Chapter Thirteen
Sleep crease on his cheek, Adam cautiously entered the room. Vinnie went to him and gently stroked his face. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m good.” He impatiently brushed aside her concern. “What’s wrong? You looked upset.” He glared at Cyrus, accusation written on his face.
“We need to talk.” She motioned him toward the table, but Adam stood his ground.
“So, talk.”
Vinnie would rather have this conversation without an audience, but everyone here was involved. “The sheriff’s been trying to contact me. We need to go back to West Virginia.” There was a shitstorm waiting for her there, one that wasn’t going away until she dealt with it.
“So, we’ll go. I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.
It’s not like we planned on staying here.
” She heard the challenge in his voice. Her son was being pulled between two different worlds—the one he’d inhabited his entire life and the one he now belonged to, whether he wanted to or not.
In a perfect situation there’d be time for him to come to grips with his new reality. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.
“I’m afraid it’s a bit more complicated than that,” Cyrus interjected. “You can’t run away from what you are.”
“Let’s eat first.” She rubbed her son’s arm and shot Cyrus a warning glance not to push too hard too fast.
“Breakfast is ready,” Noah announced. Zach closed his laptop and set it aside. The others jumped up from the table and began carrying platters in from the kitchen.
“Come have something to eat.” Adam dug in his heels, but she tugged his arm until he reluctantly followed. She understood his trepidation. He had to feel like a fish out of water as much as she did. The Sin brothers took some getting used to. They were big and bold and very vocal.
“Help yourself.” Cyrus indicated the bounty on the table. “You’re going to have a bigger appetite going forward.”
Vinnie dumped several pancakes on her plate. It hadn’t occurred to her Adam’s nutritional needs would change, and it should have. From what little she’d seen, Cyrus and his brothers packed away a lot of food. Maybe it wasn’t only due to their size.
There’s that big a difference?” If Adam wasn’t going to ask questions, she was. They needed to get a handle on this.
“Werewolf bodies need more fuel for basic functions. You don’t eat, you’ll be hungry. A hungry wolf is an irritated one. That’s something you want to avoid.”
Adam had his head down eating, but she could tell he was listening intently.
“How’s your hearing and vision? We can’t assume your abilities are the same as a normal sixteen-year-old just out of transition. We’re figuring this out as we go.”
Her stomach twisted into a knot. It wasn’t that she expected Cyrus to have all the answers, but even he seemed unsure about what was happening with their son. It drove home how unusual the situation was. There was no book, no manual to read to help her figure out how best to help.
Adam stopped chewing and canted his head to one side. “I can hear two men talking outside.
Vinnie glanced toward the open window. “I can hear birds singing, but that’s it.”
“They’re out there,” Cyrus confirmed. “They’re on their way back to the house. And if they don’t get their asses inside, they’ll miss breakfast,” he added in a slightly raised voice.
Adam snickered and dumped more bacon on his plate. “They snooze, they lose.” It was such a typical teenage response it made her smile.
The back door opened and Josiah walked in with Eli behind him.
Eli kept going. “I’m going to check on Kinley.
Don’t worry about saving us breakfast.” From the gleam in his eye, Vinnie imagined he had no plans on letting his girlfriend or wife or mate, or whatever she was, out of bed anytime soon.
She ignored the twinge of jealousy and shoveled a piece of pancake into her mouth.
Cyrus rapped his knuckles on the table, drawing their attention. “Here’s where we are. The sheriff needs to interview Adam and investigate why he ran away. Like it or not, there will be questions about Vinnie’s suitability as a single parent.”
Adam shoved up from the table, hands clenched at his sides. “My mother’s the best. You take that back.”
“Sit down.” Cyrus’s voice rang with authority.
Vinnie braced herself, ready to intervene if necessary, but Adam slowly sank back onto his seat.
“I’m not the one asking those questions. Like it or not, by running away you pointed a big red spotlight on her.”
“That’s not fair,” Adam shot back.
“Fair or not, it is what it is. I’ll be going with you. And before you tell me there’s no need, I’m gonna tell you there’s every need. The sheriff will want to talk to me, to find out what I saw and heard.”
“He’s right.” Vinnie covered her son’s hand where it was fisted on his thigh.
“This is an official investigation. Your disappearance raised a lot of questions. The sheriff needs answers, needs to close off any loose ends and make a final report. We need that done and behind us before decisions can be made about the future.” Her appetite fled and the little food she’d eaten churned in her stomach.
“What’s to decide?” Adam turned to her, confusion etched on his face. “I don’t understand.” She wished there was a way to soothe the coming hurts like she had when he was little, but some things were too complicated to be fixed with a hug or a Band-Aid.
“There’s a very good chance I won’t have a job after this.”
He jerked back as if she’d struck him. “Why? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“We both know that, but even when I’m cleared, questions will linger.
People will whisper behind my back, and not only the townsfolk, but the other deputies.
I can’t pick up a badge if I can’t trust the people I work with to have my back.
” Not to mention the venom Wilkes was likely spewing about her.
Seventeen years of late-night patrols, often twelve-hour days, keeping her cool in hair-raising situations, wading through the blood and gore of accident scenes, protecting and serving the people of the county—none of it would mean a damn thing. And that hurt most of all.
Adam swallowed heavily, his eyes filling with unshed tears. “Mom, I’m sorry. I’ll take all the blame. I’ll fix this.”
It hurt her heart that he thought he had to.
She scooted around in her chair and took both his hands in hers.
“It’s not your job to fix anything. It’s mine.
I’m the parent. None of this is your fault.
” She squeezed his fingers for emphasis.
“You had no idea what was happening to you. Neither of us did. You were trying to protect yourself and me.”
His lips thinned, his eyes narrowing. He wasn’t buying it.
If she couldn’t convince him otherwise, there was no telling what he might do in his bid to protect her and make things right.
“Truth is, work hasn’t been great for a long time.
” It hurt to admit, to lay herself bare in front of not only her son but also Cyrus and his brothers.
All her life she’d portrayed herself as a tough deputy, a woman in control.
Now she was totally out of her element, floundering to find any kind of footing.
But if there was ever a time for total honesty, this was it.
Keeping things from each other had started them down this rough road.
Furrows formed in Adam’s forehead. “Why didn’t you say anything?” He appeared totally miserable as he struggled to understand.
She shrugged. “There wasn’t much to say. I needed the job to support us. I enjoy the actual work, and I’m damn good at it.” Nothing could ever take that away from her.
“Now you’re going to lose it because of me.” He bolted from the table and out the back door.
“Adam! Wait!” She shoved out of her chair and hurried after him. There was no sign of him anywhere. He’d vanished without a trace. Shaking, she turned in a circle in the yard. “Adam!”
“I’ll find him and bring him home.” Cyrus walked down the porch steps to join her.
“That’s my job.” She swung around and beat her fists against his chest. “He’s my son.” And he was hurt and alone ... again. “What if he runs away?” It was her biggest fear.
He caught her hands. “He won’t. Not this time. He’s confused and upset, but he needs the comfort of home, of pack. Like it or not, I can track and catch him. You can’t.”
His words landed like a physical blow, but they were also the truth.
Cyrus had found him the first time and would again.
“As much as I want to hate you for that, you’re right.
” Her fingers fisted in his shirt. “You find him and bring him back. He’s a kid who thought he was human until yesterday.
Please.” Her voice shook. “Don’t hurt him. ”
Cyrus’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. “I can understand how after yesterday you’d think otherwise, but I want what’s best for Adam. I can seem harsh sometimes, but his wolf needs discipline, needs an alpha he can depend on. You have to trust me on this.”
He had no idea what he was asking. Her son was her life. But Cyrus was hurting, too. Whatever their feelings for each other, they were united in wanting what was best for Adam, even if their ideas on that differed at times. “Okay.”
He carefully unhooked her fingers from his shirt and gave them a squeeze. “I’ll find him. I’ll bring our son home.” He loped off, leaving her standing alone in the center of the yard. Wrapping her arms around herself, she stared off into the distance and prayed.
****
With the stench of Vinnie’s fear burning in his nostrils, Cyrus followed Adam’s scent through the dense forest. He hated leaving her when she was upset, but finding their son was the best way to help her. It was small consolation that his brothers would watch out for her and keep her safe.