Chapter Eleven
Toby wasn’t the meek and mild person Griffin took him for.
That much was apparent. And Griffin didn’t know how to navigate having a mate.
Not to mention one who was as protective as Toby.
He never expected to find a mate. But he always imagined being the protective one. Not being on the receiving end.
He had protective parents. It came with the territory with a sheriff for a dad.
His mother wasn’t a meek and mild person either.
Hell, in some ways, his mother was even more protective.
She was always giving him herbal remedies and making sure he took care of himself.
She had also held a gun on someone she thought was threatening Griffin.
It had been a false alarm, but none of his friends played rough with him after that day.
But a mate? He was a fish out of water when it came to Toby.
“Is there a bathroom I can use?” Toby held the sweatpants to his chest.
Griffin pointed toward a hallway. “On the left there.”
Toby smiled and headed that way. He stopped after a few steps and then turned, making a beeline for the front door. Griffin took a step towards him. He sucked in a breath, thinking he was going out there, but then Toby just flipped the lock. Griffin sighed in relief.
Toby met his gaze. “Don’t leave.”
Griffin shook his head and smiled. The protectiveness was growing on him, but only because Toby was on the smaller side compared to Griffin. Griffin remembered how small but solid he felt when he held him.
His fierce concern for Griffin’s safety said a lot about the kind of wolf shifter he was.
Someone so protective, even when it wasn’t warranted, meant Toby was an alpha.
He had a third form, and he had magic. Yeah, Griffin could see why he might draw attention to the packs in the area.
That it took so long for any of the packs to notice Toby’s presence spoke of his ability to remain under the radar.
Griffin had a few questions for Toby, and he would ask them just as soon as he got out of the bathroom.
Griffin stared at the roof Toby had pointed to earlier. That Dad checked it out without question meant his dad knew something that Griffin didn’t. Was it about Toby, or did Dad know something about the envelope? Or was it another case that was connected?
Dad didn’t question Toby very much either, and he usually would have. Griffin had seen his dad work a case more than once. Iven Palmer questioned everything. Except this time, he kept it to a minimum.
A shot rang out. It sounded close. Like on that roof, Dad and Cass had climbed up to. Did that mean there was someone on the roof after all? Was Toby right?
Griffin moved away from the window, flicking the lights off as he made his way behind the counter.
Toby ran from down the hall. He stopped at the entrance and searched the room. When his gaze landed on Griffin, he sighed in relief and then closed the distance between them.
Griffin was a little surprised when his arms came around him for a hug. He hesitated to return it for a fraction of a second and then held Toby against him. Toby felt right in his arms. Perfect. Like a mate should. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”
Toby sighed. “I have a bully. Julia’s attacker, actually.”
Griffin frowned. Something about that answer didn’t add up. “Keep going.”
“That’s it.” So Toby was keeping it simple. That was a mistake.
Griffin let him go, and when Toby tried to pull him back into a hug, Griffin kept him at a distance with a hand on his shoulder. He shook his head. “If you don’t trust me enough to tell me all of it, then I don’t know what we’re doing here.”
Toby should know, given that they were mates, that Griffin would never hurt him. In fact, he wouldn’t let the people who hurt Julia continue their tirade with Toby.
Toby sighed. “That’s all you need to know for now. Your involvement in this is already more than it should be.”
Griffin sighed. “I’m going to find out, Toby. With or without you.”
“Don’t go digging into this.” Toby began pacing as if there hadn’t been shots fired a few minutes ago. “I don’t have all the answers.”
“No, but you have plenty of secrets.” A few too many for Griffin’s liking, if he were being honest. But he couldn’t exactly make Toby tell him anything. So Griffin would have to find out for himself.
Toby was right about Griffin’s getting dragged into the middle. It put Griffin in danger. But he would not cower in a corner. Griffin had never been that kind of guy. He wouldn’t let Toby deal with any of it on his own. Even though Toby didn’t trust him.
Griffin saw movement outside the window. Then he recognized his dad’s gait heading straight for the bakery.
Griffin made his way toward the front door, but Toby stood in his way.
Griffin rolled his eyes. So maybe Toby’s protectiveness was a little more annoying than it had been. “It’s my dad.”
Toby stepped aside and let Griffin pass. “Be careful.”
“Right.” Griffin shook his head.
Griffin unlocked the door just as Dad got to it.
Dad didn’t waste time but got straight to it. “We found Frank Daniels on the roof. Cass is taking him to lockup because he’s technically trespassing, and he shot at Cass. He has a lot of charges against him, but he isn’t likely to be in lockup for long. A few months, most likely.”
“Frank Daniels. Really?” What was he doing on the roof of the gift shop? “Was he doing drugs up there? Did he say whether he dropped the letter on the sidewalk?”
Griffin had a thousand more questions for Frank.
“He’s not talking, but we’ll question him and see what he says.”
“Who’s Frank Daniels?” Toby came to stand beside him.
“He’s a member of the local pack. And a known drug addict,” Griffin answered.
“So this isn’t about pack rivalry?” Toby clearly knew more about the pack dynamics in Forbidden Falls than Griffin had thought.
“Maybe.” Dad shrugged. “I don’t know. Like I said, we’ll question him.”
So they didn’t know what Frank was up to or if he had anything to do with the attackers from the park.
“Can I listen in when you question him?” Griffin asked, knowing his dad would agree, since Griffin had been deputized.
Iven nodded. “That’s not a problem.”
“Can I?” Toby asked and bit his lip.
Dad shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Griffin’s deputized.”
“I’ll fill you in.” Griffin would watch Toby’s reaction when he did, too.