Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Look, Stone, it's these two again," the same officer who'd arrested John earlier that day said with a sneer.

"Should have known," Stone replied.

I ground my teeth together, trying to keep my snarky responses to myself. Kai and Jax were still working on the damned pipe, and here they were being harassed by the police. And for what, being good neighbors?

Kai wiped his hands on a towel from Jax's truck and walked over to the policemen. "What can we do for you this afternoon, gentleman?"

"We're here to follow up on a destruction of property claim by Ms. Fitzgerald. She says the neighbors intentionally cut her water line. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Stone asked.

"Nothing other than we volunteered to come over here and fix it," Kai said patiently.

"To cover your tracks?" the other officer asked.

I peered at his name badge. X. Wallis . I hadn't recognized him earlier that morning and now that I knew his name, I was certain he was new to Premonition Pointe. Had he always been an asshole, or had Stone rubbed off on him? The two made my stomach turn, and I wondered how it was possible Jax and I had just been talking about marriage and now he and Kai were being questioned for vandalizing Fiona Fitzgerald's property. As if it made any sense at all that they'd cut her pipe and then rush over to fix it.

"There are no tracks to cover," Kai said. "I don't know who did it, but it wasn't me, or Jax, or anyone who lives on the Gray Wolf Winery compound."

"How can you be sure? Do you keep trackers on your dogs even when they're in human form?" Stone asked with a sneer.

"That was uncalled for," I said, my voice shaking with rage. How dare these jackasses come here and talk to Kai and Jax like that?

"It was just a question, Ms. Matched. There's no need to get your fur ruffled." The two policemen cackled at the uninspired joke.

I rolled my eyes and wondered if I could get Brix to do an in-depth background check on these two idiots. Surely they'd done something that could get them suspended from the department. It was the least they deserved.

It suddenly hit me that if I ever did marry Jax, this was something I was going to have to get used to. There was no reason to believe that the blatant discrimination Kai and the pack was experiencing wouldn't affect him, too. Affect us. Was that something I could handle?

Absolutely. One hundred percent, I could deal with it. I'd be damned if I'd let some ignorant jackasses keep me from marrying Jax because of their short-sighted views. If it came down to it, I'd walk through fire for Jax. If I had to spend the rest of my life clapping back at people like Stone and Wallis, I'd do it. Happily. Because eff them.

After being separated from Jax for six weeks, it was clear that wasn't something I ever wanted to do again.

"There you are," Fiona called from her porch. "I was beginning to think I needed to call the local donut shop to get one of you out here."

Stone's self-satisfied grin vanished as he glared at the woman.

I almost laughed out loud. It was slightly comforting to know that Fiona was a bitch to everyone, not just Kai and Jax.

"How about you just tell us what happened?" Stone said, holding a small tablet and a pen.

"Well, Officer, this afternoon I noticed the wolves next door doing some plumbing work." She waved in the direction of Kai's property. "And then when I went to shower about an hour ago, the water didn't turn on. Upon further inspection, I found this." Fiona pointed at the cut pipe. "Someone had dug up my water line and cut it clean with some sort of saw in two places ." She held up two fingers for emphasis. "And then they just left it like that. When I went over to the wolf habitat, I found the lot of them covered in dirt as they hooked up water lines."

"Okaaaay," Stone said, eyeing her. "And why do you think they cut your water line?"

"We didn't cut anyone's water line," Kai interjected.

"We'll see about that, Mr. Gray," Wallis said, his voice cold.

"Because they want my property and they think if they torture me, I'll sell out." She gave Kai a dirty look. "I'm never giving up this land. It belonged to my great-granddaddy. So if it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you'll get."

"Is that true, Mr. Gray? Did you try to buy this property?" Stone asked.

"I did inquire about it when I was purchasing the adjacent land," Kai said slowly as if trying to measure his words. "When Ms. Fitzgerald made it clear she wasn't in the market to sell, I thanked her for her time, and that was that. I'm certainly not trying to make her life unpleasant so she'll move on. If I was doing that, do you think I'd be over here fixing the line?"

I suppressed a grimace. While there was less than zero proof, the circumstantial evidence against the Diablo Wolf Pack was likely to add up quickly. And with a biased police force, that meant nothing but trouble for Kai and the pack.

"I see," Stone said, sharing a look with Wallis.

Kai was cool as a cucumber when he added, "You're welcome to review my security footage from today if you think that will help. It won't show who did this,"—he pointed at the pipe—"but it will likely give an alibi to each of my pack members. They've been working on my land all day. The footage will show that."

Stone looked skeptical, but he nodded. "Yes, that would be helpful. I assume we can get that now?"

"You can. Just let me text the office and let them know you're coming." Kai whipped out his phone, sent a message, and then gave the officers a nod. "They'll meet you there. The office is in the old stables just past the house, first door on the right."

I couldn't believe Kai was being so cooperative. It was also equally impressive that he trusted his pack so implicitly. How could he be a hundred percent certain none of them had done this? Even as a prank. Considering how surly Fiona was, it wouldn't surprise me if one of them got fed up and cut her pipe just to annoy her.

"We'll do that," Stone said. He glanced at Fiona. "If you think of anything else, give us a call. Otherwise, we'll be in touch."

"I want restitution!" she called. As the police car rolled down her driveway, she looked at Kai and Jax. "How soon until I can get that shower?"

"We're almost done here," Kai said. "Twenty minutes, give or take."

She eyed him for a long minute and then turned around and went back into the house.

"Holy hell," I said. "Kai, how were you able to remain so calm? If I was ready to scratch some eyes out, you must have been ready to throw down."

A muscle in Kai's jaw ticked as he closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When he opened them, he stared me in the eyes and said, "If the pack is going to make a home here, we have to be able to get along with our neighbors and the local law enforcement. Right now, the only thing I can do is prove we're not a threat. That we will help when something goes wrong. It's why I'm here fixing this goddamned pipe when I know for certain none of my crew did this."

"How do you know?" Jax asked him as he screwed on a new section of pipe.

"One, I trust them," he said with a wry smile. "But also, there are perimeter alarms on the winery property. If anyone crossed them in either direction, I'd have been notified."

So that was why he was so certain his wolves hadn't done this. I let out a small chuckle. "It's really going to disappoint Stone when he realizes you were right."

Kai grinned. "I'd pay good money to see that." But then he sobered and ran a hand through his dark hair as he eyed Fiona's house. "The question is, who actually did this and why?"

I stepped up beside the alpha. "It's not hard to imagine someone having a grudge against Fiona. She's not exactly the warmest woman I've ever met."

Jax snickered from behind us.

"That's true," Kai agreed. "I just can't shake the feeling that this is a setup."

"By who?" I asked.

"I have no idea." He turned back to Jax. "Are we ready to turn the water back on?"

Jax nodded.

After they confirmed the pipe was fixed with no leaks, Kai let Fiona know she was in business. The woman didn't even bother thanking him. She just gave him a quick nod and shut the door.

A few minutes later, we were back at the winery.

"Do you need us for anything else?" Jax asked Kai.

"No. Just get me the estimate on the barn when it's ready." Kai turned to me. "I know you came out here to talk business, but can that wait? I'm just not in the mood to think about mixers or coffee dates."

"Of course. I actually wanted to let you know that Autumn Winters has shown interest in getting to know you. But you can think about that and call me when you have some time, and we'll talk more about it then."

He raised one eyebrow. "Autumn Winters? I'm definitely interested. She doesn't mind that I'm a wolf?"

"She doesn't at all." I grinned, knowing this would be the easiest love match I'd made in years.

"That's… good." He glanced away, looking almost shy, and then said, "I'll call you and we'll figure it out."

"Sure thing." I gave him a quick hug. Jax shook his hand and said he'd be in touch.

As Jax and I climbed into his truck, I leaned back and let out a long sigh. As happy as I was to see where the connection between Kai and Autumn went, I couldn't shake the overwhelming irritation that clung to me after witnessing the Premonition Pointe police officers treat Kai and Jax like criminals just because they were shifters. It was so wrong it made me want to scream. "Man. I can't believe the bullshit you guys had to deal with today. I don't think I've ever wanted to deck someone more than I did today. If there hadn't been a risk of spending the night in jail, I'd have popped Stone in the nose a couple of times. Not that Wallis was any better. The absolute nerve of?—"

"Marion," Jax said gently, placing his hand on my arm. "I know you're upset, but Kai has been through this before. He's handling it the best way he knows how."

"Of course he is. It's just that he shouldn't have to take all that BS just to survive in this town. If the pack had been anyone else, they'd have been welcomed with open arms. Especially when they are opening a winery. That venue is going to be a huge revenue earner for everyone. The events they could have there will be a boon to so many other businesses. The people of this town should be throwing him and the pack a welcome to Premonition Pointe party. They shouldn't be accusing Kai of cutting pipes and acting like if the pack even breathes wrong, they'll wish they'd never stepped foot here."

I leaned back against the seat and just breathed.

"That was quite the rant," Jax said, putting the truck into gear and heading back to the main road.

"It was, wasn't it?" I said, softening.

"Feel better?"

"Marginally," I said as Jax pulled out onto the two-lane highway and I stared at the gorgeous property we were leaving. "It's just not right. No one deserves to be treated that way."

"You're right." He reached over and grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers between mine. He pulled my hand up and gently kissed my knuckles. "Thank you."

"For what?"

He squeezed my hand. "For being you."