Page 201 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Milbanks met us on the front steps of the police department, looking even more put out than he had at my house.

“Cole,” he said as I got out of my truck.

“I heard there was another attack,” I said, reaching out to shake the man’s hand.

Milbanks ignored my hand. “This is getting to be a hell of a mess, Cole. I’ve got a sedated wolf in one of my lock-up cells, along with a distraught boy and his mother in an interrogation room.”

“Shit,” Langston hissed. “Another human was turned?”

“Looks that way,” Milbanks said. “Come on in. We’re about to question the boy, and the mayor says he wants you to watch.”

“Can we talk to him?” I asked.

Milbanks’s left eye twitched. “This is already more involvement than I want you to have, but I’ve got my orders. You can listen in through the observation window, and that’s it.”

Without another word, we followed him into the office and down a hallway. As we walked, I nudged Langston.

“Has Zayde found anything?” I whispered low enough so Milbanks couldn’t hear.

Langston was already texting with Zayde. “Not yet. Once we can get an idea of the exact time and place, he might be able to pull up any footage from the area.”

Trent snorted behind us. “I’m getting real tired of Kyle. I can’t wait for you to rip his throat out, Cole.”

“Here’s hoping,” Langston said.

Milbanks ushered us into a small room before closing the door. It was sparse—three chairs, a table, and one large two-way mirror looking into the interrogation room. We could see the young child and his mother, but they couldn’t see us.

“Jesus,” Trent said. “The kid looks like he’s barely twelve.”

He was right. The kid leaned against a worried-looking woman who bore a faint resemblance to him. His mother. Milbanks and one of his deputies stepped into their room a few seconds later, and an intercom on the wall allowed us to hear what they were saying.

“Hey there, big guy,” Milbanks said, grinning at the boy. “Can I get you anything? A Coke, maybe a candy bar or something?”

The kid licked his lips but shook his head.

“All right,” Milbanks said with a smile. “What about you, ma’am? Water?”

“Can we please get on with this?” she said. “I’d like to get my son home soon.”

“I understand.” Looking at the boy again, he said, “You’re Billy Ellis, correct? And this is your mom, Melinda Ellis?”

The kid nodded. “Yeah.”

“How about you tell me what you saw today?” Milbanks asked.

I leaned closer to the glass as if I could hear better if only I got a little closer.

Billy licked his lips again and said, “I think it was the guy in the hoodie who did it.”

“Did what?” Milbanks probed.

“Stabbed that guy in the neck,” Billy said. “It happened real fast, though.”

“Oh, jeez,” Langston hissed.

“What?” I said as I glanced back.

Langston smirked. “Zayde’s in Milbanks’s security files. He thinks he’s found something.”

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