Laughing, Heath said, “Hell if I know, but that’s what my brother does whenever he fucks up with his mate.”
Rolling his eyes at the suggestion, Reeve growled, “I’m not doing that.”
“Suit yourself,” Heath replied, before changing the subject. “Do you want me to ask the Silver Point enforcers if any of them knows what happened to Dylon Royd?”
Reeve thought for a moment before replying. “No, let’s see what Jackson says first. Maybe he knows who was responsible for the beating Dylon received.”
“You think it might be Rudy?”
“Probably not him because I doubt he’d risk doing that to the son of the High Council Vice Chair,” Reeve said. “However, I’m curious how photos of the beating ended up on Rudy’s computer.”
“And why he listed him as dead.”
“That, too.”
“Hey, I got to go…it’s time for a shift change. I’ll call if the tech team finds out anything else.”
After ending the call, Reeve opened the file Heath sent him and read through Dylon Royd’s employment paperwork. He found nothing but routine information. Looking at the photos was a different matter entirely. Never in all his years had he seen any shifter as badly beaten as Royd was.How the hell did he survive?Whoever was responsible was certainly guilty of attempted murder, and he wondered why neither Frank Royd or his son didn’t pursue the matter. It was a mystery that needed to be solved, especially if Rudy had anything to do with it.
Reeve closed the file but remained sitting while his mind kicked around possible explanations, all of which he finally rejected. Speculation wasn’t going to give him the answers; only facts would. And there were only three people who could give them to him and Jackson was at the top of his list. But he’d have to tread carefully in case Frank Royd had ordered the cover-up in a misguided attempt to protect his son.
What a fucking mess!It had appeared to be a simple job—arrest two men—but as he was finding out, it was far from that. Sighing, Reeve stood, stretching out his cramped muscles. His apology would have to wait until morning when, hopefully, Kahn would be in a better mood.
Leaving the bedroom, Reeve stopped to talk to his man at the top of the stairs before heading down to the kitchen for another cup of coffee. His buffalo had been restless since arriving at the safe house, and Reeve knew better than to ignore it. There were still a few more hours until dawn and, with what he’d learned about Dylon Royd, he was sure the new day was going to bring another shitstorm.
Chapter 27
Opening his eyes, Smokey found himself looking into Norm’s. “You’re awake.”
“I was thinking about yesterday,” Norm whispered.
“What about it?” Smokey whispered back, following Norm’s lead. Theo was still sleeping and, after the stress of yesterday, he knew his mate needed it.
“How we almost lost you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“This time,” Norm whispered. “But what about next time? I shouldn’t have let you go after Willow alone.”
“And leave Theo alone with all the kids without knowing who was shooting? It was better that you stayed,” Smokey said.
“My brain agrees with you, but my heart doesn’t,” Norm whispered. “We can’t lose you…Theo and me…we need you.”
Smiling tenderly at his mate, Smokey whispered, “I can’t imagine my life without you and Theo in it either.” It was time to finish their claiming, but before that could happen, he had to see Dylon. “Is it Theo’s turn to make breakfast?”
“Nope,” Norm whispered, grinning.
“Good…will you stay with him while I go talk to Dylon?”
“What do you need Dylon for?”
“Uhm…something to do with Glenn,” Smokey whispered, blushing.
Norm studied Smokey’s face, then smirked at his mate’s embarrassment. Whatever Smokey wanted with Dylon certainly had nothing to do with Glenn. “Sure…but hurry back. Theo will be awake soon.”
“I won’t be long,” Smokey whispered, easing himself out of the bed, careful not to disturb Theo. Throwing on jeans and a t-shirt, he slipped out of their bedroom, heading downstairs to Dylon’s office. He wasn’t sure if Dylon would be there yet, but it was a better option than knocking on his bedroom door.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Smokey paused when he heard cabinet doors opening and shutting in the kitchen. Turning away from the noise, he padded barefoot down the hallway to Dylon’s office. He didn’t know what to make of Dylon. According to Glenn, the man was a jerk, but he hadn’t gotten that impression yesterday—or maybe Dylon acted differently when he was around his Alpha.
