Chapter 22 #2
He sorted through the files again and pulled out another rap sheet and pointed to the mugshot.
“That’s the friend who made the report. A few months later, he was reported missing.
I took that report myself, and I immediately recognized him.
I went to Cap with the new missing person’s report, not mentioning the previous, but I told him I thought there was something there and I wanted to investigate a little. ”
Randall winced. “I was told to drop it. Cap took my report, tore it up, and tossed it himself.” He pointed at another sheet. “Fortunately, it was just a copy.”
“How have you gotten all this, without anyone noticing?” Dash asked, looking at the pages and pages around the table.
“The Records Department has been short-staffed since I arrived, so I started cozying up to the guys working there. When one mentioned they rarely got to take breaks, I offered to cover for them when I was in the precinct. They happily agreed. I’m left alone in there, so I can pull the reports and snap photos without anyone noticing.
I’ve pulled every raid record from the past year and photographed every arrest report in the files. ”
“And then what? How’d you determine who was missing?” Emerson asked.
“I went in search of every man there was an arrest report for. I’ve found one from nearly every raid who hasn’t been seen since those reports were written.”
“They never faced a judge?” Emerson asked. “I thought the penalty for being caught was prison?”
“There are too many of them for the courts to handle. Most are let go with a warning the first time they’re caught,” Randall said. “Those actually released, that is.”
“I’d not heard that before,” Emerson murmured. “But I’m sure those arrested are too afraid to come back to play at the club and tell their tale.”
“You said ‘those actually released’,” Dash said. “Are you suggesting the Guard is behind this?”
“If they’re not the ones doing it, someone in that precinct is helping whoever is,” Randall said. “I’d lay odds.”
“What about the alpha who died? I haven’t heard that they made the man’s name public or shared any more details.” Dash said.
“The name has yet to be released, but the investigation has already been closed,” Randall said, his face showing obvious disgust.
“What? Why?” Dash asked.
“The coroner ruled it a heart attack. They’re supposedly still trying to find next of kin to share the news with—and then it’ll be over,” Randall said.
“They’re hoping to wait out public interest, and it’ll fade away, name never revealed,” Dash said.
“Possibly. I guess we’ll see,” Randall murmured.
“A guy who might be alpha-attracted and possibly at the Lucky Dragon on the night it was raided just drops dead of a heart attack? I saw those gung-ho Guards you stopped. They were itching for a fight.”
“Perhaps he wasn’t in great shape prior to the raid. Add in the panic and an adrenaline-fueled race for his life, it may have caused a heart attack,” Randall said.
But there was something on his face that made Dash doubt he believed that.
“You’re not buying it,” Dash said to Randall.
“I don’t know,” Randal said, shaking his head. “There’s never been a body found after a raid and for all we know, it could be someone who wasn’t even in the club that night. There are a lot of homeless men living in that area and drug use is rampant down there. I…”
When Randall didn’t continue, Dash prodded. “You what?”
“I haven’t been able to get my hands on the coroner’s report, but I did get a peek at the body when I went to the scene,” Randall said, eyeing Emerson with a hard stare.
“And?” Dash asked.
Randall turned his attention to Dash. “There were too many bruises for me to trust the coroner’s findings without question.
But I’m also no doctor. Could it have been lividity?
Perhaps. It can occur within thirty minutes, but with the amount of bruising I saw, it should’ve taken eight to twelve hours to reach that level.
The time of death was calculated to be within an hour of the body being found. It just doesn’t add up to me.”
“You think he was beaten?” Emerson asked.
“I’m not ruling it out. But like I said, I don’t know if this is tied in—or just some random alpha who got his ass beat at the wrong place and time.”
Emerson lifted a couple of the rap sheets and looked at the mugshots again before lowering them and eyeing his brother. “You’re going above and beyond for men your crew considers unworthy. Aren’t you afraid of the backlash that might come if they find out?”
“Of course I’m afraid of being caught,” Randall snapped.
“So why go to the lengths you’ve gone to?” Emerson asked.
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” Randall answered. “These men don’t deserve to be ignored just because of… who they are. They’re still citizens of the province I’ve sworn to protect.”
Dash fought a prickle at the backs of his eyes. He glanced at Emerson and noticed a shine in his eyes, too.
“I thought you didn’t accept men like this,” Emerson said. “There have been a lot of mixed messages coming from you.”
“I don’t care if you’re with Dash,” Randall said. He shook his head. “Actually, I do care.”
Dash stiffened.
“I’ve seen how dangerous it can be for an alpha like you,” Randall said. “And I don’t want to find my big brother dead or add his name to my file of those missing.”
Emerson and Randall stared at one another.
“All those alphas you spoke of—the ones with no family? Most had families once. Families who probably loved them. Yet after they were outed, they were cast out. Backs were turned. Jobs and careers lost. They ended up alone, many selling their bodies to get enough food or a bed for a night—or one more hit so they could forget all they’d lost.”
Randall held Emerson’s gaze, quiet.
“I’ve spent my entire adult life terrified I’d end up like them. It was safer to hide who I was and not lose all of you in the process.”
“But you did lose us—to an extent,” Randall said.
“You’re rarely around and even when you do show up, you’re barely there.
You come late and leave early. You’ve missed more than you’ve been at.
Trust me, I’m not the only one who’s noticed, either.
” Randall shook his head. “And then to find out it’s all been done on purpose?
Because you didn’t trust any of us. You’re damned right I’m angry. ”
Brother or not, Randall needed to watch his tone.
“You wouldn’t see him at all if he landed in prison for gross indecency,” Dash snapped, irritated.
Randall’s angry gaze flew to his. But it quickly softened, the furrow at his brow smoothing.
“At least this province doesn’t have the death penalty for being alpha-attracted like some of the others do,” Dash added.
Randall leaned back in the booth, his gaze falling to the top of the table.
“I don’t spend as much time with my family as I’d like, either,” Dash said, his voice low to hide the shakiness in his throat.
“They think I’m a workaholic and, well, they’re not exactly wrong.
I am. But work is my cover. I use it to put walls between me and them.
” Dash took a ragged, shaky breath. He wasn’t accustomed to sharing intimate details about himself or his family, especially not to a man who was a stranger.
But if it helped Randall understand what Emerson had done, so be it.
“I spend as little time with them as I can in fear they’ll see something I don’t want them to see.
” He slipped his hand into Emerson’s under the table and eyed the man for a few seconds before turning back to Randall.
“It’s not some excuse. It’s a shield we put up to protect ourselves. ”
“Which means there was a total lack of trust he had in us.” Randall scowled before he moved his gaze to Emerson. “What have I ever said or done to make you think I’d turn my back on you?”
“Fear of rejection is a powerful thing and not always logical,” Dash told Randall. “It’s not a personal attack.”
“How many years did I lose because he didn’t feel safe with me?” Randall asked. Tears shone in his eyes as he turned his focus on Emerson.
“It wasn’t you, Rand,” Emerson said. “I didn’t trust anyone.”
“You felt safe with him,” Randall said, pointing at Dash. “He’s not even family yet he seems to know you better than I do.”
“He is family,” Emerson said. “He’s my mate.”
The second Emerson said that, Dash felt the rightness of it soul deep. Emerson’s gaze drifted to his, the hand on his tightening.
“Your mate? But he’s an alpha,” Randall said, frowning.
Dash noted Randall’s confusion. He felt it, too. How could they be mates? It made no sense.
He glanced back at Emerson, who stared at him with an intensity that left him breathless. It made no sense, yet it also made all the sense in the world.
Emerson’s gaze whipped back to Randall’s. “I told you we shared something I didn’t understand. Even though it’s impossible, it’s the only thing that makes sense.” He turned back to Dash. “You feel it… don’t you?”
“I don’t know,” Dash whispered, scared to admit it. “Maybe.”
Emerson nodded, offering a small smile. “More than maybe.”
Dash stared at Emerson, a denial rising to his lips. He couldn’t speak it. Even if they were mates, what did that change? They couldn’t be together in the real world.
Emerson leaned closer and pressed a gentle kiss to Dash’s lips.
Dash sighed, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against Emerson’s.
Never before had he felt such peace—even as a war waged within him.
It was as if all the stars and planets had aligned in that moment.
There was suddenly no doubt. This was his alpha.
The man he was meant to be with. The man he’d been fated to love.
He leaned back enough to hold Emerson’s stare.
“I didn’t think you believed in all that fated mates bullshit?” Dash asked, fighting a smile.
“I’m big enough of an alpha to admit when I’m wrong,” Emerson said, grinning. “And I’ve never felt such great pleasure in being wrong.”