Page 86 of Knot Her Mountain Men

“The timestamps are almost instantaneous,” Sheriff Marks explained. “We triangulated the locations of both phones, but it wasn’t accurate enough to determine how far apart the devices were within the area. It’s very possible he was talking to himself and trying to pretend you were still alive. I mean, youwere, but he obviously wasn’t aware of that fact.”

Nausea flipped my stomach. “I can’t even put into words how much I hate that.”

“What happened after he left you out there? How did you survive?”

I told him all of that too. My memory had some fuzzy patches, but I knew Pumpkin had found me and Bear had gotten me back to a small hunting cabin before taking me back to the lodge.

“What was the name of the lodge and the people who found you?”

I gave him the info and he looked up the location.

“Let the record show that Mr. McLean advised search and rescue to go in the opposite direction of where he left Ms. Harris.” He glanced up at me. “Ms. Harris, do you believe that Mr. McLean tried to kill you?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes, I do. If he wasn’t trying, I don’t know what other explanation there could be. I’d never been truly afraid of him before that camping trip, never seen that much hate in his eyes when he looked at me. He couldn’t have left me behind by mistake. Brandon knew what he was doing.”

The sheriff asked me a few more questions, which I answered to the best of my ability, feeling more deflated by the second. I couldn’t deny it anymore. One of my oldest friends had genuinely tried to kill me because I’d refused to give him what he wanted.

“I don’t suppose my phone, or wallet, or anything was found in the search?”

Sheriff Marks perked up. “We have several of your things in evidence. They were found in Mr. McLean’s home.”

That made me queasy. He had taken my things all the way home? For what, a trophy?

“I can return them to you. We’ve documented everything we need from them.”

“Thank you.” Relief flooded my chest. Even just having my driver’s license back would make recovering my life so much easier.

“I’ll get them for you once the interview has concluded. I do need to make it clear that Mr. McLean is not in custody. A warrant is out for his arrest since we already had sufficient evidence prior to your statement, but we have been unable to locate him. He already tried once to kill you, and I wouldn’t discount him trying it again if he had the opportunity. I recommend vigilance. Do you have somewhere safe to stay?”

“I’ll stay at the lodge.”

That answer must have surprised him, because his eyebrows almost climbed all the way up his forehead.

I squirmed in my seat, giving him the barest details about how my suppressants were either in the supplies Brandon had taken or lost on the trail, and I had bonded one of my scent-matched alpha saviors during an unexpected heat.

Sheriff Marks observed me for a long moment. “You believe you’re safe there?”

“Yes. I trust them.”

He nodded sharply but added, “Like I said, be vigilant. It sounds like you trusted Mr. McLean too.”

My first instinct was to defend the pack, but I kept quiet. He wasn’t wrong to say so but I couldn’t explain to him I knew instinctively Bear and his pack wouldn’t hurt me. I had never been certain of that with Brandon, I had simply buried the little voice in the back of my head that had warned me about him because I so desperately wanted to be included.

“This concludes the recorded statement of Morgan Harris.” He turned off the device and stood, ushering me to join him. “I’ll get your things from the evidence locker and you can be on your way.”

I waited back with Maverick, leaning into his warmth while Sheriff Marks located my stuff.

He came out a few minutes later with a grocery bag filled with individual plastic evidence bags. “You’ll probably have to get a new phone. There was significant damage done to this one.”

“My bondmate bought me a new one. Should I leave the new number?”

Sheriff Marks got me a form to fill out that included the number and address for where I was staying, which I had to get off Maverick because I didn’t know more than the name of the lodge. He included the information for the whole pack.

“My cousin works for the local news,” the sheriff said. “Would you be comfortable if I pass your number along to her? The community at large will be relieved to hear you’re safe.”

“Is that safe if Brandon’s not in custody?”

“They’ve already published that there’s a warrant for his arrest and for the community to report any sightings. That would be reiterated, and I’ve made a report regardless that you’ve been found safe. Just depends on if you want to be involved or not.”

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