“I had a rash for a week.”
“I had a hell of a time calming her down.She threatened to sue us in human court.That’s the last thing we need.”
“It was a false lead.I should have handled it differently, I admit.But I’m close, Patrick.One of these days Alex is going to slip up and I’ll have him.I can feel it.”
The captain nodded.“No doubt.But until you hit the bull’s-eye, Meredith will keep you from self-destructing.She’s not emotionally involved.”
Hmm.Where did he get that idea?Meredith took special interest in her fingernails and squirmed in her chair.
“You need an objective brain on this,” he continued.“Listen to her.Let her help you.I have it on good authority that she’s one of the best.”
Silas gave an exaggerated sigh, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.“I don’t suppose I can talk you out of this?”
The captain shook his head.“She’s already on the payroll.”He snatched a manila folder off the corner of his desk and held it out toward Meredith.“Also, both of you need to check this out.”
“What’s this about?”Tentatively, she stood and accepted the folder he offered.She wasn’t against working on other cases, but Alex was her top priority.
“Human murder.Shallow graves.Seemed like an open-and-shut abduction, murder, hide-the-bodies type thing.Only there’s been some unapproved excavation at the burial site.Officer Brighton’s undies are in a bunch over it.It could be ghouls.Better check it out.”
“Ghouls.Right.”Silas snatched the folder from Meredith’s hands without a word.He violently flipped through the contents.
“Hey!”She tapped her foot, becoming increasingly agitated at the bossy asshole.Meredith regularly handled cases like this on her own.Ghouls loved to scavenge graves the way raccoons scavenge garbage cans.Luckily, they were relatively harmless and rare due to their incompatibility with consecrated ground.If ghouls were the culprits, a simple vial of holy water would fix the problem for good.
“I’ll take care of it,” Silas said, closing the folder.
“With Meredith,” Manahan said firmly.
Meredith popped out a hip and snatched the folder back from him.
Silas sighed heavily.“With Meredith.”
She offered him a forced smile dripping with I-told-you-so.
With a grunt, as if he found her repulsive, he rose from the chair and left the room.
Meredith scratched her temple and met the captain’s apologetic stare.“Yeah.So that went well.”
ChapterTwo
Only half an hour later, Silas found himself on a road outside Carlton City, driving toward the rural property where the murders had occurred, with his newpartnerat his side.Son of a bitch.This was the last thing he needed.Jesus Christ, to be so close to catching Alex and now saddled with a new partner?It was sabotage.If he hadn’t known Patrick for going on fifteen years, he’d swear the man was intentionally trying to interfere with his progress.Not only would this chick slow him down, but she was also an intolerable distraction.Her scent lingered in his nose.He kept his eyes on the road and tried to ignore the strange feeling in his gut her presence elicited.
The worst part was she wasn’t pack.He couldn’t alpha her into submission.Which meant he’d need to workwithher.Pain in the ass considering she had no idea what he was up against.Worse, she looked like the type who always followed procedure and couldn’t go out without a coat of mascara.This was never going to work.
He double-checked the coordinates to make sure they were headed in the right direction.The crime scene was in the middle of nowhere, but they were almost there.
“Did you read this case?This is horrific.”Meredith flipped through the folder on the seat beside him.“Five girls, young girls, lured away from home by one of their friends.Same age.They all lived on the same block.Looks like one of them murdered her friends and then killed herself.”
“Humans.”Silas snorted.
The feisty redhead huffed.“It’s not like supernatural creatures don’t kill each other.”
Silas flashed her a lopsided grin.“Yeah, but we do it with style.”
She snapped the folder closed.“How’s this going to work?I propose we check the graves for ghoul droppings, take a spectral imprint of the area, and sprinkle holy water around the periphery if there’s any evidence the graves have been compromised.”
“I propose you stay in the car while I handle this.”Silas pulled onto the side of the road beside an overgrown field.In the distance, police tape cordoned off a wooded area, the yellow ribbon twisting in the breeze.His words had come out harsher than he’d intended, but he wanted to start as he intended to go.Namely, he fully intended to be the one calling the shots in this relationship.Besides, his wolf was too close to the surface with her around.He’d work faster if she kept her distance.
Meredith pivoted her shoulders to face him.“I propose you go fuck yourself.”She swept the holy water from the cup holder and exited the car.
