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And blessedly without nightmares, for the first time in weeks.
* * *
It was a damned shame the peace didn’t last.
A buzzing on Micah’s nightstand woke him at oh-fuck-thirty, and he blinked blearily at the offending cell phone, trying to assemble his tired brain into some sort of order. The damn racket stopped, and he almost fell back asleep—until it started again.
“For shit’s sake,” he grumbled, fumbling for the stupid thing. His greeting was less than pleasant. “What do you fucking want?” There were a couple of beats of silence.
“You, in my office,” Nick’s deceptively calm voice told him.
Ah, crap. “Sorry, boss. Didn’t know it was you. Did we move up the meeting?”
“No, it’s still at eight. Something else has come up, though, so get dressed and come straight here.”
“Got it, be there ASAP.”
After hanging up, he checked the time on his phone and groaned. Barely past seven. What in the ever-loving hell was so important they had to meet before the meeting? Had some of his tests come back? No, it was too soon. Plus, Mac would’ve called instead.
Speculation would get him nowhere. Jumping in the shower, he made it quick. No way was he meeting the commander smelling like hours-old sex and his mate. After dressing in jeans and a T-shirt, then pulling on his shitkickers, he started off for Nick’s office.
Once there, he was surprised to find Sheriff Deveraux waiting with Nick. The two men stood, offering their hands, which he shook. Then Nick gestured for him to take the second empty seat across from the sheriff.
“Somebody want to tell me what’s going on?” Micah looked between the two men, but their faces were unreadable.
Deveraux spoke first, his tone gruff but not hostile. Yet. With the sheriff, you never knew when that could change. “Hello, Micah. I’m here on business, unfortunately. There was a woman murdered at a campsite last night just a few miles from here.”
“Oh, wow. I’m sorry to hear that. But what does that have to do with me?”
“Where were you last night and into this morning, between ten p.m. and three a.m.?”
His eyes widened. “Are you serious? What is this? Am I a suspect?”
“Just answer the question, Micah,” Nick said.
“I was with my mate! I mean, we haven’t bonded yet, but she’s my mate and we were together the whole time. I took her to dinner, and then we went for a run in the woods not far from here.”
The sheriff glanced at Nick. “That explains why your car was spotted by one of my deputies last night, parked on Dublin Road. Will she back up your story?”
“Of course. She has no reason not to. But why are you tagging me for this?” he asked in confusion. And then horribly, he knew, and he gaped at Nick. “Jesus Christ. This is because of what happened with Noah? You think I snapped. You honestly think I could kill an innocent woman?” That hurt more than he could have believed possible.
“No, not really,” Nick denied, shaking his head. “But when Jesse came to me this morning about your car being spotted, I had to ask.”
The sheriff spoke up. “It does look pretty suspicious, the woman being torn up and you being a wolf. You were the only one on staff who was away from the compound during those hours.”
“But I’m far from the only predator out there, paranormal or otherwise, Sheriff,” Micah said grimly. “I didn’t do this.”
“Then you won’t mind if I have some tests run on the inside of your car.”
“Unbelievable.” Micah ran a hand through his hair. “Do you have a warrant?”
“I can get one.”
“On what grounds? You know what? Fine, test the car. I’ve got nothing to hide. But for what it’s worth, John and Sariel can vouch for what time I came home and what condition I was in. I said good night to both of them, together.”
“All right.” The sheriff nodded. “Let’s get them into another room.”
Micah stopped himself from rolling his eyes, just barely. He knew Jesse was just doing his job, but it still upset him to have anyone think he could murder an innocent woman. And while the sheriff was wasting his time here, a killer was going free. That didn’t sit well, either.
