Masked SheWolf (MSW book 1)

Chapter 30 - Logan

"Well what did they want to take from him?" I amend.

"That's what I can't tell you," he apologetically says. "It's what he asked us to keep secret. But what I cantell you is that he asked us -and I'm guessing the others on the list as well- to hide it. He never kept it in one place for too long, but I know that he started this about fifteen years ago. He came to my family ten years ago and asked us to keep it safe for him. Seven months later, he moved it. We didn't hear from him again until two years ago."

My eyes widen. "He came to see you before he died?"

Mr. Carson nods. "He wanted to warn us not to speak of what we did for him again. At the time, he hadn't told us that he was hiding it from someone... he'd only said he wanted us to guard it for a while. But I pressed him for answers, told him I won't help him unless he explains why he wants us to lie for him. He was so panicked, and I thought maybe he did something wrong that put my family in danger. I didn't trust him when he came that second time. Until he explained."

It angers me a little bit that this man thought my dad would do something to intentionally put someone else in harm. He wasn't like that, and I want to defend him so badly.

However, it occurs to me that he did put them in danger, maybe. My dad must have known this enemy would come for whatever possession he wanted to hide. Maybe he just didn't think they would go to such measures to find it.

It's a bit of a relief to finally have a piece of the puzzle, but all it does is bring on more questions. At the same time, I'm not sure how much I believe this man's story. My dad didn't have any attachments to material possessions. What could he possibly have been hiding?

What was my dad up to?I ask myself for the hundredth time.

"When you told us he died," he goes on, "I knew this enemy must have caught up with him. I had to honor his wishes and keep the secret he asked us to keep."

"Did he tell any of the others on the list?" I demand.

"I don't know," Mr. Carson replies. "I don't think we were the only ones who knew that we were guarding something for him for a while. But we might have been the only ones he told about a dangerous enemy coming after it -and him- right before he died. I'm not sure if any of the others wanted an explanation the way I did. They all just took his word for it and blindly did what he asked."

Again, I have to suppress my irritation. He has no right to question my dad's judgment; he didn't even know him.

But did Iknow him?I suddenly ask myself.

I have no idea what he was up to, or why he would want to hide something from someone. What if I'm the one who is wrong about him and Mr. Carson was right to be suspicious?

Before I get the chance to ask more questions, my phone suddenly rings. I pull it out of my pocket, about to send whoever it is to voicemail. But then I see the number, and take it.

"Nash?" I pick up. "What happened?"

"You need to come down and see this," he says.

Instantly, I'm on high alert. "Where are you?"

"Mariners' house," he lets me know, right before hanging up.

Hastily, I say goodbye to Mr. Carson and climb into my car. The sun is fully up by the time I pull up in front of the Mariners' house. Cade is pacing by the front door. I have no idea what to expect.

Dread settles in the pit of my stomach as I walk to meet him. I'm about to understand, but I'm not so sure anymore if I want to know at all. Despite the long drive, I haven't had enough time to make sense of what Mr. Carson divulged, and now I'm about to get even more questions.