If that was the game plan, Kahn would have to outsmart Reeve by whisking his mother and sisters out from under his nose. CeCe was too young to make a commitment required for a successful marriage. His mother had always hoped she would go to college, but he wasn’t sure his sister wanted to do that. Education had never been CeCe’s forté, and Kahn was certainly in favor of her getting out into the world and experiencing all it had to offer before settling down. But that would never happen if she was forced into a marriage now.
Kahn’s mind shifted to Josiah and what to do with his body. Tomorrow, he’d have to tell his mother about her husband’s death and hoped she wouldn’t ask too many questions. The shame she’d have to endure once it came out that Josiah was a mass murderer was bad enough, but the fact that Josiah had kidnapped Aunt Hope would be disastrous, and he just knew his mother’s heart would break.
Turning on his side, he stared out the window at the nearly full moon high in the sky, feeling the pull of it in his soul. His mind and body were exhausted from the mental anguish his father’s death had brought him. Tomorrow would be a repeat of today, and it would fall to him to provide the support and comfort his mother and sisters needed. It was too much to think about at themoment, so Kahn closed his eyes and hoped sleep would find him soon.
~/~/~/~/~
His phone’s vibration woke Reeve up. Sitting up, he looked around, finding one of his men guarding the stairs. He hadn’t ordered it, so Heath must have, but why? Finding his phone on the floor, he picked it up and answered in a low voice, “Problem?”
“No, everything is still quiet,” Heath replied. “Do you know the son of Frank Royd used to be an enforcer for the Silver Point Pack?”
“No…just a minute.” Getting up, Reeve headed to an empty bedroom at the top of the stairs. Closing the door, he walked over to the bed and turned on the bedside lamp before sitting down. “Are you sure? I was told he belonged to the Blackwood Pack.”
“Ahh…yes. Let me guess, your boss told you to be nice to his Alpha.”
“Would you expect anything less?”
“Nope…it’s the old ‘cover-your-ass’ routine,” Heath laughed.
“How did you find out he was previously an enforcer for Josiah?”
“Well, I got to thinking on the way back that Rudy’s computer might contain something that would help identify who his allies are.”
Impressed, Reeve said, “Good thinking…did you find anything?”
“Not yet…there’s a shitload of files on there. I have the tech guys going through it now, but before they came, I quickly scanned the names of the files and found one with Dylon Royd’s name.”
“Did you look at it?”
“Yup…it contained his application for an enforcer position, the terms of his employment…stuff like that,” Heath replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “I also found photos of him…at least I think it was him…badly beaten…and I meanreallybadly beaten. His face looked like chopped meat and, as for the rest of him, I can’t tell because he was wearing clothes. ”
“Did the file have the date when he resigned from the Silver Point Pack?” asked Reeve.
“That’s the weird thing…according to Rudy’s notes, Dylon Royd is dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yes…killed supposedly by another shifter!”
Stunned, Reeve was speechless. It didn’t make sense. If Dylon Royd was dead, then who the hell was at the Blackwood Pack? “Can you do some…”
“I already did,” Heath replied. “There’s no record of his death…at least none I can find.”
“So maybe he didn’t die after all.”
“Maybe…but I don’t see how he could have survived, not even if he’d shifted.”
“That bad, eh?”
“That bad,” Heath muttered.
“Hmmm…” Reeve thought for a moment. “Nothing is adding up. Frank Royd would certainly know if his son was dead, so Rudy obviously got it wrong.”
“But the beating…even if his son survived, why didn’t his father bring charges against the shifter?” asked Heath.
“Could be his son was at fault,” mused Reeve.
“I don’t buy that,” Heath said. “From everything I read, Dylon Royd wasn’t one to pick a fight. His record is spotless.”
