as pale as I felt. “Somehow that crazy bastard shifted in broad daylight.”
…
I called Adam first to warn him. After I explained the circumstances of the attack, he made the decision as the Alpha to send Jason over to take samples and help us clean up the crime scene. We couldn’t leave Barry’s body to be found by the police. All we needed was for a crime lab to work up some DNA strands from the saliva in Barry’s wounds. We couldn’t risk the medical community discovering the shifter gene that would point to werewolves being real.
I tucked my phone in my pocket. “Jason’s on his way. He doesn’t want us to move anything until he gets here.”
“All right.” Sasha popped open Barry’s trunk and started rummaging through it. She came back with a blanket tucked under her arm. “He did this to show us what he’s capable of.”
“What?” Would I ever be able to keep up with her rapid subject changes?
“Fonthill.” She glanced up at me. “He couldn’t send a text as a wolf. He had to have sent it after he’d shifted back.” She paused as we both stared at Barry’s mutilated remains. “This wasn’t a trap to lure us out in the open. He just wanted us to know he can shift anytime. At will.”
“He wants us to be scared, like Barry was.” I struggled to bite back the rage that ate me up inside and kept my voice level and even. “He fucked up, Sash.” Our eyes locked on one another. “I’m not afraid. I’m pissed.”
“I know you are, but we have to think clearly. Knowing he can shift whenever he wants makes him even more dangerous.”
I started to nod when Jason pulled up. Taking Sasha’s hand, I walked toward his car. “It won’t matter what shape he chooses. We’re ending this. Either way, he’ll be dead.”
Jason got out with a bag of medical supplies. I could tell the exact moment he recognized Sasha’s scent.
Jason froze. His hazel eyes looked orange in the yellow lights of the lot as he stared at the two of us.
“Thanks for coming, Jason.” I stepped forward, clasping our forearms together, but his eyes were still looking past me, locked on Sasha. I took a step back and reached out for her. “This is Sasha.”
I held my breath while the two of them sized each other up. Of my Pack, Jason, being a doctor, was probably the most levelheaded. But he was still territorial, protective of his own, and still a werewolf who had seen the damage brought to our doorstep by jaguars first hand. He also carried around a truckload of guilt for not being able to save my father, our Alpha, after he got shot in the firefight.
Finally, Sasha nodded. “Nice to meet you, Jason.”
He remained stoic. His face was devoid of that warm everything-is-going-to-be-all-right doctor smile. “I believe we’ve met before.”
Jason took another step toward her until she had to tilt her head to look into his eyes. Tension ignited the air around us. I moved closer to Jason. “She’s not working for Nero anymore.”
He turned to face me. “Did you forget we lost Malcolm because of her?”
I set my jaw, fighting to keep my fists at my sides. “As I recall, she was out cold by the time the bullets started flying.”
“We never would have been fighting Nero if she hadn’t kidnapped Adam’s mate.”
Sasha shoved her way in between us. “Look, we can all discuss what a deceitful bitch I am later. Right now we have a body to deal with.”
I kept glaring at Jason, daring him to make a move. I almost wanted him to push me just so I could let loose some of the anger and frustration that brewed inside of me. Jason finally picked up his bag, breaking eye contact.
“Keep her away from me,” he growled under his breath.
Before I could kick the shit out of him for insulting my mate, Sasha shook her head. “No worries, buddy. I have no interest in being anywhere near you.”
She picked up the blanket from the trunk and waited behind Barry’s car. Leaning back against the bumper, she kept alert, watching for any movement in the shadows while Jason finished his inspection.
Warring loyalties stretched me in opposite directions. I wanted to comfort Sasha and make Jason apologize for insulting her, and at the same time, seeing Sasha had to bring that night back for Jason. He’d shifted back from his wolf form and did all he could to save my father’s life, but in the end, without surgery, he couldn’t stop the internal bleeding. On some level, Jason thought he let our Pack down that night.
But just because I understood his position didn’t mean I agreed with it.
I raked my hand back through my hair, grinding my teeth as I approached Sasha. “Sorry about that.”
She shrugged without looking at me. “It’s fine. I earned it.”
“You’re helping us now, making things right.”
Her eyes flashed with fire. “Please don’t stand here trying to make me feel better. Nothing your Pack buddy said was out of line. I don’t know how you rationalized forgiving me, but they have every right to hate my guts.”
I clenched my jaw to keep from raising my voice. “They may not forgive you, but they are going to have to learn to accept you.” I walked around the car to find Jason, closing up his medical bag. “Got everything you need?”
He nodded and straightened up. “Yeah.”
There was no way his werewolf hearing didn’t pick up every word Sasha and I had just said. I waited for him to say more, but my patience was rewarded with him turning to put the tissue samples back in his car.
Sasha came around with the blanket. “Can we move the body now?”
I glanced over toward Jason, and he gave me a nod. “Looks like it.”
She opened it and laid it on the concrete floor. “We need to move him onto the blanket. Then we’ll wrap him up so we can transport him out of here.”
Seeing Barry in this condition was a nightmare in itself, but touching his cold, blood-wet body was a whole new level of horrific. At least he wasn’t stiff yet. Sasha had his legs—or what remained of them—while I braced his head and shoulders. We laid him out on the blanket, and Sasha quickly wrapped it around him. Most of the blood had already seeped out onto the seat of the car and the concrete underneath his door, so thankfully it didn’t soak through.
I scooped him up into my arms and stashed him in the trunk of Jason’s car, sending out a silent prayer that his spirit was already long gone. No one should end his life wrapped in a blanket and stashed in a car like garbage.
Jason carried a bucket of cleaning supplies to Barry’s car. Wordlessly, Sasha took a pair of rubber gloves and a bottle of bleach from the bucket while Jason pulled out a large trash bag and started fashioning a cover for the blood-soaked driver’s seat. I grabbed a scrub brush and got down to help Sasha wash away the evidence from the concrete.
Together we made quick work of the crime scene. Jason finally broke the silence. “Someone’s going to have to drive his car. We’ll need to get it far from here, and maybe Gareth can rig the engine to spark.”
“We’re going to set his car on fire?” I asked.
Jason crossed his arms. “Unless you’ve got a better idea. Barry’s family will file a missing persons report when he doesn’t come home tonight. If the police find this car…” He frowned. “They can’t
“I’ll drive it.”
I shook my head, denying her request. The stench of blood still hung heavy in the car, not to mention sitting in the spot where a violent death occurred. It would be torture for whoever had to endure it.
“No.” I worked with Barry. It felt like I should be the one to drive his car. “I’ll do it, Sasha can ride with you.”
Jason started to hand me his keys. “I’ll take it. I work with blood all day. It won’t bother me as much.”
Sasha pushed past us and sat on the black plastic covering the driver’s seat. “You’re both wolves. My sense of smell isn’t quite as keen as yours.” She looked up at me. “And I didn’t know Barry, plus I’m a police officer. I can distance myself from what happened here.” Slamming the car door, she added, “Just tell me where I’m going.”
