11. Ten

Ten

Sloane

Of course the enforcers would arrive at the same time the FBI did. Luck was definitely something I had in short supply.

My heart thumped in my chest as the sleek black vehicles made their way down the drive. I had maybe sixty seconds until they were breathing down my neck. The men noticed and looked.

I forced a smile and coughed into my elbow, drawing the head enforcer's attention back to me. "I truly appreciate all of you coming. We've been working really hard to get rebuilt as well as additional quarters for everyone that has been assisting."

I motioned to Mark and Leo. "My brother and Leo will be happy to show you where your accommodations will be for now." I took the enforcer's hand and placed my other on top of it. "I truly appreciate you coming."

The head enforcer, Freddie, inclined his head. "It is our pleasure, Alpha Sloane. We are here to help in any way that we can. If you need us to jump right in and assist with the rebuilds, we would be more than happy once we put our things down."

I let out a breathy laugh. That was more than I could have hoped for. "That would be much appreciated."

Tires crunched on gravel as the SUVs drew closer. My pulse spiked, and I pulled my hand out of Freddie's before he had a chance to realize how clammy it was getting.

Mark took a step forward, motioning to the tents. "If you don't mind following us, we'll get you situated."

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave the men a small smile. "Thank you for your assistance. I'll be back with you as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I have business that I have to attend to."

Freddie gave me one last nod. "It is our pleasure. We are happy to assist anyway we can." He turned his attention to Mark and Leo, clapping the latter on the back as the men marched toward the tents.

They left just in time for me to meet with the FBI. The vehicles crawled down the drive, painstakingly slow, like they were doing it on purpose.

My stomach turned, and I felt like I might get sick.

Keep your cool, Sloane. You can do this. It's not the worse thing you've had to deal with.

The SUVs all came to a stop at the same time in perfect synchrony. They were all the perfect distance apart too, like they were a well-oiled machine.

I folded my hands in front of my waist as I walked towards the cars, each step growing heavier than the last. Them being here was supposed to be a surprise, or at least I assumed Sheriff Adam wasn't supposed to be giving us a heads up at ten o'clock last night.

I waved awkwardly as I approached. At least I was making it believable. "Good morning," I said as the doors opened in unison and men in suits stepped out.

I stopped a few feet away from them, not sure how close I should get. Their black suit coats didn't hide the holsters at their hips. A few had bulges at their ankles.

They all congregated together, ignoring me like I wasn't there, and then one man that was balding and looked much older than the rest took a step forward and offered me his hand.

I took the man's icy hand and gave it a firm shake. "How can I help you, sir?"

I peered around at the other suits. They all stood with their hands clasped in front of them, looking everywhere but at me.

Cool. Not awkward at all.

The lead guy narrowed his eyes for a moment before reaching into his suit coat and pulling out a badge. "Ma'am my name is Agent Weatherford. I'm with the FBI. I'm here to speak with Kathleen or Eric Martin."

A lump lodged in my throat at the mention of my father. Good word hadn't gotten out too far that he was gone.

I swallowed hard. "FBI. Is everything okay?"

There was a nervous edge to my voice that I couldn't shake. I mean, who could blame me? It's not every day that the FBI showed up at your doorstep.

The guy arched one of his thick, bushy brows. "Are your parent's home?"

I blinked and then squinted at the badge. It was in a black bifold and it looked real. Not that I'd ever seen one before to really know.

I stared at it a moment longer, then flitted my gaze to the cars and men. "I'm their daughter. What seems to be the problem?"

My mother's scent drifted in the air, sweet apple and cinnamon. She came up behind me, putting both hands on my shoulders. "Everything all right?" She sounded way more confident than I did.

Agent Weatherford gave her the once over. "Kathleen Martin?"

Mom wiped her hand on her apron. "I am. May I ask what this is about?" She motioned to the cars then placed her palms back on my shoulders.

The agent jammed his hands into his suit pocket. "Well, Miss Martin, I was hoping that you could tell me. We've had some disturbances near your property. I'd like to ask you a few questions as well as question everyone on the property."

Oh boy. There were a few hundred of us that was going to be hard to pass off that everyone worked here. The number of us alone was enough for questions.

My mom pulled me closer, so my back was against her chest. "What disturbances Agent Weatherford?"

He pulled out a pad of paper from his breast pocket and flipped through a few pages. He scrutinized, moving between two pages before looking back up at us. "A hiker alerted us to a body that was found near your property. When the police went out to investigate, there were nine shallow graves."

Nine graves. Sherriff Adam hadn't said how many victims there were. I said a silent prayer that their last moments had been painless. But with Alpha Dane involved that wasn't likely.

My mom squeezed my shoulder, her nails digging into my flesh. "Goodness, near our property? I assure you we have no idea what's happened. This is as big a shock to me as it is to you, Agent."

He flipped through a couple more pages and then looked over his shoulder at the men behind him. I caught a glimpse of his pad. The pages were all blank. The bastard was just trying to make us nervous.

He moved through the pages of nothingness again. "Yes, yes, I'm sure it is. But you must understand why we need to ask some questions. Especially since it is so close to your home."

Mom nodded adamantly. "Of course, I want whatever's happened and whoever did this and that crime to be brought to justice as quickly as possible."

The agent motioned to his men. "If you don't mind, we'd like to have a look around the property."

My breath caught in my throat. While we'd warned everyone of the impending agents, it still made me nervous someone hadn't gotten the memo. And I didn't want them lurking and poking at our property. We didn't have anything illegal to hide, but we were a giant wolf pack that needed to stay hidden.

I put a hand over my chest. "Why do you need to walk around the property?"

He smirked at me as his brows lifted. "We believe that the person responsible may be here. One of the helpers that you have living on your property." He shoved the pad back into his breast pocket and frowned. "What exactly is it you do here?"

Mom shifted behind me, but I was the one to answer. "We own a construction business."

Agent Weatherford looked around, his focus on our little tent camp. "I see. Strange so many of your workers live here, isn't it?" He motioned to the tents. "And even odder that a construction company would be housing the help in tents."

There was something about the way his eyes lit up, the way he was looking at me was predatory. He had to be working with Alpha Dane directly.

I gave him a grin of my own as I put my hands on my hips and arched a brow. "Do you have a warrant, agent?"

Mom exhaled, her nails digging even further into my skin. She was going to draw blood if she wasn't careful. I knew she didn't mean to this was entirely new territory for both of us.

Agent Weatherford shifted his feet and looked at the ground. "I can obtain a warrant if needed. But it would be easier if you let us just have a look around."

Over my dead body! I knew my rights.

I gave him a smile. "It will be needed agents. While we have nothing to hide, I don't need your men wandering around our property when you have no proof that anyone here has done anything wrong."

Agent Weatherford rubbed his jaw. "Well then, I suppose we will return in a day or two with the warrant. Then you will have no choice but to allow us access to everything on this property."

I offered the sleazeball my hand. He glared at it for a long moment before shaking it again. "And when you come back with the legal documentation, I'll be happy to give you a proper tour. Until then, I must ask you to leave." I pointed to the driveway.

He narrowed his eyes before letting out a small chuckle. "We'll see each other again very soon."

I didn't doubt that, but I also hoped that a judge would be cautious enough to not just throw us under the bus without real evidence, and I didn't think they had it, at least I hoped they didn't.

The agents backed away and got into their vehicles at the same tie like they'd been training to be in perfect synchrony for months. I held my breath as their vehicles roared to life and then they started down the drive, thankfully moving much faster than when they'd arrived.

Mom gave me a gentle shake. "I think you just poked the bear, Sloane." She wrapped me tighter in her embrace. "You shouldn't have done that. You should've just given them what they wanted."

I shook my head. "No. He's working for Alpha Dane. I'm almost sure of it. The head honcho jerk might say he has evidence, but I wonder if he really does. If he doesn't, getting a judge to sign off is going to be impossible."

Mom put her chin on my shoulder. "I suppose that doesn't surprise me." She held me tighter for another moment before pulling away. "That man will stop at nothing to destroy us."

I slid my fingers through my hair, pulling it up into a messy bun. "Do you think he'll come back with a warrant?"

Mom massaged her temples. "He will if he can get one."

I chewed on my lip. "We should start looking at moving up our timeline to attack. If we don't shut him down fast enough, he's going to come here."

Mom swallowed as she brushed flour off her apron."I wish I could disagree with you."

Then it was settled. We had to move up our timeframe. It was the only way we were going to stop Alpha Dane before he made sure that none of us ever had our freedom again.