Chapter Nine
Trent wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He was exhausted, but at least the residents in town would be safe. He’d just finished helping old man Pritcher get his animals put in their stalls as Melissa finished talking to the neighbor. They’d been out all afternoon and this was the last stop. It was a good thing, too, since they were expected back at the bar soon.
He’d gotten a text from Logan that his friends had arrived.
Mac had also called a few times since Trent had left him to deal with the slaughtered deer they’d found.
Trent glanced back in Melissa’s direction. She hadn’t mentioned the animal since they’d left the bar. She’d remained vigilant throughout the day and Trent quite enjoyed seeing her in a law enforcement element. Melissa was quick and she knew how to talk to the residents. There was obvious distrust from the Brookside folks, but Melissa never let that affect how she handled the situation.
“Thanks again, Trent,” Mr. Pritcher said. The older man walked up and held out his hand.
“You know you can always call,” Trent responded. Most of the town folk stayed out of old man Pritcher’s way, but Trent liked the old goat. Literally—Pritcher was a goat shifter, one of a kind shifter. So very rare. “I really don’t like you being out here on your own.”
Pritcher chuckled as he patted the shotgun he carried. “I got Betty here with me. I’ll be fine. As long as they don’t go after my animals.”
“You named your weapon Betty?” Trent asked.
“After my mama,” Pritcher agreed. “She was the toughest woman I’ve ever met.”
Trent laughed. “At least I know where you get it from. Seriously, though, call if anything happens.”
“I will. And watch your back.” Pritcher peered over to where Melissa was waiting by the vehicle. “And your girl. I hear they’ve already gone after her.”
Trent raised his eyebrow.
“I hear things. Even way out here,” Pritcher said.
“I bet. Keep your ear out for more than gossip on my girl. No one will touch her again,” Trent stated.
“Good boy,” Pritcher praised. He patted Trent’s shoulder before he ambled off toward the house.
Trent gave one last long look around. The farm was as secure as he could make it. He had to trust Pritcher to take care of himself. He felt weighed down as he stalked toward Melissa and the vehicle. It was past time for them to be headed back.
“Everything all good here?” Melissa asked. She shoved her phone into her back pocket.
“Yep, ready to go?”
“Fabian emailed me. The developer who was here is no longer located at his old address. He closed his office.”
Trent had been headed toward the driver side, but he stopped. “He closed his office?” That didn’t make sense. The guy had been a sleaze and Trent had been happy to run him out of town. But there was no way the realtor was going to just give up. That was the reason Carter had collected a file on him in the first place.
“Disappeared, too,” Melissa informed him. “Pretty suspicious, if you ask me.”
“Very,” he agreed. “Let’s get back to the bar.”
She opened the passenger door. “I’m kind of nervous to meet the Coalition agents.”
Trent walked around the front of the truck and climbed inside before he responded. “You have nothing to worry about. I won’t let them mess with you.”
“If the residents here don’t like me, I’m pretty sure the Coalition agents are going to be worse,” she said.
He bit back a growl. “They will not say or do anything to hurt you.” Trent trusted Logan to handle his friends, but if these agents even looked at Melissa cross-eyed, he’d take them down. They were federal agents and had to follow rules. Trent didn’t, and when it came to Melissa, he’d play dirty.
As he started the truck, she sighed.
“What else is bothering you?” he asked.
“How do—”
“Come on,” he said. “I know you. There’s something on your mind.”
She scoffed. “Are you kidding me? A fellow deputy was killed last night. There was a dead animal left in front of the place I slept last night. And we’re using a plan that was designed for a zombie apocalypse.”
Okay, fair point. “Well, when you say it that way…what’s not wrong?”
She laughed. “Exactly. I’m pissed off.”
That wasn’t what he’d expected her to say. “About it all or something in particular?”
Melissa looked out of the window. “I think about it all. I talked to more people today than I have the entire time I lived in town. And, sure, most of them eyed me like I was coming to shoot their dog or something. Still, they respected my advice and just want to be left alone.”
He grunted in agreement. As he drove down the old gravel road, they bounced around inside the interior of the truck. “The people here know what to do in case of an emergency. It’s different to plan and execute. They’re nervous. And you helped them today.”
“I hope so.” She reached over to lay her palm on his leg. “Is it wrong I hope they’ll come after us and leave all these innocent people alone?”
“No,” he told her. Trent covered her hand with his. “Because I want the same thing. I worry they’ll know the surefire way to hurt us is by killing or hurting the residents.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
Trent swung his arm onto the back of her seat. “Come here.”
Melissa appeared confused for a moment, but undid her seatbelt then slid over. He held her close as she belted the middle seatbelt.
“Better,” he told her. Trent didn’t like her even being on the other side of the vehicle from him. If she was worried about the agents, it was up to him to make sure she felt as important as she was. “Now, I want you to listen to me.”
She nodded before leaning her head on his shoulder.
“You are a part of this team,” he told her. “Hell, you’re actually one of the deputies supposed to be working this investigation. You are in charge here and don’t let anyone push you around.”
“It’s hard when I know everyone else can rip my throat out with really sharp teeth.”
This time he did growl. “Never going to happen,” he declared. “Our friends know I’ve claimed you and I’ll make damn certain the Coalition agents are aware of the fact as well.”
It took a few minutes, but eventually she relaxed. “Is that why you wanted me to sit close? So, you could get your scent on me?”
Well, she wasn’t stupid. In fact, she was pretty damn brilliant. He chuckled. “Part of it. More importantly, I wanted to be able to touch you.”
“When this is all over, I plan to spend twenty-four hours straight of having you do nothing but touch me,” she said.
“With my lips and tongue.”
“Sounds good.”
“It does,” he agreed. Trent made the turn, taking them to the street leading to the bar.
“Keep an eye out,” he advised. “If something is going to happen, it’ll be between now and us getting back to the bar.”
“No one reported seeing anyone strange around?” she asked. Melissa had lowered her voice even though no one would be able to hear them. Not with the rumble of the truck.
“Not that I’ve heard,” Trent replied.
“Okay.” She turned her head to look out of the passenger window.
Trent moved his attention to the area around them. Getting closer to the bar should have made him feel better. Instead, tension filled him. So much could go wrong at this moment. Beside him, Melissa had grown stiff.
His cell phone rang, which had both of them jumping.
“Shit!” Melissa slapped her hand across her heart.
“Fuck,” he spat. Trent grabbed his cell from his jacket. Mac’s name flashed across the screen. “Hello?”
“Where are you? What’s wrong?” Mac demanded.
“Headed to you,” Trent replied.
“And?”
Trent shook his head. “Damn it, the phone startled us. I have a bad feeling.”
“How far out are you?” Mac asked.
Trent appreciated that Mac didn’t question his feeling. “Ten minutes.”
Mac shouted something before returning to Trent. “Calvin and Duffy are riding to you. They’ll meet you halfway and escort you back.”
“Great.” Trent looked over at Melissa. “Thanks.”
“Just get here safely,” Mac ordered then hung up.
Melissa glanced over at him before returning to stare out of the window. “Everything okay?”
“Mac is sending us some company,” Trent told her.
“All right.”
The sun was still bright, but Trent knew it would be setting soon. It didn’t give them much time to plan, although he expected the humans to attack later in the night or early morning like they had before.
He heard the bikes before he saw them. “Up ahead.”
Melissa blew out a breath. “I don’t know your team well, but they’re a damn good sight.”
“Yeah.” That reminded him he hadn’t told Melissa what went on at the bar. He slowed, allowing Calvin and Duffy to circle around to ride either side of their truck. “So the bar…”
“The one with a hacker capable of breaking into the LAPD and pulling up files?” she asked. “Yes, let’s talk about that.”
“Mac runs an underground network for shifters who need help,” Trent blurted the information right out.
“An underground network?” she repeated.
“Before the shifter community became public, we would help relocate shifters who had drawn the attention of humans,” Trent informed her.
“Makes sense. Actually, it makes a lot of sense. I never thought about how much you had to hide beforehand.”
“We learned early and knew our survival depended on keeping our secrets. Still, sometimes a human would see someone transform or a shifter would tell the wrong person. Mac helped them start a new life.”
“And now you’re public?” she asked.
“We still relocate shifters. Not everyone is happy we’re around and some target the shifters,” he said.
“Just like here.”
“Funnily enough, yes.” Trent nodded. “We also take in domestic survivors. Mac has a history with that sort of situation, but it’s his story to tell.”
“I understand,” Melissa said. She began to laugh.
“What?” he asked. Trent had to be missing something.
“You didn’t give up law enforcement.”
He scoffed. “I certainty did.”
“Okay, yes, you stopped playing by the rules. Somehow, you still managed to land someplace that needed you. You’re still helping people.”
He shrugged. “In my own way, I guess.”
“In the way that makes it possible for you to flip off the police and do what you’ve always wanted. To protect those who need it the most.”
Trent hadn’t thought about why he’d joined Mac’s group that way, but she was right. He peered in one side mirror then the other to check on his friends. They were still driving right by his side. Just like the team they were.
“So, Magnus and the other deputies help?”
“When needed,” he admitted. “We do try to keep them out of it as much as possible, but sometimes we need help.”
“Logan?”
“He came to town in search of a woman who we’d helped,” Trent said. “He fell in love with Annabelle and never left.”
“He’s in on it, too?”
“He knows about it, but we do keep him clean. He’s a federal employee, after all.”
“I want to help,” she offered.
Of course, she did. “I’ll let Mac know.”
Trent felt as though he could finally breathe when he saw the front of The Den.
“Why The Den?” Melissa asked.
“Mac’s a bear shifter. This is his den, where he protects his family.”
She nodded. “More cars in the lot.”
“Must be the Coalition,” he guessed. “Mac closed the bar. All the residents know to stay inside by now.”
“We’re not inviting the park ranger in for a drink?” she asked. “That seems to be something you’d all do.”
“Not during the apocalypse,” he responded.
She rolled her eyes as Trent pulled into the parking lot. He ignored the parking spots and pulled right up to the door. He wasn’t going to take any chances. The rangers probably didn’t have a sniper with them, but Melissa had already been shot from a distance.
“Go right in,” he told her. “Don’t stop for any reason.”
Calvin and Duffy turned off their bikes, Duffy in front of Trent’s truck and Calvin at the rear.
“I don’t see anyone,” she said.
“We can’t be too careful.”
“You’ll be right behind me?”
Trent undid his seatbelt then hers. “I promise.”
She leaned over and kissed him.
Trent grasped the back of her neck, turning what was supposed to be a quick kiss into something much more. He wasn’t just marking his territory. Trent was going to enjoy Melissa every chance he got.
When he pulled back, she had a dazed look.
“Now hurry in,” he said.
“Don’t break your promise.” She slid over and put her hand on the handle. “I mean it, you’d better be right behind me.”
Trent nodded. He watched as she pushed open the door before jumping down. As soon as her feet hit the ground, he was following behind her. Duffy had his back to the door as Calvin covered from behind. They made it inside the bar without trouble. He took a deep breath in relief.
Melissa spotted Annabelle first, which helped calm her down. They were inside the bar, so they should be fairly safe. There were enough shifters inside that Grant or whoever was working with him would have to be stupid to make a move on them.
Which made her worry more about the town.
It would make more sense to go after someone else.
“About time you got back,” Annabelle griped as she rushed over.
Melissa had to admit it felt good to have a friend again. Someone who would worry about her if she didn’t come back on time. Not that Trent wouldn’t be concerned, but a woman needed a girlfriend sometimes. “We’re fine.”
“Come on, let me introduce you to Logan’s friends.” Annabelle tugged on her hand. Trent was following behind.
Sitting at one of the tables was a group of men. If Melissa didn’t already know they were shifters, she’d still have been uneasy around them. These were some huge guys.
Logan sat at the table with them. Instead of beers, there were a couple of carafes of coffee and mugs scattered around the table.
One of the men, a dark-haired, scruffy-looking guy in biker leather, rose as they approached. He was grinning.
“Hello,” he said. “You must be Deputy Bishop and Trent. Logan’s told us a lot about you.”
His hand dwarfed hers as they shook. “You can call me Melissa.”
“Trent,” Trent introduced himself next.
“I’m Jamie,” the big guy said. “This here is Cody, Zak, Luca and Cole.” He pointed out his fellow shifters.
Cody looked like a textbook Coalition agent, unlike Jamie, who could almost be Mac’s biker twin. Zak nodded, but didn’t stop scowling. Melissa took a step closer to Trent. Luca stood and shook their hands, giving them a warm smile, and Cole waved. She could she why Logan had requested help from his friends. Melissa would not want to go up against these five.
“Thanks for coming,” Trent spoke formally. He placed his hand on Melissa’s shoulder then pulled her back against his chest. The move did make her feel safe.
Jamie laughed before pointing at Luca. “You owe me ten bucks.”
Luca groaned as Melissa glanced between the two of them. Zak smacked Jamie’s back before he looked up at Trent and Melissa.
“They had a bet that within the first five minutes of us meeting someone, they’d show possessiveness over their female,” Zak explained. “Logan did the same thing.”
Logan shook his head. “Even knowing they’re all mated, I couldn’t help it.”
“You’re all mated?” Melissa asked.
Cody nodded. “Yes, we all have mates at home and are not interested in your women.” He winked. “Even if they are very beautiful.”
Both Logan and Trent growled.
“Too easy,” Jamie taunted. He was practically bouncing around.
“Sit down,” Zak ordered Jamie. “You’re going to make them question our professionalism.”
“Maybe they should,” Jamie quipped. “I think all the time Cody’s been spending in the office has screwed with his field training. I think he’s getting fat.”
“Fat?” Cody replied. “You realize I assign your cases, don’t you?”
“Ohhh,” Luca drawled. “Send him to Florida. He’ll love it there.”
Jamie lunged for Luca, but Zak stood and pushed him back into a chair. “Enough.”
Trent snorted and Melissa agreed with his unspoken disbelief. These were the guys who were going to come in and save the day? They were a pretty ragtag group and were…joking? Cole hadn’t said anything, but he was smirking. That was when she realized over the last five minutes the tension in the room had subsided and they’d relaxed. Smart. Okay, so they might be able to help.
She looked over her shoulder at Trent. He was watching the Coalition shifters, but even his anxiety seemed to have lessened.
“Have you eaten?” Annabelle asked. She’d been sitting on Logan’s knee, but she moved to stand.
Melissa waved her down. “Actually, it seems every resident we helped today tried to feed us.”
Annabelle laughed. “Yeah, they tend to do that. Kelly is making a platter of sandwiches for everyone. Carter and Fredrick are finishing up downstairs.”
“Where’s Mac?” Trent asked.
“He and Magnus are helping Duffy and Calvin board up some of the weak spots of the bar,” Logan supplied. “Sit down and join us. We’ll give everyone a couple more minutes then discuss the plan for tonight.”
Trent pulled out the chair next to Logan and urged her down.
“So, Melissa, how did a human find herself in a town full of shifters?” Jamie asked. “That has to be an interesting story.”
Trent snarled. “She might be human, but that doesn’t mean—”
“Wait!” Jamie interrupted. “That isn’t how I meant it. My mate is human.”
“Mine, too,” Luca added.
“Oh, shit.” Trent dropped his head. “Uh, sorry. I…”
Jamie laughed. “It’s all right, man. We all have to deal with prejudices.”
“But we have one another’s backs. It doesn’t matter if we’re shifters or humans or other,” Zak stated.
“Other?” Melissa asked. That’s a weird thing to say.
Zak side-eyed Luca. “Long story. Let’s just say Luca over here has been playing with some unusual friends.”
Luca grinned but he elbowed Zak. “Which I’ve been sworn to secrecy about. I knew I shouldn’t have told you guys.”
“Because we don’t believe you,” Jamie said.
Luca sighed. “I need new friends.”
Logan waved his hand around. “I don’t know if this group’s much better. I’m still getting the stink eye about Annabelle.”
“As long as you don’t hurt her, we won’t hurt you,” Trent threatened, but he was smiling.
Annabelle groaned. “I just love all this testosterone.”
“Hey!” Logan and Trent yelled.
“Trent, Melissa, glad you made it back safely,” Mac called. He strolled into the main bar area carrying a platter of food. Magnus walked behind him with his hands full as well.
Trent stood. He relieved Mac of the food, helping distribute it around the table. Magnus passed out plates and utensils.
“I thought we could eat as we talked,” Mac said.
“What about the others?” Trent asked.
“Calvin and Duffy are watching the front. Carl and Fabian are around the back,” Magnus said. “We didn’t want to risk the cameras getting hacked again. Carter is still pissed off about that.”
When Trent clenched his fists, Melissa reached over and covered one of his hands with hers. Carter had been shocked after they’d realized someone had wirelessly connected to their security cameras and hacked them. Carter hadn’t believed anyone had been able to get into his system, but someone had. There had been so much confusion and utter fury when Trent had ushered Melissa away from the irate man earlier.
Melissa really wasn’t hungry, but she did pour herself a cup of coffee. As everyone settled around the table, she took the time to look over the two shifters who were mated to humans. Maybe it wasn’t as unusual as Melissa had worried. Two out of five of the agents had chosen non-shifters.
“No one reported being observed or feeling watched. I find it hard to believe these people aren’t watching what we’re doing,” Mac stated.
“It was quiet in town, too,” Magnus reported. “Most of the businesses shut down so no one was on the streets.”
“They might think they’ve scared us,” Trent suggested.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Logan agreed. “They hit us hard last night. Going on the assumption the only thing they know about shifters is from television, we can’t really say what they will do. Which worries me.”
“How many do you think are involved?” Cody questioned.
“There were two who broke into Melissa’s place,” Trent said. “They’ve been taken out. That leaves the four we scented at James’ house, plus any unknowns.”
“What about the developer?” Melissa asked.
“Ramon Bustillos,” Mac said. “He used to own and operate Green Mile Developing in Los Angeles. He closed his company down six months ago.”
“Also at that time, he started to erase all his social media profiles. He’s trying to make himself disappear,” Magnus told them. “That, right there, makes me suspicious.”
“He withdrew cash from all his bank accounts,” Mac said. “He had over a million dollars when he disappeared.”
“That’s plenty of money to pay for help getting rid of a town full of shifters,” Zak said.
“He’d make at least five times that amount after splitting up and selling off pieces of the land,” Magnus said.
“God damn,” Trent muttered. “This is ridiculous. They can’t really believe they’d get away with this.”
“Actually,” Cody said, “he might have done it before.” He motioned for Zak to hand over a file.
That didn’t sound good. If this developer was hiring out the threats against the community, he was also using Grant’s hatred of shifters. Maybe the developer hadn’t wanted any of them killed and lost control of the situation.
Zak passed over the manila folder to Cody. Cody began to lay out sheets of paper. Melissa strained to try to see the file. Damn, she needed the enhanced sight that shifters had.
“Sweetwater, California,” Jamie said. “Population was under two hundred people before Bustillos became interested in the land.”
“Sweetwater also shared land with a state park,” Cody told them. “So, that connection is what drew our attention.”
“What happened there?” Melissa asked. She leaned forward, reading land titles that had been signed over to Green Mile Developing. Sweetwater was smaller than Brookside, but that didn’t mean there weren’t similarities. The link had been a good catch.
“As soon as Ramon started to show interest in the land, strange things started to happen,” Cody answered. “There was an increase in crime, including arson. Eventually Ramon ended up owning everything he’d wanted. It took less than a year for him to replace the residents and start selling each plot of land.”
“Was the town made up of shifters?” She looked over at Cody, since he seemed to be the lead agent.
“No,” Cody said. “We can’t actually find any shifters that had lived in the area.”
“He got away with it once,” Trent said. “Now, he’s trying again.”
“Instead of threats and arson, they decided to run everyone off by threatening the shifter part of the town,” Melissa said. Which had been smart. The pieces were starting to come together. Except for one thing. “But Ranger Grant has some serious hate for shifters and Ramon was able to use that to his advantage.”
“He does have a history of aggravation against shifters.” Luca pulled out another file. He handed it to Melissa. She scooted over so Trent could see, as well. “He’s a member of several anti-shifter groups on the internet. He also recently attended a big rally in Los Angeles with other humans who share similar beliefs.”
“How in the hell did he get taken on with the park rangers?” Trent growled.
“We’re looking into that, as well,” Cody said. “We did uncover what we think is the reason behind Grant’s hatred.”
“Grant’s brother Jesus was killed last year while hunting,” Luca announced. “He was inside a state park, which we all know is illegal. He’d also targeted a shifter. The shifter defended himself and his mate by killing Jesus.”
“The law is pretty clear we have that right,” Trent said.
“There was a trial because Grant’s family had some political backing. The shifter was found innocent,” Luca said.
“Good,” Trent said, pleased.
Jamie shook his head. “Four months ago, the shifter and his mate were killed in a home invasion.”
“Fuck.” Trent slammed his hand down.
“It has to be Grant.” Melissa looked over at Logan. “Right?”
Logan nodded. “I think so.”
Annabelle was biting her lip as she listened. She suddenly paled.
“Annabelle?” Melissa called.
“I know him.” She pointed at the picture of Jesus Trent had passed to Logan.
“What? How?” Logan demanded.
“He was a regular here at the bar for a little while,” she said. “He always ordered a crown and coke.”
Melissa looked at the bar as though Jesus was going to be there now. Which was stupid, because he was dead. “Was he here before or after Ramon tried to buy the land?”
Annabelle squinted as she thought. “After.”
“That’s another tie to Grant and the town,” Melissa said. “It’s good you remembered him.”
“Yeah, well, humans tend to stand out when they come here,” Annabelle said. “I remember he’d told me he’d gotten turned around while hiking. That was how he found the bar. He came in over a few months. He seemed nice enough. He never gave me the impression he hated shifters.”
“He might not have,” Cody said. “From reading about the case, it appears Jesus went hunting quite a bit and didn’t believe the government had the right to tell him where. It was a point of the prosecutor against the shifter who killed him that Jesus probably hadn’t known he’d been shooting at shifters and not a natural animal.”
“But Grant does hate shifters,” Melissa stated.
“Yes,” Cody agreed.
“And if Ramon somehow found out, he probably used it to lure Grant into the plan to get rid of everyone,” Mac said.
“This is all good information, but it doesn’t tell us how many people we’re up against or what the plan is,” Trent observed.
“No, but it goes to show Grant is the real threat,” Melissa said. “He wants to kill and we need to be careful.”
“I still don’t think he’ll come at us here,” Trent said.
“I agree,” Zak added.
“So what do we do?” Melissa asked.
“The only thing we can,” Magnus replied. “We protect our town.”
“How?” Annabelle questioned.
“We set a trap for them,” Mac responded.
Melissa peered around the table. Even if they didn’t know how many people they were up against, she’d rather be on this side of the line. Each person sitting around the table would protect the town and each other, with their lives, if necessary.