Page 31 of His Place in the World
“Remi’s right,” Cam said.“If I had my way, I’d go right now.I don’t want anyone to be in Pembroke’s position for a second longer than strictly necessary.It’s not exactly the same, but my mate was a prisoner for a long time.Thinking about what he went through, even without being auctioned, makes me want to tear the world apart.We can’t put anyone in danger, though, least of all Pembroke.Even if we find out where Colbert lives, we need to look into the blueprints of the house, the security system, the security company that works for him, and to be sure we can get to Pembroke.Rushing into this would only complicate things, and we can’t afford for that to happen, especially not if we want to take down the entire operation.”
“Unless you changed your mind about that,” Angus said.
He’d spent most of the time Ryland had bitched about leaving right away on the phone.Del had no doubt he was working on Colbert’s cloned phone already.
“I haven’t,” Ryland said.
Angus finally looked up.“Are you sure?Because no one would blame you.You agreed to help us so we’d find your brother, and we have.If you want out of this operation as soon as Pembroke is back with you, I’m sure we can find a way to make that happen.”
Del wasn’t as sure as Angus that that was the case.He was only marginally involved, but even he knew that they needed Ryland’s money and his security company.Without him, the operation would be a disaster, and they couldn’t let that happen.
They needed Ryland to continue being involved.
Thankfully, Ryland shook his head.“I told you I wanted to take down the entire operation, and I will.Wewill.”
“Then let us do our job.Letmedo my job.I understand you want to help your brother right away.I do, too, especially after seeing what we saw last night.But we have no idea what we’d walk into, and I don’t know about you, but I have no doubt that shifters are guarding the place.You never told us what kind of shifter your brother is, just that he’s a rare shifter.What would Colbert use him for?”
Del hadn’t been there in person yesterday, but he’d seen enough to understand that the humans who bought the shifters had different uses for them.Some of the shifters had been unicorn shifters, which meant they could heal people with their hands.Some shifters, like Tyler, could be good guards.He probably wouldn’t do any good in his human form, but in his gargoyle form?Del didn’t know a lot about rare shifters, but he knew enough.The kind of shifter one was impacted what was done with them.
Andtothem.
“He’s a hydra shifter.”
Del blinked.He hadn’t expected that, but then, he hadn’t expected Tyler to be a gargoyle shifter, either.As with every human, most of the shifters he knew were common, like wolves, bears, and big cats.He’d heard about rare shifters before moving to Rosewood, but those stories had always felt like they belonged in fairytale books rather than in reality.Finding out that unicorn and tiger shifters existed felt a bit like a dream, and Del couldn’t believe he was in contact with these people every day and that they were as normal as he and his father.
“That’s the dragon with three heads, right?”Angus asked.
Ryland nodded.“I don’t know if I’d call him a dragon, but you get the idea, yes.”
“Is it true that his heads grow again when they’re cut off?”
Ryland’s eyes narrowed.“I wouldn’t know.I’ve never tried cutting my brother’s head off.”
“Right.Sorry.Anyway, considering that your brother’s a hydra shifter, if I had to take a guess, I’d bet that Colbert uses him for security.It would make the most sense.”
“Since when have bad guys made sense?”Remi muttered.
“You’re not wrong, but we have to start somewhere.I have Colbert’s phone cloned, but I don’t know where to start looking, and poking around aimlessly hoping I’ll find the right information, isn’t doing much.Knowing the kind of task Pembroke was probably given will make my job easier, which means research will be easier and we won’t have to wait as long as we would otherwise.”
Ryland crossed his arms over his chest.“When do you think we’ll be able to go?”
“I have no way to know.There’s not much any of us can do for now except look through this phone.I’m sure Everly is already researching Colbert, Fulton, and anyone else involved he can identify.Once we know more about them and where they live, we’ll be able to come up with a plan.”
They talked for a while longer after that, but Angus was right.There was nothing any of them could do at the moment except for Angus and Everly, and repeating the same things, again and again, wouldn’t help anyone.Ryland needed to put his energy into something productive, so Del was relieved when Remi told him they needed to get back to work.Del should train for a bit or maybe try to study, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to focus.Unfortunately, his college professors wouldn’t care about what was happening in his personal life, and besides, it wasn’t like he was about to tell them any of this.
Since Angus was busy, Del moved closer to his father.Tyler was still there, peeking around Matt, but he disappeared behind him again when he noticed Del.
Del frowned.Should he stay away from his father so he wouldn’t scare Tyler?
Matt solved Del’s dilemma by waving him closer.Tyler didn’t look convinced, but Matt turned around and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him forward.“This is Del.He’s my son, and you don’t have to be afraid of him,” he explained.
Tyler peered up at Del.“You were there last night.”
“I was.”
“Why?”
Del had no idea how to answer that, or rather, he did, but he wasn’t sure it would help Tyler not be afraid of him.“Because my mate was there.”
