A Place to Call Home (Hollow Crest Wolf Pack Book 3)

  A Place to Call Home

  Hollow Crest Wolf Pack

  Book 3

  By C.C. Masters

  Copyright 2019 by C.C. Masters.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Dedication:

  Dedicated to everyone who has supported me along this journey! Special thanks goes out to the Seaside Wolf Pack on Facebook for always keeping me inspired and motivated.

  Thank you to Ann Marie Ware, you always push me to be better.

  Thank you to Apryle Smith for reminding me why I started writing, and for giving me a reason to keep doing so.

  Chapter 1

  Lori

  I paced back and forth in the cramped waiting room of the sheriff’s station, impatient for any updates on Corey. Grayson, Kannon, Wyatt, and I had been here since the sheriff had taken Corey in for questioning yesterday. All night, I had alternated between sitting in uncomfortable plastic chairs and pacing across tiles that were already faded from years of others doing the same.

  “This is ridiculous,” I grumbled before aggressively taking a bite of the granola bar I had gotten from the vending machine. “Isn’t there a rule that they can’t hold Corey for longer than twenty-four hours unless they charge him?”

  “And doesn’t he get a phone call?” Kannon added worriedly.

  Grayson sighed and laced his fingers behind his head before closing his eyes in frustration. “This isn’t an episode of Law and Order. They can hold him without charging him for seventy-two hours in Virginia, and Sunday’s hours don’t count towards the time limit.”

  I tried not to get distracted by the way Gray’s shirt tightened against his hard muscles as he flexed, knowing I should focus on proving Corey’s innocence. Yet, it was difficult to look away from the work of art that was Grayson’s body. He was a trained MMA fighter and had the physique of a professional athlete. His strong jaw shadowed with overnight stubble, full lips, and dark blue eyes made him thoroughly irresistible.

  I blinked and forced myself to look away from my pack master to clear my mind. Corey had been taken away in handcuffs almost twelve hours ago, and we had yet to get to speak with him. Gus’s shop had burned to the ground, and the sheriff had come for Corey before the ruins had cooled. Gus had been a constant thorn in our side since the guys had decided to build a competing mechanic’s shop, and he had made it clear he wanted us all out of town. Gus had previously broken into our garage to try planting his tools where the sheriff would find them. He had planned to accuse us of robbery while stealing our brand-new items to replace his older ones. It hadn’t worked, but arson made his previous antics seem tame by comparison.

  Wyatt crunched the empty can of soda in his hand before getting up out of his plastic chair and pacing. “They want this case closed as soon as possible,” he grumbled. “And Corey is an easy person to blame.”

  “Not with us to defend him,” I said defiantly.

  Wyatt gave me a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “We’ll see,” he murmured. The twins had their issues, but they had been in the process of reconnecting before the events of last night. Would this be a setback for them in rebuilding their relationship? Or could it be an opportunity for them to work together?

  The twins shared the same facial features, dark hair, and grey eyes, but they couldn’t be more different. Wyatt dressed like a young entrepreneur and was the business mind of the group. He was clean-cut, organized, and a friendly face to represent Four Guys Auto to the community. Corey’s piercings, tattoos, and dark clothing stood out in the small town of Hollow Crest, and a lot of the residents gave him the side-eye as he passed them by on the street. His dark hair was always styled in a faux hawk, and his scowl was designed to keep people at a distance. At least, that’s what I was starting to realize.

  Sheriff Weinberg stepped out into the waiting area, where we were all huddled together. “I have questions for Grayson,” he said as he gestured towards Gray. “Come with me.”

  I stood up angrily. “We have questions for you. What evidence do you have to hold Corey? Are you charging him with a crime?” He couldn’t just take Corey, question him for hours, and keep the rest of us in the dark without expecting us to push back. I crossed my arms over my chest with a scowl and waited for his answer.

  The sheriff got a glint in his eyes that I didn’t like. “I’m in the process of putting my case together. The courts won’t be open until Monday, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to get him on the docket so quickly.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, but Kannon gently tugged me aside to stand next to him. “Corey’s lawyer hasn’t gotten here yet,” he said quietly. We hadn’t called anyone yet, but the sheriff didn’t need to know that. I wanted to see him sweat a little.

  The sheriff chuckled. “Your friend has declined legal representation at this time.”

  I suppressed the growl that wanted to come out, furious at how smug the sheriff was. Grayson just sighed and walked cooperatively towards the door as the sheriff had asked. Kannon wrapped his arm around me in comfort as Grayson disappeared with the sheriff. They went into the back where Corey was being held and interrogated by the state police. The evidence against Corey had to be flimsy because otherwise, the sheriff would have already pressed charges.

  Wyatt moved to my other side. “Let’s get Kannon back in his chair.”

  I looked up to see Kannon’s face paler than usual. Kannon was leaner than the other guys and was the youngest of all of us, having just turned eighteen. He was still recovering from being shot on the night of his birthday and had only been released from Dr. Green’s supervision yesterday.

  Wyatt slowly eased Kannon back into the uncomfortable chair, and I bit my lip. “Maybe we should take him home?”

  Kannon scowled. “I’m fine.”

  “You need sleep, and you need to eat if you want to finish healing,” Wyatt scolded him. “We’ve been here all night.”

  I brushed Kannon’s brown hair back and looked into his hazel eyes. “I need you to get better,” I gently reminded him. “Let me take care of you.”

  Kannon was always tending to everyone else in the pack, and I wanted to take the chance to return the favor. He was the sweetest one of my wolves, and the first I had fallen in love with.

  Kannon smiled at me and took one of my hands in his. “I’m fine as long as we’re all together.”

  Wyatt rolled his eyes, but two men in state police uniforms stepped out into the waiting area before he could speak. The shorter one with tan skin and dark hair looked like he worked out regularly, but the second man was older and not as fit. Kannon stood up again, and neither Wyatt or me chastised him as all three of us stood and faced them together.

  “I’m Sergeant Gonzalez, and this is Special Agent Noram,” the first man said in introduction. “We’ve been assigned to the case and will be working with Sheriff Weinberg.”

  Sergeant Gonzalez pulled out a pen to write on the notepad he was holding. “Let’s go through the past twenty-four hours.”

  Kannon and I glanced at each other quickly. The two of us had been under the care of the lamia at Hollow Crest University. The townspeople around here knew the university as an expensive, private school full of snobs who were too good to come down to the small town. However, the school was full of lamia and witches who wanted to keep their distance from humans.

  “Kannon and I were at the university,” I said reluctantly. “Gray and Wyatt came to pick us up while Corey waited at home.�
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  Sergeant Gonzalez grunted and scribbled something down. “We’ll verify your whereabouts with the school,” he said before he turned to Wyatt. “And you?”

  “I was working,” Wyatt said stiffly. “I’m sure the sheriff mentioned that we own the only other auto shop in town.”

  Special Agent Noram looked at him sharply. “Then you understand why we’re asking these questions.”

  Wyatt shrugged. “Grayson and Corey were at the shop with me until we left for the university.”

  I kept my eyes on the sergeant’s boots and avoided looking at either Kannon or Wyatt. We had a security system that could easily show that Wyatt and Grayson were working until they left for the university, but what would it show Corey doing? Would it show him leaving our shop and heading toward’s Gus’s?

  “Why did Corey stay behind while you and Grayson went to the university?” Sergeant Gonzalez asked curiously.

  “We have two customers who left their vehicles with us and expect them to be finished by eleven o’clock this morning,” Wyatt said smoothly. “He volunteered to keep working.”

  Kannon rubbed his hand on the small of my back, and I tried to relax. If I acted like we had something to hide, these officers would never leave us alone. I needed to be calm and confident like Wyatt was.

  “What time did you leave the shop?” The sergeant asked. “Describe your route to the college.”

  Wyatt answered all of the officers’ questions until they seemed satisfied. Sergeant Gonzalez snapped his notebook shut, and I took the opportunity to ask him some questions. “I’m glad you’re helping the sheriff with this investigation,” I said sweetly. We’d had run-ins with the sheriff before, and he seemed as corrupt as they came. Maybe the presence of the state police would keep him in line and prevent him from doctoring evidence or other dishonest activities. “What’s our next step?”

  The officers both nodded at me in acknowledgment of my compliment. “We’ll be verifying your stories with the officials at the university and compiling video footage to recreate your timeline.”

  “And Corey?” I asked, trying not to sound too nervous.

  Special Agent Noram hesitated. “There were several witnesses that placed him near the scene of the crime right before the fire broke out. We’re waiting for the fire department to complete their part of the investigation, but your friend is a person of interest.”

  I swallowed nervously. If there were witnesses, then they had determined that Corey had both the motive and the opportunity to commit the crime. They lacked solid evidence right now, but that’s why they were questioning Corey so hard. They wanted to force a confession out of him.

  I couldn’t send Corey all the supportive thoughts and love through the pack bond that I wanted too. I was too far away from him to do anything but vaguely sense his presence, but I wasn’t a full shifter. My mother had been half-human, which meant I was weak when it came to magical abilities. I sighed in irritation at yet another example of how I wasn’t as strong as my other pack mates. Again, I was nothing but a burden to the rest of them.

  I raised my chin in determination. “I’d like to speak with Corey, please.” The world might be fond of demonstrating that I was nothing in the grand scheme of things, but that didn’t mean I had to accept it. I’d fight for Corey; I just needed to be smart about it.

  Special Agent Noram shook his head. “Not right now.”

  Before I could even make an emotional plea that any high school drama student would be proud of, Sergeant Gonzalez received a text message and showed it to his colleague. They looked at each other with hard faces and shared a moment of wordless communication.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked anxiously.

  Sergeant Gonzalez shook his head. “Stay here. We need to confer with the rest of our team.”

  Kannon and I shared a nervous glance. Did they just receive an update on the case? Was it something that would help or hurt Corey?

  The two officers disappeared, and we were left alone with nothing but our worry. I sat right between Wyatt and Kannon, and the three of us waited silently, all hoping that this nightmare would come to an end. I suspected that things were about to get even worse.

  Chapter 2

  Corey

  I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at the corrupt sheriff sitting opposite me. “Does this interview have a point?” I sneered.

  Sheriff Weinberg frowned, but I could see the pleased gleam in his eyes. He was happy to finally have an excuse to drag me into this interrogation room. He and Gus had tried to set us up to look like criminals more than once. They had failed every time before this, and they would fail again if I had my way.

  “Now, Winston,” the sheriff said in a friendly tone. “I’m trying to help you, but I need you to tell me the truth.”

  I gritted my teeth in irritation. My mother had thought it was a good idea to name her twin boys Winston and Wyatt, but I had always used my middle name, Corey. The sheriff was trying to irritate me enough to get me to lose my temper.

  I held his eyes with mine and spoke slowly as if that would help get my message through his thick skull. “I had nothing to do with the fire, and you have no legitimate reason to keep me here.”

  “The state police are questioning Lori right now,” the sheriff countered with a smirk. “What are they going to think when they learn what a troubled teen she is?” He shook his head sadly. “An orphan with a questionable past and a history of disturbing behavior at school? She’ll move up on their suspect list.”

  I counted to five in my head, trying to keep my cool. The sheriff thought he could manipulate me? Fray my temper until I reacted to give him an excuse to keep me here even longer? I knew all about the games that cruel men played, and I knew he would say anything to get me to turn on my pack mates or make a false confession. Any words that came out of his mouth were lies designed to get what he wanted.

  “Lori’s innocent,” I said flatly. “She has an alibi.”

  “Does she?” Sheriff Weinberg mused. “I think the rest of you would be willing to lie for her.” He leaned forward. “She’s a pretty girl, and maybe she talked you into doing the dirty work for her? We can probably get you a plea deal if you tell us how she planned the whole thing.”

  I snorted and didn’t bother to answer. Only a complete moron would believe Lori was capable of something like that. She could be fierce when someone she loved was threatened, but she was sweet and honest to a fault. I tried to look at the situation objectively. Lori hadn’t said much, but I knew she was having a difficult time at school. Some of the girls there had been making her life unpleasant, and there had been the dead raccoon situation. Did the sheriff really think that was enough to pin an arson on her? No way.

  “Winston,” the sheriff said with a smile. “I’ll let you think about how you want to handle this.”

  Sheriff Weinberg walked out of the room, but I didn’t relax. This room was undoubtedly monitored, and they were just waiting for me to slip up so they could spring a trap around me. I had done my best to answer his questions shortly and in monotone, making it as difficult as I could for him.

  I took deep breaths as the four bare walls pressed in around me. The silence here was oppressive, and the lack of windows or a clock made it impossible for me to know how long I’d been trapped in here. My thoughts drifted to my pack mates with a particular focus on the one with the prettiest eyes. Where was Lori now?

  As if my musing had summoned her, the door opened, and Sergeant Gonzalez stepped into the room with Lori not far behind.

  “Corey!” she cried out as she ran towards me.

  Sergeant Gonzalez held out a hand to stop Lori from getting too close to me, and I held in the angry growl that almost escaped. I wanted to pick Lori up, throw her over my shoulder, and take her far away from this cursed town. I ran my eyes over her, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and her pale skin. Her eyes were wide with worry, and her curls were an adorable mess
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  “Have a seat,” Sergeant Gonzalez ordered both of us. Sherif Weinberg, Sergeant Gonzalez, and Agent Noram had been taking turns questioning me for hours. Sergeant Gonzalez had been playing the ‘bad cop’ role, but what was he doing here now with Lori?

  “Are you okay?” Lori asked worriedly as she reached out for my hands from across the table.

  “Fine,” I grumbled as I took her smaller, much softer, hands in mine. I rubbed my thumb against the delicate skin of her wrist in a useless attempt to reassure her. “Have they been bothering you?”

  Lori shook her head at me, but she countered my question with one of her own via the pack bond so that only the two of us could hear. “Why did you refuse legal counsel?”

  “I don’t want the lamia involved in this,” I responded. “We don’t know what they’ll demand in return for their help, and we’re already indebted enough.”

  “I don’t know how long we’ll be able to hide it,” Lori replied nervously. “You know they keep close tabs on us. It might be smarter to get them involved sooner rather than later.”

  Sergeant Gonzalez cleared his throat, and I realized how strange it must seem to see Lori and I staring into each other’s eyes in complete silence. “We usually don’t allow two suspects to communicate with each other during an interrogation, but we wanted to give you both an opportunity to come clean,” he stated.

  Lori rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing to come clean about.”

  I nodded in agreement, but I was wary of why Sergeant Gonzalez had brought Lori in here. It certainly wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart.

  “Gus passed away from his injuries an hour ago,” Sergeant Gonzalez said softly. “This is being upgraded to a homicide investigation.”

  Lori gasped and looked at him in alarm, but I sat stoically. I can’t say that I felt any sadness at the thought of Gus leaving this world, but I didn’t like the look that his death had put on Lori’s face. She looked even more upset, and now her eyes were glistening with tears that had yet to fall. I now knew why they had dragged Lori in here; they thought that seeing her break down would make me fold.