Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bennett
July
Although it had been weeks since Ryder’s death, Wyatt and Donovan were still working round-the-clock trying to find Calvin or Julia. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single lead for them to follow.
Felix had gotten his walking boot off yesterday—far ahead of schedule.
Apparently there really is something to the argument that true mates have a positive impact on their partner’s healing.
There were still moments when I could feel his guilt over Ryder’s demise coming through the bond, but he was doing as well as possible. He knew what happened wasn’t his fault, and he did a good job of reminding himself of that whenever the doubt creeped in.
I smiled as he walked back into my new garage, unable to control the happiness that seeing him alive and well brought me. We’d had too many brushes with death in our short time together, and I wanted nothing more than to live happily ever after in mated bliss for as long as possible.
“I think you should move Benny’s bed over there.” He pointed to the corner of the garage opposite where I’d set up his bed.
“Why?” I asked.
Felix pointed to the waiting area and the window we’d installed to give customers a view of me working on their cars—Felix’s idea, though he maintained that it was akin to people watching a chef cook and not about the sexual thrill he got from watching me.
“People will be able to see him better, and he’s adorable. He’s going to be a huge selling point.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him against me. “I’m pretty sure people will be hiring me for my mechanic skills, not because I have a cute dog.”
He gave me a quick kiss. “Do not underestimate how much a cute dog will attract repeat customers.”
“Fine, move his bed. As long as I can see him, I’m happy.”
“See,” Felix said, kissing my cheek before running off to move Benny’s things. “You’re literally proving my point.”
“All right, that’s enough for the day. We need to get to Wyatt and Ally’s before she starts texting me that we’re late,” I said.
“Okay, but I’m coming back tomorrow to work on the waiting area. I think if we added a mini fridge with waters and a few snacks, it would enhance your customer service,” he said.
I took his hand and walked him to my truck, locking up the garage behind us. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with, handsome.”
Wyatt and Ally’s house sat on the edge of the lake.
It was actually the house Ally, Oak, and I had grown up in, but it was easier to think of it as Wyatt and Ally’s house now.
Our parents had paid off the house when we were little and had left it to us in their will.
The house had sat empty for years after they’d died, but eventually, Ally decided she wanted to live here and Oakley and I were more than happy to sign over our portion of the house to her to keep it in our family without having to live here ourselves.
She and Wyatt had redone a lot of the interior, but the longing to see my parents again still surfaced every time I pulled into their driveway.
Oakley flew out of the side door when she saw us pull in. “Oh thank God,” she said, pulling my door open before I even had the truck in park.
“What the hell is going on, Oak?” I asked.
“Wyatt is obsessing over the food. I’m guessing that since he’s getting nowhere on his case he’s trying to create the perfect barbeque?
Ally’s on her second margarita in an attempt to chill him out through the bond, and I’m getting close to my heat, which means Reid looks so fucking hot today and it’s pissing me off. ”
Felix sat up like a shot and furrowed his brow. “I thought we didn’t talk about you and Reid, or you and Donovan, or any of the three of you at all really.”
I took his hand and helped him out of the truck as Oak took a step back.
“We don’t,” I said sternly.
“But she just brought it up,” he said, gesturing to Oakley.
“We ignore her. We stay out of it. She hates whatever advice we give her and will just yell at you.”
“It’s true,” Oakley said. “I do that. I should have gone to therapy years ago.”
“So why don’t you go now?” Felix asked as we all walked toward the house. “It’s never too late.”
She shook her head. “I know what my issue is and I know how it impacts me.”
“Right.” Felix looked at me, his emotions screaming SOS through the bond.
“Just ignore and deflect,” I said, kissing his temple.
“Hey!” Ally waved from her spot next to the grill. Ally and Wyatt’s house had a small, lake-dirt yard that slopped down to the water. At the top of the hill was a grill and a circle of Adirondack chairs around a fire pit, and at the base of the hill was a strip of private sandy beach.
“Felix, come sit by the lake with me.”
Felix looked at me again. “I’m starting to miss my own sister. Yours are a lot.”
I chuckled. “Yep, but it’s too late.” I kissed his bonding mark. “You’re mine, handsome. Which means you’re stuck with them.”
The day passed quickly in a haze of laughter, good food, sunshine, and lakeside fun.
Reid took off just after dinner, refusing to explain where he was going and putting Oak in a sour mood, but aside from that, it’d been a great day.
We were sitting around a fire in the growing dusk when Wyatt’s phone rang.
“Sheriff Winchester,” he said, before stepping away from the group to take the call. We all watched him in silence, lost in our own thoughts.
“Does that happen a lot?” Felix asked Ally.
“No,” she said, looking over her shoulder at him. “He almost never gets called when he’s off duty.”
His posture stiffened as he listened, only speaking a handful of times in a low tone. He returned a few moments later. “I need to go.” He bent down and kissed Ally. “Oakley, stay here with Ally tonight.”
“Why?” Oak asked.
“I’ll feel better knowing that neither of you are alone,” Wyatt said. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised.
I nodded. “I’ll make sure she stays.”
“Thank you.” He turned to Felix. “That was the sheriff in Crescent River. They think they found Calvin.”
“Really? Where?” Felix asked.
“There was a fire a couple hours ago. They’re still working to put it out in some places, but they think they found Calvin’s body inside. He wasn’t alone. There are others too. I need to go get more information.”
“Do you think this is connected to everything else?” I asked.
“It certainly seems possible. Sheriff Marks in Crescent River said they have footage of a woman running from the house around the time the fire was set. Right now, she’s the prime suspect and they believe she could have fled to Mirror Lake or Harvest Cove.
I need to call Donovan so we can review that footage and help look for her. ”
“Where was the fire?” Felix asked.
“Victor’s Car Wash and the house behind it,” Wyatt said, pulling his long hair back at the nape of his neck.
Ally stood up and kissed him. “Please be careful, babe.”
“I will. I promise.” He gave her a hug and looked around the fire. “Just stay close to each other, please. And if anything strange happens at all, call me.”
“We will,” I said, taking Felix’s hand. “I can’t believe this isn’t over.”
“Unfortunately, I think this is just the beginning,” Wyatt said. “But first, we need to find the woman who started that fire.”