“Well then let’s go talk to him and find out exactly what he was thinking,” Peter said, pushing back his chair and standing up.
“You want me to come, sir?” Dawn asked. Peter looked at her, surprised to see that her face had gone a little pale. Then he realized what she was worried about.
“I’m not going to kill him,” he said, surprised that she assumed he would. “He’s a beta. I’ll let the police handle him—after I’ve got a confession and an explanation, of course.”
“Yes, sir.” Dawn said, standing up. She still looked a little green around the gills, and Peter decided that there was no need to expose her to violence. That wasn’t in her job description.
“But no, I don’t need you to come. I’ll take Merchant.”
Merchant would have no problem doing whatever it took to gain Silkwood’s cooperation.
***
“So are we grabbing him or doing this at his office,” Merchant asked after Peter had filled him in on the very limited information Dawn had dug up.
“Do you think we should grab him?” Peter asked, looking at Merchant over the roof of the SUV. He didn’t see the point of going to those lengths himself. Light Energy had standard security—and none of the minimum wage guards staffing the lobby and security room would interfere with a pair of alphas like Peter and Merchant. The most that would happen is that they’d call the police.
“Depends on what we’re doing,” Merchant said, getting into the car. “If you’re going to get messy it might be best to do it off-site.”
Peter shook his head, getting behind the wheel and turning the key in the ignition. He wastemptedto take Silkwood somewhere private and spend a few hours tearing him into tiny little pieces, but then he thought about what Chad would say and the temptation faded.
“As long as he doesn’t deny his involvement I don’t see the need for that,” he said, pulling out of the underground parking lot.
“I’m surprised,” Merchant said, looking at him like he was trying to figure him out.
“Why?” Peter asked. It would have been different if Chad had been hurt, but as things stood he didn’t see the need to extract extrajudicial revenge.
“You’re not exactly a level headed guy when it comes to people touching your things,” Merchant said, shaking his head. “I’m surprised you’re being this easy going about it, that’s all.”
Peter frowned and gave Merchant a sharp look.
“Chad isn’t one of my things,” he said, his voice hard and clipped. “He’s my mate.”
Merchant gave him a look out of the corner of his eye like he couldn’t believe Peter was trying to sell him that line. Peter squirmed. Chad was his own person, and Peter tried very hard to give him both his space and his independence. He made every effort not to let his possessive instincts get out of hand, and for the most part he felt he was successful. Chad’s job as a private contractor for Tank Security was proof of that.
“I know that,” Merchant said, sliding his hand into his pocket and removing a packet of gum. He tossed two pieces into his mouth. “But can you honestly say that you don’t think of him as belonging to you?”
“Of course he belongs to me,” Peter said, getting angry. “And I belong to him. That’s how it works.”
Merchant rolled his eyes, and an angry growl rumbled in Peter’s chest. Merchant responded by holding his hands up defensively.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said, not sounding particularly apologetic. “You know your relationship better than I do. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Peter snorted. Merchant lived to offend people, and they both knew it.
“We’re not going in there like a pair of savages,” he said, changing the subject. “Silkwood is going to tell us why he targeted Chad, then he’s going to give us everything he has on the intermediary, and after that we’re letting the police handle it.”
Merchant just shrugged.
“You’re the boss.”
***
