Because Layla always tried her hardest with anything that'd come her way over the last two years and had almost always succeeded.
Her strength and determination had made him wary at first, had made him doubt their age differences. Could he ever match her when she had so many years more experience than him?
However, as months went by, he'd slowly noticed she had faults and weaknesses like anyone did. And it'd made him realize that he didn't need to match her, only complement her. And over time, he'd noticed how well he could do that.
Faye and Grant's cottage came into sight, the front window glowing with light. Good, they were home and he didn't have to waste time trying to find out where they were. Especially since the quick text message he'd sent, asking where they were, had gone unanswered.
Not because his brother was ignoring him, but probably was merely busy with his mate as it was late at night, and Grant's second-in-command would be in charge of the Protectors until morning.
His dragon huffed. I still say we should've called over and over again, until he picked up.
This way is quicker, as I said it would be.
Chase said to Layla, "They have a secure room in their place, one where no one can listen in, no matter how hard they try. Wait until we get inside it before saying anything, aye?"
She nodded but said nothing else.
Chase hated her being so silent. If there weren't mere feet from the doorstep, he would've said something to make her frown with irritation or to smile. Anything to help lighten the mood.
He'd just have to do it later, once this was settled.
They arrived at the door. As much as he wanted to barge in, Chase wasn't going to risk finding his brother and sister-in-law naked and moaning in front of them. He pounded on the door and kept at it until it swung open, revealing Grant's furrowed brow and wearing nothing but a pair of pajama bottoms. "What the hell do you want at this hour?" Before Chase could say a word, Grant's gaze moved to Layla and softened. "What happened, Layla? Don't deny it—it's written all over your face."
Chase took Layla's hand again and pushed inside. "Not until we're secure."
Faye had come into the hall, a robe wrapped around her body. But rather than ask questions, she motioned toward the stairs. "Then let's hurry."
In less than a minute, all four of them were inside a spare bedroom that had been turned into a soundproofed meeting room of sorts, one that was also protected from any sort of listening device. Once the door clicked closed, Grant prodded again. "What happened?"
Layla spoke without hesitation, her voice strong. "Someone has been stealing items from the surgery."
Faye tilted her head. "For how long?"
"Nearly a month. And aye, I should've come to you straightaway. But I was afraid that if any of the Protectors started sniffing around, it would make the thief flee, and I'd never discover who it was." She gestured to Chase. "So I asked Chase to help me."
Grant's look was enough of a question, and Chase answered, "I installed hidden security cameras for her. And tonight while watching the footage, we found out who it is."
Faye leaned against Grant's side. "Who?"
"Logan Lamont."
Faye frowned. "Are you sure? Logan hasn't done anything irresponsible since his brother disappeared years ago, without a word."
Layla nodded. "I agree, it doesn't seem like him, but it's him in the footage, plain as day." She recapped what she saw in the footage before adding, "Regardless of our assumptions, the medication he took is very specific and expensive, just like the old monitoring equipment that also went missing recently."
A thought crossed Chase's mind. "Did Logan's brother have a heart condition?"
Layla shook her head. "No, not many dragon-shifters do. And this stays in this room, but the only ones that have been part of Lochguard in the last decade and have heart arrhythmias are Cal, young Ollie, and…"
Her voice trailed off, her face becoming even paler. Not caring that Faye and Grant were there, he cupped her cheek and forced Layla to look at him. He asked gently, "And who, lass?"
She searched his eyes as she whispered, "My sister."
Time stilled as a flicker of hope sparked in Layla's chest. There were many more reasons as to why it was impossible that Logan was helping Yasmin, almost too many to count.
And yet, maybe Yasmin had been silent for a reason. They'd never formally received news of her mating ceremony, let alone any updates.
Not even her mother's friends had mentioned something going awry. Or, if they had, her parents had become fantastic liars, which would almost be worse. If her sister had been missing for years and they hadn't said a word, Layla wasn't sure she could forgive them.