Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

L ogan made it halfway down the block before Dominic caught up to him, grabbing him by the arm to slow him down.

"Hey. Hold up."

He let his old friend pull him to a stop and took a deep breath in an attempt to get himself back under control. He felt like his head was going to explode and he wasn't sure if it was from fighting with his father or fighting the pull of the mating bond that wanted him to turn around, go back, and claim Wren right where she stood. In truth, it was probably a little bit of both.

"Sorry. He just…" Logan groaned and Dominic snorted.

"Yeah. I know."

"He's infuriating. Hard-headed. Stubborn. Mean. He won't listen to reason."

"What were you two arguing about?"

Logan paused with a hand on his jaw and then shook off the question he had no intention of answering, "It doesn't matter. Were you able to talk to the guys?"

Dominic furrowed his brow but nodded and Logan breathed a sigh of relief that despite his obvious curiosity, his friend was going to let him get away with dodging his question. He really didn't deserve such loyalty. Not when he was still keeping secrets.

He told himself that the situation with Wren was too new, too volatile, to bring anyone else into it. Vivian was one thing. She was his sister and he'd been trying to convince her to get out of town with him. She might be able to dig up some answers for him in the pack library but ultimately this was his problem and he had to deal with it. Dominic had enough on his plate without adding Logan's messed up mating dilemma to the mix.

He glanced around and lowered his voice, just in case, "Will they meet with me?"

"The ones I reached out to will. In fact, they're probably waiting for us at the flower shop now."

Logan raised an eyebrow, "The flower shop?"

Dominic grinned, "The Rose family boarded up the windows before they left town so nobody can see inside."

"And how do we get inside?"

"Dillon remembered that Grayson once showed him where the hide-a-key for the back door was and, miracle of miracles, it was still there."

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't the first time you've arranged a covert meeting at the flower shop?"

"Probably because it's not." Dominic glanced around and then jerked his head towards an alleyway across from them. "Come on. We better hurry before they get tired of waiting and leave."

Logan followed as Dominic headed across the street. Despite his words, his friend didn't hurry at all. He strolled along, hands in his pockets, so Logan did the same. It took him a minute to realize Dominic was doing his best to keep from drawing the attention of the few other people out and about. About the time he did, Dominic ducked into the alleyway, out of sight, and picked up his pace, forcing Logan into a jog to keep up with him.

The alley converged with another and they turned left, heading east. The backside of the buildings on either side of them had doors every few hundred feet. Several large dumpsters also took up one side of the path. Most of them were empty but a few were piled high with boxes and bags of trash. Logan took that to mean the businesses behind those doors were still operating. It was hard to tell which door led to which shop since they all looked the same for the most part but the flower shop was easy to find with its mural of faded multi-colored wildflowers painted onto the brick exterior.

"In here." Dominic pulled the door open and Logan slipped inside, shuddering at the chill that accompanied the dark, empty space.

It took his eyes only a second to adjust and when they did he noted that they were in a small hallway. Dominic let the door swing shut behind them and it didn't even make a sound as it clicked shut. Logan wondered, again, what his friend had been using this place for but he didn't have a chance to ask because someone poked their head into the hallway through a dark curtain at the other.

"There you are. It's about time."

"Don't start." Dominic growled, pushing past Logan and forcing him to follow.

"Drake?" Logan's eyes went wide when they stepped into the main room and he realized that the man Dominic had spoken to was the middle brother of the McMurtry family.

"Hey Logan. It's good to see you."

"You too." He clapped the younger man on the back, surprised yet again by the changes that time had brought while he was away.

Where he remembered Drake McMurtry as a lanky, slightly awkward teen, the man who stood before him was neither of those things. He wasn't quite as tall as his older brother, or as bulky, but he was fit and muscular, with a dark five o'clock shadow and the same square jawline beneath it as Dominic. Logan tried to do the math in his head. Drake was the middle child, two years younger than them, which would make him about 24, and that seemed as impossible as the ring that Logan noted on his left hand.

"You're mated?"

"Mated and married." Drake practically beamed and Logan tried to ignore the slice of pain the words caused in his chest.

"Do I know the lucky lady?"

Drake chuckled, "Sunny. Her last name used to be Reynolds."

Logan scratched his chin, "The name sounds familiar."

"It should. She works for your parents up at the house."

That pulled him up short, "What?"

"She works at the Alpha's house. I thought maybe you'd seen her already but couldn't put a face with the name."

"No. No, it's not that." Logan shook his head, "I only just got back last night but I haven't seen anyone around the house yet. What does she do?"

"Oh…" Drake's dark brows furrowed just like his older brother's did when he was trying to figure something out. "I assumed you knew."

Logan only raised an eyebrow and Drake stuttered but hurried on.

"Sh-She uh… she's a healer. She takes care of your mom."

There was a burning in Logan's cheeks that he knew was caused by the flame of embarrassment that accompanied those words. He still hadn't been to see his mother. His own mother, who by all accounts was sick and dying, who Vivian had said was confined to her bed and had a nurse to care for her. He'd slept under the same roof as her the night before and he hadn't bothered to walk across the house to her room because he hadn't worked out what to say to her.

He felt like the worst son in the world but he didn't have time to dwell on that feeling because someone else said his name and he turned to see an old man who only vaguely resembled the strongest wolf he'd ever known.

Darren McMurtry had aged since the last time Logan saw him. His dark hair was streaked with gray. The lines around his eyes were sunken and the eyes themself, were pale and haunted. His nose and cheeks were pink, and Logan remembered Dominic's comment about his father's drinking. He wondered just how deep the Head Enforcer was into the alcohol and just how large a role his own father had played in fostering that addiction.

"Logan."

"Darren." He held out his hand and the other man gave it a firm shake.

"It's good to see you. I wish it was under better circumstances, but I'm glad you're here."

"Thank you for meeting with me."

"Of course, though I'll admit I'm not sure how much I can tell you." Those haunted eyes met his and understanding passed between them. "I think you likely know what I mean."

"Yes, sir." Logan's throat felt tight even acknowledging that much of the truth.

He had never really considered just how much, or how often, his father used his power. For some reason, he'd thought the bastard would limit himself, only crossing that line when it was life and death, as it had been when he'd used his Alpha voice to silence Logan. But of course, he'd given his father too much credit. He was a monster and monsters didn't worry about self-control, only maintaining power.

There was no telling what Byron Kemp had done over the years, the horrors he'd inflicted, the lives he'd ruined. Darren McMurtry would know though. He would know it all. He'd been Byron's best friend at one point. He was still his second in command. If there was anyone that Logan's father would have needed to silence to keep his secrets, it was this man.

Which explained the rift in their friendship and the turn to alcohol to keep the memories he couldn't share with anyone submerged where they couldn't see the light of day.

"When Dominic told me what he'd done, forcing him to call you, I wanted to drive up to the house and rip his head off right then and there." The older man shook his head, "But I also realized what your return might mean for us. That's why I wanted to talk to you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the heir to the pack, Logan. You can take control. You can stop him."

"Just saying that out loud could get you killed for treason, Dad." Dominic's jaw was tense.

"Maybe it is treason, but everyone here knows the Alpha has to be handled." Darren narrowed his eyes on his eldest son. "I'm loyal to this pack. I'm trying to save it, to save all of us. We all are. That's why we're here."

Logan glanced around the room at the other faces. There were more people than he'd been expecting. He'd asked Dominic to get his father and brothers to meet with him in hopes of finding out more about what his own father was up to. Dominic had said there was a small group of Enforcers who weren't happy with the status quo and would be open to meeting with him. He'd expected 4 or 5 but there were closer to ten men in the room, some of whom Logan recognized from his youth and others he didn't but thought he should.

"We want you to challenge your dad, kill him, and free us from his tyrannical rule."

"Dillon." Dominic snapped at his youngest brother. "You can't say shit like that."

"Why not? I thought that was why we were here?"

Logan blinked as he realized the man sitting on the counter, booted feet dangling as he bit into an apple and shrugged, was the youngest of the McMurtry brothers. Dillon was still a teenager if Logan's math was right. He was eighteen, maybe nineteen, about the same age Logan had been when his life changed forever and he left the pack behind. If he'd remembered Drake as a lanky teen he'd only remembered Dillon as the little hellraiser that was always following his older brothers around demanding to be part of whatever they were up to.

"We're here to talk. You're here to listen." Dominic sighed as he turned back to Logan, "Sorry about him. He's still a loudmouth brat."

"Dillon? Wow." Logan shook his head in amazement. "I didn't even recognize you."

"Been a long time." Dillon took another bite of his apple and then spoke with his mouth full. "Surprised you remembered me at all."

"Dillon." It was Darren who snapped this time and his voice carried the authority of not just a father but of his position as Head Enforcer. "Shut up."

Dillon dropped his gaze, focusing on his apple. Logan swallowed as tension swept through the room. The others fidgeted and shuffled their feet. It was clear that despite Dillon being chastised for his bluntness that they all agreed with his words.

"You all want me to kill my father?" Logan shook his head. "I know he's not a good man or a good Alpha but I'm going to need some more information before I can even consider challenging him. I need to know what's been going on here. What's he been up to? Why have so many families left? Where did they go? What's making him sick? Is he really dying or is it a ploy to get me back here? I need answers and if he dies those answers die with him… unless one of you can fill me in?"

There were more sounds of shuffling but not a whisper passed among them. Logan sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get those answers from this group. He'd known he wouldn't but it didn't make things any less frustrating.

"I wish there was a way I could explain what I know…" Darren coughed as though the words themselves had gotten stuck in his throat and Logan knew the feeling when he groaned.

"I know. I wish there was a way for you to tell me what you know too but there's not. Not while he's alive." Logan ran a hand through his hair and tried to think. "Maybe there are others who know the truth?"

"If there are, he'll have done the same to them." Dominic scowled. "He might be a prick but he's a smart prick who has been covering his tracks for a long time."

"Logan…" Darren pulled his attention back to him as he cleared his throat. "Have you visited with your mother since you returned?"

Logan's brow furrowed at the strange change in topic but when Darren continued to stare at him, holding his gaze, the question beneath the question finally sank in. It wasn't a change of topic at all. Darren was giving him a hint, a nudge in the right direction. He thought Logan's mother might have the answers he needed but he couldn't say that much.

"No, I haven't but I've been meaning to."

He hadn't thought about what his mother might know. She would definitely be under her husband's control though, wouldn't she? Or maybe his father hadn't bothered to keep her as tightly under his thumb as he had others since she was bedridden and knocking on death's door. Maybe that could work in Logan's favor if she felt like making a confession.

"I'd move it up your priorities list." Darren urged and Logan nodded.

"I think I'll go and speak with her now actually, while Dad is at the office." Logan glanced around at the others. "I appreciate you all taking the time to meet with me and I'm sorry I can't make any promises right now but I hope you know that whatever I decide to do, it will be for the good of the pack."

"So you're not planning to cut and run again?" Dillon nonchalantly swung his legs while asking the pointed question.

Logan put a hand on Dominic's shoulder before he could yell at his youngest brother for voicing the question that more than one of them must have been thinking, "No. I'm home and I don't have any plans to leave again."

In the back of his mind, his wolf hummed happily at his words and he pushed the animal back down. This wasn't about Wren. It wasn't about the mating bond. This was about his pack and he needed to help them. That meant sticking around, even if it was counterproductive to his need to stay as far away from his fated mate as possible.

"Good." Dillon slid off the counter in one smooth move and landed on his feet. "You get to work then, and so will we."

He turned and left out the back door and a few of the others followed him. Others looked at their watches and began whispering amongst themselves. Dominic ran a hand over his face and shot Logan an apologetic look.

"Sorry, that didn't exactly go as planned."

"It went fine. At least now I know that I wouldn't be alone if I had to wrest the pack from my father's deadly grip."

"You were never going to have to do that alone." Dominic put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks. I should head back to the house to talk to my mom."

"Wait here with me for a few minutes. We have a system of leaving so we draw less attention. A whole group of us coming out of the alley is suspicious but one or two is just a patrol making the rounds."

"Smart."

"Sometimes I manage." Dominic snorted. "I'll drive you out to the house if you want."

"I think I should probably do this alone." Logan winced at what lay before him.

"Okay. Well, take my truck and then when you're done you can bring it back to town along with your stuff. You can stay with me until you figure something else out if you want."

Logan grinned at his friend, "I didn't even ask yet…"

"But I knew you would. You can't stay in that house another night."

"Thanks man."

"Don't mention it." Dominic glanced around the room and then gave his father a brief nod before turning, "Come on. I'll show you where the truck is parked and give you the keys to it and a spare to my place so you can come and go as you please."

Logan followed him, and if he dragged his feet just a little bit, it was only because the idea of seeing his dying mother filled him with even more dread than seeing his father alive had.