Chapter Six
Logan pulled in front of the Brookside sheriff’s department and let his truck idle as he looked through the blinds to see inside the small station. He spotted Magnus standing at a desk with a phone up to his ear and two other deputies working on computers.
It was a tiny place and he wasn’t sure what to think about that.
Either Brookside didn’t need a big law enforcement presence, or they were sorely underfunded. For Annabelle’s sake, he hoped it was the first. He didn’t like the idea of her having to deal with situations like the previous night if she didn’t have proper assistance.
Magnus glanced his way and nodded through the window. Logan had placed a call to his office on the short drive there to have a couple of agents come pick up the hunter Magnus was holding in custody. They were due to arrive in about an hour and half, meaning he needed to get busy so he’d be ready to transfer them over. Logan hoped that after that, Magnus might have time to talk.
Seeing Duffy and Calvin this morning had really brought home that he needed to finish his investigating, even if his gut told him that Samantha was probably better off wherever she’d disappeared to. It was time for him to do his fucking job and not think about fucking.
He’d have time with Annabelle after he had resolved his case. There was no way that he wouldn’t take the chance to get to know her better.
Logan turned the key and shut off his truck then pushed the door open. He gathered his laptop and files from the passenger seat then swung the door closed. Magnus had moved to the front of the building and waved him in as Logan approached.
“What’s going on?” Logan asked.
“If you don’t get that asshole out of my cell, I’m going to rip his throat out.”
Oh wow, I didn’t expect that answer. “What’d he do?”
Magnus ran his hands roughly across his face before he sighed. When he met Logan’s gaze, Logan saw the anger the sheriff was barely keeping locked away. “He hasn’t shut up all night. He keeps spouting off all kinds of hate.” Magnus leaned closer to Logan. “Of course, my deputies are shifters and they don’t deserve to have to listen to that shit.”
“I agree. I didn’t realize it would be so bad. He was actually pretty calm after we’d gotten the weapon away from him.”
“He stayed that way until we locked him up. After he realized that everyone here was a shifter, he went ballistic. It’s a good thing I separated his sons from him. The guy was losing his mind and might have hurt them.”
“Are the boys still here?” Logan questioned.
“No,” Magnus said. “Even though one of them was an adult and I could have charged both with illegal hunting, I allowed their mom to come pick them up. They don’t need to be around their father right now.”
“Good,” Logan said. He didn’t have a problem with the two younger men. It was the big bald guy who needed an attitude adjustment.
“You’ll take him into Coalition custody?” Magnus asked. His hard stare dared Logan to say no.
Logan straightened his shoulders and looked Magnus in the eye. He would show no submission to the other shifter. It wasn’t in his personality and Logan also had the added law enforcement connection. Most local police didn’t like the federal government stepping on their toes. The power play could become strong between the two of them. “Yes, agents from my office are already on the way.”
Magnus relaxed and grunted.
“That’s what you want, right?” Logan checked.
“Yes,” Magnus said. “I can’t keep him long, so you take him and he’ll be your problem. I don’t want him back in Brookside ever again.”
“I can’t promise that,” Logan admitted. “We work within the laws.”
“You might not be able to promise that, but I’m going to make damn sure.” Magnus stepped forward and pulled open the door, ushering Logan ahead of him. “Let’s do this, then.”
“You can’t intimidate a suspect,” Logan said quietly.
Magnus merely chuckled. “Who said anything about intimidating?”
Logan knew he was going to have to watch the sheriff. Not that he thought Magnus would break any laws, but he might not toe the line. Logan was a by-the-book agent. He would use every resource he had against the hunter, but he would not allow any of the guy’s rights to be trampled on. “I’ll handle him.”
Instead of responding, Magnus led him to the small desk one of the deputies was seated at, working on a computer. The young officer glanced up at Logan and Logan had to keep himself from smiling. The deputy didn’t look much above the legal age. He also visibly swallowed and grew nervous as he spotted Logan.
Taking a deep breath, Logan realized that the deputy was a coyote shifter. It made sense that the deputy would be wary of him. As a large predator, Logan’s instincts would normally have him trying to intimate the weaker shifter. But Logan wasn’t ruled by those instincts. Instead, he nodded at the coyote.
“Agent Logan Coldwell,” Logan introduced. “I apologize you got stuck watching my suspect.”
The coyote peered at Magnus before addressing Logan. “It was amusing at first, but all the name calling and threats got old real fast. I’m Deputy Carl Wilson.” He held out his hand to Logan, which Logan quickly accepted and shook.
“I’ll need to know exactly what he said. If he made threats against you for being shifters, I might be able to work in some charges for a hate crime of some sort.”
Carl grinned. “I’ll write my statement.” He looked at Magnus. “With your approval, sir.”
“Yes.” Magnus patted the deputy on the shoulder. “Go ahead, Carl.”
Magnus waved at the other deputy, who ambled over with a cup of coffee in his hand. While Carl had been young, fresh-faced and fit, this second deputy was Carl’s complete opposite. With a beer gut, a receding hairline and many years on him, he didn’t appear to be able to run down a two year old, much less any criminal. “This is Deputy James Garcia,” Magnus said. “He was the one who actually got stuck with our guest all night.”
“I apologize to you as well, then,” Logan said.
James didn’t offer his hand. He just nodded at Logan. “I prefer to work the overnight desk, so it’s my own fault.” James grinned, showing stained yellow teeth. “I might not move as fast as I did in my younger days, but I can still give as good as I get.”
Logan nodded in acknowledgment. “My agents will get him out of your hair.”
“No skin off my nose,” James quipped. “It’s usually empty here at night, so at least it kept me entertained. He fell asleep a couple of times and I might have accidently dropped things waking him up.”
“Ah,” Logan mused. James had gotten his revenge the only way he could and Logan approved.
“You want to talk to the guy?” Magnus asked.
“Yes,” Logan confirmed. “I assume you ran his record for prior arrests.”
Magnus snagged a file off the desk and passed it to Logan. Logan set his own stuff down on the corner before flipping open the cover of the folder.
Leslie Compton, aged fifty-six, married with two children. Worked as a machinist in a factory about thirty miles from Brookside. Leslie had a criminal background, which didn’t surprise Logan, given Leslie’s anger issues. He’d been arrested twice for driving under the influence and had spent time in jail for a couple of bar brawls. Yeah, Leslie was not the kind of person who Logan would ever want to be friends with.
“Great guy,” he muttered sarcastically.
“You should have met his wife,” Magnus said. “He screamed at her the entire time she was getting the boys. There wasn’t anything she’d do, but he was cursing her for leaving him in. I’m more than a little worried about her when he gets out. I made a call to the local police down there.”
“Any domestic calls?” Logan asked, although he had a feeling the answer was yes.
“Several called in by a neighbor, but the wife never pressed charges. Wife always denied that her husband abused her.”
“Without any marks or a report, there’s nothing they can do,” Logan finished.
“Yep,” Magnus confirmed.
“I’ll pass that information on to my agents.”
“While you’re doing that, I’m going to call the officer I spoke with. When I told him you might be taking this guy in, they said they’d send a social worker over to talk to the wife. Maybe they’ll be able to get her to understand the danger this time,” Magnus said.
“I don’t plan on letting him out anytime soon. He’s a danger to shifters.”
“Let’s hope your agency agrees,” Magnus commented. By his tone, it sounded like the sheriff had his doubts.
Logan would have to prove to yet another person in this town that the Coalition was there to help. What is with these people? “Where do you have him?”
“This way.” Magnus jerked his head off to the side.
Logan snatched up his folders and laptop then followed Magnus down a narrow hall until they reached a locked door. Peering through, Logan saw Leslie sitting on a small bunk with his head back against the wall. Magnus unlocked the barrier and pushed it open before ushering Logan past. “I’ll just leave you to it.”
Magnus kept the door open as he walked away. Logan shook his head, but he had other things to worry about than the sheriff’s mistrust. Logan sauntered forward until he was standing in front of the cell Leslie occupied.
“About time you showed up. You can’t keep me here.” Leslie rose, glowering at him.
“Actually, I can,” Logan corrected. “You broke the law, and we’re not talking about a fist fight with another drunk. You were hunting inside federally protected lands.”
“So give me a fine and I’ll pay it,” Leslie said.
“Not going to happen,” Logan said. “I have reason to believe you knew you were shooting at a shifter.”
Leslie snorted. “Prove it.”
“I will,” Logan promised. “In the meantime, you’re being transferred into the custody of the Shifter Coalition.”
“I’m human,” Leslie argued. “You have no jurisdiction over me.”
“Wrong again.” Logan walked up to the bars and wrapped his fingers around them. “You’re looking at some serious charges this time.”
“I know people,” Leslie claimed, but he’d gone pale and Logan knew that Leslie was finally feeling some fear. It wasn’t even a smidge of what Annabelle had felt the night before.
“You might know the pope and it wouldn’t do you any good. We take attempted murder very seriously.”
“Murder?” Leslie’s face grew red as his anger spiked. “It was a fucking animal.”
This was the problem. Unless Logan did something, this man was never going to see any shifter as an equal. Fucking ridiculous. Annabelle had every right to go for a run in a forest where she should be protected.
“And when I talk to your kids, are they going to think you were just after an animal?” Logan questioned. He already knew the answer. The teen from the previous night had given Logan an idea of what was really going on.
“You leave them out of this!” Leslie yelled.
“I wish I could,” Logan lied. “You got them involved when you decided to take them into the woods in the middle of the night.”
“I want a lawyer!” Leslie screamed.
Logan nodded seriously. “You need one.”
He turned and walked back toward where Magnus had disappeared to. Logan couldn’t question Leslie any longer until he had representation. That didn’t matter, though. He was finished with him for the time being. He needed to write up his report and email it in.
Since he was working another case, Logan wouldn’t have to follow Leslie back to town. Instead his office would handle the charges while he concentrated on what had first sent him into Brookside.
Logan knocked on the doorjamb to Magnus’ office door. “Got a minute?” he asked.
“Sure.” Magnus nodded toward a visitor’s chair in front of him. “Have a seat.”
“Thanks.” Logan moved to sit.
“You get anything from him?” Magnus asked.
“No, but I didn’t expect to.”
“I figured,” Magnus said.
“He asked for a lawyer.”
“You going to call one for him?”
“They’ll take care of that at headquarters,” Logan replied. “It’ll take a while to get him processed, so maybe he’ll smarten up and lose the attitude.”
“I doubt that,” Magnus said.
“I agree,” Logan admitted. “It won’t matter, though. I was there and I know what happened.”
“And you believe he’ll get time?”
“Yes.” Logan said with confidence. “The last case like this I was involved with didn’t have half the evidence and the man was sentenced to fifteen years. The courts are taking these charges seriously.”
“Finally,” Magnus muttered.
“You don’t believe in the system?” Logan asked, surprised.
“It’s not that.” Magnus leaned to glance out of his door and leaned forward. He braced his forearms on the desk as he spoke. “I tried to get Coalition help when your agency was first formed. We didn’t have any trouble in town, but our town limit lines up to meet the federal land. I’ve been dealing with illegal hunting more and more.”
“No one said anything about it last night,” Logan said, growing concerned. He’d spoken to Mac and Annabelle and neither of them had mentioned trouble.
“They don’t know,” Magnus said. “I’ve been trying to keep it quiet.”
“Why?” he couldn’t help but ask. If Annabelle had had some warning, she might have taken better precautions prior to her run the previous night.
“The people who live here need the protection that we’re able to provide. They depend on being able to remain unknown. If they start to fear hunters, or anything else, I have no idea how they’ll react, but it won’t be good.”
The sheriff’s words, said with passion, struck a chord with Logan. He could only imagine how Mac and the others at the bar would respond to a threat in their back yard. Logan didn’t know the other residents of Brookside, but the way they had frozen him out the day before spoke of a close community.
“How can I help?” Logan asked.
Magnus furrowed his brow. “Help?”
“Protect the people of your town. You said that the Coalition hadn’t assisted?”
“They haven’t,” Magnus confirmed. “I’ve made calls to them and the State Park Rangers. Still haven’t seen anyone.”
“My office would be the closest,” Logan said. He hadn’t heard about any trouble up there. “Who’d you speak to?”
Magnus flipped through a notepad. “Agent Ruiz.”
Huh, Ricardo Ruiz was one of the first agents who had joined Logan’s division. They’d started about the same time, but Logan had never liked the other agent. “What’s he say?”
“Not much. He promised to look into it and ask the Rangers to keep a better eye out, but I know he’s just blowing me off.”
“How many hunters?”
“This is the third time this month that we’ve brought someone in. I can’t file the federal charges and without any help…” Magnus shrugged.
“You’ll have it now,” Logan vowed. He’d look into what Ruiz’s issue was, but Logan had called in a couple of the newest agents and he doubted either would have a problem with getting more involved.
“Why are you offering to help when agents from your own office won’t?”
“Because it’s our fucking job,” Logan snapped.
“Then I will expect you to do your job.”
Even though Logan now understood some of the hostility coming from Magnus, it was hard not to feel challenged. “While we’re talking about doing jobs, I have some questions for you.”
Magnus lifted an eyebrow.
Logan opened his own file and pulled out the picture of Samantha Jones. “Have you ever seen this woman?” He slid the photo across the desk.
To his credit, Magnus picked up the image and studied it. “No. She’s a pretty girl and I would have remembered her. Why?”
How much to tell him? Hell, Logan hanging around the bar had already showed Mac and his group that he was suspicious. Even if Magnus told Mac that Logan asked questions, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. “We have a missing person report that links her to some of your residents.”
Magnus leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Let me guess, your link is through the Den.”
“Yes,” Logan confirmed. “You know anything about what’s going on there?”
“You seemed pretty comfortable yourself around them,” Magnus replied. “What do you know?”
“Nothing,” Logan admitted. “But I have my suspicions.”
“All I’m at liberty to say is that if Mac or anyone in his group is involved, then that girl is in good hands.”
Why didn’t Magnus’ confirmation that Samantha wasn’t in danger there make Logan feel better? The sheriff knew something he wasn’t saying and Logan wanted answers. “That’s all you’re at liberty to say?” he pressed. “You’re a law enforcement officer. It is your job to stop a crime from being committed.”
“I know what my duty is,” Magnus replied, his shoulders going stiff. “I don’t need a reminder from some uptight city boy.”
“City boy?” Logan repeated. Is he fucking serious?
“It’s obvious you don’t belong here.” Magnus ran his gaze down Logan’s button-down shirt and dark slacks. “You’ll get those nice clothes dirty.”
Logan resisted running his palms along the thigh of his pants. They were tailored and fitted, but he wasn’t wearing a full suit. So I dress nicely. How is that a fault? “I can’t believe you’re bringing up my clothes.”
“It’s only the most obvious sign that you’re not from here.”
“Your entire town has made it apparent that you don’t welcome outsiders,” Logan pointed out.
“For good reason,” Magnus said.
Logan wasn’t getting anywhere with this guy. It was frustrating him to a point that he almost threatened him, but by the look on his face, it seemed Magnus expected that reaction. Logan needed to be the bigger man here. “This case started by me doing a friend a favor.”
“Favor?” Magnus asked dubiously.
“A buddy of mine got the call from Samantha’s boyfriend, saying she’d been kidnapped by a couple of guys on bikes after they’d beaten him,” Logan shared. “Samantha’s not far from the head Coalition office in Lake Worth. The boyfriend, a sheriff by the way, got a look at the license plates on the bikes.”
“Which led you here,” Magnus said.
“Yes. He asked me to come up here since I was closer,” Logan said.
Magnus tapped his finger on the desk as he stared at Logan. “What do you need in order to drop the investigation on this woman?
Finally, they were getting somewhere. “I want to talk to her. If she answers my questions over the phone, then I’ll leave her alone.”
“And leave town?” Magnus asked.
“I kind of like it here,” Logan replied, not giving away his true feelings. Magnus didn’t need to know anything about him and Annabelle.
“You stayed at the Den last night?” Magnus stated.
“I did.” Logan gazed right back at the sheriff. “Is that a problem?”
“Not for me. Surprised is all. Mac is pretty protective over his people.”
“I noticed.”
“But him allowing you to hang around, even sleep there, says he trusts you,” Magnus responded.
“I haven’t given him any reason not to.”
“Most people don’t get the chance.”
Logan nodded, not having anything more to say. He’d been surprised when Mac had offered. Even Annabelle had been shocked.
Outside the window, Logan saw a black, company-issued SUV pull up and park beside his truck. “My guys are here.”
“Go ahead,” Magnus said. “Carl has the transfer paperwork.”
Logan hadn’t had time to write his report. “Do you have somewhere I can sit and talk to them?”
Magnus pointed to the only other office, which was right next to his. “Use that space. No one else does.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure.” Magnus glanced down at the photo of Samantha, which was still on his desk. “I’ll work on this other matter.”
Logan was grateful. He’d like to close this investigation up to concentrate on more personal matters. In the first time in his long career, Logan felt like he wasn’t performing to the best of his ability at his job. It was not a feeling he wanted to carry around with him.
Fabian and Fredrick, twin wolf shifters, and Logan’s favorite young agents, were stepping into the station as Logan exited Magnus’ office. Fabian, a natural flirt and friendly guy, eyed and smiled at Carl. Fredrick rolled his eyes but followed his brother as Fabian walked right up to the deputy’s desk.
“Well, hello there.” Fabian’s richly accented voice sounded warm and inviting.
Carl jumped up from his desk, knocking a few papers onto the ground. The young deputy blushed before bending to pick them up. Fabian made no attempt to hide his eyeballing of Carl’s ass.
James snorted as Logan passed him, but didn’t comment. The older deputy didn’t seem disgusted or even bothered at all by Fabian’s ogling.
“Hey, Logan,” Fredrick greeted him.
“Thanks for making it here so fast,” Logan replied, shaking Fredrick’s hand.
“Oh, it was our pleasure,” Fabian crooned, leaning against Carl’s desk.
Carl looked like he didn’t know whether to run away from Fabian or step toward him.
“Come on back,” Logan said, hoping to keep Fabian on task while giving Carl a break from his intense attention.
“Be right there,” Fabian said, turning his gaze to Carl.
Well, he’d tried. Fredrick followed him into the empty office. Logan switched on the light and was surprised by the clean, bare space he found. The space was about the same size as Magnus’ and held a desk, a few spare chairs and filing cabinet.
“You made it here quicker than I thought,” Logan commented, setting his stuff down.
“I lost a bet and had to let Fab drive.”
Chuckling, Logan sat to power up his laptop. “You’re never going to learn.”
Fredrick grinned, sitting across from him. “If I let him drive, at least I don’t have to worry about him playing with all the buttons in the car.”
“True,” Logan agreed. “Not a bad idea.”
“So you said you caught a hunter?” Fredrick asked. “I can’t believe he didn’t know that there are no open areas around here. I looked it up before we left. This entire territory is protected.”
“Oh, he knew. Have you ever heard anything about this place having trouble?”
“No,” Fredrick confirmed. “Never heard of the place.”
“The sheriff has made several requests to our office and hasn’t received any help?”
Fredrick frowned. “Did he say who he spoke to?”
This was tricky ground. While Logan liked Fredrick and Fabian, he didn’t know how close they were to Ruiz.
“It’s probably that prick Ruiz.”
Logan glanced up at Fabian, who was walking through the open doorway. “What makes you say that?”
“I’ve heard him answer calls. He’ll promise to look into things, but I never actually see him working,” Fabian replied. “When I asked him about the calls, he told me to mind my own business.”
That wasn’t good. Logan wished he could say something to defend a fellow agent, but he had a feeling that things with Ruiz were going to get worse.
“What else has he said to you?” Logan asked.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Fabian clutched the back of the only other empty chair then spun in around to plop down.
“Like what?” Logan pressed.
“He calls him a fag,” Fredrick supplied.
“Fred!” Fabian snapped at his brother.
“No.” Logan held his hand up. “You don’t have to put up with that bullshit. I need to know.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Fabian said, shrugging. “I just ignore him.”
“How many other people ignore him?”
Both Fabian and Fredrick looked uncomfortable.
“Never mind.” Their reaction was enough. “I’ll take care of it.”
“We like working there,” Fabian told him. “Not a lot of other divisions would have allowed us to work together.”
“I understand,” Logan said. He would make sure that whatever he had to do, nothing would come back on the twins. Logan opened the program he needed. “Let me explain what’s going on and what I need you to do while I finish my report.”
“Sounds good to me,” Fabian replied, settling in to listen.
As Logan spoke, he outlined everything that he needed. Fabian and Fredrick both asked good questions, proving to Logan that they might be new, but they were highly trained. Once he’d given them everything he could, he stood and motioned them up.
“Let’s get you guys on the road,” Logan said.
“I don’t know.” Fabian looked out to the front. “Are you sure you don’t need me here? I could stay.”
Since Fabian was eyeing Carl, who watched Fabian from the corner of his eye, Logan knew exactly why Fabian had made the offer.
“Sorry.” Logan slapped Fabian on the back. “But if something comes up, I’ll give you a call.”
“Figures,” Fabian muttered. “I never get the good assignments.”
“Deputies, can you help transfer the suspect to my guys?” Logan called out.
“Sure.” Carl was by Fabian’s side in an instant. The shifter moved damn fast.
James grumbled but started to rise.
Amused, Logan turned to go back into the office and almost ran into Magnus.
“Here.” Magnus passed him a piece of paper.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“A phone number,” Magnus replied.
Such a smartass. “Whose?”
“Call it and find out,” Magnus told him before spinning on his heel and returning to his office.
Okay. Logan didn’t follow the sheriff. Instead he pulled his cell from his back pocket and punched in the number while ambling to his computer.
“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line was soft and trembled.
“Hi, this is Agent Coldwell with the Shifter Coalition,” Logan said.
“Yes, Agent,” she responded. “He said you’d be calling.”
“He who? And who am I speaking to?”
“This is Samantha Jones.”
There’s no way it’ll be this easy. “Samantha Jones?”
“Yes.”
He scrambled to his file and opened it. “Samantha, can you verify your birthday for me?”
“April tenth, nineteen ninety-four.”
“And the last four digits of your social security number?”
“Six three one one.”
Holy shit, this really was Samantha. “Do you know why I need to speak to you?”
“Because I ran away,” Samantha replied.
“I just need to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’ve never been as safe as I am right now.”
Logan sat, not believing that he was actually getting to speak to the woman he’d been searching for.
“I won’t tell you where I am,” she said firmly.
“If I can verify your story and you feel that you are in no danger, there is no reason for you to.”
She let out an audible long breath. “Where do I start?”
“Can you tell me what happened the night you left?”