Page 27 of Wolf Revealed

“Okay!”

Lark laughed as Kal ran into the house. “Lunch was a great idea. Thanks for suggesting it.”

Mike’s mouth curved as she stacked the plates, and he put all the condiments on the tray. “I’m glad you and Kal were cool with it.”

“Kal loves spending time with you,” Lark said, then softly added, “So do I.”

Mike stilled, hand on the bottle of ketchup as his gaze met hers, and her heart did a little somersault at the emotion she saw there.

“You’re good with Kal,” she said softly.

Mike let out a little snort. “I’m not even sure what I’m doing when it comes to being a parent.”

Well, for someone who didn’t know what he was doing, he was a natural. “Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll be fine.”

“Speaking of which,” he said, stopping to look at her again. “You did a great job with Kal. He’s an amazing kid.”

Lark gazed at him, the words meaning more to her than she could ever have imagined. Before she could thank him, though, Kal’s voice rang out from the open kitchen door.

“Mom! Dad! Are you guys coming or what?”

“I guess we should finish cleaning up and get inside,” she said with a laugh.

As they joined Kal on the couch to play video games in the living room a few minutes later, it almost felt like they were a family again. And while she knew it could take a while to actually get back to that place, she allowed herself to enjoy the moment and daydream about the life they could have had if she’d never left.

Chapter twelve

“So, who is Oliver Sharp again?” Carter asked as he maneuvered the SWAT SUV along the tree-lined lane several hours later. “And what does he have to do with finding Rogelio Roy?”

“Sharp and Roy were college friends, according to the information Wayne was able to dig up,” Mike explained from where he sat in the front passenger seat. Wayne had called while he was in the middle of playing video games with Kal to say they had a lead. As much as Mike hated bailing on his son and Lark, they needed to find Roman. “Sharp brought Roy into his prestigious accounting firm shortly after Roy talked himself out of a prison sentence, hoping it’d help clean up his image. Wayne thinks there’s a good chance he knows where Roy is hiding, but unfortunately, no one has seen Sharp since yesterday morning. He’s not answering his phone, either.”

As they drove through the upscale neighborhood with their twinkling Christmas lights, Mike absently noticed how fancy and expensive-looking the houses were. Apparently, accountants made good money. Even ones who weren’t working for an organized crime syndicate.

“How did lunch with Lark and Kal go?” Xander asked from the back seat. “I heard you guys playing video games. You sounded like you were having fun.”

Mike smiled to himself. “It was fun. I can’t believe how amazing Kal is. I never saw myself as a father, but now, I can’t imagine not being one.”

As he rambled on about Lark and Kal, he realized his pack mates were both sitting there with goofy grins on their faces.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Xander said. “It’s just good to see you happy, man.”

Mike smiled. “I am happy.”

Maybe happier than he’d ever been. And yeah, he knew this reunion with his family didn’t guarantee Lark would want to get back together, and that she and Kal would stay in Dallas. But she was still wearing his ring, so that had to count for something, right?

“I’ll feel better when Roman is behind bars, though,” he added. “Every time I leave the house, I worry about Lark and Kal.”

“They’re both safe there,” Xander said.

“For now,” Mike agreed. “But how long can we expect to keep them that way? Roman has money and connections. He’ll find them at some point. And no matter how many werewolves we have protecting them, they’ll still be at risk.”

Neither of his pack mates said anything to that. Probably because they knew he was right.

“We’re here,” Carter announced, turning into the driveway of a huge two-story home located on a golf course.

“Sharp’s vehicle is in the driveway, and the lights are on in the house, so he should be here,” Xander said, pointing at a cherry red sports car.