cabins and heralding the coming of Sunday morning. I also had to stifle a scream as the door shook in the frame.
“Shia? What the hell! Open up!” Chaz sounded grumpier than he had been before he left last night.
Embarrassed by my reaction, I blotted up the few drops of coffee I’d spilled on my notes and rushed to the door, shoving the chair out of the way and yanking it open.
Chaz was clearly exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, which were bloodshot and hooded. He hadn’t buttoned his jeans, and there was a bit of mud spattered on his arms. He slid past me, dropping some clothing on the chair and collapsing facedown on the bed. A few of the other Sunstrikers were sluggishly wandering from the tree line, some with jeans or sweatpants on, but most with clothes tucked under their arms. I slammed and bolted the door shut, returning the chair to its place under the knob.
Chaz regarded my antics with one eye, his voice gravelly and exhausted. “What are you doing?”
Rubbing my arms for warmth, I skittered over to the fireplace and poked at the log I’d tossed on there earlier, willing the flames to chase away the bone-deep chill I was feeling. “We’ve got a real problem here. I know you didn’t want me to leave the cabin, but—”
“Jesus, Shia, you could have been killed! What did you do?”
“I’m sorry!” I crept over to the bed, easing down onto the edge as he twisted to face me. I kept my eyes averted, not wanting to meet his tired, angry glare. “Look, I knew you’d be worried if I told you I was going out. I went up to the lodge while you were out so I could get some information on that guy Mr. Cassidy mentioned.”
“Hawk?”
“Yeah. I think his real name is Howard Thomas. I know what cabin he was staying in and that there were two other people with him. That’s not the interesting part, though.”
Chaz rubbed at his eyes, levering himself to sit up and wrapping his arms around me when he saw my expression. I gratefully leaned into his warmth, though I was worried what he’d have to say by the time I was done telling my tale.
“George Cassidy was up there, and I overheard him talking to somebody about us. I think the Cassidy family is in on what’s been happening around here: the cabin, the arrow, the weird notes… .”
He made a disbelieving sound, and I poked him in the side. “Let me finish! Chaz, he was talking about killing you. We’ve got to get out of here. These people are crazy. I think they might have some other Weres out here, too. I ran into one on my way back to the cabin.”
He stiffened, grip tightening painfully around me. “What? What happened? Is that why you barricaded the door?”
I squirmed until he eased up, nodding. “Yeah. It growled at me and ran off. I barely saw it in the dark, would’ve walked right past it if it hadn’t made some noise to let me know it was there.”
Chaz huffed, a low growl of his own rumbling in his throat. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—did it ever occur to you that you could have died out there? I don’t want to lose you, Shia. Please do what I say next time.”
I nodded again, squirming and twisting until I could wrap my arms around his waist and bury my head against his chest. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled against him, not sorry at all. If I hadn’t done my reconnaissance mission, we might not have known until it was too late that the Cassidys were in on the plot to kill Chaz.
“It’s okay,” he said, sighing as he pressed his cheek against my hair. He ran his fingers through the red strands, tangling them in the curls. “I know you only wanted to help. It’s good you found out what you did—but next time, don’t investigate a Were’s territory alone.”
“All right.”
“Listen, love, whoever you ran into last night is going to be as wiped out as I am. I need to sleep, but we should be okay for the next few hours. Let’s get some rest. As soon as I wake up, I’ll go check out that Howard guy’s cabin.”
“Okay,” I agreed, nestling against his chest as he lay back down. He curled his arms around me, keeping me close, and I was grateful for the warmth and protection he afforded. It