“We searched everywhere,” Hugh told her. “Every area, every cave, every possible hiding place you can think of. There wasn’t even a trail to follow.”
Ruby whirled to face Tao. “I want the name of this human who has assassins shooting my daughter!”
Tao lifted his chin. “I don’t think it was him.”
Everyone swung to face Tao, their eyes widening.
“Excuse me?” asked Ruby.
“It makes absolutely no sense that he would ask someone to shoot your daughter,” said Tao.
Hugh exchanged a look with Sage. “Maybe he did it to get at Riley.”
Tao shook his head at the Beta. “He shot at Riley to get at me. Or at least I thought he did. There’s no reason for him to think that shooting Lucy or any other member of this flock would hurt me. The guy’s brother is dying, and he has it in his head that my Alpha female can help. He’s pissed at me because he feels I didn’t heed him. Does it make sense that he would have someone shoot at Riley as a warning to my pack? Yes, it does. Does it make sense that he would have someone shoot Lucy? None at all.”
Ruby clutched the collar of her sweater. “He might mistakenly think Lucy means something to you.”
“And why would he think that?” asked Tao. “I’ve spent no real time with Lucy. What’s more, she’s no one to my Alphas—they’re the people he wants the attention of, not you.”
Hugh rubbed the back of his head. “Who else would shoot at Riley and Lucy?”
Tao raised a brow. “You don’t think it’s odd that, out of all the things this person targeting them could have done, they shot at them? As I understand it, there was only ever one other time a gun was used against your flock members.”
Riley closed her eyes, not liking where she suspected he was going with this. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her raven.
“Wade’s dead,” Ruby whispered.
“But maybe someone feels he didn’t finish his job,” said Tao. “Lucy was supposed to be at that party, wasn’t she?”
Sage nodded, brows knitted. “She was on her way there when the shooting started.”
Ruby jutted out her chin. “No, this is totally unrelated.”
“Where did Wade get the gun?” Tao asked Sage.
“We figured he stole it from one of the humans who go hunting around here,” replied Sage. “But the person who shot Lucy and Riley used a rifle, Wade used a shotgun. He dumped it outside Alec’s house before he shifted and flew off into the mountains. We destroyed it.”
“They’re likely using a rifle because it’s better for shooting long-distance targets.” Tao folded his arms. “Just because it’s not the exact same weapon doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
Ruby looked from Sage to Tao. “You can’t seriously think one of the flock did this.”
“Why not?” asked Tao. He understood why she wouldn’t want to believe it, but he wouldn’t placate her—they all needed to face the facts so they could take appropriate action. As long as they were blaming the wrong person, no one was safe.
Ruby opened her mouth, but no words came out. She shook her head again. “I won’t believe it.”
“Whatever way you look at this,” began Tao, “it makes no real sense that the human would target your daughter. Riley was right there at the table. He could have just as easily shot her”—the thought made his stomach roll—“but he chose not to. Lucy wasn’t near Riley, so he couldn’t have accidentally shot her. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two people who should have technically died at the shooting are now being targeted with a weapon similar to what would have killed them that night.” He turned to Riley, who looked a little shell-shocked. “Who else should have been there?”
“Um, Cynthia. Apparently she had a ‘wardrobe crisis’ or something.” Riley looked to Sage for confirmation, and the Alpha nodded.
“Duncan should have been there too,” said Hugh. “And Sawyer.”
“Why weren’t they?” Tao asked.
Hugh shrugged. “I don’t know about Duncan; you’d have to ask him.”
“Sawyer was at our cabin, looking for Riley,” said Max, slumping into an armchair. “They’d just broken up, but he wanted to walk her to the party. I told him she’d already left.”
Ethan nodded. “Then we heard the shots. Normally we’re not alarmed by the sound of gunfire, but”—he swallowed—“we heard the screams, we knew something was wrong.”
Hugh let out a long sigh. “I don’t want to believe that one of our own could do this.”
“Wade was one of yours, and he did it,” Tao pointed out. He didn’t want to be insensitive, but he wouldn’t allow them to bury their heads in the sand.
Sage inhaled deeply. “Tomorrow, Hugh and I will question every member of the flock. We need their whereabouts for tonight and the morning that Ethan was shot. The only people we can be sure had no part in the shootings are in this room.”
Ruby once more shook her head in denial. “I don’t see how it could be anyone in this flock.” She held up her hand when her mate tried to speak. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. I just want to put Lucy to bed.”
Sage hugged his mate. “Then that’s what we’ll do.” He whispered something into her ear; whatever it was made her visibly gather herself.
Tao took Riley’s hand. “We’ll go.”
“I’ll drive you all back home.” Hugh pulled out his car keys. “I doubt anyone’s still out there aiming a rifle—they hit their target, after all, and they’ll be hiding from the enforcers. But it’s best to be safe.”
Ethan grabbed Max by the arm and pulled him to his feet. “Home.”
Max nodded. “Home.”
Hugh first dropped off Ethan and Max, who both warned Tao to “watch over” Riley. Tao picked up on the double meaning: “keep her safe” and “make sure she doesn’t go off alone.” She seemed to have also picked up on the double meaning, because she gave both her uncles a narrow-eyed look.
When Hugh pulled up outside the guest cabin, Tao thanked him for the ride before literally hustling Riley inside. Locking the door, he announced, “We should leave.”
She whirled on Tao. “What?”
“Leave. Tonight.”
She took a step back, shaking her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His wolf growled. “Yes, you are,” said Tao, his tone nonnegotiable. He knew he needed to handle this delicately, but he wasn’t a delicate guy. “This situation isn’t what it seemed. You weren’t shot at as a warning; the gunman didn’t deliberately miss. You’ve got a crazy-ass son of a bitch out there shooting at the guests that didn’t show up for Alec’s party. Their bullet did nothing more than graze you, which may not be enough for them. They could try again. We need to leave.”
“Run away, you mean? No way.”
“It’s not running, it’s being smart.”
“I want to find out who shot Ethan and Lucy, and I want their blood. I’m not leaving here until I have it.”