Page 115 of Knot Her Mountain Men

“I’d consider it luckiernotto have almost died twice, but I can’t complain at having survived, I guess.”

He had the good sense to look at least mildly admonished. “We’ll add the statements and images provided by your pack to the investigation. I can assure you Mr. McLean won’t be a problem again. The video file you sent over only confirmed what we already suspected, but it will leave no doubt in the minds of jurors what his intentions were.”

“Are you going to get Maisie out? The omega Paul mentioned in the video. Or Natalie?”

Sheriff Marks sighed, averting his gaze. “It’s not that simple. The Decker compound is heavily armed. The video will help since it contains Paul Decker’s direct confession, but this is bigger than him. If we move too quickly, we could have nothing to show for it but lives lost.”

I swallowed hard. “People are suffering in there.”

“Trust me, Ms. Harris. We’re aware of what’s going on, but building a solid case takes time. No one wants us to move too soon and have the charges dropped because there wasn’t enough to put them away. That doesn’t help your friends.”

I hated that it was true. Vigilante justice wasn’t really my style, but I could see the appeal when you had to wait on the system, knowing people were hurting in the meantime. Instead of responding, I took a long drink of my tea.

“We appreciate your cooperation on all this. Mr. McLean is not directly related to the Decker compound, but with any luck he’ll sing like a canary about anything he knows.”

“Does that mean you would cut him a deal? Let him out sooner?”

“Maybe with the first attempt, but not with a second. Best he can hope for is some privileges while he’s locked up.”

My stomach turned at the thought that Brandon might have gone free if he hadn’t tried to finish the job. I couldn’t count it as a blessing that he had come back to hurt me again, but at the very least it brought me some clarity, gave me the courage to claim my pack, and ensured he wouldn’t be a threat to me any longer.

Pumpkin’s barking alerted us to the return of the retrieval party, and Sheriff Marks went out to meet them. I stayed right where I was, not remotely eager to lay eyes on Brandon again. Ryder settled at my side, taking my hand in his with a comforting squeeze.

“I’ll go see if I can get us an update,” Kit said, slipping away.

“Do you think Bear will get in trouble if something happened to Brandon?” I asked Ryder, leaning against him to tuck my head beneath his chin.

“Anyone with eyes can see Brandon physically assaulted you. I doubt Bear would get in trouble if he’d fed Brandon through a wood chipper while protecting you.”

“That’s…a visceral image.”

“Accurate, though, and no less than he deserves. Brandon’s lucky we weren’t all home when he showed up or they’d be picking up pieces of him instead of launching a rescue.”

I didn’t consider myself to be a violent person, but my purr wasn’t convinced, rumbling up a storm at the declaration.

“Do you want to call your brother?” Ryder asked.

“In the morning. If I call now, he’ll be up all night even though I’m already safe. Might as well let them all sleep.”

“Fair enough.”

We both perked up when Kit reappeared.

“He’s alive. Barely.” Kit sat down next to us. “He’s in police custody and they’re transporting him to the hospital. They want to come back tomorrow to take photos and collect potential evidence, but for now they’ll finish up interviewing Bear and head out.”

The cops sat with Bear, and Kit interpreted for him during his statement, the most important one besides mine since he was more cognizant than I was toward the end. If they had the technology to understand dogs, Pumpkin probably would’ve given the most scathing statement of all. She stuck next to me now that everyone was back inside, and we watched from the windows as everyone from emergency services departed.

“How are you feeling, little fox?” Kit planted a kiss against my hair.

“Better than expected. The bond is helping.” We were all agitated, but our connection was soothing, every touch settling me further. It was odd in many ways to feel so much more than I usually did and not want to crawl out of my skin. It was a lot, but it was right.

A bond with the wrong person probably didn’t feel this way. I imagined it to be itchy, like grains of sand in your shoe, only you would never be able to get rid of them. My bond with these alphas flowed like water, occasionally buffeting, but mostly a relief.

“Would you like some more tea, sweetheart?”

“Sure, that sounds great.”

Maverick stole a quick kiss before getting the kettle warming again. Pumpkin walked so close to me she turned herself into a tripping hazard, but it was cute more than anything else.

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