“They’re alphas, but don’t typically walk around purposely pissing people off,” I say, wondering what kind of pasts people have here. Sure, Harlan has his moments, but he’s dialed in while working.
If he wants to be a dick, it’s while I’m swallowing it down for him. He’s mostly harmless until we need to kill people. He’s my scent matched alpha, as is Kyren. They both saw past my medication, badgering me until I told them the truth of my designation. They’re both damn good alphas.
We’re following a lead of a case that Harlan and Aiden have been obsessing over for years.
I can’t tell him that yet though.
“How long have you been a sheriff here?” I ask curiously.
“Nine years. I moved here for a change,” he grunts, standing to walk to a glass door that connects the waiting room to the garage. Pushing it open, he stares at the commotion I started. “What’s with all the smoke, Shep? Are you alright?”
My phone buzzes while Syrus is busy figuring out what happened, and I glance down at the screen.
Harlan
This town has a tough crowd, Izzy. Figure out who you can get on your side and do it. Maybe someone in authority.
Me
Is the sheriff enough of an authority figure?
Harlan
You found him at the mechanic? That’s some luck. Tell him what you need to within reason. Mention our cold case if you think the information will sway him.
Hmm. Yeah, I can work with that.
Me
Over and out.
Harlan
You’re ridiculous.
My lips twitch because I tend to sign off like that to irritate him. I love being a brat. I wonder if it’ll get my ass spanked later. Ugh, we’re going to need to figure out where we’ll be staying later. I hope this place has a decent hotel.
So many parts of this town are an enigma. Some businesses don’t even have an internet listing. It’s as if they chose to unplug from the grid.
“His engine is smoking,” Shep groans. “Motherfucking son of a bitch! It’s gonna take forever to figure this shit out.”
My lips twitch again before I pretend to put on a worried expression. Standing, I walk over to see what’s going on. Sure enough, the garage is full of smoke.
“Fuck,” I groan, pretending to be annoyed. “What the hell, man?”
“It’s not my fault your car is possessed!” Shep yells. “I’m going to call some of my staff in and ask them to help me air this out. We need to move Silva’s car in case this asshole’s SUV spontaneously blows up, Syrus.”
“Already bad luck,” the sheriff grumbles, his molars grinding together. “Can you change Silva’s tires in the parking lot?”
“Yeah, that’s an option, I just need more people for that,” Shep mutters, pulling out his cell phone. “Take a walk, Syrus. This will be a while. Take the newcomer with you. I’ll take the heat from Silva if necessary.”
“She’s not that bad,” he says, rolling his eyes.
A part of me wants to meet the omega that gets this kind of reaction. It’ll happen at some point in a town this size, it’s just a matter of when.
Shep grimaces as if she’ll have his balls for something that isn’t his fault, and it makes me even more curious about her.
“I’ll have her truck ready as soon as I can, and I’ll have Gerome work on the newcomer's SUV,” he promises, connecting a call.
