Chapter 43
Riley’s eyes lit up when Ghost handed him the heavy bag filled with loot seized during the raid. “You’re like a kid in a candy store,” Glenn said, watching his friend sort through Panther’s electronics, selecting one of the phones first.
Glancing up at Glenn, Riley replied, “That’s because it’s my kind of candy.” Turning around, he grabbed a cable, plugging it into the phone and the other end into his computer. Typing in some code, he sat back, waiting for the program to access the information he was seeking.
“How long?” asked Ghost.
“Don’t know…couple of hours, at least,” Riley muttered, his eyes scanning the lines of information on his monitor.”
Glancing at Ghost and Smokey, Glenn said, “Get some shut-eye…both of you. No sense in talking to Panther until we have something to talk about.”
“What about you?” asked Ghost.
“We’re going to the campgrounds to get the motorhome and trailer…should be back in a few hours…depending on traffic.”
“Wake us when you get back,” Smokey growled. “I can’t wait to ‘persuade’ the asshole to tell us what he knows about Kevin and his parents.”
“Will do…now go.” Turning to Riley, Glenn asked, “Any leads on who was lurking around Sawyer’s campsite?”
Pausing his program before looking up at Glenn, Riley replied, “Nope, the image isn’t good enough for facial recognition.”
“Damn,” Glenn muttered under his breath. Looking at the monitor mounted in the corner with a live picture of the campground on it, he asked, “How long have you been watching to see if he returns?”
“Ever since we talked, but, there’s been no action. Do you think the dude might have been a lone shifter who caught Sawyer’s scent and wanted to check him out?”
“Maybe,” mused Glenn, considering the possibility. Then shaking free of that thought, he said, “Let me know if the guy turns up again, in the meantime, have fun with your goodies.”
Turning back to his computer, Riley nodded. “See you later.”
“C’mon, mates,” Glenn said, ushering Alex and Sawyer out of the safe room. “Let’s get going.”
~/~/~/~/~
Sitting opposite Hunter in the cottage living room, Fionn’s body was ice cold. Frozen…like his mind. He couldn’t answer his mate’s question because the ability to form even one word eluded him. All thoughts had flown from his mind when his mate told him about a brother…no, half-brother…he supposedly had. The only thing left in him was…nothing.How can that be?Examining his heart, Fionn found no emotion there about his half-brother, nor any anger or surprise at the realization his father cheated on his mother. It was as if he’d suspected it all along…but that couldn’t be true, could it?
“Pet?” Hunter murmured, worried about Fionn’s lack of reaction. After speaking with Jackson, he’d decided to take his cousin’s advice and wait for Oracle to break the news to Fionn. But when his mate asked him if he’d found out why she was coming, Hunter knew keeping secrets from his mate was wrong, so he told him what little he knew. Now, judging from Fionn’s reaction, he was having second thoughts. Rising, he stepped over to his mate, stopping in front of him. “Fionn…pet…please answer me.” When he still received no response, he reached out, placing his hand on his mate’s shoulder.
The heat from his mate’s touch shattered the ice encasing Fionn. Anger, pain, fury, and sorrow rushed to the surface. Finally, he felt something. Looking up at Hunter, Fionn began shouting. “That fucking son-of-a-bitch! It wasn’t enough he treated my mother like trash, he had to cheat on her, too!” Jumping up, Fionn stomped around the room. “I wish he was here right now so I could kill him again, but this time, I’d make him pay for every hurt he did to my mother…fuck…even that wouldn’t be enough.” Stopping, he raised his fist in the air, shaking it at the ceiling, crying out, “I hate you, you fucking asshole…I hate you for ever being my father…I hate you for ever for living!” Dropping his arm, Fionn collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down his face. “Damn you father…damn you to hell and back!”
Hunter gathered his mate in his arms, flooding him with his Alpha scent before striding to the staircase. Listening to his mate’s heart-wrenching sobs, he took two steps at a time, hurrying to reach their bedroom as quickly as possible. After opening the door, he gently set his weeping mate on the bed before climbing in next to him, tucking Fionn against his chest. There, in the darkness of the evening, Hunter held his devastated mate, whisperingwords of comfort to him as he silently cursed Fionn’s dead father.
~/~/~/~/~
Tapping his finger on the steering wheel as he waited out a stop light, Glenn was dismayed to see fog swirling into the intersection, growing thicker by the minute, prompting him to consider canceling their trip. Then, snorting at the thought, he pressed down on the accelerator as the light turned green. “Sawyer, do you know which campsite is Alex’s?”
“Yup.”
“Good…I’m dropping you at yours, then taking Alex to his. How long before you pack up everything?” asked Glenn.
“Not long…I only have to secure some stuff inside,” Sawyer said, cuddling with Alex in the back seat.
“When you’re finished, drive over to Alex’s. He and I will be taking care of getting his trailer hitched to his car. Once that’s done, we can leave,” Glenn said.
“Any problem with our mate’s plan, sweetheart?” asked Sawyer.
“Nope…sounds good to me,” Alex replied.
Nodding, Glenn turned onto the road leading to the campground. “When we leave, Sawyer, you’ll go first, Alex, you’ll be in the middle and I’ll take up the rear. Okay?”
