“Don’t worry, dude, I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”
They headed inside and Remy led him up to the VIP Lounge and over to the bar where Kylie was making sure she had everything she needed for the night. He couldn’t help but stop and stare at Kylie for a moment. He gave himself a mental shake and approached her. The club was opening in five minutes and he wanted to be sure she knew who Caleb was. “Evenin’, Kitten. Dis is Caleb Parker. He’ll be takin’ over as bouncer, startin’ tonight.”
Kylie paused in setting up the bar, long enough to nod at him. “Nice to meet you.” She tilted her head a little before she looked at Remy. “Why am I not surprised your replacement is a shifter? Are you part of the Ghostpoint Pack?” she asked Caleb.
“Nah. Not yet, anyway. I just moved back here from Houston. Until Remy and I talked yesterday, I didn’t even know there was a Pack in New Orleans. Last I knew, the Pard controlled the entire city.”
“Oh. Huh. So how do you know Remy if you’re from Houston?”
“Remy and I were Frat brothers at Tulane. I grew up in Houston but came here to get a degree in psychology. Funny thing is, once I got out and started working as a psychologist, I realized I wasn’t happy,” Caleb told her. “I switched gears and ended up working for a security firm in Houston. When I decided to come back to New Orleans, I hit Remy up for old time’s sake. I moved back about a week ago.”
“Security? Do you work for Ghostpoint Security, then?” Kylie countered.
“Naw, I don’t even know what that is. I’ve heard a lot about this club. It’s fast becoming an A-lister hotspot. When Remy contacted me about the job as a bouncer here, hell yes, I jumped at the opportunity. I gotta tell ya, I was pretty damn surprised to find out New Orleans was recently split up between the Pard and a Pack.”
“It was a bit of a surprise to me, too. I mean, most shifter groups don’t have territory that is so close together,” Kylie said with a slight nod.
“Caleb’s hopin’ Declan let’s him stay a lone wolf,” Remy interjected.
Lily had just come up the stairs and must have overheard his comment because she arched a brow. “Fat chance of that happening. You know, Dec, he’s just as stubborn as Caine. Would Caine let a leopard shifter stay in the city without being part of the Pard?”
Remy snorted. “Hell no.”
“That’s pretty much how it is with Declan, too.” She turned her attention to the wolf. “I’m Lily, Alpha female of the Ghostpoint Pack and manager of Scarlet Flux. Emelise will be in later.”
“Caleb Parker.” When she offered her hand he shook it. “Yeah, I kinda got that vibe about the Pack’s Alpha from things Remy said. Can’t say as I’ve never really been part of a pack so it’ll be interesting to see how that goes.”
“As long as you’re not a complete asshole, you’ll be fine.” Lily turned her attention to Kylie. “Got everything you need before we open?”
“Yeah, I was just making sure of that before you showed up.”
“Good. Then I’m going to go down and open the doors.”
“Showtime.” Kylie winked and made last-minute checks before customers started coming in.
Remy spent part of the night getting Caleb acquainted with the staff and worked with him on the VIP list. They had names and photos of many who had open invitations to the VIP lounge, but there were many A-Listers who just came in if they happened to be in the city. Those celebrities weren’t on any lists but only an idiot would think they were banned from the VIP lounge.
By the time the night was over, Remy was confident Caleb would be able to both handle the job and keep an eye out for trouble where his mate was concerned.
Ezra
Ezra Strickland had a plan. He’d grown up in a large Pard in New Jersey, where the likelihood of moving up the ladder of hierarchy would be difficult, at best. That was why, as soon as he hit eighteen, he left New Jersey. He found a smaller Pard in Maine, near the US and Canadian border. He stood a better chance of making it to lieutenant there.
The first time he saw Kylie Bishop he wanted her. His desire for her wasn’t just because she was the daughter of one of the lieutenants. She was gorgeous and he knew, with her on his arm, he’d be the envy of every unattached male in the Pard. He knew he had to be smooth about it, though. Her father was damn protective of her, so he turned on the charm. He swept her off her feet. It wasn’t until they were together that he discovered she had a stubborn streak. She wasn’t quite as submissive as he’d hoped she was.
After her father died in a freak accident during a snowstorm, he moved her in with him and took control of her wild, stubborn nature. She was one of those women who needed a strong man to break them and mold them into something better. It took a few years, but she finally learned her place. Or so he thought.
He woke up after he’d had to discipline her to find her gone. The little bitch took his fucking car and all the cash in his wallet and left. When he got his hands on her, she was going to regret it. He reported his car stolen, figuring she was at a hotel and she’d be found in no time.
He hadn’t planned on her ditching his car once she got to Van Buren. When he got the call from the police telling him where his car was, he’d flown into a rage. A fucking Greyhound station. Lucky for him, the guy working behind the counter recognized Kylie when Ezra showed him her photo. She’d hopped a bus to Philly. Finding her had become his sole priority, his sole obsession.
The drive to Philly seemed to take forever. He knew he was hot on her trail; with any luck he would find her at the bus station and they’d be on their way home. He couldn’t wait to get her back to the house. He was going to make her regret ever thinking about leaving him.
By the time he reached Philadelphia, Ezra had a story in place for why he was searching for Kylie. He knew just the right amount of concern to put into his voice to convince even the greatest skeptic that he was genuine.
He found a place to park and headed into the bus station. Unlike the one in Van Buren, this station was quite large. He asked a number of employees about Kylie before he finally had a bit of luck. “Excuse me, Miss. I’m hoping you can help me. I was told you were on duty last night when the bus from Van Buren came in. I’m looking for a young woman who was reported to be on that bus. Her family reported her missing and an eyewitness saw her getting on a bus bound to Philly. The young woman is, well, truthfully, she’s a bit unstable and she is off her meds. I was wondering if perhaps you’ve seen her?” He showed the woman a photo and let her study it for several minutes.
“I may have seen her. There was a woman who looks a lot like this, except her hair was black instead of red. She seemed really nervous. She kept looking over her shoulder like she thought she was being followed.”
