“I’m not sure there is one. That, and the fact that Bam and Mav would go off half cocked is the reason I’m coming straight to you and circumventing them. I’d prefer to keep it that way for now, but as you’re Alpha now, I won’t presume to tell you what to do.”
“What’s happening, Aunt Everly?” Brandt asked, realizing she must really be shaken-up if she was worried enough to come to him, leaving her own generation out of it.
“It’s Emmalyn.”
Brandt nodded.
“You know she’s been home for a couple of weeks…”
“Yeah.”
“She said she’s just missing home and took some time off work, but I’m not so sure.”
“Why is that?”
“This is the part that I’m having a hard time voicing…”
“Aunt Everly, just say it.”
Everly kind of rolled her eyes and grinned to show how foolish she thought coming to him with something that was just a feeling could be, but then she spoke. “I’ve been feeling like I’m being watched. It’s really had me on alert, but I figured it was just my overactive imagination. Then today, this morning really early, Emmalyn came home. She said she’d been at Analise’s house, and I’m sure she was. But when we were talking, she admitted to feeling off. She said she’s been living in fight or flight mode and seems unable to turn it off. I suggested it was just the nature of her life, being a profiler with the FBI and involved with all those horrifying cases she’s been a part of. She said I wasprobably right, and at least it was better than having a deranged human stalking her because she pissed them off by profiling them. So, basically, I’m here because of an unfounded feeling, and an off the cuff remark Emmalyn made.”
“Sonofabitch.”
“You think I’m right?!”
“Honestly, I don’t know. But the fact that she’d even say something that unusual makes for a reason to be suspicious that it might be true, even more so when you add in the way you’ve been feeling.”
“So you don’t think I’m just imagining things?”
“No, I don’t. You’re not the emotional type.”
“At least now I don’t feel so foolish.”
“Where is she now?”
“With Daisy. Went to town to look at places for her new art studio.”
“Alright. I’m going to have to come up with a way to keep her in our sight at all times. Which isn’t easy because she’s so damn independent. And I fully understand why you haven’t involved Uncle Bam or anybody else, but we might have to. Let’s not jump the gun, though. Let’s take it a step at a time. Make sure she’s not alone, and become more vigilant. Keep your eyes open. If you feel like you’re being watched, you might be. It might be a good idea not to be alone yourself. You’re connected to her. If somebody wants to hurt her, a good way to do it is to hurt someone she loves.”
“You’re right. But I’m rarely alone. Between Bam and Bane being retired or semi-retired, one or the other of them is usually around somewhere. And with Kaid, Mav, and Daniel nearby, there’s always somebody within earshot at least.”
“You still need to be careful. If someone is stalking her, watching her, they’re watching the rest of us, too. And I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but if there is someone after her,I don’t want to scare them off. I want them to get close. I want them to think they can get to her. Because then I can get to them. Whoever it is, they won’t be walking away to come back another day. If someone is threatening Emmalyn, they will be removed from the face of the Earth. They will not be left alive to return at a later date.”
Everly smiled at Brandt. “And that, my dear, is why I came to you, and not your uncle or your father. They’d rush into the woods, combing the property roaring and threatening everything that breathed, and if there is someone out there they’d run, at least for now. If we want to eliminate this threat, we can’t let them know we know they’re there.”
~~~
Daisy walked around the outside of the small building. At one time it was used to house the offices of a now defunct business that sold portable sheds and storage buildings. When the business went under all the portable buildings had been moved, the little house had been left where it had always been.
“I wish I had a key,” Daisy said, peeking into the house through the windows.
“Did you ask your real estate agent about it?”
“Yes, she said it’s been tied up in some kind of legal thing where the bank repossessed it, but the title is in question.” Daisy moved to the next window to try to see inside from it. “I don’t think she’d make very much on this place, so she’s trying to sway me to the newer buildings in the middle of town.”
Emmalyn scowled as she walked away from Daisy and toward the back of the very small house. “Come on,” she said as she rounded the outside corner.
“Where are you going?”
