Page 82 of Fated to the Alpha

“Hank and I are going to take care of it,” Cole answered, voice so cool as if he didn’t talk about disposing of a corpse. “But not before we go through all his pockets to figure out who he was.”

Erica’s gaze hopped from Dominic to Cole. “Do you think he’s a hunter?”

“After what we learned from Andy, I’d bet money on it.” Dominic leveled a stern look at Kimberly. “Is there anything you can tell us?”

She swallowed and found her throat cotton-dry, the effort like shards of glass raking her esophagus. They let her take a sip of tea to collect herself, then worked through the story, step by step.

“He had no scent,” she recalled. “Something must have been masking it. He had his gun pulled before I even turned around, like he expected to run into someone. I can’t say why he hesitated or if he was there to kill me. Even after my first lie, he kept putting it off.”

Cole folded his arms. “You probably confused him. He couldn’t be sure of what you were without undeniable proof and couldn’t risk killing a human.”

Kimberly blinked and looked away. “Maybe … he didn’t even try to lie about why he was there either.”

“Sloppy,” Dominic said. “Not quite unprepared, but in some ways, he was. Could have been a new recruit.”

“Do you think he came alone?” Erica asked.

Cole shrugged. “We haven’t heard anything else, but I’ll make a few calls and have everyone check-in. If he’s alone, he didn’t get far into town.”

“Likely just a scout too,” Dominic assessed. “Someone to gather information, get proof, but not to engage. Maybe that’s why he didn’t shoot her on sight. That would have drawn attention and caused a scare. Pulling a gun was more to protect himself than to take a target.”

Kimberly nodded as if to confirm. “He said he wasn’t after me.”

“Might have been looking for Andy,” Cole offered. “And if that’s the case, he had to be part of the group that took him. Then, our suspicion that they let him escape has some credit.”

Kimberly felt as if she missed something but decided she would ask later.

“Then he was either looking for a pack or looking to tie up a loose end.” Dominic heaved a big breath. “Either way, if he goes missing, eyes will turn to Tolstone.”

The parlor fell silent, and Kimberly couldn’t help but feel the weight of guilt drop on her shoulders. Even if she hadn’t killed the hunter, he had seen Shane and would have proof that wolves were in Tolstone. That would have drawn unwanted attention. She didn’t know which was worse.

Erica rubbed up and down Kimberly’s back to soothe out the bunched muscles, as if understanding her heart. “This isn’t your fault. You did what you needed to do to protect yourself and Shane. That was brave, and anyone else would have done the same.”

She couldn’t bring herself to agree. Erica might have been right, but maybe there had been another option. Maybe she shouldn’t have been there to be found in the first place. The hunter might have found what he wanted in the end, but it was because of Kimberly that they had a big mess to clean up.

“I’m thinking,” Cole began, “it won’t be smart to burn the body like we did Nathan. If we take the body far enough away, to a town we know has no pack, we can dump the hunter. The news will assume an animal attack. The hunters may assume Andy fled to that town and they’ll do a sweep. If they find nothing, they may think the assumed pack moved on. It’d take the heat off Tolstone, at least for a while.”

Dominic nodded. “If anyone looks too close at the body and there’s any suggestion that the body was moved, it may still lead back to us.”

“What if the hunter stayed in close contact with his group?” Erica asked. “If his last known location was Tolstone, we’re still screwed.”

“We can hope he had some sort of other way to be tracked,” Cole suggested. “They likely have some sort of way to keep tabs on their field operatives. Either on his body or vehicle. Radio, GPS, something.”

Dominic’s brows lifted. “I didn’t think about vehicles. Do we know where it is?”

Cole nodded. “There was an unaccounted-for car at the park. I’ll run the plates when we get back to also verify identity. We’ll search the body for trackers. Maybe Gage can search the car while we’re at it.”

Dominic scratched at the stubble on his cheek. “If there is a tracker on the car, taking it to an auto shop could be interpreted as if he got a flat tire or something. That could help cover up why he was in Tolstone. Got a flat in transit, stopped here for a fix, and moved on, but neglected to report about it.”

Kimberly flattened her palm against her forehead. “There are so many moving parts.”

“We’ve had to make people disappear before,” Dominic assured with a conciliatory smile. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“But I’m going to worry about it.”

Erica’s hand settled on Kimberly’s shoulder. “We all will for a while until this is over.” She looked to her mate. “Can she go see Shane yet?”

Dominic nodded. “As long as doc gives the all-clear.”