Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Ken
Ken didn’t drink any alcohol on the flight and, despite the first-class seat that folded into a bed and the semi-private pod, he didn’t get any sleep, either.
He’d briefly turned on his work phone and used the Wi-Fi to see that Dewi had sent several dozen texts and left eleven voicemail messages, but he didn’t read or listen to any of them.
He couldn’t. Not without hating this whole situation even more, and himself as a by-product.
So he turned it off and hoped he could contact her soon with good news.
Customs felt nerve-wracking, even though he knew he had nothing to worry about. The rental car was another issue, because while he’d watched plenty of BBC America, he’d never driven a vehicle with right-hand drive.
And it was night, the time difference working against him.
And he was exhausted.
Fortunately, his work phone’s GPS worked here. After putting the phone in “do not disturb” mode, he used its sat-nav to steer him in the right direction. He pulled up at Trevor’s gate and hit the intercom button not long before midnight.
But instead of anyone speaking, it simply buzzed, and the gate swung open.
Okay, then.
He followed the drive, eventually pulling up in front of the house, where he parked behind another car he suspected was a rental.
He’d barely stepped out of the car when the front door opened and a very Peyton-sized and -shaped man swooped over and picked him up, spinning him around in a hug.
Ken nearly burst into relieved tears. “Oh, thank fucking christ! It’s really you!”
Despite everything, there was still part of him worried it might be a dream, or a trap, or even an exhaustion-fueled hallucination.
“You’re okay,” Peyton said, holding him, soothing him, and then Ken realized he was crying. He didn’t even care that Peyton witnessed him crying.
Relief, exhaustion—same thing right now.
“I haven’t slept in nearly 48 hours,” Ken said. “I’m about to collapse.”
“You did great, buddy. Let’s get you inside.”
Peyton guided—nearly carried, actually—Ken into the house, where Trevor and a woman Ken assumed was Trevor’s wife greeted him.
At some point, the rental keys were taken from Ken, and he was vaguely aware of being guided to a couch in the living room, where another man occupied a comfortable chair.
Peyton settled next to Ken. “For starters, I need to introduce you to this guy.” Peyton pointed at the man. “Ken Ethelbert, meet Jake Peterson. Jake, this is my brother-in-law, Dewi’s mate.”
Jake nodded, leaning across the coffee table to shake with him. “Heard a lot of good things about you.”
Ken was almost too exhausted to lift his hand. “Hiya.” Then something tickled his brain. “That’s funny. That’s Carl’s dad’s name.”
Both men grinned.
Ken looked back and forth between the two. “Waaaiit…”
Peyton nodded. “Yep. Think you can stay awake for the abridged version of the story?”
“Only if you let me call Dewi first. She’s going batshit.”
His smile faded. “Yes. Tell her to go somewhere alone, nothing else. And that she has to promise you to stay quiet. Then hand the phone to me.”
Ken’s hands trembled as he hit the button and waited for the call to connect. She answered almost immediately. “Where the fuck are you? Are you okay? Are you safe? What the fuck is going on? You better be fucking safe and okay or I’ll fucking kill—”
He didn’t even care he was sniffling back tears. “Dew, baby, stop. Please. I’m safe. I’m fine. Go somewhere alone, right now, so we can talk.”
“I am alone. I’m in the cabin.”
“Okay. You have to be quiet, all right?”
“What? Why?”
“Just… You’ll understand. Promise me.”
“What?”
“Promise me to stay quiet, okay?”
She gasped. “Is he dead?”
Ken pinched the bridge of his nose. “Promise me!” he snapped, all patience now gone.
“Fine, okay, yes! Just tell me.”
“Sorry. I love you. Hold on a sec. And do not be loud.”
He passed the phone to Peyton, who now wore a smile that reminded Ken of Dewi’s playful grin.
“Heeeey, Dewster. Is who dead? Did you miss me, ya brat? Better not have rearranged my damned office.”
Her shriek of joy cut off mid-scream. Ken suspected she’d clapped a hand over her mouth because now she sobbed, but it sounded muffled.
Ken closed his eyes and checked out for a few minutes, exhaustion taking over. He was aware of Peyton talking to Dewi, trying to get a word in edgewise, finally giving up and letting her run it out of her system before taking over again.
Rather, tried to take over.
“Okay, will you finally let me talk, Dewi. Please? I… No, I can’t tell you the whole story right now.
… No, you cannot tell anyone yet—not Badger or Da or even Gillian—that I’m safe…
Yes, I have a damned good reason, but I need to tell Ken the story first, okay?
… Yeah, I love you, too. Now, Ken’s safe, he’s exhausted— …
No, I’m not letting him tell you where your passport is.
And he needs sleep. You cannot leave the pack compound, okay?
That’s— … Dewi, honey, please just shut the hell— …
Okay, yes, you can go as far as to the store in town, but no further.
… No, not down the main road south. Please calm down and let me deal with stuff. …”
Peyton closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Yes, you can punch me when I get home. … Yes, right in the face. … Okay, sure, and the balls. If Gillian doesn’t yank them off me first. But I— …
I’ll call you back in a little while from a different phone, so stay right there, and alone, okay?
… Because I have to talk to Ken first before he drops into a well-deserved bed and I activate a burner phone.
I’ll call— … Less than an hour, I promise.
… Yes, he’s safe. … Yes, you can kill me yourself if he— …
Dewi, he’s safe, I’m safe, and I promise you we’re not in any danger.
… Love you, too. Here’s Ken again. Don’t keep him long because I mean it when I say he’s about to collapse, and I need to talk to him first. …
Because he said he hasn’t slept in nearly 48 hours and— … Exactly. Here he is.”
Peyton held the phone up to Ken’s ear.
Dewi was crying, which woke him up a little. “Please don’t punch me, babe,” he said. “Punch Peyton instead. I was only following Pack Alpha orders.”
She laughed, but it sounded full of sniffles.
“No, you’re getting the best goddamned blow job in the world when you get home, mister.
I’m sorry for all the angry things I said between when I realized you were gone and right now.
And please delete all my texts and the voicemails if you haven’t listened to them yet. I love you so much.”
“Love you, too, baby. I really need to go sleep now. And I guess I can’t do that quite yet. But I promise I’m safe.”
“Okay. Call me when you’re awake. Love you.”
“I will. Love you, too.”
The phone left his hand, and he assumed Peyton took it and ended the call.
“You didn’t sleep on the plane, Ken?” Trevor asked.
He thought he shook his head but he wasn’t sure. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I really need sleep. I barely made it here. I should not have been driving.”
“Of course,” Trevor said. “Likely the effects of the stress finally hitting you, as well.”
“Yeah. That, too.”
“I promise you can sleep shortly,” Peyton said. “But I need to know what I’ve missed in Idaho since I was captured. And I need your help activating one of the phones so I can access all my contacts and info. I don’t have my admin password memorized.”
“What about your phone and laptop?”
Peyton gravely nodded. “As far as the world’s concerned, I’m still missing. So my electronics have to stay powered down. We can’t risk it.”
Ken turned to Trevor. “Is Peyton up to speed on the murdered family?”
The older man gravely nodded. “Yes. He now has all the information I have.”
“So is there anything else I need to know right now from your end?” Peyton asked Ken.
“Nothing that can’t wait until I’m vertical again,” he said, then reconsidered. “What about Jake?”
“You can say anything in front of him,” Peyton assured him.
Ken summarized the transition of power, of Badger being the acting Pack Alpha but not wiping all the info from his brain, and bringing Duncan into the fold.
“That’s fine,” Peyton said. “That works out better, in fact.”
“So how did you get…here?” He waved his hand at Peyton. “And with Jake?”
Peyton quickly summed up the events, and Ken was certain he was missing details, both from his own exhaustion and from Peyton greatly abridging the retelling because of Ken’s exhaustion.
Ken was aware of Peyton bringing him one of the burners Ken had last seen in Idaho, and he stumbled his way through helping Peyton set it up.
“Can I just give you my Pack credit card and phone PIN number, and you take my phone?” Ken asked.
“If you read through sexy messages between me and Dewi, that’s all on you. ”
Peyton grinned. “Yeah, your secrets are safe. Just show me what I need and I’ll take it from there so you can go get horizontal.”
“Greatly appreciated.”
Five minutes later, Ken was upstairs in a guest room, where he stripped and face-planted into a very comfortable bed and quickly crashed into a deep sleep.
Probably the best sleep he’d known since this latest clusterfuck started.