Page 42 of Midnight Mate
“You want to tell me what happened here?” Sheriff Wayne asked.
His wolf put mine on edge, and I remembered Wayne wasn’t just the sheriff. He was also Tobias’s beta.
I stiffened. “I don’t report to the pack,” I said.
“Relax,” he said, lowering his voice. “I’m here as a cop. And I want to help your mom,” he added when I didn’t react. “Did you find her like this?”
I nodded slowly, gauging his level of knowledge. This wasn’t his first visit to the Raines household, but he’d never pushed me to admit anything. Now, though, there was too much knowing in those weathered eyes. Too much anger. And not enough shock.
“How many times?” I asked.
“How many times what?”
“How many times have you been called here for this?”
He studied me with a hard expression. “Today makes two this year.”
“Shit.” My hands fisted. She’d never mentioned this during our calls. Never mentioned him laying a hand on her. Or anything requiring police intervention. I’d hoped that meant he’d stopped. I realized now I’d been lying to myself. Denial was easier than facing the fact that I’d left her behind. This was my fault.
I glanced at her body, still unconscious where she’d fallen. Or where he’d tossed her. Then back to the sheriff.
“He’s a son of a bitch,” I said, my teeth clenching right along with my fists.
“Damn right.” Wayne’s eyes glittered with a rage close to the kind spearing through me.
“I’m going to kill him for this.”
He smirked. “Might not want to mention that to a cop.”
“Not even one who’s witnessed what he does to her twice this year and not done a damn thing to stop it?”
I expected righteous anger. Instead, he just sighed. “I can’t blame you for taking that shot, but unless she wants to press charges, my hands are tied.” He paused, probably waiting for me to argue, but I was sick of wasting my breath. “For what it’s worth, I’ve talked to Tobias about this.”
“Yeah, I can see he’s really concerned.”
“I called him on the way. This is worse than the other times,” he added as if that meant something. “He’d like to sit down with both of you.”
It wasn’t much, but it was more than I’d gotten ten years ago. I nodded, feeling suddenly a hell of a lot older than my twenty-eight years. “Text me the details. I’ll be there.”
He nodded, his expression hard and determined. “In the meantime, try not to kill the bastard.”
He clapped me on the back as he left, pretending not to hear when I muttered, “No promises.”
12
Cat
It was cold for early September. And East was late. I’d gone from standing outside the clinic, now closed and locked, to leaning against the windowsill at my back. Texts and calls had gone unanswered. I was about ready to give up this whole business and march home. Rudy wouldn’t leave me locked out if he knew I’d been stood up . . . probably.
On a final huff, I pushed to my feet and headed for my apartment.
Of course, this was how my day would end.
Between the ominous roses and the spilled coffee, this was just icing on the cake. While I walked, my mood spiraled right into misery.
Losing my parents had been hard. Cleaning up their financial mess had sucked even harder. Giving up my childhood home in order to make the lease payments on the clinic had been a tough decision. Rudy’s offer to let me move in had saved me.
It was the only reason I let him boss me into tonight’s date. Or at least that’s what I’d told myself.
