Unfortunately, Anders couldn’t dismiss the three recruits because of Alpha Greystone’s political pull. He increased security, but he didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention. He employed the recruits, claiming it as part of their training.
Joe, Duck, and Xavier are also on high alert. Some of the dairy hands, who are also guards, watched over Jessica. Unbeknownst to her, Jessica was never really left without a guard… until now. If Liam revealed this story to anyone outside of the guard, it would sound farfetched and maybe even a little overprotective.
Among the three, Boris is the worst. Evil oozes around him. When I first met him, my skin crawled. I dug into his background. Like Dustin, he is from the same pack inthe Northern A territory. Several reports from the school he attended before coming to the recruit program include incidents of bullying and fights. He put two other teenagers in the hospital.
One report turned my stomach. This girl not only went to the school administration to file a complaint against him, she also sought out the authorities. He harassed her for months. I have a copy of the report. In her own handwriting, she wrote in detail how she suffered by his hand for months. After she reported the rape, she mysteriously disappeared. Not long after he arrived in the LS territory, her body was found. She was raped, mutilated, and decapitated. I showed the reports to my father and Anders. They both tried to remove him from the guard program, but the Sixth Territory Alpha made a fuss and pulled some political bullshit. Since there was no proof that Boris murdered the girl and official charges were not made against him, he got to stay.
What if Jessica left the mansion to run away, like she told me. What if I sent her straight into the arms of a psychotic rapist and murderer?
Chapter 31
One Set Of Tracks
LIAM
EIGHT YEARS AGO:
November 9, 2016: 4:00 p.m.
Guard Training Facility
We searched the entire area. She’s gone. We tracked her as far as the forest, where she left a faint trace of fresh blood behind. I squeeze my hands into fists. Where the fuck is she?
Some of the pack men found Boris naked, beaten, and bound with zip ties. He just came to and started healing by the time we joined them. He admitted that he followed her and planned to coerce her back to his room. Of course, Ean and Charlie resorted to beating the shit out of him to obtain that bit of information. He claimed he didn’t get very close to her when he was attacked.
“Boris says five men attacked him,” Charlie reports, pulling my attention to his debrief. We all gather in the conference room at the training center.
Anders paces back and forth. I study the room. Everyone looks exhausted and subdued. Justin’s eyes are red-rimmed. Luke and Emily looks the worst. She sniffs and wipes her face. She refuses to leave. Same as the twins, Sixes and Elijah.
I rub her back, offering comfort. She murmurs, “I shouldn’t have left her alone. I should have eaten with her in the kitchen.”
“Beating ourselves up over what-ifs won’t change what happened,” I tell her.
“She’s my best friend, and I left her alone. She did all that work, and no one bothered to keep her company. I’m a horrible friend.” She starts to cry.
I massage her quivering shoulders. If anyone is a horrible friend, it’s me. I haven’t been the greatest friend to her either. I know my behavior confused her.
I’ve been trying to keep my distance to keep Marcus and the other two assholes away from her, especially if they are after her in retaliation. Also, I’m leaving after the graduation ceremony.
But I am not handling it well. I don’t want to leave my family or her. The more time I spend with her makes it harder to leave.
Charlie slams the table with his fist, cracking the wooden surface down the center. We all snap to attention. With a murderous glare, he blasts, “Did anyone hear what I just said?” He sighs. “I get it. She’s my little buddy, too. Sitting here feeling guilty and beating ourselves up won’t bring her back. We need to keep our heads clear and focus on finding her. Now, Pops was the best tracker in his day. He thinks Boris is full of shit. He found one set of wolf tracks near where Boris was found and one set of shoe prints in the forest. He thinks this was a one-man job. Whoever took her is clever. He left just enough of a scentto confirm she was there. He carried her out. Hence, one set of tracks.”
“Why take Boris’s PT uniform?” Jeremy asks.
Charlie shrugs. “I’m guessing to hide his own scent and throw off the trackers.”
“How does all of this information help us figure out where to look for her?” Emily inquires. “We still don’t have any leads. Has anyone heard from Shadow?”
Anders stops pacing. “He’s been searching, with no results. He thinks she’s no longer in the LS territory.”
Emily drums her fingers on the table. “Has anyone checked the airport security system? The cruise ships? What about the shipping docks?” Everyone stares blankly at her. “What? You already did that? It’s just a suggestion because we all are beating our heads against a wall.”
I stand. “No, we haven’t thought of that. We were stuck focusing within the LS territory. Elijah, come with me.”
Anders frowns. “Wait a minute. What are you doing?”
“No offense, Anders, but the guards lack basic technology skills. However, we have a few recruits who are very capable of hacking into system databases.”
