“No, just wanted to talk to you without all the males around. They do tend to get on my nerves, always hovering. As it is now, I dropped Bud off at Jacob’s office just so I could get rid of him. I wanted to talk to you woman to woman.”
Inwardly, Alex sighed. She should have seen this coming, should have known that a woman like Abigail Sanderson would not want a former foster kid, now sheriff, involved with her little boy.
“Listen, Mrs. Sanderson—”
“Alexandra, I asked you to call me Abigail, and I meant it.”
Alex acknowledged that with a nod.
“I think you are getting a bad impression of me at the moment, and it is more my fault than yours. Jacob is a complicated man. All the Sandersons are. They come with baggage and a need to command every situation. I just want you to know you can always come to me if you need someone to talk to. I know it cannot be easy living in such a small town acting as the law. Everyone eyes you with suspicion.”
She nodded. “Yes. How do you know that?”
“My father worked as sheriff for a while. It wasn’t easy. Then, you are going to have women who will to be complete bitches to you.”
“What?” she asked, realizing belatedly how rude that sounded. “Excuse me?”
“Jacob was the most eligible man in town, and now he’s yours.”
“I don’t think I would call him mine.”
Abigail chuckled. “Oh, but he is, dear. I can assure you that he is completely smitten with you.”
Alexandra shook her head. “We had…”
Then she realized whom she was talking to.
“You had sex. I can deal with that. We don’t hide things like that in our family. Sex is good, and sex is healthy.”
She opened her mouth, and just as suddenly snapped it shut. This was the oddest situation she had ever been put into—and that was saying a lot.
“Listen, I know that you might think this is normal, but I’m not accustomed to it.”
A mysterious smile curved Abigail’s lips. “I have a feeling you’ll get used to it.”
Before she could question her further, there was a knock at the door. She would have been relieved—but when it opened, it revealed all the Sanderson men. Well, the ones that had been getting in her way lately.
“Mother,” Jake said as he walked into Alex’s office, “you should have told me you were coming into town.”
He leaned over and Abigail offered him her cheek.
“If I did that, you would have kept me from Alexandra.” Abigail studied them. “What are the rest of you doing here?”
“I work here,” Dillon said.
“You don’t look like you are,” Alex replied.
He snorted and turned to go back into the central office.
“There’s one, at least. I know why you’re here, Jake.”
Alex felt her face flame at that comment. There was a tone in it that told her exactly why Jake was there.
“But what are you doing here, Caleb?”
“I wanted to check on Alex. She had that scare the night before last, and I wanted to make sure that everything was okay.”
Alex shook her head. “I told you before, I was fine.”
“There, now you can go,” Abigail ordered.
Caleb didn’t look happy about it. Knowing the doctor as she did, he would be back bugging her for a physical. He gave his aunt a kiss, then he leveled a look at Alex.
“Call if you have any dizziness.”
She nodded in his direction, and he left her alone with Jake and his parents.
“And that leaves you. I wanted to talk to Alexandra alone, and you bring all those boys over here,” Abigail said to her husband.
All he offered was a sheepish smile. “I just stopped by Jake’s office, and he asked where you were.”
“And you just had to tell him?”
“I didn’t know it was a secret.”
She shook her head and turned to address Alex again. “Well, I guess we have taken up enough of your day. You have work to do.”
Alex nodded.
“Please call if you need anything, anything at all,” Abigail said.
“I will.”
After his parents had left, Jacob let the door shut but said nothing. He just kept staring at her. Normally, it would make her uncomfortable to be in a confined space like this with him. But for some reason, it just felt normal.
“So, you had to rush over here because you were afraid of your mother?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, come on, Jake. You know as well as I do, you were worried she would warn me away from you.”
He cocked his head to the side and studied her, which is when it hit her. Dillon looked so much like Jake in the same pose.
“Not at all. My mother likes you,” he said, making his way to her desk.
“She might like me, but that doesn’t mean she wants me dating her little boy.”
He snorted. “I’m the oldest.”
“Ah, the firstborn,” she said, amused now. She liked their back and forth banter, liked that it was so…normal. There was that word again.
“So, would you be interested in a little office snuggle?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. For one reason, everyone would know.”
“And for the second reason?”
“I do have work to do. You tasked me with this issue we have,” she said, waving her hand toward the murder board.
He looked at it and stood to walk closer. “So, you linked all these girls.”
“Well, they were friends, but beyond that, and the fact that Dillon said something wrong wrong with the parents at one point, I don’t have anything. I’ve been calling around and Dillon has talked to a few people. We can’t seem to find out what the parents had a fight about.”
“I’ll sniff around, see what I can come up with, but I think this goes back further.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I know you feel it. You know these girls were targeted. They all hung together in school, but they were long gone and scattered by the time this happened.”
“But, it could be repercussion for actions in the past.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”
“You know the saying, revenge is a dish best served cold. Maybe that’s exactly what happened.”
He nodded. “Still feels off.”
“Yeah, I agree, but there is some connection. These girls weren’t just murdered, Jake.”
He turned to face her completely with his eyebrows raised in question.
“They were butchered. The bodies were damaged in a way that was odd. It was as if some animal attacked them in a frenzy. The bodies were so badly damaged they couldn’t even determine that.”
“I read one or two of the reports.”
She sighed and rubbed her temples.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
She sighed again and pulled up a report on her computer. She motioned with her head, and he stood behind her, settling one hand on the back of her chair and the other on her desk. This close, she could smell his soap on him. She knew exactly what it was because they had shared the same soap…when they’d showered together.
Work time, Littlefoot, pay attention.
“See, here. The reporting officer said that it looked as if some kind of animal had rolled around in the kill. At first, with it being where it was, it didn’t seem so strange. Still, most animals do that only with their kills. But, when this one reported the same thing in her apartment…it was off. It looks like the killer rolled around in the blood.”
His expression hardened further as he looked at the computer screen. “And that would be odd.”
“A connection outside of the MO and the town. Another thing that is weird is that no one saw anyone covered in blood.”
“Where was the one in San Antonio?”
“Busy little northside apartment complex. The fact that no one heard anything was weird. And, I just
got the DNA report from the one in San Antonio. The others haven’t been sent.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “Interagency shit. But I still have a few connections in SAPD who will talk to me. They found DNA that they couldn’t identify.”
He blinked. “What?”
“I was just reading about it when your mother showed up. The DNA has human and canine attributes. Again, the others might show that, but this is really weird because there is no way a dog was in there. The girl didn’t own any.”
He sighed and straightened. “I don’t like this, Alex.”
“I don’t either, but there isn’t much we can do about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Out of our jurisdiction.”
“I have a couple friends in the Rangers. I’ll give them a call and see what I can find out.”
She nodded. “That would help. No matter what, I can’t do anything, and if we ask too many questions, the FBI will show up.”
“Lord, we don’t need the Feds here.”
She smiled. “We are definitely in agreement on that.”
He transformed in front of her. His shoulders relaxed and his expression lightened. “So, I guess office nookie is off?”
“Yes. I have some reports to look over, and I have to get the schedule for the next week set up. Besides, for a man your age, you might want to pace yourself.”
He shook his head and leaned down. But he didn’t kiss her right away. Instead, he stopped within centimeters of her mouth. “When it comes to you, Alex, I feel like a pup.”
Then he gave her a long, hot, wet kiss. By the time he pulled back, she was seriously regretting her decision.
“I guess that will have to hold me,” he said. “Call if you need anything.”
“I will.”
She watched as he walked out of her office, shutting the door behind him. There was one thing of which she was certain, it might hurt a lot when they ended the affair, but she wasn’t going to regret any of it anytime soon. Jacob Sanderson was one man who was worth the heartache.
Chapter Fifteen
Jake leaned back in his chair and looked outside. It was that mid-afternoon lull, just before kids got out of school and everyone had gotten back from lunch. It gave him too much time to think. These days, all he seemed to think about was Alex.
He had to break the news of what she was…what they were to each other, and not lose her. It wasn’t going to be easy. She was a woman who dealt with reality. Salt of the earth type. She didn’t daydream, and she definitely did not believe in shifters. He was pretty sure there would be hell to pay when everything came to light. At the moment, he was just too damned happy and he wanted it to last.
Instead of thinking about it, he turned his mind to the girls who had been murdered. He knew there was a connection he was missing.
There was a sharp knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Caleb.
“A brooding Alpha is never a good thing,” he said with a smile. When Jake didn’t respond in kind, Caleb’s smile faded. “What’s up?”
“Shut the door,” he ordered.
Caleb did as ordered and walked forward. “What has you looking so worried?”
“We have a situation, and I’m not sure how to handle it.”
“Explain.”
“After talking to Alex about one of the reports she got ahold of, then talking to David McGraw, I think we might have a wolf killing girls from our town.”
Caleb shook his head. “No way. At least not one of ours. It goes against our fundamental nature.”
“True, it could be an outsider, but they were all from this town. Their parents were all friendly. They were all killed the same way. This has something to do with the town. I just know it.”
Caleb frowned as Jake handed him the report he had printed off.
“I was going to come over and talk to you about it, but I think that we might need to talk to Mom and Dad about this as well. They would remember more than we do.”
“But these girls were all around Dillon’s age.”
“Not girls, really, when you think about it. Women. I hate to say it, but maybe we have a wolf exacting revenge.”
Caleb shook his head again. “For what?”
“Michelle there, she was the homecoming queen, the head cheerleader, and from what I can remember of her, a bitch. She was cruel at times.”
“Yeah, we’re going to have to talk to your folks about this. I still say it goes against our nature. In our blood flows thousands of years of breeding. That just doesn’t change overnight. Killing one of the pack speaks of some kind of insanity that I would hope we do not have. ”
“I really hoped there was no connection.”
Caleb looked at him, then understanding lit his eyes. “And as Alpha, you have to retaliate even if it’s one of our own.”
“Especially if it’s one of our own. It’s against the laws of nature to attack without cause. Even if the women were bitches from hell, they didn’t deserve to die. Not like this.”
“Agreed. When are you going to talk to your folks?”
“I want to talk to them with Alex.”
“Why?”
“First, because her expertise is essential. She’s the one who found out about the weird DNA attributes.”
“And?”
He sighed. “I know I have to tell her about us, and I plan to tonight. It’s already bad enough I’ve bonded and she hasn’t.”
Bonding wasn’t always mutual, and since he had spoken the words the night before, his entire being had been yearning to be near her again. It interfered with his ability to think at times, and he knew it would just get worse. With each passing moment, his bond would cause him to do things that would be construed as…stalkerish.
His cousin whistled. “How the mighty have fallen.”
“Fuck off.”
He laughed. “I would fuck with you more about it, but I’m happy for the union. She’s a strong woman, and Lord knows you need someone as hard-headed as you to lead the pack. It is time for you to bond.”
“You don’t think the pack will have a problem with it?”
“Doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Jake shook his head. It didn’t really matter. What Alpha said was law, and while there had been challenges in the past; there hadn’t been any for close to a hundred years.
“Her connection is easy to see with the people in town. People sense she is more than just the sheriff. From the moment she started working you could feel it. She cares for them, watches over them.”
Jake nodded. “And, that was probably part of the reason I hired her.”
Caleb chuckled again. “That, and you wanted to get her into your bed.”
“There is that.”
“Let me know if you need help talking to her about us.”
“The day I need your help with a woman is a day I give up.”
“Get bent, cuz,” he said with humor. “I need to get back to the office. Let me know if you hear anything else about those murders.”
Jake nodded and barely noticed as his cousin left him alone with his thoughts again. Telling Alex wasn’t going to be easy. She was going to think he had lost his mind, but he knew there was a piece of her who understood there was something different about their town.
He hadn’t thought he would have to deal with this. For most of his adult life, at least, he understood he would have to mate. Being Alpha did come with some shackles, but he always thought he’d find a pack member…however, no one had touched him the way Alex did. She was so fucking tough on the outside, but he knew she had a soft, vulnerable center.
He rolled his head back and forth. His wolf wanted to head back over to the police station to see her. Just seeing her would be good. He knew she wouldn’t be happy with that. So, he would do the only thing he could do, and that meant going for a run.
Alex stood in Jake’s living room trying to figure out just how she’d gotten there. She knew they
had both driven over. He hadn’t liked that idea, but Alex had insisted on her truck. She never knew when she would get a call for work and, the truth was, she was already the subject of so much gossip. Showing up each morning in Jake’s car would only fuel the fires.
For his part, he didn’t seem to care. In fact, he seemed ready to make sure everyone knew about it. If she didn’t know better, she would have called it marking his territory. And there was something about it that irritated her, but there was another part of her that seemed to crave it.
“You hungry? I was thinking of throwing a couple of steaks on the grill.”
She glanced at him. “What is this?”
He looked at her with that puzzled expression she had seen him use. Too many times before, Jake had used it against some little old lady in town. They always tittered then let him have his way. It wasn’t going to work on her. Not really. Maybe.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“How did I end up over here? I don’t think this is a good idea, Jake.”
“Having dinner?”
“Don’t be obtuse.”
He shrugged. “I was being logical.”
“Well, one of us has to be.”
“Being here isn’t logical?”
Irritated and confused, she threaded her fingers through her hair before she could stop herself. Somehow, before she had gotten into the house, he had undone the ponytail. He seemed insanely preoccupied with her hair.
“I feel like there’s something you aren’t telling me.”
He opened his mouth, but his phone rang.
“Yes?” He listened intently, and she knew it was something serious. His expression hardened as he glanced at her, then turned his back. “She doesn’t know how to do that,” he said, his voice threaded with anger and fear.
Another pause.
“I don’t give a fuck what Fi said. She has no idea how to deal with that. Jesus, she doesn’t even know.”
He listened intently again.
“Dammit, okay.”
He hung up the phone and turned to her.
“What?”
“I have something to explain, but I don’t have time. I brought you over here for that, but now…something has happened. I just need to get you to my parents’ house. Caleb needs your help.”
Primal Instincts Page 9
