Sadie Hart by Cry Sanctuary Page B

in a hug.
    The need to keep them all safe and happy
roared through him. But he forced himself to simply clear his
throat. “Mrs. Rawson, this is Holly Lawrence, the Hound in charge
of your daughter’s case.”
    Holly flinched at that, and he recognized the
guilt in her eyes. It was the same feeling that chopped away at
him. Should have been there. Should have done better. From the
looks of it, it didn’t go away. At least not with Holly.
    “Holly, this is Claire’s mother.”
    The wolfhound looked ready to run, but the
red-haired woman who had come in behind her was suddenly there, a
hand on Holly’s shoulder. She held out a hand to Miranda. “Lennox
Donnelly, STE alpha. We’re so sorry for your loss.”
    The words wrenched another sob from Miranda,
but she took Lennox’s hand, then Holly’s. “Thank you.”
    With a broken cry, Miranda turned back to
him, leaning in to press a kiss against his cheek. “Thank you. I’m
going to go find Ron.”
    Caine let her go, watching as she picked her
way tentatively over the grass on shaky heels, waves of grief
pouring off of her. The crowd parted around her, people stepping
forward to lend their condolences, and then Trey was there, helping
her through them. Caine watched until she was safely in the arms of
her husband, their remaining daughter wrapped between them, before
he turned to face the Hounds in front of him.
    “We hope it’s okay that we’re here,” Lennox
said. “We wanted to come and pay our respects.”
    Caine nodded, gesturing with one hand towards
the crowd still settling in their seats. “By all means.”
    He took a step towards the gathering and
paused, his gaze automatically seeking Holly’s. Her brother’s arm
was wrapped over one shoulder, holding her tight. She seemed every
bit as ready to break as Mrs. Rawson had.
    “We also think,” Brandt said, glancing over
her head towards Caine, “That he might show here. No guarantee, but
we wanted to be ready just in case.”
    Caine stiffened. Here? The bastard would dare
to show himself here? One glance around the cemetery, the woods off
to one side, from one of the open rows of headstone after headstone
to the other, and he could feel the sickening twist in his gut. It
would be just like that monster to show up here, now.
    “We have Hounds around the perimeter of the
cemetery. Just in case.” Holly’s voice sounded hollow to him, but
he couldn’t afford to look at her right now. Instead he turned and
caught Trey’s eye, tilting his head slightly to call the other wolf
over. Within a few moments his second had freed himself from the
group and headed his way.
    “What’s up?” Trey asked, even as his gaze
slid to the pair of Hounds beside him. Caine watched as Trey’s
nostrils flared, no doubt taking in the pumpkin spice scent Holly
wore today, and the musky flare of wolfhounds. Caine knew the
moment Trey recognized Holly as the one his alpha had been
cuddling.
    “They think the killer might show up here.
Keep an eye out, fetch Raj and Lee, and get them on
perimeters.”
    “We don’t think he’ll take anyone,” Brandt
said. “But we damn well want to catch him.”
    Trey’s chin jerked in a nod, not to Brandt,
but to Caine. “Got it, boss.”
    Then without so much as a second glance at
the pair of Hounds, his wolf bounded back towards the crowd,
gathered two men, and got straight down to business. Brandt gave a
low, appreciative sound at the back of his throat. “Smooth.”
    They were efficient, every bit like a wolf
pack cutting elk from a herd. Caine twisted to see the STE alpha,
but the wolfhound was already stepping away. He headed towards the
rest of the pack, leaving her alone with Caine. She wrapped her
arms around herself and offered him a bitter smile.
    “He’s here,” she said, the muscle in her jaw
flexing as she glanced around. “We won’t see him, but he’s
here.”
    Steel gray eyes flicked up to meet his, and
he felt the answering certainty in his gut. Just like the