Page 50 of Threads of Fate

“Of course.” Jay almost gestures toward the couches but sees the broken table instead. “Uh…”

Reinhardt raises a pale eyebrow.

Finn smiles as if a broken coffee table is nothing to be concerned over. “Why don’t I stay with Gray and Nix? You can take the Inspectors to the waiting room down the hall for privacy.” Grayson wisely bites back a remark about being left behind, silenced by the sharpness of Gideon’s pointed look.

Jay leads the way, with Gideon bringing up the rear and the detectives in between. Once they’re in the small waiting room, Gideon closes the door, activates the sound dampeners, and stands in front of it, arms crossed. It’s all too cloak-and-dagger for Jay’s liking, leaving no doubt in his mind that he will not enjoy this conversation. Not at all.

“Detectives, please have a seat,” Jay says.

Reinhardt sits on the sofa while her partner mirrors Gideon’s stance to her left near the large window. She has one eye on her partner and the other on the biggest predator in the room: Gideon.

“I’ll cut to the chase: six days ago, the hospital reported the assault and attempted murder of your packmate.” She is respectful and professional, but still, Gideon growls at the mention. “We’ve received the medical reports from your legal department and discovered the suspect at the scene. He was attempting to flee the country.” She stops, obviously expectingan outburst. “There was sufficient forensic evidence to charge him.”

Jay takes a deep breath, ignoring the part about Nix’s wounds having been so terrible that there had beenforensic evidence.“Hayes, right?”

Larsen nods. “Yes, we apprehended him, passport in hand. He denied any knowledge of Mr. Rena’s injuries at first. Mr. Hayes maintains that Mr. Rena had left without a word. But we’ve had a look at the security tapes and…” She looks between him and Gideon before stopping short. Deciding against saying any more about what was on the tapes, she continues. “Under interrogation, he confessed he’d thought he killed Mr. Rena.”

Jay is up and pacing, while Gideon is stock-still. Finally, Jay growls, “What do you want from us? He’s confessed. It can’t be any clearer that he’s guilty.”

“Because Mr. Rena was human at the time of the assault, and with the evidence from the hospital, it can be argued that Mr. Hayes made an effort to force Mr. Rena through the change despite being a beta.”

The bite marks that had been on Nix’s beautiful back.

“That’s a high-level crime, beyond even the assault or attempted murder, because it breaks the Were-Human alliance,” Detective Larsen says quietly.

“What will this mean as far as sentencing goes?” Gideon finally asks.

“The crimes of the assault and attempted murder can see a maximum of twenty years each. Potentially, he could do a maximum of forty years, but if they can prove he broke the Alliance with intent, he might see life without parole.”

“But?” Gideon prompts.

Sighing Detective Reinhardt adds, “But, it could be as low as ten as he’s denied the attempted murder.”

The sound of Gideon’s jaw cracking is so loud in the room, and Jay can see the tips of his fangs. Just thinking about how badly broken their Sunshine had been, that Hayes would only serve ten years is obscene. “The prosecution feels the case for life imprisonment is strong.”

“They can’t promise that. But ten? That’s not good enough.” Jay growls.

“We agree, and the sooner we can get him charged, the better. All we need from you is for Mr. Rena to file his beta-Were status with the registry.”

It hits Jay, then, that Nix isn’t a beta at all. How are they going to protect Nix’s omega status and still get the maximum penalty? They need time to weigh the risks of telling the police about Nix’s status because surely his secondary gender will require medical testimony, and the proverbial cat would be out of the bag.

“Detectives, we’d like to consult our legal counsel before we offer any opinions.” Jay’s tone brooks no argument.

“Of course. We are sorry, however, that we are under a bit of a time constraint. We left it as late as we could, given the precarious nature of Mr. Rena’s health, but we need to charge Mr. Hayes no later than tomorrow at midnight. You can reach us here,” Larsen says, pulling a card out of her pocket.

“I’ll be in touch,” Jay confirms.

The Detectives suck all the tension out of the room with their departure, and all of Jay’s bravado dissipates in awhoosh.“Fuck. Fuck, Gid, what are we going to do? Nix isn’t a beta. But Hayes cannot get away with this. Ten years isn’t good enough? I think we should call Leo’s dad, yeah?”

***

“…and that guy there, he’s Castiel, and this is…” Jay hears Luca before he enters the room. The beta is enthusiasticallytelling Nix about his favorite show,Supernatural, and while Nix is still unconscious, Luca doesn’t let that stop him.

“Jaybird!” Luca is making grabby hands at Jay, so he pockets the detective’s card for the moment and gives a soft kiss to his beta. “Mmm, you taste good. Missed you.”

“Missed you too, baby. You keeping watch over, Nix?”

“Mmhmm. Do you think he has a favoriteSupernaturalcharacter?” He snuggles under the blankets that he’s brought from home and piled high on Nix’s bed. He’s moved the tablet to where Nix could watch, too, if he would just open his eyes. Jay feels warmth spark in his chest because his mates are making room for him in their lives and their hearts already.

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