Grinning, Dylon replied, “That’s why I need Zane. He’s a genius when it comes to finding out other people’s secrets.”
“But these are magic users!”
“So what? They still have to put their money somewhere.”
“I don’t know…I’m pretty sure they would hide it,” mused Brady.
“Maybe…especially from the new Keeper of All Magic, but in my experience, crooks get careless when they aren’t caught.”
A wan smile crossed Brady’s face. “I can tell you members of the Witches’ Council don’t view themselves as criminals…especially since the laws they passed strip the low-level magic users of any recourse if they object to harsh treatment by their owners.”
“Right, but I believe there’s more going on than the laws allow…otherwise, why the knee-jerk reaction when Remy asked for information about the low-level magic users?” Dylon stood. “C’mon, let’s go and see what Zane can uncover.”
~/~/~/~/~
After knocking on his Alpha’s door, Rudy waited till he heard Josiah’s voice giving him permission to enter. Claiming the chair facing his boss, he realized something was up, but damned if he knew what. Everything had been quiet, both with the High Council and the Blackwood Pack, but he was sure that was about to change. As usual, Rudy remained silent, allowing Josiah to speak first.
“What’s my fucking son doing?” Josiah asked, his voice tinged with anger .
“Like I told you, he’s still in San Francisco,” Rudy said. “Painting.”
“Painting!” Josiah snorted in disgust. “He should be here, dammit.”
“I don’t think that’s gonna happen any time soon. According to my research, Kahn’s making a good living. The woman I spoke to at one of the art galleries said your son’s work is in demand. As she put it, ‘they fly off the wall’.”
“Did you see him?”
“Yeah…but I made sure he didn’t see me. I left a couple of men to guard him…and no, he won’t know it.”
Josiah grunted. Kahn wasn’t worth all the trouble he caused, but keeping up the illusion he was still Josiah’s heir was useful to hold challengers at bay. Soon, it wouldn’t matter anymore, especially if the High Council sided with his fucking nephews. And that thought brought him back to why Rudy was there. “I’m leaving tonight and will be gone for a couple of weeks. You’ll be in charge of my pack. Don’t fuck it up.”
Caching himself just in time, Rudy hid his reaction to Josiah’s announcement. He couldn’t remember his boss ever leaving for that long. In fact, Josiah never wanted to leave at all, fearing his brother, Striker, would claim the Silver Point Pack as his, though Rudy never saw proof of that when they’d both visited the Fox River Pack from time to time in the past. But Striker was dead now, so there wasn’t any threat from him… so what the fucking hell was this all about? Something was being kept from him. “Okay, when are you leaving so I can have three enforcers ready to accompany you.”
Waving his hand dismissively, Josiah growled, “Not necessary.”
Arching an eyebrow, Rudy grew more alarmed, realizing his instinct was correct —something was definitely up if Josiah was going by himself. “Boss, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Ignoring the objection, Josiah continued. “While I’m gone, I want 24/7 patrols on our borders and make sure you place some guards at my home.”
Rudy’s eyes narrowed. “Fine, but if you know of a threat to the pack, tell me so I can make sure we’re not caught with our pants down.”
Shaking his head, Josiah growled, “Threat? There’s always a threat…you know that. And with me gone, it’s gonna be worse; there are tons of fucking assholes who’ll view my pack as easy pickin’s. So do the job I hired you to do and protect my damn pack.”
Rudy was getting tired of this shit. He’d been loyal to Josiah since he was first hired many years ago; yet, he was always kept at arm’s length, never being told the whole story. The fucking massacre was proof of that. Rudy stood. “Is that all, boss?”
Squinting up at his second, Josiah saw how tightly he was holding himself, anger clearly showing.Fucking pussy!“Yeah, that’s it…try not to fuck it up this time.”
Grinding his molars together, Rudy spun on his heels, heading for the door. He had two weeks to figure out what his boss was hiding. Unwilling to waste any time, he’d start going through Josiah’s files tomorrow, looking for information about why the need for the sudden trip.
~/~/~/~/~
Spying Glenn heading toward them, Alex grinned, leaning back against Sawyer. “Hey tiger mate, wait till you see the pups!”
Turning his head toward Glenn, Sawyer’s eyes narrowed at the tightness surrounding his mate’s mouth, keeping his smile from reaching his eyes. Instantly his wolf growled, letting Sawyer know the threat against their mate hadn’t disappeared after arriving at the Blackwood Pack. Not that he expected it to, but what was pissing him off was his mate’s conduct regarding the danger. After confronting Glenn back in LA for not informing him about threats to Alex’s safety, his tiger mate had promised never to do it again.
But he had. Last night, when Glenn left their bed, Sawyer’s wolf woke him, letting him know about it. Ignoring him, he remained quiet, unwilling to disturb Alex. Closing his eyes, he assumed his mate was headed to the bathroom until he heard Glenn quietly close the bedroom door leading to the sitting room in their suite. That’s when Sawyer realized something was up.
Using his wolf hearing, Sawyer listened to Glenn’s end of the conversation with Riley and Ghost. By the time it was over, Sawyer realized he’d been excluded once again. It was obvious there was a serious trust issue in their relationship. And before he could figure out what to do about it, his feelings were further bruised when Alex sought comfort from Glenn instead of him.
