“Nonsense. If he is there, then we can end this once and for all.” Tristan pressed the palm of his hand into his forehead. The thought of facing Xavier terrified him. He knew his happiness with his two mates had been too good to last. Now where would he go?
Tristan heard sirens from somewhere outside. “Did you call the police, sir?”
“I had Dino call them. Do you hear them?”
“Yes.”
“Stay in the closet until they find you. Don’t come out for any reason. I’m almost there.”
Tristan leaned forward, resting his forehead on his knees as he prayed Hunter was okay. Xavier was a tricky bastard. If he knew his ex, he would lure Hunter away from the house and then fight dirty.
Tristan’s head shot up when the closet door flew open for the second time. “Hey, Tristan, it’s just the sheriff, Jesse DeKalb. Come on out. Dino called and said you were having a bit of trouble.”
Tristan dropped the phone and crawled on his hands and knees, exiting the closet. There was another uniformed officer standing in the middle of the bedroom. “This is Craig Hanes, my deputy.”
He could scent that Jesse was a shifter, but Craig was human. Not knowing if the deputy was aware of were-creatures, Tristan remained silent. He knew that if he opened his mouth right now, everything would fly out of it. Censorship wasn’t a strong point of his under intense situations.
“Tristan!” Quinn called from outside the bedroom. Tristan got to his feet and then ran through the door and into his mate’s arms. He began to cry as Quinn held him, making him feel safe once again. “Ssshhh, I have you, jellybean.” And Quinn did. He held Tristan tightly in his arms. He kissed Tristan’s head, tightening his hold further.
“I was so scared.” Tristan cried. He didn’t care who was watching. Knowing Quinn had him took a thousand-pound weight off of him. “Hunter, he went after him. We have to find him.” Tristan pulled away and wiped his eyes, noticing for the first time the men standing behind Quinn.
“Dino, I need shifters to scent Hunter and find him,” Quinn told the foreman.
“You are aware that Dino isn’t a shifter, sir, right?” Tristan asked his mate. He glanced over at the deputy. Craig must be aware of shifters for his mate to say this out loud.
“I’m aware. But there are more men outside, and they are.”
“I need you to tell us what happened, Tristan,” the sheriff said as he and the deputy came out of the bedroom. He didn’t want to tell these men about Xavier, didn’t want them to look at him with disdain for bringing trouble to their town.
“Someone broke in,” Tristan offered. He could see the questioning look on the sheriff’s face. He knew the answer was flimsy, but he wasn’t ready to go into a full-blown explanation. Not now.
“Can we discuss this once Hunter is found?” Quinn asked, pulling Tristan into the living room.
“I’m here.” Hunter walked into the living room and came directly to them. Once Tristan had both his mates next to him, he looked up at the sheriff. “I couldn’t find whoever was here. I lost his scent trail.”
At least the person left one.
Now he wouldn’t sound like he made it up. After spotting Xavier yesterday, then the man disappearing, Tristan began to wonder if he hadn’t been seeing things. “I was sitting in Quinn’s bedroom drawing when I heard tapping at the window. I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and called Hunter. He was the closest. I ran into the closet and hid. I heard the person ask where I was—”
“He was in the house?” Quinn growled.
Tristan placed his hand on his seething mate, seeing Quinn’s nostrils flare. He could smell the anger rolling off of Quinn. “Yes, sir.” Tristan laid his head on Quinn’s chest, reaching out and grabbing Hunter’s hand. Hunter pressed his chest into Tristan’s back, giving him comfort.
“I’ll need a description of the man, so I can put out an APB.” The sheriff grabbed a small pad from his back pocket.
“I don’t know. I never saw him, just heard him.”
The sheriff nodded, tucking the pad back into his pocket. “I’ll go get a scent. Maybe he’ll show himself and I can arrest him.” The sheriff left the living room, the deputy close behind.
* * * *
Hunter cuddled Tristan on his lap as Quinn talked with the men who had come with him. He never wanted a scare like that again. Rushing from the store, he had worried the whole way that he wouldn’t be in time to save his mate. “Do you want to lie down for a bit, rainbow?”
Tristan nodded, clinging to Hunter as he got up from the couch and walked down the hall. “I saw Xavier yesterday.”