Page 8 of Curvy Quirky Omega

“Okay, I only have a few more questions then.” I glanced down at my notes app and typed another question in there. “If Gideon didn’t know you were seeing Melinda behind his back, and he was planning to leave Valor, what was his plan for his wife? Was he going to take her with him?”

Dane grimaced but didn’t look away this time. “That’s where we…disagreed. I wanted him to talk to her about it, but Gideon refused to tell Melinda about his plans. He insisted he wasn’t going to take her with him – that she would never want to leave Valor, but I don’t think it’s because she didn’t want to leave with him. I’m pretty sure it was because she couldn’t keep working if he took her with him, and Gideon was positive she wouldn’t make that sacrifice for him.”

Frankie and I stared at this alpha, letting the information settle as we mentally sifted through all the new puzzle pieces. This explained enough that I didn’t need to ask anything about Melinda, not when Dane was as simple and as straightforward as Liam.

“I believe that you didn’t intentionally have anything to do with killing Gideon,” I stated, ignoring Liam’s and Cas’s chaotic emotions as I focused on his cousin. “Why would you bother killing him when he was going to leave her anyways?”

Dane stared at me warily, not quite ready to believe that I wasn’t trying to trick him into a confession.

“I really only need to know two things and then I’ll write up my report for Nicolette Valor. She may or may not decide to release you, but my report should clear your name in regard to Gideon’s death.”

Dane nodded slowly, still so cautious. After three days with Liam and Cas, I couldn’t really blame him.

“Why did Melinda tell Gideon she was pregnant if the baby was yours?”

The alpha before me stiffened, completely and utterly blindsided. “She did what?”

I selected the email I screenshotted from Gideon’s computer and showed it to Dane. “Melinda told her husband she was pregnant at the end of October. From her test results, she would have been about two months along.”

Dane stared at that email for a long time, but he stayed surprisingly calm. It made sense considering he’d been in the special forces for ten years.

He was a decent alpha even if he was a bit naïve.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken care of Melinda after learning Gideon planned to abandon her. Somewhere along the way, he must have fallen in love with her or she wouldn’t have ended up pregnant.

“She told me a few weeks before that,” Dane said quietly. “I could smell the shift in her pheromones and asked her to take a test. I have no idea why she would tell Gideon when she knew it wasn’t his.”

“Are you sure it isn’t his?” I selected another document and studied the broken alpha before me.

Three days of torture hadn’t broken him, but finding out Melinda had told Gideon about the baby suddenly made him look…destroyed.

Dane shook his head, eyes on his hands. They were strapped down to a wooden plank with bamboo shoots shoved under his nails and his feet were the same. “I was under the impression Gideon couldn’t breed with Melinda, so up until two seconds ago, I’d been sure, but now…”

I let him sit with that for a bit, wondering if I had any right to tell him.

“It’s definitely yours,” Liam mumbled, like he didn’t want me to scold him again.

Dane looked up at Liam with so much conflict in his eyes I felt uncomfortable.

Clearing my throat, I tapped my final question. “Last thing…were you aware that Gideon was laundering money for the Steele pack?”

I winced when I felt all the male alphas stiffen. Frankie chuckled softly, probably glad it wasn’t her I’d blindsided this time.

“If I’d known that’s what he was doing, I would have reported him to the Valor alpha,” Dane snarled, anger glowing in his bright red eyes. He finally looked alive. “I had nothing to do with the money laundering and the only reason I didn’t ask too many questions about his contact was because Gideon insisted I could trust them.”

Clearly, that was a lie. Dane had been played. By everyone.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Valor.” I tilted my head as I studied him, wondering what he could possibly see in an omega like Melinda. “It might take a day or so, but I’ll confirm all your answers with whatever evidence I can find on your devices to corroborate it and then I’ll send everything to Mrs. Valor. I appreciate how clear and concise you were with your responses.”

Dane’s eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into his bangs. “I’ll be shocked if I ever see the light of day again, but I appreciate your professional attitude, Ms. Parker. I only wish you were the one asking the questions from the very beginning.”

Frankie snorted and shook her head, tapping the pause button on my phone. “I doubt you’d look so pretty if Lucy was the one questioning you, Dane Valor. Don’t wish you experienced the nightmare instead of the dream and count your lucky stars she wanted you alive in case you were needed to raise the child.”

I glared at Frankie but didn’t argue with her.

We both knew all I wanted was to make sure another child wasn’t forced to suffer for their parents’ crimes the way I did. If there was anything I could do to make sure that baby didn’t end up an orphan, I was going to do it.

Lucky for me that Dane was a relatively decent person. He was just gullible and naïve.

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