“Loud and clear.”Tabitha laughed as she rolled him to his back, stretching out over his larger body. She traced his ink as she stared into his shining eyes. “I will thank the gods every day for you, and I vow on all that’s holy to be the mate you deserve.” She rolled off his chest, snuggling into his side, and Major wrapped his arm around her, ghosting his fingers over her bare skin. They talked about the future, made love again, and in the wee hours of the morning, took a nap. Her phone woke her, and Major climbed off the bed to retrieve it.
“Looks like your folks are on their way. I’m hitting the shower, then I’ll start the coffee.” He handed her phone over, then bent over and kissed her deeply. He gathered his clothes, and after unlocking the door, Major glanced over his shoulder and caught her admiring his glutes. He did his infamous butt wiggle, and Tabitha grinned at him. When he closed the door behind him, Tabitha replied to her mom, telling her the news that she and Major were officially mates. Her Goyle rumbled with happiness, and Tabitha basked in the glow for a few more minutes before climbing out of bed.
After showering and getting dressed, Tabitha met Major in the kitchen where he had a cup of coffee ready for her. She pointed toward Craig’s room. “We need toget him drunk more often.”
“He is more pleasant.” Major’s phone sounded with the gate alarm, and when he didn’t move after checking it, she assumed it was her parents. Since they were allowed in, their voices could still open the gate. She took Major’s hand and led him to the front door. They waited for her parents on the steps. Tessa was dressed in ripped jeans and a long-sleeved tee underneath a leather jacket. After all these years, she still dressed like the biker she was. Gregor also wore jeans, which he paired with a collard button-up. Tessa sauntered toward them, her smile identical to her daughter’s.
“Hey, you two.” Tabitha opened her arms when Tessa reached her first.
Gregor held out his hand to Major. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, Sir. It’s my honor.”
Gregor then grabbed Tabitha and picked her up in a bear hug. “I can’t believe my little girl is mated.”
When he placed her on her feet, she reached out for Major’s hand. “Before we go inside, let me catch you up.” Tabitha filled them in on the latest with Craig and Daniel. She hadn’t told them on the phone in case Craig was eavesdropping. “Now, we can either pretend you are my sister and her husband, or we can tell Craig the truth and have Major convince him you look older.”
“I prefer the latter. I don’t want you to call me Gregor all morning. Let me get the groceries, then I’ll start breakfast.”
They filed into the house, and Tessa took Tabitha by the hand, stopping her when they got to the sunken den. “The house looks so different without all the pictures and knickknacks.”
“Right? I keep expecting Myra to pop up with a plate of cookies.”
Tessa wrapped her arm through Tabitha’s. “We had a lot of good times here.” They joined the males in the kitchen, and Tabitha poured her parents coffee and reheated hers and Major’s. Craig still hadn’t emerged from his room, so the four of them talked freely. While Gregor started the bacon, Tessa regaled Major with tales of Tabitha and Anthony when they were little. Then she asked after his parents.
“They’re good. They and all the uncles and aunts bought an unincorporated town in Vermont and have built a commune of sorts. They’re close enough to civilization that they can still have things delivered while having their privacy. I’m sure they’d love to have you up for a visit.” Major’s phone rang. “It’s Mason. Let’s see what fresh hell he has for us.”
Chapter 19
Major swiped thescreen. “Hey, Boss. What do you have?”
“Nothing good. Zane questioned the editor, and the information came from an anonymous source. I put the Trio to work on finding out where the call came from, and it was a burner phone located in Pennsylvania.”
“What part of Pennsylvania?” Tabitha asked.
“Close to the Poconos. Does that mean something to you?”
“Maybe. Trista is there starting on a new movie.”
The sound of typing came through the speaker. “Do you think she hated Craig enough to want him dead?”
“My first instinct is to say no. Besides, how would she know where we are unless she’s working—” Tabitha’s phone rang. “Speak of the devil; she’s calling. Hang on, Mason.” Tabitha answered, “Trista?”
“Sorry to bother you, but something weird is going on.”
“What do you mean?”
“Roman Bane asked why Vanessa and I had parted ways. He said she was on set with Bailey Bradshaw before Bailey had to back out of the project. He asked Vanessa why we were no longer working together, and she became really cagey. So, I called her myself to ask how her sister was. She said she had recovered, thenapologized and hung up on me. I had Marilyn do a little digging, and there’s no indication that her sister was in a car wreck. From her social media posts, the woman was on vacation skiing in Colorado last month.”
“Did you have any disagreements before she handed you off to Perry?”
“No. Everything was fine. Look, I realize you no longer work for me, but I’d like to hire your company to find out what’s going on. I’ve never heard her sound as shaken as she did.”
“I’m still with my new client, but I’ll reach out to our computer experts and see what they can dig up. I’ll call you back soon, okay?”
“Thanks, Tabitha.”
“Mason, did you hear that?” Tabitha asked.
