Page 33 of Wolf Revealed

“You have to go out again?” Kal groaned when Mike told him. “I thought we might get a chance to hang out and play more video games.”

The hopeful look on his son’s face just about crushed Mike’s soul. There was a huge part of him that wanted to ask Xander and the guys to go check out the subdivision house on their own, but then his rational mind took over. The sooner they had Roman behind bars, the sooner Mike could focus all his attention on making this thing with Lark and Kal into something permanent.

“I know, and I’m sorry,” Mike said, dropping down to one knee in front of his son. “But we have a good lead on Roman, and I have to check it out. Not only is it my job, but you and your mom won’t be safe until this is over. So, I have to do this.”

Kal still looked bummed, but nodded. “I get it. But you have to promise to be careful, and come right back, okay?”

“I promise,” Mike said, leaning forward to wrap him in a hug.

Kal immediately wrapped his smaller arms around Mike, hugging him tight. The gesture damn near brought tears to his eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to stay there and never let go.

But the sooner he left, the sooner he’d be back.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, getting to his feet as he ruffled Kal’s hair.

Back inside, Lark was waiting for him by the front door.

“Be careful, okay?” she said softly, going up on her toes to kiss him. “And come back in one piece.”

Mike nodded. “I will.”

* * * * *

“You think Roy would hide out in a dump like this?” Trey asked as he pulled the SUV up in front of the home they hoped Rogelio Roy was using as a safe house. “I’d think a man like him would look for a classier place to hide out.”

Mike took in the two-story mid-century modern home as he stepped out of the vehicle, the other guys joining him. The place had probably been nice at some point, but that was years ago. A glance around the surrounding subdivision revealed more of the same. While occupied, many of the houses around them showed signs of neglect, with overgrown lawns and cracked windows here and there. The place on the other side of the street was completely missing its front door. Mike had to agree with Trey’s assessment. The thought that a rich guy like Roy would be caught dead in a place like this didn’t fit his expensive suit and boardroom image.

“I can’t say you’re wrong,” Mike said. “But we’re here now, so we might as well check the place out.”

They split up, Mike going right with Trey to sweep the exterior first while Xander and Hale went left. The side yard of the home was much like the front of the place, overgrown and littered with trash.

Trey stood up on his toes and peeked in a high window before looking at him. “I’m picking up Lark’s scent on you, so the two of you must be getting close.”

Mike felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. There was definitely a downside to working with a pack of werewolves. They smelled everything, including the scent transfer that came with a hug and a kiss.

“It’s good,” he admitted, his smile broadening. “After all this time apart, I wasn’t sure how this could work, but in some ways it’s like we’re picking up where we left off.”

“Can’t ask for better than that. Just take it day-by-day, and see where it all leads. If you’re open to good things, they’ll happen.”

Mike hoped so. There was still a lot to figure out where he and Lark were concerned. But he kept his thoughts to himself as they walked around the back of the house and met up with Xander and Hale.

He was just thinking this whole trip was a bust when his nose picked up something interesting near the back door.

“I’m not sure if it’s Roy or not, but someone has definitely been in the house recently,” Mike murmured, looking through the glass panels in the door to see a small kitchen. “Let’s check inside.”

Mike forced the back door open easily with a nudge of his shoulder, and once inside, he and the other guys fanned out to search the house. The place appeared to be empty, and by the time he reached the basement, he figured there wasn’t going to be anything to find.

He was about to turn and walk back up the steps when he picked up the same scent he’d smelled near the back door. He spun in a circle, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. If someone was in the basement, why wouldn’t he have smelled them in other parts of the house?

Mike was still trying to figure it out when his pack mates joined him in the basement.

“Are you guys picking up that scent?” Mike asked as he moved over to the wall of built-in storage cabinets and shelves that lined the entire back of the basement to get a closer look at the exposed HVAC ductwork and electrical conduits attached to the ceiling. “It’s the same one that I smelled near the back door.”

Trey stepped closer to the shelving unit, sniffing the air carefully before walking halfway back up the steps and coming down again. “This makes no sense. The scent we’re picking up near the back wall isn’t over here on the stairs.”

Mike moved along the shelving unit until he found the source of the scent. It was up near the ceiling where a section of the ductwork entered into the concrete block wall.

“The scent seems to be coming out of the wall. Or rather, through the gap around the ductwork where it enters the wall,” Mike said.