“I’m making it my business as a concerned citizen…off the record. I won’t take it too far. Just check out the place and let the cops know if we notice anything.”
Toby’s nostrils flared and he looked about ready to argue the point.
“I’ll keep Brock on the high road,” Zeke reassured them.
Toby twisted his mouth. “Fine,” he conceded, heading to the truck bays.
“What about the rest of the team?” Jax asked. “What do we tell them?”
“Nothing.”
Jax arched an eyebrow, then he shrugged. “All right. I’ll be waiting for word.”
The front door banged closed, leaving just Brock and Zeke left.
“Here are the spots.” Zeke handed over a torn off piece of notebook paper with two addresses written on it.
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry about your mom.”
“Thanks.” Brock swallowed hard. He needed to go back and visit her. She probably wondered why he hadn’t come back to the hospital.
Zeke closed his computer and sat it in the empty chair on the other side of him. “Of course, it’s way better that it happened to her than some random person.”
Brock stared at Zeke. “What?”
“Yeah. With her, it doesn’t even matter. You can deal with it. I’ll help.”
Anger surged through Brock like a bolt of electricity. It jarred his bones and shook each muscle. Did Zeke really think he could be that crass? That Brock would be able to deal with his mother’s illness and possible death like it was nothing? Brock didn’t even know what he was doing until his hands were on the collar of Zeke’s shirt. Pulling hip up out of the chair, he swung the man around and pressed his back against the wall next to him.
“Hey!” Zeke gurgled, clutching at Brock’s hands. “What the hell are you doing?”
“You don’t get to disrespect me, my mother or anyone in my family that way. Understood?” Brock roared.
“I’m pretty sure I’d know if I disrespected you and I damn well didn’t!” Zeke yelled. “Put me down, you damn idiot!”
Brock took a deep breath. It seared his throat like steam. Slowly, he lowered Zeke. If he wasn’t careful something he could regret might happen. Like shifting to their animals and tearing the place apart.
“You’re being an idiot,” Zeke spat. “Are you really that stupid?”
Brock growled low. His fingers itched to get at Zeke’s throat. After everything that had happened, this betrayal was going too far. Brock could snap any minute now. What the hell was Zeke thinking anyway?
“Watch that mouth before I stuff it down your throat.”
“For fuck’s sake, Brock.” Zeke looked around the room and down the hallways to make sure no one was around. “We can heal her,” Zeke told him, lowering his voice. He rolled his shoulder, working out the spot where it had been jammed into the wall.
Brock stared. “What?”
“You and the other bears have healed together before. We all have. You know it’s possible.”
“We’ve healed injuries, not terminal illnesses.”
Zeke shook his head. “No offense, but sometimes I wonder why I’m surrounded by bear, wolf and mountain lion shifters. I need smarter shifter friends, dude. Don’t be afraid of the big C, Brock. Hell, the way I see it, it’s easier to heal than a wound. Think about it. If chemo and radiation can make a difference, what do you think we shifters can do?”
Brock continued to stare. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? Of course he could heal his mother. He would need a few members of his shifter family, but it was possible. They’d saved Joleen from a knife wound that might have killed her. If Zeke was right, cancer would be no problem.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, reaching a hand up and running it over his head. “I am being stupid. And a jackass.”
“Yes my friend. You damn well were…but you had a few things on your mind. It’s all right.”
“Brock!” Jax had the front door open. He leaned his head in to shout again. “I’m going with you.”
“Where?”
“To heal your mom.”
“Christ. Were you listening?”
“Yes. I’ve got the addresses to the suspected meth labs too.”
Zeke shook his head. “Wait a minute. You heard him using me as a half-human feather duster and you didn’t step in to help?”
Jax grinned. “He was letting off some steam. I thought it was helping.”
Zeke packed up his laptop and mouse. “Let’s check out those addresses. We can’t do anything for Mrs. Moore while she’s at the hospital. Too many witnesses. In the meantime, while you’re driving, I’ll see if there are any other Dillon properties matching these criteria.”
Before he left, Brock grabbed two windbreakers with the Spark Fire Department logo. Maybe there was a way to do this above board after all.
17