13. Chapter 13 - Chayce
Chapter 13 - Chayce
S itting at my desk, trying to sort through the ever-growing pile of resumes, my mind bounces from one thing to another, unable to focus on the task at hand.
The snow hasn’t stopped, and we have gotten about eighteen inches and it’s still falling.
My brothers have taken turns sleeping. As for me, I haven’t been to bed yet.
When I returned to the office after leaving the den, it was easy to confirm the prints matched the ones from the pack lands.
Taking a mouthful of coffee, my face puckers. Frowning at the cold fluid, I call forth some of my fire, blowing into the cup to heat it back up.
A chuckle from the doorway has my eyes darting up.
Deakon is leaning against the doorframe. My gaze narrows to the cardboard cup holder and paper bag in his hands.
He doesn’t wait for an invitation. Entering my office, he sets the bag down in front of me. Pulling one of the cups from the holder, he sets it down next to the bag.
“Thank you,” I say, gulping down half of the cup’s contents.
Deakon grabs a cup for himself before sitting down across the desk from me.
“You need to get some sleep,” he says, stating the obvious.
“I know,” is my only response.
Opening the bag, there is a steak and egg bagel that I quickly start to devour. Letting out a soft moan around a mouthful of food, Deakon laughs again.
“The snow is starting to let up,” he says but hesitates, which warns me that bad news is coming. Staring at him, Deakon rubs the back of his neck, collecting his thoughts.
“More snow is due later tonight,” Deakon says, before pausing again and I wonder why he is giving me a weather report; he looks around the room, refusing to make eye contact.
“Just spit it the fuck out already!” I bark out, too tired to deal with bullshit.
“When I stopped this morning to grab this,” he says, waving his hand around the desk, indicating the sandwich and coffee. “Guri Hamilton said they had a break-in last night.”
My hand pauses halfway to my mouth. Tossing the remainder of the sandwich back onto the wrapper, I curse under my breath, scrubbing my hands over my face in frustration.
“Does he know what or how much was taken?” I question, as one more thing gets added to the list running rampant in my head.
Before Deakon can answer, my mind flips to Regina Chaney. The timing of her arrival is too coincidental.
Deakon is snapping his fingers in front of my face, trying to get my attention.
“Sorry,” I mutter softly.
“Where did you go?” he asks, his voice full of concern.
“Run a full background check on Regina Chaney. Her hometown is Boston,” I say, ignoring Deakon’s question.
“Who the fuck is Regina Chaney?” he asks incredulously.
Launching into the story of the accident and ending with her conversation with the police sergeant, Deakon lets out a slow whistle.
“What is the name of the sergeant? Just give him a call and ask him,” he says, stating the obvious once again.
Deakon stares at me like I hadn’t already considered that. Sighing, I say as much. “He didn’t give me his name before she grabbed the phone from my hand. I didn’t hear his side of the conversation, which is strange. Regina never used his name either, only referring to him as Sergeant.”
Deakon is staring at me, his jaw slack. Without warning, he starts laughing. He laughs so hard he falls out of the chair. Giving him a droll look, I cross my arms over my chest, leaning back in my chair as he continues to roll on the floor.
Shutting down my computer and cleaning up my desk, Deakon finally controls himself.
“Get that report filed for the Hamiltons. Once that is finished, run that check on Ms. Chaney,” I bark out, shrugging into my jacket.
“Where are you going?” he asks from the floor.
“Bed.”
“What about the interviews for more deputies?” Deakon calls to my retreating form, stopping me in my tracks.
“You aren’t going to believe this,” I start, turning around to face my brother. Deakon wears an expectant look as he climbs to his feet. “I found a set of triplets.” A grin crosses my face as I watch a myriad of expressions cross his face.
“Are they shifters?” he asks hopefully.
“The resumes don’t state. I have a call to schedule a video interview. Their boss had nothing but high praise on their work,” I tell him, confident we have good candidates lined up to interview. If I get lucky, we get the triplets, and I can focus on this trespasser turned thief in town.
“Why do they want to come here?” Deakon asks with a sneer.
I raise an eyebrow at his tone. He waves me off before I can question it.
“You know what I mean,” he says dismissively. “No one willingly moves here.”
Letting him squirm a minute, Deakon’s shoulders sag when he realizes that I am busting his balls.
“I do. Not many people move here on purpose,” I agree. Crossing the threshold of my office, moving to the door, I call out over my shoulder.
“Do me a favor. Go and check on the construction sites. If the Hamiltons had a break-in, we need to check for problems there too. I told the construction companies we could handle it.”
“I’ll go as soon as I write up that report for Guri,” he says just before I push through the main doors.