Page 28 of Bear Haven
And he knew if it were only him, he wouldn’t feel that way. But it wasn’t only him. It was Bex. It was all her that had him tied up in knots.
She’d lost her mother, her home. She’d lost the person she always thought she was. And she’d lost another home. Sure, she’d found things along the way, including him, but damn, losing so much in so short a time was a steep price to pay.
“How long have you been here?” Gus asked his father.
“Bryan and I got here a couple hours ago. We lost the Mayor’s scent about twenty miles outside town. We had it one second and the next it was gone. We figured the best thing to do was get here to the house as soon as we could.”
“Excuse me. Do you live here?”
Gus turned to face the man who’d spoken. “Yes.”
“I’m Officer Carnes with the Dandridge Police Department. Can you tell me what happened?”
“No, I can’t. I wasn’t here.”
“Mind telling me where you were?”
“I was across the lake with my girlfriend looking at a piece of property.”
He flipped through his notepad. “That would make you Gus?”
“Yes.”
“Then that would make your girlfriend, Bex? Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“And where is she?”
“Over at the ambulance with her father.”
“Was he in the house when this began?”
“I assume so, but again, she and I weren’t here. We saw the flames and came back immediately.”
“I see. Has she been having any trouble with anyone?”
“On and off.” Gus wasn’t sure what the hell he was supposed to say, how much he was supposed to reveal. He’d always stayed as far from the law as he could. He didn’t need anyone discovering what he was. And to bring the law into what had been going on? That was the last thing they needed.
But the officer was staring at him, assessing him. Gus knew that look well. He’d been on the receiving end of it several times in his life. Anywhere new he went, people eyed him up and down. He used to think it was because they knew he was a shifter, but mostly it was because of his tattoos.
He didn’t look like them. He was different. And they didn’t like different.
“I see. Anyone local?”
“No.”
“Do you think anyone would follow her here to cause trouble?”
“Yes. They have before. I don’t put it past them to do it again.”
“Why? What problem do they have with you?”
“It was a family matter that didn’t go well, but we handled it.”
“I see,” he said, writing furiously in his little notebook. Gus wanted to ask him what exactly he thought he saw, but thought better of it. Instead, he stayed quiet and waited for the next question.
“Do you know how I can reach the man you had issue with?”
