Chapter 39
Groose stood looking down at Dakota who was staring at a dish of melted ice cream. “Dakota?” Receiving no reply, he slid into the booth, sitting across from a man who was…shit!...crying. “Dakota?” Groose said, softly this time.
Dakota finally raised his tear-filled eyes, and said, “He never ate his Bear Bug Ice Cream. I made him promise not to do it until I got back, and now he never will.”
Fuck! “Oh, yes he will, I promise we’ll find Slate and bring him home where you can have a giant-sized bowl of Bear Bug Ice Cream waiting for him,” Groose said.
“You promise? We’re going to have a pup…my mate and me…a pup…” Dakota’s voice trailed off.
Groose knew he was losing Dakota who was descending into the hell of regret, blame and heartbreak and he had to act fast if he was going to be of any help in finding Slate. “Dakota,” Groose said, sharply, “I need you to tell me what happened so I can find Slate. Dakota!”
Groose’s strident voice finally penetrated his haze of despair, and Dakota realized he had to pull himself together to save his mate.
Putting aside his dark, negative thoughts, he said, “We finished dinner and were waiting for dessert when I went to the restroom. I wasn’t there long but when I came back, Slate was gone.
I figured he went to a different one because he drank a pitcher of ale, but when he didn’t come back, I asked our waiter who said he went to help our driver and then took him to the hospital, but that didn’t happen.
I was trying to decide if I should follow my mate but I didn’t know which hospital…
then Slate’s phone rang. I thought it was my mate so I answered and that’s when I learned he was taken. ”
“Who was on the phone?” asked Groose.
“I don’t know. All he said was if I wanted to see Slate again, I had to show them where Fionn’s hoard was,” Dakota said. “How can I do that when I don’t even know where it is?”
“Did you tell the man that?”
“No, I told them I wouldn’t do anything until I knew my mate was alive. I told them I wanted to talk to him,” Dakota said.
“Good. So did you talk to Slate?”
Shaking his head, Dakota said, “He said he would call me back.”
“So they haven’t called back yet, right?”
“No, when the phone rang again, I thought it was my mate, but it was only Logan,” Dakota said dejectedly.
“Hey…listen to me…they will call back. I want to talk to your waiter. Can you point him out?”
Dakota looked around until he spotted him. “That’s him,” Dakota said, pointing at their waiter.
“Vesper will stay with you while I talk to your waiter, okay?”
Dakota nodded. He didn’t care, all he wanted was to hear Slate’s voice. Picking up his mate’s phone, he held it, willing it to ring.
Groose walked over to the waiter, waiting until he was through with a customer and, after seeing his name tag, said, “Hi, David, do you have a moment to talk?”
“Sure. Are you going to take him home?” David said, pointing to Dakota.
“Yes. Is there someplace we can talk in private?”
Nodding, David said, “Follow me. The break room is empty. It’s the only place I can be alone with you.”
While David led the way, Groose took the opportunity to check out the other customers, assessing if any were acting suspiciously. The Wolf Pack Pub wasn’t known as a place where someone could hire shifters for illegal jobs, but he wasn’t discounting anything.
David opened the door to the break room and once they were inside, locked it. Sitting down in a worn, club chair, he put his feet up on a padded stool that had seen better days. David looked at Groose and said, “Speak. I have five minutes before I’m due back.”
“Tell me what you remember about what happened to my friend…the man who left,” asked Groose.
“Sure, a policeman came in looking for him. The officer said the guy’s…”
“How do you know he was a policeman?” interrupted Groose.
“Because he was wearing a cop uniform,” David said, rolling his eyes.
“Anyway, as I was saying, the officer came in and told me your friend’s driver had been hurt and he needed his help.
I took him over to their booth and left so I don’t know what your friend said to him.
But a short time later when I brought their desserts, your friend was gone, but his phone was on the table so I assumed he’d be back. ”
“You didn’t see my friend leave?”
“No, it was busy tonight so I wasn’t paying much attention except making sure I didn’t fuck up the orders.”
“Do you remember what the officer looked like?”
“I think so. I’m pretty good at remembering names and faces.”
Groose pulled his phone out and scrolled to the pictures of the men who’d attacked Fionn. When he found the three he was looking for, he showed the first one to David. “Did the officer look like this?”
David looked at the man in the picture. “Nope.”
Bringing up the next one, Groose asked, “How about this one?”
Examining the photo carefully, David said, “Uh-uh, not that one.”
Groose then brought the third image up on the screen. “Last one,” he said, as he watched the waiter stare at it.
“Yeah, that’s the policeman who came in looking for your friend.”
“After my friend left, what happened?” asked Groose.
“A few minutes later, the officer came back; said they were taking the driver to the hospital and paid your friend’s check…gave me a really good tip, too. Then, he left.”
“And that’s it?”
“Well, the other dude came back from the men’s room and waited for a while before calling me over and asking about your friend. I told him what happened and then left. Listen, I don’t know why he’s crying but my boss wants him gone. And I’m not making any money with him occupying one of my tables.”
“One other question. Have you ever seen the policeman before?”
There wasn’t any way he was going to tell what he knew about the man, so instead, David said, “He never sat at any of my tables.”
Groose’s eyes narrowed at the waiter’s answer. He was hiding something but whatever it was, it wouldn’t be forthcoming from him tonight. “Thank you, I’m just going to look outside for a minute and then we’ll leave.”
Dropping his feet to the floor with a thud, David unfolded his lanky frame as he stood. “I appreciate that. My boss wanted me to kick him out, but I couldn’t do it, seeing how upset he was.” He then unlocked the door and strode out with Groose trailing him.
Returning to the pub area, Groose told Vesper he was going to check outside, after which they’d leave.
Then he began to sniff, trying to find Slate’s scent and, picking it up, followed it outside where he lost it.
He walked over to a row of cars, sniffing, hoping to find the one Slate and Dakota had been in and, after checking half a dozen cars, finally found the right one.
Checking it out carefully, both inside and out, he found nothing amiss.
A light breeze blew over him as he stood next to the car, causing his wolf’s hackles to rise, warning him of danger nearby.
Casually, Groose continued his stroll, all of his senses on heightened alert as he tried to figure out the source.
He stopped near the front door of the pub.
Seeing no movement on the deserted, silent street…
wait…there...the smell. It grew stronger as he followed it, leading him behind the pub where the scent of blood filled his nose; his wolf was now struggling to get out.
Zeroing in on the source, he walked slowly over to a large trash bin and grabbed the cover, hesitating to lift it, afraid of what he might find.
Finally, he forced himself to lift it. Staring at him with sightless eyes was the driver, his throat ripped out and clothes soaked with blood.
Slamming the cover down, he stepped away, reeling from the smell of blood and death.
When he reached the front door of the pub, he paused, thanking the gods and Fates he didn’t have to tell Dakota his mate was dead—at least not tonight.
Once inside, he found David, gave him his card, and asked him to call if the policeman showed up again. Then, walking over to the booth he said, “Dakota, are you ready to leave? Logan’s waiting for you.”
Raising his eyes and looking at Groose, Dakota said, “Slate hasn’t called yet.”
“He will. C’mon, Dakota, I need some of my equipment to help find Slate and it’s back at the hotel.”
Dakota nodded, then slid out of the booth, tightly holding Slate’s phone—the lifeline to his mate. He was quickly surrounded by enforcers as Groose led the way out of the pub.
~/~/~/~/~
Checking through the peephole to see who was knocking at the door to his suite, Logan opened it for Colton and Ian. “Groose has Dakota and is bringing him back here. He’s not in good shape and I’m worried about the pup he’s carrying.”
“Dakota’s pregnant? Wow!” exclaimed Colton.
“I’m assuming the pup is a Dire Wolf,” Ian said.
“Yes,” said Logan, as he led his brother and Ian to the suite’s living room, “I want him examined to make sure everything is all right with his pregnancy.”
“Logan, what happened?” asked Colton, “All you said was Dakota and Slate were in trouble.”
“I don’t know the whole story yet, but Slate was kidnapped. We don’t know by who or why, but Dakota is close to the breaking point.”
“Babe, I must have my bag, can you go get it?” asked Ian.
Colton jumped up. “I’ll be right back with it. Are you okay?” Colton asked.
“I’m fine, but Dakota needs our help if we’re going to save his pup. Now go,” Ian said.
“I’m off,” Colton said, as he left the room.
“Ian, is there a possibility Dakota could lose the pup?” asked Logan.
“Highly likely, with what has happened,” Ian said, looking around, “is there another bedroom in this suite?”
“Yes, it’s next to ours,” Kieran answered, joining the group. “What can I do to help?”
“I don’t know until I examine him but my guess is he will be physically okay, but mentally?
I expect he’s going through an acute stress reaction, trying to figure out how to survive.
The longer Slate is gone, the harder it will be for Dakota to hold onto whatever hope he has.
That’s where you come in, Kieran. You must make sure he never loses hope or he will lose the pup. ”
“Will do,” Kieran said. “It’ll work best if he stays in the bedroom where it’s quiet.”
“Perfect,” said Ian, “I was going to insist on bed rest.”
Colton came back with Ian’s bag. “Where are you going to examine him?”
“In the second bedroom,” Ian said.
“I’ll show you,” Kieran said, “and after you see it, tell me if you need anything for the examination.”
Logan watched his brother and Kieran leave the room, then asked Ian, “What’s the likelihood of Dakota losing the pup?”
Sighing, Ian ran his hand over his face, hating to answer Logan, but better he knew the odds now than be surprised later. “Even in the best of circumstances, Dakota’s pregnancy has a higher rate of miscarriage than Kieran’s or even mine…”
“Because he’s carrying a Dire Wolf pup, right?” asked Logan.
“Exactly. The only good thing is that Dakota’s pregnancy is in a very early stage.
His pup is the size of a bean, so if he does miscarry, it won’t cause a lot of internal damage.
But, if Slate isn’t found, and Dakota loses his pup, I fear his will to live will be gone, too, and neither I nor Colton will be able to do anything to keep him alive. ”
“You’re counting on Kieran to help Dakota?” Logan asked.
Ian thought for a moment before saying, “Yes, I don’t know exactly what Kieran is, I only know he was able to save Fionn when he had lost all hope.”
Not able to disclose his mate’s ability to Ian, Logan changed the subject. “What about you? Suffering any morning sickness? How’s your pup doing?”
“Pup’s fine. Me? I get tired more often now, but that’s to be expected,” Ian said, rubbing his growing baby belly.
“Glad to hear that,” Logan said, as Kieran and Colton joined them. “The other news I have is Cody and Dylon are on their way and should be here in the morning.”
“They are? How come?” asked Colton.
“Cody had a vision and insisted they had to come immediately,” Logan said, “and before you ask, I don’t know anything more. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“I didn’t know Cody had visions? Is he a seer?” asked Ian.
“Jackson didn’t say anything else and I didn’t have time to ask him,” Logan said. “But if they can help find Slate then I’m all for it.”
Kieran turned to Logan and, tugging at his mate’s hand said, “Babe, can I see you in the bedroom before Dakota arrives?” Looking at Colton and Ian, he added, “It’s a mate thing, okay?”
“Sure go ahead,” Colton said. “I want to talk to Ian anyway.”
Logan shrugged before following his mate into the bedroom. Shutting the door, he asked, “What do you want to tell me?”
Plopping down at the foot of the bed, Kieran fidgeted over his decision to share a secret with his mate, but knew he could withhold it no longer. Plunging into the deep end, he said, “Cody is a seer and the Fates gave him the gift to become invisible.”
Logan gasped as he stared at his mate, “Invisible? Like disappearing so no one can see you?”
“Yes, and Dylon has a gift too.”
“What’s his gift?” Logan asked.
“He’s been given the strength of Hercules.”
“Holy shit!” said Logan, astonished at this revelation. “Did Cody have a vision about you? Is that why he and Dylon went to Tajikistan?”
“Yes, the Fates wanted him to save me.”
“Fuck! Who else knows this?”
“Jackson, Steel and Oracle as far as I know.”
“Not Colton or Carson?”
“No…not unless they learned about it while we were here.”
Logan mulled over what he’d just learned, before saying softly, “Slate’s in terrible danger, isn’t he?”
Tears now falling from his eyes, Kieran nodded. “Slate will die unless we find him quickly.”