I sigh. “As much as I hate to say it, I think I need to talk to Randall.”
Thirty-Six
Keir
Unfortunately,everyoneagreeswithme. Someone doesn’t kidnap a baby just on a whim, so Karina’s motivations for taking me, whatever they were, are better figured out now rather than waiting for them to come back and bite me in the ass somehow.
Because, given my luck lately, I’m sure they would.
That means contacting Randall has now been added to the evening’s agenda, though what I most want to do right now is curl up in bed with my mate. My former Alpha—and I guess former uncle—might be the last person in the entire world I want to talk to. He was attempting to sell me to Rossi the last time I saw him and the last time beforethathe tried to kill me. He’s also, generally speaking, not someone I’d want to keep in touch with, which means I don’t really knowhow.
Julien is one step ahead of me. He grabs the phone and calls over to Rossi’s hotel, the Grand Royale, since that’s presumably where Randall was staying as of a couple days ago. The person on the other end speaks loudly enough for me to hear that Randall checked out yesterday.
Honestly, I’m sort of glad he’s already gone. Sure, that fact onlydelaysthe unpleasantness of talking to the asshole rather than putting it off completely, but this evening has been stressful enough without dealing with getting information out of Randall.
“Do you have another number to reach him at?” asks Julien.
I snort. “I don’t think I even had his phone number when I lived with him. My pack is still probably well behind the times as far as cell phones and the internet goes, so I can’t exactly look him up on social media either.”
Ben’s brow furrows. “Any idea how we might find him?”
I shake my head. “Not unless we want to go to Alabama and wait for him to get back.”
“Are you sure that’s where he’s headed?”
I shrug. Randall and I were never close, so I have no clue where he might have decided to go. For all I know, he’s taking a side trip to Alaska or something, though I’m not entirely sure how he would get there.
“Rossi paid to fly him up to Chicago and my—Randallis too cheap and possibly too incompetent to buy his own plane ticket,” I say. “So maybe we could check with car rental companies?”
“What about Luke?” asks Julien. “Do you have a way to reach him?”
“No, I don’t have his number,” I say. “But Remy said he stayed behind to talk to the praetorians after the challenge. I bet one of them will have Luke’s number.”
And I might still have Smith’s card.
“What happened to the clothes I was wearing the night of the challenge?” I ask.
“I think Remy tossed them in the back of the SUV,” says Julien.
I blow out a breath.Good.As I head toward the door, I glance back at Ben. “There’s nothing else I should know, right? You’ve dropped all the bombshells you have for the evening?”
Ben’s lips twitch into a small smile. “Yeah.”
“Okay. I’m going to see if I can get Luke’s number, but I think we should put off figuring anything else out until the morning.”
And I really want to talk all this over with my mate before making any decisions.
Ben nods in agreement, then glances at Julien.
“I’ll ask my mom to make up one of the guest rooms for you,” says Julien in answer to Ben’s unasked question.
That settled, I make my way out of the office. The living room is still empty, so no one stops to question me when I jog out to the SUV in the driveway. I tug at the latch on the back, but the hatch doesn’t move.
Crap. I need the—
The vehicle lets out two quick chirps, and I glance toward the house to see Julien standing just inside the front door, holding the keys up. He gives me an amused smile and I return it, warmth flooding my chest. It’s nice to have someone looking out for me, even with something as simple as remembering to unlock the car.
My second attempt at opening the back hatch works like a charm. I glance inside and grin. The backpack from my apartment—that I’d long given up for lost and had no idea anyone picked up—is also tucked into the corner of the trunk area. Next to it rests a small pile of clothing, my ripped sweat pants folded neatly on top.
