Page 27 of Wolf Crowned

Freddie gave me one last nod. “It is our pleasure. We are happy to assist anyway we can.” He turned his attention to Mark and Leo, clapping the latter on the back as the men marched toward the tents.

They left just in time for me to meet with the FBI. The vehicles crawled down the drive, painstakingly slow, like they were doing it on purpose.

My stomach turned, and I felt like I might get sick.

Keep your cool, Sloane. You can do this. It’s not the worse thing you’ve had to deal with.

The SUVs all came to a stop at the same time in perfect synchrony. They were all the perfect distance apart too, like they were a well-oiled machine.

I folded my hands in front of my waist as I walked towards the cars, each step growing heavier than the last. Them being here was supposed to be a surprise, or at least I assumed Sheriff Adam wasn’t supposed to be giving us a heads up at ten o’clock last night.

I waved awkwardly as I approached. At least I was making it believable. “Good morning,” I said as the doors opened in unison and men in suits stepped out.

I stopped a few feet away from them, not sure how close I should get. Their black suit coats didn’t hide the holsters at their hips. A few had bulges at their ankles.

They all congregated together, ignoring me like I wasn’t there, and then one man that was balding and looked much older than the rest took a step forward and offered me his hand.

I took the man’s icy hand and gave it a firm shake. “How can I help you, sir?”

I peered around at the other suits. They all stood with their hands clasped in front of them, looking everywhere but at me.

Cool. Not awkward at all.

The lead guy narrowed his eyes for a moment before reaching into his suit coat and pulling out a badge. “Ma’am my name is Agent Weatherford. I’m with the FBI. I’m here to speak with Kathleen or Eric Martin.”

A lump lodged in my throat at the mention of my father. Good word hadn’t gotten out too far that he was gone.

I swallowed hard. “FBI. Is everything okay?”

There was a nervous edge to my voice that I couldn’t shake. I mean, who could blame me? It’s not every day that the FBI showed up at your doorstep.

The guy arched one of his thick, bushy brows. “Are your parent's home?”

I blinked and then squinted at the badge. It was in a black bifold and it looked real. Not that I’d ever seen one before to really know.

I stared at it a moment longer, then flitted my gaze to the cars and men. “I’m their daughter. What seems to be the problem?”

My mother’s scent drifted in the air, sweet apple and cinnamon. She came up behind me, putting both hands on my shoulders. “Everything all right?” She sounded way more confident than I did.

Agent Weatherford gave her the once over. “Kathleen Martin?”

Mom wiped her hand on her apron. “I am. May I ask what this is about?” She motioned to the cars then placed her palms back on my shoulders.

The agent jammed his hands into his suit pocket. “Well, Miss Martin, I was hoping that you could tell me. We’ve had some disturbances near your property. I’d like to ask you a few questions as well as question everyone on the property.”

Oh boy. There were a few hundred of us that was going to be hard to pass off that everyone worked here. The number of us alone was enough for questions.

My mom pulled me closer, so my back was against her chest. “What disturbances Agent Weatherford?“

He pulled out a pad of paper from his breast pocket and flipped through a few pages. He scrutinized, moving between two pages before looking back up at us. “A hiker alerted us to a body that was found near your property. When the police went out to investigate, there were nine shallow graves.”

Nine graves. Sherriff Adam hadn’t said how many victims there were. I said a silent prayer that their last moments had been painless. But with Alpha Dane involved that wasn’t likely.

My mom squeezed my shoulder, her nails digging into my flesh. “Goodness, near our property? I assure you we have no idea what’s happened. This is as big a shock to me as it is to you, Agent.”

He flipped through a couple more pages and then looked over his shoulder at the men behind him. I caught a glimpse of his pad. The pages were all blank. The bastard was just trying to make us nervous.

He moved through the pages of nothingness again. “Yes, yes, I’m sure it is. But you must understand why we need to ask some questions. Especially since it is so close to your home.”

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