Tom Brennan’s office was further out of town than Dean had expected, and by the time he arrived, he found himself hoping he wasn’t too late. It was a little after five, but if Tom kept the hours most lawyers Dean knew did, he was probably still there.

Sure enough, there was a light on the top floor where the sign in the building lobby promised Tom’s office would be. Dean took the stairs two at a time, telling himself this wasn’t going to be one of those calls where he ended up putting someone’s head through a wall. Then he saw Tom’s face and he wasn’t so sure.

“My office is closed. If you need an appointment, call my secretary in the morning,” the Alpha slurred, starting to shut the door in Dean’s face.

Dean blocked the door with his hand and pulled a badge so he wouldn’t just deck Tom right there. There was a chance, however slim, that it wasn’t as bad as it looked. That he’d had a perfectly fine reason for brokering an illegal adoption.

Okay, maybe not fine, but Dean was trying to talk himself off a ledge. The second Tom saw his badge, the color left his face. “Wh-what can I do for you, Detective?”

“For a guy who earns a living at the law, you’re kind of shady around cops. Might wanna work on that,” Dean said, muscling his way through the door. He looked around the small office and the fact that Tom obviously wasn’t raking in the dough with his practice made him all the more suspicious of what the man might be willing to do for a fat check.

“It’s just that I don’t usually get unexpected law enforcement at my door,” Tom said, moving a stack of papers into his desk drawer. “Is there a problem?”

The fact that Tom’s mind didn’t jump to him being there because of a case was all the more reason to suspect him of foul play, but Dean reminded himself that he wasn’t there in an official capacity. “I’m here because you brokered an adoption twelve years ago, and the paperwork doesn’t quite add up,” he said, deciding to just come out with it. Tom’s face was even paler when Dean turned to face him. “Now, I’m gonna level with you. There are two ways we can handle this little Q&A session. Either you tell me the truth now, or we can do this downtown with tape recorders and a whole lot more cops. The choice is yours.”

Tom swallowed hard, falling into his chair. “What is it you want to know?”

“Gavin Krieg. Ring any bells?”

The other Alpha was starting to sweat despite that it was snowing outside and the AC in the unit was obviously busted. “N-no, I can’t say it does.”

“You sure that’s the way you wanna do it, Tommy?” Dean tucked his finger into the loop of the cuffs on his belt. “Cuz I got a pair of bracelets that’d make a lovely early Christmas present.”

Tom swallowed so hard Dean could hear the gulp from across the room. “A—alright,” he stammered. Dean hoped he was a little more stalwart in the courtroom. Then again, from what he’d seen on the guy’s website, he mostly handled low-level custody cases and apparently black market adoptions, when the mood struck him. “Okay, I know the kid. The Kriegs… they paid me to make the arrangements because they didn’t have everything together for the adoption.”

“You mean like the original birth certificate? You didn’t think there might be a reason for that?”

“Look, I wasn’t getting paid to ask questions. They seemed like a nice couple, and it was a hell of a lot better than the situation the kid was born into.”

Dean frowned. Tom was confirming his suspicions, but he knew better than to trust a man who’d caved so easily to tell the truth. “Which was?”

“A teenaged omega, and a grandfather who had reason to keep the pregnancy under wraps, from what the Kriegs told me. Rich family, didn’t want the shame of it coming out that their kid had gotten knocked up by some random Alpha and all that jazz.”

“What was his name?” Dean demanded.

“I don’t know. Max something. It’s been twelve years, and the original birth certificate was destroyed for a reason. The omega’s dad paid big money, I’m sure.”

“And you were all too happy to help them forge another one,” Dean growled.

“Like I said, it was better for everyone involved.”

“It wasn’t better for Gavin,” Dean gritted out, snatching the other Alpha out of his chair to pin him to the wall. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t get physical, but he figured he could always make it his New Year’s resolution to start over. Not that that would do any good for Tom. “You know, the kid who doesn’t even know his own goddamn birthday because of you. The kid who ended up in foster care because the people who bought him like a piece of furniture turned out not to be such fine, upstanding citizens.”

Tom flinched like the coward he was and Dean reluctantly let him slip down the wall. “I—I didn’t know. I’ve never done anything like that since, I swear. You can check my ledgers,” he said, fumbling for a book on his desk.

“I don’t give a shit about your ledgers,” Dean growled. “And if it wasn’t for that kid, we’d be having a different conversation right now, but I’ve got bigger fish to fry than you.”

Tom started to relax visibly, so Dean added, “But I won’t be a stranger. I’ll be watching you, Tommy, and if I think for a second you’re back to taking on freelance work, we’re gonna have a problem. Do I make myself clear?”

“C-crystal,” the Alpha stammered. Dean shoved past him on his way out the door.

Max Something. Well, that certainly narrowed it down. He’d hoped to avoid having to check in at the prison for a visit, but it seemed the Kriegs had left him no choice.