A Hippogriff for Christmas - Zoe Chant Page 0,45
dad retired, then he’d also be able to get his hands on the insurance payment when the place burned down.” The man shrugged. “I didn’t exactly wanna do it, but like I said, who’s gonna argue with the boss? Not me, that’s for sure.”
Annie’s throat constricted in horror.
The bakery… everything Mr. Dearborn has worked so hard for for decades… everything his family has always worked for… it all could have been destroyed if we hadn’t arrived just then? All because of Scott’s gambling debts?
She’d never had a high opinion of Scott. But even she hadn’t imagined he could be so selfish and so… so stupid.
How could he possibly have thought getting involved with some obviously dangerous shifter criminals would end well? And also, how had Scott known about shifters to begin with?!
“All right,” Beau said, his tone measured. “I see. So where’s Scott now, then?”
Annie glanced at him, her eyes widening. Beau was clearly a professional – he’d been cool, calm and collected this whole time, and obviously knew what questions to ask.
Annie had to admit she hadn’t even thought about where Scott might be now. She’d been too caught up in her own thoughts, and then too angry at the idea Scott’s stupidity might have cost his father the bakery he loved. But thankfully, Beau hadn’t forgotten about it at all.
“He’s still up at HQ, as far as I know,” the wolf-man said with a nonchalant shrug. “Couldn’t have him running back here to alert the cops or whatever. They got him locked up there until the job’s done. Which it’s not gonna get done now, for obvious reasons.” The man gave them a pointed look, as if this was all their fault.
Annie bit her lip, tension churning in her gut.
Whatever she thought of Scott, he didn’t deserve whatever fate might be in store for him if he was left in the hands of dangerous criminals who were willing to go to such lengths as arson to get their way.
If word gets back to them that the bakery didn’t burn down and their man has been arrested, what might they do next? Annie wondered, and one look at Beau told her he’d had exactly the same thought.
And even if Scott did deserve to be in the hands of people like that, Mr. Dearborn doesn't deserve for his son to be in that kind of danger, Annie thought. She knew that whatever Scott’s failings might be, he was still Mr. Dearborn’s son, and he loved him.
And even if Scott was stupid and selfish, there was still time for him to change, as well.
“Beau,” she said, low and urgent. “We can’t let them hold onto him once they find out the bakery’s still here. What if –”
Looking down at her, Beau nodded. “I know. Getting Scott out of danger is the first thing we’ll need to do. But until the agent my boss is sending arrives, we have to sit tight – I can’t risk this guy getting back to wherever his HQ is and clearing them out before we can get there.”
“Hey, I said I’d help you!” the wolf-man complained. “And I have! I’ve told you everything!”
“True enough,” Beau conceded. “But you keep mentioning this HQ – what do you mean by that?”
Now, the man’s expression turned cagey. “Well, I could tell you. But it seems weird you don’t already know. Are you not from around here?”
Beau shook his head. “No. Whoever you think I am, chances are I’m not. So you’re going to need to spell everything out for me, nice and simple.”
The man looked doubtful. “Shifter Patrol Corps, right? You really don’t know about this stuff?”
Beau just shook his head again. “Like I said. Spell it out for me.”
The wolf-man frowned. “Okay, well. HQ – it’s the boss’s cabin in the woods. I can give you the coordinates… if I get my protection. Like I said, I don’t like working there anymore. I’d rather get out of this life, if I can. You think it’s gonna be all glamorous, but it’s just grunt work and shit.”
He keeps talking about ‘the boss’, Annie thought, exchanging a glance with Beau. Who on earth is ‘the boss’?
Beau might’ve asked the same question himself, but a knock at the bakery’s side door made them all turn their heads.
Annie sensed it as Beau tensed up, his fists balling at his sides.
It could be one of this wolf-man’s accomplices, she realized, come to see what was taking him so long. But a moment later