Gregory swore under his breath. He hated hearing his mate’s name on Dean’s lips. How could he have been so stupid? He’d seen the camera when he’d carried Hayden back to his condo, but he’d been so intent on getting Hayden home to rest, he hadn’t spared it a second thought. What the hell was he going to do now?
“I don’t have to tell you how much trouble you’d be in if your superiors found out you’re hiding the cat,” Dean continued. “What’s so special about him that you’d be willing to throw away your career in the council to hide him? Because that’s exactly what you’re doing, Gregory.”
Gregory’s stomach was in knots. “There’s nothing special about him,” he lied. “Just felt sorry for the kid. He’s had a tough life and I wanted to help him out. I was afraid the council wouldn’t have his best interests at heart. You know as well as I do how some stray shifters are treated.” Gregory knew his story was paper thin, but it was the best he could come up with.
“That’s very noble,” Dean replied. “Stupid, but noble.”
Gregory was losing his patience. “What do you want from me, Dean?”
“A favour,” Dean answered. “If you help me out, I’ll make sure your superiors don’t see the tape of you with the jaguar.” So, Dean was finally starting to show his true colours.
“Blackmail?” Gregory questioned. “I didn’t think that was your style.”
Dean made a tutting sound with his tongue. “That’s a nasty word. I prefer to think of it as, if you rub my back, I’ll rub yours.”
Gregory rolled his eyes. Of course that’s how Dean would see it. “What sort of favour?” he said through clenched teeth. He looked across the yard to the bunkhouse. Hayden was standing on the porch, waiting for him to return with the bags. As he watched his mate lean against the wall and cover his face with his hands, he knew in that moment he’d do anything to protect him. Whatever it took.
“I have a little problem,” Dean said. “And I need you to make it go away.”
Gregory didn’t like the sound of that. “What sort of problem?”
“His name is Jared Ambrose,” Dean answered. “I believe you’re acquainted with him.”
Chapter Six
Hayden leant back against the wall and sucked in a deep lungful of air. He’d forgotten how nice it was to be out in the country. No smog or the stench of exhaust fumes. No noise. It was refreshing. But he was so used to shutting himself off and avoiding strangers that he was having a hard time being around Kelan and Cary. He’d told them he needed to go out and get some air, but what he’d really needed was a moment alone. Cary seemed nice, but he was even quieter than Hayden—which was saying something—and he didn’t think they had a lot in common. Hayden felt intimidated by Kelan and, although the alpha had been very welcoming, Hayden couldn’t help but find the whole situation overwhelming.
It hadn’t been that way with Gregory. Right from the beginning, Hayden had felt comfortable being around him. Hayden wondered if it was because of their bond. He hadn’t known Gregory was his mate, but had he felt it subconsciously?
Walking to the edge of the porch, Hayden rested his hands on the top post of the hemlock baluster and took a look at his surroundings. Kelan had a nice spread. Not that Hayden had the first clue about what working ranches were supposed to look like, but the place had a good feeling to it. The bunkhouse was larger than anyplace Hayden had lived in before and far more appealing. The yard and fields were huge. The perfect place to shift, run and hunt. The thought surprised Hayden. Was he ready for that? Would it be safe for him to shift here and let his cat run free? He wasn’t sure that was even what he wanted, but he did feel better than he had in a long time—more relaxed, even with the threat of the council discovering where he was looming over him.
Gregory was making his way over from the car with his two bags. He smiled as his mate approached. For the first time in years Hayden felt like he had the chance to make a proper life for himself, a real home. But could it be that simple? The council would always be looking for him, wouldn’t they? It would be difficult to keep running from them forever.
“How do you like your room?” Gregory asked, as he climbed the porch steps.
“I like it a lot,” Hayden replied. “It’s nicer than anything I’m used to.”
“I’m glad,” Gregory replied succinctly. The wide smile that had been present on his face since they’d arrived on the ranch had disappeared. His mate looked preoccupied all of a sudden. Hayden wondered if it had anything to do with the call he’d seen Gregory take.
“Is everything okay?” Hayden took one of his bags and threw it over his shoulder.
Gregory wouldn’t meet his eyes. He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Hayden frowned. “I don’t know, you just seem…distracted.”
“Everything’s fine,” Gregory replied as he entered through the bunkhouse door. “Let’s put your bags in your room.”
Hayden followed and tried not to let Gregory’s abruptness upset him. When they’d set the bags in his room, they rejoined Cary and Kelan in the living room.
“So what is it you had to tell me, Kelan?” Gregory asked, taking a seat on the empty sofa. “It sounded important.”
Kelan nodded. “Yeah, and it’s not good news, I’m afraid.”
Hayden took a seat next to his mate and quietly watched the exchange.
“Jared has discovered something about Dean.”
Gregory’s entire body seemed to stiffen at the mention of the name.
“Who’s Jared?” Hayden asked.
“Jared Ambrose is deputy sheriff here in Wolf Creek,” Kelan replied. “His mate Nate is one of my betas and works for me here on the ranch.”
Gregory grunted. “Has Jared been investigating Dean?”
Kelan nodded. “Yeah. I told him to be careful, but he won’t listen. He’s determined to find out what Dean is hiding.”
“He needs to watch his back,” Gregory said. “He shouldn’t have got involved in this. It’s too dangerous.”
“That’s hardly fair,” said Kelan. “You asked him and Nate for their help. Did you honestly expect Jared to sit back and do nothing while you were gone?”
“Guess not,” Gregory mumbled. “What did he find out?”
Kelan sighed and studied Gregory for a moment. He looked as though he was considering how to deliver bad news. “It’s about Ashton, Gregory.”
Hayden’s head swivelled towards his mate to gauge his reaction. He reached out and put a comforting hand on Gregory’s knee but Gregory didn’t acknowledge it. He leant forward in his seat. “What about him?”
“Jared said you told him that a wolf named Blake Deveraux had been giving you information about Stan Michaels.”
Gregory nodded. “Yeah, but after Ashton was killed I found out he and Dean are pretty tight, so I assumed all the information we got from Deveraux came from Dean.”
Kelan pursed his lips. “That’s partly true, but it’s not the full story.”
“So what is?”
“Jared went to talk to Deveraux.”
“What the hell did he go and do a stupid thing like that for?”
“Don’t worry—he didn’t mention your name. He was careful about what he disclosed. He just said he was investigating some of the deaths of council members’ mates. Jared said that Blake guarded himself carefully at first, but eventually he got him to admit a few things. It looks as though Dean is blackmailing Deveraux. Blake didn’t admit that outright, but Jared said it was obvious from some of the things he said. He kept saying all he cared about was protecting his mate.”
Gregory’s shoulders tensed and met Hayden’s gaze. Hayden thought he saw his mate frown before he turned back to Kelan, but the expression disappeared quickly.
“What does this have to do with Ashton?” Gregory asked.
Kelan sighed. “Blake indicated Ashton had been working for Dean in some capacity or other.”
“No. No way,” Gregory said resolutely. “Ashton wasn�
��t dirty. We were friends and we worked together closely. I’d have known if he was doing something like that.”
“Are you sure?” Kelan asked. “Maybe he wasn’t doing it willingly. If Dean is blackmailing Deveraux, who’s to say he didn’t do the same thing to Ashton? If he threatened Tania then it’s likely Ashton would have done what he wanted. I don’t have to tell you what a shifter will do to protect their mate, do I?”
All of the fight seemed to go out of Gregory’s body. He reached across and pulled Hayden to his side, kissing the top of his head. Hayden sank into the embrace. He felt safe in his mate’s arms.
“No, you don’t have to tell me that,” Gregory replied.
* * * *
Gregory parked his car outside the sheriff’s office and took a moment to gather his thoughts, which were flitting through his mind with such rapidity they were making him dizzy. Dean might not have asked him outright to kill Jared, but he had no doubt that was what the wolf wanted from him. There was no way he could kill anyone, let alone someone he considered a friend. And for no fucking good reason? That would make him no better than Dean. Gregory wondered if Dean had threatened Ashton in a similar way.
Had his partner done Dean’s bidding? Had he killed someone for the wolf? Gregory didn’t want to believe Ashton was capable of something like that, but he could understand the burning desire to protect his mate. The fact was, Ashton had killed someone. He’d killed Stan. He might not have done it under a direct order from Dean, but he’d done it just the same. It appeared Ashton had been the victim of manipulation all along and Gregory hadn’t had a damn clue.
Hayden’s safety might be of the utmost importance to Gregory, but he couldn’t kill Jared to ensure that safety. There had to be another way. He just didn’t know what it was. He covered his face with his hands as a sense of helplessness overwhelmed him. What would Dean do when he found out Gregory had dared to disobey him?
Gregory considered talking to Riley—his superior in the council—about Dean’s threat, but he had no idea if Riley could be trusted any more than Dean. But, of course, if he confided in Riley that would involve telling the council about Hayden and by doing that Gregory could himself be putting his mate at an even greater risk than he was already in. Talk about a catch-twenty-two. The important thing was to tell Jared about Dean’s threat. He had to know his life was in danger. When Dean realised Gregory had no intention of doing what he’d asked, he’d find someone else to do his dirty work for him. Jared needed to prepare for that. He couldn’t fight an enemy he didn’t know existed. Gregory was just stepping out of his car when Jared came rushing out of the door of the office like his tail end was on fire.
“What’s going on?” Gregory asked.
“I just got a call about a disturbance. The address is Seth Armstrong’s but the woman hung up before I could get any more information.”
“Seth Armstrong?” Gregory questioned.
“Yeah, he’s a young wolf that works here at the sheriff’s office, administrative duties. He’s a nice kid, but I think his father beats on him.”
“Where is Sheriff Ferguson?”
“Already knocked off.”
“You mind if I tag along?”
Jared shook his head. “Course not. I’d be grateful for the help.”
Gregory followed the deputy to the cruiser and slid into the passenger seat.
“How was Vegas?” Jared asked. He put the car in drive and sped out of the lot.
Gregory shrugged. “Complicated.”
“Sounds ominous. You talk to Kelan?”
“Yeah, just came from the Crazy Horse.”
“So he told you about Deveraux?”
Gregory nodded. “Yeah, he told me. What were you thinking questioning him, Jared? You shouldn’t get involved in this. It’s too dangerous.”
“I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. People are dying.”
Gregory bristled. “You don’t need to tell me that. My own partner was killed, remember?”
Jared sighed. “Then why are you giving me shit about this? I thought you’d be happy I’m trying to do something to help.”
Gregory bit his lip. He was reluctant to tell Jared his life was in danger before he went out on a call. It wouldn’t be fair and would only serve to distract him. He’d tell him everything when they got back to the office.
“I don’t want to see you get into trouble. Did you think about what would happen if Dean found out you spoke to Deveraux about him?”
“Of course I thought about it. But if Dean really is responsible for people’s deaths then he needs to pay. He can’t get away with it.”
“What the hell does Nate think about you getting involved in all of this?”
Jared pursed his lips. He remained silent.
“Jesus, you haven’t told him, have you?” Gregory groaned.
“Of course I haven’t,” Jared hissed. “He’d go ape shit.”
“And rightly so.”
There was little traffic on the roads as they drove through town, but enough that Jared still had to stop at all the lights to avoid a collision. After waiting at the fourth set of lights, he lost it.
“God damn it!” He switched on the siren and overtook a black Ford, narrowly missing an oncoming SUV. “If that son of a bitch has hurt Seth again, I swear to God I will press charges against him even if Seth doesn’t want me to.”
“Why hasn’t he brought charges against him before?”
Jared made a sharp right. “Seth won’t even talk about it. The guy might be a dick, but he’s still his father, you know? How hard do you think it is for a kid to turn in their own flesh and blood?”
Gregory shrugged. “Don’t know how anyone could treat their kid like that. Men like him don’t deserve to be parents.”
Jared turned into a quiet, tree-lined road and pulled up outside a large ranch-style house. As soon as he cut the engine, the neighbour’s front door opened and an elderly woman trudged down the path in a blue floral dressing gown and slippers. Gregory and Jared got out of the cruiser and met her halfway. Gregory inhaled to catch the woman’s scent. She was human. Her hair was light grey in colour with a sprinkling of pure white. Laugh lines surrounded her eyes, but there was no smile on her thin lips.
“Mrs Delaney,” Jared greeted. “Thanks for putting in the call.”
The old woman pursed her lips. “Are you going to do something about it this time? I swear the racket coming from that house—it sounded like someone was being murdered in there.”
“What exactly did you hear?” Jared asked.
“Shouting mainly.” The woman sniffed. “And plenty of it. I think it was Seth and his father. Then Mrs Armstrong was screaming and I’m sure they were throwing around furniture in there. I’m surprised the house is still standing.”
Jared nodded. “Thank you. Now I need to ask you to go on back inside your house, Mrs Delaney. Don’t want you to get caught up in anything.”
The woman looked as though she were about to argue, so Gregory stepped in. “We appreciate your help, ma’am, but we’ve got it from here. Let us do our jobs.”
With a last glance at them both, she nodded, turned on her heel and strode back to her house.
“How do you want to do this?” Gregory asked.
Jared sighed. “Let’s just play it safe. If we go in there guns blazing, it will only upset everyone more. Let’s just try to keep it calm, ask a few questions. Every time I’ve spoken to Seth’s father in the past, he’s been nothing but cooperative once someone of authority is there. I’ve no reason to believe he’ll be any different tonight.”
“Fair enough. I’ll follow your lead.”
Jared nodded and led the way to the house.
“What’s his name?” Gregory asked.
“Duncan.”
Gregory stood at Jared’s side while they waited for an answer. After a moment, the door opened a fraction of an inch and a small woman with big blue eyes peered out. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“Mrs Armstrong, sorry to bother you but we got a call about a disturbance here. You mind if we come in?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, closing the door.
Gregory jammed his foot in the way. “Can we talk to Seth?” he asked.
Mrs Armstrong frowned. “What do you want with my son?”
Gregory chanced a look at Jared. “We’d just like to ask him a couple of questions.”
“I—”
“It’s okay, Mom,” a young man said, shouldering Mrs Armstrong out of the way. “I’ll deal with this.”
“Seth, can we talk to you for a minute?” Jared asked.
The young man—Seth—slipped out of the front door and closed it behind him. He had a small cut on his lip and his left eye was nearly swollen shut.
Gregory whistled. “Wow, quite a shiner you have there. That’s gotta hurt.”
Seth shrugged and chewed on his lip. He winced when the action caused the cut there to reopen and he licked away the fresh blood with his tongue.
“How long is this going to go on before you let us do something about it?” Jared asked Seth.
He snapped, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then why don’t you explain it to us?” Gregory asked.
Seth looked back at the house and sighed. He shoved his hands into his pockets then led the way to Jared’s cruiser, stopping on the sidewalk in front of it. He kicked at the kerb with a sneaker.
“What’s going on?” Jared questioned. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”
“We don’t need your help,” Seth barked. “Why don’t you just stay out of it?”
Jared shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. If you don’t start talking then I’m going to have to take your pop down to the station and get him to explain a few things.”
Seth jerked his head up. “You can’t do that!”
“Actually I can,” Jared said.
Seth’s wolf quickly rose to the surface. His entire body started shaking. Gregory reached out and put a soothing hand on his shoulder. “Relax, Seth. Help us out here. Why don’t you tell us what happened? Has your dad been drinking? Did he lose his temper?”
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