Fuck, he’s sexy and all mine.
* * *
“So you really think Jarrod orTerry could have killed Caroline and Richard?”
Winter didn’t feel like beating around the bush with one of the topics they had to talk about. They were sitting in the living room with the television on mute while they talked. Connor was on the floor babbling and playing with the baby activity gym Winter’s mother had bought him earlier that day.
“I don’t have concrete proof, but it’s my feeling,” Creed answered.
“Maybe that’s what Terry wanted to talk to me about.”
“What do you mean?”
“The last time he and I spoke, he was acting weird and said he was going out of town for a couple of days. He also said that when he gets back, he wants to talk to me about something.”
“When you say weird, what do you mean?”
“Well, I’ve always seen him as this confident alpha, but that day it was as if he doubted who he was. I knew he dreaded finding his mate, but that day he was talking about the hierarchical system and how much he hated it. At one point I asked if he'd killed someone.”
"What did he say?" Creed asked.
"That he wouldn’t tell me if he did. And get this."
"What?"
"He held Connor for like half the meal,” Winter told him.
Creed looked just as shocked as Winter did when he told him about Terry holding Connor. “Well, that’s new. Could it be his guilt?”
“I don’t know, but I still can’t see him as a killer. Terry’s just…”
“Mysterious,” Creed finished for him.
“Yeah, but he’s also kind and whenever he’s around, he somehow makes you feel safe. And I don’t think it’s because he’s an alpha, it’s just him.”
“What about Jarrod?”
“Other than being a gambling addict and having a kid, I thought he was an open book. He was with me from the beginning after Richard and Caroline’s death. But after the funeral, he got busy having to do both his and Richard’s bulk of the work. But again, I don’t see him as a killer. He and Richard got along well from what I saw, and he seemed to care about the company.”
Winter paused then looked at Connor then back at Creed. “Don’t think I’m crazy but do you think this was all in Richard’s mind? Like you said, in the letter he wasn’t sure if it was real. Or maybe it’s not Terry or Jarrod but someone else altogether?”
“I’ve thought of that, but deep in my gut, I know they were killed. The question is who did it. Terry or Jarrod.”
“It’s not like we can come out and ask them,” Winter said.
“No, we can’t,” Creed said getting down on the floor beside Connor, and started messing with one of the toys on his activity gym getting his attention. “Listen, I can’t tell you not to worry about it, but I don’t want you to go off and try to play detective either. I’ll keep looking for the evidence we need and then take it to the cops and let them deal with everything. Until then, act normal around Terry and Jarrod.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
Creed crawled back over to him and cupped his cheeks. “I know, but I don’t know what’s going to happen from here on out, and I don’t want you and Connor to be in any danger.”
“I see why you didn’t want to tell me.”
“I thought we were past that,” Creed said.
“We are, but this is me admitting I was wrong for jumping to conclusions.” Winter smiled.
“It takes a big man to say when they’re wrong,” Creed said then chuckled.
