Chapter Twenty-Six
George
The forest had been George’s place of refuge from the first week he’d moved into town. Already tired from always looking over his shoulder, and still reeling from the last Cuthbert incident, when he’d bumped into Dougal that first time, while in his bear form, he felt accepted—as if he could truly be who he was in every way. That acceptance went a long way toward keeping George in town, even before he knew about Scott, even when he started to notice little things that indicated his father was getting close again.
So, when Scott translocated them to the clearing where he’d spent many a night drinking and chatting with the forest dwellers, George had no reason to feel uncomfortable or unsettled in any way. He found a log to sit on, encouraging Scott to sit on his lap. “So, your butt doesn’t get grubby,” he whispered when Scott seemed unsure, then nodded at the other people in the clearing.
Dakata was there with Silas on his lap. Merihem had his mate Peni on his lap, too. And Dougal, who never had anyone sitting on his lap but who waved his mug of cider in greeting. “I’m just here for moral support and to make sure your ugly mug was still intact,” he said with a grin.
Dougal was good like that. “How’s Wanda doing?” George asked, purely because he realized, seeing the gathering, that he hadn’t seen her since she’d gone through her own trauma.
A strange look flashed over Dougal’s face, but it was gone before George recognized what it was. “She’s doing fine. She’s got plenty of support around her… so yeah. Suffice to say, she’s okay.”
“I’m glad.” George nodded. “Let me know if she needs anything from town.” He looked around the gathering. “What’s up?”
“You wanted to see us?” Scott had enough apprehension for both of them. “Am I going to lose my job?”
Really? Scott’s worried about that?
But Dakata was shaking his head already. “That business would fall to pieces without you, and don’t take that as a compliment, because it’s a damn fact. So, you ran off to save your blissful one? It’s done. Over. No one will discuss it again after this meeting, if that’s your wish.”
“I told you to take time off,” Merihem added, “because you and your blissful one have gone through a very stressful time, and our blissful ones—Silas and Peni—have both said you need to spend time together to connect and feel…” he looked down at Peni who was grinning. “What’s the word again?”
“You did fine with mentioning the connection aspects. Shifters who go through difficult times, and demons, too, need to spend time reconnecting. We’ve been through that ourselves, so you know what I mean.” Peni was stroking Merihem’s chest, and George would swear that the demon was purring, but what would he know?
“Right, so no more talk about being fired or leaving your job or stuff like that, Scott,” Dakata said abruptly. “No, we have to talk about Cuthbert and Miller. Cuthbert is no more. Is that going to be a problem?”
George realized Dakata was talking to him directly. “I can’t think why it would be. I’m sure Scott will be happier knowing I’m not under threat of being abducted again. I don’t need to know what happened to him, just that he can’t come back.”
“He can’t.” Merihem looked grim. “But there is the little matter of the fact Cuthbert was running a clan, most of whom are related to you, and who see you as the heir of his estate and fortune, which is considerable even in demon terms. You are, or were, his only son.”
“No, I’m not—his heir, I mean,” George said quickly as Scott stiffened in his arms. “I went through a lawyer years ago, giving up my right to any of my father’s businesses or estate. I thought it would get him to leave me alone. Besides,” he added with a quick grin at his mate. “I wasn’t always a taxi driver, and I do have enough investments of my own to keep my mate in chocolates and fluffy rugs if he ever wants to give up work.”
“As if!” Dakata and Merihem roared with laughter.
George felt Scott’s discomfort, only before he could say anything, both demons received slaps on their arms.
“You’re not being nice,” Silas glared at Dakata.
“And you’ll be in big doo-doo if Scott decides to become a man of leisure,” Peni added staunchly to Merihem. “Don’t make fun of his hard work when it allows you to sit on your butts all day.”
“Yeah. What he said.” Dougal raised his mug. “No teasing the pretty blue demon. You’re far nicer to look at in your demon form than the other two, Scott, so just ignore them.”
“Thank you.” Scott ducked his head. “Speaking of work, what’s all this about Miller? Did he explain why he took me to the wrong place in the forest and just left me there?”
“Miller is a lying piece of shit!” Dakata shook his head in disgust. “He’s worked for me for fucking years, and he threw it all away because of that Cuthbert idiot.”
“What do you mean?” George tightened his hold on Scott as his mate looked at him in alarm. “There’s no way Cuthbert would’ve connected Scott to me. We’ve not known each other that long.”
“That might have been partially my fault,” Merihem said. “I sent Scott to check up on you when you were in the hospital, remember?”
“That’s when we met.” Scott had such a pretty blush.
“Miller was driving you, and…” Merihem broke off.
George wasn’t sure what he was going on about, but Scott’s blush deepened.
“I demoned out,” Scott whispered. “When I couldn’t find you in the hospital, my demon was upset. Miller saw that.”
“I’m still not seeing the connection between your driver and my father,” George said, quietly pleased his mate had such a powerful reaction at the hospital. “It’s not like the driver could know Scott and I were fated.”
“No, but Miller was already working for your father,” Dakata said grimly. “Cuthbert knew, don’t ask me how because it’s not like we can question him now, but he knew you came to the forest a lot, George. The only other car that came here was mine—”
“But that’s not right,” Silas interrupted. “We continued using George to transport us after you and I met because we didn’t want anyone in your office to know where my tree was. Merihem and Peni used to call George too until the accident.”
“And that accident had nothing to do with George’s father,” Peni added. “That was all that horrible demon with his maniacal laugh. I know he’s not laughing now.”
“Cuthbert had a finger in a lot of pies,” Dakata said. “While the car accident was the fault of a different demon, the events afterward had Cuthbert’s sticky fingers all over it, from insisting you got taken to the hospital, through to contacting Miller to monitor what happened from our company’s side of things. I don’t think he knew about the mate bond, but he knew there was something connecting my staff, the forest, and you.”
“From what we heard in the lab—which made a lovely bonfire, thank you for asking—before the fire, we found out that George’s DNA was meant to be collected at the hospital.” Merihem wrinkled his nose. “You were right about that, George. It was perfect timing, as far as Cuthbert was concerned. You had a head injury, and then you got drugged by some idiot who didn’t know better. That freaky potion would work on unconscious subjects. The hospital was desperately busy at the time, and by the time the lab got word that George was in the hospital, you’d already left.”
“There’s still some gaps in the story,” Dakata admitted. “Cuthbert has been working behind the scenes in this town for years, by the looks of things. To know my fucking driver could be paid off so easily… it’s not like I didn’t pay him well because I did.”
“Cuthbert had a way of making people feel special or valued,” George said, still trying to get all the pieces in his head to fit. Then he realized what he’d said, and he looked up. “Not that you didn’t,” he added quickly. “It’s just—”
“No. I know.” Dakata still had a disgruntled look on his face. “Except, now I have to get a new driver…”
“George,” Scott said suddenly.
“Yes, babe?”
“No, no, Dakata. George. Why not use George as your company driver?”
“Wait. What?” Did Scott just volunteer me for a job?
“The job pays really well, and you know about the forest and how to keep Silas’s tree a secret because you do it already.” Scott was speaking in a rush, as if he was worried the older demons would shut him down. “You’d get to spend time in the office with me, and while yes, you’ll have to ferry the other demons around sometimes, they have their own drivers, or they translocate, so it would mostly be Merihem and me. The company car has heated seats and sat-nav and all that other technical stuff…” he trailed off, looking between George and Dakata. “I think it would be a good idea.”
George couldn’t stand seeing Scott look so indecisive. “Tell me where to send my resume,” he said with an easy grin and a wink at his mate. “You can set me up with a comfortable chair in your office while I’m waiting for work.”
“I haven’t got the time to read your resume.” Dakata snorted. “You’re hired. You start next Monday when Scott goes back to work. Scott can draw up your contract and let you know about the pay and benefits. Agreed?”
“Would you be happy with this?” George kept his voice low, needing to know despite Scott being the one to suggest it. Sure, the others could probably hear him, but in that moment, he was focused on Scott alone.
Scott was biting his bottom lip as he nodded. “I’ll live in your house, and you’ll work at my work. We can be together. I think that would be… helpful.”
Looking over Scott’s head, George grinned at Dakata. “You’ve got yourself a driver. Just don’t expect me to wear a suit to work. Now, if you don’t mind, Scott and I need to discuss a few things between ourselves, so if there’s nothing else?”
He was still grinning when Scott translocated them back to George’s house. Their house now.