“Reed, White, my office. Now!”
Oliver flinched as Inspector Callahan flung open the door, his face a tapestry of crimson. Callahan was, in general, a mild-tempered alpha, however that morning he was more angry than Oliver had ever seen him.
Lucas kept his expression neutral as he straightened. “Yes, sir,” he said, tapping his papers into a neat pile before walking over to Oliver and touching the back of his neck. The touch was not lost on the others in the room—or the Inspector.
They walked in silence to Callahan’s office, which was a relief because he’d expected to be shouted at all the way down the corridor. However, when the door finally closed, the seething fury finally showed itself.
“Sit. Down,” he said through clenched teeth. They sat.
Pulling a manilla envelope from a filing cabinet in the corner of the room, Callahan ripped it open and threw a stack of papersonto the desk. It was the CCTV from The Octane Club, formatted into dozens of A4 sized screenshots. He would have laughed at his good fortune,ifthey didn’t show him and Lucas quite clearly involved in a brawl.
“Explain yourselves!” The Inspector barked, making Oliver nearly jump out of his seat.
“W-Well, boss, you see?—”
“Last night at approximately zero three hundred hours, DC Reed and I became involved in a public order incident at The Octane Club,” Lucas began. He gripped the top of Oliver’s thigh, indicating he should keep his mouth well and truly shut. “We attended the establishment with the sole purpose of retrieving the omega Pember McArthur, who is a personal associate of DC Reed’s. Upon entering the club, we were confronted by one, Patrick Coletta, who was situated outside the omega bathrooms.”
Oliver started nodding along to Lucas’ words.
“Upon finding Mr McArthur, our intention was to exit the establishment immediately. However, Mr Coletta took it upon himself to assault DC Reed. I then executed my right, as DC Reed’s bite bound mate, to protect him. Mr Coletta attempted to assault myself, however lost his footing and fell into a table of nearby patrons—” Lucas took a breath, then went to carry on.
“Enough!” The Inspector shouted, slamming his palm down on the table. “Christ White, you’ve made your point.”
Oliver covered his mouth, disguising a smirk as a nervous cough.
“DC Reed, I’m going to ask you a very simple question.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Do you have the bite?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Show me.”
Oliver flushed, hooking his finger through his tie to loosen it. Popping free the first couple of buttons, he yanked open the neckline to reveal the still-red bite. The Inspector appeared visibly relieved upon seeing it.
“To confirm for the recording, DC Reed has a recent bite mark to the left side of his neck. The time is zero nine twenty-five hours. Interview concluded.”
Oliver looked at Lucas, who looked at the Inspector, who looked between the two of them with an apologetic expression as he switched off the covert recorder under his desk. “Sorry for the cloak and dagger, boys. The owner of the club is kicking up a right fuss, so we said we’d conduct our own internal investigation.”
Oliver let out a sharp breath. “Fucking hell, boss. I was getting ready to book an appointment at the job centre.”
Lucas sighed, calmly patting the top of his knee.
“Anyway,” the Inspector said, moving to tidy away the photographs. “Tell me whatreallyhappened.”
Partially standing, Oliver placed his hand on top of the papers and spread them over the desk. He sorted through them until he found a clear picture of Patrick and Alfie’s abuser. Tapping two fingers over their faces, he said, “That’s a corrupt former social worker. And that man wears jellyfish underpants.”
The Inspector glared at him like he’d just motor-boated his Aunt Polly’s tits.
“Sir,” Lucas began. “What DC Reed means to say, is that we have reason to believe that the man standing next to Mr Coletta is involved with the sex trafficking ring.”
Oliver nodded, tapping the table with his knuckle. “That’s what I said. And Mr Coletta is this man’s associate.”
The Inspector looked between them, steepling his fingers on the desk. “That’s a rather large claim to make, Oliver. Whilst it’s true that Mr. Coletta has been suspended for ill-conduct onthe diffusion day, we have no evidence of anyactualoffences. Certainly he sounds like a grade A twat, but that doesn’t make him a criminal. Nor does it mean he’s linked to the traffickers.”
Oliver let out an exasperated breath. “I told you, boss, they’re associate?—”
