Chapter Twelve – Jay

Harlan let them borrow his car to drive into Bear Creek later that day. Whether it was Kim’s cooking or adrenaline pumping through his body, he couldn’t tell, but Jay was ready for anything. His earlier fatigue swept away, if this was a trap and he had to fight, he was ready.

“You should tone it down a little,” Kim told him as she parked the car outside the sheriff’s office.

“Tone it down?” Jay asked, slamming the car door shut as he stood on the sidewalk. His senses kicked in and he surveyed the area, looking and listening for any threat. There was none, but he wasn’t going to relax. Not while Kim was with him.

“I can hear you growling.” She cocked an eyebrow at him and nodded.

Jay frowned, listening to his inner self. Kim was right, his bear was simmering just under the surface, ready to leap out and tear the throat out of anyone who might hurt Kim. His protective nature was out of control.

Reining it back in, he breathed in and out a few times to center himself. If he went into the sheriff’s office and intimidated Guy, things might fall apart fast. As a shifter himself, Guy would attack if threatened, and the last thing Bear Creek, and particularly Avery, needed was a bear fight.

“Better.” Kim took his hand, her skin warm, reminding him that the most important thing was for them to get in and out safely.

Wait, this is just a meeting, he reminded himself.

We have to be ready, his bear answered.

We have to keep our heads, and remember why we are here. Jay wanted information. And Guy had that information.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Jay told Kim, and they walked side by side down the sidewalk, his eyes fixed on the entrance to the sheriff’s office, while the rest of his senses roamed. This was what he was trained for, and he was good at it. Very good.

So why did he feel like an amateur? Because one wrong move could cost him his mate.

“Jay.” Guy was waiting anxiously inside the sheriff’s office. He didn’t approach, his eyes wary as he surveyed the police officer he was supposed to keep tabs on at all times while undercover.

“Guy, good to see you.” Jay smiled, noting the wariness in Guy’s eyes didn’t diminish. “I’m sorry.”

Guy’s hard expression faltered. Of course, to Guy, Jay was the one in the wrong, the one who had dropped all contact. He’d put Guy in a tough position. Rumors would have spread, whispers behind closed doors that Guy couldn’t be trusted.

Guy shrugged. “I’ve always been there for you, man.”

“I know.” Jay let go of Kim’s hand and approached Guy, hugging him like a long-lost friend.

“You put me in an awkward position.” The accusation in Guy’s voice was not uncalled for.

“I did it to protect you,” Jay told him.

Guy pulled back, studying Jay’s face. “Protect me.”

“I couldn’t have them finding out about me, or you. They would have killed you and made it look like suicide. You know they did it to my dad. I wanted to spare you.” Jay’s voice cracked with emotion. “The deeper I got, the more I realized how bad it was. I got paranoid. I figured it was better for you to be alive and under suspicion, than dead with a bullet in your head.”

Guy ran a hand through his hair, looking uncomfortable. “Yeah, you have me there.”

“So we’re good?” Jay asked.

Guy nodded. “We’re good. Although we might not be when you find out why I’m here.”

“Are you here to arrest me?” Jay asked, half joking.

“No.” Guy looked over Jay’s shoulder. “Is this your mate?”

Jay took a step back, wanting to shield Kim from Guy. His paranoia simmered beneath the surface, despite his words. Jay wasn’t ready to blindly trust anyone. “Yes. This is Kim.”

“Hello, Kim.” Guy held out his hand to Kim.

“Guy. Good to meet you.” Kim shook hands with Guy, leaving Jay with clenched fists and a tight jaw.

“Shall we get down to business?” Liam said from behind Guy. “I only have an hour before I have to get back.”

“Sure.” Jay ushered Kim toward a desk, and they sat down, with Guy taking the seat opposite.

“Why are we here, Guy?” Avery asked. “I don’t think you would have driven all this way just to make up with Jay.”

“No, I haven’t.” Guy looked at each of the four people before him. If he as here for trouble, he was severely outnumbered.

“So…” Avery pushed.

“What I’m about to tell you is not widely known.” He clasped his hands together. “Honestly, I don’t even know if I should be here.”

“But you are,” Avery prompted.

“I am.” Guy grinned at Avery. “I heard you were a pushy one.”

“I’m on a deadline here,” Avery told him, smoothing her hand over her belly.

“Point taken,” Guy responded. “When we made the arrests, despite the evidence, Quentin Harrod remained free.”

“Quentin Harrod?” Kim asked.

“He’s the dragon shifter I told you about,” Jay replied.

“There are more of those firebreathers out there?” Liam asked in surprise. “They all think they’re the last of their kind, and then more pop up.”

“You know of more dragons?” Guy asked in surprise.

“We’ve run into one or two on our travels,” Liam answered smoothly. “They don’t hang around long. They all believe they’re the last of their kind and that they’re being persecuted.” He was good at lying, his undercover training shining through. Did that mean Liam didn’t trust Guy either?

“Quentin Harrod,” Jay nudged Guy back toward the reason he was here in Bear Creek.

“Yes, he is still free. Which has raised more than a few questions about whose palm he is greasing with his dragon gold.” Guy paused, his thumb rubbing against his palm. Whatever he came here to say, it wasn’t good. For any of them.

“Guy, just say it,” Jay said bluntly.

“I talked to a few people. There’s been an ongoing investigation into Harrod for a couple of years, but it never goes anywhere. So I dug deeper. I went through the documents recovered from Davelchi and started to see a pattern.”

“What kind of pattern?” Jay asked, his heart rate quickening. Guy had come a long way to tell them this in person.

“Davelchi’s organization procured some medical equipment for Harrod.” Guy once again looked at all the faces around the desk, as if this was a hugely important piece of information. It wasn’t. Not on its own.

“Davelchi handled a lot of inventory,” Jay said.

“I know.” Guy put his hand out as if pushing Jay’s comment back at him. “He also sourced a scientist who was an expert in viral research. He was being headhunted by the CDC, but was discredited. The next thing he’s working for Quentin Harrod.”

“So, Quentin Harrod suddenly became a philanthropist?” Liam asked with suspicion. “What’s he trying to do, find a cure for the flu?”

“Exactly,” Guy replied. “Never happening.”

“From the information I gathered, Harrod was indirectly responsible for a number of deaths, stretching back decades.” Jay ran his hand across the smooth surface of the desk, concentrating on the sensation, diverting his emotions.

“I believe he was behind the murders of your parents.” Guy’s bombshell rocked everyone in the room.”

Kim gasped. “Why?”

Guy shrugged. “I believe your dad was investigating him. As I said, if anyone got close, they got shut down. Records show your dad was reassigned. But what if he carried on the investigation in his own time? Someone got wind of it, and Davelchi’s men murdered them both. But maybe Harrod financed the hit.”

Silence filled the sheriff’s office, stretching out as the others allowed the information to permeate their brains. Jay understood how hard it was to reconcile such abhorrent thoughts. You didn’t want to believe that people were murdered for investigating the truth. But there it was.

“I’m so sorry, Jay.” Kim placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed it. “So very sorry.”

Kim reminded him of why he did this job, why he’d volunteered to go undercover and take down the empire Davelchi had built on the misery and death of others. When he’d finally stumbled on the evidence he needed, he’d been shocked, as if his reason for living had come to an end. Only the thought of Kim waiting for him had stopped him from taking a gun and emptying it into Davelchi. Cutting off the head of the organization would have ended this misery.

But the information might have told him the who, but he needed the why. He’d buried his anger and hatred, and carried on as if everything was normal. Uncovering more, putting more pieces together. Now Guy had fit the last piece into the puzzle.

“Let’s get back to your scientist,” Liam said to Guy.

“Yes.” Guy shot Jay a sympathetic look. Damn it, Jay wanted to trust him, wanted to believe the best of him. “Quentin Harrod set him to work. At first I couldn’t figure out on what. Drugs were my first thought. But why a virologist? Then I got a breakthrough.”

“Do you want a drumroll?” Avery asked sarcastically when Guy paused.

Guy gave a brief shake of the head. “No.” He paused again. “This is going to sound crazy.”

“You have no idea the crazy we all experience in this job,” Avery pushed.

“I believe he is making a virus to switch off the shifter gene.” Guy took a deep breath as four shocked faces looked at him in disbelief. “The dragon shifter wants to be the only shifter in the world.”