Tears trickled from Remy’s eyes as he followed the progress of his mate slowly walking around the back yardwhile peals of laughter from Galen and Eamon filled the air. Then it hit him; this was the first time since their parents’ deaths his brothers sounded so carefree, something they needed more of. Sighing, Remy vowed to give them more times like this, once he got his life in order.
Carson was in heaven. Giving rides to his younger siblings was something he’d loved doing and something he’d forgotten about since that terrible day. Moving with care so not to jostle his riders too much, he felt real joy for the first time in his life. Tucking the feeling away to examine more fully later, Carson concentrated on giving Galen and Eamon some fun. Finally, he stopped, standing still while Remy lifted Eamon off, then slowly lowered himself until his belly touched the ground.
“I luv you Carsso,” Galen cried, hugging the wolf’s neck.
“I luv you too,” Eamon seconded, throwing himself against the wolf’s flanks.
“Come on, guys,” Remy said, smiling as he untangled his brothers from Carson’s wolf. “It’s late…time for bed.” Once Galen and Eamon were free, he said to his mate, “Join me after you shift. I’ll be in the bathroom with these two, trying to keep dry.”
Chuffing in response, Carson watched until his family was safely inside the cottage before shifting back. Dashing his happy tears away, he got dressed before joining his mate; he had a lot to tell Remy before Oracle arrived.
~/~/~/~/~
Glenn sent off the last of his reports before closing his laptop. Feeling Riley’s eyes on him, he glanced up, growling, “What now?”
“Hey, no biting,” Riley grinned. “Just wondering if you’ve decided what to do about the Collector?”
Running his hand over his face in frustration, Glenn replied, “Find the son-of-a-bitch, then carve him into a thousand pieces for putting my mother through what he did. That’s the short answer. The long one…I’m assembling a group whose sole mission is to find him and bring that creep to justice. Want in?”
“Is this a private group or an official one sanctioned by the agency?” asked Riley.
Snorting, Glenn asked, “What doyouthink?”
“Right…private then. Count me in…this should be fun,” answered Riley. “Who else are you asking?”
“I have a couple of guys in mind,” Glenn said. “I plan to visit them in the next few days and bring ’em up to date. I’ll let you know who signs on.”
“How are you going to do that without the agency finding out what you’re up to?” asked Riley.
Looking at his wristwatch, Glenn said, “My vacation officially started two minutes ago. My deal is no contact by them for 30 days.” Packing up his laptop along with surveillance gear pillaged from the safe house, he gave Riley a quick glance. “My mother will never be safe as long as that asshole is loose, so I have 30 days to find him before I quit the agency.”
“You’re quitting?” Riley asked, shocked.
“Look, I was ready to bail out six years ago and the only reason I didn’t is my mother. Having her watched 24/7 by the agency meant everything, since I knew she’d never let me do it. It was a good deal, but not anymore.”
“But what about the Blackwood Pack? Don’t you think she’ll be safe there,” asked Riley.
“Truthfully? No…but once my mother makes up her mind…”
“Yeah, I know,” Riley said. “What are you going to do about Josiah? As soon as he finds out she’s a witness, he’s gonna try to snuff her.”
“Really?” Glenn said sarcastically, “Thanks for telling me…I’d never have figured that out myself.”
“Fuck you,” Riley said, giving his friend the finger. “You know what I mean.”
“That’s why I don’t think the Blackwood Pack can protect her. I’ve dealt with more psychopaths like Josiah than I can count. I know how devious they can be. The one thing they all have in common is the absolute belief their actions are justifiable even if they need to break the law. You read the complaint against that prick…how can killing children be justified? They’re innocent, yet Josiah didn’t give a shit. Dylon, Cody and Zane have never come face to face with that kind of evil. So no, I don’t think they’ll be able to keep my mother alive once she makes her statement.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?” asked Riley.
“I don’t know yet, but I have a little time,” Glenn said. “Mom will want Hope’s permission before she does anything. That should give me some time to hunt and find the other threat my mom is facing…another fuckin’ psychopath.”
“Well, I found something on the Collector that might help,” Riley said.
“You did? When?” Glenn asked.
“I ran a search while we were out this morning,” Riley said, holding his hand up to stop his friend from speaking. “I wondered how many other rare paranormalshad disappeared and I ended up with a list of potential victims…all of them reported missing.”
“Holy shit!” Glenn exclaimed. “That’s fanfuckingtastic! Start pulling the missing persons reports and let’s see if there’s a pattern.”
