by Kian Rhodes
“Really?” Cass sounded a little proud of that secret. “You should bring that thing the rest of the way over here.”
“Nope,” I refused. “I’ve already molested you twice. Now I’m going to at least pretend I’m a gentleman and take you out to fill your tummy.” Cass’s disappointed look was almost my undoing, so I patted his towel-covered butt and winked. “Your tummy now and maybe I can fill something else later.
Cass jumped from the bed and was fully dressed in under a minute. I was still staring when he finished tying his shoes and raised a brow at me, his eyes roving over my naked body. “Better get dressed, Alpha,” he sassed me, making me snort. “Places to go and things to fill, you know.”
I kept an old jeep in the garage for mudding and it fired to life on the first try. Cass and I joked and teased each other as I followed the road over the mountain pass to a small town called Sharon Hill. It was a little bit of a drive, but the diner on the main drag could do things with eggs that should be illegal.
Cass and I had already scraped our plates clean and were finishing off our coffee when I heard a familiar voice from the dining counter.
“Better make it to go,” the voice said. “Got called in on a job and need to make it to Blood Valley PDQ.”
Turning in my seat, I cleared my throat and waited for Kade to see me.
“Oh, hey,” he started to greet me, stopping short when he saw Cass sitting beside me. His eyes bugged out and I had to swallow a laugh. Either he was shocked to see me with someone or he was familiar with Cass’s, ahem, line of work.
Or, I corrected myself, it could be a combination of the two.
“You’re headed to Blood Valley?” I asked, mentally counting back to when I’d told Rafe to get some family time and some rest. I’d really been thinking of more than the five hours that it had been since he left my place.
“Well, yeah,” Kade said, walking over to our table. “As soon as I heard about Colby, I dropped what I was doing.” Kade must have misinterpreted my surprise, because he rushed to reassure me. “It’s just a bail jump from a few states over,” he said quickly. “No pack business.”
“Yeah, sure,” I agreed, not wanting to pump him for the information that my investigator should have already given me. “Do me a favor? When you catch up with Rafe, mention that you saw me?”
“Okay,” Kade said slowly. I could see the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to figure out why I would ask that of him. He was saved by the bell when the waitress called his name, hefting his to-go box high in the air. “Gotta go, Ralph. I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks.” I watched Kade bustle out of the diner, knowing that Rafe would be calling any minute. There was no way the excitable hyena would wait until he made the four-hour trek down the mountain to fill Rafe in.
“What was that all about?” Cass asked.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “But it doesn’t sound good.” I rubbed my fingers over the back of his hand and sighed. “I think I better go find out. Will you give me a raincheck on our after-breakfast plans?”
“Of course,” Cass agreed promptly with a sweet smile before draining his coffee cup. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rafe
When Kade’s second text came in, I openly winced at the words on the screen.
Ran into your boss on my way out of town. He didn’t know Colby was missing?
Scrolling through the call list, I tapped on Ralph’s name and waited impatiently for the call to connect. If he was up in the mountain town of Sharon Hill like Kade indicated, the service was going to be spotty. When he finally answered, his voice sounded a bit tinny but otherwise clear.
To his credit, Ralph didn’t bust my balls for either disregarding his orders or not having notified him that Colby was missing. Instead, he just asked what I needed.
“Not sure yet,” I admitted, watching as a seemingly unending string of werewolves loped up to where Clint and I stood. “The Coruscation Alpha, Clint, is helping me staff a search party,” I hesitated and then kept going. “You already know my own forces are spread a little thin right now.”
Ralph murmured in agreement and I continued.
“A member of my pack already checked our house and is putting together a team to search our territory, but no one there has seen him, so I’m not optimistic. I’m heading back to the office right now, since that’s the last place I saw him.”
“How are we playing this, Rafe?”
From anyone else, that question would have made me bristle, but Ralph was one of the very few beings who knew that Colby had rabbited a couple of times before. Granted, they’d mostly been my fault, but, still, it had happened.
And, really, if that were the case again, it would go down on the scorecard as another one that I’d caused.
“I’m not sure yet, Ralph,” I said with a sigh. “He’s not answering his phone, but that could go either way. Normally, I’d assume he was pissed about me shelving him for the case,” Ralph’s silence reminded me that he’d brought that possibility up at our lunch. “And I wouldn’t blame him for that, but, the thing is, Trevor is a gifted Empath as well as Colby’s best friend. Even if he is blocking our pack link, I can’t even imagine him trying to block Trev.”
“So, we’re assuming he’s been taken,” Ralph stated firmly. “And we’ll proceed accordingly. I’m a couple hours from the office, but I’ll be there as soon as I can be.” He paused and then in a softer voice, “He’s one of us, Rafe, and you know the drill. No man left behind. We’ll find him.”
“Thanks.”
I shoved my phone back in my pocket, realizing for the first time that Clint was texting furiously on his, the sight of his wicked claws tapping delicately on the tiny keys would have cracked me up if the situation hadn’t been what it was.
“That was Lachlan,” he told me with a nod of his head that I knew meant he was satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. “I asked him to put out the word that Colby is MIA.”
I nodded. That was one thing I could mark off my to-do list, but Clint wasn’t done. “And the Brigade is dispatching two teams. They will be at the COPSD Headquarters by daybreak.”
I just stared at him. “But, Clint, this doesn’t meet the requirements to call them in,” I argued weakly. “And I don’t have any right to ask for special treatment.”
Clint just rolled his yellow eyes again. “They aren’t doing it for you, Rafael. They’re doing it for Colby. He may not have served with the Brigade, but he has backed up several members in different cases and is considered a brother-in-arms. We take care of our own.”
The hopelessness in my chest eased a bit as I mentally calculated all of the friends stepping up to assist me. Blood Valley had done a lot of good for our community, it was true, but Colby just had a way of inspiring a loyalty all his own.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ralph
After I hung up with Rafe, I glanced over at the Omega sitting beside me in the jeep. His forehead was creased with worry and he was chewing his lip so hard I was afraid it would bleed. And the more I considered that I was going to have to leave him alone or, worse, with someone I wasn’t sure I could trust, the more my stomach soured.
I finally couldn’t take it anymore and I pulled over into the parking lot of a small shopette.
“I don’t want to leave you alone,” I blurted out.
“What?” Cass’s eyes widened a little at my outburst. “But I thought you said I’d be safe?”
I huffed. “You would, probably,” I agreed. “But I don’t want to risk it. I have a friend up here – the sheriff, actually – would you mind staying with him until I can come back for you?”
Cass looked mildly amused. “You really want to wake your friend up in the middle of the night and ask him to babysit a stranger?”
“He’s probably already awake,” I argued weakly. “But, as for the rest, yes. I do.”
“Why would your friend want to of
fer bodyguard services to a whore?”
I snarled at Cass describing himself that way. “He would do anything I asked to help protect my Omega,” I said shortly.
Cass’s eyes widened even more and then his face softened and he leaned over as far as the seatbelt would allow, asking for a kiss. I obliged and then rested my forehead against his.
“Of course, I’ll stay with your friend, Alpha,” Cass agreed in that submissive way he had that turned me to jelly. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Thank you.” I looked into his amazing eyes, losing myself in his silver gaze for a long moment before claiming his lips again, this time with an urgency that surprised me. “I need you safe, sweetheart.”
Instead of allowing myself to delve too deeply into exactly why Cass’s safety weighed on me more heavily than that of any other would have, I thumbed through the contact list in my cell phone, double-tapping on Sherriff Caraway’s number.
“Keeson, hi. It’s Ralph Coraine.” I smiled at his surprised exclamation. I’d grown up just a few streets away from his family in Sharon Hill and we were still close friends. “I have a favor to ask.”
I gave the short version – the only one a true friend would need to offer help – and within minutes was heading up the steep driveway that led to Keeson’s private cabin tucked away in the woods. After the introductions, I stole one last kiss, swallowing my laugh when Cass looked scandalized that I’d kiss him in front of witnesses, and pointed the jeep toward my office and the crisis waiting there.
~*~
The stench of too many werewolves crammed together in not enough space hit me as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. Sure enough, when I walked into the reception room, the Coruscation volunteers were packed in like sardines. They didn’t even have enough free space to pace.
“Where’s Rafael?” I asked the one closest to me.
“Dunno,” he said with a shrug. “We’ve been here a few hours now, and he hasn’t been back to tell us what he needs.”
“Okay.” I clapped him on the shoulder, second-guessing the action when he stiffened and a small growl escaped. “Sorry.” I held my hands up sheepishly. “I wasn’t thinking.”
He nodded sharply, a gesture I was hoping meant I was forgiven, so I made my way through the throng as quickly as possible, finally arriving at the door to the conference room where Rafe seemed to be arguing with several members of his pack.
“Hey, Boys,” I greeted, jostling my way in. “What’s the plan for the restless beasts in reception?”
Whiner rolled his eyes and, for a split second, I thought our usually calm, unflappable Rafael was going to clock him.
“Whoa, there,” I caught his arm by the bicep and pulled it back down. “Let’s take five, shall we?” With nowhere for the other shifters in his office to go, I gave a mental shrug and tugged Rafe into the tiny bathroom off his office. “What the heck was that, son?”
Rafe’s jaw was set, his teeth grinding, and it was clearly costing him a lot to control himself. “I’m his Alpha, damn it!” he snapped, taking me by surprise. “He owes me respect!”
“Okay, you’re right,” I agreed, taking a deep breath. “Let’s try to work through this, though, okay?” I counted Rafe’s tight nod as a move forward and continued. “Colby’s your mate, but he’s also your Omega, the pack’s Omega. Your boys are just as stressed about him being missing as you are, right?”
Rafe managed a small breath and even smaller nod.
“Okay, so let’s cut Whiner a little slack and you can discipline him when we have Colby back, okay?”
Another small nod.
“Good. Now, do you have a plan for the weres? We’re losing time and the scent trail by waiting.”
Rafe exhaled sharply and for a second looked almost helpless. “I don’t know where to send them, boss,” he finally admitted. “I pulled the security footage and there’s no sign of Colby leaving the parking lot, but the footage from the exterior cameras is all corrupt. I don’t know where the fuck to look!”
“All right.” I caught his eyes and held them, asserting my dominance. We were both Alphas, but I was his boss, which left me in charge. “I want you to sit down and take a few deep breaths. I am going to go assign out the search parties. Do you need Whiner or the other Blood Valley boys here?”
Rafe shook his head, confirming what I already knew. “They all came as soon as they knew he was gone.”
“Of course, they did,” I said with a smile. “What’s that Blood Valley motto, Rafe?” I teased lightly.
He laughed, but I could see the pain behind it as he responded, “He’s our Omega. We all ride.”
I nodded. “Exactly, they’re gonna ride, so we need to give them a destination.” I nudged him over toward the toilet. “Close the lid and sit for a few, breathe a little. I’ll knock when I want you.”
Back in his office, I could see the fear and anger in the eyes of the shifters crowding the desk. Colby may not have been the Omega they’d expected when their Alpha walked into the auction house, but he’d become a loved and valued pack member and they were desperate to have him safe.
I stepped up to the crowd and began snapping out orders.
“You’re each leading a search team. We don’t have enough scent items to go around, so as soon as you’ve collected your team, I want you to take them to Colby’s office and then hit the trails running. You don’t come back unless you find him or hit the ocean. Any questions?”
Seven men shook their heads.
“Whiner, take the first ten werewolves and head south. Bane, the next ten and you’re flanking them to the southeast.” I continued on until each Beta had been assigned a passel of werewolves and a compass-rose direction, making was sure that every inch of ground fanning out from the building would be covered.
Once the office was empty, I rapped on the bathroom door. “C’mon out, son.”
Rafe leaned against the desk, his arms crossed over his chest. “Now what?”
I nodded to his chair. “Now, you breathe. Then, you sit down and we find our missing man. That’s what.”
Chapter Thirty
Rafe
I couldn’t remember another time that my brain had been such a useless jumble of disjointed thoughts as it was when Ralph all but sat me on the closed toilet lid and walked away to handle the business that needed handling.
When his knock came at the bathroom door, I should have been mortified to walk out and find that the crowd in my office was gone, that he’d done my job for me.
I should have been embarrassed and ashamed.
Instead, I was relieved and really fucking grateful that he’d taken the reins.
When Ralph told me to sit down, I obeyed without hesitation and waited expectantly.
I was nodding as he quickly ran through the instructions he’d given my men. It was exactly what I should have done, if I’d been able to think straight. When I started to thank him, Ralph just waved me off.
“Save it, son,” he said, his voice firm but kind. “We’ve got work to do. You said you’ve got the camera footage?”
I tapped the closed lid to my laptop. “Right here.”
“Boot it up,” Ralph suggested. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
The computer was only sleeping, so a simple swipe of my finger over the screen lit it up. It was still paused on the shot of Colby stepping into the elevator, the last time the cameras had caught him the night he disappeared.
“What’s he got in his hand?” Ralph wondered out loud. “Can you blow that up?”
I resized the screen. “It’s his cell phone,” I realized, squinting at the image. “It looks like a text alert.”
“Sure does,” Ralph agreed, scratching at his stubbly chin. “Let’s have a look at his phone records, yeah?”
Clicking open a new browser window, I pulled up the records request site and filled in all of the pertinent information – Colby’s name, cell phone number, pack ID – and then pushed the laptop
over to Ralph for his access code. No point in requesting a warrant that he’d have to sign anyway when we could just skip the middle man.
The printer next to me began to spit out paper, printing two copies of the previous two weeks of my Omega’s phone service log. I handed Ralph his copy and scanned my own.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” I huffed in disgust before realizing that Ralph had started typing on the laptop again. “Did you find something?”
“Not sure,” Ralph grunted. “Maybe.”
The printer began to spit paper again. My phone records, I realized. Knowing Ralph would explain when he was ready, I handed the pages over and waited.
“There it is,” Ralph muttered as he compared the two sheets. “Rafe, look at the last two texts on Colby’s account history.”
I ran my eyes down to the line in question and shrugged. “Ralph, you know that’s my number.”
“I do,” he agreed, narrowing his eyes at the laptop screen. “But your history doesn’t show either the incoming message or the one he sent in response.”
“What?” I compared the two pages. He was right, of course. I glanced at the laptop screen, realizing what Ralph was looking at. “And the timestamp matches the security footage.”
“Sure does,” Ralph agreed, raising his brow and sliding the computer back to me. “And if it wasn’t you that he was talking to, who the heck was it?”
That was an excellent question. “Whoever grabbed him must have cloned my number.”
“Rafe,” Ralph waited for me to look up. “Let’s go back and review all of the security tapes from the beginning.”
I double-clicked the desktop folder I’d downloaded the footage to and watched along with Ralph as various employees made their way through the halls through the course of the night, ending with the snowy static that should have been the parking lot.
“That’s it,” I groused. “No way to tell where he went after he left the building.” When Ralph didn’t answer, I looked up and was surprised to see him staring at me with what looked like shock on his face. “What? What did you see?”