Chapter Sixteen
Later that afternoon, Clyde had called to let him know that he was about an hour out with his sons and they were starving. Greer had offered to call in a couple pizzas, shocked when he’d told her to order seven.
“Who is going to eat all that?”
“You’ve never seen the Larson’s take down their food like they’ve been lost in the desert for a week.”
Greer shook her head, but while she went off to order, Xander looked over the paper Pax had generously left for him on the windshield of his truck that morning. He’d hidden it before the girls had seen it, but the police had found Sam’s body, and another woman was missing.
Poor Patty hadn’t been seen since Thursday after work.
The police were baffled by the string of animal attacks, and had called in an expert to see if the murders were the work of a rogue shifter.
Shit.
Pax wanted the heat in Twilight in case Xander did kill him. That way, all the deaths would point to him. It was the only reasonable explanation that he could come up with.
The unreasonable conclusion was that Pax was just one crazy son of a bitch, which actually fell in line with everything he knew about him. Every time he caught one of Pax’s old gang, he always asked just before he ended them, “Why my family?” None of them had known or admitted it. They’d all just said that Pax had set it up.
Greer came back into the room, and when he started to throw the newspaper away, he stopped. He wasn’t going to lie or hide things from her anymore. If he really wanted to have a future with her, he had to let go of his solitary lifestyle.
“They found Sam’s body. The local police are bringing in an expert to determine whether it was a shifter.”
Greer stopped at the edge of the kitchen, her face drained of color. “And they’re going to find two bodies. One killed by a were-cougar and the other a werewolf. Xander…”
It all clicked. “He turned Jill so she’d take the fall for him.”
“And you’ll take the fall for Dakota. You found Sam’s body and I bet Pax and Dakota were counting on that to lead the police straight to you.”
Xander sat down at the kitchen table and rubbed his hands over his face. “I have to end this, now. Before they finish whatever they have planned. I have to kill them.”
Her arms slipped around his neck from behind and he could feel the press of her breasts against his shoulders. “We will stop them. It will be all over and you can move on.”
He let out a shaky breath, allowing her embrace to calm and strengthen him. He pulled her around until she was seated across his lap, her ass cradled against the front of his jeans. He held her to him, and just breathed her in.
The sound of pounding feet on the stairs alerted him Jill was coming, but he held tight to Greer before she could pull away.
“Geez, what’s the matter with you two, you look like you’re in mourning.” When they didn’t answer, she cursed. “Oh, shit, who died?”
“Patty Simcox is missing,” Greer said softly.
“Probably not the best time to bring up karma, right?” Xander turned in his seat to glare at her, and found Greer already scowling at her over his shoulder. Jill threw up her hands in surrender. “Sorry, poor taste!”
“Greer thinks she knows why Pax bit you and why they killed Kelsey and Sam,” Xander said.
Jill sat across from them at the table. “Enlighten me.”
Greer filled her in on the theory and Jill’s mouth tightened, her pupils becoming slits. Xander could sense her beast, and held his hand up. “Breathe, Jill.”
She closed her eyes, obviously trying to find her calm again. “God, I’m going to have to take up yoga again to release all this bad energy. I fucking hate yoga.”
Xander heard the key in the lock just before the front door swung open and Clyde Larsen’s loud voice boomed, “Xander! Where you at, boy?”
Xander kissed Greer’s lips before depositing her back on her feet and standing up. He came around the chair just as Clyde entered the living room, his three sons behind him. All of them were big men, though not as tall as Xander. Clyde was shorter than his sons with copper hair and eyes the color of pine needles in the spring. His beard was darker than his hair, and his teeth were straight and even.
“Clyde,” Xander said.
Clyde stomped forward and pulled Xander into his arms, slapping him on the back. “It’s good to see you. It’s been too long.”
“Yeah, it has.”
Clyde pulled away and nodded over his shoulder. “And who are these two lovely ladies?”
“The one sitting down at the table is Jill, and this is Greer.”
Clyde winked at him. “Greer, huh? I like that.”
Greer held out her hand with a grin. “I’m so glad, sir, since it’s the only one I’ve got.”
“Oh, I like this one. She’ll definitely keep you on your toes.”
Before he could respond, Xander was pulled back into a rough embrace as Clyde’s oldest, Dereck, cracked his back.
“I missed you, little brother,” Dereck said.
Xander squeezed his shoulder when Dereck released him. Dereck was only a year older than Xander, but had insisted on calling him little brother. His hair was darker than his fathers with that red sheen to it, but his eyes were almost black instead of green.
“I appreciate you coming,” Xander said.
“Move out of the way, Dare, so we can give Xander a proper greeting,” Luke said.
Luke was the middle child and the clown of the Larson siblings. He looked just like his dad without the gruff exterior, and actually pinched Xander’s cheeks. Xander yanked away from him with a scowl.
“You’re an ass, Luke.”
“You love me best, just admit it.”
The last one to give him a hug was Clyde’s youngest, Clint. He was just shy of twenty, with his mother’s black hair and eyes. He was the quietest of the three.
“Good to see you, kid.”
Clint rolled his eyes. “Not a kid anymore.”
Xander introduced the three men to Greer and Jill, stepping between Greer and Luke when he got a little too friendly.
Luke stepped back respectfully with a grin. “So, that’s the way of it, huh?”
“Yeah, so keep a wide berth where she’s concerned.”
“Fine, fine…but where is the pizza?”