Page 16 of Midnight Whispers (Forbidden Entanglements #1)

Chapter Sixteen

C ass replayed his night with Riley. It ran like a movie reel in his mind. He wished he could tell Iven about Riley. Iven was always a sounding board when Cass needed one. He weighed the merits of keeping it a secret. They should decide together if they told Iven. And then there was the threat of the alpha. The last thing Cass wanted was to make Riley a target. All they had to do was bond for that to happen.

Riley seemed so dejected on the walk home.

As soon as Cass finished running down the lead, he’d head over to Zinnie’s place and see if Riley was there. They needed to have a chat about where Cass stood. And he’d like to know what Riley wanted where their mating was concerned.

Cass glanced in Danny’s direction. The second their gazes met, Cass knew they had let the lack of a missing person’s report go unaddressed long enough.

Danny averted his gaze—beads of sweat collected on his forehead.

Cass walked into Iven’s office and closed the door.

Iven raised his eyebrows.

Cass put a transcript of an emergency call in front of Iven and waited. It was the call from Quincy Barr’s mother, reporting him and Gregory May missing two weeks before they were found.

Iven’s face hardened as he read to the end of the transcript. It was Danny saying all the right things, telling Mrs. Barr they would find her son and his mate.

“Did you find the report?” Iven would lose his cool if Cass didn’t step in. Cass had half a mind to let Danny take the brunt of Iven’s anger. Unless Danny had a damn good reason for not making a report, he was fucking screwed. And he probably knew it.

“There’s nothing in the system.”

Iven cursed under his breath. He stood and ripped open the door.

The second Danny saw Iven, his face turned white. He stood and backed away, as if he intended to run for the front door.

“You won’t get far, Danny. Not if I shift. My wolf will chase yours down. I’m better at tracking than you are.” Cass wasn’t sure why Danny didn’t file the report, but he didn’t have a nefarious reason. Cass would go to his grave believing that.

Danny’s face crumbled, and he fell against the front counter. He slid to the ground.

Iven swore again, but he let Cass take the lead.

Cass sat next to Danny on the floor. “Spill it, man. We’ll deal with the consequences together, but we need to know what happened first.”

Danny wiped his eyes with the back of his hand but didn’t have to again because Iven handed him a box of tissue.

Iven squatted in front of Danny. “Did someone ask you not to file a report?”

“The pack beta…he threatened me. Threatened my sister and brother.” The tears came again. “I can’t let them get hurt. I can’t, sheriff.”

“Leo Krieger threatened to harm you?” Cass had to make sure Danny had the right person.

Danny nodded. “He said the alpha would make life hard for my family.”

Danny already had it hard enough. He was parenting his young siblings and doing a damn fine job of it.

“You should have come to me or Cass. We could have helped you.” Iven met Cass’s gaze. They had an entire conversation without speaking a word. They were going to help Danny get out of trouble instead of arresting him as an accessory to murder and kidnapping.

“Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to go into the break room and calm yourself. Then you’re going to write the fucking report. Mark it for the date Mrs. Barr called,” Iven whispered, as if someone could hear them. There were only the three of them, and there weren’t cameras inside the station, except for the holding cells.

Danny sucked in a breath. His eyes widened as he met Iven’s gaze. “Seriously?”

“Yes. But let me make one thing clear. In this station, we aren’t partial to a group of people. We don’t give favors, and we don’t let anyone threaten us without arresting them afterward. And above all, we stick together. Got it?”

“Yes, sir. And I’m sorry I didn’t come to you. If it ever happens again, I’ll know what to do.”

Iven nodded. “Your brother and sister are in school, right?”

Danny nodded.

“They’re safe enough there for now, but you can’t stay alone out where you live. It’s too far from town.” Iven met Cass’s gaze as if searching for a solution to the problem. “Stay at the inn. Zinnie will watch over you and the kids in the evening. During the day, my boys are there for extra protection.”

“Move the kids?” He seemed as if the thought was painful.

“You’re too vulnerable out in the country. Zinnie is right in town. Cass is next door, and I’m just a few miles down the road. And the inn has plenty of room. Plus, Riley makes a pretty good muffin. He’ll fatten you and the kids up. And he already has excellent control of his magic, so he can protect you almost as well as Griffin.” Iven’s pitch was pretty good.

“I did something terrible and you’re offering me muffins?”

Cass chuckled. “When you put it like that, it sounds as though we’re irresponsible.”

“At the very least. We’re definitely obstructing justice.” Iven stood, cursing his knees as he did so. “The alpha had Krieger threaten you. I believe that. So basically, we’re saving you from having to fight a charge you don’t really deserve.”

“So, we’re just cutting out having to go to court.” For the first time, Danny smiled.

“Sure, let’s say that’s true.” Iven pointed to the computer. “I want the report on my desk by the end of the day, Danny.”

Cass stood and then offered Danny a hand. “You’ll be okay, kid.”

Cass followed Iven. “So, the magic lesson went okay, then?”

“Better than okay. Riley’s a fast learner.” Iven turned and smirked. “Why do you ask?”

Cass shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole thing. Inside, he was dying to know even the smallest nugget of information about Riley. “Just wondered, is all.”

Cass got to work on the next lead.