Page 23 of Miles's Pact
Eight
Miles
It'd taken two weeks for Nash to find something, which made sense considering how old the case was.
Over the last two weeks, the three of us had settled into a routine of sorts. Mateo and I were still working on our individual projects, and Duckie alternated between joining Mateo and me. Sometimes, he went flying around the town on his own.
Duckie got along great with everyone, but especially Paxton and Alex. He'd gone to visit Alex a few times, and I had no idea how those two communicated without either me or Mateo there to interpret, but Duckie hadn't asked us to join him, so we hadn't suggested it either.
Nash had replied the very next day, and once I'd given him all the details, he'd told me he'd look into it, but I hadn't heard from him since. Until now.
Nash: I have some info for you. Call me if you have a moment.
"Hey, guys? I need to duck out for a moment," I said, though neither of the men even glanced my way, too busy arguing about the kitchen backsplash to pay me any mind.
While Neel and Paxton weren't related by blood—their dads were mated to each other, making them stepbrothers—at this moment they were acting very much like siblings. Or an old married couple.
Neel's dad, Memphis, had adopted him as a baby after his mom's death, while Paxton had joined the family as an eleven-year-old after Memphis had met his mate, Orion. Pax was only six months younger than Neel, but he acted like he was older, which got on Neel's nerves.
They'd argued over every decision when it came to the interior of their B&B, and the name, and the chef, and the prices. If I didn't like the work so much, I'd have quit a long time ago. But I wanted to realize my vision of this place, and I wasn't going to let their bickering stop me from doing it.
"Guys!" I shouted, making them pause long enough to turn to me. "I need to take a call. I'll be back in a few minutes, and if you haven't come to a decision by then, I'm making it for you. Got it?"
Pax blinked at me, while Neel nodded, and I left the room, going out into the backyard and walking far enough away that Pax wouldn't be able to overhear. While Neel was human, Pax was a griffin like his father, and had the enhanced hearing that came with being a supe.
I called Nash, pressing my phone to my ear as I glanced up at the dark sky. The clouds were so thick I could barely tell the sun was up somewhere behind them. The weather had been like this for a few days now, and it would continue until the rest of Cam's siblings hatched.
The last eighteen months hadn't been easy for Cam's dads as they watched over their five eggs. Dragons were protective by nature, and when it came to their eggs, their instincts went into overdrive. Veron, the first of the dragon babies, had hatched almost three months ago, which meant it was time for the rest of them to arrive.
It was supposed to happen any day now, and the weather was enough to tell me how anxious Raiden—the storm dragon who watched over this town—was. William must have been the same, but at least his feelings didn't affect the whole town. I imagined our trees would've started to wither or shed leaves if they did, since Will was an earth dragon.
"Miles, you're just in time. I was about to head out," Nash said into my ear, pulling me out of my musings.
"Hey, Nash. Thank you for looking into this," I said, holding myself back from demanding what he'd found.
"It was no problem. My contact found someone who worked on the case back then."
"Yeah? What did they say?"
"It was an armed robbery, like you said. The culprits shot the couple, stole the valuables. They suspected they also kidnapped their child, but the thieves never admitted to it. The kid is still missing. The mother visits the police station every year to enquire about him."
"Wait, what? His mom's alive?" I blurted out, leaning back against the fence to steady myself. Fuck. All these years, Duckie had thought his parents were gone...
"Yeah. They shot the father three times, but the mother was shot once, and the bullet missed her heart."
"Which gave her shifter healing time to kick in."
"Exactly."
"Fuck. Do you know where she lives?"
"Yes. I'll text you the address. It's a house in the same neighborhood as the one the family lived in before. I think she's still waiting for her son."
"What about the culprits? Do you know what happened to them?" I asked, hoping they'd been caught.
"They were arrested a few days later when they tried to pawn some of the things they stole. They got life with no chance of parole, and they were killed two years ago in some prison gang fight."
"Wow, okay. I need to tell Duckie. Nash... thank you. Truly."
