by Nora Phoenix
“The White-Collar Division?” Palani checked.
“Right, that sounds familiar.”
“Do you remember who you spoke to?”
“One sec.” Papers rustled in the background. “Erm, Alec Kimble, it says here. I requested a copy of the report I filed.”
Palani sat up straight. If they had changed one report, what were the odds of them doing it again? “Any chance I could have a copy of that?”
“Sure, I’ll scan it real quick and email it to you.”
Palani gave his email address and, after a few more questions, hung up. He leaned back in his chair. A picture was emerging. Even though he still possessed no hard evidence for the bribes against Excellon, he gathered enough to confirm his gut feeling that it was true. And while Ryland hadn’t been implicated so far, his division sure as hell wasn’t jumping in to investigate this. Palani needed more.
First, it would help to have a copy of the report in the internal system of the police for what Vandermeer had filed. If it didn’t match what the doctor had sent him, he’d have evidence of tampering. He couldn’t simply call the force and ask for a copy. Sure, they’d give it to him under the Freedom of Information Act, but he’d also alert them he was investigating them. No, he needed inside access, and he’d do what he could to keep Lidon out of this. The man had taken enough of a risk to even talk to Palani about this. He had a couple of sources within the police force who had helped him before, so he started there.
“Palani, I respect the hell out of what you’re doing, but take my advice. Don’t go up against Ryland,” Susan, one of his best informants on the force, told him. The urgent tone of her voice left little doubt how much she meant it. “He’s not like your previous targets, the lower-level cops you exposed. Ryland will fight back, and it won’t be pretty.”
Palani frowned. “What do you mean?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He’s gotten at least ten people fired, and he replaced them all with his own men. I swear some of them act like they never even graduated from the academy, but they blindly follow his every order.”
“You’re kidding me,” Palani said. “That’s fucked up.”
“I’m sorry, Palani, but I can’t get you that report. I’m too scared of what Ryland will do if he finds out.”
After what she’d told him, Palani couldn’t blame her. Susan was a secretary in HR, so she’d know, wouldn’t she? “I understand. I don’t want you to get into trouble,” he assured her.
Susan sighed. “Trouble I can handle, but this is on another level. IA has been trying to make a case against him for months, but every time they think they have him, evidence disappears, or witnesses do. It’s disturbing.”
Disturbing was too tame a word, Palani thought. Susan was as level-headed as they came, so for her to be this worried, the threat was real. “It’s okay. I’ll manage another way. You be careful, okay?”
After ending the call, he sat there for a few minutes. This was far more complex than he’d counted on. Cops being fired and replaced by what sounded like unqualified friends of Ryland? That was some serious shit. All the more reason to keep Lidon out of this if Ryland’s reach was that long. He’d better focus on Excellon for now.
He needed proof of the actual bribes. The question was how to obtain this. Money trails were easy to follow once you knew where to start. Since he didn't have a solid lead where the money was coming from, this would be a challenge. No, he’d either have to show up with an omega and try to get a doctor to prescribe Excellon, or…
Enar. He could use Enar. Not in their city, since he was probably too well known, but another big city in the state? That had to work, right? Enar was a fellow doctor. He might get other doctors to talk, brag about how much they were making off this? It wasn’t ideal to involve Enar, and neither was taking this outside the city.
The omega wasn’t a bad idea either, but there was no way he was involving Vieno. Aside from his persistent agoraphobia—he hadn’t left the ranch since he’d moved in—Palani didn’t want him anywhere near this. He’d have to find someone else who could do it, but that was a long shot for now. He’d have to focus on different avenues of getting more intel on this bribery. What if he kept it simple at first and called doctors to see if he could get a prescription for a fictitious omega husband? It wouldn’t prove anything, but it might show him how big the issue was.
Two hours later, he had called fifty-three doctors with the same story about his omega husband about to start his first heat, and they’d hired a caretaker and could they please prescribe Excellon, since he’d heard it was effective against male pregnancy. Only six of them had been willing to prescribe. A vast majority had denied it was more effective, others had cited severe side effects, and a few had claimed it was off the market due to an investigation of fatal allergic reactions to one of the components.
This quick exercise had shown Lucan had been right. Doctors were reluctant to prescribe Excellon, and since the medical trials showed it was effective, money seemed to be a logical motive. Still, he had to make sure the bit about the side effects and allergic reactions wasn’t true. How to check that?
The easiest way was to call Lukos, the company who made it, but Palani hesitated to do so. The fact that Lukos had produced three effective drugs in a short period was already an anomaly, but Palani had realized something else. Lukos had to know by now something was stopping doctors from prescribing their far more effective birth control. So why weren’t they protesting this?
Palani had seen nothing in the news about it—and he’d done a thorough online search after that thought—and as far as he knew, it wasn’t being investigated either. The latter could be explained if Ryland, the de-facto head of the division who would research this had there been a complaint, was indeed dirty, but wouldn’t Lukos had gone over his head? If you had concrete evidence other companies were obstructing your sales, wouldn’t you bring it to the highest officers you could think of? Even government?
Yet Lukos hadn’t, and that made Palani suspicious. It reeked of something else going on there, something he had no idea of yet what it was, but he would find out. But first, he could check the claim about the side effects with Enar.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked when Enar picked up.
“No, I’m in the car, on my way to a patient. What’s up?”
“Do doctors get information about newly discovered side effects of drugs? Or if a drug is pulled because of fatal allergic reactions?”
“Yes to both, provided they use the electronic patient file system, the EPF. That shows warnings every day with new interactions. They also pop up when we prescribe a drug. So if I were to prescribe you a cough suppressant through the EPF, for instance, the side effects pop up. The system also shows known interactions with other meds you take, provided your file is updated.”
“Do most doctors use the EPF? It’s mandatory, right?”
“It is. Some doctors feel it’s an invasion of patient privacy, so they won’t always list every procedure they perform on a patient. Or they omit certain medications they prescribe, since a patient’s legal guardian or alpha may have access to that file. Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
Palani grinned. Enar was being a total smartass here. But the man was prudent to speak in generals and not discuss anything specific. “Have you heard of any new side effects of Excellon? Or allergic reactions?”
“No,” Enar said. “Nothing.”
“Okay, thanks. That’s all I needed to know.”
“Palani, be careful, okay?”
He smiled at Enar’s care. “Right back atcha, Doc.”
Not bad for a few hours’ work, Palani thought. Now he needed to report to Franken and get his boss to agree to put more hours into this. Nailing Ryland was one thing, but Palani’s ultimate goal was to discover what was going on with Excellon. Because aside from Ryland being dirty, he now had credible evidence of the bribery, but he needed more proof of who was behind it. The drug companies, mayb
e, or insurance companies, as Lucan, the pharmacy technician Lidon had arrested, had suggested, but speculating had no place in a newspaper, as Franken always told Palani. He needed facts, cold hard facts, so he’d need to do more digging.
6
Enar rubbed his neck with his right hand while he kept his left hand on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road. Damn, he was tired. It had been a long day, drawn out by the complications in the delivery of a baby. Everything had been fine until it hadn’t been, and when the baby’s heart rate bottomed out, Enar performed an emergency C-section to save the mom and the baby. It was touch and go, but it looked like both would be okay.
He called Vieno to let him know he wouldn’t be home till after midnight, and Vieno was all sweet and understanding. He promised Enar there was a meal waiting for him in the fridge if he wanted it. Enar wasn’t even sure if he was hungry or not. Right now, he was too exhausted to care about food. Even the thought of having to microwave a meal was intimidating. He just wanted to crash.
He considered going back to his townhouse, which would’ve saved him a twenty-minute ride, but decided to drive over to Lidon’s after all. It was strange because they wouldn’t be awake anymore. They’d be in bed, the three of them, together. And that thought made him happy and sad at the same time.
He belonged with them, so they had assured him. Vieno had said it crystal clear that he’d chosen Enar as his mate. Enar had still been super careful not to cross any boundaries or lines he wasn’t aware of, but no one had called him out on anything in the three weeks they were together. Not even Lidon.
It was him Enar struggled with most. With Palani, he knew where he stood. Even though they’d only known each other for a short time, their connection was easy. Palani got him, and that was mutual. With Vieno, it was simple as well. He had a naturally sunny disposition and such an innate sweetness. Plus, he was so free with his affection that Enar couldn’t help but get pulled in by him. And he couldn’t deny Vieno’s attraction to him, at least physically. They’d shared some sweet moments together…and a few seriously hot ones.
But Lidon, that was different. They’d known each other forever, since kindergarten, but their dynamic had changed over the years. They’d started out as equals, two alphas trying to find their way in the world, but after Enar had submitted to him, things had changed. Enar wasn’t sure if Lidon treated him differently since he’d started fucking him or if Enar’s perception had changed, but something had. They were no longer equals, Lidon always the stronger, more powerful and dominant. Enar hadn’t fought it, not until Lidon had asked him to join their foursome.
God, he’d wanted to…desperately. But that last step, that final acknowledgment of Lidon’s dominance over him, had been so damn hard. Like the final step in accepting that he wasn’t a real alpha, which he’d always known deep down, but still. Stating that to Palani was different from voicing it toward Lidon, and Enar couldn’t explain why. Maybe because Lidon was the ultimate alpha? Acknowledging Lidon’s alpha power over him had been like admitting defeat, hadn’t it? Then why had it felt so right?
A headache brewed behind his eyes, thrumming in his forehead, and he rubbed his face again, trying to get rid of the tension. It bothered him that he couldn’t figure out his relationship with Lidon. Sure, the alpha had fucked him during Vieno’s heat two weeks ago, and that had been perfect, but he hadn’t touched him since. Well, that wasn’t true. He hadn’t fucked him, but he always kissed him when they came home, but it had felt obligatory to Enar. Like Lidon accepted Enar because of his connection with Vieno and Palani, but not because he himself wanted him. Or did he?
They’d never talked about their relationship in the past other than Enar calling or texting him with a code yellow and Lidon giving him what he needed. They’d never put what they did into words. If it was a friends-with-benefits thing or Lidon merely being nice or what. Why had he done it? Enar had never asked. Maybe because he’d never dared to, but now it mattered, and he didn’t know what to do with that, how to bring it up, or if he even should.
By the time he reached the gates, he had come no closer to an answer, and his headache had worsened. The lights were still on in the kitchen, and he smiled. That must’ve been Vieno, wanting to make sure he would feel welcome.
“Hey,” Lidon’s voice sounded, and Enar all but jumped.
“You scared the bejesus out of me,” he gasped, his hand flying to his heart as Lidon walked in from the living room. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I’ve barely seen you the last few days, and since I have a late shift tomorrow, I figured I’d stay up.” Lidon’s voice was friendly, yet it had an undertone that put Enar on edge.
“Oh.”
He set his bag down and kicked off his shoes, then reminded himself to place them in the shoe rack in the hallway and to put his bag in the cubbies Vieno had set up there.
“You look like crap,” Lidon said as he walked back in.
“Jeez, thanks for staying up to tell me that,” Enar said, keeping his voice light.
“Have you eaten?” Lidon asked.
“I’m not really hungry.”
Lidon’s eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t the question, but I’ll take that as a no. Sit down. I’ll warm up the dinner Vieno left you.”
“You don’t have to…” Enar started but shut up when Lidon shot him a look that left little to the imagination. He sat his ass down at the table and waited while Lidon put his plate in the microwave, then grabbed him a seltzer from the fridge.
He closed his eyes and tried again to rub the tension out of his neck. He’d performed the emergency C-section in the woman’s living room, knowing he didn’t have time to get to the hospital. The light had been bad, and he’d craned his neck to make sure he didn’t fuck up. That, in combination with the other procedures he’d done today, had caused his muscles to cramp. That had to be why he had a headache, though he had them more lately.
“Here,” Lidon said, and Enar’s eyes flew open. “Dinner is ready.”
“Thank you,” he said meekly. The smell of the barbecue ribs with mashed potatoes hit him, and his stomach rumbled.
“Not hungry, huh?” Lidon said. “Don’t bother answering. Just eat.”
Enar obeyed, keeping in a moan as the rich barbecue sauce hit his tongue. Damn, that was good. “You’re gonna watch me eat?” he asked with his mouth full. “At least talk to me. How’s work?”
Lidon raised his eyebrows but obliged by sharing an investigation he was involved in right now. Enar knew he could talk to no one else about this. Palani was too risky, considering his job, and Vieno…no one wanted to burden Vieno with anything heavy. It was how they rolled. So Lidon talked while Enar ate and listened, asking the occasional question.
When he’d cleared it, he pushed his plate back with a satisfied sigh, licking the last bits of sauce of his fingers. “Thank you,” he told Lidon.
“You’re welcome.”
The silence hung between them, thickening.
“I don’t know how to do this with you,” Enar blurted out. “Everything has changed between us, and I don’t know how to navigate this.”
Was that relief he saw on Lidon’s face? If so, it mirrored his own feelings because he was glad he’d said it, awkward and uncomfortable as it was.
“Me neither,” Lidon said. “I’ve never been good at the whole ‘let’s talk about our feelings’ thing, and with you, it’s even harder.”
“You two are adorable and frustrating as fuck at the same time,” Palani spoke, startling Enar and Lidon both.
He walked into the kitchen, dressed in the bright red boxers he always slept in, his eyes remarkably sharp, considering he must have been asleep already. He walked over to Lidon first and gave him a kiss. The alpha’s hand drifted to Palani’s butt, and the beta let out a little moan when that big hand squeezed it. Then Lidon slapped it, sending Palani over to Enar.
Palani kissed him, a soft, sweet kiss that made the tight muscles in Enar’s face
relax a little. “You have a headache,” Palani said, and Enar nodded.
Palani pulled Enar’s head against his chest, cradling him and holding him while his fingers found sore points in his neck. “Long surgery?” he asked.
“Yeah. Wrong position too.”
“Hmm,” Palani said, his fingers still kneading Enar’s neck. Enar moaned when the beta hit a sore spot, causing his arms to tingle and his skin to rise in goose bumps.
“Why don’t you two take a bath?” Palani said. “It will help you relax your muscles.”
“Together?” Enar asked, then wanted to clamp his mouth at the surprise that was so clearly audible in his voice.
“Yes,” Palani said, his tone patient. “Together. Let Lidon rub out the tension in your neck and back while you two talk. Use one of the guest rooms so you don’t wake Vieno up. He’s cleaned most of them by now.”
He stepped back, letting go of Enar.
“Would you like that?” Lidon asked, his voice uncharacteristically insecure.
“Yes,” Enar said. “If it’s okay with you.”
Palani rolled his eyes. “God, you two crack me up. Of course, he wants to take a bath with you, Doc. He wants you to lean on him, so lean. Stop dancing around each other and give in to what you both want and need already. I’m going back to bed. Take care of each other.”
With one last kiss for both of them, he left them alone.
“So,” Lidon said. “Bath?”
They filled a bathtub in one of the guest bedrooms, one that also had a master bathroom attached to it. The thing had a massive bath that would easily fit them both. As Palani had said, it was sparkling clean, and there was even bath salt on a shelf. Enar threw some in and let the bath fill. He looked at Lidon as they both got undressed. Why was he feeling so damn insecure, even though they’d had sex and had seen each other naked many times? What was it about Lidon that threw him off-balance?