"You have a call from the station over in Bozeman."

Dan looked up to see Rip standing in the doorway, a tight expression on her round face. There were dark smudges beneath her eyes and she looked about as well rested as he felt. No surprise given that she'd been back at the station even before him, and it had been a mad house since their arrival two hours ago.

Calls from families of the missing people, frantic to know if the motel killer could have something to do with the disappearance of their loved one. The public in a near frenzy over the story a local news outlet had put out about a potential serial killer. And he'd just hung up with the editor of the Gazette after threatening to slap him with an obstruction of justice charge if he ran some fabricated story they'd titled Dew Drop Dead that somehow intimated that the murder was committed by the motel owner over some monetary dispute.

If the general public would leave him and his people to do their job instead of having to deal with all this other bullshit, maybe they could actually find the person responsible.

None of which was Rip's fault, he reminded himself, resisting the urge to mutter a string of curse words as he realized who was on the other end of the telephone line.

"Thanks." He blew out a sigh and picked up the phone pressing the blinking button. "McCafferty here," he snapped into the receiver.

"Morning Sheriff, Bernie Gillis." His tone dripped with fake cordiality that made Dan's hackles rise even higher. "Just wanted to check in and see if we can be of any help with this Dew Drop Inn mess you've got brewing."

Fucking Gillis. Never wanted to help when they needed to borrow some equipment or could use a rush on some labs, but when there was a chance of some media coverage, Bernie was falling all over himself to get involved.

Dan shoved his irritation and ego aside and tossed the pen he'd been clicking obsessively onto the desk.

"Yeah, I might just have to take you up on that. Give me a few hours to dig through what we've got and I'll give you a call back."

"Allrighty, then. As always, Sheriff, whatever you need. And--"

The man was still talking when Dan set the receiver back in its cradle.

"Asshole," Rip murmured, only half under her breath.

"You got that right," he agreed. "But unfortunately for us all, we might need him. Or at least some of his guys."

She tipped her head in a grudging nod and turned to go before stopping short and facing him again. "Where's Mina, by the way?" she asked, glancing around the office as if she half-expected her to pop out from under the desk.

"She's in the spare office at the end of the hall, poring through her online social media files in search of a clear and recent picture of her ex that we can use."

"And you trust her to do that alone?" she asked, doubts ringing clearly in her tone.

Did he?

He couldn't deny he felt...something for Mina that wasn't natural after only one night. Granted, it had been an eventful night. One that had encompassed flirting, fighting, kissing and the discovery of a dead body. He'd had entire relationships that had been less complicated.

But trust?

Hell no.

Even at that, though, he somehow sensed after the way she’d treated him during his nightmares, beneath the half-truths and the secrets she was clearly hiding, she was a good person. A brave person. One who cared about others and tried to do the right thing.

And, as sad as it was, he'd come across few enough of those types of people to recognize the value of that. So he'd been lenient so far, giving her the benefit of the doubt until he was proven wrong about her as they tried to get to the bottom of this senseless tragedy.

"I think we're shorthanded and she has personal knowledge that should help her complete the task more quickly than we could do right now. If she can't find a picture of him, and he doesn't show up once the pulled prints are run through the database, then we'll call in a sketch artist."

Rip's tight jaw told him she wasn't exactly mollified by his explanation, but he didn't have time for coddling.

"Look, the M.E. estimated time of death at ten P.M. and she's alibied for almost two hours around that, both ways." He laid his hands on the desk and held Ripley's gaze. "She might have some skeletons rattling around in her closet, but she didn't kill that kid, so cut her a little slack. She's had a rough night too, all right?"

"Roger that, boss," she muttered, and then backed out of his office before shutting the door behind her with a sharp snap.

He stared at the closed door, more puzzled by the second.

What the hell had gotten into her? He'd noticed it yesterday a little, too. A very definite chill at points, but not to this extent. She was clearly not a fan of Mina. Did she have a bad vibe and think the other woman was guilty of something, or was it just some sort of feminine jealousy? Lord knew Mina was gorgeous enough to give most women an inferiority complex. But Rip wasn't most women. She was salt of the earth. The type that didn't care about those things.

So was it him that was wrong, then? Was he so dazzled by Mina's raw sexuality that he couldn't see that she was a big, bad wolf in sex-kitten clothing?

He dropped his head back against the chair and squeezed his eyes closed as the tension in his neck crawled upward to his temples.

They had definitely gotten off on the wrong foot this morning. He'd been in the throes of a recurring nightmare. One where he'd been sent to rescue a small group of people from a refugee camp in Algeria. And, just like in real life, in his dream, it hadn't worked out the way they planned. A dozen innocent people were killed.

But then, Mina was there, in his dreams. With her cool hand on his chest, soothing him, comforting him, drawing the pain from his body and taking it into her own. And in his dream he had clung to that, desperate for the lifeline that she was. Needing to feel a connection so badly. The tents and the guns and the blood had faded away until it was just the two of them.

When he'd finally heard her calling his name, dragging him from his slumber, he'd felt like he'd gotten hit with a brick. His body like a furnace, blowing off so much heat, he could barely catch his breath. It took a few seconds to get his bearings, and when he did, he knew he'd made a critical error letting her stay so close.

So he'd come in to work this morning with what he thought was a solid plan. He'd stay here at the station on his little office couch, and Mina would stay at his place with Rip guarding her there. He would set up his part-timers to take four-hour watch shifts outside the house as a secondary precaution.

Now, he had to re-evaluate yet again. He didn't want to make either of the women uncomfortable when Rip clearly had beef, but he sure as shit couldn't spend another night with just a wall separating him and Mina.

He was still chewing on that bone when his door swung open again, without a knock.

Rip poked her head in again, and the tension around her mouth had increased tenfold.

"Jogger just found a body in the woods over near Jessup Road. Looks like a wild animal attack."

Mina had walked up behind her, the riot of emotions playing across her face speaking volumes. Surprise and sadness, to be sure, but underneath it all?

Rage.

Pure, unadulterated rage. It rolled off her in waves, and she fairly trembled with it.

Which meant she knew something about this new development.

A chill of unrest stole through him. Wild animal attack, his ass. He would bet his last dollar that, once they investigated this further, they'd find that this was another murder, plain and simple.

And while Mina hadn't committed this crime either, his gut told him she knew who did, and it sure as shit wasn't some ex-boyfriend.

There was something far bigger going on here, and he was going to get to the bottom of it, even if it killed him.

* * *

"Not on your fucking life."

Dans hot her a withering glare, but she ignored him.

"If you want to charge me with something, go for it. But until or unless you do, I'm not getting in that cage."

Mina flicked a glance from him to the open cell and back again, trying to keep her expression neutral. In truth, she was fighting panic. Shifters were animals in the deepest part of their hearts, and being trapped brought every one of those instincts to the forefront. It didn't matter that, with just a few moments of alone time, she could stretch those bars apart wide enough to squeeze out. It was the principal of the thing.

No cages.

Not ever.

He jangled the keys in one hand and flexed his jaw. "What do you suggest then? If your ex is still out there looking for you, you're in no less danger than you were yesterday. The safest place for you is here."

She let out a snort and rose one brow in challenge. "Really? According to you last night, the safest place for me is with you."

His jaw clenched and his eyes went stormy. She could almost see it...the mental reel playing in his head of the two of them tangled on his bed just a few hours before.

Okay, so maybe that hadn't turned out the way she'd planned it, but there was no way she was going to let him back her into a corner here. If she managed to stop herself from ripping the bars off their hinges, she was still in for hours of helplessness, stuck in a box while more innocents were hurt.

And if she didn't manage to stop herself?

Then she'd wind up effectively outing herself as something "other" or making the local police think she was some sort of escape artist and criminal mastermind. Option A would only enrage the Council further and ensure that Dan and his crew would wind up on a kill list to keep them from spreading the word. Option B would have her at the top of the Styx police department’s most wanted list as he tried to figure out her tie to the murders and disappearances in the area.

"Let me come with you." She knew it was a long shot, but she was running out of solutions.

His brow caved into a dark frown. "Not going to happen. You're not law enforcement, Mina. I can't have you out there tromping all over the scene or risking your safety."

"I can help, though. I'm an experienced tracker. That's why I came to Montana in the first place."

Not exactly a lie, for once. She had come to Montana to track an animal. Namely, Etienne the dragon shifter so she could get to his now-mate Taya. But that didn't make her feel less guilty. She was already knee-deep in lies. She wasn't about to pat herself on the back for backing into a sort-of-truth.

Nerves gave way to steely resolve as she focused on the goal. She needed to stay in the know and in control of the narrative here in town until she figured out how to neutralize the Council before anyone else got hurt. In order to do that, she needed an in, and this was the only one she had right now.

"If it was a wild animal, I can tell you what kind and locate it for you so you can take action and put it down. Deputize me," she demanded, determined not to let his stony expression sway her. "If you're worried about liability, make it official, quick-like, and I'll do my best to help you guys. You said it yourself, Dan. You guys are short-handed already. Think about the safety of the rest of the town."

Her tone had shifted to pleading and she realized with a start that she had reached out and grabbed his forearm at some point during her pitch.

She resisted the urge to drop it like a hot potato as the electricity between them sizzled like a live wire.

"Please, Dan." She held his stony gaze. "I'll lose my mind if you leave me here in that cell."

He must have heard the sincerity in that...the first entirely honest thing she'd said almost since they'd met.

She nearly melted into a puddle of relief when she sensed the softening in him.

"Shit," he muttered, before nodding his head slowly. "Fine. You can come, but only long enough to look for tracks. After that, you wait in the car until we've processed the scene, got it?"

"Yes, sure. Absolutely." She released his arm and took a step back before glancing down at her clothes.

Dan had loaned her a hoodie that reached the middle of her thighs, so she was covered, but she still wore her heels, which obviously wouldn't work.

He followed her gaze and jammed the keys in his hand back into his pocket.

"We'll stop at the general store on the way out and get you some work boots or sneakers so you can make the hike. But first, let's get out that bible and some forms and make this official so we don't find ourselves slapped with a lawsuit."

Deputy Ripley was going to flip her shit when she realized what was happening, but Mina couldn't worry about the redhead right now. She had to use every spare second to formulate a plan for every eventuality when they reached the crime scene.

Deputy Mina Silva.

She had to admit, it had a nice ring to it.

"Do I get a badge or-?"

He didn't bother to reply before turning to cut a path down the hallway, but she didn't let that bring her down.

She'd managed to score her first win in days and she wasn't going to squander it. She'd already managed to send a coded message to Etienne’s uncle, Rene, when she'd been online looking through random Facebook pages in search of good old "Vince”. By sunset, she should have a very clear picture of what the Council's plan was and how far they were willing to go to get to her.

And then? She'd find a way to stop them and their reign of terror.

For good this time.