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CODY

He didn’t park on Elm.

I was carefully watching through the back window to make sure Riley was still alive when my shifter hearing caught the sound of a car arriving and parking on the opposite block.

Fucking asshole.

I sprinted in that direction.

He wanted to leave me in the wind. There was no way in hell I was letting my mate’s father walk in that house. Not when I’d already surmised that the gunman was there for him. I remembered what Levi had said about the death threats that had come in related to the trial Kyle had been on last week.

And Riley had called me “Daddy.” Like she’d been pretending she was calling her dad and wanted him to come home.

I came around the back corner, running way faster than a human could and saw Kyle, approaching the house, drawing his weapon. I launched myself at him, dragging him backward and throwing him against Bernice Elton’s fence.

“I said, Elm , asshole,” I whisper-shouted.

“He’s a dead man,” Kyle hissed.

Kyle tried to raise his gun, but I caught his wrist and held it in an iron grip.

His mouth dropped open in surprise. I was revealing my secret to another human by showing my superior strength. I was breaking pack law again, but I didn’t care. My mate was being threatened. Nothing else mattered. Hell, I could get his mind wiped.

I needed to get in there and save Riley, but I also couldn’t do it at the risk of her father getting shot. My mate needed him alive, whether he approved of me or not.

“Yeah, he sure as hell is. Listen to me. I’m going in,” I whispered fiercely. “Bullets don’t hurt me.” It wasn’t entirely true. A bullet to the head would kill a shifter, but I was willing to take that risk. “You shoot the fucker through the window when I’m between Riley and his gun.”

Kyle stared at me. He relaxed his struggle, and I released him. “You’re one of them.”

So he already knew about our kind.

He cocked his gun. I wasn’t sure if he intended to shoot me, or was just preparing to follow my orders.

I nodded. “He’s here for you. No clue why, but Riley got caught up in it. You brought your work shit home to her. Now give me your hat. I’ll go in the front pretending to be you.”

Kyle’s eyes widened at my barbed words. Yeah, it was his fault his daughter was in danger, but I knew he’d do nothing to intentionally harm her. He handed me his sheriff’s hat and holstered his gun to unbutton his shirt. I ripped mine off over my head.

“Do you know who he is?” He yanked off the brown sheriff’s shirt and thrust it at me.

I shrugged it on, buttoning as I jogged toward his patrol car. “No. Never seen him before. She called me but made it sound like she was talking to you. She called me daddy and said she’d broken up with Pete–”

“That football player from her class? She wouldn’t date him–”

“Exactly.” At least he wasn’t dwelling on the “ daddy” thing. “She was trying to tell me she needed help because someone who wants you has her hostage. Now give me your keys.”

“Motherfucker.” Kyle handed them to me.

“I’m gonna pull in the driveway and keep my head down as I walk to the door. Go around back–they were in the kitchen.”

Kyle nodded and unholstered his gun again. “Levi’s on his way, Wait for backup.”

I gritted my teeth. We should wait for Levi. He was a shifter, and he had a gun. Plus, he wasn’t Riley’s dad. But it had already been too long since Riley called.

My wolf wouldn’t wait another minute.

I shook my head. “No. You’re the backup. I’ve already waited too long. I’m going in.”

I climbed behind the wheel of the sheriff’s car and started it up. I nearly broke the gear stick shifting it into drive. My canines had descended despite my efforts not to shift and punctured my lip.

“Hang on. I’m coming, Riley,” I muttered. “And I’m going to tear that guy to shreds when I get there.”