Page 34 of Midnight Whispers
Dad shook his head and went back to the eggs.
Riley sat on the stool again when Griffin started breathing normally.
“You’re an idiot,” Griffin whispered to him.
Riley knew he was. His dad practically handed him an opening to say something about Cass and he didn’t take it. Keeping the secret was ridiculous, considering it seemed as though Dad already knew.
“Funny, I was going to say the same about you.”
Griffin smirked. “Of the two of us, you take the prize, and you know it.”
Riley wouldn’t give Griffin the satisfaction of agreeing. “I know no such thing.”
Griffin snorted. “Liar.”
Riley rolled his eyes, but he let Griffin have the last word. He didn’t mind the teasing or how Griffin put Riley in his place when he needed it. He’d take a bit of truth thrown at him occasionally if it meant he had more days like that one.
Chapter Sixteen
Cass replayed his night with Riley. It ran like a movie reel in his mind. He wished he could tell Iven about Riley. Iven was always a sounding board when Cass needed one. He weighed the merits of keeping it a secret. They should decide together if they told Iven. And then there was the threat of the alpha. The last thing Cass wanted was to make Riley a target. All they had to do was bond for that to happen.
Riley seemed so dejected on the walk home.
As soon as Cass finished running down the lead, he’d head over to Zinnie’s place and see if Riley was there. They needed to have a chat about where Cass stood. And he’d like to know what Riley wanted where their mating was concerned.
Cass glanced in Danny’s direction. The second their gazes met, Cass knew they had let the lack of a missing person’s report go unaddressed long enough.
Danny averted his gaze—beads of sweat collected on his forehead.
Cass walked into Iven’s office and closed the door.
Iven raised his eyebrows.
Cass put a transcript of an emergency call in front of Iven and waited. It was the call from Quincy Barr’s mother, reporting him and Gregory May missing two weeks before they were found.
Iven’s face hardened as he read to the end of the transcript. It was Danny saying all the right things, telling Mrs. Barr they would find her son and his mate.
“Did you find the report?” Iven would lose his cool if Cass didn’t step in. Cass had half a mind to let Danny take the brunt of Iven’s anger. Unless Danny had a damn good reason for not making a report, he was fucking screwed. And he probably knew it.
“There’s nothing in the system.”
Iven cursed under his breath. He stood and ripped open the door.
The second Danny saw Iven, his face turned white. He stood and backed away, as if he intended to run for the front door.
“You won’t get far, Danny. Not if I shift. My wolf will chase yours down. I’m better at tracking than you are.” Cass wasn’t sure why Danny didn’t file the report, but he didn’t have a nefarious reason. Cass would go to his grave believing that.
Danny’s face crumbled, and he fell against the front counter. He slid to the ground.
Iven swore again, but he let Cass take the lead.
Cass sat next to Danny on the floor. “Spill it, man. We’ll deal with the consequences together, but we need to know what happened first.”
Danny wiped his eyes with the back of his hand but didn’t have to again because Iven handed him a box of tissue.
Iven squatted in front of Danny. “Did someone ask you not to file a report?”
“The pack beta…he threatened me. Threatened my sister and brother.” The tears came again. “I can’t let them get hurt. I can’t, sheriff.”
