After about ten minutes of wire clipping, Gareth yelled from behind the hood. “Start it up!”
The engine turned over, and he dropped the hood closed. “Get out, and let it idle. Let’s see if it’ll spark.”
“You don’t need to light anything?”
Gareth shook his head. “Nah, then they’d know someone set it up to burn. This way it’ll look like an accident, electrical fires take cars out all the time. I shaved the battery cables, so when they touch the metal of the hood they should arc.” He shrugged. “I dripped some oil around the head gasket too, so that should help get it going. We just need it to spark first.”
I wondered how long it would take before the police were sniffing around asking questions. Barry’s family would file a missing persons report when he didn’t come home and they couldn’t get in touch with him. I’d be near the top of the interview list being Barry’s employer. Without a body or any evidence of foul play, I figured they’d have to decide he wanted to disappear. It was a crappy thing to do to his wife and family, but what could I tell them? Sorry Barry got eaten alive by a werewolf?
It’d be better if they pictured him drinking pina coladas on a beach in Rio with a new identity and cash to burn.
Black smoke started to seep through the seams of the hood, and Gareth smirked as he gathered up his tools. “Job’s done. I’m gone.”
I walked with him back to his Harley. “Thanks, Gareth.”
He nodded and yanked on his leather gloves. Glancing over at Sasha sitting in Jason’s borrowed car, he picked up his helmet. I braced myself for a snide remark about Sasha, but it didn’t come.
Gareth glared at me as his bike roared to life. “Tell Adam I followed through here.”
He pulled on his helmet and gunned the engine and raced across the parking lot. I took a deep breath and went back to the car. When I got in, I could see flames billowing from underneath the engine of Barry’s car.
“Looks like it worked,” Sasha said.
“Yeah.” I reached over and kissed her, wincing a little when my split lip burned. As I straightened up she started to smile.
“I have every right to be pissed off at you for leaving me in here.”
“I know.” I caressed her cheek. “Thank you for covering my back.”
“So, what’s Gareth’s story? Besides the obvious, why does he hate me so much? That was over the top.”
“Sebastian killed his twin brother, Gabe.” She rested against her seat, pulling back from my touch. “Sebastian was trying to set Lana up so she’d have to turn to him instead of the Pack. Regardless of the reasons, we lost Gabe because of Nero, and then we lost Malcolm.”
“And Gareth blames me for all of it.”
She stared out the passenger window, shutting me out. If I could think of something brilliant to say to smooth everything over, it would have helped, but I was all out of words. I took her hand, my fingers twining with hers.
“I’m sorry this can’t be simple.”
She nodded without making any eye contact. “Me too.”
Fire erupted through the front grill of Barry’s car.
“We’d better get out of here.” I glanced over at her, but she didn’t say anything, so I started the engine and headed toward Adam’s ranch.
…
We were almost two hours late. I parked in the driveway. “You’re awfully quiet. If this is too much I can tell Adam we need a rain check.”
Sasha shook her head and finally met my eyes. I could see the sadness in her gaze, but her strength lingered there as well. Without a word, she leaned over and kissed me. Her lips were tender and soft, careful not to hurt my injured lower lip. When she pulled back she rested her forehead against mine.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’d never have a chance to make things right if it weren’t for you. Knowing you believe in me after all we’ve been through…” She paused, clearing her throat a little. “I couldn’t do this without having you in my corner.”
Jesus, I loved this woman. I kissed her again, urgently, wishing my Pack would accept her like I had. If I could forgive her, why couldn’t they? When I pulled back, my thumb lingered against her skin, brushing across her warm cheek. “Let’s do this.”
As soon as we got inside the house, Lana met us at the door. She gave me a hug. “Adam’s waiting for you in the kitchen.” I arched a brow, and she added, “I need a minute with Sasha.”
Sasha nodded and I shrugged. “All right.” I headed for the kitchen, stopping to brush a kiss against Sasha’s cheek as I went by. “We’ll get through this.”
Our eyes met just long enough for me to see her determination before I went around the corner. I found Adam leaning against the kitchen counter.
“Good to see you,” he said. “Sorry about Barry.”
I went to him, and we clasped forearms. “Me too. The body is in the trunk. We couldn’t risk someone putting out the car fire while he could still be identified.”
“Jason got all he needed from the scene?”
“Yeah, and Gareth wanted me to let you know he held up his end and took care of Barry’s car.” I glanced toward the babies’ room. “Where is Nadya?
Adam pointed out the window. “She’s got the twins down at the barn.”
“They shouldn’t be out of your sight.” I gripped the granite countertop. “He could be out there right now.”
“Luke is with her, and Logan’s down there too.”
“Fonthill can shift at will. I don’t know how, but he managed it in daylight without a full moon.”
“I know, Jason called me.”
I turned toward my brother. “You think two twenty-year-olds are capable of keeping Nadya and the twins safe from this guy? He could be hunting them right now.”
“I trust them.” Adam crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re not boys anymore. They can handle this. They know the danger, and they’re staying alert.”
I tried to remind myself that my brother was our Alpha now. He understood the Pack better than anyone else. If he trusted Luke and Logan to protect his children, I could certainly trust them to keep Sasha’s sister safe.
“Jason also had some concerns about Sasha being involved in all this.”
I groaned. “Sorry about that, but there was no way I was sending her off alone with Fonthill lurking. I thought Jason would keep it to himself until he talked to you.”
“He didn’t?”
I shook my head slowly. “No, he told Gareth.”
“And he still helped you out with the car?”
“Barely, but yeah he did.”
“Is he the one who gave you that shiner and split your lip?”
I started to smile and winced. “Yeah, but I rearranged his nose for him. We’re even.”
“Gareth won’t keep quiet about her involvement, and until Jason finishes testing the tissue samples he took from Barry’s car, we won’t have any more information on Fonthill.” Adam opened the refrigerator and handed me a beer. “But that’s not why we’re here. We need to find out what’s going on with Nadya.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lana waited for Aren to disappear around the corner before she met my eyes. “I wanted to say a couple of things without Aren jumping to your defense.”
