by Crissy Smith
“You’re not firing me?”
“Fire you? What for? Having an ex-boyfriend?”
Melissa shook her head. “Because Trent was here first? I’m sure the people at the bar realized I had a past with him.”
“It was discussed, although the details were not shared. I don’t think anyone but Mac is aware of what happened.”
“So, Trent’s boss knows?”
“Yes, we discussed it.”
“And he didn’t demand I be let go?” She could still hear the deep voice telling her he didn’t want Trent hurt again.
“He doesn’t tell me how to run my department,” Magnus stated.
“I really thought you were going to fire me.”
“I have no reason to can your ass.”
“Everyone is going to hate me,” Melissa said. “Or they do already.”
“It won’t be easy,” Magnus responded. “Trent is part of Mac’s pack. Everyone around here loves Mac.”
“Great,” she muttered.
“You’ve come from a place that tried to burn you at the stake like you’re a witch. If you can get through that, then this shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Except, when I was in LA, I knew I was on the right side of things. Here…I’m totally in the wrong,” she admitted.
“You’ve put in years trying to make up for your mistakes. I respect that.”
“I don’t think anyone else will see it that way.”
“Maybe not. But you never know. I’ve seen the citizens of Brookside band together time and time again to do what’s right. You probably won’t have anyone being openly friendly to you, but they won’t be hateful either.”
“That’ll keep me warm at night,” she said.
Magnus chuckled. “I have plenty of paperwork you can take home with you for company. Just don’t throw it into the fireplace.”
She sighed with relief. Sitting back in her chair, she wanted to thank Magnus but knew the sheriff wouldn’t like it. “I promise,” she said instead.
“Now, we haven’t had a situation with illegal hunting since you’ve been here, which is good, but makes me think that it’s merely a matter of time. The other deputy will be starting on Monday, but this weekend, we need to keep a close eye on things,” Magnus said. “I’m making a rotation for all of us to be out in the forest. Even the Coalition.”
“I’ll do my part,” she promised.
“I never doubted you. Now, go get to work,’ Magnus ordered.
Melissa stood and, with her bag in hand, walked toward the door. She paused. Hell, she had to say it. “Thank you.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke.
“You’re welcome.”
Once back at her desk, she glanced around. Carl was going over maps with Fabian, but Fredrick was very deliberately not looking at her. It could be nothing, but she had a feeling it was going to be awkward in the office. Doesn’t matter, I have a job to do.
She logged on to her computer to get started for the day. Opening her email, she saw Magnus had sent the rotation for everyone in the office to patrol the state park that night. She was on from midnight to two in the morning, with Carl on shift before her and Fredrick after. Even Logan was slotted for a spot.
Attached to the email was a map of highlighted sections to concentrate on.
“Fab, get in here!” Logan yelled.
Melissa glanced over her shoulder. Logan might have been talking to Fabian, but he was frowning at her.
“What’s up, boss?” Fabian asked as he sauntered toward Logan.
“I told you not to call me boss.” Logan pushed Fabian into his office, then slammed the door.
“What’d he do this time?” Carl asked.
“I don’t know,” Fredrick replied. “Logan’s been in a bad mood all morning.” He side-eyed Melissa.
Logan’s attitude must be her fault, too. She sighed. It was going to be a long-ass day. But she had things she could look into to keep her mind off the only thing, or person, she wanted to think about.
There was no telling what Trent was doing. Or even how he spent his time around this small town.
Mac’s people, that was what Magnus had called Trent.
There was something there.
She’d thought before that Mac had some kind of connection to the people of the Brookside no one talked about.
Well, no one’s going to talk to me now.
Making friends was going to be a whole lot harder than before. But at least she had her job and she’d do it to the best of her ability. She’d learned a lot in the past few years, having to work mostly alone. Even if the other deputies and Coalition agents didn’t want her around, she had a boss who was supporting her. It was more than she’d had in LA. Magnus wanted the citizens of their town safe, and that would be her mission. She was good at channeling all her energy into work.
If the residents of Brookside wanted to shift and go for a run in the protected state park, they had the right. Melissa would see to it they remained safe. Maybe, over time, she would stop being disgusted with herself.
* * * *
Trent’s feet pounded on the concrete as the sound echoed around him. He hadn’t been able to sleep. Again. So instead of shifting and running through the forest, he was trying to wear himself out the old-fashioned way.
He’d taken a long ride on his Harley with Duffy and Calvin as company. The three of them worked well as a unit. As a member of Mac’s underground group, it was their job to handle the dangerous parts. Annabelle could calm even the most frightened person. Carter ferreted out intel that even the Pentagon would have trouble locating. Kelly kept all of them fed and Mac ran the entire outfit like a military op.
There were other residents in town who helped from time to time, but for the most part, the inner circle took care of day-to-day work.
Without anyone in need of their services, Mac had let them go on a ride. Duffy and Calvin were perfect companions. They liked talking almost as much as he did, which was as little as possible. So he’d been able to enjoy the scenery up to the coast. It hadn’t helped, though. Seeing Melissa again was fucking with his mind.
So, here he was at two in the morning, after closing the bar, trying to get his thoughts back to where it’d been before Melissa had come into his life again. Leaving town was on the back burner at the moment. Annabelle hadn’t left his side all night. And really, Trent didn’t want to go. But a break might be in order. He could travel to some of the safe houses they had set up and check on the residents. Trent would have to run his idea by Mac, after his boss woke up.
“Unbelievable,” Trent muttered. “This is my home and I’m not leaving.” He’d started to talk to himself again. He’d done it in the early days after leaving LA, and now here he was again. He turned to head back toward the bar and his bed. He’d worked up quite a sweat. A shower then hopefully a few hours of shut-eye.
Trent had to resist the urge to veer off into the street that would take him in front of Melissa’s house. It would be too easy. Melissa didn’t even have to know. But Trent would. If he didn’t avoid all contact with Melissa, there was a good chance Trent would do something he’d regret later.
Like seeing if Melissa still tasted as good as she used to.
He picked up his pace for the last mile back to the bar. Just as he was rounding the corner to the back door, he heard a loud shot.
“Fuck!” Trent raced toward the forest. If the hunters were out and shooting at someone or something, he was going to tear their heads off.
He heard a crash behind him as the back door of the bar was thrown open, but Trent didn’t stop to see who was joining him.
Another shot. Someone was using a shotgun.
There was a shout, but he was too far away to understand what had been said. Trent growled. He was really trying to not blame all humans for the world’s stupidity, but it was getting hard. Even Melissa had put her humanity before what was right. She’d had no trouble turning her back on him.
He burst through
the branches, pushing them away from his face. A few cracked or swatted back at him, but it didn’t matter. He had to get to the hunters before they disappeared again.
A third shot.
Oh, hell, no! A natural animal or shifter could be in real danger. This was also close to where Annabelle had been attacked before. Hopefully Logan had her inside and in bed.
Trent took off at full speed. The closer he got, the more commotion he heard.
“Sheriff’s department! Drop your weapon.” The shout was loud and clear this time.
Oh, God no, Melissa’s there, too. Probably dealing with the same hunters Magnus thought were targeting shifters. Trent desperately hurried forward. He was wearing down, though.
A fourth shot.
Shit! Trent used every last ounce of energy to propel himself deeper into the forest. He leapt over fallen limbs and came out between a smaller cluster of trees.
Melissa stood in a ready-to-fire stance over a man on the ground. The scent of blood was strong.
Melissa jolted as he crashed through, bringing her gun up in defense, aimed at him.
“It’s only me,” Trent panted. He bent over with his hands on his knees. “I heard the shots.”
“Damn.” Melissa let out a deep breath while lowering her weapon.
A rifle had fallen a couple of yards from where the guy was passed out cold on the ground.
“What’s going on?” Trent asked.
Melissa huffed. Her hands shook as she repositioned herself to cover the hunter. “I was patrolling and heard a shot then…a…roar? I followed the sound and came across the man trying to shoot a cat of some kind. Not a tiger or lion. The animal knocked this guy down and clawed at him before taking off.”
“Was it a natural animal or shifter?” Trent questioned.
“I have no idea. All I know is it came from some kind of feline,” Melissa said. She’d gone a little pale. He hoped she didn’t pass out. “I don’t think the animal was hurt, though. I tried to call out to it, but it ran off.”
Trent strolled closer. He could pick up the scent of the feline. He recognized it, but didn’t say anything to Melissa. She didn’t know the residents, and they wouldn’t talk to her. He needed to see Magnus. “Was he alone?” Trent waved a hand at the human.
“I don’t think so,” she answered. “There was more than one weapon fired. I could tell when I was running over here. The other person was gone by the time I arrived, though.”
“Okay,” Trent said. “I need to look around.”
“Uh.” Melissa motioned toward the human. “I’ll secure this guy and call in to the sheriff.” Melissa rushed to the human and checked his pulse. “I think he’s only knocked out. The blood is from a gash in his arm.”
“He’ll be fine.” Trent should care about the human, but his issues were growing. He never thought he’d be the kind of shifter who started to hate all humans. That was not who he wanted to become.
“Magnus,” she said. “Come in, Sheriff.” Melissa was calling Magnus by radio. She was human. Why didn’t he hate her? Even after she’d broken him, Trent didn’t hate her. He’d been trying to convince himself he did, though. Which was why he was standing in the forest and not in his own bed.
“What’s going on, Deputy?” Magnus barked.
“We had an attack,” she told him.
“Where? How bad?”
“Section one-ten,” she replied. “I have one hunter down. I witnessed him shooting. He also took a shot at me.”
Trent clenched his fist. The asshole had attacked Melissa as well? Now, he wanted to rip the guy apart. Melissa was human, just doing her job.
“Are you injured?” Magnus asked.
“No,” Melissa reported. “The only injury is on our suspect.”
“What kind of injury?” Magnus demanded.
“He’s unconscious and claw-slash on his arm. I have him in cuffs.”
“Claw-slash?” Magnus asked. “Is the animal okay?”
“Everything seems okay,” she said. “The animal ran off. I don’t think it was injured. Trent is here. He heard the shots.”
“I’ll be there in seven minutes,” Magnus stated. “Keep the scene secure. Have Trent make sure there is nothing else going on around there.”
“Yes, sir.”
Trent wanted to smile. Melissa was peering around as if she expected the animal to jump out at any moment.
“Was it a shifter?” she asked.
“Yes,” Trent admitted.
“What kind?”
“Cougar,” Trent supplied.
“Oh!” Melissa gasped. She even took a few steps forward. “A cougar shifter. A resident?”
“Samuel Adams,” Trent said. He might as well tell her. Magnus would need to know.
“Do you think he was hurt? Maybe I should send a deputy to check on him,” Melissa said.
Trent was surprised by her words. This was the same woman who had blamed him for Adam’s death because he hadn’t quit the force after coming out as a shifter. He glanced away from Melissa. She wanted to make sure a shifter was uninjured. “I think it would be a good idea. I didn’t pick up the smell of Sam’s blood, but he might be shaken up. He lives on his own.”
“Okay.” Melissa picked up her radio.
“Trent!”
“Over here, Mac!” Trent yelled back.
Mac stomped into view only half-dressed.
“What took you so long?” Trent asked. It had to have been Mac who’d been going out of the back door of the bar. He should have arrived right after Trent.
“I thought I smelled someone else in the area. I followed the trail since I knew you were headed this way to help,” Mac said. He narrowed his eyes at either the hunter or Melissa.
“Did you find anyone?” Trent asked.
“No,” Mac said. “I followed the scent to the road where a car must have been waiting. It looks to me this guy hadn’t been alone, but instead got left behind.”
“So there were more of them?” Melissa asked. “I thought so.”
“Yes. I can easily pick up another scent,” Mac replied.
“That would have been helpful in the past.” Melissa smiled. “Amazing.”
Trent shook his head. Who has Melissa turned into?
“What’s the guy’s story?” Mac pointed to the stranger.
“Gerald Bono,” Melissa said. “Twenty-two, lives in Alexandra, his hunting license is new. Only issued within the last month.”
“Strange,” Trent commented.
“This whole thing is strange,” she replied. “It’s like this area is being purposely targeted. The national park is protected. There are other places, closer to his home, he could have gone to hunt legally. Instead he traveled two hours to come here.”
“Rifle’s new, too,” Mac said.
“What is going on?” Melissa leaned over the human. “Who are these guys?”
“Good question,” Magnus said as he joined them. “One we’re going to figure out.”
Melissa straightened, the look on her face one of total professionalism. It was the same look she’d carried in LAPD. It made a chill crawl up his spine.
“Mac said he picked up the scent of another person in the area,” she told her boss.
“Where?” Magnus demanded.
“There.” Melissa pointed.
“Come on, Mac, show me. I’ll be right back,” Magnus said.
Trent found himself alone with Melissa. Shit, I should have left as soon as Mac arrived.
“Uh.” Melissa peered around, not looking at him. “Carl is going to check on Sam. He already knew where he lived.”
“Yeah,” Trent agreed. “Small town.” He walked around, trying to pick up more scents or clues. There was a bigger picture they were missing.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be doing that.”
“Why not?” Trent asked.
“There could be evidence,” she said.
“You think I’m involved?”
“Of course n
ot,” Melissa cried. “Never.”
“Then tell me what’s going on,” Trent demanded.
“I can’t. It’s part of an ongoing investigation and you’re not a—”
“Not a what?” He stalked forward. “A cop? You’re right. I’m not. But then I don’t see you wearing the blue of the LAPD anymore.”
“I made a mistake…”
Trent barked out a laugh.
“Trent.” She moved forward. They were only inches apart. “The night you came to my apartment—”
“Don’t,” he spat. “Don’t you fucking dare talk to me about that night.”
She grabbed the front of his shirt. “I fucked up. I have no excuse. I’m sorry.”
He wished her words meant something to him. Instead, all he could think about was the look on her face when she’d said Adam’s death was his fault. “It doesn’t matter.” But it did.
“I didn’t know,” she said. “I didn’t understand.”
“And now you do?” he asked. He grew angry. Working with shifters for a week didn’t give her the right to think she knew them.
“No,” she said. Melissa lowered her voice. “I can’t ever know what you feel or everything you went through. I do know what I did was wrong.”
All this talk. Trent just wanted to go back to his room. He tried to step away, but she tightened her grip.
“After you left, I…”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said.
“It does. Please listen to me,” she pleaded.
“Fine.” He straightened his shoulders then pulled away from her. “Say what you want.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I was horrible and wrong. Adam’s death wasn’t your fault. Nothing was. It was everyone else. If I’d been stronger, I would have been at your side like I should have been. Instead I turned my back on you. I’m so sorry.”
“You keep saying that,” he commented.
“Because you’re not listening,” she responded. “But I’ll say it again and again until you believe me.”
Trent snorted. “You think you’ll have the chance?”
“I hope I do.”
He shook his head.
“I’ve tried to make amends for what I did,” she told him.
“You thinking working for a town full of shifters will fix everything?” he asked. Was that what Melissa hoped to accomplish? Get rid of her guilt by working there? That was too little too late for Trent.
