SizzlingInsanity (17 page)

Sam nodded.

“What is the meaning of this? Sam, why are you letting them
do this to me?”

Cade had to hide a wince. As Daniel grew more agitated, his
voice rose in pitch. It was as grating as fingers on a blackboard.

True to his word, Sam remained quiet, leaning back against
the wall, facing Daniel, his face impassive.

They’d brought him down to the same basement room they’d
kept Shelby in, tying him to a chair. He’d protested the whole way, growing
increasingly distressed.

“You know exactly why you’re here,” Cade said, leaning over
him. He deliberately let his wolf shine through, knowing how menacing he
looked.

Daniel’s eyes widened, fear making him pant. His face paled
and Cade hoped he wouldn’t vomit. He hated cleaning up vomit.

“You’re here because you killed Annabeth Miller.”

“What? Who?”

“Don’t bother trying to lie,” Connor said, leaning back in
another chair. “We’re werewolves, we can sense when you lie. Why don’t you tell
us the truth? Then my brother can go get some dinner. He hasn’t eaten in quite
a while.”

Daniel looked over at Cade and gulped. Loudly.

“Stay away from me, you filthy animal,” he said. “How dare
you even speak to me? You have no right to hold me like this. When I get free
I’ll have you both arrested and neutered!”

“Neutered?” Connor said with amusement. “Tell me, have you
always hated werewolves or is it just us?”

“All of you,” he said. He looked over at Sam. “See what
animals they are? They’re threatening me.”

“Shut up.” Cade glared at him. “I’m getting tired of
waiting. We know you killed her, what we want to know is why. Were you jealous?
Wanted Sam for yourself, is that it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Connor sighed. “Still lying. Seriously, if you don’t start
telling us the truth, I’m not going to be able to hold my brother back. When he
gets angry the wolf side of him takes over and changing makes him very, very
hungry.”

“You don’t eat people.” Daniel looked at both of them
nervously.

“Don’t we?” Connor said. “I thought we were animals? Isn’t
that what you believe? Now, are you going to tell us about Annabeth or does my
brother show you his animal side?”

“Sam, please,” he begged. “You have to help me.”

“Do it,” Sam said firmly, turning away.

Cade stripped off his T-shirt.

“Wait, wait, no, don’t let that animal near me.” His
breathing became ragged and a wet patch formed on the front of his pants as the
scent of urine hit Cade’s nostrils.

Great. Just great.

“I did it, all right. I killed her.”

Cade heard Sam let out a shuddering breath, but he said
nothing.

“Why?” Connor asked as Cade continued to stand there,
glaring at Daniel.

“Because she was ruining everything! Sam was going to be
someone, he could have been president and he was going to give it all up for
her. I knew I had to split them up, so I paid her a little visit. Told her how
damaging she was for Sam and his future. It worked for a while. She left and I
thought she was gone for good. Then she came back,” he spat out.

“She wasn’t worthy of Sam. He needed someone with breeding,
someone who would help him. She was a dirty animal.”

“So when she came back, you killed her.”

“Yes.” His face was filled with hatred. “I couldn’t let Sam
find out. Luckily, he was at his mother’s when the note from that bitch
arrived. I met her at the cabin and slit her throat. Then I carried her into
the forest, figured she might as well be with the animals since she was one.”

“Oh God,” Sam said on a low moan.

“So why wasn’t your scent all over her?” Connor asked. “Why
did she smell like Sam?”

He looked surprised for a moment. Then he looked guiltily at
Sam. “I took some of his clothes and dressed in them. I didn’t want her getting
spooked until I was close enough to grab her.”

“Daniel, why? I loved her,” Sam said.

“You were better than her. You were throwing your life away
for her. She was an animal, what did it matter if she died? See how far you’ve
come without her.”

Sam looked at him, his face filled with such stark agony
that Cade actually had to look away.

“Do what you have to,” Sam said before leaving.

Connor sighed and looked over at his brother. “One of us
needs to tell Shelby.”

Cade nodded, glaring at Daniel who shook in terror. “You go.
I’ll take care of things here.”

* * * * *

“You’re gonna wear a hole in the carpet,” Owen growled.

Shelby snorted. “There’s barely any carpet left, it’s so
worn down.”

“All the more reason to stop pacing, you’re just gonna wear
it out faster.”

“You know, I don’t need babysitting,” she told him with
exasperation. It seemed as though she couldn’t turn around without one of her
cousins standing in her way.

Her tension was building. Cade and Connor were planning on
talking to Garrison this morning. What if they believed him? What if they
turned their back on her? But they were mated now.

She felt for their bond, reassured that it was there, strong
as ever.

Last night, they’d all told her cousins about the true mate
bond. Her cousins had been shocked. But there was no denying the bond, it was
there. Her scent had changed, merging with theirs.

“You disappeared on us for days because we weren’t looking
after you properly. We’re not leaving you on your own until everything is
settled.”

“That wasn’t your fault.” She stopped and stared at him. She
couldn’t bear for them to think that.

“We should have known what was going on,” Sawyer said, his
voice riddled with guilt.

“Those days you were missing were the worst in my life.”
Jonty’s voice was haunted.

“I’m so sorry,” she told them. “I wouldn’t hurt you guys for
the world.”

“Just tell us that the next time you’re in trouble,” Owen
told her. “That the next time you need help, you will come to us. If you put
yourself in danger like that again, I’m gonna—”

“I know, I know, you’re gonna take off your belt.”

“Actually, I believe that’s my job now.”

She glanced over at the doorway. How long had Connor been standing
there? Her cousins didn’t react, meaning they’d known he was there all along.

“But I’ll rely on the three of you to help Cade and me keep
her under control.”

“Under control?” she said, outraged. Nervousness bubbled in
her stomach. What had happened?

“Hmm, you have a tendency to throw yourself into danger
without any thought to your safety. I have the feeling you’ll keep us on our
toes.”

“Does that mean you’re sticking around?” Sawyer asked.
“You’re not taking Shelby back to South Carolina?”

They hadn’t spoken about where they would live, too many
other things were going on. But she supposed they would want to go back to
their pack.

“Much as we love our family, that is no longer our home. We
don’t fit in with normal packs. Our team has become our pack. We’ve been
thinking about setting up a base of operations. Here is as good a place as
anywhere.”

The knot in her stomach unraveled.

“Cade and I wanted to speak to the three of you about
joining us.”

“Joining you? We don’t know anything about security,” Sawyer
replied.

“No?” Connor raised a brow. “You’re bouncers, you’re tough
and smart. I think you can help more than you think.” He shrugged. “Think about
it. We’ll work you hard, and Cade can be hard for some people to take, but we
could use you.”

“We’re used to being around difficult people,” Jonty said
dryly, looking over at Owen.

“I’m not difficult,” he protested.

“Thanks for the offer,” Sawyer said. “We’ll think about it.”

“So you gonna tell us what happened with Garrison or you
just gonna stand there all night?” Owen asked.

“First things first.” Connor walked forward and before she
could guess what he was going to do he had her in his arms and was kissing her
as though he hadn’t seen her in months.

“Hello, mate,” he said, smiling down at her.

“H-hello,” she replied, her knees feeling weak. Connor
pulled her over to the sofa and sat, pulling her onto his lap.

She attempted to scoot off and sit beside him, embarrassed
to be seen this way in front of her cousins, but Connor held her close, not
letting her move.

“Settle,” he ordered in a low voice. “I need to hold you.”

She stilled. He needed her? Suddenly, that made all the
difference. She relaxed against him. He ran his hand up and down her back.

“So, did Garrison come clean?” Jonty asked from where he sat
on an armchair. Owen sprawled on the other sofa while Sawyer leaned against the
wall.

Connor turned her slightly, so she was looking at him.

“Sam wasn’t the killer, sweetheart.”

She tensed. Reaching out, she tried to push his hands away
from her.

“Listen to me. Listen to me,” he insisted. He shook her
lightly.

“He’s lying, how could you believe him? Of course he’s not
going to just confess—”

“Shelby, do you think that I don’t know what I’m doing?” he
asked, sounding grumpy. “This wasn’t our first interrogation. We’re very good
at getting answers.”

“Took you awhile to get anything from me.”

“Well, we don’t love Sam. We love you. Trouble, he wasn’t
even here when your mother was murdered. He was out of town visiting his mother
for her birthday.”

“He’s lying—”

“No. We spoke to his mother. She takes photos each year and
religiously writes the dates on the back.”

“Then she’s lying.”

“Shelby, it was his assistant. He confessed. He was the one
who convinced Annabeth that she wasn’t good enough for Sam in the first place.
Then when your mother came back, he was the one who met her at the cabin, the
one who murdered her.”

“B-but Uncle Colin said he could smell Garrison on her
body.”

“Daniel wore Sam’s clothes. He was trying to disguise
himself.”

“But why did he do it? Why would he kill my mom?”

“Jealousy. He loved Sam. He wanted him to succeed. Sam was
going to give up politics for Annabeth and Daniel couldn’t let that happen. He
thought it was all over when Annabeth moved away. He intercepted her letter to
Sam and sent his own message back. He knew about the cabin, knew that was where
the two of them met. He’d been spying on Sam for years.”

“That’s sick. And weird,” Owen said.

“My mother died because of his obsession with Garrison?” she
said, trying to come to terms with it. She’d thought Garrison was the killer
for so long. To learn it was someone else was hard to wrap her head around.

Connor looked at her with sympathy. “Yes. It was beyond
love—he’d appointed himself as Sam’s protector and he was determined to do
whatever he thought best to help Sam.”

“And he didn’t think that my mother was good enough for
Garrison.”

No one answered her. They didn’t need to. It wasn’t really a
question.

“Did you tell Garrison about me?”

“No, sweetheart. He wants to read the diary. Needless to say
he’s devastated by the whole thing and he’s blaming himself.”

Shit, it was difficult to get her head around the fact that
the man she’d hated for so many years was innocent. For so long Garrison had
been the bad guy, her enemy. To find out he wasn’t, that she’d hated the wrong
man, that she could have harmed the wrong man… Guilt was a living, breathing
monster inside her.

“My fault,” she whispered. “I always blamed him. I never
even looked beyond him. I should have. What if I’d harmed him?”

Connor ran his hand over her hair. “There was no reason to
suspect anyone else.”

“You did.”

“Because I know Sam. I know what a good guy he is. Don’t
blame yourself, trouble. There is only one person to blame for all of this and
he won’t be around to hurt either of you again.” He hugged her tight, rocking
her slightly.

“Thank you,” she told him. “Thank you for figuring this out.
I would have kept blaming him.” Her father. God, what was she going to do now?

She glanced around at her cousins who remained silent.

“What do I do now?” she whispered.

“I told him I had to talk to Annabeth’s family before he
could read the diary.”

Her mind reeled. She’d never expected this. Never thought he
might be innocent.

Sawyer leaned forward. “Shelby, Annabeth was going to tell
him. She was going to tell him about you.”

Because her mother had loved him.

“Let him read the diary,” she whispered.

“Are you sure?” Connor asked.

She nodded.

“Okay. Cade has the diary. I’ll call him and let him know.”

* * * * *

Cade strode into Sam’s study, not bothering to knock. He’d
been patient enough. He’d given the diary to Sam two hours ago, surely it
didn’t take this long to read it. Connor and Shelby were at her cousins’ place
and that was where Cade wanted to be.

Where he needed to be.

With his family.

Sam looked up, his face stark white. “I have a daughter.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Annabeth never told me. She went through it all on her own,
the pregnancy, giving birth, raising her. Why didn’t she tell me?”

“She thought she was doing the right thing for you. But she
came back when Shelby was two.”

“And then died before she could tell me.” Sam clenched his
fists. “I could kill that bastard.”

Too late.

Cade felt no qualms about getting rid of Daniel. The bastard
had killed his mate’s mother. Caused his mate pain. He deserved what he got.

“All these years wasted. I could have had a family. A wife,
a daughter.”

“Did you want a family? A daughter? Or would she have been
an inconvenience? Would Annabeth and Shelby really have fit into your life?”

Sam’s gaze turned fierce. “That’s my daughter you’re talking
about. I would have done anything for her and Annabeth. Do you seriously think
I would have chosen my career over them?”