Page 23 of Midnight Whispers
“Fortune Falls.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” They headed out.
It wasn’t until they were in the car that Iven said, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Leo Kreiger is pack beta.” Iven understood pack dynamics from Cass talking about it from time to time.
“If Krieger is Alpha Miller’s right hand man, then the alpha is involved somehow.”
“Krieger doesn’t do anything without Miller’s say so.” Cass sighed and shook his head.
“So, Miller put a hit on them and Krieger executed it?”
“Not a hit. I don’t think the alpha wanted them dead. I think he thought he was taking Quincy away from the Timeston pack. He wanted to force them to stay with the Fortune Falls Pack.”
“When Gregory came to him, saying he was leaving, Miller arranged a kidnapping.” Iven filled in the blanks. They were good at bouncing ideas off each other during a case.
“Yeah. There were rooms in the basement. Maybe the alpha wanted to keep them locked away until they agreed.”
“Do you think he intended to let them go? Quincy didn’t seem like the type of guy who would agree not to say anything.”
“His mother would have gone to the ends of the earth looking for him.” Cass liked how protective Quincy’s mother was. Quincy had a hard road ahead. He’d need his mother’s help to get through it.
“She reminds me of Zinnie. She’s like that with Griff and Riley. She even smacked me upside the head the other day and told meI need to take better care of Riley.” Iven smiled as if it were a good memory. Maybe it was for Iven, but Cass didn’t like getting smacked on the head, not that it had happened in a while. Iven had affection for his ex-wife in a way few did after a divorce. Of course, they’d been kids when she got pregnant with Griffin. Barely out of high school was what Iven had said. Maybe the young age made them more agreeable with each other since the separation. They’d somehow learned how to be friends along the way.
“Riley seems like a good person.” Cass tried to pick his words carefully.
He hadn’t spent that much time with Riley. But itseemedas though he had a lot of things going for him. Riley was young but strong. He was also hurting and needed love.
Cass couldn’t forget that Iven didn’t want to know how sexy his son was. He’d probably punch Cass when he found out about them being mates. And he would find out. It was only a matter of time. Cass didn’t want to lie to him forever. Lying made mating with Riley feel wrong and it wasn’t. It was just complicated.
Cass’s pack dynamics weren’t safe for Riley. Their meeting with Quincy confirmed as much. He wouldn’t put Riley at risk, so they would have to keep it secret for a bit longer.
“He’s a great kid.” Iven sighed and shook his head. “I know it’s not all Vivianne’s fault. I have an equal share in raising him. The pill’s just hard to swallow.”
“Because he’s here. Finally. That’s probably why.” Maybe it wasn’t too late to do right by Riley. Cass had spent enough time with Riley to know that all he really needed was a lot of love and attention. “You’re spending time with him.”
“Not enough to make up for his childhood.”
“You can’t change the past.”
“I wish I could.”
“Just hug him a lot. That’s what he needs most.” Cass swallowed down the feeling that maybe he’d said too much. And then he tried to cover up his slip. “That’s what my gran would tell you, anyway.”
“Like hell, she would. She would smack me upside the head too, and tell me to be a good parent to Riley, like I am to Griffin.”
Gran would probably say that. “She’d also tell you to hug him.”
“My boys were raised differently. Griffin has had a lot more parenting than Riley.” Iven needed to give Riley more credit.
“It’s not like he’s an addict or a criminal. So he’s overly independent and not used to accepting help from people. That’s not the worst thing he could have become.”
“He’s only here for college.”
“Not true. He wants a fresh start. And he wants to get to know you. He wants you to be his dad. And you’re doing that.”
“Deep down, he’s pissed at me. It comes to the surface sometimes, and then he catches himself and puts on that sunny smile. It won’t be long before he lets me have it.” Iven tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
