“Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem.”
“These kids are probably related, but we don’t know for sure. They grew up together, so we don’t want to split them up. They deserve a better home than an orphanage.”
He combed back his dark hair with his fingers. “Are you asking me? Is that why you’re telling me all this?”
“I guess so.”
“How many?”
“Fifteen.”
His shook his head. “I can’t do it. That’s… that’s a big number. You gotta understand how complicated it is. It’s not only about space and having enough rooms—a Packmaster needs to make sure there’s enough money secured in his pack to feed and clothe his packmates. Most are making ends meet with just enough to sock away. When a new packmate joins, he or she brings in money. But kids can’t work, so they reverse the income. Since they don’t have parents, I’d need to find enough watchdogs.Fifteen?Holy shit. I don’t know anyone who could take on that many kids at once. You can’t split them up?”
I shook my head. “Viktor wants them together.”
“A pack would call attention to themselves with that many new additions, and if you spread them out among different packs, people are gonna start asking where they came from.”
I propped my elbows on the table and rubbed the outer corners of my eyes. “We sure as hell can’t keep them. Viktor wants them in a pack environment with family. I just thought maybe you had the space.”
“Not for that many. I barely got room for my own packmates the way they keep having babies and bouncing between jobs. I told them the heat house is there for a reason. Give a woman some privacy. But they catch one whiff of their mate in heat, and it’s all over. Next thing you know, boom. I got another mouth to feed.”
“Do you have any suggestions?”
His eyes slanted down. After a thoughtful pause, he said, “Can’t say I do. There might be packs in another state, but you’ll be taking chances. Nobody’s going to accept that many kids without question, and besides, you don’t want to pick some random pack you don’t know. You could be putting them in an even worse situation, and they’ll be too far away for you to monitor.”
I heaved a sigh and got up. After pushing my chair in, I glanced at the Band-Aid on my arm where the pain was pulsing beneath. “I know you and Crush like to give each other hell, but ease up on the dog situation. He refuses to accept help from anyone, and I worry about him being out here alone. Especially with all the enemies I make. A dog is a security system, and he needs a companion. I’m not here as much as I’d like to be.”
Ren stood up and stretched out his arms. “Can’t complain about his mood lately. He’s struttin’ around like a peacock. I don’t think I’ve seen him this happy since you came back. Besides, it’ll give him exercise.” After finishing his soda, Ren lit up a smoke and moseyed toward the door. “If I were you, I’d keep an eye on him when he goes for those long walks.”
“Why’s that?”
Ren put on his aviators and cracked a smile. “I’d bet my left nut he took that dog up the road to shit in Lou Johnson’s yard. Those two haven’t been on speaking terms since Lou knocked over his mailbox. See ya.”
As I held my spot in the doorway, I noticed Crush ambling back. Harley was trotting alongside him, tail wagging and looking about three pounds lighter.
Chapter 22
“Who is Aaron again?” I asked.
Blue spread out papers on the floor and then handed me one. “Age nineteen. Wolf. Planned to leave his pack but died three days before. They found him lying in a field.”
Blue leaned against the sofa, one elbow on the cushion and her head propped in her hand. We’d been discussing the case for the past two hours, using the floor in Wyatt’s office since it had the best light. Wyatt was at his desk, bopping his head and typing away on his computer while the singer shouted “Stroke me, stroke me” through the speakers. He had all the bright lamps off on his side of the room, but his cylinder desk lamps were set on a purple hue.
“Is your friend here yet?” she asked him.
Wyatt swiveled his chair around. “Nope. Maybe it’s my lucky day and he slipped out the front door and into oblivion.”
Blue yawned and pointed her toes as she stretched. “Those kids wore me out today.”
I leaned against the connecting sofa. “I bet.”
“Switch slept all afternoon so he could guard them tonight. Are you his backup?”
“I guess so, but he didn’t need me last night.”
She swept her long hair to the side and drew up one knee. “That’s gonna wear him down. He can’t sleep a few hours, teach Hunter in the day, and then guard the kids all night. He’ll have to suspend his teaching duties, and that means Shepherd will have to put aside work and look after Hunter.”
Claude strutted in and tossed something at Wyatt. “That’s all there was.”
