Page 17 of Crimson Moon Falling

She nodded, but didn’t fully relax. That frozen distance remained, an intangible but real barrier. “I can’t seem to get warm.”

“I know. I can feel it through the bond.” He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone, where shadows lingered beneath her eyes. “It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Conall wanted to press, to demand that she let him help, and to insist she open up. But Ash’s words echoed in his mind. He needed to give her space and patience. He hated it. Her cold skin was a bitter reminder of the internal battle she waged.

A battle he was terrified she’d lose.

Chapter 6

Riley

The bison herd retreated into the grasslands like a receding tide. My skin still buzzed from the confrontation with Langston, but the sensation was distant. Conall held me, his body heat pushing back the chill.

“What do you need?” he murmured.

I wanted to feel warm again and for our bond to thrive. But I was the one who had to figure it out. “Gunnar and I need to go to Yellowstone Lake to check Viggo’s truck.”

Ash walked over and handed me my things. “We can’t leave you alone for ten minutes,” he teased, though his energy was threaded with worry.

Conall searched my face. “You were just detained at gunpoint by federal agents. Do you want to take a moment?”

“For what? We have a missing person to find.”

Gunnar answered on the first ring. “You still alive, or do I have to train another partner?”

“I’m alive and about two miles down the road from the Lodge. There was a traffic jam, and Langston released me.”

“A what?” Freda asked in the background. Shifters were horrible eavesdroppers.

“A herd of bison blocked traffic for a few hours. I still want to check out Viggo’s truck before they move it, and Conall and Ash are here and can give me a ride. Meet me at the lake in forty minutes.”

I could hear Freda’s long sigh of relief, and guilt pinched at me.

“Until your interrogation with the FBCI is done, tell Freda I’m sticking close,” Conall informed me. “She and Bennion are off duty today. I don’t trust those FBCI assholes.”

Ash grinned, his teeth white against his tan skin. “I hate to remind you, but you’re a contract agent, so technically you are one of those assholes.”

Conall rolled his eyes as Beau walked over, his energy still humming. “I’ll drive. My SUV has more room.” He turned to Conall. “You and I need to talk.”

After Conall said goodbye to the two Betas who’d driven him from the airport, we piled into Beau’s truck and headed to the lake. The road curved through stands of lodgepole pines and open meadows dotted with wildflowers.

Once we were on the road, Beau glanced back at Conall. “What Langston pulled today isn’t an isolated incident. The rangers have noticed an uptick in agents and operatives over the past six months or so coming into the Park.”

Conall’s expression hardened. “You think it’s connected to Apex Mentis?”

Beau rubbed a hand down his face. “Yeah, I do.”

Conall stared out the window. “What happened in Roswell wasn’t just about experimentation. They were building an army.”

“They still are,” I corrected quietly. The men went silent, a heavy weight settling in the vehicle.

“There have been other disappearances in the last year,” Beau went on. “All from different Parks and all with minimal investigation from the Feds. When I pushed for a full-blown investigation, I was told to back off.”

I leaned forward. “Even from Fergus?”

Beau glanced back at me in the rearview mirror. “Not directly. I don’t think he’s compromised… yet anyway. Our funding is drying up, and the ISB is stretched thin, like every other department.” Fergus was mine and Gunnar’s boss, and the area director for the Investigative Services Branch.