Page 22 of Midnight Whispers
He had a bandage on the right side of his forehead. Clothing covered his other cuts and bruises. His wounds were severe. His healing ability wasn’t as fast as it normally would be, probably because he’d had multiple injuries all at once. He’d had surgery to repair the internal damage. That he was sitting up and able to talk was a miracle.
The kid was smart, though. He seemed to have come to some correct conclusion about Cass because he wasn’t as strung tight as he had been when they’d first come in.
They sat in the victim’s living room. Or rather, the victim’s mother’s living room. The mother wasn’t a pushover. She satbeside her son with her arm around his shoulders, glaring at Cass as if he were a part of the problem.
Cass tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible. He didn’t want to set the woman off. He knew a protective mama wolf when he saw one. She might not care that he didn’t intend to hurt anyone, especially a man who’d already been through hell and back.
“We’re Fated mates, Gregory and I.” The victim shook his head. “Gregory was…everything to me.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss. We’re doing everything we can to put Gregory’s killer behind bars. But we need your help.”
Quincy met Cass’s gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your questions the last time you were here.”
Cass smiled, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. “I understand.”
Quincy nodded. “You’re a Fortune Falls pack member. Just like the wolf who hurt Gregory and me.”
“What can you tell us about him?”
“Gregory called him Leo.”
Cass stiffened. The only Leo he knew was the alpha’s beta. If that was who hurt Quincy and killed Gregory, then he was following the alpha’s orders. But Cass had to be sure. “Did he use a last name?”
“No, but Gregory called him beta.”
“Leo Krieger.” Cass mumbled. His heart sank as his worst fear was realized. Through the rest of the conversation, he thought about what having a murderous alpha meant for his pack.
Iven gave him a subtle nod and continued asking questions. “Can you describe him?”
“He had dark hair. Long-ish. He was tall. Bigger than Gregory even. Wore a leather coat.”
Iven met Cass’s gaze. Cass nodded, letting Iven know he was sure about who it was.
Iven let Cass lead the question after that. “You’re from the Timeston pack, correct?”
“Yes.” The mother was the one who answered. She shook her head as if thinking something that disgusted her. “Our property borders the county line. We chose Timeston because the alpha, Kinnison Ransome, is strong.”
Ransome was a lot of other things, too. A little crazy, but in a calculated way. He also had a record. Cass had arrested him twice for making hooch on the Fortune Falls side of the county line. It wasn’t the worst law he could have broken, and he might break other ones. If he did, Cass didn’t know about it. Kinnison Ransome had an edge so sharp that people stayed out of his way.
Cass had to wonder if the Fortune Falls pack would get backlash for the murder from the Timeston Pack. Ransome was the type to make an example of them, and he’d do it through violence. Could Alpha Miller handle Ransome? Cass had his doubts.
“Did you plan on joining the Fortune Falls pack after meeting Gregory May?”
Quincy shook his head. “Gregory talked to your alpha about moving to our pack. He wanted his blessing.”
Cass tried not to let his emotion show in his expression but knew he failed. For the first time in his career, he couldn’t hold back.
He could see questions forming in Quincy’s mother’s eyes. Before she could ask, he stood. He didn’t want to talk about pack issues with an outsider. Other than Iven, who had to know the truth about what had happened.
The mom’s parting words were, “I hope you catch the bastard who did this to my son and his mate.”
Cass hoped they did, too. He also hoped the Fortune Falls pack would survive.
He had one last question for her. “Why didn’t you report Quincy missing, ma’am?”
The mother drew her eyebrows together. “I reported it. He and Gregory. They were thick as thieves the last few months, so Gregory was always here.”
“Did you report it to Fortune Falls or Timeston, ma’am?”
