Page 89 of Knot A Chance

I nodded slowly and looked up at Bennett. “I do now. I can’t remember what he looked like. But I remember his scent. I’d smelled it once before. He smelled like cleaning chemicals and cocaine. He had no scent of his own, like he was using a scent masking spray to cover it, but he smelled like cocaine and bleach.”

“Calvin?” Bennett asked, rage flooding the bond between us. “Are you telling me Calvin is the one who did this to you?”

“I think so,” I said. “But it doesn’t make any sense. Why would Calvin want to kill me? Why would he have anything to do with Ryder?”

“Well,” Wyatt said. “I looked into the books for the car detailing. He’s funneling a ton of money through your shop, Bennett.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why we have such a high profit margin,” Bennett said.

Wyatt shook his head. “There’s more than there should be. He’s fixed the books and he’s been cutting himself checks. There’s even more flowing through than you’re likely aware of and it’s most likely drug money.”

“Is he connected to the drug ring in Crescent River?” I asked.

“What drug ring in Crescent River?” Wyatt asked.

“How do you all not know about this? I’m surprised there aren’t at least whispers about it.”

“I know there’s a lot of buying and selling in the region, but I didn’t realize it was a coordinated operation. I have a lot of questions now,” Wyatt said.

“You can ask them when Felix is recovered,” Bennett grumbled.

“Victor’s Car Wash in Crescent River is a front too. Maybe they’re connected and this is their MO,” I said.

Wyatt took a deep breath and pulled his hair back into a bun at the nape of his neck. “Before we go down that path, what I can say is that Calvin disappeared the day you woke up and he hasn’t been in town since. Ryder also disappeared. Donovan has been out canvasing Crescent River and Mirror Lake—even Harvest Cove—at all hours. There’s no sign of them. At this point, the best theory I have is that Ryder was working for Calvin. For whatever reason, possibly your bond to Ryder, Calvin wanted you gone.”

“Where is Donovan now? I’ll go search with him and take care of Calvin myself,” Bennett said.

I pressed my hand to his chest. “No. I need you here. Not in jail. Here with me.”

He took a deep breath, looking pissed off but resigned. He took my empty soup bowl and set it on the coffee table in front of us.

Wyatt frowned. “Ally would string me up by my balls if I let you get yourself arrested for murder, Bennett. Felix is right, he needs you here.”

“So what do we do now?” I asked, rubbing my arms.

Bennett pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and covered me before pulling me against his side and marking my neck.

“We’ll keep looking for them. You both just lay low here at the house,” Wyatt said. “Either Donovan or I will be parked outside your house at night, and we’ll be only a phone call away during the day. Understood?”

“Yes, thank you, Wyatt,” I said. “Hey, did you figure out what happened to Julia?”

“Julia Warsaw? Your nurse?” Wyatt asked.

“Yeah. She disappeared too and Bennett said you were aware.”

“Yes. We haven’t seen her since she and Ryder left the hospital. But what I didn’t share with Bennett is that she called me at the station the morning before you woke up. She wouldn’t give us her name, and she just said that we needed to look further than Ryder to find out what happened to you. We were able to trace the number she called from to her cell,” Wyatt said. “I asked Donovan to follow up with her, but he hasn’t been able to reach her. It’s possible she was involved in some way.”

Bennett nodded. “I think she was, at least at first. Felix’s meds were tampered with, and I assumed it was Carissa because she was new to Felix’s care team at the time, but it might have been Julia. She earned my trust pretty early on, but that might have been to prevent me from suspecting her when things went south. Maybe she also started to feel bad about her involvement? I don’t know.”

“Interesting. We’ll keep looking for her too,” Wyatt said, standing. “I’ll see myself out. Oh, by the way, I locked your cat in the bedroom. She’s a real asshole.”

I chuckled. “She just doesn’t like alphas. She’s wonderful to me.”

“I bet. Get some rest, both of you,” Wyatt said, heading for the door.

“We will,” I said, nuzzling into Bennett. After the door closed behind Wyatt, I tipped my head to look at Bennett. “Take Benny for a walk around the back yard and then come to bed with me. Please. I can go free Marley now.”

“No sex,” he said sternly.