16. Trig

Chapter 16

Trig

We were in the car down the street in record time. It didn't feel right leaving a dead body there, but we weren't confident that others weren't on their way, and we needed to get someplace where we could think and plan. We'd been so careful about everything this entire time and they still found us. Winging it felt like the worst idea ever.

Unsure where to go, we zigzagged through smaller towns in the next county, trying not to be seen. There was nothing productive about what we were doing, but keeping moving and in a direction they probably wouldn't expect us to go felt like the right move at the time. This entire situation was a mess.

I was a mess.

I'd never seen someone die before. And to see it happen and be glad for that was a lot to handle. I should feel sad, right? Someone took their last breath. But instead, relief flooded me and then fear of what was to come. And then came the guilt.

He was trying to do us harm, and we couldn't just let that happen. It was justified and necessary. The only other result would've been us on the next news cycle without any witnesses left.

Even though we'd been driving an hour, we weren't that far away. We couldn't keep doing this. We needed to figure out our "what next."

Garin pulled to the side of the road and turned off the lights.

"What are we gonna do?" We had to do something. There was a dead body at my family's house. It wasn't like people wouldn't see that eventually.

Objectively, Garin had been completely unprepared for the task he was assigned. And really, the higher-ups should have made sure that whoever they put in that position had the expertise. Because if it hadn't been Garin, just some random guy looking for an extra buck, things would have turned out very differently

"I know no one wants to hear this…" Garin let out a long sigh. "But we need to call the police. We need to let them know there's a dead body at your house."

"We can't just call and leave that as a tip. It will come back to you, Trig. Yes, it was an animal attack, but fleeing the scene will get you into hot water." Nate had a point.

"What should we do?" Not going back there sounded like the best plan to me. And walking into a police station? Yeah, that didn't sound so good.

"I think we need to call them and meet them back at the house. I hate going there, but it feels like the only way to make sure that once we get out of here alive, which we will, then we don't end up behind bars." Nate was probably right. I hadn't considered what no one was saying out loud. It wasn't a secret that Garin was a shifter, and it wouldn't be too difficult to put two and two together if they tried.

We agreed to go back, none of us liking the plan but all of us seeing it had to be done. But as luck would have it, we passed by a police officer at a gas station about to get back into his vehicle on our way to get a cell signal.

"If we just tell him, there's no phone call." Maybe it was years of watching crime shows on television, but I knew that phone calls and voice recordings were not something we wanted.

Garin pulled into the parking lot, rolled down his window, and called the officer. The policeman came to our open window, and Nate mumbled, "Koala."

"Yeah, I'm a koala. What can I help you guys with?"

He was different from any cop I'd met. He was welcoming. I instantly trusted him. Maybe it was because he was small-town and not big city, but whatever the case was, if we had to deal with this, it was better with him than somebody else.

"We were staying in my grandfather's cabin down the road and… can you come with us? We need to show you something."

"What is this? Am I about to go to my death?" he teased, or maybe he wasn't. We hadn't made a normal request.

"You're not," I assured him, "but it's easier to show you."

"Okay, lead the way."

He followed us back. Dread filled my belly, being back where we were already once discovered. But this was the right thing to do. The best thing to do. The only thing to do.

"So, this guy here, he came and tried to break in. He had a gun and, well… my mate has teeth and…" The gun was still there. We'd moved nothing.

"Do you think he was a squatter?"

Nate shook his head. "Remember on the news, when they talked about how witnesses keep showing up dead from the murders in the city? I'm the only one left." His face turned an almost hue of green.

"So this was..." The officer crouched down to get a better look.

"Yeah," I said. "I think they found him. We were hiding here to keep him safe, but that didn't turn out."

"We'd best be getting this paperwork done quickly." He stood up and brushed off his pants. "Animal attacks happen now and again. It's a shame."

It took a second for my brain to catch up to what he was doing. The policeman was helping us.

"And what do you know, I think the hub's down, so this probably won't even be in the computer until the morning at best, whenever the tech guy rolls in."

He didn't even intend to make it sound realistic, he wanted us to know he had our backs, that he was covering for us. He was one of the good guys.

We filled everything out, the paper feeling quite light. I wasn't complaining. The less time we were there like sitting ducks, the better.

"Probably should find someplace else to stay… in case the animal comes back."

"We're gonna do that. Thanks, Officer." Garin already had his keys in hand.

"Anytime."

We didn't know where we were heading, but we knew one thing for sure—we were gonna keep our omega safe. We didn't find him just to lose him again.

I refused to let that happen.