Jackson lifted a printed-out picture of the motel on the border of town and pinned it to the map. “No casualties, thankfully. We had a team stationed there that day after going out to a call at the high school.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “And the medic center, too. That was probably the worst for damages and losses.”
Theo pinned that one, too.
I stood back, looking at how much destruction had been wrought through Honeycreek in such a short time. These fires had been getting worse in the last few weeks.
“Mr. Harvey at the bakery said that they’ve recovered all profits thanks to the school bake sale, but there’s still a huge scorch mark in their store room, where the djinn entered,” Nate said.
“And Mrs. Thomson reported a scorch mark in the foyer of the library,” Jackson said. “I interviewed her yesterday about the damages and state of the place.”
“Shit,” I sighed, dragging my hands over my face. I was exhausted between this and watching over Bryce, but every eye was on me. Everybody needed answers fromme—my pack, Bryce, the townsfolk. It wouldn’t end just because I was tired.
Once more, my eyes ran over the notes and pictures, trying to find a common denominator
except for the fact that they were all in Honeycreek.
“Any conclusions?” Theo prompted.
I couldn’t answer for a moment. I only stared at the map, at the destruction, and felt the pit in my stomach. That helplessness plagued me when I was faced with another fire or being reminded of just how many places had been targeted. Theo stood up, growling under his breath, pacing the office.
“I mean, are we safe?” he asked. “Are we able to keep the town safe?”
I stayed silent, not knowing any answers. I could feel more eyes on me.
“I have a little sister in the elementary school,” he continued. “Isshesafe? The longer we go without answers, the longer we’re risking people in this town.”
“I’m thinking,” I growled.
“Think harder,” he snarled right back. Jackson stepped forward, at my side, and Theo cringed back. “Sorry. I’m just restless. I hate not having answers, and I hate the risk these attacks are posing. It’s hard to sit with the unpredictability of it all.”
“I know,” I sighed. “And we’ll get to the bottom of it all. I just… It’s a lot to try to think of when we don’t know the motivation. There’s no connection between each building. It all looks too random, and that’s what I don’t like. There has to besomethingwe’re not seeing.”
Before anybody could answer me, three other shifters from my pack came in. One stepped forward. “Mase, we caught sight of a demon on the edge of the woods. It’s not as far inwardas it could be, but it disappeared at the sight of us, so who knows when it’ll next show?”
I nodded, already making a note to get more patrols in that area in that case. “Thanks. Are you guys up for patrolling around the woods near the compound? We need eyes on there.”
“Connor and his team already have that side covered, but we can provide extra bodies there,” he said, but I shook my head. God, what was wrong with me? I was forgetting everything.
“No, stick to your designated areas, then.”
“On it.”
The three of them left, and I could only hope that there wouldn’t be another fire. The most recent one had been put out before it could begin at one of the clothes stores in town, and I couldn’t stop racking my thoughts forwhy. Why did the demons want to hit this town in particular?
“We need more patrols on the museum,” I said, thinking about what Bryce had said about June’s research. At that, Jackson perked up.
“I can do it.”
“Yeah? Great. You and Nate can patrol there, and you know you have backup if you need it.”
“We’ll factor that into our normal shifts,” Jackson promised. He planted a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I want this over with just as badly, especially now that Bryce and Cassie are back.”
I nodded solemnly. But at the thought of Bryce, I couldn’t stop feeling antsy. I also hated the thought of her not being watched, especially if demon activity was growing in the woods. I couldn’t even bring her into town with the recent fires, either. She was safer with us, but I hated that I couldn’t guarantee herall-around safety. All I could hope was that I watched her closely enough and would always be there should something happen.
It had taken every ounce of willpower not to storm the house when I’d seen her having those anxiety attacks, hating how they had her eyes rolling back, and her head wrenched painfully. But I frowned, thinking of them, moving away from the others.
Anxiety didn’t look like that. I’d seen her have those, now that I recalled it. In high school, she’d often suffered with her anxiety, and she’d trembled like a damn leaf, her speech coming in fast, uncontrolled speed, her mind whirring at full pace. What I’d seen through her bedroom window was nothing like that.
