Once An Alpha (The S Files: Paranormal Investigation Agency – Book 1) by Callie McKenna Page B
Authors: Callie McKenna
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useful information on the town.”
“Hmm, that’s a good idea.”
“But Myla…” Ted hesitated, a concerned expression knitting his brows. “Just be really careful. Make sure it doesn’t get out to the townsfolk that you’re digging around. People here are very protective of their town and preserving their way of life. If they think you’re snooping around them, they might get scared that things are changing, and then the blowback from that could hit us all.”
“I understand. Don’t worry, Ted, we’ll keep it under wraps.”
I returned to the office and informed Lyndon, and he glared at me. “Don’t go telling anyone else about what we’re doing. Even Ted.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because we don’t know who we can trust here. If the wrong people find out we are digging around, we could be in for some trouble.”
“I guess so,” I said. “But maybe it would help if we went and saw Heidi again. We could show her photos of other people that have gone missing over the years and see if she knows anything about what happened to them.”
He nodded. “Good idea. I’ll give them a call and find out what the best time to visit her tomorrow might be.”
He wandered over to the corner of the room, speaking into his cell phone, and he returned a minute later, his face ashen. “Myla.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Heidi’s dead. The nurse said that only a couple of hours after we left, she went into cardiac arrest.”
“Oh, shit,” I whispered. It wasn’t completely unwarranted that she had died; after all, she was a very old woman, and heart failure was a common occurrence in the elderly. But it just seemed like far too much of a coincidence that she just so happened to die within hours of speaking to us.
We worked quietly for another few hours, neither of us needing to say what we were thinking. By now, it was palpable. Something really strange was going on in this town, and someone didn’t want us to know.
“I think we need to call it a night and head home. What do you say?” I said.
“Sure.”
We drove in silence, our minds still consumed by the case, and just as we pulled onto the side street where our motel was, Lyndon pulled over. “I just realized we forgot to grab something for dinner,” he said. “I’ll drop you here and you can go shower up while I pick up some stuff. Any preferences?”
“Hmm,” I replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “A Lyndon rump steak would be nice.”
“Hey, hey,” he said, playfully batting me away. “Why are you always sleazing onto me? Finally run out of men to trick into bed with you?”
“Oh, shut up,” I said, cheeks turning hot with embarrassment as I recalled saying virtually the same thing to him and then almost falling straight off a cliff only a week or so earlier.
I gave him another kiss and then headed over to the motel. Lyndon beeped the car horn at me and turned around, heading back down towards the main strip, and I waved and entered my room, deciding to watch some trash TV and shower later instead.
Half an hour later, I wondered what was taking Lyndon so long. It was a Friday night, so perhaps the wait for takeout food was longer seeing as everyone was out for dinner.
Shadows passed over the blinds a second later, and it looked like a car had just pulled in.
Finally.
“About time, Lyndon!” I called as I opened the door and looked for him. Odd. He wasn’t there, and neither was our rental car. I must have just seen the shadow of another passing car. I turned to go back inside when a figure stepped out of the darkness to my side and growled something at me. The deep, unfamiliar voice made my blood run cold in my veins.
“Agent Peyton, I presume?”
Chapter Ten
My heart raced as the figure drew closer. It was clearly male, and a hell of a lot bigger than me. He wore black jeans and a black hoodie, and I didn’t recognize him from anywhere.
“You need to stay the fuck out of our business,” the
“Hmm, that’s a good idea.”
“But Myla…” Ted hesitated, a concerned expression knitting his brows. “Just be really careful. Make sure it doesn’t get out to the townsfolk that you’re digging around. People here are very protective of their town and preserving their way of life. If they think you’re snooping around them, they might get scared that things are changing, and then the blowback from that could hit us all.”
“I understand. Don’t worry, Ted, we’ll keep it under wraps.”
I returned to the office and informed Lyndon, and he glared at me. “Don’t go telling anyone else about what we’re doing. Even Ted.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because we don’t know who we can trust here. If the wrong people find out we are digging around, we could be in for some trouble.”
“I guess so,” I said. “But maybe it would help if we went and saw Heidi again. We could show her photos of other people that have gone missing over the years and see if she knows anything about what happened to them.”
He nodded. “Good idea. I’ll give them a call and find out what the best time to visit her tomorrow might be.”
He wandered over to the corner of the room, speaking into his cell phone, and he returned a minute later, his face ashen. “Myla.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Heidi’s dead. The nurse said that only a couple of hours after we left, she went into cardiac arrest.”
“Oh, shit,” I whispered. It wasn’t completely unwarranted that she had died; after all, she was a very old woman, and heart failure was a common occurrence in the elderly. But it just seemed like far too much of a coincidence that she just so happened to die within hours of speaking to us.
We worked quietly for another few hours, neither of us needing to say what we were thinking. By now, it was palpable. Something really strange was going on in this town, and someone didn’t want us to know.
“I think we need to call it a night and head home. What do you say?” I said.
“Sure.”
We drove in silence, our minds still consumed by the case, and just as we pulled onto the side street where our motel was, Lyndon pulled over. “I just realized we forgot to grab something for dinner,” he said. “I’ll drop you here and you can go shower up while I pick up some stuff. Any preferences?”
“Hmm,” I replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “A Lyndon rump steak would be nice.”
“Hey, hey,” he said, playfully batting me away. “Why are you always sleazing onto me? Finally run out of men to trick into bed with you?”
“Oh, shut up,” I said, cheeks turning hot with embarrassment as I recalled saying virtually the same thing to him and then almost falling straight off a cliff only a week or so earlier.
I gave him another kiss and then headed over to the motel. Lyndon beeped the car horn at me and turned around, heading back down towards the main strip, and I waved and entered my room, deciding to watch some trash TV and shower later instead.
Half an hour later, I wondered what was taking Lyndon so long. It was a Friday night, so perhaps the wait for takeout food was longer seeing as everyone was out for dinner.
Shadows passed over the blinds a second later, and it looked like a car had just pulled in.
Finally.
“About time, Lyndon!” I called as I opened the door and looked for him. Odd. He wasn’t there, and neither was our rental car. I must have just seen the shadow of another passing car. I turned to go back inside when a figure stepped out of the darkness to my side and growled something at me. The deep, unfamiliar voice made my blood run cold in my veins.
“Agent Peyton, I presume?”
Chapter Ten
My heart raced as the figure drew closer. It was clearly male, and a hell of a lot bigger than me. He wore black jeans and a black hoodie, and I didn’t recognize him from anywhere.
“You need to stay the fuck out of our business,” the
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