Page 22 of Alpha Wolf Bodyguard

“No. I don’t… I don’t think it would be safe. Rumor has it…” I told him my fears about there being people on the inside and the reasons I felt that was.

“Understood. You’re right to be cautious, but I had to offer. I’d pick the people who help, if that matters.”

“And there would be no written record?”

“I can’t promise that. Let me see what I can do.”

I thanked him for his time, and he said he’d be in touch. The court date he thought had been set in stone had been postponed, and he wasn’t sure what the new timeline would be. It sucked, but what could we do?

The hallway was fairly empty when I stepped out. My mates pulled me into a hug, and Garin whispered in my ear he had a plan. He took such good care of me. They both did.

The first stop we made was to my house to get more cash. I’d always been told that keeping large quantities of cash at home was asking for trouble. In this case, it was getting us out of trouble. Garin ran a perimeter run and detected the scent of the man he killed, but nothing else, not even the faint remnants of cat scent. They hadn’t been back, probably because they knew I was gone.

From there we went to their place and swapped cars, this time taking Trig’s. Garin did sweep it for an airtag, but there was nothing out of the ordinary at their place. If anyone had been there, they were long gone.

Next came our long ride back to the motel. We couldn’t chance anyone following us. We went the wrong direction to cut back to the right one and then made a circle around it before stopping at a small general store where we grabbed some more food, an air fryer, and a kettle. At least now our crappy food would be hot.

But really, none of that mattered. All that did was that we were safe and together. The rest of it would all work out. I was sure of it.

Chapter 19

Trig

Being startled awake at 2 a.m. was unnerving on a good day. Having it happen when you knew someone was out to kill your mate? That was a whole new level of fear unlocked.

When Nate’s phone started to ring, we all sprang up, looking for any present danger. Garin jumped from the bed, taking his wolf form, instantly in a protective stance. He wasn’t taking any chances.

It was just a phone, but honestly, we were all on edge. And a phone call could easily be used to distract us from something else, including someone trying to break into the room.

“It’s just Ash,” Nate said, moments after he answered the phone.

He talked with him for about ten minutes. While I couldn’t hear both sides of the conversation, it sounded like something was going on with the case that made us potentially less safe.

My heart pounded in my chest, and for the first time, I wished that I too was a shifter. At least then I’d be able to piece things together better. He said things like, “Of course, I won’t put my mates in danger,” and “That is problematic.” And “You do see the problem with that plan, right?”

They were vague enough they could mean just about anything. I wanted to get some cues from Garin. He’d be able to hear both sides, but his wolf was still watching the door and windows. If he was listening to the conversation, I couldn’t tell.

“Thanks for calling. I’ll make sure we get things taken care of on this end.” He disconnected the phone and put it on the nightstand, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Everything okay?” I couldn’t tell if he was relieved or stressed, the lights too dim.

“Garin, come back to bed. It’s safe, and there are things to say.”

Garin shifted and climbed in beside us. “What’s going on?”

“Long story short, Ash got a tip that someone in the courthouse is in contact with the wrong people.”

This was something we’d suspected all along. And it wasn’t an irrational paranoid type of suspicion. There were enough hints and leaks that we were confident. Unfortunately, we didn’t know from where, so there wasn’t anything we could do to eradicate it.

“And he called at two o’clock for that?” I asked.

“He called now because he just met with the prosecutor at some sketchy diner to make a plan.”

Turned out, Anders was every bit as good as my mate had thought.

“They needed to meet when and where no one would be watching. They’ve decided for me to do my testimony on video, citing my safety. Anders has a judge he knows will sign off on that.”

“Okay, but what good does that do?” I asked.

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