Leon hung up then turned to look at Ford. "My boss is going to make some phone calls and see what he can find out."
Ford grimaced as he glanced out the window.
"I wish we could be of more help," Allan said, "but they won't tell us anything, and we've been ordered away from the alpha's mansion."
"Oohh!" Helen grumbled. "When I get my hands on that man. Just think, keeping George locked up away from his family like this. If his mother was still alive, she'd take a spoon to him."
Leon smiled despite how heavy his heart felt. He liked George's family, at least these three. He wasn't sure about the rest of them. "I'll get George back one way or another. You have my word on that."
Ford glanced at him. "Sounds to me like you've decided to stay. Have you?"
Leon pushed his hand through his short hair. "Maybe."
He was pretty sure that answer was yes. If just being away from George for a couple of days felt this devastating, he couldn't imagine what it would be like if he left for good.
"I want to, but George and I need to talk before I can give you a concrete answer."
At this point, George didn't even know where he was going to live or if he was even going to have his freedom. How could they hope for a future together with so many unanswered questions?
"Wanting to stay together is half the battle," Helen said as she shot her mate a smile. "The rest you'll figure out in time."
Leon certainly hoped so because he felt kind of like he was drowning. The pressure in his chest was getting worse. He absently rubbed the middle of his chest as he tried to think of anything else he could do to get access to George.
He'd called Alpha Barker. He'd called his boss. He'd threatened Alpha Barker. There was no way in hell he was going to threaten his boss. Gareth was probably the only man on the planet who truly intimidated him.
He just wasn't sure what else he could do.
Leon jumped when his cell phone rang. He fumbled with it for a moment before he was able to slide his finger across the screen and answer it. "Yeah?"
"It's a no go," Gareth replied. "Alpha Barker refused to even speak to me."
"Damn, now what?" Leon really wished he knew more about shifter politics. He'd find someone to bribe.
"All we can do at this point is petition the council and request that they step in, but I'll be honest here, Leon. They probably won't. George did break clan law by attacking the alpha's son. That's a crime punishable by death."
Leon growled as he gripped the phone a little tighter. "That ass stole from George, tried to steal all of his lottery winnings, and then he attacked me and Ford and George. He deserved everything he got."
"I understand that, but can you prove any of it?"
"Only if I involve the authorities, who are already looking into who stole George's money."
"It's not a good idea to bring in the human authorities, but if you can get me copies of the police file on this, I can take it to the council. That might sway them in our direction."
"Okay, I can work on that."
"I'm not done making calls, Leon. I just thought you might want an update. I'll keep calling people until we have George back with you."
Leon believed him. Gareth had never let him down before. "Thank you, Gareth. I'll see what I can do to get that file for you. How long do you think it will take to get it to the council and get them to act on it?"
"It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks at most."
"Weeks?" Leon shouted. "It'll take weeks for them to get off their asses and do something? George could be dead by then."
"The shifter council moves about as fast as the Supreme Court, Leon."
That was not reassuring.
"Fine," Leon bit out. "Do what you can on your end, and I'll do what I can on my end."
