“There’s no record of them transferring, moving, or leaving…nada. No financial trail to follow…in fact there’s been no activity on their bank account since Theo ended up at Arald’s.”
Smokey frowned. “That doesn’t make sense…who paid to send Theo there? I can’t believe Arald put out the money for it.”
“Nope he didn’t…Riley checked the records the Council has of Arald’s finances and there isn’t any indication he did,” replied Ghost. “Unless Arald had a secret bank account, which I doubt.”
“Yeah…from what my mates told me, he was a cocky bastard who thought he was untouchable.”
“Another asshole.”
“Yup…” Smokey muttered, his mind focusing on Theo’s parents. Something wasn’t adding up but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Shifters don’t just disappear, especially if they have a job and a home… “Hey, did Theo’s father have a job?”
“He was a teacher at the local high school, but he sent in a letter of resignation the day after Theo was sent away,” Ghost replied. “His last paycheck was directly deposited by the school into his bank account, where it still is, which raises the question…if they are alive, what are they living on?”
Fuck!Everything pointed to the death of Theo’s parents, which Smokey wasn’t willing to accept. Hecouldn’taccept it because if he did, then he’d be responsible for hurting his mate when he broke the news to Theo—and he refused to do that before there was concrete evidence. Theo had suffered enough, and Smokey knew how he’d react to the news. The shock could cause his mate to lose the cub; his pregnancy was already high-risk. Just the thought of it happening had Smokey’s bear keening.
Nope, no way! I won’t let that happen.Smokey sighed, running his hand over his face in frustration, unable to come up with some other explanation. It just didn’t make sense. None of it did unless his mate’s parents had enemies that Theo didn’tknow about. “Hey, since there isn’t a death record, someone would have had to hide their bodies. Any evidence of bad blood between the parents and anyone else?”
“None that Riley could find,” replied Ghost. “In fact, it’s the opposite…everyone loved Theo’s parents. By all accounts, they were the personification of all that is good in the world.”
“None of this makes any fuckin’ sense,” Smokey muttered. “Someonemust knowsomething.”
“I’m with you on that,” said Ghost. “Two people don’t just disappear for no reason. I told Riley to keep digging.”
“Good. In the meantime, keep this under wraps for now until we have something solid. I don’t want Theo to be any more stressed than he already is.”
“Will do.”
“What about…?”
“Yeah, I was just getting to that. Riley found out a lot about the Ghost Bear Alpha and none of it is good.”
“I knew it! I just fucking knew it!”
“Riley’s gonna forward the information he has so far, but the most important part concerns your mates. It seems the Alpha is offering a big reward for information about the whereabouts of your mates. Claims they broke into his house and stole some valuable shit before running away.”
“Fucking asshole!” roared Smokey. “That son-of-a bitch! I need to pay him a visit.”
“I take it it’s not true?” Ghost askedsardonically.
“Of course not! My mates were locked up in cells from the day they were drugged and shipped off to Arald until members of the Blackwood Pack rescued them and they’ve been living here ever since.”
“Well, it’s obvious he knows they were freed, but he could have found out where they are through the High Council because they are investigating and prosecuting Arald and everyone associated with the whole debacle.”
“So why put out a bounty on their heads?”
“Riley hasn’t been able to hack all the files pertaining to the case, but he did find out the Council is very interested in any Alphas who sent shifters to Arald…and that would include your mates, who by the way, are listed as witnesses for the prosecution.”
“Fuck!” Smokey growled. “He wants to kill them so they can’t testify against him!”
“That’s my guess…which is why he’s using the dark web to find them.”
“Holy fucking shit!” Smokey whispered while his bear pushed forward, wanting to find and kill the person who was threatening his mates. And as much as he agreed with his bear, he couldn’t do that until he talked to Theo and Norm.
But that brought up the same old problem—how would that shocking news affect Theo? And could it trigger a miscarriage? Smokey didn’t have an answer for that but keeping the information from his mates was something that didn’t feel right, either. Shit, he felt like he was being squeezed between a rock and a hard place. Then he had a thought:Maybe I should tell Norm first and see what he thinks.
Ghost could sense Smokey’s concerns. “Given what we know so far, too many people know that they are at the Blackwood Pack. It’s not safe for them to be there anymore. I think you should bring your mates here,” Ghost said quietly. “This place is a fortress and I can vouch for every one of my men. None of them will sell you out.”
“Maybe.” Smokey knew Ghost was right and he’d do it in a heartbeat, but the only problem was that Mac would not be there. Both of his mates trusted Mac which was really important especially going forward. He needed to think about Ghost’s suggestion before even bringing it up to them. Changing the subject, he asked, “What did you find out about Nicolet?”
