Riley, Parker, Paisley and Ryder slipped into Eve’s old bedroom while Ethan scrubbed dishes after dinner.

They were supposed to be brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed, but they knew their father would be distracted long enough for them to try and sneak in some investigating.

In all honesty, their efforts had hit a few stumbling blocks in the last few days. As badly as they wanted to clear Jane’s good name, they couldn’t very well do that when they were staying at Linda’s. And even now that they were back home, the police had been through the apartment, so they assumed they wouldn’t find anything at all.

Eve’s room was at the end of the hall next to Petra’s, and while the huge penthouse had so much space that they’d all managed to move in without clearing out any of the previously occupied rooms, they had to figure the adults had been through almost everything before them. Slipping into her former living space, they blinked around at the gaudy decor and tacky furnishings.

“This is really ugly:” Riley declared, staring at the overabundance of neon pink leopard print and fake gold crown molding.

“Tell me ’bout it” Paisley answered in reply. She and her siblings had been on somewhat wobbly footing lately. They loved each other dearly and always had fun playing, but she couldn’t get past the fact that they couldn’t forgive Daddy for what he did to Mommy. Lt hurt her too, but she’d grown up without a mother, and after discovering she was alive and well, she’d started to realize how complicated adult matters were in a way her siblings had not.

“Do you know where she might hide bad things?”

Parker asked, wrapping an arm around Paisley as if he could sense how uneasy Eve’s rooms made her.

“Uh-huh,” Paisley confirmed, “She didn’ think I knew, but she has a safe under the bed.”

“She probly cleaned that out when she left.” Ryder frowned.

1 dunno.” Riley countered, “Daddy was really mad, I bet he didn’ let her outta his sight.”

“That’s true” Paisley agreed, “she’d have to be pretty dumb to open it in front a him.”

The four pups crawled under the mattress and box springs, gasping in excited unison when they laid eyes on the silver cube. It took both Ryder and Parker working together to pull it out into the open, and then the young wolves were faced with a new problem. “And ideas about the comb’nation?” Ryder asked.

“How ’bout her birthday?” Riley suggested.

“or Daddy’s.” Parker added.

Paisley grimaced, “l do know Daddy’s… but

the keypad and shaking her head in defeat when it made an angry buzzing sound and flashed red. Next they tried Ethan’s birthday, but when that didn’t work, they entered a string of four

we should get Daddy:”

number, and we

dunno.” Parker scowled.

looks like.” She reminded them. Unlike their

and squeezing her sister’s hand. “If you trust Daddy, I trust

realized the pups weren’t actually getting ready for bed, Ethan appeared in the doorway at that very moment.

Eve’s safe.” Parker announced happily, drawing

added, scooting over so that Ethan could kneel down in front of the silver

police miss this?” Ethan

bed” Paisley explained, climbing into his la*p before he was even sitting down

asked, rearranging himself so that his daughter could settle, and pleasantly surprised when Ryder climbed

answers, leaning against Ethan’s

birthday, but Paisley didn’

punching in the numbers. All five of them gaps when the keypad chirped and blinked green, shortly followed by

his shoulder as he began pulling papers from the interior, and for the first time in weeks, Ethan had all four of his pups snuggling close. It lifted his heart even though he knew it wasn’t entirely intentional, but he wasn’t going to risk ending it

to his body so the pups would have to stay close, scanning the contents so quickly the young children couldn’t keep

Jane for the rogue attack on her

it, Daddy?” Paisley

they would understand, “lt’s just something bad she did a long time ago, something l can’t believe she would keep for so

“Why not?” Ryder inquired.

Unfortunately for him, her notes indicated that Petra had been in on it all along. In fact, she was the one who

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