Chapter 19
Major swiped the screen. “Hey, Boss. What do you have?”
“Nothing good. Zane questioned the editor, and the information came from an anonymous source. I put the Trio to work on finding out where the call came from, and it was a burner phone located in Pennsylvania.”
“What part of Pennsylvania?” Tabitha asked.
“Close to the Poconos. Does that mean something to you?”
“Maybe. Trista is there starting on a new movie.”
The sound of typing came through the speaker. “Do you think she hated Craig enough to want him dead?”
“My first instinct is to say no. Besides, how would she know where we are unless she’s working—” Tabitha’s phone rang. “Speak of the devil; she’s calling. Hang on, Mason.” Tabitha answered, “Trista?”
“Sorry to bother you, but something weird is going on.”
“What do you mean?”
“Roman Bane asked why Vanessa and I had parted ways. He said she was on set with Bailey Bradshaw before Bailey had to back out of the project. He asked Vanessa why we were no longer working together, and she became really cagey. So, I called her myself to ask how her sister was. She said she had recovered, then apologized and hung up on me. I had Marilyn do a little digging, and there’s no indication that her sister was in a car wreck.
From her social media posts, the woman was on vacation skiing in Colorado last month. ”
“Did you have any disagreements before she handed you off to Perry?”
“No. Everything was fine. Look, I realize you no longer work for me, but I’d like to hire your company to find out what’s going on. I’ve never heard her sound as shaken as she did.”
“I’m still with my new client, but I’ll reach out to our computer experts and see what they can dig up. I’ll call you back soon, okay?”
“Thanks, Tabitha.”
“Mason, did you hear that?” Tabitha asked.
“I did.”
“We need to get the Trio looking into Perry Collins, the agent who took over for Vanessa. I asked Trista if she had vetted Perry, but she didn’t since Vanessa recommended him, and Major never had the chance to voice him while we were at the rental house.”
“I’ll email them now. Zane should be landing in North Carolina in about an hour. I’ll reach back out after he speaks with Daniel.”
They said their goodbyes, and Major disconnected. When he heard Craig moving around, he pointed that direction. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Craig ambled out of his room with bloodshot eyes and an ashen tint to his skin. “Remind me to never mix liquors again. I dreamed there was a lion after me.”
Major winked at Tabitha, and Tessa cocked a red brow in their direction. When Tabitha shrugged, Tessa laughed at her daughter.
Craig stopped short when he noticed the newcomers. “Uh, who are you?”
Tessa raised her mug. “I’m Tessa, and that’s Gregor. We’re Tabitha’s parents.”
Craig huffed. “Right. Is there any pain medicine in this place? My head is pounding.”
“If there’s not any in the cabinet in your bathroom, there should be some in the first aid kit.” Tabitha left the room, and when she returned, she had a bottle in her hand.
“Thanks.” Craig took the bottle, poured a glass of water, and returned to his room.
“I thought he’d be taller,” Tessa muttered, and Tabitha giggled.
Gregor’s pancakes could win awards in Major’s opinion.
He made Tessa’s with blueberries and Tabby’s with chocolate chips.
Major wasn’t picky, so Gregor set some of both in front of him, and Major doused them with syrup.
Tabitha poured them all a glass of milk to go with their coffee, and they ate two pounds of bacon between them.
It was a good thing they all had shifter metabolism.
After everyone cleaned their plates, Major and Tabitha cleaned the kitchen before joining her parents in the den.
Gregor got the fire going again, and the two couples relaxed with full cups of coffee while chatting.
Tessa was a hoot, and Major understood why his daddo had been enamored with the female before he met Lolly.
From listening to the stories, Anthony took after Tessa with his brazen attitude, and Tabitha was more stoic like Gregor.
Major could imagine the male as the warden at the penitentiary.
“Did Tabitha tell you that Everett took Brad Cambell to the Pen?”
Gregor shifted his arm over Tessa. “No, but Oakley texted me. I might not be warden any longer, but I like to keep a finger on the pulse. I spent so long running the place, it’s hard to let go.
Deacon did a great job when he took over, but he had a human mate and adopted son to look after, so it didn’t surprise me when he turned it over to someone else. ”
Tessa patted Gregor’s leg with her free hand. “It was a different time back then, what with the Unholy running around. It seems as though society has forgotten about the monsters.”
Tabitha curled up closer to Major, resting her mug on her bent leg. “It’s a good thing humans thought the Unholy were super-soldier experiments gone wrong, or you’d have had to form a shifter counsel back then.”
“How’s that going? Isn’t Lydia in charge of finding clan leaders?” Gregor asked.
“Yes. She and Beck traveled to Canada to meet with his father. They were in West Virginia with Bas and Dakota when I visited, but I’m not sure where they’ll look next. I’d say it’s slow going if the other shifters are wise and keep to themselves.” Tabitha took a sip of her coffee.
“Have you two decided where you’re going to live?” Tessa asked, changing the subject.
“We’ll split our time between Georgia and New York.
Mason knows we’re mates, and I don’t see him having an issue giving us assignments in the same state.
If that can’t be helped, we’ll deal with it.
But after this case is over, we are going to ask for some time off so we can take a vacation together,” Tabitha explained and looked up at Major.
“Major and his siblings are planning a birthday party for Natalia, so we’ll be in Vermont for a bit as well. ”
Tessa smiled at her daughter before turning her attention to Major. “Tell me about your siblings. I’m aware of yours and Marshall’s shenanigans when you were younger. What’s he up to now, and what are your sisters like?”
Major bragged on Marshall and the little demons, handing over his phone so Tessa and Gregor could see the photos he’d taken.
Tessa, being a lover of motorcycles, oohed and aahed over the pictures Major had of the paint jobs his twin had done.
Major admired his brother’s talent. He loved how sweet Marshall was and had always been.
Even if they weren’t twins, he would still want to hang out with Marshall.
They were best friends along with Mateo.
All the Hounds’ kids were close, and from hearing the way Tabitha spoke of the Gargoyles, they were as well.
Maybe it was the way they were all raised, having awesome parents.
Hearing Craig speak ill of Daniel didn’t sit well with Major.
Yes, they were royalty, but so was Harlow.
Her dad was King of the Italian Goyles. Rafael had raised a good son in Sebastian who was now King, and Tabitha couldn’t brag on them enough.
When Major joined the Goyles in West Virginia to go against the wolf pack, he enjoyed being around all the Stone Society members who were there to fight alongside Sebastian and Dakota.
Major had never known of any siblings within the Hounds or the Goyles who spoke ill of their siblings or cousins.
He couldn’t imagine not having their backs.
They continued relaxing until Craig made his way out of his room again. When he began opening cabinets and banging around, Tessa whispered, “Does he need help?”
Tabitha groaned and sat up. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Gregor waved his daughter off. “I’ve got this.” He pressed a kiss to Tessa’s hair, then went to the kitchen. “Would you like some breakfast? Or I can fix you some soup and a sandwich if that would be better for your stomach.”
Craig accepted Gregor’s offer for the latter, and Major hugged Tabitha a little tighter, knowing where she got her good heart from. Not that Tessa wasn’t as generous, but the female had more of a fighter spirit. It made him miss Lolly even more.
Major had thought of a present for her birthday, and he took the moment to ask his mate about it. “Tabby, does Connor take commissions?” Tabitha’s cousin was a brilliant doctor but also a world-renowned artist known to those outside his family as Rico Di.
“He does for family. Did you want him to paint something for you?”
Major reopened the photo library on his phone, scrolled until he found the picture he wanted, and showed it to her. “I would love it if he could paint this for Lolly and put his own spin on it.”
“Text that to me, and I’ll ask.”
His parents had dozens of photos all over their home of the four siblings, and Major knew his mom would love a painting of them, especially from someone famous. Marshall was good at painting bikes and airbrushing characters, but something like this was out of his element.
Major’s phone rang right as Tabitha handed it back. “Hey, Mason.”
“The good news is that Daniel had nothing to do with Carmen’s death. According to Zane, the male was distraught at having lost the female and his unborn child, and that’s why he was at the cemetery wasted. I told Zane to bring him to the safehouse, and they should arrive there this afternoon.”
“And the bad news?”
“We still don’t know who killed Carmen.”
Major, playing devil’s advocate, said, “If someone did. Toby and the others are certain it wasn’t suicide, but what if it was? You never know what’s going on inside someone else’s head.”