Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“Who’s going to tell Mom and Dad?” Danny asked, locking his fingers together behind his head.
Ambrose glanced at the window where the sun had come up hours ago. “I will after I get Lucy to bed.”
“I sound like a four-year-old,” I complained to Charlie.
Ambrose shot me a look over his shoulder.
I tried to rise as Ambrose strode toward me, but my legs and ass were numb for sitting so long on the floor. Both he and Charlie had to help me to my feet.
“What was it?” Charlie asked as we walked across the landing to his rooms.
Ambrose didn’t answer until we’d closed the door behind us. After a moment, I realized it was so his parents couldn’t hear what we were talking about until he’d had a chance to tell them.
“Zeke must’ve been looking into things before you met, because there’s no way he could’ve compiled so much information in so little time. There are notes on experiments.” Ambrose grimaced and gripped the back of his neck. “Including Vampire and mate medical records. Financial statements. Names and phone numbers of collaborators. It’s a mess of information, and we don’t have a clear view of it yet, but we will.”
Charlie nodded. He let out a sad, hiccuping laugh. “I’m glad,” he said, smiling even as tears dripped down his cheeks. “I just—”
“There’s a file in there with your initials on it,” Ambrose said kindly, reaching out to give Charlie’s shoulder a squeeze. “We didn’t look at it. If you go back in there, I’m sure Chance is waiting.”
Charlie’s eyes widened, and he was nodding before Ambrose had even finished his sentence. Without a glance, he hurried back out of the room.
“I hope it’s a letter,” I said as the door swung halfway shut behind him.
“Me too,” Ambrose said tiredly. “Come on. I’ll walk you to our room.”
“Our room?” I teased, leaning my head against his shoulder.
“For now,” he replied. We walked across the house slowly, my leg still protesting the movement. “Beau and Reese are building a house on the property. We could do that if you wanted.”
I nodded, but I could barely even think of the pros and cons, I was so worn out. We’d only gotten a couple of hours of sleep before I’d woken Ambrose up.
I climbed back into bed and let my mate tug the sweatpants down my legs as I groaned and closed my eyes. A few seconds later, I heard him snap the comforter in the air and then felt it settle over my body.
“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked, opening my eyes again. “I don’t mind.”
“Sleep, baby,” he said, leaning over to kiss me. “I’m going to talk to my parents, and then I’ll be back up.”
“It’s been a long night,” I whispered, reaching up to smooth his beard.
“But we’re one step closer,” he whispered back.
Another kiss, and then he was gone.
I floated in that twilight space somewhere between wakefulness and sleep for a long time, thinking about the sacrifice Zeke had made. If he’d had solid information before he’d seen us at that café, he must’ve been terrified when he’d realized that he’d found his mate. Unable to walk away and pretend it hadn’t happened, he also hadn’t been willing to stop searching for answers. He’d been stuck between a rock and a hard place, both wanting to stay with Charlie and knowing that if he didn’t leave, my brother might never be safe.
I just wished he’d reached out to his own brothers. They could’ve helped him the way they were following his clues now.
“You’re an idiot, Zeke,” I grumbled.
I could almost see him rolling his eyes as he flipped me off.
Sometime later, Ambrose came back into the room and crawled in next to me. He didn’t say a word as he wrapped his body around mine, careful not to jostle my legs. I fell asleep almost instantly.
Chapter 16
Ambrose
I’d been staring at financial records for two days, and I still hadn’t figured out how they were connected to the conspiracy we were investigating. That’s what it was. A fucking conspiracy. There were lists of names we recognized in Zeke’s files, some with asterisks next to them and others with question marks. We weren’t sure if he’d discovered that they were part of the group who were kidnapping Vampires and their mates or if he’d been checking them out and decided that there wasn’t a connection.
It was as if my baby brother had left us a 3D puzzle with a million pieces, assuming that we’d figure it out.
The financial records belonged to both humans and Vampires. There didn’t seem to be any organization or method to the information he’d compiled. I’d been cross referencing deposits in one account with withdrawals from the others. I’d found enough connections to know that I was moving in the right direction, but not enough to see any discernible pattern. It was infuriating.