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“Okay, whatever.” Her words are disappointed, but nowhere near defeated.

I hear the crunch of my ex’s feet behind me andforcemyself back to the moment, sharpening my senses, looking around foranymovement. It helps to remember that the last time we were here, we left because of an odd movement in that bush.

I mean, Rose was very likely right that night. It probably was a rabbit. But I’m not taking any chances.

But again, the whole place is just…perfectly still. A ghost town.

When we step into the house, though, it’s immediately clear that something’s changed.

“Oh, hell,” Rose says, covering her nose. “God, what burned…”

I glare towards the basement, the clear source of the scent, thinking I have some idea.

Rose steps forward, and I shoot a hand out, stopping her. “Wait,” I murmur, raising my nose again, truly focusing on the scents. But it’s just too subtle…

I turn to her. “Do you know how to handle one of these?” I lift my gun.

Chapter 38 – Secrecy

Cole

“Yes,” Rose says, nodding immediately, reaching for the gun I hold out to her. “My daddy raised me right.”

I unloop the strap from my shoulder, pointing out the basic features of the gun to her as I put my flashlight down and hand it over. “I’m going to shift,” I say. “My nose works better that way.Don’tshoot me.”

Rose gives me a cutesy salute and then holds the rifle with both hands across her body, looking completely at ease. I nod and turn, shifting into my large black wolf in an instant, shaking my fur out even as my paws hit the ground.

“Hey wolfie,” Rose says, sing-song and teasing. “Missed you.”

I glance at her over my shoulder, shaking my wolf head before I move closer to the stairs, scenting the air, ensuring that I get all of the information I can. I send out my hearing too, looking for anything – breathing, heartbeats, movement. Besides something tiny in the kitchen – a mouse, a roach – there’s nothing.

I shift back, walking back over to Rose.

She holds out the gun, and I take it. “What’s the news?”

“We’re alone,” I say, looking at her evenly. “So, we can proceed. But whatever was in the basement is burned to shit.”

“What do you think?” she asks, her inner journalist coming out alongside her curiosity. “The Children of Solace covering their tracks? Something else?”

“One way to find out,” I say, nodding to the door that heads downstairs.

Rose nods and follows me down to the basement, letting me go first to check the stability of the stairs. But everything stays steady as we descend. I immediately look to the right when my feet hit the dirt floor, my eyes seeking the mattresses. As I kind of expected, they’re all burned to ash, a couple of ruined springs sticking up from the wreckage.

“How did they do that?” Rose whispers, raising her camera and starting to take photos, “without burning the whole house down?”

“Controlled burn,” I murmur, stepping closer, noting the places where the ashes are soggy. Someone put it out when they were finished. “So yeah, I’d say intentional.”

She takes a few more pictures before turning back to me, lowering her camera. “Cole,” she says quietly. “You know what this means, right?”

My jaw is tense as I nod to her.

We were watched. People knew we were here, knew we went into the house – maybe even saw our light in the basement. Decided that whatever we saw here, we can’t see it again.

Implying that…maybe we missed something.

Or that they’re sending a message.

That they’re still here.