the table. "Blueberry."
He passed them out, disappearing to grab the bacon and eggs Jazz had already prepared. Full mouths meant no room for teasing, and though he'd taken it well, I could tell Storri was happy for the break.
Dog sauntered in, leading with his nose to where Storri and I sat. He sniffed several times before shaking his tail. I brought my hand down to pet him, and he bumped my knuckles with his nose like a canine version of a fist bump.
Hallie sat closest to us and watched the whole thing. Her eyes rolled while her eyelashes fluttered. "It isn't a man thing because he's a dog, and Jazz and Storri aren't like you guys. Is it an alpha thing?"
She hadn't meant for her words to be complimentary, but Knox, Huntley, and Jagger still sat a little taller.
"I'm glad you're here," Knox said with a tone that was all business. "We've combed through the pictures the twins took, as well as their observation logs. We have a theory about Grouse."
That name, while not forgotten, was one I would've been happy never hearing again. He was the one subject that Storri and I did not agree on. Storri's caring heart wouldn't let him admit to what his old mentor deserved, namely to be at the business end of my fist and boot.
Storri hadn't been expecting to hear the name either, a fact that became clear when he gasped at the name, sucking a chunk of muffin down the wrong tube in the process. I rubbed his back, patting as he coughed, and glared at Knox.
At least he looked contrite. Storri wasn't like Hallie or Jazz. He didn't do well with blunt, and Knox would have to adapt to that. "I apologize, Storri. A warning would've been appropriate."
Storri gave him a watery smile and reached for his orange juice. "Or I could learn to toughen up." He set his glass down and sucked in through his nose as if the air would become armor. "What have you found out?"
Knox scowled like he couldn't be sure if Storri was being brave for Knox's sake or his own. He was an Alpha first, though, and a threat to any member of the pack was a threat to the entire pack. Grouse was a mental thorn in Knox's side as well. "He's gone. No sign of him entering the legal system. Since his interview for the news story—which was filmed and sent into the station—no one has seen the man. It's like he was—"
"Kidnapped," Storri whispered, his eyebrows lifted with worry.
"You don't owe that man anything." Hallie had finished her muffin and was now tearing the paper lining into tiny pieces. "But if Portal does have him…"
"Then they have an open door into Storri's life. They probably won't try to fake being a relative again, but that just means they'll try something else that we haven't thought of." Knox scratched his square jaw.
I held Storri's hand under the table, gently caressing the inside of his wrist. "And how does this connect to the pictures from the Seattle office?" Knox might have lacked tact, but he wouldn't have brought this all up without a reason. "You think there's a possibility Portal is keeping David Grouse in the Seattle offices?" I looked to the twins. "You said the place was mostly deserted."
"Mostly." Huntley nodded, a fervent gleam in his eye. "While you were busy, I tried my hand at checking out the public utility records for that block. The readings do not match the amount of energy a sprawling business campus would need to operate—not even with reduced staff or hours." Huntley's chin lifted proudly. He leaned into Jagger and gently bumped his arm against his partner. "I don't envy you," Huntley added. "Looking through that shit was boring."
I laughed. He wasn't wrong. Usually, I handled the online research, but in my absence, Huntley had stepped in. "So they aren't hooked up to the city's juice. What does that mean?"
Huntley's leg shook under the table. "That isn't all of it. I expanded the search. The building had been there for over ten years."
"Power companies don't—"
"Keep those kinds of records, I know, I figured that out." Huntley plucked the last piece of bacon from Jagger's plate. "But I was able to look at the energy use averages over five years ago, and the energy consumption for that block was off the charts. Then, nothing. Almost like—"
"They finally found their own source of power."
"What does that mean, though?"