Chapter Fourteen

Doc cursed as he woke to the sound of someone pounding on his front door. A quick check of the clock showed it wasn’t quite eight in the morning. “Someone had better be dying,” he yelled as he grabbed his robe off the back of the door and stumbled down the stairs to his surgery. Flinging open the door, he scowled as he saw Rocky and Mal. “You woke me up and you’re not bleeding,” he snarled.

“But we brought coffee and breakfast from the diner.” Mal held up his offerings.

“Fine. Come on upstairs. Let me put some clothes on and wake Joe.”

“Don’t dress on our account, Doc,” Rocky teased. “I’m sure you’ve got nothing we haven’t seen before.”

“That’s what you think.” Doc snapped his mouth shut and led the way back upstairs. Joe met them at the top, scratching his bed-mussed hair, a pair of jeans slung low on his hips. There wasn’t a scratch on his bare chest.

“Hey guys. I was going to find you at the mayor’s office today. What’s happening?”

Leaving them in the kitchen to dish out breakfast, Doc hurried through the bedroom and threw on the first pants and top he could find. Since shifting the night before, his hair wasn’t tied up and was a mass of tangles. Doc impatiently tugged his brush through it, his eyes searching for a leather tie. He could hear snatches of the conversation, but not enough to make out what everyone was saying. At the moment, it seemed like Mal was checking that Joe was okay, but then Joe gave a small cry of distress and Doc abandoned his hair and ran back to where he’d left them. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

“They want to suspend me from my job.” There were genuine tears in Joe’s eyes and Doc turned on Rocky, his teeth bared.

“What the hell did my mate do wrong? He was nowhere near the office when it blew up. He apprehended Hargraves. It wasn’t his fault he got shot. What’s that piece of shit been saying now?”

“What our hot-headed sheriff meant to say,” Mal said calmly, shooting a warning look at Rocky, “was that we thought it might be a good idea to give the impression you’ve been suspended. Joe is not now, nor has he ever been under suspicion for anything. But,” Mal sighed. “There’s no easy way to say this – Joe, you’re a target. A great big one, if anything Hargraves said can be believed.”

“You guys can scent lies,” Doc nudged Joe into the nearest chair, reaching over to get his coffee. “Either he’s telling the truth or he’s not.”

“None of us smelled any deceit.” Rocky started dishing out the breakfast boxes they’d brought with them. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think Hargraves meant to shoot anyone, let alone an officer of the law. He was sobbing like a baby while Simon and Brutus were holding him and as soon as he saw me and Mal he started blubbering all over again.”

“Like I give a shit about him.” Doc stabbed into his potato cake with his fork. “What’s all this about Joe being a target?”

“That’s the only thing we got out of this mess that made sense,” Mal said. “The Quincy’s are behind this, we know that. For whatever reason, they want Joe dead for being a traitor to the family name.”

“That could be for a lot of reasons,” Joe said. Doc noticed he wasn’t eating, but he was hanging onto his coffee cup like a lifeline, his eyes still damp. “I have never involved myself in any of the family crimes, I’m the only Quincy in town who would stand up to them, and I’ve mated a man. Quincys don’t approve of any of that.”

“The thing is,” Rocky leaned over the table, “How the hell do they know this stuff? Yes, Hargraves saw you two together at the diner and you said you were mates then, but he hasn’t had a chance to get in touch with anyone else. Doc, you didn’t tell Harold, did you?”

“No, I let him assume I was visiting Joe in a professional capacity.”

“A professional capacity that cost me twenty bucks.” Rocky winced as Mal elbowed him in the ribs. “Sorry, I am happy for you both, but you see what I am getting at. Hargraves didn’t seem surprised to see you in the diner, Joe. But Harold thought you were on death’s door and he’s always been a wimp. There’s no way he’d instigate something like blowing up the sheriff’s office. Robert is dead, so who does that leave?”

“Didn’t Hargraves tell you?” Doc swallowed down the last of his potato and shoved his fork in some bacon. One of the joys of being the type of shifter he was. Komodo dragons could eat through any situation.

“Humans let Hargraves out of his cell,” Rocky said around a mouthful of food. “They broke down the back door, unlocked his cell. The keys are always hanging on a hook by the door, in case of an emergency. Some guy in a balaclava shoved the gun in Hargraves hand and told him to keep quiet and run. They said some guy called Myron would be back for him and then took off.”

Joe put down his fork. “Doc and I were just talking about finding you, to chat about Myron when we heard the explosion.”

“Well, that’s one point for our team. You know who he is.” Rocky shoved a forkful of bacon and eggs into his mouth. He waved the now empty fork at Joe to continue.

“Myron is Harold’s older brother, another uncle of mine,” Joe said slowly. “You won’t have heard about him before, because one of Harold and Robert’s main jobs was keeping him out of the public eye and away from law enforcement. He runs his own criminal enterprise but not in shifter towns. Well, not Arrowtown. Harold insisted, right from the start, and this is just secondhand you understand, but Harold said he couldn’t keep his mayor job if Myron lived in town. We all agree Robert was a crook too, but he’d have been drummed out of his position years ago if Myron had been in town. Myron’s not a petty criminal, like Robert’s sons.”

“Fucking brilliant.” Rocky scraped his plate and then pushed it away. “So, we have a criminal mastermind, who may or may not have had ties to this town, who for some unknown reason wants the status quo restored which is why my office got blown up and why you’re walking around with a target on your back. Have I grasped the situation so far?”

“Joe doesn’t know anything more about Myron than what he’s telling you.” Doc hated the look of defeat on his mate’s face. “We were coming to tell you about it because we thought it had to do with money; maybe funds being laundered through the city books or something. We didn’t know what the tie might have been exactly but would have warned you if we’d had the chance. It’s my mate that’s in danger here. You notice whoever’s been watching us made sure the only person in jail was Hargraves. Simon had barely been gone thirty minutes when it blew, and you can’t tell me that’s coincidence.”

“And they let him out, so they weren’t told to kill anyone, except our deputy Joe,” Mal agreed. “But if Joe was the target, why let Hargraves out? Why not just let him get caught in the blast?”

“The only reason Myron would keep Hargraves alive is because he’s useful. That might tie into the money angle too.” Joe had abandoned his empty coffee cup and was nibbling on a piece of bacon. “I don’t know a lot about Myron. I’ve only met him a couple of times my whole life, and I haven’t seen him for years. But my cousins, Robert’s sons, really looked up to him. I think a lot of the stuff they did was because they were hoping to catch Myron’s eye and be taken into the family business.”

“Shades of the godfather,” Mal shook his head. “Okay. We can’t touch Robert’s sons unless they come to town, because they’re banned from here. The humans that blew up the sheriff’s office – same problem. I talked to the council last night, as did Ra. They are sending their liaison officer to pick up Hargraves and hand him over to the human authorities.”

“What are they charging him with?” Joe asked. “I mean, we know he’s up to his neck in shit, but human laws work differently to ours.”

“I thought I had your word, Rocky.” Doc glared at the alpha. “If Hargraves leaves here, Myron will get him out and in the meantime there’s no way of knowing how much information he’s picked up about us and this town since he’s been here. Shifter justice demands I have the right to kill him for shooting my mate. A town meeting will bring the same verdict – you know it would.”

Rocky bit his lip, casting a worried look at Mal who shook his head. “I can’t let you do it, Doc,” Rocky said at last. “I know, I know you have every right, but Joe’s fine and…and….”

“Spit it out, Rocky,” Joe said calmly, picking up another piece of bacon which must have been cold by now. “Things must be bad if you’re going against shifter law.”

“This doesn’t leave this room, okay?” Rocky waited until they all nodded before continuing. “I think, and by me, I mean the guys at Ra’s house, all think that there’s more to this than anyone is seeing, and the council aren’t being helpful. They see it as a town issue and nothing for them to worry about. I had to tell them about Hargraves. That’s standard procedure when a human is involved in shifter issues.”

“Why tell the council about it now? Why not just keep Hargraves here until Myron comes for him again?” Joe asked.

“Because too many people know he’s here, and if someone else reported it to the council, we’d all be in the shit,” Mal said. “It’s clear there’s a Quincy snitch in town. You said yourself, why was the sheriff’s office empty when it was blown up? How did Hargraves and by extension, Myron, know you were still alive after Robert was killed? There’s still too many things we don’t know, and in the meantime, someone is watching us.”

“But surely, that’s all the more reason to keep Hargraves here?” Doc couldn’t work out what Rocky and Mal were thinking. “If people know he’s been sent off, to so-called human authorities, it undermines the shifter laws in this town. A lot of people care about Joe. They know he was shot by Hargraves. The only reason he’s still alive now is because I had to dig a bullet out of my mate’s chest before I could separate his worthless head from his body.” Doc could feel his breathing quicken up and his heart was pounding so loud everyone would be able to hear it. All he could see in his mind’s eye was his mate sprawled on the pavement with blood all over his chest. Joe grabbed his hand, he didn’t even realize it was fisted, and squeezed it tight.

“We’re hoping Hargraves will lead us to this Myron person,” Mal said. “Face it, when it’s all said and done, Hargraves is a pawn. Yes, he knew about the crap coating Robert’s horns, and yes, he did shoot Joe, but he wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t mean to. Shifter laws apply, yes, but that’s one of the stupid aspects of the legal system. Those laws don’t apply to Hargraves and because of those same laws, we can’t go riding out to the farm Harold claims they are holed up in, with guns blazing. They are living outside of town limits.”

“So, what’s the point of tracking Hargraves out of town, then?” Joe asked, and Doc couldn’t believe how calmly his mate was taking all this. His blood was boiling, and he was ready to go and find Hargraves and kill him now before he could cause any more trouble.

“We think Myron is in town,” Rocky said. “Admittedly, we didn’t know he was related to you when we were talking about it last night, but there is someone in town, a shifter, who is loyal to him, and knowing the family connection that now makes sense. The car carrying the people responsible for releasing Hargraves and bombing the office barely stopped in town. Cameras picked them up on one side of town, they drove straight through, stopped behind the cells, let Hargraves go, threw their bomb and left.”

“Shifter towns aren’t included in GPS systems, so the men had to have got instructions from somewhere,” Joe mused, “otherwise how would they know where the sheriff office was? Someone in town must have seen me take Hargraves to the office yesterday morning and whoever was watching, knew he didn’t leave.”

“Simon was also tracked otherwise they wouldn’t have let him go home first. Everyone in town knows he’s a lawyer and newly mated, suggesting our watcher has got some heart,” Mal agreed. “It’s also common knowledge Rocky and I get dinner at Cam’s if we’re working late.”

“Humans wouldn’t want to take on a shifter in a fight,” Doc calmed down enough to contribute something to the conversation, albeit tersely. “Is it possible Myron didn’t know the guys he hired very well, and was worried they’d be caught and questioned if someone else was in the office when they broke Hargraves out?”

“From what I understand, and please, I don’t know this as fact,” Joe said slowly, “Myron only has one or two people he trusts more than others. His trusted friends are not likely to be human. But my cousins used to brag all the time about Myron’s huge network, about how he used to pay people off for information and how the ‘little guys’, their words not mine, never knew who the big boss was.”

“If that’s the case, good call on not wasting resources chasing that car. Those guys were probably paid to do a job by a middle man. Myron might not even know who they were exactly.” Rocky nodded at Mal.

“That would also explain why Hargraves wasn’t taken with them, especially if Myron was planning on using Hargraves for something else further down the track. I’m almost certain that’s the only reason he’s still alive,” Joe said. “Did you ask Hargraves if he knew who Myron is?”

“He said he’d not heard that name before his rescuers mentioned it.” Mal’s quirked brow suggested he thought the lawyer had been evasive.

Leaning back in his chair, Joe took Doc’s hand with him and Doc got a chance to see another side of his mate. He didn’t just dive in with wild ideas, he didn’t brag or try to upstage his friends in any way. He listened, and it was clear he was thinking all the time. “Let’s assume,” Joe said slowly, “that Harold doesn’t know I recovered from Robert’s attack. I think Myron, and Robert too, were keeping Harold in the dark. When Harold told Doc about the possible raid in town, he said it was what he’d heard, but he didn’t spill any significant details.”

“That makes sense,” Doc scoffed. “Harold couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag, and spending all those years as Mayor – shit, all he cared about was getting his dick serviced and counting his money.”

“And the crux of his phone call was getting his job back as mayor,” Joe reminded him. “He knew about the spell stuff on Robert’s horns, but I doubt he could’ve applied it. Someone else had to be on or near the Forest farm that night.”

“We thought it might have been Myron,” Rocky said, but Joe shook his head.

“No. Myron is the type to ride in after the guns have stopped firing. Think. Think.” Joe tapped his head with his free hand. “Dash. Dash is the connecting link.”

“The deer shifter? Really?” Doc couldn’t see what the link was.

“My cousins, Al and Wall used to run with the two older Dash boys. This was before you guys came here,” Joe said to Rocky and Mal. “Dash’s farm meets Forest’s land on the western edge. Mr. Dash was sitting with Hargraves when you and I went to the diner for breakfast, babe. It all makes sense.”

“That’s right,” Doc said as he thought back to that morning. “Hargraves was rude to Dash back then, but with everything else that happened, I didn’t think anything of it at the time. The way Hargraves spoke to him suggested they knew each other.”

“No one with the name of Dash has been in trouble since we took office,” Rocky said. “I would’ve remembered the name if they had.”

“No, the boys were never in trouble as such,” Joe said quickly. “They came close to being jailed a couple of times. I remember there was an incident with a stolen car, but as Wall was the instigator and Robert paid the damages, the case never came to light. But I do think a visit to their farm is in order. I’ll get dressed and call out there.”

“Joe, you can’t go,” Mal said gently. “You’re on suspension, remember?”

“No, I’m not. You suggested suspension because you’re trying to protect me, and I appreciate it, I do.” Joe’s jaw firmed. “But, it won’t do any good. If I’m a target, like you say, then I need to be doing my job. Hiding out here, or at my house, just makes it easier for people to get to me. What if Doc’s surgery is bombed next with innocent people inside? Or if I’m out at my place, our weekend place,” Doc was warmed by Joe’s quick smile, “and someone decides to burn it down, or shoot me out there. Don’t you see? This is my family doing this. I need to be a part of what happens next and not just as the target.”

“The family side of things could make things awkward for you,” Mal said hesitantly, looking at Rocky.

“Do you trust me?”

“Always, Joe. I see you as part of my family.” Rocky met Joe’s eyes.

“Then let me do this. Let me go and see the Dash’s at least.”

“We could go and have another talk to Hargraves before the council liaison guy gets here,” Mal said. “If he thinks he’s going to get used for something illegal, he might be more forthcoming when we tell him about Myron.”

Doc spoke up before he thought about what he was saying. “I could give you a good excuse to get into the Dash household, Joe, if you didn’t want to start questioning people right away. Rosie Dash broke her arm just a few days ago. I don’t make house calls as a rule, but I could always say I was in the area because you were following up on Robert’s death at the Forest farm.”

“Are you looking to be deputized too, Doc?” Rocky relaxed back in his chair with a lazy grin.

If that’s what it takes to protect my mate, Doc thought as he shrugged off the question. One thing was solid in his mind though. Until Myron, or whoever was doing this was caught, he wasn’t letting his mate out of his sight and Rocky and Mal and even the mayor himself could all go to hell if they thought they could stop him.