“The thing is, Sheriff, I don’t think he really wanted to see you, because he wasn’t surprised or disappointed to learn you weren’t here. If it wasn’t me just overreacting, I’d have said all he wanted was for you to know he’d been here.”
“You don’t overreact, Janice. What about the men with him?”
She looked disapprovingly at him over her glasses, chiding him for stealing her thunder. “Well, as youobviouslyknow, he had two men with him. They were more like a wall of muscle than anything else,” she said. “There was big, dark, and muscled, who looked plain mean to me, and there was big, blond, and muscled, whowas more… I don’t know, I couldn’t get anything from him. He was just passive, I guess.” She smiled suddenly. “He had a nice butt though, for someone who’s probably a criminal.”
“I’ll be sure to factor that into a lineup,” Matt said. “Anything else?”
“Mr. Cale said he’d come back to see you tomorrow, but it sounded like he was trying to make a threat more than anything else.” She shook her head sorrowfully. “As if I was supposed to be intimidated.”
“Thanks, Janice,” he said, leaning over to turn off his computer. He needed to get back to his pack. It wasn’t right to leave them. The threat Karl had detected was closing in.
She hesitated with her hand on the door, turning back to him. “The thing is, Sheriff, I didn’t like him. I mean, there was something about his eyes. As if there was nothing there.” She shivered. “I just didn’t like him,” she repeated.
“Let me know if you see him again,” he said. “But this evening, go home to that husband of yours and tell him I said he’s to fix dinner for you and open a bottle of wine.”
She laughed, her face lightening. “Oh, he’s jealous enough of you already, Sheriff. I’m not going to add to it.”
With that she was gone, the door closing quietly behind her. Matt called Karl. Although Karl was never less than vigilant, it made Matt feel better to know he’d warned him. Then he called Bryce, and found he was just pulling up outside the office.
He went to meet him and climbed into the passenger side, relaxing against the seat with a long, exhausted sigh. It wasn’t like Matt to let anyone else drive, but he was so tired, he’d probably end up going off the road. And he could trust Bryce. He’d always known that, but what Bryce had done with Lindsey—Matt owed him even more than before. And the thing about Bryce was thathe’d never see it that way. With him, it would never be a debt to be called in. Bryce’s heart was endless.
On the way back to the ranch, Matt told him about Cale.
“What are you thinking, Matt?”
Matt was silent for a while, watching the familiar road unfurl before them. “I’m thinking Cale wants Jesse, for reasons I can’t be sure about. Having followed him here, he’s decided he also wants Elk Ridge.” He shifted in his seat. “That makes no sense—it’s not as if there’s anything here—but the fact something belongs to someone else is enough for some people to want it.”
Bryce shot him a sideways glance, Cheyenne forever in the background of their lives.
“I think he’s letting me know his intentions. Testing me. Proving how much damage he’s willing to cause to get what he wants.” The weight of tiredness dragged at him, pulling him deeper into the seat. “And warning me that if I don’t give it to him, there’ll be more to come.”
Bryce cursed under his breath. “Damn. I was hoping you might be thinking something different from me.”
JESSE
Jesse was helping Jason prepare dinner—if helping meant getting his hand smacked with a wooden spoon every few minutes for stealing mushrooms. Jason might be shy, but he was a damn tyrant when it came to messing with his food.
When Matt and Bryce walked in, warmth flooded through Jesse at the sight of Matt. Jesse wanted to go to him and press against him till their scents were mingled the way they always should be. But those thoughts faltered as he caught the look on Matt’s face.
Five minutes later, the entire pack, along with Jesse, was gathered around the kitchen table while Matt briefed them on the hostile pack that had caused havoc in town.
“I don’t like being so defensive,” Matt said. “But with our numbers, we’ve got no choice. I want everyone staying home tomorrow. Bryce, that includes you. As for tonight—no one’s to patrol alone. Pair up, and stay within hearing distance of one another.”
A throat was cleared very quietly. Jesse didn’t catch who it was, but Matt looked straight at Karl. “Everyone but Karl is to pair up.”
Karl dipped his head in acknowledgement.
“I don’t think Cale’s going to come tonight, given that he’s set things up to meet me tomorrow.” Matt looked around the table, meeting the eyes of each pack member in turn. “So when you’re not on patrol, I want you all to get some sleep. No point worrying about what hasn’t happened.”
He leaned back in his seat. “Any questions?”
Yeah, Jesse had questions. But he’d save them for when the rest of the pack wasn’t there.
Matt met Bryce’s eyes, which were beaming a very definite message at him, though Jesse couldn’t begin to decipher it. He huffed silently to himself. Another pack thing he wasn’t in on.
Matt turned back to Tristan. “You’re not part of the patrols tonight. Stay in, and get some rest.”
Tristan’s face fell, though he nodded in acknowledgement.
