"So he was there as an expat for Portal Ventures."
Diesel and Faust both dropped what they were doing, stretching to read the report.
"Donald Seafer, Portal Ventures employee, states he was driving by when he witnessed a fireball large enough he saw it from over the security wall." Faust scanned the next several lines. "That's all there is about him. But…Portal Ventures. That's the second time that name has come up, in two entirely different countries."
"That's more than a coincidence," Diesel growled.
Knox scratched his chin, and I watched him. The others watched him as well. As their leader, his thoughts on this would decide what they did moving forward. "Okay, I want everyone switching gears. By the end of the week, I want to know everything about that company, particularly why their name keeps popping up. Faust, can you pull up the Columbian estate on the screen?"
Faust stood, kneeling at the end of the row of surveillance monitors and tapped at the keyboard there. The third screen in flickered, revealing a black and white image. Four ten-foot security walls enclosed a charred, soggy expanse of land.
"Rot and decay, just like our packlands," Knox snarled. "We start now."
"What about…?" Faust didn't finish his question. Instead, his eyes flitted to me and then back to Knox.
I sat forward, adjusting Angus to sleep over my shoulder. "What about what? If it has to do with me, I want to know."
Knox shot Faust a look that clearly conveyed how much he appreciated Faust asking what he had. "Baby—" Knox started.
I got to my feet. "Don't 'baby' me. What?"
"It's something I should've handled weeks ago," Knox snarled in a way I knew wasn't directed at me but himself. "The man who attacked you outside your hotel, the man who made it possible for me to catch you. He was trying to kill you."
I thought back to that night, but the details were fuzzy. The whole night hadn't been a great look for me. Particularly when I'd been running from Knox, slipping through his fingers for the last time. So many things had happened since—terrifying, amazing, impossible, wonderful things. Why would I dwell on a man who had wanted to mug me?
I must've said as much out loud because Knox shook his head. "He wasn't ever trying to mug you. He never asked for your wallet. He clearly said your father before I took him out. It's another loose end. Another thing that doesn't add up, and I—"
"I know, I know. You don't like it when things don't add up." I understood why Knox was curious, just not what he thought the information would do. I wasn't going back to my father. Whatever his goal had been in trying to bring me back, he'd failed.
But, none of that would convince Knox this issue didn't need their time or attention. He hooked his hand around the other side of my hip and brought me and Angus in to sit on his lap. "I didn't want you to worry about it. That's why I didn't bring it up. But if I had found something out, I would've told you."
Knox had a need for answers that I didn't share, but I wouldn't try and stop something that so clearly made him feel better. I kissed his forehead, dropping my lips to his mouth when he grumbled.
"I understand. Thank you, Alpha." I smiled.
Someone—I was pretty sure Huntley—made a gagging sound, and Knox flicked a paper clip, sending the projectile his direction.
"You're welcome, my omega."
Chapter Sixteen
Knox
I grabbed Jazz's wrist, pulling him to sit in my lap. His legs folded obediently, crossing at the ankles and tucking between my calves. His tempting bottom sat squarely on top of my dick, a fact that was both appreciated and intended.
Dr. Tiff didn't bat an eye at the intimacy. Since she'd returned to Walker County, she'd called every day, asking for measurements and asking questions about baby and father. Jazz's exhaustion was cause for worry, since he still slept as much as he had the days after labor.
Jazz turned his profile toward me. "He's sleeping. Like you said." Jazz's bottom lip plumped, pushing his top into a soft curve.
I tucked my face into the sloping harbor of his neck, rubbing my nose along his jaw. Jazz's face was smooth. He didn't have the same stubble as I did that left red marks on his skin. "It's okay to check."
We'd only just started laying Angus down to sleep in his nursery the day prior. His crib, crafted by Faust and me from Oregon white oak, had sat unused in his nursery for the first week of his life. During the rare moments when Angus wasn't being held by one of us, he'd slept in a bassinet next to the bed. Or, if we slept in our wolf forms, he slept in the bed with us.
I was well equipped to understand Jazz's need to check on him again and again, despite the fact we had a video monitor sitting right next to us that displayed Angus sleeping peacefully in his crib, and we were only in the next room over.
"Like I was telling Knox, I'll bring iron supplements with me when I come for Angus's well-baby exam after the weekend. You had a baby in two weeks. It's possible your body will need longer to heal after such rapid growth." The screen behind Dr. Tiff flickered with movement.
Coming from the hallway behind her, there were hushed whispers, and several times, someone loudly shushed another while their angular shadows danced against the wall behind the doctor. They were as astounded as the rest of us over Jazz's transformation. Dr. Tiff ignored the crowd that slowly grew and didn't ask about Jazz's wings.
She could've closed the door, blocking the onlookers, but their curiosity was expected and not dangerous unless the wrong person said the wrong thing.
"I'm pleased with baby's growth. Since your pregnancy was so swift, there was a concern that baby's growth would continue at that same rate. But I'm happy to say he's well within shifter infant ranges."
Jazz cocked his head to the side, the move causing his crimson curls to tickle the side of my face.
It was so easy to forget Jazz hadn't always been a shifter and only knew what he did about shifter culture because we'd taught him.
"The differences aren't substantial. Initially, shifter children grow faster than human children, but that tapers off once the child enters preschool or school age. The easiest way of framing it is to take human baby milestones and subtract a few months—though every baby is different."
"I won't have to wait as long to see him crawl or walk. That sounds good to me." Jazz wiggled when he spoke, his excitement apparent in his constant movement.
My dick also noticed how he couldn't keep still. The opportunistic prick wasted no time nestling between Jazz's cheeks, despite us both having our clothes on. My dick didn't mind the muted pressure, not when he was where he always wanted to be.
Jazz gasped softly while Dr. Tiff continued talking.
He rolled his hips back, playing a dangerous game. I gripped his hips tightly, stilling his movements. "Bad boy." My lips ghosted over his ear as I whispered.
"That's all I wanted to go over for this chat." Dr. Tiff leaned away from her computer and turned her head toward the hallway. "Would you both be willing to answer a few questions regarding Jazz's shift? My Alpha was curious, as well as some of the other pack members."