“That they were offering me a place on one of the most sought-after teams in the McKillan Pack, so there was no reason to contact any of the other packs.” He shot a quick glance at his parents. “He said I shouldn’t make my parents worry by making this process more difficult than it needs to be. That things would go smoothly for everyone involved if I agreed to their terms and signed the contract.” When he met Logan’s gaze, he looked far younger than his twenty-three years. Scared. “Was that a threat or am I imagining things?”
Logan had the sudden urge to put his arm around him and pull him close, comfort him like his dad had done for his mum. Instead he stood and walked over to the kitchen window, putting Cole out of his line of sight. “I don’t think you’re imagining things. Not only do they want you on Paul’s team, they don’t want to have someone with your skillset where they can’t keep an eye on you. It’s what I suspect anyway. And now that they’ve had cause to intervene in the process, you can bet that someone from my pack is going to be keeping a close eye on you and your family.”
And possibly me too.
He needed to talk to Jacob.
Turning around to face them all, he reluctantly focused on Cole again. “Have you any idea why Paul thought you’d approached another pack?”
They wouldn’t have come here unless there was substantial proof.
Cole frowned and looked thoroughly confused for a moment, and then, “Shit.”
Logan raised both eyebrows, and Cole sighed.
“I met Nick in the pub.”
“Nick?”
“My best friend. We were talking about packs, affiliation, and all that crap.” He shot a glance at Logan, not looking the least bit apologetic. “No offence.”
Logan snorted and gestured for him to carry on.
“I might have mentioned asking around the other packs to see if there was an alternative to the McKillan one.”
“And you think a shifter overheard you?”
“We’re usually really careful, but I didn’t think to check. It wasn’t like we were plotting the downfall of the government or anything.”
“No, but anything other than a willingness to go through with your pack affiliation is seen as a cause for concern.”
Okay, so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been if Cole had actually made contact with another pack, but it still wasn’t great. Catching the attention of those higher up in his pack wasn’t what they needed. Especially if Cole chose to escape London. His demeanour gave nothing away; he seemed the same as he always did to Logan. If he’d made the decision to leave his family and friends behind, then he hid it well.
Logan didn’t know which option he was rooting for, and he chose not to examine why that might be. “We still have things to discuss, Cole, so why don’t we take a walk?”
Cole’s mum looked about to protest, understandable considering they were all shaken up a bit, but Cole shushed her. “It’s fine, Mum. I’ll only be just down the road, and to be honest, I could do with some fresh air.” He nodded at Logan. “If anything happens, I have Logan here to protect me.”
That sounded way more appealing than Logan was comfortable with.
They left after many assurances to be careful, and Logan made Cole bite his tongue until they reached the park.
Logan led the way to a bench in the middle, surrounded on all sides by wide-open space.
Cole glanced around them, then pointed at the cluster of trees over to the left. “I thought you’d want to go hide in there?”
“Why?” Logan frowned. “Out here I can see much further, and its far easier to hear too.”
“Fair enough.” Cole sat down next to him and covered his face with his hands. “I take it we’re safe to talk now?”
“For the moment. I’ll let you know if that changes.”
“Jesus,” Cole muttered. “Paul McKillan is a scary fucker.”
To Logan he was more of a sadistic wanker who wanted to climb the ranks. He held no regard for humans and looked down on those shifters that did. But he could easily see how intimidating Paul would appear to Cole. Tall, broad, and built. Probably the stereotypical shifter as far as Cole was concerned. Slap a gun in his hand and he must have seemed terrifying. “Yeah, I can see how’d you’d think that.”
“He doesn’t scare you?”
Logan gave the question some thought before answering. “Paul himself doesn’t scare me. Piss me off? Absolutely, but I’m not scared of him. I am, however, terrified of what he could do and who he could hurt.” Given enough evidence to act on, Paul could cause a hell of a lot of trouble.
