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“Nice to meet you. I’m glad that old barn will get some use, though it is an eyesore.”
His father, Josh, wanted to keep it for some reason, but his mother did not. As soon as Liam and Alex found another location for their business, Benson was sure the barn would be demolished.
“Can I get you boys something to drink?”
Preston smiled. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d sure appreciate some of your famous lemonade.”
When everyone else nodded, Benson swore his mom blushed.
“I’ll bring out a pitcher. Give me a second.”
As soon as she hustled back inside, Preston sobered. “Tell me everything.”
Benson told them about Ackerman retiring because he had not given Trent’s case his all.
“What a shame,” Preston said. “Ariel will be happy to know that her brother is innocent.”
“We can’t be sure of that yet, but it seems as if he is.” Benson gave Liam and Alex a quick rundown on Ariel’s stalker, and then explained what Mason had learned about the guy.
“How can we help?” Liam asked.
“Tomorrow, Ariel needs to spend a few hours at the rescue center that my cousin runs. Would you mind driving her there and keep an eye on the center?”
“We’d be happy to.”
“Benson, Ariel needs to meet these two men first, don’t you think?” Preston asked.
That would be helpful. “How about I pick her up at work? It looks like you could use all the time you can get in order to heal.”
Preston gave him the finger and then smiled. “I barely have a scratch on me.”
Benson laughed. “Wait until later. You’ll be feeling it. On a slightly different note, how about if when I return home with Ariel, Liam and Alex are already at the house. She knows we are being trained, and it would seem natural for them to be there.”
“I like it,” Preston said.
“You still haven’t told her you’re werewolves, right?” Liam asked.
“Not yet. We’re waiting for the right moment, though we’re not sure when that will be. For now, we’re telling her that the training is a combination of hand-to-hand combat and strategies on how to take down an enemy. Ariel is well aware that we might have to go against the men or man who killed Samantha.”
“You got it.”
They discussed what time the men should arrive. In the meantime, Preston needed to clean up and take some time to recover. Then the two of them would have to figure out how to find Anna.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Preston steppedout of the shower and quickly dried off. Even though Liam and Alex wouldn’t be over until later, he needed to do a bit more healing in his wolf form before Ariel saw him.
When he looked in the mirror, he was unhappy with the cuts and bruises on his face and neck. Ariel wouldn’t be upset with the discoloration on his cheek or the cut on his lip since he’d received them when he was in his human form, but the bite marks on his neck needed to heal. There would be no way to explain those.
After setting his alarm to make sure he heard Liam or Alex knock, he shifted into his wolf form and then curled up on the floor next to his bed.
Usually, if he was in his animal form, his thoughts were filled with images of Ariel. This time, however, they were sprinkled with the sight of a very scared Anna. It wasn’t fair that his worker had been targeted. She had absolutely nothing to do with Trent Williamson. Her only crime had been to have Dennis Ackerman for an uncle.
Despite his sleep being rather restless, when Preston roused, his body was filled with energy. He sprang onto his four paws and then shifted. After turning off his alarm, he headed into the bathroom to check on the extent of his injuries. That would determine how hard he could fight the next time.
The wound on his neck had all but disappeared, as had the rest of his injuries. If he made love with Ariel tonight, he was confident she’d be none the wiser.
It wasn’t long before Alex and Liam arrived. Preston looked through the peephole and then pulled open the door. “Thanks for coming.”
