My chest rumbled with the anger that he was right. It’d been two weeks since our meeting with the Alliance, and in that time, I’d bounced between New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona. The homes and buildings Raffa and our packmates worked on throughout the state started dropping.
In business, it wasn’t unusual to lose a few jobs here and there to competitors, particularly among our human clients. But this was more than the typical course of business. I could feel that something or someone was targeting my pack’s companies.
“There’s more, though,” Raffa added, with a heaviness in his voice.
I steeled myself for what he had to say. “Tell me.”
He pushed out a harsh breath and folded his arms across his chest. “Montgomery is missing.”
Montgomery was our general business manager. He wasn’t one of our pack, but he was a shifter, a loner who didn’t belong to anyone. He’d come to me a few years earlier in need of a job. Montgomery had experience in construction and proved to be a hard worker. At first, it bothered me not to know much about his history, but he worked his ass off, proving himself.
“How long has he been gone?” Montgomery often traveled throughout the state of California for us, overseeing jobs. Since I had just arrived back in the state the previous night, that I hadn’t seen him didn’t even dawn on me. It wasn’t unusual for Montgomery and me to miss one another when I was in town.
Raffa couldn’t meet my eyes. “A few weeks.”
“A few fucking weeks?” I roared.
He slumped his shoulders. “We thought he was just traveling, in locations where cell service was down.”
“That’s bullshit,” I growled. “He knows when to check in.”
“I know,” Raffa defended. “And he usually does, but Montgomery comes and goes when he gets into one of his moods. You know how that fucker is.”
I clicked my teeth and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Lone wolves get on my damn nerves,” I grumbled. My father had always said you couldn’t trust a wolf without a pack. But in my attempt to not be just like my father, I chose to give Montgomery and a few others the benefit of the doubt.
Shit. My mistake could’ve placed my pack in danger. Loners didn’t place loyalty on that high of a priority, which meant he might not have a problem selling what he knew about our pack to anyone interested. Not that we had much to hide. Montgomery didn’t know about my mate, but he had access to our financials and the ins and outs of our business practices.
Those, he might be inclined to send to our competitors.
“What have you done to find him?” I asked.
“Aside from putting out a few feelers, we don’t have the means to track him.” Raffa sighed heavily, and I knew I wasn’t going to like the way this scene was going to play out. “He’s a loner, which means he’s like a fucking chameleon. We need a tracker.”
I tightened my fists at my sides. Raffa was saying without directly saying it, we needthe best tracker in our pack.
Ordinarily, I would have no problem getting my brother on the phone and putting him on this job. The problem was that I had Chance in Texas, keeping an eye on my mate. Pulling him from watching over Reese would expose her in ways I didn’t even want to consider.
With a heaving sigh, I decided it was time for me to claim my fucking mate. There was no way I could live with knowing she could be in danger and not have someone looking after her.
“I’ll call Chance,” I told Raffa.
Relief washed over his face. “We do still have several jobs to work on in the meantime.”
I nodded. “Do you need anything for them?”
He shook his head. “We’re good as far as equipment and money for those jobs.”
“And how’s Sabrina?”
Raffa’s face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of his pregnant mate. My chest tightened with longing. I’d yearned for years to experience that type of glee at the mere mention of my mate’s name. Now that I’d found her, she still was just out of reach.
“Our third pup will be coming soon.” His grin was as wide as his face. Raffa’s expression was devoid of the weight from the conversation about Montgomery and the lost jobs. “Another few weeks.”
“She’s staying off of her feet, correct?” I asked.
He blew out a breath as if to sayyeah, right,and chuckled before saying, “She keeps reminding me that this is her third pregnancy, and she knows her body better than I do.” He shook his head, but there was a wistful smirk at play on his lips. “She does let me rub her feet every night and run her a bath.” He sighed, a far-off look in his eyes.
I had to look away. “If either of you needs anything, you know to tell me, right?”
