Another week, another update! This one is inspired by the picture of a tiger staring into the camera, which dovetails nicely. I hope you enjoy this week's flash chapter.
Chapter Twenty-three
“I used to wonder if I might
have been better off, after my Alpha sold me to the streak, if the doctor had
taken me.” Ritch shuddered. “I guess I was lucky he didn’t. Unless, of course,
Frank gets his hands on me again.”
“Not going to happen,” Park
assured him. He shoved the books back on the shelf.
“He’s right. I won’t allow
anyone to take you from my lands, if you don’t want to go,” I said. The armoire
was empty of anything but knickknacks. “I’m going to try the office. Make sure
you put the books back even. I’m serious about your mom killing me.”
Park had every right to be
upset about everything that had happened, but he seemed to be far more focused
on Ritch than what we might find hidden. I couldn’t decide if that was a good
thing or not. Henry had often used the office with the door closed, his cue for
us to leave him alone. I shut the door behind me and then sat down at the desk.
Henry wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t leave a printed email taped to the underside
of a desk drawer or behind a photo. He’d taken his laptop and his phone.
The quiet in here was odd, the
sounds of Ritch and Park searching muffled with the door shut. Growing up
there’d always been the sounds of chaos. Friends over. Lydia cooking in the
kitchen with the music going, the TV going in the background.
I sat back in the chair, studying
the room. How did he get in touch with the doctor? The older streak members
were gradually adjusting to the electronics era, but that Skype and Hangouts
weren’t their strong suit. Emails were only so secure.
So phone calls. He couldn’t be
using his regular cell phone; I saw him leave that lying around all the time.
Burner phone? There’s no way he would’ve left that here. I leaned forward and
rested my head in my hands.
The door opened. “You okay?”
Park asked.
I rubbed my forehead. “I don’t
know. Your dad was a smart man. He wouldn’t keep anything incriminating here
when he left.”
“Maybe. Or maybe not. He had
places where he put stuff. Did you know the base of that chair screws off? I
saw him with it in pieces one time when I came in without knocking.”
It couldn’t be that easy. I
got up and Park helped me flip the chair over and unscrew the wheeled base. We
flipped the chair over and shook it, but nothing came out. “Damn it.”
“We’ll keep looking.”
I shook my head. “I don’t
think we’ll find anything. I hoped we would, but your dad wasn’t stupid. He
didn’t flee, he left, taking the time to make your mom think he was going
because I sent him.”
“Exactly. There has to be
something here.” Park ran a hand through his ruff. “I keep trying to think of
where he spent a lot of time growing up. In here for sure. I really don’t want
to go through my parents’ room.”
I leaned against him, gaining
a level of comfort from the contact that I hoped that he got as well. “Kraig’s
going to be okay, Park. We’ll figure all this out. The important thing is he’s
with us, and safe. I shouldn’t have killed that doctor, but my rage was too
strong. Now we’re hunting blind.”
“Mom will get information from
Dad, and Cameron will find him. She may be his mate, but Kraig is her son.” Park
grabbed the top of the desk and climbed to his feet. “Come on, let’s keep
looking.”
“Did you find anything?” Kraig
asked.
“No.” I slumped next to him on
the couch. He leaned into me, rubbing his cheek against my shoulder. “How are—”
I cut myself off. His light eyes stared into me, the warning clear. “I love
you,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “Well, it’s
a good thing I’m the smart one between us. I had Mom pull up that number Dad
called her from. He didn’t call tonight, but we ran a search. We got a city in
Montana.”
“Did you let Cameron know?”
“We thought it would be best
coming from you.” Kraig yawned.
“Let’s get ready for bed. It’s
been a long-assed day.” I pulled out my phone and sent Cameron a quick text,
telling him which direction. How he got there was up to him. I wasn’t going to
micromanage. I helped Kraig up and we headed for the bathroom.
Naked time in the shower
sounded just about perfect. I wanted to touch every inch of his body, to feel
his heart beating and his breath on my skin. It wasn’t sexual, just a need for
him that I couldn’t deny. Kraig didn’t protest as I washed him, dried us both
off, and he let me pull him into my arms and twine my legs through his.
Sleep was slow to come, but I
had what I needed. I pressed my cheek against the soft stubble on the back of
Kraig’s head, inhaling his scent. His chest rumbled against my hand. There was
so much against us, but we had this.
“I love you too, you know,”
Kraig whispered. “I always have. I think, somehow, we were always supposed to
be together.”
“We are now. That’s the
important part.”
My phone ringing woke me. “We
found him,” Cameron said. “But he’s dead.”
Kraig stiffened. I rubbed his
chest. “How?”
“Not sure. We tracked that
phone down to an area, then started looking for crap hotels he might be able to
hide in. Once we found his car, I was able to scent him to his room. There were
at least two other people here, humans, by their stench.”
“Bring him back here. Make
sure you search everywhere in the hotel, just in case something was hidden
there.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
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Wow, Henry is dead and so many questions left as to his motives for getting involved with the doctors etc.
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