Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

S edona

Crying.

Whimpering.

Yet he was watching.

I stumbled toward the creature, snuffling back tears. I was afraid. So very afraid.

“It’s okay, puppy. I won’t hurt you.” He was a big dog, bigger than any my mama had ever let me see. And black like the night.

He wasn’t running.

He wasn’t afraid like I was.

He was watching me. His silver eyes were beautiful.

“I’m afraid, puppy.” I slumped down in front of him, sobbing uncontrollably.

The dog waited, still watching me.

I reached out, longing to touch his fur. He was so beautiful.

The puppy finally moved toward me and the moment I wrapped my arms around his neck, I knew I would be safe.

I jerked up, taking several ragged breaths. Darkness. There was a slender stream of light, the glow almost enough for my eyes to become focused. I’d had a dream. The puppy had been a wolf. I hadn’t known it then. I’d thought the creature a big dog, yet to me he’d been just a puppy.

And he’d saved me. How was that possible?

My God.

Another sound drew my attention. It also boosted my heart rate. My phone. A few seconds and another ring later and I realized where I was.

His condo. One of his homes.

The sexiest man alive.

Finally, I was able to focus, remembering I’d insisted on placing my phone on the nightstand. I always worried about my little girl. Still half asleep, I managed to grab it as another sound permeated the darkness.

“Hello?”

“Doctor Willis. Agent Drummand.”

Hearing her name and her voice woke me up completely. It also irritated the hell out of me. “Why are you calling me now? I told you not to bother me. Your boys took hours out of my schedule and I don’t appreciate that. If I hadn’t been there, they would have destroyed my lab and all my other work. Unacceptable.”

“I’m sorry they inconvenienced you, but it was necessary. I’m calling you because I need your help again. It’s vital we meet at your office.”

I almost laughed but resisted, the annoyance too great. “I thought I was clear in that I was not interested in helping the FBI in any continued way.”

“We need your assistance. Only you can provide the information we need. Your expertise is above reproach.”

Oh, it was, was it?

She was grasping at straws. I could feel her tension across the phone lines.

“Why in God’s name are you saying that? I’m one of a million medical examiners you could find. Secure someone else.”

I thought I’d lost her and was happy about it, but she cleared her throat. She was doing a hard-core press and the scientist and resident bad girl inside of me was ready to demand knowing why.

“Doctor Willis, the FBI is aware of your former career choice. That is an invaluable service to us and we aren’t likely to find the combination in anyone else. I was asked to convey this by the director of the FBI himself.”

Okay, the woman had me intrigued. If the director was involved, they were nervous. “What are you talking about? What former career?”

It wasn’t something I’d hidden, but why go digging?

“You were studying to become a big game veterinarian. You’ve had experience with wild animals. You did a sabbatical in Africa, which allowed you to study some interesting species.”

Not dead men who turn into some beast.

The words were on the tip of my tongue.

I laughed as my entire body stiffened. She’d been checking up on me. I should have known there was an ulterior motive in selecting me. The bitch. I was furious, but at least had my answer as to why I’d been picked out of a crowd of so many. Not that it made me any happier or more amenable to doing her bidding.

“So what? That makes me the expert on weirdness? I’m not interested.”

“I can require you to perform this autopsy, Doctor Willis. I can also make your life miserable if you refuse.”

“Why in God’s name are you threatening me? Are you desperate?”

Another moment of silence provided an answer, but I waited, determined to have her admit it. “The FBI has reached a dead end. The video you captured provided more clues than we’ve obtained to date. Your skills are needed.”

In other words, they were desperate.

“If I agree to this, you will tell me what the fuck is going on. Period. I’m not risking my life or anyone else’s for your wild goose chase. Or to provide some wacked-out answer that doesn’t make any scientific sense. Is that clear?”

Agent Drummand sighed. “Completely understood. However, it’s not a wild goose chase. I assure you of that. I don’t need to remind you just how dangerous the situation is. I watched the video several times. If you’d been in that room when the man awakened, he could have killed you.”

“He wasn’t human at that point, agent. As to how he rose from the dead, I’ll need to perform more tests without interference.”

“They will need to be approved.”

I laughed. “Then it’s a no go. I have full autonomy, or you can find someone else and do your best to try and tear me down. I’ll head straight to a reporter I know very well. Oh, he works for the New York Times .” There was no harm, no foul in embellishing the truth. Was there?

“Fine. I’ll make certain you aren’t encumbered by FBI requirements, but in turn, you will keep this secret and provide us with every discovery.”

“Deal. Now, you need to tell me what is going on.” I was being demanding, doing my best not to wake Jax, but she needed to understand I wasn’t a pushover. But with Jax, the last thing I needed was to be questioned about what the hell I was doing. He was my respite away from small town crazy.

“How long before you can arrive at your facility, Doctor?”

Why was I even considering doing this? Why was I stupid enough to put myself in harm’s way?

The answer was rather sickening.

Because I wanted to discover the truth. Now, more than before, the entire thought nagged at me, dragging up what should be considered a nightmare.

Wolves.

I had to be losing my mind to consider it.

But I had and I would.

I was a scientist after all.

“One hour. You’ll tell me everything I want to know?”

“Yes. One hour,” the agent repeated, immediately ending the call.

I held the phone in my hand, staring at the blackened screen as if it was going to provide any decent answers.

A shift behind me forced me to tense. I took a deep breath, returning the phone to the nightstand. My hands were shaking as much as my heart was thumping in my chest. I was a mess, an odd combination of fear and excitement churning through me. It felt a little like I was on the cutting edge of discovering something out of this world.

Please, God. No aliens.

I pressed my fingers over my lips to keep from laughing.

“Is there a problem?” Jax asked, his sexy voice sounding sleepy. I took a deep breath, savoring the smell of our sex and his exotic scent, sweet and tangy with a dash of cinnamon.

Sadly, the lurid images bolting through my mind had to be shoved away. This is where I knew I could come clean or lie.

I chose the path of least resistance.

Lying.

“That was Mattie for real. I need to get back to my car and return home. Britney is having terrible nightmares and Mattie can’t calm her down. She’s gone through this on and off since being forced to move. It’s been a while, but I’m the only one who can stop her panic attack.”

He touched my shoulder and the electricity was enough to jerk at my breath. “Don’t worry. We’ll leave in a few minutes. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. Sometimes a little girl just needs her mommy.”

“Understood. I’ll get dressed.”

Secrets. Lies. I’d told myself a long time ago I’d never do that to anyone. I’d been the victim of a man who excelled in creating the most perfect lies.

While I felt bad, I also knew there was no other choice at this point.

I only hoped if he discovered my little white lie he’d forgive me.