 Now in Kindle Unlimited! The man he greeted was at least ten plus years older than Raul, putting him easily in his fifties, maybe early sixties. He was a good-looking guy, gray hair, nice build, and a familiarity about him Raul couldn’t put his finger on. Raul took in the well-tailored suit, manicured nails and expensive, tasteful few pieces of jewelry he wore. The man had money, probably a lot of it and he’d had it for some time, possibly born into it. A large, leather, laptop bag hung off his shoulder. Raul extended one hand, “Raul Fierro. Have seat, please.” He motioned to one of the two chairs in front of his desk. A firm, sure handshake and the man finally revealed his full name. “William Lynch.” He said it almost as a challenge. His body language was tense, so maybe it was a challenge. Or he was here on a bet. Brandon’s last name was Lynch. Okay, common enough a name, it didn’t have to mean anything. This man was plenty old enough to be Brandon’s father. Had he come here to experience the same thing his son had? That would be weird and creepy and… no. “Raul translates to wise wolf, Fierro means iron,” William Lynch said. “Yeah,” Raul said slowly, drawing the word out. “What is it I can do for you, Mr. Lynch?” It was an enormous effort to lean back against his desk and appear casual. William Lynch stood between the chairs, not taking the offered seat. “You know my son Brandon.” Really weird and creepy. “That’s confidential.” Regardless of how William Lynch thought Raul knew Brandon he was going to protect Brandon’s privacy. A smile spread across Lynch’s face and damn if it didn’t make Raul want to shift to full werewolf and dive out a window. “Right answer,” Lynch said. Raul frowned but had no real reply. He felt this was some sort of test, but he didn’t have a clue as to over what, or why. “I’ll get right to the point,” Lynch continued. “Good.” “Brandon is missing and I need you to find him. I know you work here, in this place.” He glanced around the small office and his distaste over Raul’s family business was palatable. “But you’re also a bounty hunter.” “Uh huh. What do you mean missing?” Raul asked. Didn’t that piece of information make him feel like the worst possible pond scum? Regular e-mails from Brandon had stopped and Raul didn’t even think to try to make sure nothing bad had happened. “When?” “Ten days ago, though to be honest I didn’t realize it until a couple of days later. Brandon is very introverted and a loner, so not hearing from him when he’s not at work isn’t uncommon.” Lynch’s voice was steady, no hint of fear for Brandon, or any other emotion. There was nothing about his body language or scent to lead Raul to think he was masking his emotions. Asshole. Your kid went missing and you didn’t even know about it right away. The Brandon Raul knew didn’t seem very introverted, not to that extent. If someone in Raul’s family was missing, even for a few hours, many people would know something wasn’t right. Raul didn’t have to think much about his next two questions. “How do you know he hasn’t taken a trip? How did you know to come to me?” “There have been no charges on his credit cards. I couldn’t open the e-mails, but I’ve seen proof of communications between the two of you and I know he was in this area last November for a week. His motorcycle hasn’t left the parking garage in two weeks. Weather up north doesn’t allow for much riding at this time of year, but he’d trailer it somewhere he can use it if he were on a simple trip. Brandon doesn’t take impromptu trips, he’s an extensive planner.” Lynch counted off on his fingers as he listed his reasons. “I did some research on you. Your fugitive recovery rate is excellent. You know my son—intimately, I presume—and you demonstrated you know how to be discreet.” Brandon had dropped out of sight ten days ago. His last e-mail to Raul had been eleven days ago. Lower than pond scum. “Whatever your fee, I’ll double it,” Lynch added. He probably took Raul’s lack of immediate response as a no. Raul would do it for free, but he decided Brandon’s father needed to pay for being such a douche. “It would be helpful if you could provide me with information on his friends, who he associates with for business and what exactly does he do? I know he works for your company, that’s it.” “You understand what Brandon is, correct?” A sweet, kind young man with a dick of a father? Raul nodded. “I know he’s a magical. A scintilla.” Lynch nodded. “One of my business ventures is Seafind. It’s my main business and has been for years.” “Crowd sourcing, cyber security, search engine, financial projections, that Seafind?” Raul asked. That explained how a twenty-something kid could afford what Brandon paid for his visit to El Corazon. “Yes. For generations my family has been in the furniture business. When Brandon’s… talent was discovered I made sure he had the proper education and training in accordance with business in the cyber world. My wife’s family business is heavily into electronics and gaming, it seemed like a good idea and they had the connections. Brandon was able to help build Seafind when he was still in middle school.” Raul started to put some pieces together. “Is Brandon your only child?” “No. I have four others, he’s the only magical, however.” Lynch slipped the computer bag off his shoulder. “Your wife isn’t Brandon’s mother,” Raul said. Lynch shook his head. “My marriage was more of a merger.” “Furniture and electronics, they do go together.” “I like my wife, she likes me, and we’ve had an understanding since the beginning,” Lynch said. “You must appreciate that sort of life, I hear werewolf packs often have such unions.” “Packs are an invention of Hollywood, we have families.” Not unlike the Mafia has families. Raul didn’t address the part about arranged unions for profit not fun. “But, back to you. You broke the rules and got one of your flings knocked up. But Brandon had the potential for special skills both you and your wife and by extension your families could put to good use. So, your wife let it slide in return for a sparkly new billion-dollar creation,” Raul sniped. He was lining up the dots. Brandon was an indiscretion who turned into the goose who laid the electronic golden egg. Mr. Lynch, douche would be a step up for you. “Does Brandon’s mother have contact with him?” Lynch’s eyebrows went up and Raul snorted. “Please, Mr. Lynch, he’s not the first rich kid I’ve had to track down. Putting jigsaw pieces together is what I do. Did you pay her off to never contact him again, or did she have visitation?” “As far as the rest of the world knows, Brandon is the son of my wife and myself. Brandon knows he’s adopted, not why,” Lynch said. He at least had the decency to not meet Raul’s eyes and to appear slightly ashamed. He held out the laptop bag.     
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