Free i 743ae055a1ebb037 by J. L. Langley Page B

quiver in his voice when he mentioned Margaret. The man clearly had feelings for Grammy.
    Dev pushed in Cole’s cell number. He wondered if Laine knew his grandmother was dating George? At least he thought that was the case. If it wasn’t he’d eat his hat, then he’d see about playing matchmaker.
    George was obviously crazy about Grammy and seemed like a good, decent man.
    Cole picked up the phone out of breath. “What?”
    Oops. It sounded like Caroline was doing some pretty heavy breathing close to the phone as well. “I need you to come to Laine’s apartment now.”
    “Okay give me—”
    “Cole, this is an emergency.”
    Cole sighed, but Dev could hear rustling, like Cole was getting dressed. “Okay, be right there. What about Caroline?”
    “Bring her with you.” He wasn’t going to take a chance of Victor snatching anyone else he cared about.
    Dev flipped his phone closed and met George’s eyes. “Come on inside. Cole and Caroline are on their way and I’ve got to go wake Lainey.”
    George nodded and followed him inside.

    * * *

    Laine sat up when the door slammed. Oh man, he hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He looked around for Dev, then realized it was more than likely Dev at the door. Who else would it be? No one else had keys except Grammy. Oh shit. Dev had several meetings today. Maybe it was Grammy.
    Laine glanced at the bedroom door as he scrambled under the covers. He had them clutched to his chest like a reluctant virgin when Dev walked in, fully clothed. Laine let out a sigh of relief and dropped the covers. “Why are you back? Not that I care, but I thought you and Cole were going to meet with the realtor lady?” Crap. Laine peeked at the clock. Caroline was supposed to be here in three minutes.
    Laine jumped up and started for the bathroom. “Tell Caroline, I’ll be—Oof.” Dev caught him around the waist, halting his progress.
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    “Lainey…”
    Uh-oh. He really did not like the tone of Dev’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
    Dev sat on the edge of the bed, tugging Laine into his lap. “George Marshal is here and—”
    “You’re stalling. Just tell me.”
    “Victor kidnapped Grammy.”
    Laine shot to his feet. “What?”
    Dev grabbed his hand and tried to pull him back.
    He batted at Dev’s hand. “He has Grammy? How?”
    “He and his Betas snagged her this morning. She’s at Peter’s house…”
    Dev kept talking but Laine didn’t hear any of it. He shook his head. No, they couldn’t have Grammy.
    Why would they want her? She wasn’t a wolf. He walked around the bed and got the phone off the charger. He dialed Grammy’s number.
    Dev came up behind him and took the phone out of his hand. He pushed end and tossed it on the bed, then turned Laine towards him. He reached up and dried a tear Laine hadn’t realized was there.
    “We have to get her back, Dev.”
    Dev hugged him, his hand holding Laine’s face to his chest. “We will Lainey. George is here and Cole and Caroline are on their way. We are going to decide the best way to get Grammy back.” Dev cast a glance at the closed bedroom door and lowered his voice to barely a whisper. “Laine, I need to know now…is there any reason I shouldn’t trust George?”
    “No. George is a good man. You can trust him. He’s been a friend of the family for years.”
    Dev nodded. “Let’s get you a shower and some coffee while we wait on Cole and Caroline. It will make you feel a little better.”
    Laine started to protest, but Dev was right, he needed a clear head to help plan. He let Dev lead him into the bathroom. Dev started the shower for him and went to make coffee. Laine washed in a daze.
    He’d known Victor was up to something. Dev had kept him from tormenting Laine, so Victor had moved on to the next best thing. Would he hurt Grammy? Maybe he’d let Grammy go, if Laine agreed to take her place. What was he thinking? Victor