Trace returned. “Melinda’s in a dither. I guess she’ll be coming with me.”
“Of course.”
“We’ll be there soon. Someone from the station will get there faster.” Trace hung up.
Laurie faced the condo, but he could see she was somewhere else. She nodded subtly a few times, but her gaze was on nothing. She was undoubtedly communicating with Melinda. Of all the weird things that had happened in the last week, Laurie’s ability to speak to her sister telepathically in human form was by far the weirdest.
Zach took the opportunity to alert Corbin. “Corbin?”
“What’s up? Did you get some sleep? It’s so early.”
“No. Long story. But we have an issue. We haven’t even been into my condo. Laurie had a premonition. We called Trace. He’s on his way. Deputies from his office are on their way.”
“I’ll leave now.”
“I hate for you to do that. It might not be necessary. Could be nothing.”
“You think it’s nothing?”
“No.”
“I’m on my way.” Corbin broke the connection.
A sheriff’s vehicle pulled into the lot, quiet with no lights. Two men climbed out of the car. One reached for Zach’s hand. “Mark Zimmer. I work with your brother.”
The second guy introduced himself as Deputy Steve Fouler and then turned toward the condo. “What’s the problem?” He wandered closer.
“Not sure.” Zach chuckled, but not with humor. “Something’s weird. Or maybe we’re just jumpy after the night we’ve had.” At least that would explain away some of the paranormal. Neither of these deputies was a shifter.
“What happened?” Mark asked.
“Some people on the reservation thought it might be funny to throw bricks through the windows of the apartment we were in. We just got back here hoping to get some sleep before I need to be at work.”
Laurie took Zach’s hand and squeezed. “I have a weird feeling.”
Mark lifted a brow. “You have a weird feeling?”
She nodded. “Humor me,” she mumbled.
Mark nodded indulgently. “Okay. Have you been inside?”
“Not yet,” Zach said. “The closer we got to the door, the more ominous it felt. We backed off, and I called Trace.”
“Uh-huh.” Mark turned around and called to his partner. “Check out the perimeter. Let’s not open the door yet.”
The other guy nodded without looking back and sauntered toward the front of the condo.
It was early enough that no one else noticed the commotion and came outside.
Zach watched as Laurie stared at the back of Deputy Fowler. He could feel her anxiety rising.
She balled her hands into fists at her sides as she followed the deputy’s movements.
“So the events last night happened on the reservation? Near Sojourn?”
“Yes.” Zach switched his gaze back to Mark.
Mark frowned as he pulled out his notepad. “Where were you?”
“Corbin Archers’s.”
“He’s a deputy in Sojourn, right?”
“Yes.”
Mark stared at Zach for a moment and then tapped his lips with the pen. “I see.”
Yeah. Zach figured Mark saw far more than necessary. He probably already knew the details of their arrangement from town gossip—or at least thought he knew.
A vehicle pulled into the lot, and Zach turned around to see Trace parking behind him. Damn, he got there fast.
He jumped down from his truck and took quick strides to get to Zach.
Melinda nearly ran from the other side to keep up with her mate. She went straight for Laurie and pulled her into an embrace.
Trace nodded at Mark and turned toward Zach. “What are you thinking?”
Melinda turned around and met her mate’s gaze. “I’m going to move closer.”
“Like hell you are.” Trace rolled his eyes and pushed past Zach to get to his mate.
She was small and lithe, and she managed to dodge him and jog toward the condo.
Trace followed her at a quick pace.
Zach cringed as he imagined a life of being steamrolled by his own mate. If the sisters were anything alike, there would be no stopping Laurie on any path she chose. And realistically, he wouldn’t want to hinder her in any way. He needed to learn to accept her premonitions and go with the punches.
Deputy Zimmer suddenly turned and ran in their direction, shouting at Trace and Melinda and waving his arms to get back.
Zach stepped forward, grabbing Laurie by the hand to keep her from approaching instead of retreating. It would be his life’s mission to keep her alive at this rate.
Zimmer stopped in front of them. “Just got a call from the precinct. There was an anonymous tip that your condo is filled with natural gas.”