"That sounds great in theory, Randal, but I'm not sure what the clan can do if something has already happened to her." Luca sucked in a shaky breath. "What if she's hurt or something? Maybe she can't reach the phone."
"Bears are a hardy bunch, Luca," Rob said from the front seat. "I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation as to why she's not answering the phone."
Luca smiled weakly. "I'm sure you're right."
Okay, even Randal could tell Luca was lying, and after everything he had said before about Luca not lying. The man was clearly terrified for his nana. Or he was placating the alpha.
Neither were good choices.
"I know you don't believe us," Randal said, "but you will. There's a reason we all belong to a clan."
Luca snorted. "The King Clan didn't turn out to be so good for the people that live here."
"Not all clans are as bad as the one Jason led, Luca," Rob said. "Most are pretty great."
"What about the clan you came from?" Luca asked. "You were banished."
"True, but there was a reason for that. You can't have two alphas in the same clan and after I claimed Casey, I became an alpha. You have to remember, I also attacked the alpha's son. It just goes to show you what a good man he was that he merely banished me."
"How does that make him a good guy?"
"He could have killed me."
Randal smiled when Luca's jaw dropped.
"It's against clan law to attack the alpha heir of the clan," Rob continued to explain. "Like I said, he could have ordered my execution and no one would have said anything about it. Instead, he banished us because it was safer for Casey if we were away from the alpha heir. He even gave us money to help with our resettlement."
"He did?" That surprised Randal.
"Turns out Casey was the alpha's only son from his true mate. He couldn't acknowledge him though because it would have meant Casey's death at the hands of the alpha mate, who was not Alpha Barker's true mate. The alpha mate had already killed her and threatened to do the same if Alpha Barker ever acknowledged Casey as his son."
"Fuck," Luca whispered. "No wonder he banished you. I would have done the same thing if my son was in danger."
Rob glanced back at them for a brief moment, his face set in a solemn grimace. "This stays between us. Understand?"
Randal and Rob both nodded.
"The only reason I am telling you is so that you understand that not all clans are bad. The situation sucked balls, but Alpha Barker did everything he could to protect us. Even though I was upset at what he did at the time, I understand why he did it. He was trying to keep Casey safe, and I can't fault anyone for doing that."
Randal could understand that both as a bear and a man. He'd do just about anything to keep Luca safe, and he wouldn't fault anyone for doing the same. Luca meant everything to him.
"Have you had any problems with the alpha heir since you left?" Luca asked, surprising Randal.
"No, but we're a long ways from there. Our old clan was back on the east coast. Raymond Barker has no business up this way." Rob grinned. "However, if he does show up, I'd be more than happy to show him out of my territory."
"I'd be happy to help, Alpha Rob."
"Thank you, Randal, but I doubt it will be necessary. I think we saw the last of Raymond when we left home."
Randal hoped that was true, but in his experience, people like his father, his brother, and this Barker guy tended to stick around like a bad smell. It didn't matter what you did to get away from them, they were always there, waiting in the wings to attack when your guard was down.
Maybe he'd talk to Rob a little later about checking up on this guy and making sure he wasn't headed to Silver Lake. It wouldn't hurt to check.
It didn't take long for them to reach the house where Luca's nana lived. Randal didn't actually know that much about her so he didn't know if the silver Lexus in her driveway belonged to her or not. He was pretty sure it didn't when Luca gasped.
"What is it?"
"Maybe that's why she never answered her phone," Luca whispered. "Maybe she has company."
