Page 81 of Mine to Keep

Shep had made dinner for everyone before Nick left to go back to Greg’s. It was cute that he’d packed a Tupperware container for Nick to take to Gabe.

“Not a horrible idea,” Noel agreed.

Nick pursed his lips, appearing unsure. I wasn’t sure why until Mason spoke up.

“Matt will be safe here if the three of you are there. Me, JJ, Four, Noel, and Shep are all here and this house is secure. You’ve made sure of that.”

I reached over and placed my hand atop his. “I’d actually feel a lot better if you had more backup with you.”

Even though Lenny was one person, and maybe Greg too, three against two were way better odds.

“Okay.” Nick squeezed my hand.

After dinner we all cleaned up; then Nick and Angel left to go to Greg’s. Lenny was supposed to arrive early in the morning, and hopefully, all of this would end. I had faith in these brothers.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Nick

When Angeland I arrived at Greg’s, Gabe was on the couch and the two of them were watchingNational Geographic. Greg wasn’t a bad guy—he’d just gotten himself mixed up in something and he’d had no idea.

Shep made us bring food for both of them—originally just Gabe, but JJ thought that was rude. Greg smiled and was grateful since he said he needed to get to the store.

Angel, Gabe, and I went over the plan for Lenny’s arrival while they ate.

“Are you going to hurt Lenny?” Greg asked.

“Right now, I simply want to ask them some questions.” I furrowed my brow. “Greg, how does Lenny identify?”

“How do you mean?”

“Man, woman, nonbinary, pangender…”

Greg nodded. “Oh, Lenny’s a guy.”

A guy. I guessed Four was wrong about it being a woman. I couldn’t even revel in the fact that he was wrong, though. Wewere betting a lot on the fact that Lenny was the guilty party here.

“Did he always go by Lenny?” Angel glared at Greg, which was usually how he generally looked at people.

“Uh, yeah.” Greg laughed. “It’s his name, after all.”

“Thing is, we did a search on Lenny, and there’s no one by that name that fits your friend living in this area, or close to it.”

Greg frowned, that seemed to throw him off. “Really?”

“You said he worked with animals. Where does he work?” Gabe finished eating and was bringing his plate to the sink.

“He’s a veterinarian. Has his own practice.”

Angel nodded. “Ever been to his business?”

Greg tilted his head. “Well, no. I usually pick up my babies at the shelter where he brings them, but mostly he just brings them right to me. He comes and does the checkups and shots for them here because it’s hard to load all of them up.”

How convenient. “Well, there’s no Leonard, Lenny anything near here. If he was a vet, why isn’t that showing up?”

That clearly stumped Greg. He’d had no reason to ever doubt his friend. They’d known each other since they were kids, but while Lenny could be his real name, he was going by a different one here.

Greg’s phone vibrated and he took it out. It was a message from Lenny.

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