“Mr. Grainger, Mr. Kent,” he said with a nod. His eyes shifted to Maddox and widened slightly. “Didn’t know you were back in town, son,” he said.
“I’m not,” was all Maddox said. When the sheriff’s gaze moved to Isaac, I saw Maddox subtly move closer to the pair. Fortunately, the sheriff didn’t linger on the younger man and little boy.
“Mr. Kent, we’ve received several complaints about your,” – he waved his hand around – “business. This serves as notice that a public forum has been scheduled for tomorrow night to address those concerns and what steps will be taken to shut you down, since this place is clearly a threat to the residents of Pelican Bay.” The man handed Dallas a folded-up piece of paper.
Dallas angrily ripped the paper open and scanned it, then started typing on his phone. But the sheriff didn’t even wait to hear what Dallas had to say before continuing.
“We’ve also received a complaint that your wolf viciously attacked a resident who was in the area recently.”
“That’s a lie,” I interjected.
The sheriff shot me a hard look, then handed Dallas a second piece of paper. “This is an order authorizing me to remove the animal from the premises for quarantine purposes and to determine what action should be taken to make sure he can’t hurt anyone else.”
My heart leapt into my throat as the animal control officer suddenly stepped forward with a snare and looped it around Loki’s neck. The wolf hybrid, who’d been standing quietly nearby, jumped when the snare tightened around his neck, then tried to jerk back.
Dallas let out a strangled shout and then he was striding toward the sheriff. I tried to stop him, but he was too strong. Luckily, Maddox stepped in front of Dallas and grabbed him by the arms. “Don’t,” he told his brother. Dallas fought him as the sheriff watched, his hand resting on the butt of his gun. Panic tore through me.
“Dallas,” I said as I grabbed his face so he would look at me. “Please don’t. We’ll get Loki back, but not like this, okay?”
“Dallas,” Maddox said so softly that only Dallas and I could hear him. “It’s what he wants.”
Dallas’s eyes shifted to the sheriff, then Loki who was being dragged to the animal control vehicle. The animal was struggling violently. Dallas nodded to Maddox and stopped trying to get past him. As soon as Maddox released him, Dallas motioned to Loki, then himself, followed by the animal control truck.
“He wants to put Loki in the truck himself, Sheriff,” I quickly said. “Please,” I added, though it nearly killed me to beg the man for anything. “It will go easier on everyone if Dallas does it.”
The asshole was clearly enjoying his victory, because he studied Dallas, me, and then Loki for a long time – much longer than was necessary – before he finally nodded. Dallas quickly moved past me and the sheriff and hurried to Loki’s side. The animal instantly calmed at his presence. Dallas let his hands stroke over the wolf hybrid’s coat, then carefully gathered him in his arms. He put him in the truck, then removed the snare. I felt tears sting the backs of my eyes as he hugged his pet.
“Let’s go,” the sheriff snapped impatiently and walked toward his car as the animal control officer gently forced Dallas to step back. Dallas didn’t move as the cars left. I hurried toward him when he suddenly swayed.
I didn’t manage to reach him until after he’d fallen to his knees in the snow.
I waited until long after the pain pills had taken effect to release my hold on Dallas. He was pressed up against my chest, but the drugs had knocked him out enough that when I untangled my body from his, he didn’t wake up.
It had taken quite a while to convince Dallas to take the pills once we’d reached the house. His silence had worried me, and my hope was that it was just the lingering pain and the medication he was on that was keeping him from reacting to the loss of Loki. He’d been so out of it that he’d even let Maddox help me get him to the house and then up to his room. Dallas had tried to refuse the pain pills I’d handed him, but he’d given in when I’d promised I would be there when he woke up and that we’d figure out how to get Loki back. Neither of us had any doubt that the sheriff had been lying about someone getting attacked. We also knew he held no jurisdiction when it came to trying to close down the center, since it wasn’t technically located in Pelican Bay. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t get enough support from residents to have them flooding the state with calls demanding the center be shut down. There was no question as to the sheriff’s motives, since he’d made it clear that he hated Dallas for the accident he still believed had been Dallas’s fault. Not to mention the way Dallas had embarrassed Jimmy at my father’s wake.
I brushed a soft kiss over Dallas’s temple, then went downstairs to check on Isaac and Newt. The young man had been worried when Dallas had collapsed and had asked if there was anything he could do. Since Maddox had been there to help me with Dallas, I’d told him we were okay, but when he’d suggested he and Newt should leave, I’d asked him to come with us to the house. Not only did I still have questions about his involvement with Trey and the Stradivarius, I was also worried about him and Newt. I hadn’t missed how scared both of them had been when the sheriff had shown up. The reaction could have been attributed to the violin, but it could have been something else, too.
My instincts were telling me it was the latter.
I found him in the kitchen doing the breakfast dishes I hadn’t had time to get to before Dallas and I had made the trip to Minneapolis for the follow-up appointment with his surgeon.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said as I searched the area for Newt. I finally spotted the little boy asleep on the couch in the living room.
Isaac practically jumped out of his skin. “What? Oh, um, I don’t mind. Keeps me busy. How’s your friend?”
“Asleep,” I murmured.
“That shit out there was real,” Isaac muttered. “Fucking cops,” he added under his breath.
Yep, he was definitely running from something.
I went to the island in the kitchen and trailed my fingers over the violin case sitting on it. I flipped the latches on the case and studied the instrument. I’d paid a small fortune for the instrument when I’d gotten my first job performing with an orchestra in New York. Losing it had been like losing a part of me, but strangely enough, its return wasn’t doing much for me. My gaze automatically shifted to the violin on the coffee table in the living room.
The one Dallas had gotten for me.
The one I played for Gentry every day, the one I played for Dallas every night.
It was a lower-quality instrument compared to the one Isaac had returned, but somehow, I played better on it than I had on any other violin I’d ever used. I had no doubt it was less about the instrument and more about the audience.
I felt Isaac’s gaze on me and turned to find him watching me. He dropped his eyes and then reached for a plastic container I hadn’t noticed on the counter. “Um, your mom asked me to bring this with me. It’s lasagna, I guess. Said you and your man would be hungry after such a long day.”
“You talked to my mom?” I asked, lifting a brow as I accepted the container.
“Um, yeah, I went to your house first and she said you’d be here. She told me how to get here.”
The container was heavy in my hand, indicating it was likely filled to the brim with food. I’d only seen my mother a few times since Dallas and I had returned to the center, but on the occasions I’d gone to the house to check on her, she hadn’t let me leave until my arms were laden down with plastic containers full of everything from full meals to cookies to soup. At first, I’d thought she’d just ended up making too much for herself because she hadn’t gotten used to cooking for one, but then I’d realized that there was way too much food for even two people.
Meaning she’d purposely cooked the food for me and Dallas.
“Thanks,” I said. “Are you hungry?” I asked, holding up the container.
The guy was super skinny so I fig
ured even if he wasn’t hungry, he should eat anyway.
“No, that’s okay. Newt and I should go,” he said as he wiped his hands on his pants and then started heading toward the living room.
“Isaac, please, I’d like you to stay,” I said. “I have some questions for you.”
He stilled, then nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
I went and grabbed some plates and silverware and then motioned to the couch. Isaac grabbed the plastic container and followed me. He sat down to next to Newt and put his hand on the boy’s head. “Newt, are you hungry, buddy?”
Newt sighed and stretched a bit, then opened his eyes. He shook his head and then sat up and pressed against Isaac’s side so his head was on his chest. He promptly fell back asleep. Isaac lovingly ruffled the boy’s hair and then dropped a kiss to the top of his head.
“Is he your son?” I asked as I handed Isaac a plate full of lasagna.
“Um, no, he’s my brother.”
I nodded, though, in truth, the age gap surprised me. But I didn’t comment on it. I was in the process of scooping some lasagna on my own plate when it hit me.
“Isaac…Newton,” I said with a smile. “Seriously?”
Isaac smiled and rolled his eyes. “I’d like to say our mother had a weird sense of humor, but the truth is, she was just plain weird.”
The comment was made with a smile, leaving me to guess he hadn’t meant it as a criticism.
I let Isaac eat for a few minutes, but found it hard to get more than a few bites of the lasagna down myself. It tasted fine, but I was just too worried about Dallas and everything that had happened tonight to even think about something as simple as eating.
“Tell me how you ended up with my violin, Isaac,” I said softly.
He paused his chewing, then swallowed hard and set the nearly empty plate down on the couch cushion next to him, careful not to disturb Newt in the process. “Um, Trey, he gave it to me…as payment.”
“Payment? I don’t understand. Payment for what?”
Isaac refused to look at me. He glanced down to check that Newt was still out. “He had his kinks, you know? There’s only one sure way to find a guy who will agree to that shit and keep his mouth shut about it, especially for a guy like Trey.”
It took me a full fifteen seconds to understand what he was trying to tell me. Before I could even think about what I was saying, I breathed, “You’re a prost-”
“Escort,” Isaac cut in. His chin lifted just a little, like he was daring me to say anything else. When I didn’t, he said, “Trey said I could pawn the violin – it wasn’t expensive enough to set off any alarm bells like the one I took from your apartment for him.”
“Why didn’t you do it?”
“Because I’m not a thief.” He tilted his head and said, “Yeah, okay, I guess I stole that really fancy violin, but I already told you-”
“I believe you,” I interjected. “Trey is a very convincing guy. I should know that better than anyone.”
“Hey,” Isaac said, and I looked up, not even realizing I’d dropped my eyes. “I make a living off being able to read guys and what they want. He had me snowed almost from the start.”
I nodded. “Thank you,” I murmured. “For sending that tape to the cops…for making it in the first place. For bringing my violin back.”
Isaac shrugged and let his fingers card through Newt’s hair. “Guys like that shouldn’t always get to win, you know?”
At that, we both fell into a contemplative silence for a moment.
“Do you want any more?” I asked as I nodded at the lasagna.
He shook his head. “So, um, the guy upstairs, he’s your boyfriend?”
I nodded. “This is his place.”
“The whole thing? Like all the animals and stuff?”
“Yeah, he rescues and rehabilitates them.”
“And his” – Isaac motioned to his own throat – “is that…is he okay?”
“He had surgery a few days back to deal with some complications from a car accident, but he’ll be okay.”
Isaac nodded. “What about the brick wall that was with you guys?”
“The what?” I asked.
“The guy who looked like he’d run out of villagers to crush.”
I smiled when I realized he was talking about Maddox. “Maddox, Dallas’s brother,” I said.
“Did his mama name him Mad ‘cause that’s what he is?” Newt asked tiredly. His eyes had opened at some point and he was watching me, but he hadn’t moved from his brother’s side.
“It’s Maddox, buddy,” Isaac corrected.
“He was mean. He kept looking at you funny,” Newt murmured.
Isaac’s hand settled on his brother’s back. “Remember what I said about what other people think about us?”
Newt nodded. “They’re just scared ‘cause they don’t like themselves much.”
“Right,” Isaac said. “Buddy, do you want to eat something before we get going?”
Newt shook his head. Isaac carefully lifted him and climbed to his feet.
“Can I ask where you’re headed?” I asked as I stood.
“New York.”
“Do you have family there or something?”
“We’re gonna get lost again,” Newt whispered.
Isaac’s eyes darted to meet mine, but he just shook his head. “He’s tired,” he mumbled. “I’m really sorry about what happened to your wolf – I hope you get him back.”
“Loki was nice,” Newt said softly, then his head lolled on Isaac’s shoulder and I knew the little boy was out again. I stepped in Isaac’s path to stop him.
“Isaac, do you guys need a place to stay for a couple of days? Or even just the night?”
“What? No,” Isaac said quickly.
Too quickly.
“It’s late and the roads are sure to be covered in a few inches of snow by now. The plows don’t get to the back roads sometimes for a couple of days. The closest hotel is in Pelican Bay and it’s too cold to sleep in your car.”
Isaac hesitated for a moment, then murmured, “We’ll be fine.”
“Please, Isaac, I’ll worry about both of you if I know you’re out there. Just stay for the night. The weather should clear by tomorrow.”
The young man shifted back and forth on his feet, clearly torn. It wasn’t until Newt snuggled closer against him that he finally nodded. “Okay, yeah. Thanks.”
I nodded, but didn’t make a big deal out of him agreeing. I could tell he was already on edge about the whole thing. I led Isaac upstairs and showed him one of the guest rooms. There weren’t any sheets on the mattress, but I quickly found some in the closet near the guest bathroom and got the bed fixed up. The room smelled a little stale, but it wasn’t too bad.
“Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Yeah. I, uh, need to go grab our stuff from the car.”
I nodded. “I can stay with Newt if you want.”
Isaac hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll just be a couple minutes.”
It ended up being closer to ten, and I was about to go outside and look for the young man after an unreasonable fear settled in my belly that he’d ditched his little brother. But I’d just as quickly dismissed the thought since I could tell how much Isaac loved the boy.
“Everything okay?” I asked when Isaac reappeared, a small duffle bag in hand. He looked flushed and he was breathing hard.
“Fine,” he bit out.
“Did something happen-”
“No,” he said sharply. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.”
I could tell he was off-balance and I briefly wondered if I’d done the right thing in asking him to stay.
“You should tell your boyfriend’s brother to just back the fuck off.”
“My boyfriend’s…Maddox? You saw Maddox out there?”
“Prick,” Isaac muttered. “Sorry,” he murmured, then he began searching through the duffle bag. I decided to leave him be when I saw that his hands were shaking.
/>
“Goodnight, Isaac,” I said as I began to pull the door shut.
“Nolan.”
“Yeah?”
Isaac kept his back to me. “Thanks.” He motioned to the room with a jerk of his head. “For this.”
“You’re welcome. See you in the morning.”
I closed the door and went to check on Dallas, who was still soundly sleeping. I returned downstairs with the intent of cleaning and locking up the house, but nearly jumped out of my skin at the sight of Maddox standing in the kitchen, arms crossed.
God, Isaac was right, the man did look like a brick wall with his broad chest, bulging biceps, and perpetual frown. Hell, Newt had nailed it – Mad did fit the guy.
“Sorry,” he had the decency to say. “You shouldn’t let him leave. He’s in trouble.”
I could only assume he was talking about Isaac. “Did he tell you that?”
“Didn’t need to.”
I wondered exactly what had happened between the two, but before I could ask, Maddox said, “Dallas gave up on believing our parents would change, but I guess I never did. That’s why I didn’t even think to question our father when he said Dallas was driving. Dallas never even denied it.”
Maddox paused before saying, “I didn’t think our father was capable of a betrayal like that. But I guess I never thought I was capable of saying what I said to my own brother. I didn’t mean it, but it doesn’t matter. I said it and I let the shame of what I did afterward keep me from telling him how wrong I was.”
“You tried to keep him from getting his half of the inheritance. You let him face this vindictive town by himself for years. The one person he should have been able to count on and you weren’t there.”
“Yes,” was all he said. He turned to leave, then stopped and said, “Will you tell him something for me?”
I didn’t respond because I wasn’t sure I could give him the answer he wanted. My only concern was protecting Dallas. Even if I felt a certain measure of pity for Maddox and how badly he’d fucked up his relationship with his brother, Dallas did and always would come first.
“Tell him…tell him I have his back.”
That was all he said before he walked out the door.
Locked in Silence_Pelican Bay [Book 1] Page 22
