by Cree Storm
“No! That’s just it. We never got inside. When I went to pull out my I.D. badge to get into the building, it was gone. We never went in. Jim and I left and spent the rest of the night panicking because I lost the damn thing. We ran all over Crystal trying to find it. Hell, we tore my place apart looking for it.”
Vik looked back over his shoulder at the mirrored window, knowing Wade was still in there watching with Nash, Justice, and Illan. There was small tap against the glass that he was sure Tony didn’t hear, letting them know to end this. Vik turned back and handed his cuffs to Orion. “Would you mind cuffing him and staying a few minutes until Marco comes in to bring him to a cell? He and Finn called before we came in and said they finally got through that accident pileup and would be here soon.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Orion replied coolly.
Vik grabbed the files, stacking them, then taking them with him as he and Baldwin left the room.
CHAPTER 16
“So?” Illan asked the minute they all entered the squad room.
“Not here,” Vik replied and motioned for everyone to follow him into Nash’s office. Once they were all inside with the door closed, Vik answered. “He didn’t do it. I couldn’t scent or sense any lies coming off him at the end.”
“You guys can do that?” Wade asked.
“It’s a shifter thing. We can smell when someone is lying. Some breeds are better at it than others. When someone is lying their pheromones change,” Justice explained.
“You didn’t already know that?” Vik asked, giving Wade a smirk.
Wade let a slow smile cross his lips. “Got me again. See, my friend, I told you Nash picked the right man for this job.”
“How did you know that information already?” Illan asked.
Wade turned his attention to Illan. “Two of my men are shifters. It’s one of the many reasons why my team were so successful, and still are.”
Nash cut into the banter. “So, Vik, what are you thinking?”
“I don’t think his card went missing. I think he thinks it did, but I think it was stolen. Too much of this case is trying to make others look guilty. Now we just need to find out who stole Tony’s badge and we have our man.”
“And how do you do that?” Justice asked.
Vik turned his head and looked back at Wade. “First, can you get Rory to go back over that footage where he got the photo of Tony and Jim trying to sneak into the Doc’s office building? Have him follow it until he sees them leave. Then have him check the other cameras around the time after that to see if he can spot them leaving Crystal city limits and heading out to Tony’s. Also, can he―”
Vik was cut off by a knock on the door. Baldwin reached over from where he was leaning on the wall beside the door and opened it. Standing in the hall was Pauly, Ryder, and Donny. Nash motioned them all in and Baldwin closed the door behind them.
“What can we do for you, Doc Chen?” Nash asked.
“I found something just now when I was in Clayton’s lab that I thought you all might be interested in,” Donny answered and held up an evidence bag containing a watch.
“It’s a watch. It’s probably Clayton’s. He always took his off when working,” Justice said.
“That would be a good summation, if I didn’t find it already in this evidence bag and lying under his desk.”
Nash motioned for Donny to hand it over, then studied it as he flipped the bag over. “Why was this in Clayton’s office?”
“Why do you ask, Nash?” Pauly said.
“Because this bag is marked as evidence taken from Sal’s crime scene. It was packaged by Tony. See here, it has his initials on it.”
“Which means that Doc never should have had it and it should have been logged into the evidence room,” Pauly said.
“Exactly,” Nash replied.
“Tony said that Doc would ask to see evidence sometimes, could this be one of those things he asked for?” Baldwin asked.
“Yeah, about that,” Nash said tightly. “Doc didn’t need to ever see any evidence collected at a crime scene. He wasn’t an investigator and it wasn’t part of his job. His job was to collect more evidence from the victims and turn it over. Tony indicated that I signed out those items when Doc requested them, which, of course, I would never do.”
Vik blocked out all the chatter in the room as he turned away from them and went to stand by the window. He stared out over the parking lot and downtown Crystal as thoughts ran through his head. He had no idea how long he stood there like that, or how long everyone had gone quiet, but when Baldwin whispered in his ear and he felt the heat from his mate’s hand on his hip, Vik blinked and became aware of his surroundings.
“You’ve been standing here so deep in thought I thought you had fallen asleep. Are you okay, baby?” Baldwin asked and kissed Vik’s temple.
“Baby? What the hell is this?” Dain’s voice came from behind them, surprising Vik. He turned quickly to face the room and was shocked to see Dain and his mates there. Was he really that out of it that he didn’t even know they’d arrived? Shit.
“Viktor is my mate, Regent,” Baldwin answered with a big smile on his face.
Dain’s brows rose high as his eyes opened wide. “How the hell did this happen and why didn't I know?”
Kerrick chuckled and walked up behind Dain, wrapping his arms around his waist. “Well, you see, mate, there are birds and there are bees and they have abso-fucking-lutely no part in matings. When one male likes another male, they get naked and―Oomph, shit, lover, watch where you point that elbow, you almost got me somewhere vital to your pleasure.”
“I think what Dain means is you two have been together for so long. How is it possible that you only now are mates?” Rune asked.
"I mean that I see mating bonds, why didn't I see theirs? I knew, like everyone else, that they were attracted to each other, but I had no idea they were mates," Dain said in confusion.
"It could have something to do with the griffions being an original creation in the pixie realm. Normally pixies touch an animal and create, however, with Baldwin and his kind, you created them from parts and blood that you had on hand in your world," Rune replied.
"I guess so. Now, tell us, how did you discover you were mates?" Dain asked curiously.
Vik felt his cheeks heating and knew a blush of pink was rising. He looked at Baldwin and saw a smirk on his handsome man’s face.
“It was a kiss, right? Shit, I should have thought of that. We all knew you two were so damn hot for each other, I should have put two and two together,” Dain said.
Baldwin chuckled and ran a hand down Vik’s back, then answered, “No. It wasn’t a kiss. But it is a long story and we have other things to discuss.”
“No. As your creator I didn’t even think that my griffions could have mates. Now that I know you can, that’s wonderful news. Your men will want to know right away so that they too may be able to find their mates someday,” Dain protested.
“It wasn’t a kiss,” Vik mumbled and looked down at his shoes.
Dain stared at him, his head tilting to the side. “Not a kiss? Well, it certainly wasn’t by scent like other paranormals or you both would have known about it sooner. Unless you did, but didn’t say anything.”
“Nope, we had no idea until a few days ago,” Baldwin replied.
“Then blood maybe? Like with my kind?” Kerrick asked.
“Or maybe sex like us fairies? That makes sense, I mean, all the sexual tension these two were putting out was almost a living thing, choking the rest of us whenever we were around them. So that’s it, right? You two finally gave into your base needs?” Rune asked.
“Not with Vik’s rules they didn’t,” Nash answered with a chuckle.
“Then I am lost. If it wasn’t scent, sight, blood, sex, or a kiss, then what finally made you both realize it?” Dain asked.
“It was a nice down and dirty blowjob,” Toby announced in amusement as he strolled into the room and walked to Nash
. Vik looked up and saw that not only was Toby there, but Jett, Zev, Finn, and Marco were as well.
Great. Fuck. Like he wanted all of them to know this. Let the chuckles begin. And three, two, one…and there it is.
“Shit, wait. You’re telling us that you two had no idea you were mates all this time until someone got a blowjob?” Jett asked in excitement. “Oh fuck, that’s priceless. Dain, you sly bastard you. Did you not want your warriors to find their mates that bad that you made it damn near impossible for them to find them?”
“I-I-I, had no idea. How…what…shit,” Dain stammered.
“Hey, Dain, what did the hurricane say to the coconut palm tree? The same thing Vik said to Baldwin, I bet. Hold onto your nuts, this is no ordinary blowjob,” Jett said and busted out laughing.
Toby jumped in enthusiastically, “Oh, what is the difference between oral and anal sex? Oral sex makes your day and anal sex makes your whole week.”
Laughter and chuckles broke out through the room, but Vik just wanted a hole to open up and swallow him. The only saving grace was that it seemed like the ribbing was pointed at Dain.
Between peals of laughter Jett managed another joke before he fell over laughing and had to sit on the floor, “What's the difference between love, true love, and showing off? Spit, swallow, and gargle.”
Illan stepped forward, his face red from trying to control his laughter. “So, let me get this straight. You had to get, or give a…ha ha ha ha, I can’t even ask this. So how…”
Baldwin straightened his spine and squared his shoulders as he looked Dain right in the eye. “As much as I have wanted Vik all this time, we have never…anyway, it was his essence that made me realize who he was.”
“And once that happened,” Vik added uncomfortably, “Baldwin had a scent, and then I knew.”
“So, after he sucked you dry and your “essence”,―Marco started and even used the quotation marks―“filled him, he got a scent and you could smell your mate? Wow, Dain, fucking wicked cool.” Marco laughed louder and Jett pounded on the floor.
“Can we get back to this case now, please?” Vik begged.
Donny wrapped an arm around his waist as he studied the nails on his other hand. “Well, personally, if you have never heard of manscaping, then I have never heard of a blowjob.”
“Real men don’t manscape,” Wade said.
Donny gave Wade a salacious smile. “I think I left a blowjob over at your house. Mind if I come over tonight and get it?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Okay, everyone. That’s enough. We really need to get back to what we were doing. Dain was there something you all needed?” Nash asked.
"Wait! Wait! One more." Toby begged, wiping his tears and still laughing. "When you give a blow job how can you tell if the guy has a really high sperm count?"
Jett laughed, saying, "I don't know how can you tell?"
"When you have to chew before swallowing," Toby replied bursting out laughing even harder.
“No, see, now that’s just wrong,” Pauly said, shaking his head in disgust.
Illan did his best to keep a straight face when looking at Dain. "I really would state your business, then run from the room, my friend."
Dain cleared his throat, hesitating a moment, before saying, “I, uh, I heard that you now have a man who is exceptional with computers. As much as Rhys has been doing a great job with things, he’s not that skilled with your computers yet. We have a large number of people wanting to move to Maddox and some wanting to open businesses and I was wondering if this man had time to help us with checking everyone out. Rhys is getting backlogged and Pascal and Ollie are trying to lend a hand but it’s still going a little too slow.”
“That would be my brother. And as much as I would love to have him help you with that, he’s backlogged himself right now helping Vik with a few things and dealing with…some of my work. I will talk with him and see if he has any time to assist you,” Wade offered.
“That would be wonderful. Thank you. And you are?” Dain asked.
“Wade Wells, I’m the mechanic here in Crystal.”
“Oh yes, I see your shop all the time. Tell me Mr. Wade, do you also work on classic cars and expensive sports cars?” Dain asked.
“We take anything in my shop.”
“Fantastic. I’ll be calling soon for an appointment. In the meantime, here is my card, have your brother call me if he has any time to lend a hand.”
Wade took the card and slipped it into the front pocket of his jeans. “I’ll do that,” he said with a nod.
“What about the rest of you?” Nash asked looking around the room.
Jett was now controlled enough to stand and he and Zev looked at Finn. “We went out and helped them get past that pileup out on the highway and Finn promised us a free dinner at Twixie's.”
“And I met them in the hall as we were coming in and they invited us to tag along. Seeing as I’m not working tonight, I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind?” Toby asked Nash sweetly.
The hard look on Nash’s face immediately softened as he looked at his mate and raised a hand, cupping Toby’s cheek. “I would love to go to dinner with you, osito. But I can’t leave just yet. We still have a few things to discuss here.”
“We can wait for you,” Toby offered.
“No, sweetheart. Why don’t you all head over and order for me? I’ll be there soon to join you.”
“Okay. I know when you need to get everyone out of your hair and take care of business. I’ll see you there, mate,” Toby said and stretched his neck for a kiss, which Nash gladly gave him.
“Marco, Orion is holding Tony in interview one. Can you just go take him down to a cell and lock him up before you go?” Vik asked.
“Sure. I’ll do that now. What did Tony do this time? Drunk pissing in the park again, or playing the loud heavy metal shit at his place till deep into the night and pissed off his neighbors?”
“We’ll fill you in later. For now, just lock him up,” Nash ordered.
“Here’s that file you wanted from Denver,” Finn said and handed it off to Baldwin, who handed it to Vik.
“Thanks, guys. Sorry you had so much trouble getting back. Dinner’s on me,” Vik said.
“Don’t worry about it. Why don’t you all come on over when you’re done?’ Finn offered.
“Thanks, but can we have a raincheck? I have a feeling Orion, Baldwin, and I are going to be here all night with this file and the other things we need to go through.”
“Sure. Good luck with that,” Finn replied and headed for the door.
Once everyone was gone except for he, Baldwin, Nash, Wade, Donny, Illan, and Justice, they got back to what they had been discussing.
“So, where were we? Oh yeah. That watch. Donny, would it be possible you could work on it instead of me having to send it off to Denver and wait another damn month or so?”
“Sure. I can go christen that gorgeous new lab you set up in the back.”
“That would be appreciated, Don, thank you,” Justice said with a nod.
Donny left and Nash turned to Vik. “So, what had you so lost in thought before the chuckle gang came in?”
Vik smiled at Nash’s description. “I was just thinking about what Tony said. If everything he told us is true, then after he and Jim couldn’t get in the building and left, why didn’t we pick that up on camera? But then I remembered Rory telling us that someone has been messing with the cameras around Crystal.”
“What?!” Illan and Justice said at the same time, both looking pissed.
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. Rory found that cameras all over town had been messed with during the times of the murders. So, it got me to thinking, if I didn’t even know about them, then who all did?” Vik said tightly, his jaw clenched.
“I’m sorry about that, Vik,” Justice said softly.
“Let’s get into that later. For now, let’s answer your question. Illan and Justice, of course, then they told me about it and recently
Suneth. As far as I know, that’s it,” Nash said.
“True, but also Destrain and Brax. They helped us install all the cameras,” Illan said.
“Brax? Wyndingo’s guy?” Baldwin asked.
“Yeah, he’s an expert on surveillance. He knew how to get his hands on everything we needed and how to install them,” Illan replied.
“Would he also know how to follow the signal back to see if we can find out who messed with them?” Wade asked.
“I’m not sure. Would Rory?” Justice answered.
“When this Brax hooked everything up, where did he centralize the feed?”
“In my office and another here with Nash,” Justice replied.
“I’ll have Rory hack into both systems, if that’s alright with you, of course, and see if he can find where the breach is coming from,” Wade offered.
“That would be great, Wade, thanks,” Justice said.
CHAPTER 17
Wade sat next to Rory as the man tapped away at his keyboard. Baldwin had no clue what the hell Rory was doing. Computers, cell phones, and all the technology this world had to offer was beyond his grasp of knowledge. Hell, Ollie and Pascal laughed the first time Twix got him a cell phone and tried to teach him how to use it. He learned quickly that texting sucked. Pas, Ollie, and Twix would go at what seemed like the speed of light with their thumbs. He, on the other hand, was tapping one letter at a time with his pointer finger and taking a shit ton of time, often hitting the wrong button, cursing his large fingers. His frustration hit a point that Baldwin crushed the damn phone after throwing the fucking thing on the floor and stomping it, until it was dead. Twix then handed him a second, laughing as he said, "I had a feeling that might happen."
Nope, he was not a tech kind of person. Which is why he was sitting here looking at the photos, trying to pick up something about the crime scenes they may have missed. "These fucking pictures really suck!"
Vik looked up from a report he was reading. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
