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Gregor had been assigned to security after the death of Max’s father. He’d made it his business to pay attention to anything that occurred to the Wolfen, whether on Roselake turf or off. There were hundreds of Wolfen living outside of the little town, preferring to pretend they weren’t beasts of the night. I’d never really thought about just how precarious our lives were until now.
Someone was out to speed up the annihilation process.
Max had brought in dozens of soldiers, doubling up perimeter security. He’d already contacted members of the council, putting them on notice an emergency meeting would be necessary. We could all feel the wave of growing fear within our community, further igniting my anger. While Max had made no mention of a proposed punishment for my infraction, I knew it was only a matter of time until I’d be forced to face the consequences, including the possibility of banishment.
I’d contact my best wolves in the Nightwalkers, their protection of our village vital, my second in command a woman I trusted implicitly. She would do what was necessary without question. Gregor had been instructed to meet Kathleen at the scene of the second murder, hoping to keep the Wolfen secret locked away.
Although once the news had the wretched story, it would go viral quickly.
My concentration would be on the wounds both victims would certainly have, attempting to ascertain what we were dealing with.
There was no telling what would occur with the body given the foreign substance. It was entirely possible that the human forms would transform into their wolves for protection, an ability we all had. We just couldn’t take the chance. From what Max had heard, the victim we would see first had been dead at least twenty-four hours, his staff finally reporting him missing only hours before.
I overheard only some of the conversation he’d had with his mate. Kathleen Kelly was a formidable officer, her tactics often questioned, but I’d already realized she was damn good at her job. Max had put her on notice about Vanessa’s attack, asking her to obtain as much information as possible.
We were all teetering on thin ice.
I rode with Max and as we approached the first scene, the number of Denver PD cars tremendous. “Who the hell is this guy?” The entire house was blocked off, scores of people standing everywhere, including members of the press.
“Damn it,” Max snarled as he passed by the group. At least they’d been cordoned off, several police keeping them at a distance.
Every local station had already heard about the news. Whoever the victim had been, his popularity had brought out the big guns.
He hissed as he pulled his truck as close to the house as allowed, immediately cutting the engine. “Trevor Holland lives here.”
“I’ve heard the name. He’s been in the news several times. Married, kids?”
“Yeah, you’ve no doubt heard of the man, at least his bulldog reputation. No kids. His wife died a couple years ago. He balked at the idea of living in Roselake from day one, fighting with my father on the concept alone. He wanted nothing to do with the Wolfen. He’s a high-powered prosecuting attorney in town. I’ve worked with him before on a couple cases. He’s one tough man. And he’s damn popular with the workforce, not so much with the criminal faction.”
“Doesn’t he prosecute some of the most ruthless assholes?” As we got out of the truck, I took a deep whiff. There was no sign of any other wolf with the exception of the owner. I also gathered the stench of blood as well as an unknown source, although the hint of acridness was not anything I’d come into contact with before. “I can smell the substance.”
“Ruthless isn’t the word for it. Dangerous fuckers. Don’t say anything about that until we have a handle on what we’re dealing with. As far as the ME and the police officers know, you were consulting on another case with me.”
“As what?” I asked, taking a quick glance at the clothes he’d allowed me to borrow. At least we were close to the same size.
“A medical professional. Leave it at that.” Max gave me a stern look before we eased under the crime tape, walking straight toward the house. “What the hell is my partner doing here and why didn’t he call me?” He kept his voice low, but I heard the concern in his tone. Everything had already gotten out of hand.
“Unusual?”
He snorted. “That must mean that Mr. Holland had certain… connections, his death raising more than just a few red flags.”
I trailed behind him and into the house. I’d met his partner on a few occasions, none of them on friendly terms. Logan Parker was at least trustworthy in Max’s eyes, having come as close as a human to learning the Wolfen secret as anyone.
“Logan, what the hell? You didn’t call me on this?” Max snapped, his eyes scanning the perimeter.
“I was on my way home and heard it on the radio,” Logan answered, which I could tell Max knew was a crock of shit. ATF didn’t respond to traditional criminal cases, not unless asked to come onto the scene.
And from the looks of the cops, they weren’t too thrilled to have another law enforcement agency interfering.
“That doesn’t tell me why you are here,” Max countered.
“The dude was important. You know?” Logan answered, his voice kept low. “Look, he was out of the office working on a case and didn’t return phone calls. His staff got worried and started making some noise. The case he was working on was…” He glanced in my direction, unsure if he could talk in front of me.
“Uh-huh. This is fucking perfect,” Max chided. “You need to tell me exactly what Mr. Holland was working on.”
While Logan pulled him aside, I was able to hear their conversation easily. It would seem Mr. Holland had caught a difficult case attempting to prosecute one of the local business owners for extortion, the man considered dangerous. That was certainly a qualified reason for murder.
He turned his back toward me, obviously giving instructions to his partner. I glanced around the room, able to gather a sense of uncertainty in the room. As the two concluded the conversation, heading once again toward the body, I could tell Max wasn’t happy with the situation.
