“I know what you meant,” Evan reassures me, not sounding at all upset. “Just so we’re clear though, not all alphas are assholes.” He sounds like he’s teasing, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.
“I know. I know. I really shouldn’t have said that. I wasn’t thinking about it like that. I promise,” I apologize, but I still feel like shit when we make our way to the lower level.
Wes is standing near the side of the desk, as if the sounds of us coming down the stairs had him rising from his post.
I lift my hand in a wave and give him a weak smile. “Hey.”
“Quinn.” Wes nods, greeting me more formally than he ever has before. I look to the right and see Griffin’s narrowed eyes on the man. I want to tell him to knock it off, but I refrain.
“Any issues?” Evan inquires.
Wes gives his attention to Evan. “Not a peep from the kids or anyone else,” he confirms.
Evan looks around. “You good here for a while longer while we talk to them individually?”
“For as long as you need.”
As the guys start to head toward one of the rooms, I make my way closer to the desk, expecting to sit with Wes while they talk to the kids. Both men look back at me expectantly when they reach the door. Understanding their silent demand, I change direction and follow them into the room. This part feels stranger than the fact that we’re all in a relationship. What will my colleagues think about me being involved in these kinds of matters? The phrase ‘slept her way to the top’ circles in my mind.
Evan enters the room first. I follow him in while Griffin holds the door for us. The room feels entirely too small with all four of us in here. Caleb is standing near the side of a narrow cot that’s been pushed up against the stone wall. It’s covered with a crisp white sheet and a dark gray blanket that looks like it would be scratchy and rough. There’s only one spot on the bed that’s disturbed, and it makes me think he’s been sitting in the exact same place since being put in this room, which had to be an hour or two by now.
Caleb’s eyes are a little wild as he glances between Griffin and Evan. It doesn’t take a genius to know he’s nervous as heck. “Hey, Caleb,” I greet him.
“Ms. Shaw,” he replies more by habit than actually welcoming me. The door closes with a heavy thud, and Caleb jumps a little, but his eyes don’t leave Griffin and Evan.
My instincts have me wanting to comfort Caleb, to tell him to relax, but it’s not my place, nor do I think he would believe me anyway.
Evan crosses his arms over his chest, and it makes him seem even larger, especially when he looks down his nose at the boy. “We have a few things to discuss,” he states.
I watch Caleb’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallows. “I don’t know what else I can tell you.”
“Would you rather I go ask the others?” Evan’s brows are high on his forehead, and he makes a move as if to turn and leave the room. “Doesn’t matter who talks, as long as you understand what your silence is buying you.”
“Wait!” Caleb reaches out like he might grab Evan’s arm, but he pulls back before getting close enough to touching him. “I just mean I don’t know if I know anything else. Not that I don’t want to help.”
Evan turns so he’s facing Caleb again. “I need to know where you’ve been getting the drugs. Unless you can give me that, you’re not very useful.”
The boy licks his lips. “I don’t know,” he replies. Caleb rushes to add, “But I might be able to find out,” when Evan moves like he might leave again.
“Get to talking,” Griffin orders.
“I have a number.” The boy pats his front pocket as if he’s looking for something. “That’s how we would set up the trap.”
“Give me the number,” Evan demands.
“I don’t have it, it’s in my phone.”
“Where the hell is your phone?” Evan growls.
“Letty took it. She took all of our phones when she found us,” the boy says with his brows furrowed, as if Evan should have already known this.
Evan’s jaw tics, and his lips tighten to form a hard line. “You don’t remember the number?”
“No, I just put it in my phone.” He shrugs.
“This can’t be the first time you’ve done this. Who else did you buy from?” Evan sounds disgusted.
“It was Michelle before…” Caleb’s eyes dart over to me, and he doesn’t finish the rest of his response. “The new number and contact just started floating around over the last few days. That’s why there were so many of us,” he explains, looking at the floor.
