“I couldn’t get close to the gate on my bike,” Logan replies, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall. “And despite what you like to think about this place, I seriously doubt your guys can hold the perimeter.”
Cooper looks insulted. “We can hold it. They’re just reporters and looky-loos, not the Russian Army.”
Logan gives him an unimpressed look. “A picture of Ellis and his son would be worth what? Five figures?” I nod, because that would be the starting price. Something more personal, or a direct quote from Lily or Leo could be retirement money, especially if they got into a bidding war with the national networks. “In a couple of days, they’re gonna be sending drones, maybe even hiking in like I did.”
He’s right, of course. The press was rabid when our relationship with Tristan became public, and it took a great deal of money to keep the vultures from invading our private bonding ceremony.
“Either way,” Logan says quietly, “Lily’s not gonna want to stay. She’s spooked, and her only thought will be to get Leo as far away from this place as possible.”
It’s hard not to flinch. Unfortunately, my possessive instincts are still on high alert, and I grab the front of his shirt before I can stop myself. Cooper makes a low, panicked sound as I thump Logan back against the wall, but the Marine just stares at me with eyes as flat as glass. “Calm down, buddy,” he murmurs. “I’m not taking her away from you, but you still have to let her go, if that’s what she wants to do.”
Not something I want to hear, but before my elbow can slam into his windpipe, he twists me around and shoves me up against the opposite wall. I grunt as I hit the wood paneling, a little surprised at how quickly he overpowered me. I might spend more time in boardrooms than gyms, but I work out, and I’m about as dominant as an alpha can be without humping rucksacks through the woods for a living. But it seems that small margin makes a big difference when you have a pissed-off Marine at your back.
“You’ve got her scent all over you,” he says in my ear, twisting my captured wrist, “so I’m gonna give you a pass for that one. But try to knock me around again and I’ll lay you out, fancy suit and all.” He leans his weight on me a moment longer, then retreats a step, dusting off his hands. “Besides, I thought guys like you had better ways of shutting people up.”
Jesus. There’s no missing the thread of humor in his voice, but I don’t take offence. I turn slowly, pushing my glasses up my nose even though they’re already in place. “You’re right. I need to call our lawyers.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He doesn’t repeat his warning, his attention turning to Cooper. “Now, give me a look at the plat map for this place.”
The bodyguard shoots me a questioning look and I nod. “Show him whatever he needs, then come find me in my office.”
I leave them to their plotting, my skin still tight on my bones as I make my way to the service elevator and head up to my office. Losing control isn’t something that happens often, and I can feel the burn on the back of my neck as I grab a glass of whiskey and drop into my chair. I have a private landline for video conferences, and I’m not surprised to find the screen lit up with missed calls. I ignore them and dial my lawyers, even though it’s close to eleven in San Francisco.
“Maxwell, you’ve heard?”
“Of course, Otley.” The founder and managing partner of the law firm has been with me ever since I withdrew my trust from my parents’ pack at eighteen. “I won’t waste time asking how you are coping.”
“Good, because I’m not looking for your sympathy right now. I need you to let the dogs off their chains. Activate Broad Sweep, effectively immediately.”
“Are you sure?” he asks in his careful, measured way, but I can still hear the faint tic in his voice. “You don’t want to implement the first phase and take stock? If you go all in, you’re looking at a considerable cost.”
“I’m aware, Maxwell. All in.”
One of the unfair advantages of the mega-wealthy is that even if you spend every dollar you have, the interest from your investments will refill the coffers eventually. As it stands, I’d have to live multiple lifetimes before I got close to depleting my bank account.
“This might have worked with Tristan,” Maxwell cautions me, “but Ellis’ secret child is on a different scale. Most of the networks will do anything for a story like that.”
“I understand, but I want you to hit them with everything we have. Cease and desist for the official agencies, bribes for thebiddable editors, and threats for the creeps and kooks. Whatever stories you can kill, I’ll give you a bonus.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Maxwell promises, even though we both know he’ll be fighting an uphill battle to squash the story entirely. But the facts aren’t what I’m concerned about. It’s the toxic turn the speculation will take in coming days, as the worst of humanity decide to mold the story in their own perverted images.
When I’ve finished with the lawyer, I call my Head of Public Relations and give her an official statement to distribute through my various businesses.
“I heard that Ellis let Tahlia go,” Becca says, more than a little smug at the news. They’re peers in their industry, but Tahlia always likes to lord her alpha status over my beta executive. Even though Becca is quite literally better at her job. “You must be happy about that, at least.”
“I want you to look into her, Becca,” I reply, thinking of the vindictive gleam in Tahlia’s eye as she was ordered off our porch. “I wouldn’t put it past her to engineer this smear campaign.”
“That woman is a walking red flag,” she mutters, sounding disgusted. “I’ll put out some feelers, and tell Ellis to hang in there, okay? Even if it feels like hell right now, it’s the best kind of story at the end of the day.”
“Indeed.” Because no matter how the media circus twists and corrupts his origin, Leo is a miracle, and I will do anything necessary to protect him. “Can you also send me some strategies around controlling this beast, if Maxwell can’t kill off the worst of it?”
“You’ll have it by breakfast,” she promises, and I’m still smiling as I switch over to my cellphone and start reading through my messages.
“You busy?” Tristan asks from the doorway.
“Never too busy for you,” I tell him, that burn in my bones fading as he crosses the room to slide onto my lap. It’s exactly how I pictured Lily when she asked to sit in on one of my work calls, and I can feel my skin heating for a different reason. “Are you alright?” I ask as I tug down the collar of his shirt and mouth my mating mark. “Still sore from earlier?”
He smirks at the question, grinding down on my erection with a teasing wiggle. “You mean when you fucked me in my sequined chaps, or when you snuck off with Ellis and kissed Lily without me?”
