Bam snarled, his nose wrinkled up as his lips curled back over his teeth. He even sprouted some extra hair as he fought the natural instinct to shift and destroy whatever was hunting his daughter.
“I want to kill him,” he finally growled.
“And you can. But we have to locate him first. Brandt has the guys on lookout. They’re pretending they’re just out and about, hunting or checking their land. Sometimes they shift and wander through like a wild animal would. They do not shift inview of anybody or anything. They come over here, or go a mile or two away and come back already shifted so if this guy is here, he won’t see them shift.”
Bam sat on the arm of the sofa, watching her, his mind putting together the pieces. “How long have you known that she was in danger?”
“I didn’tknowshe was in danger. I thought she might be.”
“Since when, Everly?”
Everly knew there was no getting around it, she had to tell him the truth. “Since Kaid told y’all that we were going on alert.”
“This is why Kaid has us doubling up on security?! Kaid knows and I don’t? She’s my child!”
“Bam, she is a grown woman.”
“Who happens to be my child!”
“And we decided that it would be better not to tell everybody so no one would go off half-cocked reacting emotionally and scare the guy away, if he’s really here, and leave him an opportunity to come back later.”
“I am not half-cocked!”
“Are you or are you not reacting emotionally?”
Bam glared at her.
“We can’t let him know we’re on to him. Kaid is the only one who knows other than Brandt and his guys. They’ve not told the women because Brandt didn’t want them to behave nervously and tip the guy off. So, it’s me, Brandt and his guys, and Kaid that knows.”
“You’re punished, but I haven’t figured out how yet,” Bam said, standing up and walking toward the door.
“Bam, you can’t give any indication that our regular day-to-day has changed.”
“How would he even know?”
“Because we think he’s been watching for a while. If we’re right, he’s familiar with our habits.”
Bam froze in stride. “How long is a while?”
“Well, I’ve felt like I’ve been watched for a few months now. And Emmalyn said that the last time she actually spoke to him was Christmas day.”
“She spoke to him?!” Bam yelled.
“He called, and said she looked nice, but like Emmalyn said, it’s a general thing to say and anybody would think they’d been watched. Maybe he didn’t actually have eyes on her.”
“But you feel like you’ve been watched.”
“True.”
“What the fuck do you expect me to do, Everly?”
“I expect you to stay here with me and get your emotions under control. Maybe call Brandt, call Barron, or even Kaid and tell them what you know, and find out what they’re doing.”
“I can’t sit here and do nothing.”
“She’s at Hellen's. She’s safe. No one even knows she’s there except us and Hellen. She begged me to give her a chance to work through her feelings before going over there. Let’s give her tonight. We’ll go over in the morning.”
“I hate this.”
