“What do I tell Dewi, for now?” he asked.
“Nothing. Start with I had to run an errand, and I’m safe. But expect me to possibly be out of contact for as long as a couple of days.”
Badger slowly shook his head. “She’s gonna tear up the whole compound lookin’ fer ye.”
“I won’t be here.” Ken kissed the baby one last time. “But tell her I said I love her, and I’ll be home soon. And she’s not allowed to leave. That’s not from me—that’s from the Pack Alpha.”
Badger arched his good eyebrow at him. “Ye mean from Peyton?”
Ken nodded. And as he headed out the back door, Ken hoped that last promise wasn’t an unintentional lie.
About being home soon.
Chapter Forty-Four
Ken
His stop in town took surprisingly little time. Thankfully, the bank was run by a packmate, meaning invoking Peyton’s name got him whisked over to the manager. When Ken spoke to him about which box he needed and the code to access it, the man personally escorted Ken into the vault to retrieve the box and then to the private room, where Ken opened it once he was alone.
Inside were three handguns in plastic bags—all 9mm, as far as Ken could tell—several boxes of ammo, $100k in unmarked twenties, fifties, and hundreds, three large, thick, sealed envelopes that felt like they contained something besides papers, and four brand-new, sealed cell phones.
Except for the guns, ammo, and cash, Ken scooped everything else into the duffel bag he brought with him, left Dewi’s passport in the box, and was on his way ten minutes later.
Back to gut-clenching tension during the entire drive to Spokane, where he shipped the items as directed, labelling them from Peyton to Trevor.
It was close enough to the truth.
Hell, it was the truth, come to think of it.
Then to the airport. By the time he boarded the commuter flight to Seattle, Ken still didn’t have any calls or texts from Dewi.
After thinking about it, he switched off his personal phone. It wouldn’t work overseas anyway, even though the work phone the pack issued him would. He wasn’t sure if Dewi knew how to turn on the tracking feature on their personal phones, and he didn’t need her stumbling across his location.
In Seattle, he was checked in for his flight, had sent Trevor the flight info, and was waiting for the call to board when a text landed in his secure app on his work phone.
From Duncan.
D’s winding up. Can you tell us anything?
He hated that he couldn’t. He’d never faced a situation like this before, but then again, the past year had shifted his life hard in unexpected ways he’d never dreamed possible.
Sorry. Pack Alpha business. And it’s safe.
Then a flurry of texts hit the phone, in his regular text app.
WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING AND WHY IS YOUR PERSONAL CELL PHONE OFF?
WHAT IS GOING ON??
CALL ME RIGHT NOW!!
Ken didn’t even need to look at the contact to know they were from Dewi.
He’d thought about this and typed it out with trembling fingers.
I love you, and it’s safe. But it’s Pack Alpha business and I cannot tell you anything else right now. I might be out of contact for a couple of days. This will be fine. You have to stay in the compound until I’m back in contact.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
