When she walked into his office, both Liam and Alex were there. They both stood.
“Sit down, please. This is nerve wracking enough,” she said.
“Your men have mentioned their theory about werewolf hunters. While I have heard of such groups, I wasn’t aware any were in Montana. I was waiting for you to arrive before I called Stanfield to see what he knows.”
“Stanfield?” she asked.
“General Armand.”
“Oh, right. Please do. I’m curious if he’s run into their kind before.”
“Let’s hope he’s home.” Her dad made the call and smiled when his friend answered. However, when he explained the reason for the call, worry creased her father’s forehead. “Can I put you on speaker? My daughter, Liam, and Alex found Zach close to death.”
“I am so sorry. How is he now?”
“We got him help in time. He should make a full recovery.” He then explained about the carving on Zach’s back.
“Shit. Adam, this is serious.”
“I know. Have you heard of anything like this before?”
“I’m afraid I have—the attacks, not the carvings. That’s new to me. There was one incident in Florida about a year ago that I know of, one in Utah, and one in Colorado. I can’t say how many there were in Canada. My sources aren’t that extensive up there.”
Tawny felt the weight of the world come crashing down on her. “Have these people ever been caught?” she asked.
“For the most part they have, but another group always seems to pop up.”
“Did they target a particular family?” Liam asked. “Or were they focused on all werewolves?”
“I couldn’t say. Some claim these people infiltrate a town and somehow learn who is and who isn’t a shifter. Then they start picking them off one by one—until the vigilantes are stopped.”
“That seems like a death sentence to me. They must be fanatics,” she said.
“Young lady, I wish I had the answers.”
So did she. Her dad and the general discussed what might be done.
“If you need any more help, give me a call, Adam.”
“I will, and thanks, Stan.”
Her father hung up. “Thoughts?”
Since it was her brother, she thought it best if she broached the topic of Zach going into hiding. “I think it’s obvious that we have a problem. I don’t know if only Zach was targeted or if the entire Granger family was, but we need to figure out how to proceed.”
Her father’s eyebrows rose. “Isn’t that my job?”
“Yes, but Alex and Liam have offered their place to Zach to lie low until this dies down. We don’t want him to be seen and targeted again.”
Her dad nodded. “You’re right. Your mom already started the family phone tree.”
“I heard.”
“Then it worked. Good. Teresa told them that if they wanted to stay safe that they couldn’t talk about what happened to Zach to anyone, not even when in their own home.”
“That is going to be hard, but even maids have ears. They might say something to the wrong person,” Tawny said.
“Exactly. By the way, Naomi, the girl Zach was dating, called. She heard what happened and is very upset,” he said.