by Juniper Hart
“I have no idea,” Lev sighed, and he meant it. This was something he’d never encountered before. “Any thoughts on the cause of her memory loss?” He didn’t need to know about Asha. No one did until Lev knew what to do.
“It’s probably psychological,” Fern said, confirming Lev’s thoughts. “The question is, what is she doing in the time she can’t remember?”
You really don’t want to know.
“Call her and tell her that everything is fine with her bloodwork,” Lev said. “She needs something to put her mind at ease.”
“Okay, Lev.”
“Don’t answer any unnecessary questions,” he continued, a knot of discomfort forming in his gut. He loathed that he was keeping Hazel in the dark about everything that was happening to her, but unloading so much on her when it seemed her psyche was already so fragile… The results could be catastrophic.
Is that really your call to make? something whispered at him. Lev silenced the voice.
“What if she asks about the MRI again?”
“I’m working on that,” Lev insisted. “Just do what you’re told, Fern.”
“Lev, please don’t put me in this position again. I like my job.”
“I don’t intend to put you in this position again,” he assured Fern, a stab of shame piercing his heart. This was getting too complicated and involving too many people.
Suddenly, the passenger side door opened, and Hazel hopped it, startling him.
“Okay, Mom,” Lev said into the phone. “I’ve gotta go.”
“She’s there, isn’t she?” Fern sighed. Lev hung up and turned to Hazel. She stared directly out the windshield without making eye contact.
“Did you see Welbourne?”
“Yep.”
His brows raised. “You all right?”
“Yep. Can we just go?”
Alarm coursed through him, but he didn’t push the issue. Hazel’s phone rang. Through his peripheral vision, Lev saw her eyes narrow into slits.
“Oh, good,” she said in a tone he didn’t understand. “It’s the lab.” Hazel snatched up the call. “Hello, Fern,” she cooed in a way that reminded Lev of Asha. He studied her with worry. Was she about to get overtaken by her alter right there? “You have my results back already? How wonderful!”
She knows something’s up, Lev guessed and tried to read her thoughts. To his surprise, he couldn’t. Has she learned how to block me out already? It would be quite a feat, considering Hazel wasn’t aware of her own abilities.
“Nothing’s wrong? That’s great news! I was just about to call my doctor about the MRI.”
Lev ground his teeth. I can’t let her call the doctor. She’ll figure out that I was there yesterday. He was losing control of the situation.
“Thank you again, Fern,” Hazel drawled. “Have a great day.” When she hung up the call, she looked at Lev with an indecipherable expression. “Fern. That’s an interesting name, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t give it much thought,” Lev replied. “What did he say?”
“That my bloodwork is clear. Nothing abnormal at all. I’m glad he called. I’m going to call my doctor about the MRI now.”
“Why don’t you do that after we get back to the office?” Lev suggested, pointing up ahead. “We’re almost at the crime scene.”
“No,” Hazel said firmly, her eyes fixed on him. “I think I’m going to do it now.” Lev’s jaw tightened, and he pulled up to the curb, watching as Hazel made the call.
That’s it. I need to tell her the truth before this gets completely out of hand. But what was he going to tell her?
For the first time in his long life, Lev realized he was in way over his own head. There was no right way to go about this, not now. He’d been taking care of Hazel from a distance (or so he thought), but up close and personal, the matter was completely different.
“Uh-oh. Voicemail,” Hazel chirped, and he saw a glint of near-madness in her eyes. What did she know? How much did she know?
It was clear she was suspicious, and it was amazing how far she had gotten. Lev had seriously underestimated her intelligence, a fact that only made him more attracted to her, despite the daggers that seemed to be hailing from her cerulean eyes.
“You’ll just have to call back,” he offered, taking the keys from the ignition. “Let’s get to work.”
Without a word, Hazel jumped from the vehicle, putting distance between them in seconds. As Lev watched her stalk toward the crime scene, he realized her movements were a foreshadow of things to come.
Hazel did her best to avoid him at the scene, and Lev grew increasingly worried about her disposition. She was back to fighting him, keeping him at bay.
This was extremely troubling now that he knew he had to keep her in his sights all the time. There was no telling when Asha might resurface, and when she did, she wouldn’t care who she exposed.
I need to talk to Landon about her, Lev thought. If he was mad about the Werewolf, he’s going to be livid if I keep my mate’s alternate personality from him.
By the end of the day, Lev had reached a decision—he was going to tell Hazel some of the truth, though he still wasn’t clear on which part he should disclose.
If I explain to her that she’s got an alter, she’ll want to undergo therapy, and that will inevitably lead to our secret being exposed, he mused. Unless I find her a Lycan shrink. But what about when she learned about her ability to shift? Would that set her back?
“Are you about done here?” Hazel asked. Lev realized he’d been staring off into nothingness for a while.
“Yes,” he said. “Let’s get back to the office.”
“You can just drop me off at home,” Hazel told him. “I don’t need to go back to the office.”
He studied her, worry gnawing at his gut. “Why don’t we swing by the office first, and I’ll come home with you?”
“I’d rather be alone tonight,” she replied shortly, and Lev knew he had to do something. She couldn’t just cut him out that easily.
“Hazel, what is going on with you today?” he demanded, bracing himself for a confrontation. Surprisingly, Hazel shrugged.
“Nothing. I’m tired, and if you come over, I’m sure I won’t get any sleep.”
He couldn’t help grinning. “What if I promise to let you sleep?”
Hazel met his gaze, and he saw a glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes. “Have you been following me?”
The bluntness of the question surprised Lev, and his mind whirled with an answer that wouldn’t scare her off.
“Not exactly,” he answered. “I was doing my due diligence.” Hazel’s eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms over her chest.
“How’s that exactly?”
Where did she see me? How much should I tell her?
“You should tell me all of it!” she hissed, her eyes widening. “How can I read your mind?”
“Read my mind?” Lev echoed weakly. “I don’t know.” Now he was gaslighting her, and he had to stop. He had to tell her what she needed to know. “We shouldn’t talk here,” he said softly. “Let’s go somewhere else and discuss this.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Hazel snapped, but there was less conviction in her voice than she intended. “I want answers.” Lev inhaled sharply and pulled her gently away from the other officers milling around.
“Yes,” he told her. “I have followed you, Hazel, but it’s for your own safety.”
She scoffed dubiously. “Oh? Are you my bodyguard now?”
“Yes,” Lev growled. “I am.” A dozen emotions flooded Hazel’s eyes, finally settling on extreme wariness.
“Why do I need protection?” she asked, her words shockingly even.
“This serial killer, Hazel, he’s after you, too. You just don’t know it yet.” Lev balked at his own answer. Where had that come from?
Despite not intending to have said it, he realized that it was a fact. If Gabriel’s pack was responsible for all the killings, it couldn’t be a coincidence t
hat Hazel was the lead agent on the matter.
How did I not put that together before?
“What do you know about the Werewolf?” Hazel asked slowly. “What haven’t you told me?”
“It’s not one man. It’s a group of dangerous criminals.”
“I see.”
Did Gabriel orchestrate this mass murder to root out Hazel somehow? Excitement filled Lev’s veins. That had to be the reason for all this. There was no other cause for Gabriel to have taken so many lives. He couldn’t turn any more Lycans, male or female. It explained the randomness. What was in California, though? Why had he branched out that way?
“Who are these criminals?” Hazel asked softly. “Do you know their names?”
Lev’s jaw twitched. He’d told her too much without her being informed about what had happened, but he wasn’t doing that here, not while there were so many people around.
“I’ll tell you everything,” he promised. “But we can’t do it here. Let’s go back to your place.”
“Okay.” Hazel nodded. “But I just remembered that I do need to pick something up at the office, too.” Lev could tell she was lying, but she met his eyes and offered him a small smile.
“Hazel, I’m telling you the truth,” he said, and she bobbed her head.
“I believe you. I think you know more about what’s going on than anyone.” Lev exhaled.
“All right.” He nodded toward the truck, but Hazel shook her head.
“I’m getting a ride back with Lowell. Meet me at the office, and we’ll ride back to my place together.”
“Why are you going with Lowell?” Lev demanded, knowing that she was up to something. “Hazel, we really do need to talk. Things have already gone too far.”
“I agree,” Hazel whispered. “That’s why we need to do it my way, all right?”
Lev knew pushing her wasn’t going to benefit either of them. Still, that didn’t stop him from glowering as Hazel met up with another agent on the team and disappeared into his car.
She doesn’t trust me, he realized. Then why is she agreeing to talk to me alone? There was little else he could do but take himself back to the office and hope that Hazel fulfilled her promise to hear him out. In the meantime, I need to keep eyes on her. What if she shifts in front of Lowell or anyone else?
He revved up the truck and followed after Lowell’s black sedan, keeping the vehicle in sight. It wasn’t until he was in the underground garage of the field office that Lev abruptly understood what Hazel had done.
“Throw your gun out of the car and let me see your hands!” one of the agents yelled at him, his firearm aimed directly at Lev’s face as a dozen others swarmed his truck.
“Kirk, throw your gun out and let me see your hands!” Lowell snarled, approaching. Lev’s eyes darted toward the stairwell, where Hazel stared at him, the pain in her eyes naked. He considered making a break for it. He had no doubt that he’d make it, even if he did end up with a dozen bullets in his back.
What did you do? he called out to Hazel, but she dropped her gaze and fell back onto the stairwell as the agents rushed in.
“What the hell is this?” Lev demanded, tossing the gun out. In seconds, he was pulled from the driver’s side and pinned up against the hood, his hands fastened behind his back in cuffs.
“Lev Kirk, you are under arrest for suspicion of murder.”
“Murder?” Lev snorted. “Who did I kill?”
“You tell us, Werewolf,” Lowell hissed. “Hazel told us everything.”
12
“You shouldn’t have arrested him already,” Hazel muttered, pacing around the breakroom, wringing her hands with distress. “You don’t have enough evidence to hold him.”
“We can hold him long enough to gather it,” Mark Lowell assured her, reaching for her arm. “You did the right thing by coming to us.”
“Did I?” Hazel mumbled. All she could feel was a deep pit of pain and loss as she thought about Lev sitting in a jail cell, accused of being the Werewolf. It all made sense, though, didn’t it? It was the only possible explanation.
Receiving the video she had requested from Frank Welbourne had been the icing on the cake. It plainly showed her new partner, her lover, sauntering into the doctor’s office and speaking with Rebecca before leaving with her paperwork.
That’s why he’s been trying to transfer here for so long, Hazel thought. The Werewolf started a year ago, and Lev has been trying to come here for a year, to get on the task force and see what we know. He seduced me because he wanted information. Was I next on his list?
It all seemed so improbable, given the way she had felt in his arms. Never had she so freely let her guard down with a man, and he had turned out to be a serial killer.
“You really shouldn’t have arrested him,” Hazel said again, the regret almost choking her. She shouldn’t have voiced her suspicions out loud.
“If we didn’t arrest him now, he would have figured out we were on to him and fled. We’ll make a case against him, Hazel.”
“And if you don’t?” If she was wrong?
“We will,” Lowell said. “Your gut is always accurate. With the evidence that he’s been following you and the things he said to you, it’s a base. We’ll build from there. I bet we’ll find Kirk was here during the earlier murders.”
“There might be more killers,” Hazel sighed. “We shouldn’t close the book on this.”
“We won’t,” Lowell assured her, and Hazel saw that his hand was still firmly on her arm. She shook it loose. She didn’t want to be touched by anyone, never again. If Lev turned out to be the monster she had been tracking for a year, Hazel would never allow anyone to touch her until she died.
“Who’s with him now?”
“Brady.”
“I want to talk to him.” Lowell shook his head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he replied. “You’re too close to him.”
“That’s why I should talk to him. He’s not going to open up to anyone else about this.”
Lowell stared at her speculatively. “Just how close did you get to Kirk?”
Hazel bristled and glared at him. “I want to speak with him. This is my investigation.”
“Castillo will have to clear it,” Lowell said, shrugging. “But I can pretty much guarantee he’s going to refuse your request.” He left the room, and Hazel’s heart thudded dangerously in her chest.
If you’re wrong about this, you just ruined the life of an innocent man.
As Lowell had predicted, Castillo didn’t let her anywhere near Lev, no matter how she spun it.
“Why would you want to speak with him? For all you know, you were next on his list!” her superior growled. “I can’t believe we let a fox into the henhouse.”
“You don’t know that for a fact,” Hazel corrected him. “All we know for certain is that Lev has been displaying unusual behavior since he arrived.”
Castillo’s eyebrows shot up to his receding hairline.
“Lev?” he echoed. “I had no idea you guys had gotten so chummy.”
Hazel blushed furiously. “Come on, Castillo. Don’t you want to know everything? We’ve been hunting this guy for a year—”
“Which is why I am not going to jeopardize the evidence by having you go in there, all emotionally invested.”
I am emotionally invested. In Lev. It was growing hard to breathe as Hazel considered what she had done. She’d jumped the gun, acted hastily. What happened to the calm, cool, and collected Hazel Carrington who started this team? When did I become such a mess?
“Go home, Carrington. We’ll call you if you’re needed.”
It was an order, not a request. Hazel didn’t follow it all the same. She swiped out of the office, but she didn’t go far. Without a car in which to wait, she found herself at a nearby Starbucks, mulling over what to do next.
I need to talk to him. I’ll pay him a visit after hours, she vowed, wiping her sweaty palms on her dress pants as she waited
. She knew she’d be in deep trouble if she was caught sneaking in to see Lev, but she also knew she couldn’t stay away, not when there were so many unanswered questions. I should have heard him out before turning him in.
Then again, there had been no guarantees that he was going to speak with her at all. The entire day, she had noticed the way he’d stared at her, sensing that something wasn’t right. For all she could tell, he was planning to kill her that very night.
He could have killed you last night, she reminded herself. Why would he wait? Grunting in frustration, Hazel pulled out her phone. Ortiz answered on the first ring.
“Did I read that report properly?” he demanded without preamble. “Your partner has been arrested in conjunction with the Werewolf killings?”
“I think I made a mistake,” Hazel muttered. “But I don’t know how to fix it.”
“They wouldn’t have arrested him if they didn’t have proof.”
“They have paper-thin circumstantial evidence at best,” Hazel said, each word driving her sense of guilt deeper into the pit of her stomach. “Evidence that I provided.”
“Well, it must be enough,” Ortiz insisted. “You did the right thing.”
“No, I don’t think I did,” Hazel argued. “I think I did a very bad thing.”
“Hazel, I know he’s an agent and all, but that doesn’t mean you owe him anything.”
I have followed you, Hazel, but it’s for your own safety. Lev’s words reverberated through her mind. What did that mean? If he had meant her harm, he wouldn’t have been following her for her own safety.
“Carrington?”
“I’m here,” she sighed. “How would I get in to see him undetected?”
Ortiz snorted, thinking she was joking, but he quickly realized she wasn’t. “What? You can’t!”
“I have to.”
“Hazel, just sit tight,” Ortiz begged. “He’s dangerous, cunning.”
“Or innocent.” Ortiz was silent for a long moment. “Andrew, please,” Hazel whispered. “You know me. You know I wouldn’t be asking for your help if I didn’t really need it.”
“Seriously, Carrington?” he mumbled. “If anything happens to you—”
