Cole and His Dog

by Edward Kendrick

  “Do you know that for a fact?”

  “Of course not. It’s called the power of rumor. He can deny it all he wants to, but with proof that his health is failing, and the fact that he’s known to micro-manage everything from behind the scenes, it will scare investors into selling their stock before things go south. With luck, he’ll spend more time doing damage control and less time trying to get his hands on Cole—which brings up my next point. Cole needs your help with something else.”

  Adam looked at Cole. “What?”

  “Ky and Larry think I should…I guess take a leave of absence from the restaurant. Marsham knows I work there. He’s had his people watching and Sunday night two of them tried to grab me—again.”

  “Not good. You want me to talk to Mike?”

  “Please? We came up with a reason for my being gone for a while, but I’m not sure he won’t just let me go, instead.”

  “No problem.” Adam checked the time. “The lunch rush should be over by now, so let’s you and me beard the lion in his den, Cole.”

  * * * *

  Mike listened, his hands clasped under his chin, while Cole explained why he wanted to take some time off.

  “I know it’s an imposition, but getting into a good college is important to me right now,” Cole said in conclusion.

  “It should be,” Mike agreed. “Without a decent education, you’ll spend the rest of your life working in places like this.” He paused, looking hard at Cole. “Now, would you like to tell me the real reason you need to get away for a while? I suspect it has to do with that man who seems to be looking for you.”

  Before Cole could reply, Adam said, “We should have known better than to try and con you, Mike.”

  “Exactly,” Mike replied dryly before turning his attention back to Cole. “Who is that man, really? And why is he so interested in you?”

  Cole was startled, but did his best to hide it, when he head Adam say, ::Tell him the truth, but not the details.::

  ::Okay,:: he replied, before saying, “He works for the man who claims to be my father. My real father.”

  “Which you don’t believe, you told me.”

  “No. And now I know he isn’t. I found out, with the help of a friend of Adam’s, that my real father is dead.” Cole felt a deep pang of regret as he said that.

  It must have shown in his expression, because Mike reached over to grip his arm momentarily, saying, “I’m sorry. Losing a parent is hard. Do you know if your mother is still alive?”

  “We’re trying to find out.”

  “This other man…Do you know why he says he’s your father?”

  Cole gave a sharp nod, then lied without flinching. “Money. My mother’s family was wealthy, if we’re right about who she is. If she’s dead, too, then I’ll inherit.”

  “That would definitely explain why he wants to get his hands on you. But if you can prove he’s not your father.”

  “That’s the problem,” Adam said. “He can’t. The information about the man we think is his real father came from someone who’s not willing to step up and say so publicly. She works for the bastard, excuse my language, who is after Cole.”

  Mike smiled. “If you’re right, I think ‘bastard’ is a good description. Okay, Cole, given the reason you need some time off, I’m willing to let you have it. But—” he held up a finger, “—as soon as this is over, I want you back here. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” Cole replied, sighing in relief.

  “By the way, I meant it about you needing to continue your education,” Mike said. “Do you know what you want to be?”

  Cole grinned. “When I grow up? I haven’t quite decided. Maybe—” he glanced at Adam, “—a social worker?”

  “I like that idea,” Adam said. “I think you’d be great at it, too. When the time comes, I’ll help you find a good school that you can afford, if you get some scholarships.”

  “My friend said the same thing—about scholarships.”

  Mike cocked his head. “This friend you keep mentioning. Why haven’t I met him? He seems to be pretty important to you, from the sound of it.”

  “Going all father on me?” Cole asked, trying not to laugh.

  “I do that with any of you youngsters who work here. So?”

  “His name is Ky, and no, you haven’t met him.”

  “Well, bring him by sometime. If you’re involved with him, and I think you might be…”

  “We’re…working on it,” Cole admitted.

  “Then I want to vet him.”

  “Yes…Dad.” That earned Cole a grin and a raised middle finger from Mike.

  “Okay, that’s settled. How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Mike asked.

  “I honestly don’t know. Hopefully, not too long. I want this over.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Much to Cole’s surprise, Mike came over to give him a hug. “You take care and be careful.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  With that said, Cole and Adam left.

  * * * *

  They had just gotten back to The Haven when Cole’s phone vibrated. When he answered it, Ky said, “I got a call from Larry. He wants us both at Domicile ASAP.”

  “He found out something?” Cole asked hopefully.

  “He didn’t say, but I’m presuming he did, so move it.”

  After thanking Adam for helping him, Cole teleported to Larry’s office. When he landed, Larry shot him a look, saying, “You’re lucky I’m the only one in here right now.”

  Crestfallen, Cole replied, “I didn’t think of that. Ky said to get over here, so I did.”

  “It’s all right, this time, because I knew you were on your way. But—” he raised a warning finger, “—don’t ever drop that way in uninvited again. I do use the office for real work, too.”

  “You mean helping us isn’t real work?” Ky asked, appearing beside Cole.

  “Wiseass,” Larry muttered. Then he handed Ky a sheet of paper.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Ky said, after reading the information. “They were telling the truth. We were just wrong about what disease it is.” He gave Cole the paper when he held out his hand.

  Cole scanned it, then went back to the list of symptoms. “I almost feel sorry for him,” he said under his breath. Then he smiled. “Or not. At least he can claim, truthfully, he’s one in a million. How did you find out about this?”

  “CJD, or that he had it?”

  “I’m sure you researched the disease, so, yeah, that he’s got it.”

  “I set one of my best hackers to look for any medical reports relating to Hammar aka Marsham, since if there were any they could have been in either name. It took him a while—”

  “We’ve only been gone for a couple of hours,” Cole said.

  Larry chuckled. “For him and his team, that’s an eternity. They’re that good.”

  “No wonder Marsham’s so desperate to find me. It says here it causes death within a year of contracting it—and if he’s had it for a while.” Cole shook his head. “Maybe he really does believe I’m his son, after all. One of the symptoms is impaired thinking.”

  “Don’t start feeling sorry for him,” Ky cautioned. “No matter how sick he is right now, he’s still spent the majority of his life being a class-A bastard.”

  “I know, and I hate him for what he did to my mother and grandfather, and how he’s been screwing up my life.” Cole frowned, rereading the symptom information. “I’m surprised his pack hasn’t seen the changes in him.”

  “My guess is, he hasn’t been around much in the last couple of months. Venus said only two of his men know he’s dying. They could be acting as intermediaries, including sending out the goons who tried to grab you, at Marsham’s orders.”

  “I bet they’re wondering if it’s worth it,” Cole said. “Of course they may be vying to see who gets to take over when he does die.”

  “No,” Larry replied. “When that happens, they’ll fight each other to be the new Alpha
, and the winner will take on any other challengers, as well.”

  “So Marsham couldn’t just appoint me to be his successor? Thank God. I’m definitely not Alpha material.” Cole slanted a look at Ky. “No comments from you.”

  “Me? Never,” Ky replied, obviously trying not to laugh.

  “What about my mother?” Cole asked Larry.

  “We’re still searching for Hallam’s pack. Until we find it, I won’t have an answer for you.”

  “Figured.” Cole’s shoulders slumped.

  “If they’re out there, we will locate them.”

  “I hope, and thanks.” As soon as he’d said that, Cole teleported back to Ky’s house.

  * * * *

  Ky showed up at the house fifteen minutes later, going directly to his office. When he didn’t come out right away, Cole went to see why. After peering over Ky’s shoulder, Cole said, “It’s not nice to kick a man when he’s down. But in this case…”

  Nodding, Ky continued what he was doing, which was writing an email, he told Cole, to several well-respected financial advisors and consultants, warning them that Oliver Hammar, the owner of various hotels, casinos, and other businesses, all in his name, was rumored to be to very ill and close to death.

  “That works but…” Cole chewed his lip.

  “But what?”

  “As soon as Marsham figures out what’s happening, he’s going to do his best to find out who gave them the information.”

  “And?” Ky replied with a shrug. “I’m obviously not going to use my real name.” He tapped the sender line at the top of the email. “He’s the CFO for a well-respected Wall Street firm, and—” Ky grinned, “—a real bastard, but good at what he does, so I don’t mind if he gets some flak for apparently being the one who sent this. The email itself will be routed through Larry’s hacker friend. There will be multi-layers of security, including various IP addresses, encryption, you name it.”

  “If this guy who’s supposedly sending it is what you say, are the people who get the email going to believe it?” Cole asked.

  “Some will, despite, or because of, his reputation. Others will have their doubts, but they won’t be willing to risk their clients losing money if the Hammar stocks begin to go down value. It’ll only take a few people selling while they can to start a snowball effect.”

  “You’ve thought of everything.”

  “When it comes to keeping you safe, I have to,” Ky replied as he did his own encryption before sending the email to Larry’s friend. He shut off the computer then turned to look at Cole. “Are you hungry?”

  “Yeah. I think.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “Everything’s moving so fast all of a sudden, I’m not sure what I am—hungry, exhausted, ready to bounce off the walls.”

  “Understandable.” Cole gasped when Ky pulled him into his lap. “Take a few deep breaths and relax,” Ky said, rubbing Cole’s back.

  “Not sure I can right now,” Cole muttered.

  Ky arched an eyebrow, smirking. “Maybe you need to lie down?”

  “Are you coming on to me, in your own subtle way?”

  “Too subtle?” Ky grinned. “Okay. You need to get your mind off things. I can’t think of a better way to do that than seeing if we’re compatible as more than just friends.”

  “I thought…”

  “Don’t think.” Ky cupped the back of Cole’s head, pulling him close enough to kiss. ::It’s very overrated in some situations.::

  ::I can’t think, when you’re kissing me.:: Not that it stopped Cole from giving back as good as he was getting.

  After the kiss ended, Ky looked at him, nodding slowly. “I thought that’s what it would be like.” The second the words were out of his mouth, he instigated another kiss—and then a third.

  Cole opened to Ky’s questing tongue this time, his libido kicking into high gear. From the bulge he felt under his butt, he knew Ky wasn’t at all immune to what they were doing, either. So when he felt a vibration, it took him a moment to realize it was his phone. “Go away,” he mumbled against Ky’s lips.

  Unfortunately, seconds later, Ky’s phone rang. With obvious reluctance, he lifted Cole off his lap so he could answer it. He listened, replied, “We’ll be right there,” then put his arm around Cole.

  When they landed in Larry’s office, he spun around and broke into a grin. “Sorry to interrupt your fun and games—” his gaze lowered to Ky’s crotch, “—but I believe Cole will think it was worth it. One of my people got lucky.”

  “Which is more than I did,” Ky grumbled, but he was smiling.

  “You found Hallam’s pack?” Cole asked, praying that was what Larry meant.

  “We have. Ever hear of the St. John River, in Maine?”

  “I can’t say that I have,” Ky replied, while Cole shook his head.

  “I’m not surprised, since you Bullmastiffs are city folk. Apparently, Hallam must have taken that into consideration when he chose a new home for his pack. They set up well south of where the river passes Allagash, Maine. According to Théo, the Alpha of a wolf shifter pack in the area that I talked to, it’s total wilderness. I’m sure Hallam figured it was the last place Marsham would look.”

  “Do you have enough of a location that we can get there?” Ky asked.

  “Yes. Théo gave me a visual, as well as sending me a map of the area. Given that Cole’s new at teleporting, it’ll take several hops to get there—unless you want to fly to Bangor first.”

  “We’ll fly,” Ky said. “Can you check to see what’s available, leaving as soon as possible, please?”

  Larry did, then said, “There’s a flight at midnight that’ll get you there tomorrow at one in the afternoon, with two stops. They still have seats available.”

  “At that hour, they should,” Ky said as Larry got up and he took over the computer to book the flight. With that finished, he printed out the map Théo had sent Larry, and Larry gave him and Cole the visual of the pack’s location.

  After thanking Larry, again, for all his help, Ky suggested he and Cole go home, pack and eat something, then head for the airport.

  Chapter 13

  Ky had reserved them first-class seats for the trip, so they got some sleep between changing planes. Ky’s shoulder became Cole’s pillow, which didn’t bother Ky in the least—although it was frustrating to be so close to the younger man without being able to do anything more than hold him. He began to wish they’d had the chance to finish what they’d started before Larry’s call. It might not have gone beyond kissing and cuddling. He might have had a change of heart before I had the chance to get him into my bed. He didn’t really believe that, but knew it was possible. Then he wondered if Cole had ever been with someone before. Probably. He might have come out to the Williamses only two months before they made him leave home, but he was a teen, with all the raging hormones that go with that.

  The announcement to fasten their seatbelts for landing ended that line of though. He woke Cole, smiling when Cole asked blearily, “Are we there yet?”

  After deplaning, they took a cab to the edge of the city. When they were well out of sight of anyone who might be interested in them, they headed toward the area where Larry’s contact, Théo, had said he’d seen Hallam’s pack.

  It took three hops, to allow Cole to rest and restore his energy, before they landed approximately two miles from their destination.

  “I’m scared,” Cole said. “What if she’s not with them? What if Hallam doesn’t want anything to do with me, even if she is? What if she rejects me? What if—”

  Ky put a finger over Cole’s lips. “None of that is going to happen. Okay?”

  “You don’t know that,” Cole protested. “She might have left me at the sanctuary, then taken off to who knows where to keep her mate and her father safe, rather than chancing going back to the pack.” He sighed. “Not that it worked, since Marsham got his hands on her mate.” He frowned. “Hallam moved the pack while she was gone. Maybe e
ven she couldn’t have found out where.”

  “There’s only one way to know,” Ky replied. He gave Cole the image of the site where the pack was supposed to be.

  They landed in the center of a clearing. For a moment, Cole wondered if Théo had made a mistake. He couldn’t see any signs that the area was inhabited. Then he heard a slight rustling in the brush to his right. Two males came into view, each one carrying a machete. One appeared to be about thirty. The other was a teen, perhaps two years younger than Cole from the look of him.

  “Easy. We’re friends,” Ky said.

  “We’ve heard that before,” the older man replied. “It’s rarely true.”

  “It is in our case,” Cole said. “We’re here because I want to see my grandfather.”

  “Who would that be?” the teen asked, tightening his grip on his weapon.

  “Hallam.”

  “You lie,” the man said. “All of Hallam’s kin are here. All of them.”

  “Even Rilla?” Cole asked, trying to keep the hope he was feeling from showing in his words and demeanor. He had the distinct feeling the men might take it the wrong way.

  The man refrained from replying, saying instead, “If I were you, I’d leave—now.”

  “If we don’t?” Ky said softly.

  “You’re dead.”

  “That’s a hell of a thing to do to Rilla’s son.”

  “I’m her son,” the teen said, pounding a fist to his chest. “The only one she has. Ask my father.” He glanced at the other man.

  “I’d rather ask her,” Cole replied, his hands fisting.

  “Calm down, Cole,” Ky said, gripping Cole’s arm. “I think we’ve antagonized them enough as it is. We don’t want to get into a physical fight on top of it.” He looked at the older man. “What would it hurt to let us at least talk with her, and Hallam?”

  “So you can report back to the bastard Marsham that you found them? I think not.”

  “Believe me,” Cole said, “the last thing I want is to have anything to do with him. He’s made my life miserable almost since the day I turned eighteen.”

  “How so?”

  “Sending his goons after me. Ask Ky. He saved me from them more than once.”