Page 18 of The Alpha's Grave Secrets

You better find out. Although, with your current track record, my guess is that it’ll be far too late by the time you do. Pity, she really is a lovely young woman. Don’t worry this time. I’ll make sure that she’s dead well before she goes into the ground.

Elara was… an anomaly. Agent Blackwood can attest to how there’s just something about her. Something special. Imagine my delight in discovering who she was to you, Agent Blackwood.

I’ve wanted to play with you guys for so long, but you and your team have not noticed what I’ve been doing. Never even realized how many missing shifters there were in the area. Tsk, tsk. I wonder if there are better-suited people to do your jobs?

In the meantime, I am writing you this letter to let you know that I am watching you. I am playing with you, and in the end, I will win my little game, as I always do.

XOXO,

The one who will always best you.

“Didn’t Ezra step out earlier?”Callie asks.

“You think little Ezra could be capable of all this?” Gun scoffs.

“I think he’s not being honest about who he really is and what he really is.” Callie clarifies, “Do I think he did this? It’s hard to say, but it’s a possibility.”

My heart pounds so fast I can hardly hear anything but the blood rushing through my body. I nearly drop the letter and hand it to Callie for the evidence bag. As soon as it’s firmly in her grip, I sprint back to Elara’s front door. What if this is all a diversion?

Pounding on the front door, I do my best to take a deep breath and steady myself.

“What is it?” Ezra snaps, opening the door. A bit of that composed veneer cracking. I make a mental note to look through his alibi for the other victims’ assumed abduction times.

“Where is Elara?” I ask, practically pushing him out of the way as I rush into the house.

“What’s going on?” Elara asks, rushing down the stairs.Thank Goddess, she’s still here. She’s alive.

“Listen, you need to pack your bags and come with me.” Every muscle in my body tenses and contracts as I fight with my wolf’s desire to run through the city howling and tearing apart anyone that so much as looks at me funny. “We’ve received a letter from the unsub and he made some hardly veiled threats about your safety. I need to get you to a safe house so we can make sure you aren’t harmed while we figure out who this asshole is.”

“A letter? While you were here?” Elara asks her eyes widening as they look past me and out of the window behind me.

“Yes,” I nod hardly constraining my desire to tell her to hurry the hell up.

Elara nods in return, picking up on my genuine panic, and doesn’t ask any further questions—not yet, but those are sure to come later.

“I can’t just pick up and leave. I have students who need me, and I’m hosting an informal salon tonight with my grad students. We’ve been planning it for months. Did the letter say anything about me?” Ezra argues but Elara is already on her way upstairs.

“Just that you are a self-aggrandizing idiot, and right now, I couldn’t agree anymore.” I scoff. “You are an adult. I can’t force you to do anything, but don’t say I didn’t try to keep you safe.”

“I’m not going.” He says, and I don’t waste my breath with a response.

After a few minutes of awkward silence between Ezra and me, Elara comes down the stairs with a duffel and tote bag. I grab them without even thinking, “Let’s go. We’ve got to get this letter into evidence, and I don’t feel comfortable with you being exposed for another second longer. Not when we know your abductor was creeping outside of your home not long ago unnoticed by all of us.”

To my great chagrin, Elara tries to convince Ezra to come with us, but he won’t budge. I look away, wincing, as the two of them embrace and share a goodbye kiss. It’s not passionate. It’s practically a quick peck on the lips but it still makes my stomach churn. “Be safe,” he calls as we rush toward the SUV.

“Hati and Bruce are on their way; Gun is going to wait for them,” Callie says from the driver’s seat. “They will canvass the neighborhood and then meet us back at the office. The neighbors could have seen something helpful.”

“Okay,” I nod to Gun, who is casually leaning against a tree looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“I’ll be fine,” he grins, catching the concern in my gaze. “You go ahead, get our girl to safety.”

As we head toward the office, I keep my eyes on our surroundings, mentally cataloging anything and everything that looks out of place or that concerns me.

Elara fiddles with the hem of her sweater as she lies in the backseat, out of sight to anyone on the outside looking in. Eventually, she says, “I don’t want to stay at a safe house. I want to stay in the secure FBI facility. That way I can help you on the case.”

Callie and I exchange looks. That’s not going to go over well with the boss.

As I lead Elara through the building, I have to actively stop myself from reaching out to hold her hand. Finally, we land in front of the bunk room, where all too often, one or more of us find ourselves crashing when working on big cases.

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