“What?”
“I know. Ridiculous. Why would I care?”
“I think he needs to realize this isn’t the seventh grade.”
Reggie scoffed. “I agree.”
“Did he apologize?”
“He did.”
“Good, then.” I left him, heading up my driveway.
“Will you please wait?” he yelled at me from the car.
I kept walking.
“Evan, Cole’s little brother, was taken to the hospital in Ronceverte, because he had a seizure and was spitting up blood. He’s been there since early Saturday afternoon.”
I turned to face him, worried as well as annoyed now, and yelled, “How the hell do you not lead with that?”
“Shit, yeah, sorry.”
I ran back to the side of the car. “Have they gotten the seizures under control?”
“Not completely, but they’re not as frequent. It’s taken a lot out of him.”
“Is Cole with him now?”
“Yeah. I actually came by to see if you wanted to go to the hospital with me. I’m headed there now.”
“I don’t know that Cole would want me there.”
“I’m sure he would.”
“You don’t know what I said to him or what he said back.”
“I’m sure it was the same shit I say to him about taking the pack from Abel.”
I squinted at him. “Are you allowed to say that and not be murdered for treason or something? Abel could call for your head, couldn’t he?”
“Probably,” he muttered. “Get in the goddamn car, will you, please?”
Once I was in, he had us heading for the highway quickly.
“Do you wanna hear what they found out there by the shed?”
“No. It’s none of my—”
“They found a body they think is no more than a couple of decades old.”
But that made no sense. “Decades, not a century? You’re sure?”
“Yeah, that’s what they said.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Well, obviously, they have to do a full examination of the bones,” he explained, “but the preliminary word is yeah, decades only.”
“Okay. What else did the state police say?”
“Nothing yet. I’m sure they’re going to have words with Bill Rader, though.”
“And all he’s going to say is that he had nothing to do with any bones they found.”
“But a twenty-year-old corpse, that would be on him.”
“Unless the bones tell another story.”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know,” I told him. “There’s no use wondering until we know more.”
He thought a moment before saying, “Can I ask, is there something in the forest, in the woods, that would kill someone? All I’ve heard since I moved here is to beware of going out at night, and that the forest is a dangerous place, and on and on. We need to know if—”
“There’s nothing in the mountains that would kill something and then carry it down to your land and bury it there,” I assured him. “Think about what you’re asking.”
“Yeah, all right.”
“The important part is, you’ll know soon whose bones those are. The forensic team will pull DNA and that’ll be it.”
“Right.”
“Meanwhile, though, your pack land is making headline news.”
“Yes, it is, which isn’t great for shifters.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I guess Tuss will have to leave us alone for now until all the interest dies down,” Reggie muttered.
“Which is good.”
“Anyway.” He took a deep breath. “We really do appreciate everything you did for us Friday night, Merritt.”
“It doesn’t sound like Abel does. He was ready to throw me under the bus.”
“Only because he wasn’t thinking for a minute.”
That didn’t make me feel any better.