Chapter Four #3
“I don’t know,” Jacob stuttered. He got more nervous every time Merrick talked to him.
“We need names, Jacob. I imagine that any other supporter of Martin would want their rival out of the way. We need the names of every single one of those who are still alive. What kind of person was Brian? I can take a guess, but I want confirmation.”
“Well, he supported Martin,” Jacob said.
“Which means he was an asshole.”
Merrick was saying what everyone thought.
Brian being one of Martin’s supporters meant that he’d made plenty of enemies within the clan.
They all knew what Martin had done to his people.
He’d forced them to fight for him, to create drugs and sell them, and to hurt people.
He’d taken their family members as hostages.
Rex wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’d killed some of them.
He’d ruled his clan with fear, and it had worked.
But he was dead. That was why the next leader would be so important. With Martin gone, the clan could finally have a peaceful life. Rex didn’t really care about any of the dragons who still lived here, but he didn’t want the clan to be an enemy. That was why they needed someone decent as a leader.
He wasn’t sure Jacob fit the bill.
That was a problem. They needed someone to be in control of the clan if things here went south.
They knew that none of them had killed Brian, but Rex was pretty sure that most clan members would be eager to point a finger at them anyway.
Jacob’s earlier outburst hadn’t helped. He might not be the official leader, but people looked up to him.
If he said that the vampires had killed Brian, there was a good chance he’d get support if he decided to kick them out, or worse.
They really needed to solve this murder as soon as possible.
“I can give you a list of names of Martin’s supporters,” Jacob offered.
“We can start with that,” Merrick confirmed. “We also need the names of all the people Brian’s hurt.”
“Who said he hurt people?”
Merrick arched a brow. “He was one of Martin’s supporters, and he wanted Lou’s job. That means that he had to get his hands at least a little bit dirty. He’d have wanted to show Martin that he could do the job.”
Jacob’s throat made a clicking sound when he swallowed. Rex was surprised he was still there. He supposed that Jacob felt he didn’t have a choice, which was good because he didn’t.
Someone found a notepad and pen somewhere and handed them to Jacob. He stared at the blank page for a few moments as if trying to gather his thoughts. His fingers shook slightly when he picked up the pen, but he didn’t hesitate to start writing.
Rex leaned back in his chair and bumped his shoulder against Harmon’s. He hated the way their night had begun. He’d thought they’d have a little time to talk in bed, maybe make out for a while. It was still early in the evening, at least for them. The dragons would be going to bed soon, though.
That was one thing that further complicated their situation. They needed to talk to people, but these people were sleeping when they were awake. They’d have to be careful to go to bed as late as they could and get up as early as possible. Maybe they could take naps.
Rex almost snorted. Merrick, taking naps? That wasn’t a thing.
Jacob wrote for a while. He was fidgeting with the edge of the paper, still visibly nervous. When he finally put down his pen, he tapped his fingertips on the table. “This is everyone I’ve been able to think about. I’m sure there are more people, but I really need some sleep.”
Rex and Harmon exchanged a glance. Rex was sure that Harmon was thinking the same thing he was. It would be useless to keep Jacob on his feet in the middle of the night, and sending him to bed would give them a little time to regroup and decide what to do next.
“You should go to bed,” Rex said.
Merrick made a sound, but Rex didn’t look at him. He already knew that Merrick wouldn’t approve. He wanted this mess to be resolved as quickly as possible, and something told Rex that he’d be willing to keep the clan awake for days if it meant he could go home to Alpin.
“We’ll get a few more hours of sleep, too,” Rex continued. “You’ll have to get up early, though.”
Jacob didn’t look happy, but he nodded. “What time do you want to see me?”
“How about four? That should give you enough time to sleep.”
“I’ll be here.”
Because he knew that if he wasn’t, Merrick would find him and drag him there. It was good that Merrick had come. He was putting the fear of God in people who would otherwise start trouble.
Thankfully, Merrick waited until Jacob had left to turn to Rex. “What were you thinking? Why did you send him to bed?”
“Because I think that all of us can use a little more sleep since we got here late this morning, and even more important, some time to regroup. Now, we can talk without him being here with us and hearing what we have to say.”
“I don’t care if he hears me call him an asshole,” Merrick grumbled.
“That’s not what I was thinking of.” Rex reached for the list and dragged it closer.
“Arlen, Merrick, since you used to live here, you should go over this. We need to find the killer before the dragons decide to accuse one of us and take matters into their own hands.” Because if they did, it wouldn’t be pretty.
* * * *
HARMON WAS TIRED, BUT he understood why Merrick hadn’t been happy when Rex had sent Jacob to bed. He also wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. It might mean he had to go back home to the coven, but he didn’t like being in enemy territory.
Because that was where they were. They might be sleeping in a comfortable bed, but the clan didn’t want them there any more than they wanted to be there.
They were there for one thing—talk to people, agree on who should be the next leader, and hope the dragons would go along with the suggestion.
Instead, they had a dead body on their hands, and none of them were detectives.
Watching a crime TV show half a dozen times didn’t count.
Rex looked over the list and grimaced. “There are way too many names on this.”
“Do you think Jacob did it on purpose?” Harmon asked as he leaned closer to look.
Rex wasn’t wrong. There had to be at least twenty names, and since they’d have to talk to all of these people, it meant it would take them ages. Harmon wasn’t looking forward to it. He didn’t think anyone around the table was.
“I think that since Brian was one of Martin’s supporters, it makes sense that people hated him. I’m not sure where we should start, though.”
Harmon got to his feet. “By going back to bed.” He looked at Merrick, who was clearly about to argue.
“We haven’t slept much, and the dragons are sleeping, anyway.
There’s nothing we can do for now. You’re welcome to take this list and go over it, though.
You and Arlen can do more than the rest of us can since we don’t know these people. ”
“We could knock on their doors and wake them up,” Merrick argued.
“If that’s what you want to do, be my guest, but I doubt you’ll get many answers out of them if they’re angry and scared because you woke them up. I think the best thing we can do is get more rest and gather here again at four when Jacob’s supposed to get up.”
“Maybe we can also send the list back to the pack,” Rex said, still staring at the piece of paper. “Someone could look into the names and help give us an idea of what we’re dealing with.”
“That’s a good idea,” Harmon confirmed. Between the wolves and the vampires who lived with them, there was bound to be someone awake and willing to do it.
Rex took a picture of the list before pushing it toward Arlen, who took it and folded it.
“I’m going to call Alpin,” Merrick grumbled as he got to his feet and turned to leave. He didn’t say goodbye, but Harmon hadn’t expected him to. Merrick was annoyed and had zero patience. It was a miracle that he’d agreed to let this go and wait.
“I’ll call Kieran to let him know what happened and ask him to see if someone can look into this,” Rex said, looking around the table.
Everyone nodded, including Harmon. They had a plan, which was a relief, but it still didn’t feel like enough. Unfortunately, there was nothing else they could do right now since everyone but them was asleep or on their way to be.
They walked back to their rooms as a group. Merrick was ahead of them, texting someone—probably Alpin—and he didn’t say goodbye when he walked into his room and slammed the door shut. Arlen shook his head, a smile playing on his lips before he pulled Mallory into their bedroom.
That left Rex and Harmon. They glanced at each other, and Harmon smiled. This might not have been the perfect evening, but he’d woken up in the same bed as Rex, and that meant something.
“This isn’t how I thought this night would go,” Rex grumbled as he closed the door behind them.
“I’m sure Brian felt the same way.”
Rex shook his head. “I don’t know how you can find humor in this situation.” He was smiling, though, so Harmon didn’t take it badly.
“I’m not wrong, though.”
“You definitely aren’t. Are you going to call Brad?”
Harmon grimaced. “Do I have to?”
“I have to call Kieran anyway. We can try to keep the conversations as short as possible.”
That was fine with Harmon. He wanted nothing more than to get back into bed with Rex and revisit what they’d done earlier.
They still hadn’t talked about what it meant, but Harmon was convinced there was something there.
He doubted that they’d have the opportunity to explore it anytime soon.
They couldn’t afford to be distracted, and Rex was a spectacular distraction.
Harmon swallowed. They both had work to do.
The phone call with Brad was as painful as Harmon had expected it to be.
Brad was trying, but Harmon had been away for a while, and the coven was starting to feel it.
It made Harmon feel guilty, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Until the murder was solved, he doubted the dragons would allow anyone to leave, not even if he explained that his coven needed him.
Rex was still on the phone by the time Harmon was done, so Harmon went to wash up before sliding back into bed. He would normally be wide-awake at this time of night, but he’d gone to bed late, and after everything that had happened, he could already feel his eyelids grow heavy.
Falling asleep in a place full of people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if they had the chance made him nervous, but what choice did he have?
At least he knew he could count on Rex to protect him.
He hadn’t missed the way Rex had jumped out of bed at the first scream and placed himself between the bed and the door.
He’d been ready to protect Harmon, just like Harmon had been ready to protect him. Rex had been hot doing it, too.
To his own surprise, Harmon was still awake when Rex finally hung up. He didn’t look away when Rex shed his clothes, even though it left him completely naked. Harmon was naked under the blankets, too. After what they’d done earlier, he didn’t see a reason to wear pajamas.
“You know, when we got here, I didn’t think the situation could get any more complicated,” Rex said.
“Clearly, you were wrong.”
“I just want to go home.”
Those words caught Harmon’s attention. “To the pack?”
“Anywhere but here.” Rex hesitated. “I haven’t really thought about it yet.”
“Well, you’ve been preoccupied.”
Rex rolled closer and hooked his arm around Harmon’s stomach. “I have been.” He kissed Harmon’s chest.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Maybe not, but it’s true. I have been otherwise occupied.” He paused and seemed to ready himself to say something. Harmon wasn’t sure he would like what that something was, considering Rex’s expression.
“But I think that what happened between us changes things,” Rex eventually murmured.
Harmon swallowed. He could deal with whatever came out of this. “In what ways?”
“Well, you don’t live with the pack, so if we want to continue this, we’ll have to find a solution.”
“We could do long distance. It’s not that far.
” Harmon didn’t actually want to do that, but he’d take whatever Rex was willing to give him.
It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of connection with anyone, and he wasn’t willing to waste it.
He didn’t know where things would go between him and Rex, but he wanted to find out.
That meant giving them a chance, and that would be hard if they didn’t live close to each other.
“I don’t know if I can stand spending even one night away from you now that I know what you feel like asleep in my arms,” Rex said.
Harmon blinked. “I hadn’t realized you were so romantic.”
“That wasn’t me being romantic. It was me being clingy and truthful.”
“Well, I like you being clingy. I don’t actually want us to be long distance, but I’ll take it if it’s the only way I can have you.”
Rex grinned. “Good to see I’m not the only clingy one in this relationship.”
Harmon’s mouth went dry. “Is that what we have? A relationship?”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I think that’s where things are going. It’s what I want, anyway.”
“It’s what I want, too.”
Rex nodded as if he’d expected it. Maybe he had. Harmon hadn’t made a mystery of how he felt about him. “So we have to find a solution.”
“We do, but I think it can wait for a bit.” He didn’t think either of them wanted to rush into things and possibly regret it later.
Their relationship was new, and they were in enemy territory.
They had other things to focus on, no matter how much Harmon wished he could stay in bed with Rex for the next week and talk about their feelings and their future.
Rex kissed the tip of Harmon’s nose. “Get some more sleep,” Rex murmured as he snuggled close. “Unfortunately, all of our problems will still be here when we wake up.”
Harmon chuckled and closed his eyes. Rex was right. Harmon couldn’t say he was looking forward to dealing with this mess, but at least he wouldn’t have to do it alone.
If he had anything to say about it, he’d never have to deal with any kind of mess alone again.