10. Nine
Nine
Sloane
I jerked my fingers through my sex crazed hair as I followed Mark down the hall. Whatever Sherriff Adam was here for couldn’t be good. It was after ten at night.
Mom was bringing a mug of coffee into the office as I entered. Sherriff Adam sat on the edge of the couch, his gaze snapping to me as I entered.
He gave my mom a tight-lipped smile as he took the cup. “Thanks, Kathleen.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Adam. I made sure it is decaf.”
I motioned Mark inside and then shut the door behind us. I drew in a shaky breath, but I had a feeling nothing was going to prepare me for whatever bomb was about to be dropped.
Sherriff Adam lifted the mug to his lips and took a sip. “I’m sorry to barge in so late, but I needed to speak with you.” He looked first at my mom, then to me and Mark.
I sank down on the opposite side of the couch and fisted my hands in my lap while Mark stood ramrod straight with his hands clasped at his waist.
One of the springs from the worn couch jabbed me in my butt. I shifted to no avail. I grunted and came to the realization that I would have to deal. This conversation wasn’t going to be good. I might as well rip the Band-Aid off. “What’s going on?”
The sheriff sighed and shook his head. “I got word that the FBI is going to be looking into your family and the property.”
Mom gasped. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth. “What? Why?”
Sheriff Adam took his hat off and swiped his forearm over his brow before putting the hat back on. “There has been some evidence that has been brought to their attention. They know about Darrin’s death. They asked me a lot of questions about it.” He looked down at his lap.
Mom’s bottom lip trembled. “I see.”
Sheriff Adam reached out and put a hand on her knee. “No, Kathleen. They think someone here murdered him and that it’s been covered up. They want to launch a full investigation.”
Everyone in town knew about Darrin. It had been one of our neighbors who found him.
Tears misted my mom’s eyes, and she covered her mouth to stifle a sob. “Oh dear.”
The sheriff looked at me with a grim expression. “I wish I could say that is the worst of it.”
Mom rocked back and forth as she blew out shallow breaths. The way she worried her bottom lip I feared she might be on the verge of a breakdown.
I closed my eyes for a moment. “What else are they looking into?” My mind ran rampant. “Is it about my dad?” His passing wasn’t public knowledge. Sherriff Adam was the only one that knew about it outside of the pack.
He cleared his throat and scooted forward. “No. No one knows about Eric. But there have been other bodies found.”
I frowned and tilted my head to the side as I stared at the sheriff. Bodies. We weren’t missing anyone. Everyone that had been here during the previous attacks was accounted for. Those that hadn’t made it had been given a proper burial.
Sherriff Adam cleared his throat. “A few shallow graves were discovered about a quarter mile off your property.”
“What?” Of all the things my mind hadn’t gone there. “Shallow graves?” I repeated, trying to make sure I’d heard him right. That didn’t make sense. We’d taken care of our own who had perished in the fighting and even given proper burials to Alpha Dane’s men whose bodies had been left behind.
He swallowed and then nodded. “I’m afraid so. The bodies don’t appear to have been there long, but they do match the descriptions of several people who have been reported missing.”
I pointed to the ground. “From around here?” Something wasn’t adding up.
He shook his head. “No. From all over. Some are as far away as California.”
Mom blinked like she was snapping out of her funk. “Adam, you know we aren’t responsible for this.”
He squeezed her knee. “I know, Kathleen. That’s why I came to warn you so you weren’t blindsided when they show up.” He took another sip of coffee. “Which will be sooner than later.”
I shot to my feet. “It’s Alpha Dane.” Of course it was. Who else could it be?
I paced back and forth in front of the couch as I chewed on my thumbnail. He’d planted bodies right off our property, and we hadn’t noticed. How? Were the men slacking? I needed to know. We could be in danger.
I sat back on the couch and rubbed my palms on my thighs. “How far from the property was the grave?”
Sherriff Adam gave me a grim look. “About five miles.”
So far enough away our scouts wouldn’t have noticed.
Mark shook his head. “Damn.”
He must have been thinking the same thing as me.
Mom blinked back tears. “That man is a monster who is hell-bent on destroying us.”
I gritted my teeth. “We aren’t going to let him, Mom.“
Sheriff Adam stood up and kneeled in front of her. “He’s not going to hurt anyone else here if I have anything to say about it.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. There were a few things bothering me about this. “Sheriff Adam, do you know who the victims were?”
Were they wolves or just random humans? Alpha Dane would have to be insane to drag humans into the mix.
Sheriff patted my mom‘s hands before standing. “I have names, but not many other details.”
I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Do you think I could see that list? I just want to know if there are wolves or humans who might have got mixed up in this mess.”
Sheriff Adam exhaled through his nose. He lifted his steaming coffee mug up but didn’t take a drink. “I can send you the details.”
The floorboards creaked as I paced again. “I appreciate everything that you were doing for us, sheriff. Truly.”
He shook his head and took his hat off again, holding it by his side. “I just wish that there was more that I could do. Eric was a good friend of mine. Y’all are like family here. I want to help more. I just need you to give me some more guidance.“
I dragged my hand through my hair. “Sheriff, I don’t want to see you or any of your deputies hurt.”
We’d had this conversation before. Maybe I should let him help. What’s the worst that could happen? I squeezed my eyes shut. The sheriff or one of his men could be killed.
Mark cleared his throat. “Alpha Dane has already made it perfectly clear that he is willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants. Letting the sheriff and his deputies help might not be a bad idea.”
The sheriff put his hat back on his head and took a long swig of coffee. “I’ve already told you my job is dangerous. I know what I’m signing up for. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt, your family included. And this menace has shown he is capable of monstrous things.”
I pursed my lips as I weighed my options. It was bad enough our family was hurt, but innocent bystanders, I wouldn’t stand for that.
I rolled the back my head back and forth over my shoulders. “Keep having your deputies watch for people coming through town that don’t belong. Maybe some of the cameras in town caught some men dumping bodies or at least driving. They would need bigger vehicles for that, right?”
He inclined his head. “I already have Betty looking at all the footage to see if we can find people heading out this way. If I find something, you and the FBI agents will be the first to hear about it.”
Mom clasped her hands together. “Good.“
Sheriff Adam pressed his lips into a thin line. “We have a nice, homey small town. I don’t want this scaring our residents.”
I chewed on my bottom lip until it was raw. I swiped my tongue over it, wincing when I tasted blood. “Brandon and Lincoln have been looking into a few things, too. We might have legitimate real information that Alpha Dane has been doing illegal activities, at least with his brewery.”
The sheriff rocked back on his heels. “I’ll take any information you can give me. I’ve already let the FBI know everything that I could.” He indicated us with his coffee mug. “That you were good people here and that I think you’re being set up.”
Mom reached out for me and I took her hand. “Sloane my love. If you send any information, you have to make sure that it’s valid. We can’t afford to give false information. It’ll only make us look more guilty if it’s found out.”
I gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s very real Mom. Lincoln told me a while ago that his dad has been fudging the numbers for the brewery. Alpha Dane has been doing his best to make it appear less profitable for taxes.”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Is there anything that man won’t do?”
I rolled my eyes. “Probably not.“ He was a snake. A viper who was going to get caught.
Sheriff tucked his thumbs into his belt loop. “I would expect the FBI to start coming to ask questions first thing in the morning. I wanted to give you a heads up. I don’t know if you need to do anything ahead of time.”
He glanced around the room and pulled on his collar. “I’m not sure if you have people wolfed out at all hours or not. That would cause a whole other mess of problems if they saw that.”
Mark chuckled. “We can shift at anytime sheriff. We’ll spread the word and make sure everyone knows what’s going on.”
Great! Just great. I finally had the alphas’ respect here and now I had to prove myself to the FBI. What did it take to catch a break?
I shifted on my feet. “What do we say to them, sheriff? The evidence makes us look guilty. How do we keep them from thinking that we are?”
He put his hands on my shoulders. “Be as honest as you can be. Some of these investigators know how to spot a lie. The more truth you can put into your words, the better.”
I closed my eyes. “Thank you for coming to tell us this. I appreciate it and everything that you’ve done, Sheriff.”
He pulled me in for a hug. “I always promised your father that if something ever happened, I would take care of all of you. I intend to do that.”
There weren’t enough words in the world to thank him for everything he was doing. He was not only putting his job and career at risk but his life too for our family.
I hadn’t thought how we were going to get out of this yet, but I didn’t have long. The FBI would be here in the morning, and I had to prepare not only myself, but the entire pack too.
I just hoped we could get out of this without anyone being arrested or worse.