Page 4 of Wolf Claimed
“I found the body. There’s no mistaking the blood.”
Alyssa shuddered. “That’s awful.”
“You’re an agent. Certainly, you’ve seen death before,” Maddox said.
“Never anyone I knew.” When two DSA agents exited the building, Alyssa pulled on Tiernan’s arm. “Let’s get out of here, okay?”
“They’ll want a statement,” Tiernan pointed out, though he wouldn’t fight her on it. He didn’t want her anywhere near the agents or other shifters. He didn’t want anyone suspecting her.
Alyssa headed toward the mess hall. “I wasn’t anywhere nearby,” she said as she turned from Maddox and him.
It was a relief hearing those words, but it didn’t solve the larger issue. She’d been in Graves’ office at some point. While the human investigators wouldn’t pick up her scent, they might find other evidence placing her at the scene of the murder.
* * *
ALYSSA
Murdered.Someone hadmurderedGraves. The news sent her reeling back to her childhood.
Had her father found her? Was this his way of threatening her?
Poor Graves. The guy was a bastard, but he was still part of the DSA, a man fighting to improve the dynamics between humans and shifters so they could stop the anti-shifters from killing innocents on both sides.
“Let’s get out of here, okay?” she said, pulling on Tiernan’s arm before the two DSA agents standing by the crime scene van spotted her. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the crime scene, give the agents any reason to question her.
“They’ll want a statement,” Tiernan said, nodding his head toward the agents.
“I wasn’t anywhere nearby,” she said, spinning on her heels. With a forced, casual pace, she headed away from the building. . . and Tiernan and Maddox. They jogged to catch up. Tiernan walked to her left, Maddox on her right.
“Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong. Both of you,” she said, wondering how she’d explain her past. Secrets she’d planned to keep hidden. Forever.
“I was thinking how beautiful you are,” Maddox said with a smile that made her melt even though she knew he was lying to her. Well, maybe lying was a strong word. He was very good at flirting and even better at hiding what he was thinking. Him complimenting her, whether he believed her beautiful or not, had an ulterior motive.
“Are you trying to tell me you’re not beautiful?” he persisted, moving the topic away from Graves’s death. She didn’t expect he’d drop the subject, but he wasn’t Rafe, the shifter who needed to take charge, to know everything, to be in control of his surroundings, including the people around him.
Maddox was more of a protector. Was that what he was doing? Protecting her by not encouraging her to stay to be interviewed? What did he know? Damn, she was getting paranoid all over again. Until she had reason to believe otherwise, she had to take him and the others at face value.
Alyssa turned sharply into Maddox’s path, causing him to stop short. “Cut the crap,” she said, instead of a simplethank you for understanding. It didn’t matter what his motive was. She didn’t want to drag him into her mess.
Two fingers ran up her arm, raising goosebumps and easing her tension. It wasn’t fair that the shifter could chip away at her resistance with a simple touch. He deserved the truth. They all did.
Maddox’s fingers caressed the side of her throat and worked their way along her jaw.
Just a moment longer. She wanted to enjoy his touch before she opened her mouth and ruined everything. She started to lean into Maddox until she heard a low growl from Tiernan.
“Stop growling. You don’t own me,” she snapped at Tiernan, her tension exploding faster than any bullet. This entire situation, being attracted to three shifters, having a murder to contend with, and that damn evidence she’d destroyed, left her on edge. Neither shifter had done anything wrong, and here she was, being cross with them.
She regretted snapping at Tiernan the instant those blue-gray eyes lost their shine. Wounded. She’d wounded him. Maddox, meanwhile, grinned like a Cheshire cat, those deep black eyes sending a shiver through her.
How the hell did she end up with two shifters following her around like she was a bitch in heat, anyway? She winced at the comparison. These shifters weren’t animals. More importantly, they deserved the truth from her, but she was too much of a coward to tell them.
“What are you avoiding, angel?” Maddox asked.
“We’ll protect you,” Tiernan said. “But those DSA agents are going to keep looking for you until you give them a statement.”
He knew. Or suspected. And he didn’t care that she could be involved, even in a murder. She caressed Tiernan’s face, loving his fierce loyalty to her.
“Here’s the deal,” she began, taking in both of their expressions. Maddox stood there looking calm, but she knew he was deeply aware of everything going on around them, as one would expect of a guard. He would gladly insert himself between her and anyone who threatened her. Tiernan, meanwhile, hung on her every word, eager to meet any request or follow any order she might give. Never had she imagined being attracted to such opposites. And at the same time yet. What had she gotten herself into?
