“Well, the builder, but he never knew what it was going to be used for. He was in his fifties back then, I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”
“Anyone else?”
“Well, Daniel but he’s been with me forever—”
“And did anyone know about you and Annabeth?”
“No.” Sam shook his head. “We kept that quiet.”
“But Daniel is close to you—he could have found out, couldn’t he?” Cade persisted. “What reason did you give him for giving up politics?”
Sam sighed and ran his hand over his face. “I told Daniel and my campaign manager that I’d met someone and I wanted to focus on our relationship.”
“So they both knew that it was because of a woman and if one of them hadn’t wanted you to quit, they might have thought getting rid of her would mean you’d change your mind.”
Sam stood up and paced. “That’s kind of far-fetched isn’t it?”
“The alternative is that you killed her,” Cade told him.
Sam glared at him. “Couldn’t there be someone else? What about her family? Her pack?”
“Annabeth was well liked,” Connor said. “We’re certainly investigating them, but there is nothing to indicate that anyone else was involved. She died after going to meet with you. For some reason the killer wanted to keep the two of you apart.”
“But why?” Sam asked.
“That’s what we have to figure out.”
“I’d say we have one definite suspect,” Cade told him. “Someone who knew where the cabin was, who knew you were giving up politics, who knew you would be away at your mother’s.”
“It wasn’t Daniel.”
“Who would have access to your mail? Annabeth sent a note that you say you never received. It had to have been intercepted. Did anyone else deal with your mail back then?”
Sam sat in the chair and placed his head in his hands. He leaned his elbows on his desk. “You know damn well who. I just don’t understand why he would do all this. Why would he harm Annabeth? Just because I was going to pull out of politics? That doesn’t make sense.” He sat up then reached for the diary that still sat on the desk. “Are you sure there is nothing in here? I know Annabeth’s Alpha was against the pack being with humans, could he have done this?”
“From what we know of Jack Masters, he’d have gone after you, not Annabeth.”
“Can I keep her diary?” Sam asked. “Just to read it.”
Connor looked over at Cade. If he read the diary he would find out about Shelby. Even though he didn’t believe Sam had killed Annabeth, he wasn’t sure he was ready to tell him about Shelby. Besides, that should be up to her. “Actually, the family wants it back.”
“Her family? I thought her brother was dead?”
“He has children,” Connor replied.
“Surely they won’t care if I keep it overnight.”
There was a noise from the other room.
“Sounds like Daniel is back.” Cade straightened up. “Maybe it’s time we had a chat.”
Connor grabbed the diary. “I’ll talk to the family and see what I can do.”
Sam stood, his face grim. “If you’re going to chat with Daniel I want to be there.”
“That’s not really a good idea,” Connor said carefully. “Our methods may seem a bit extreme to you.”
Sam waved that away. “I’m not some shrinking violet. If Daniel did have something to do with Annabeth’s death then I want to know.”
Connor looked at Cade who shrugged.
“All right,” Connor agreed. “But you don’t talk, you don’t interfere, you let us do our jobs.”
Sam nodded.
Chapter Ten
“What is the meaning of this? Sam, why are you letting them do this to me?”
Cade had to hide a wince. As Daniel grew more agitated, his voice rose in pitch. It was as grating as fingers on a blackboard.
True to his word, Sam remained quiet, leaning back against the wall, facing Daniel, his face impassive.
They’d brought him down to the same basement room they’d kept Shelby in, tying him to a chair. He’d protested the whole way, growing increasingly distressed.
“You know exactly why you’re here,” Cade said, leaning over him. He deliberately let his wolf shine through, knowing how menacing he looked.
Daniel’s eyes widened, fear making him pant. His face paled and Cade hoped he wouldn’t vomit. He hated cleaning up vomit.
“You’re here because you killed Annabeth Miller.”
“What? Who?”
“Don’t bother trying to lie,” Connor said, leaning back in another chair. “We’re werewolves, we can sense when you lie. Why don’t you tell us the truth? Then my brother can go get some dinner. He hasn’t eaten in quite a while.”
Daniel looked over at Cade and gulped. Loudly.
“Stay away from me, you filthy animal,” he said. “How dare you even speak to me? You have no right to hold me like this. When I get free I’ll have you both arrested and neutered!”
“Neutered?” Connor said with amusement. “Tell me, have you always hated werewolves or is it just us?”
“All of you,” he said. He looked over at Sam. “See what animals they are? They’re threatening me.”
“Shut up.” Cade glared at him. “I’m getting tired of waiting. We know you killed her, what we want to know is why. Were you jealous? Wanted Sam for yourself, is that it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Connor sighed. “Still lying. Seriously, if you don’t start telling us the truth, I’m not going to be able to hold my brother back. When he gets angry the wolf side of him takes over and changing makes him very, very hungry.”
“You don’t eat people.” Daniel looked at both of them nervously.
“Don’t we?” Connor said. “I thought we were animals? Isn’t that what you believe? Now, are you going to tell us about Annabeth or does my brother show you his animal side?”
“Sam, please,” he begged. “You have to help me.”
“Do it,” Sam said firmly, turning away.
Cade stripped off his T-shirt.
“Wait, wait, no, don’t let that animal near me.” His breathing became ragged and a wet patch formed on the front of his pants as the scent of urine hit Cade’s nostrils.
Great. Just great.
“I did it, all right. I killed her.”
Cade heard Sam let out a shuddering breath, but he said nothing.
“Why?” Connor asked as Cade continued to stand there, glaring at Daniel.
“Because she was ruining everything! Sam was going to be someone, he could have been president and he was going to give it all up for her. I knew I had to split them up, so I paid her a little visit. Told her how damaging she was for Sam and his future. It worked for a while. She left and I thought she was gone for good. Then she came back,” he spat out.
“She wasn’t worthy of Sam. He needed someone with breeding, someone who would help him. She was a dirty animal.”
“So when she came back, you killed her.”
“Yes.” His face was filled with hatred. “I couldn’t let Sam find out. Luckily, he was at his mother’s when the note from that bitch arrived. I met her at the cabin and slit her throat. Then I carried her into the forest, figured she might as well be with the animals since she was one.”
“Oh God,” Sam said on a low moan.
“So why wasn’t your scent all over her?” Connor asked. “Why did she smell like Sam?”
He looked surprised for a moment. Then he looked guiltily at Sam. “I took some of his clothes and dressed in them. I didn’t want her getting spooked until I was close enough to grab her.”
“Daniel, why? I loved her,” Sam said.
“You were better than her. You were throwing your life away for her. She was an animal, what did it matter if she died? See how far you’ve come without her.”
Sam looked at him, his face filled with su
ch stark agony that Cade actually had to look away.
“Do what you have to,” Sam said before leaving.
Connor sighed and looked over at his brother. “One of us needs to tell Shelby.”
Cade nodded, glaring at Daniel who shook in terror. “You go. I’ll take care of things here.”
*
“You’re gonna wear a hole in the carpet,” Owen growled.
Shelby snorted. “There’s barely any carpet left, it’s so worn down.”
“All the more reason to stop pacing, you’re just gonna wear it out faster.”
“You know, I don’t need babysitting,” she told him with exasperation. It seemed as though she couldn’t turn around without one of her cousins standing in her way.
Her tension was building. Cade and Connor were planning on talking to Garrison this morning. What if they believed him? What if they turned their back on her? But they were mated now.
She felt for their bond, reassured that it was there, strong as ever.
Last night, they’d all told her cousins about the true mate bond. Her cousins had been shocked. But there was no denying the bond, it was there. Her scent had changed, merging with theirs.
“You disappeared on us for days because we weren’t looking after you properly. We’re not leaving you on your own until everything is settled.”
“That wasn’t your fault.” She stopped and stared at him. She couldn’t bear for them to think that.
“We should have known what was going on,” Sawyer said, his voice riddled with guilt.
“Those days you were missing were the worst in my life.” Jonty’s voice was haunted.
“I’m so sorry,” she told them. “I wouldn’t hurt you guys for the world.”
“Just tell us that the next time you’re in trouble,” Owen told her. “That the next time you need help, you will come to us. If you put yourself in danger like that again, I’m gonna—”
“I know, I know, you’re gonna take off your belt.”
“Actually, I believe that’s my job now.”
She glanced over at the doorway. How long had Connor been standing there? Her cousins didn’t react, meaning they’d known he was there all along.
“But I’ll rely on the three of you to help Cade and me keep her under control.”
“Under control?” she said, outraged. Nervousness bubbled in her stomach. What had happened?
“Hmm, you have a tendency to throw yourself into danger without any thought to your safety. I have the feeling you’ll keep us on our toes.”
“Does that mean you’re sticking around?” Sawyer asked. “You’re not taking Shelby back to South Carolina?”
They hadn’t spoken about where they would live, too many other things were going on. But she supposed they would want to go back to their pack.
“Much as we love our family, that is no longer our home. We don’t fit in with normal packs. Our team has become our pack. We’ve been thinking about setting up a base of operations. Here is as good a place as anywhere.”
The knot in her stomach unraveled.
“Cade and I wanted to speak to the three of you about joining us.”
“Joining you? We don’t know anything about security,” Sawyer replied.
“No?” Connor raised a brow. “You’re bouncers, you’re tough and smart. I think you can help more than you think.” He shrugged. “Think about it. We’ll work you hard, and Cade can be hard for some people to take, but we could use you.”
“We’re used to being around difficult people,” Jonty said dryly, looking over at Owen.
“I’m not difficult,” he protested.
“Thanks for the offer,” Sawyer said. “We’ll think about it.”
“So you gonna tell us what happened with Garrison or you just gonna stand there all night?” Owen asked.
“First things first.” Connor walked forward and before she could guess what he was going to do he had her in his arms and was kissing her as though he hadn’t seen her in months.
“Hello, mate,” he said, smiling down at her.
“H-hello,” she replied, her knees feeling weak. Connor pulled her over to the sofa and sat, pulling her onto his lap.
She attempted to scoot off and sit beside him, embarrassed to be seen this way in front of her cousins, but Connor held her close, not letting her move.
“Settle,” he ordered in a low voice. “I need to hold you.”
She stilled. He needed her? Suddenly, that made all the difference. She relaxed against him. He ran his hand up and down her back.
“So, did Garrison come clean?” Jonty asked from where he sat on an armchair. Owen sprawled on the other sofa while Sawyer leaned against the wall.
Connor turned her slightly, so she was looking at him.
“Sam wasn’t the killer, sweetheart.”
She tensed. Reaching out, she tried to push his hands away from her.
“Listen to me. Listen to me,” he insisted. He shook her lightly.
“He’s lying, how could you believe him? Of course he’s not going to just confess—”
“Shelby, do you think that I don’t know what I’m doing?” he asked, sounding grumpy. “This wasn’t our first interrogation. We’re very good at getting answers.”
“Took you awhile to get anything from me.”
“Well, we don’t love Sam. We love you. Trouble, he wasn’t even here when your mother was murdered. He was out of town visiting his mother for her birthday.”
“He’s lying—”
“No. We spoke to his mother. She takes photos each year and religiously writes the dates on the back.”
“Then she’s lying.”
“Shelby, it was his assistant. He confessed. He was the one who convinced Annabeth that she wasn’t good enough for Sam in the first place. Then when your mother came back, he was the one who met her at the cabin, the one who murdered her.”
“B-but Uncle Colin said he could smell Garrison on her body.”
“Daniel wore Sam’s clothes. He was trying to disguise himself.”
“But why did he do it? Why would he kill my mom?”
“Jealousy. He loved Sam. He wanted him to succeed. Sam was going to give up politics for Annabeth and Daniel couldn’t let that happen. He thought it was all over when Annabeth moved away. He intercepted her letter to Sam and sent his own message back. He knew about the cabin, knew that was where the two of them met. He’d been spying on Sam for years.”
“That’s sick. And weird,” Owen said.
“My mother died because of his obsession with Garrison?” she said, trying to come to terms with it. She’d thought Garrison was the killer for so long. To learn it was someone else was hard to wrap her head around.
Connor looked at her with sympathy. “Yes. It was beyond love—he’d appointed himself as Sam’s protector and he was determined to do whatever he thought best to help Sam.”
“And he didn’t think that my mother was good enough for Garrison.”
No one answered her. They didn’t need to. It wasn’t really a question.
“Did you tell Garrison about me?”
“No, sweetheart. He wants to read the diary. Needless to say he’s devastated by the whole thing and he’s blaming himself.”
Shit, it was difficult to get her head around the fact that the man she’d hated for so many years was innocent. For so long Garrison had been the bad guy, her enemy. To find out he wasn’t, that she’d hated the wrong man, that she could have harmed the wrong man… Guilt was a living, breathing monster inside her.
“My fault,” she whispered. “I always blamed him. I never even looked beyond him. I should have. What if I’d harmed him?”
Connor ran his hand over her hair. “There was no reason to suspect anyone else.”
“You did.”
“Because I know Sam. I know what a good guy he is. Don’t blame yourself, trouble. There is only one person to blame for all of this and he won’t be around to hurt either of you again
.” He hugged her tight, rocking her slightly.
“Thank you,” she told him. “Thank you for figuring this out. I would have kept blaming him.” Her father. God, what was she going to do now?
She glanced around at her cousins who remained silent.
“What do I do now?” she whispered.
“I told him I had to talk to Annabeth’s family before he could read the diary.”
Her mind reeled. She’d never expected this. Never thought he might be innocent.
Sawyer leaned forward. “Shelby, Annabeth was going to tell him. She was going to tell him about you.”
Because her mother had loved him.
“Let him read the diary,” she whispered.
“Are you sure?” Connor asked.
She nodded.
“Okay. Cade has the diary. I’ll call him and let him know.”
*
Cade strode into Sam’s study, not bothering to knock. He’d been patient enough. He’d given the diary to Sam two hours ago, surely it didn’t take this long to read it. Connor and Shelby were at her cousins’ place and that was where Cade wanted to be.
Where he needed to be.
With his family.
Sam looked up, his face stark white. “I have a daughter.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Annabeth never told me. She went through it all on her own, the pregnancy, giving birth, raising her. Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She thought she was doing the right thing for you. But she came back when Shelby was two.”
“And then died before she could tell me.” Sam clenched his fists. “I could kill that bastard.”
Too late.
Cade felt no qualms about getting rid of Daniel. The bastard had killed his mate’s mother. Caused his mate pain. He deserved what he got.
“All these years wasted. I could have had a family. A wife, a daughter.”
“Did you want a family? A daughter? Or would she have been an inconvenience? Would Annabeth and Shelby really have fit into your life?”
Sam’s gaze turned fierce. “That’s my daughter you’re talking about. I would have done anything for her and Annabeth. Do you seriously think I would have chosen my career over them?”
Cade shrugged then sat in a chair across from Sam. “I don’t know what you would have done. That was years ago. What I want to know is what you’re going to do now.”
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