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“I’d ask you to strip naked and show me you don't have any bruises, but I don’t trust myself.”
As he’d hoped, she smiled and hobbled over to the table. “The coffee smells good. I sure could use some.”
“Coming right up.”
While he was no short-order cook, he did a damned fine job of having the meal ready in only a few minutes. Just as he placed a cup of coffee and a plate of food in front of her, Preston barged in.
“Ariel.” He rushed over to her. “Where does it hurt?”
“Everywhere, but nothing is broken.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She explained what she remembered. “What saved my life, I think, was that a second before I was hit, I twisted my ankle and staggered to the side. At that moment, the vehicle came out of nowhere. Since I was already falling, it only brushed against me.”
The shower and the passage of time must have cleared her memory somewhat. “Do you recall anything else about the vehicle?” Benson asked.
“Other than it was white? No.”
Preston turned to him. “How far from the road was she when you found her?”
“Six feet.”
“Motherfucker. This was no accident.”
Benson never thought it was. “What I don’t understand is that we haven’t been asking a lot of questions. Why target Ariel now?” He turned to her. “Have you spoken with anyone recently?”
“No, and that frustrates me. It’s not like I’ve been waving a poster that says FREE TRENT.”
Benson paced. “We still can’t be sure if this incident is about Sam or Trent. If this is about Trent, the person probably lives in Midvale, since Trent said he owed a gambling debt to someone there. If so, what was this person doing in Wildwood?”
“He’d need to be here to watch Ariel. If she lays low for a few days, he might think she is too scared to investigate further,” Preston said.
“Possibly. For now, let’s eat. And Ariel, you need to stay off that ankle.”
“I will.” She sipped her coffee and dug into her breakfast.
Benson fixed plates for him and Preston. Before they finished, his cell rang, but he didn’t recognized the number.
“Hello?”
“Is this Benson Granger?”
“It is.”
“This is Liam Zano. General Armand told us he’d mentioned to you that we’d be coming down to Wildwood.”
Benson didn’t need to be discussing anything relating to werewolves in front of her. “Yes.” He pushed back his chair and then covered the speaker. “It’s work. I’ll take it in the office.”
“It’s the men to train us,”Benson telephathed.
“I’ll keep her busy.”
He walked to his office and closed the door. “Are you in Wildwood now?”
“Yes. We’re staying at a hotel in town until we can find a place to live. We’d love to get together with you and Preston to figure out some logistics.”
The timing couldn’t be worse, but to delay could prove fatal. “That sounds great. How about this afternoon?”
