Chapter Twenty

He could've died the night of his twenty-fifth birthday. My dad could've killed him a month before we even had a chance to meet. Storm couldn't let go of his mate. He knew Cyrus and Python would totally understand where he was coming from, even if Pax was squirming a bit and confusion was coming through their bond.

"You're upset." Pax fumbled as he patted his neck, catching Storm's ear, but Storm was hardly going to complain. "Your crocodile is edgy. What have I missed? Is this a shifter thing?"

"I'm never going to make you wait for anything." Storm leaned back just enough so he could see Pax's face. "You hear me. You never have to doubt I'm going to be there if I say I'm going to be. Say you understand."

"I understand?" Pax tilted his head. "Are you all right?"

"Storm's slightly freaked because if it hadn't been for the fact you hate sitting around doing nothing on your birthday, then you'd be dead right now." Python chuckled and Storm glared at him. "What? It's true. Your little pixie gets itchy feet if he has to wait for anyone longer than two minutes. It's not a bad thing. It saved his life this time around. Count that as a blessing."

"I'll fucking deliver blessings around your head in a minute. You do not mention death and my mate in the same sentence. We need a plan. We've got to take my father out. Tell me that's not going to cause problems with the bosses, Cyrus, because if it does, then fuck it. I'll quit and go rogue."

"There's no need to be quite so dramatic." Cyrus at least tried to look sympathetic. "This situation falls under mating laws. Your mate is being threatened – doesn't matter by who – and your right to protect your mate by any means possible is embedded in our way of life."

"Why does everyone keep harping on about me being the one in danger? What about Storm? He's in danger, too." Pax sat up, something Storm's crocodile wasn't happy about, although his heart warmed at Pax's loyalty – something the pixie probably wasn't aware of.

"You're right, little one." Python nodded. "If something were to happen to you, then Storm will go feral. If you died, then he's toast. Tell me this. When you got home, that night on your birthday, did it look like anything had been disturbed around your house? For example, was something missing, or had something been moved? Think, little pixie, because this is important."

Storm frowned. He was fairly sure if Pax had noticed something was different when he got home from being out, he would've already said. But Pax appeared to be thinking about the questions seriously.

"I'm not the neatest of people around my own space," he admitted at last. "I remember I'd gotten changed because my uncle was coming, and then when he didn't come, I changed my clothes again, and I left some of the clothes on the floor. When I did the laundry a couple of days later I couldn't find my button-down shirt, and I was annoyed because it was my favorite shade of pink. You know, not too bright, but not washed out as if it was old or something. That's the only thing I can think of, but honestly," he added quickly, "I could've kicked it under the bed and just not found it yet. That's happened before."

"I think we can assume Razor has your picture, knows what you look like, and now has your scent as well." Cyrus met Storm's eyes. "What's a crocodile's tracking abilities like? Could he turn up here from those things alone?"

"I doubt it." Storm shook his head. "Pax didn't come here directly from Bozeman, remember. He'd been taken out of Bozeman by the bear."

"I think the biggest issue is, if Razor has been in Bozeman all this time, then why didn't he just turn up at the pixie's apartment the following day? I assume you did go home, little one, and that would be what any logical assassin would do." Python stretched out his legs and draped his arm around Cyrus's waist.

"I was home by midnight. I'm not one to stay out all night." Pax's cheeks were flushed pink.

"Razor's lazy," Storm said slowly. "He would've demanded money upfront to even consider the job. If you think about it, he's given an address, is told that Pax is going to be at home that evening, but when he gets there, Pax is gone. He's not the type to hunt all over a town he's not familiar with looking for him. He likely patted the cash in his pocket and figured he'd got enough for doing nothing, and headed back to Florida the next day."

"My uncle wouldn't like that," Pax said firmly. "If he pays for something, he expects value for his dollars."

"Which could explain why Razor and his crew are back in Bozeman," Cyrus said. "When was the last time you heard from your uncle, Pax? Have you heard from him at all since your birthday?"

"Just the once, about a week after my birthday." Pax shrugged. "It wasn't anything important, just reminding me to stay out of the way of any pixies I might come across, you know, because I don't have wings and I absolutely should never do anything to bring shame to the family name…"

"The family name you don't even know," Python interrupted.

"I know, right. I don't have anything to do with other pixies." Huffing out a long breath, Pax added, "I just sent him the thumbs up emoji and haven't heard anything since. Well, there's probably texts waiting for me, but the bear took my phone. Hey, that's a thought. Maybe Razor's not even in Bozeman anymore. If he's tracking my phone then he'll be in the middle of nowhere."

But Cyrus was shaking his head. "Nope. The cleaners would've already disposed of it. Let me know your number, and I'll get you a replacement. At least then we can check for messages."

"Then I can go after Razor?" Storm asked after Pax rattled off his number.

" We'll go after Razor and his motley crew." Python showed his teeth. "We haven't had a group outing in the longest time. We can even go out for a meal afterward."

Storm couldn't grumble about that, but as he made his way back to his house, Pax still in his arms, he still wasn't sure how he could convince his sweet mate to stay at home the night of his mission. Maybe I could ask Gwen to let him spend time in the bakery after hours.