Page 41 of Omega Tricked

He laughed, and shook his head. “Well, you’re my hero.”

Oddly enough, pleasure washed through me at his soft words. “I’m gathering you don’t get a lot of visitors here?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Charles didn’t seem happy to have me arrive on his doorstep.”

“We get visitors. They don’t usually stay long.”

I frowned. “I still don’t get what the point of this place is. It doesn’t have a vacation vibe.”

“No. This isn’t a vacation resort. I know you have a million questions.” He sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t enlighten you.”

“Why not? Is it a military thing?”

“No.”

I drummed my fingers on the arm of my chair. “You never finished telling me about that animal attack.”

He stilled. “I don’t know much.”

“Who was attacked?”

“They don’t know.”

I frowned. “Wait. What?”

He pulled his lips tight across his teeth in a grimace. “I don’t know all the details. I know one of the guards took a bribe and almost got some guests killed. But I don’t know who wanted to hurt them.”

“How does that tie in with an animal attack?”

“Apparently it all happened at the same time.” He gave a raspy laugh. “I seriously have no idea what actually happened. I just know that the crooked guard was fired, and later it was discovered that there was blood and some ripped clothing behind the compound. Charles said he found tracks, and that it was an animal attack of some kind, but the blood was too contaminated for any reliable DNA to be gathered.”

An uneasy feeling came over me as he spoke. Was it possible Dad had bribed that guard? That was exactly the kind of thing he’d do, and he’d been hanging around the compound. He’d been hell-bent on finding Jack and Carter, and according to Gabriele, their trail had led him here. Had Dad been up here at the time of the animal attack?

Dylan was watching me. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

I shook myself. “Sure. It’s just a bit unsettling to think some animal attacked someone right outside of the compound.”

“I agree. It shook everyone up for a while. But no body was ever found, and there were tire tracks driving away from the scene. Maybe whoever it was drove away.”

“And never reported being attacked?” I frowned. “That seems weird.”

“I guess.”

“If there’s a wild animal attacking people, wouldn’t you think that person would have come forward? If only to warn others?”

He nodded. “I know what you mean. The whole incident seemed odd. But it was obvious Charles didn’t really want anyone asking questions, so no one pushed.”

“Is that how it is around here? If Charles tells you to drop it, you drop it?” I scowled.

“Pretty much. He works closely with the Ancients.”

The Ancients.

I laughed. “God, I haven’t thought about them since I was a kid.” My mom had told me stories of the Ancients, when I was a child. But Dad hadn’t had any interest in what he called “Fairy Tales.” After Mom passed, he hadn’t ever mentioned the Ancients.

Dylan didn’t say anything. He finished off his beer and set the empty bottle next to his chair. Then he put his feet up on the porch railing and let out a long sigh.