Miles lifted his gaze. He’d thought along these same lines, but it never added up no matter how many times he pieced the puzzle together.
Griffen went on. He needed to work through the same thought process Miles had already been through. “Maybe there was no spirit in the woods that day. Maybe it was a shadow of some sort. A bear. My own mind playing tricks on me.”
He heaved for more oxygen and continued. “Someone could have let the air out of the tires. The wind could have blown the tree over. It happens. Nature can easily take out a transformer, or a human can tamper with it.”
Griffen stopped in his tracks and set his gaze on Rebecca. “Someone could be trapping Rebecca.”
Miles interjected. “Why? I mean, do you have any enemies? I don’t. Who would want to fuck with our mate like this?”
“What if it is me?” Rebecca stood, nearly knocking her chair over.
Griffen turned toward her. “Baby, that’s crazy.”
“Not any crazier than someone having a grudge against one of you. Maybe some patient I had in the hospital, or worse, their family. Maybe someone doesn’t want me to race next weekend. Maybe I have a stalker.” Her voice rose.
Miles jumped up now and took her in his arms. “And this is why I didn’t mention the shirt.”
“You can’t keep shit from us, Miles.” She lifted her head, pressing against him. “We all three deserve to know what’s happening.”
He released her reluctantly when she pushed harder.
Her long hair hung loose down her back, swaying as she ran her hands through the top and then turned back to him. “So, maybe there’s no strange spooky spirit at all.” She gave a sharp chuckle that wasn’t meant to belie humor. “Maybe all these events were caused by a man.”
“Or a shifter,” Griffen added.
Miles shook his head. “Not buying it.”
“Why the hell not?” Griffen asked.
“Because you haven’t managed to explain my grandmother’s part in all this. She was at our door, sitting on the porch when we got down from the mountains that first day. She knew.” He was nearly shouting, pointing toward the front of the house.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and then continued. “I know you two don’t know my grandma like I do, but trust me. That woman raised me and my sister. I know her better than anyone alive. If she thinks there’s a spirit trying to communicate with us, I believe her.”
“Okay,” Rebecca consented, shocking him. She patted his chest and lifted her gaze to his, her lip between her teeth for several seconds before she continued. “Miles, Melinda told me about your parents. At least what little she knows. I’m so sorry.”
He stepped out of her reach. His parents weren’t a subject he liked to discuss with anyone. These were his mates, however, and he would need to open up to them. But not now. Not with all this going on. Discussing his parents was a shitstorm of its own.
Luckily Rebecca didn’t press the issue. Bless her. “What do we do now?”
Miles stroked a hand down his face and proposed the last thing he wanted to do. “We head into Cambridge.” And then he left the room. He needed a shower first and some space.
Chapter Nineteen
Rebecca held her breath as they made their way into town. It was almost forty-five minutes to her place from Miles’. Griffen’s condo was another five minutes away—the one he shared with his next oldest brother Trace. Already she’d heard him on the phone numerous times with Zachary and Logan. It seemed both brothers were conspiring to move into his share of the condo.
She also knew Griffen was concerned. It was quite a trek from Miles’ home on the reservation to the ski slopes where Griffen worked the majority of the year. Luckily everyone in his vast family was covering for him this week in light of the craziness.
During the drive, her cell rang. She snatched it from her lap to see the caller ID. “Crap. My mom,” she muttered. She hadn’t called her parents all week. That wasn’t like her. “Mom,” she answered as Griffen squeezed her thigh.
“Hey, honey. Haven’t talked to you in a few days. Thought I’d better check in. I know you have that race coming up, and you’re probably super busy between that and work.”
“Yeah. I’m beyond busy, actually. A transformer exploded at my apartment building Monday. There was extensive fire damage.”
“Oh God, sweetie. Were you home? Did anyone get hurt?”
“No. Luckily. I’m fine. Just heading there now to see if I can salvage anything.”
“Do you have someplace to stay?”
“Yes, I’m, um…staying with friends.” She glanced at Griffen and then Miles, both of whom had a smirk on their faces.