“Which is why we had a couple of agents watching the airfield and more tailing him,” Hayden said. “We’ve currently got him sitting in a cell, letting him sweat it out, while we await the judge to sign off on the warrants for his home and office. Without your initial investigation and the evidence you were able to salvage,we wouldn’t have been able to sweep in and do this so quickly. So kudos to you for that.”
“Doing what he does best.If onlyhe still worked for us,” Jackson muttered from another box on the screen.
“Enough,”Hayden warned Jackson. “Ferris, how are we doing on the investigation into the Red Guard’s involvement?”
Dash didn’t know Agent Ferris, the one who spoke up. “We found a low-level canary and he’s singing. Thanks to him, we’ve so far found at least ten detectives and two captains who were involved in the abductions. We haven’t finished our interrogations yet but suspect we’ll get at least one of them to break and give us more details.”
“Dash,” Hayden said. “Do you think Mason might be willing to help us there? His interrogation skills could come in handy.”
“He might,” Dash replied. “I can ask him if you’d like.”
“I’d appreciate it. He’s been dodging my calls,” Hayden said.
Dash nodded. “How goes the search for the abducted alphas? Any news there?”
“Nothing concrete yet. Just more circumstantial,” Hayden said. “Once we get those search warrants, hopefully we’ll find a direct path to finding them.”
“Mr. Keller, sir!” a young agent named Harper spoke up. “I’ve found another email in one of the captains’ inboxes thatcouldbe describing Jaye Lachlin. It was sent to him two days after anyone last saw Jaye and fits his vitals. It doesn’t give more than that, but it’s promising and could mean your hunch was right.”
“That’s great news. Can you pass that along?” Dash asked.
“We’ll handle that investigation for now,” Hayden said. “You need to rest and recover.”
Dash rolled his eyes. “IthoughtI was allowed to work jointly on this with you?”
“We want you here as soon as possible, Dash, but not before you’ve been medically cleared and your alpha agrees you can return to work.”
Dash’s jaw set. His gaze traveled to where Emerson washed the breakfast dishes. Dash glared when his mate looked up. Emerson blew him a kiss and returned to washing the pan in his hands. Cheeks burning, he eyed Hayden. “Oh, yes. I can’twaitfor my alpha toallow meto return to work.”
Jackson chuckled, grinning broadly. “Lockdown.”
Dash narrowed his gaze at Jackson.
“Ididhave a question about something I saw in your notes, Mr. Keller, sir,” Harper said.
Dash chuckled. “Sure. But you can call me Dash, Harper.”
“Yes, sir.”
The meeting continued for nearly an hour. Dash itched to be in the midst of the action and not behind a screen, but if he was honest with himself, he still felt incredibly fatigued. He wouldn’t admit that to Emerson, of course. He fought every demand to nap and rest, all while secretly appreciating the opportunity to recover. Still, the workaholic in him wanted more than two virtual hours a day to be a part of the investigation thatwashis. At least they were including him in some way and communicating their progress.
It was better than being frozen out, like he’d feared.
After the meeting ended, he closed his laptop and stood. A wobbly sensation washed over him, and he reached for the edge of the dining room table. Emerson appeared out of nowhere and steadied him, grasping his hips.
“Ihatethis fucking weakness,” Dash whispered. “I thought I’d feel more myself by now. It’s been a week.”
An odd look crossed Emerson’s face.
“What?”Dash asked.
Emerson shook his head, feigning ignorance.
“I’ve seen that look before. Are you not telling me something?”
Emerson sighed before leading him to the couch. He urged Dash to sit and sat on the coffee table directly across. “Ihavebeen withholding something you have the right to know. I feared you weren’t strong enough to hear the news, and I suspect you’re going to be angry with me when I tell you, but hopefully you understand I was protecting you. Hopefully your heart can take it now.”
Dash inhaled, worry mounting.
