Ethan stayed silent on the walk to the cabins. I wasn’t sure if he was upset or if he was already trying to pick out the smell from my cabin. Either way, I left him alone. We would need to talk later about how he couldn’t brush me aside every time the urge to protect me hit him. I knew enough from talking to Chloe that shifters were protective of their mates—sometimes overly so.
It wasn’t like I was coming out here alone. I was with Ethan and Chloe. We were safe in groups, and I’d already agreed that until we figured this all out, I wouldn’t go anywhere alone. And I’d let Ethan sleep in the cabin, so he really shouldn’t complain. Though I had to admit, having him in the cabin overnight did make me feel safer, especially after the break in.
I tugged at the waist of my jeans, which were loose after wearing them two days in a row. I wished I’d taken the time to grab a fresh pair instead of wearing the same ones from yesterday, but I’d panicked when I smelled burning that morning and just thrown on the first set of clothes I’d found.
We passed my cabin, and Chloe pointed off to the side, where a partially built one stood. “This is going to be for Gabriel. With the brothers starting to find mates, we figured soon the house will become too crowded. Ethan can move in with you and Jonah when you’re ready, and we’re building Mason a cabin closer to his workshop. Then we can expand the bedrooms in the house.”
“Eventually, we’ll need cabins for everyone except Declan and Chloe, who’ll share the house with Mae,” Ethan said. “Jonah’s the first kid in the ranch’s newest generation, but I doubt he’ll be the last.”
My heart warmed to hear Ethan talk about Jonah like he belonged here. He made it sound like it wasn’t even a question in his mind. “Sounds like you’ll be keeping the construction crew busy.”
Chloe laughed. “Yeah. We definitely have a lot of jobs on the list. We’re trying to only do what’s really necessary, but it’s easy to get ahead of ourselves in planning.”
Ethan’s cell rang. He glanced down at the display before shooting a quick look at me. “I need to take this.”
He wandered away as he answered but kept his gaze on us. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as he listened. I could see he was responding, but his voice was low enough that I couldn’t hear anything. When he saw me watching, he turned slightly, as if hiding the conversation from me.
“Hey, want to check the inside of this cabin?” Chloe got my attention and gestured to a cute little cabin that appeared finished, at least from the outside. “It’s one of the completed ones.”
“Should we wait for Ethan?” I looked over at him, but his back was to me, his shoulders stiff with tension.
She rolled her eyes. “I get the need for safety, but we’ll be twenty feet away. One scream and his bear will burst through the door before you can take another breath.”
We entered the cozy cabin. It consisted of one main room with a tiny but functional bathroom in the back corner. Chloe laid it out for me, showing me where we could put a small sitting area and the large shifter-size bed, as well as a table for a coffeepot and supplies. The builders had left it mostly clean, though I’d need to give it a good scrub before we moved anything in.
“We’re going to have a communal outdoor area that includes a sauna and a hot tub. That way, if anyone’s sore after riding, they can relax and soak their muscles.” Chloe raised her camera and took a few photos of the space. Then she spun around and took one of me before I could protest. She grinned. “You’re part of the team now. We must document your presence.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets, the fingers of my right hand brushing against something hard. Cassie’s USB drive. I’d forgotten about it in all the chaos.
My first instinct was to find Ethan, but then I remembered the phone call that he seemed determined to hide from me. While I wouldn’t hide this from him, I also wouldn’t rush to share it.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I spun around, eyes searching the cabin. I crossed over to the back window and looked out, certain I was being watched. Not in a nice way that warmed my insides, like when Ethan watched me, but in an alarm-bell-ringing way.
Nothing out of the ordinary stood out. A couple of workers were hauling pieces of wood from a pile behind the cabin, but they weren’t looking my way, and soon they were out of sight.
Still, the same uneasy feeling I’d had when Chloe showed me to my cabin two days ago persisted, twisting at my gut. Frustration filled me. There had to be something I could do.
I had a burst of inspiration, and acting on instinct, I projected my voice slightly. “I’m going to need to call the Sheriff when we get back. He’ll be very interested in what I know about my sister’s death.”
EIGHT
Ethan
Mason’s words echoed in my head. They only heightened my worry about Hannah. I glanced over my shoulder at where I left her with Chloe, but they weren’t there. Panic twisted in my gut, and I had to fight to keep my bear from shifting. I inhaled, allowing my shifter senses to come forward and find them.
I froze, picking up the scent that was in Hannah’s cabin after the break in. I swore, wanting to follow the trail but needing to make sure my mate was safe first. Thankfully, her scent went in the opposite direction, so I didn’t need to worry about them crossing paths.
With a few strides, I was throwing open the door to a nearby cabin. I found Hannah and Chloe having a hushed conversation. Hannah had an expression of pure stubbornness, while Chloe looked uneasy. They both turned toward me as the door banged against the wall.
“That’s one way to make an entrance.” Chloe raised a brow. “Try not to damage the cabin, though.”
“You two disappeared on me.” Seeing them only eased my worry slightly. Mason’s confirmation that someone hadtampered with Cassie’s car had both my bear and me on high alert.
“Someone was too busy to notice.” Hannah crossed her arms. “What was with the phone call?”
I knew I needed to tell her. Keeping it from her wasn’t an option. But once I confirmed it out loud to her, she could no longer live in a world where her sister’s death was accidental. Instead, she’d know it was murder, and that I’d played a part, however unintentionally.
Hannah had already said it wasn’t my fault, but saying that when sabotage was only a theory was very different from believing it when it became fact. Would she be able to look at me the same, or would it cost me my mate and the young boy I was growing to love? Selfishly, I wanted to hide it as long as I could.
